Criticism of the Netherlands and Koeman: why Oranje’s EM mood changed

About this EM-Line-up that everyone in the Netherlands would have been happy with a week ago. The European champion of 1988 survived the difficult preliminary round with second world champion France and secret favorite Austria and only met outsider Romania in the eighth finals (Tuesday 18:00).ARD And MagentaTV).

And if that succeeds in Munich on Tuesday, the so-called tournament tree means that Orange still good: in the quarterfinals the possible opponents were again Austria or Türkiye. In the semifinals it would be against weak English or Switzerland. No one from whom the great football country the Netherlands according to itself has to hide.

Koeman still the right one?

This claim is now apparently part of the problem. Because before the start of the knockout round, coach Ronald Koeman is reminded every day that he has one of the most challenging jobs in the world of football. Since the 2:3 defeat in the last group match against Austria The initially optimistic mood for the European Championship on home soil has turned into the opposite.

At the press conference after this weak performance, Koeman was immediately asked whether he was still viable as national coach. “I don’t think that’s a question for now,” said the 1988 European Championship hero. “It’s only the preliminary round. We still have a chance. If that doesn’t work out, you can ask the question again.”

In this atmosphere, the Dutch are now entering the decisive phase of the tournament. And the question is: where does this great pressure come from? Why has Oranje gone through eleven different national coaches in the past 25 years, of which Koeman, Louis van Gaal and Dick Advocaat have had multiple terms? And why does the mood change so easily in a team that has long lacked players of the quality of Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp or Arjen Robben?

Frank Wormuth led the coaching academy of the German Football Association for ten years before moving to the Netherlands in 2018. There he coached first division clubs Heracles Almelo and FC Groningen and he still lives there near Nijmegen. After the 2021 European Championship, he was discussed as the new national coach. Instead, it was Van Gaal for the third time.

About the expectations in his adopted country he says: “Yes, in the Netherlands there is criticism: about the random play. That there is no team on the field.” But he can understand that too.

“This team is good,” says Wormuth: “Van Dijk plays for Liverpool. Aké plays for Manchester City. Gakpo also plays for Liverpool. And Frimpong has just become German champions. If they played as a team and fought for each other, they would certainly be candidates for the top four of the tournament. Or even for the final.” But the atmospheric performances of the fans and the sedate performances of the team at this European Championship so far have formed a stark contrast.

The loss of De Jong hurts

For Wormuth, these strong fluctuations have two reasons: a purely sporting one and a social one. “The real challenge is the loss of Frenkie de Jong,” he said of the injured FC Barcelona midfielder. “De Jong is a kind of Kroos from the Netherlands, the game designer par excellence.”

And then the 63-year-old describes from his own experience: “There is no clear hierarchy in the Netherlands, like we have in Germany.” And certainly not in a football team.

“Players argue a lot. They want to give their opinion all the time,” says Wormuth. “Socially, there are a lot of good things going on. But when too many people have a say in football, it becomes difficult.” In the Netherlands, he “underestimated that a bit in the beginning. The physiotherapist also wanted to tell me what to do.” But that sometimes makes the discussions seem bigger than they are.

Captain Virgil van Dijk accepted the criticism after the European Championship preliminary round. “If we continue like this, we have nothing more to do here,” he said before the match against Romania. “But we still have the feeling that we can make this tournament a very special tournament. I believe in this team. We have a lot of quality. But we have to show them at last.”