Coach Koeman 'hides' from the media, Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk appears to 'take the bullet'

Coach in hiding, assistant helpless, not knowing how to respond to the press

The Netherlands team did not have a really impressive group stage journey. Coach Ronald Koeman's team only finished 3rd in Group D, behind Austria and France. It was only by luck that the "Orange Storm" advanced as one of the 4 best 3rd-placed teams. The Netherlands team played blandly and lacked vitality after all 3 group stage matches.

In particular, after the 2-3 loss to Austria, the Dutch players and coach Ronald Koeman were heavily criticized. Former Dutch player Rafael van der Vaart even said that the team's playing style had damaged the image of the team and disrespected the fans. He called on coach Ronald Koeman to apologize and all the team's players to take responsibility.

The Netherlands had a lackluster group stage and were lucky to advance in third place.

Having received much criticism, coach Ronald Koeman has suddenly “avoided” the media in recent days. After each training session, the 61-year-old strategist refused to answer all questions. Even when the European Football Federation held a press conference, coach Ronald Koeman refused to attend and let assistant Bas Ticheler answer instead.

Receiving questions from reporters, Mr. Bas Ticheler also shook his head and said: "I am not in a position to answer technical questions right now. Without Ronald Koeman sitting here, what is the point of any answers? Coach Ronald Koeman is "hiding" and will probably have a private meeting with the coach of the Dutch national team. Of course, there are many things happening and I think Coach Ronald Koeman is about to face tons of criticism from the media and Dutch fans."

Coach Ronald Koeman has not appeared before the media since the end of the EURO 2024 group stage.

'I'm being... shot'

Without coach Ronald Koeman, the captain of the Netherlands team Virgil van Dijk was certainly the one who had to appear and take the hit. Many criticisms from reporters were sent to the Dutch national team center back. When he moved to the press room, thousands of Dutch fans were also present and scolded, criticizing the way the Netherlands team played.

Virgil van Dijk said: “It goes without saying that I have to take the bullet now. We have spoken a lot in the last 48 hours and some harsh words have been said. Of course it was necessary and I feel it helps the team a lot.

I blame myself too. I see that I personally made a lot of mistakes and should have done better on the pitch. I'm not crazy, I know when things need to improve. That's what I'm doing to make the Dutch team better."

When asked about his team's results in the group stage, Virgil van Dijk replied: "Finishing third in the group is of course very bad. After the match against France, we received a lot of criticism. But after a bad match, that is not a reason for the Dutch team to panic. If we continue to maintain this form, the Netherlands will have no more goals to compete for. So, as a team, the players need to unite and move forward. Each person has to solve it in their own way and then gather strength and dedicate themselves to the Dutch team."

Virgil van Dijk appeared and answered on behalf of coach Ronald Koeman

Although they did not perform well in the group stage, only finishing 3rd, meeting Romania is considered lucky for the Netherlands. Romania is one of the lowest-rated teams in the round of 16, even though they just topped the group with Belgium and Ukraine. If they overcome Romania, the Netherlands will have a chance to go far because their group does not have many strong opponents. Therefore, the fans of the "Orange Storm" are hoping that the home team will improve their performance, play more beautifully to go deep into EURO 2024.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-koeman-tron-truyen-thong-doi-truong-ha-lan-virgil-van-dijk-xuat-hien-lanh-dan-185240629015554429.htm