Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman criticizes FIFA Club World Cup

Dutch football legend Ronald Koeman has just caused a stir when he openly criticized the FIFA Club World Cup, which is about to start on June 15.

The captain of the Dutch team publicly criticized the FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: Screenshot

In an interview on June 3, Mr. Koeman stated: "It is absurd to organize the FIFA Club World Cup. The clubs can be satisfied with the amount of money received. But I cannot imagine a player who has won many titles feeling happy when winning the Club World Cup.

It cannot be compared to winning a domestic league, the Champions League, or even the Euros or the World Cup."

The Dutch coach's dissatisfaction stems from the overloaded schedules of his two favorite students, Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij of Inter Milan.

If Inter reach the Club World Cup final, the duo will only end the 2024-2025 season on July 13.

They then have just one month to rest and prepare for the opening match of the 2025-2026 Serie A season on August 17.

Before that, Dumfries and De Vrij also had to strain to play in the Champions League final on June 1. Both have played a total of 67 matches in the 2024-2025 season in many fronts.

If he continues to play for the Netherlands in two 2026 World Cup qualifiers and seven Club World Cup matches, his total number of matches in the past 11 months will reach 76 - an alarming number.

Koeman is not alone in this view. Many top European coaches have also expressed concerns about the health of their players due to the increasingly dense match schedule, negatively affecting the performance and careers of stars.

This time, the Dutch legend is calling for drastic changes to protect players from burnout.

In the immediate future, the Netherlands team will have two important matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Finland (June 8) and Malta (June 11).

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TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-tuyen-ha-lan-ronald-koeman-chi-trich-fifa-club-world-cup-2025060411550481.htm