Mart van Mourik19 nov 2024, 23:54
Last updated: Nov 20, 2024, 00:01
Rafael van der Vaart is not yet completely satisfied with what he has seen from Teun Koopmeiners. After the Nations League match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, the analyst says that he is ‘still curious’ about the qualities of Koopmeiners, whom he has seen too little in action.
“I was curious about Teun Koopmeiners, but after this match I still am,” Van der Vaart begins in the studio of the NOS. “I think it’s a bit of a shame, because I wish him the same.”
“It’s different. When you come to a club, it’s like a warm bath. It’s your home. And if you join the Dutch national team, you will have very good players in your position. Then you have a different pressure.”
“The shirt of the Dutch national team weighs a bit more heavily for him. It is very difficult to do the same with the Dutch national team as you do with your club. I find it difficult with him,” said Van der Vaart.
Fellow analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk suggests a possible explanation for the invisibility of Koopmeiners against Bosnia and Herzegovina. “A lot more difficult for the players who were in the starting line-up today.”
“You play with some lesser players around you. Because if they were better, they would already have been in the starting line-up against Hungary. Some players really need that push from better players around them, so that they can perform optimally.”
“I was often at the substitutions myself. Then during the preparation they said: ‘Let’s see it now!’ But then you suddenly found yourself with people who were not able to throw a through ball. If they could do that, they would have been in the starting line-up,” Van Hooijdonk concludes.
Belgium
