Ronald Koeman is concerned about Jasper Cillessen’s low performance

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by Tarcísio Neri

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman is impressed with Feyenoord’s performance this season. During the working visit, the former coach of the Rotterdam team saw a very united group of players and a great will to win. Ronald Koeman also discussed the situation of Dutch players and revealed a name that is already included in his pre-call.

In his time as coach of Feyenoord, Ronald Koeman often had to work with a lack of money to improve the club’s structure.

“At the time I worked as a coach at Feyenoord, the club was still struggling to stay financially strong, but it was always behind clubs like Ajax, for example” said Ronald Koeman.

During his work visits as coach of the Dutch national team in 2017 and now, Ronald Koeman saw a new Feyenoord.

“Everything changed there at the new training center. There is peace to work with and we realized that there was a good investment in the structure for the players and coaching staff. A big difference in climate we could feel when comparing what we found in Feyenoord, PSV and Ajax. While at Feyenoord we felt that we were all wanting to work hard to achieve good things this season, at PSV and Ajax the feeling is the complete opposite” said Ronald Koeman.

The 60-year-old Dutch boss recalled his first successes as Feyenoord coach. He didn’t win a national title in 2012, but he was honored for second place.

“We finished the Eredivisie in 10th place the previous season. We had a lot of young players in our squad. Second place was to reward the great work we developed throughout the season. We got a spot in the Champions League Play-Offs, which was very important financially for the club.”

Regarding his next call-up, Ronald Koeman said he remains concerned about Jasper Cillessen’s psychology.

“We are concerned about that. It can happen to any goalkeeper. But I was more shocked by the last goal he conceded against SC Heerenveen. This also shows how much he needs to improve his confidence in his own work”, commented Ronald Koeman.

The coach confirmed that Jasper Cillessen is in the squad for the Dutch squad for the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League.

“Obviously he is not off our list. If he is fit, he is a potential goalkeeper for the Dutch national team” said Ronald Koeman.

Jasper Cillessen saved the Netherlands goal at the end of March in the last matches against France and Gibraltar. Mark Flekken and Bart Verbruggen were the other two called up. Justin Bijlow was injured and not considered by Ronald Koeman, but he returned to action for Feyenoord. Andries Noppert is not yet available.

Ronald Koeman also praised Mats Wieffer’s performance in Feyenoord’s midfield. The coach of the Dutch national team sees the young player from the Stadionclub as an important competitor for Marten de Roon in the Dutch national team, alongside Frenkie de Jong.

“Marten de Roon is no longer my first choice as it was on my first stint. Mats Wieffer will be able to play alongside Frenkie de Jong, but that will take time to happen”, commented Ronald Koeman.

He acknowledged that the criticism over his work and choices in the first game against France was justified.

“I was also disappointed. There were several reasons, of course. We lost a lot of players to health problems and injuries. We had five sick players. With less than seven minutes, we were already two goals down. Losing a game against France away from home is normal, but not the way we play. Regarding the game against Gibraltar, we won, but we didn’t play what we should have played”, commented Ronald Koeman.

To improve the performance of the Dutch team in the semi-final against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, Donyell Malen is seen as an important part of this change of posture. This weekend, the Dutch striker scored his ninth goal this year, the most by any player in the Bundesliga.

“I’m not surprised. He made his debut with the Dutch national team on my first spell and even scored his debut. I was happy that he started playing on the right at Borussia Dortmund. This is a solution for us, because Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Steven Bergwijn can perform better with me playing on the left. It’s great that he plays well in that position” said Ronald Koeman.

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32 comments

    1. Yes, the sad thing is that we actually have a decent team. Many team members will win their league with significant contribution this year: FDJ, De Ligt/Malen, Ake. But Koeman will build team based on the past, not the present or future.

  6. Lang – Gakpo- Malen

    Simons

    Frenkie- Wieffer

    Ake- van dijk-De ligt- Dumfries

    Bijlow

    This has to be the lineup vs croatia. If it’s not then koeman has lost it.

    1. Unfortunately he doesn’t like Lang, and unfortunately he doesn’t want simons in attacking mid position he wants him on the left, so he can empty that spot for his buddy wijnaldum who is a bench warmer in Roma!!!!

    2. This is a lineup, with adjustments here and there, in accordance with individual performances, that could be the start of a great unit.

      Alas…

    3. Id argue that Id like to see verbruggen in net but I havnt ever seen him play. I just hear great things and want a GK we can build around for years. Other than that, I like that line up. I’d imagine depay starts over lang and gakpo goes out wide though.

  8. Also Joel veerman and tijjani are doing amazing currently so either one should be an option with wieffer!!! But klassen is also koemans guy….

  9. There is one thing that is crystal clear, it’s time for rotation and hey a healthy one. I mean alot of players have started knocking on the door and if koeman simply thinks otherwise, it will be sad and pitiful seeing this generation go to waste.

    For the last 10 years or so I have said this and waiting for this as well right. Quality players in individual position and quality back up as well. Its on course and finally shaping up.there is no two ways about it but to hit the ground rolling and koeman better gets his act together and start showing that. Its croatia, Grecce, ROI, France and Greece. By October end his fate should be sealed if he puts up to his ego.

  11. What I don’t understand is how come a coach of koeman’s calibre can’t see the logic behind being experienced/ not in form and experienced / in form. And on top of this come the euros if they qualify these dead woods will be more susceptible to what the newcomers have to offer

    Again the time is precious, the new faces including on the bench need as much playing time as possible. Why waste it on the dead woods.

    1. On a positive note glad to see Lang selected and I hope he won’t be chopped off because once again you can tell some of those players selected are there to make numbers and eventually will drop out once the squad is trimmed. This has become a feature now for NT. If koeman drops Lang for either bergwijn or berghuis , he shud just resign and make way for Bosz.

      As stated previously, the lineup shud be

      Lang—————Gakpo—————Malen

      ——————-Simons———————-

      Frenkie————————————-Wieffer

      Ake——Van Dijk————De ligt———Dumfries

      Bijlow

      Just build this team, I can guarantee NT will qualify for euros and will be one of the favorites for the championship. Players are Memphis, Gravenberch,Danjuma, kluivert, Reis can further boost the squad once they meet the criteria. This is all. And off course with players like botman, malacia, noppert, koopmeiners etc

      1. Was Lang selected last time? No. Then you already know the answer.

        Depay and Wijnaldum will play. It does not matter how many games they play this year, as long as they can walk, they will play. When the game turn bad, Koeman will sub in Blind, Klaassen and Weghorst. I doubt that Koeman know when was the last time Weghorst and Brobbey scored.

        This is so boring. I feel like watching a budget movie with bad actors and a director that spend like 2 minutes to write the script.

        Just think about it? Weghorst did not get called when he was one of the top Bundesliga scorers. And now he is regular when scoring 0 goals for half a season. How does Netherlands have so many incompetent coaches? They operated with delay mode of 6 or 7 years behind. In a few years, they looked back and said oh man, if we could have called that RB Frimpong, just like what they cried last few years for Ziyech.

        1. He was not in the provisional squad last time either. This time he makes it. I mean this time he gets dropped things will be crystal clear. Koeman is dumb and a garland of shoes should be made to put around his neck and kicked out with his brother.

  12. Celtic is reportedly scouting Xavier Mbuyamba as to be the next Van dijk in making. My personal view on this, Volendam is a good team with a good coach. They just need a good striker who can score a lot of goals. I think with this they can become a competitive team.

  14. Just had a glimpse of the provisional squad and couldn’t help but gloat at the accuracy of my prediction of the ineptitude(wilful or otherwise) of another Dutch national coach.

    They are all cut from the same cloth. They’ve managed, quite remarkably, to make a well-loved team, world over, a hybrid version of a laughingstock and side-eyed predictable disappointment.

    And the worst part of it is their unsolicited flying monkeys who, against all evidence, are willing to prop up such mish mash.

    Realistic, sane critiques like mine are viewed as elitist. Even though a pattern of club hierarchy and how it affects selection is the real cancer in Oranje.

    And you are right on every count, Kevin. They’ve completely given up on any attempt to operate in real time. Every decision is based on a belief that is as stale as the predictability of tactics they employ.

    Dire. Just dire.

    And you have people trying to actively convince us it is not so. That Frimpong is been monitored because they are in touch with his JO coach.

    It is all so weird how people manage to tell themselves things and end up believing them to the point of trying to sell it.

    And I will say it again like I said when Koeman picked his first squad. He will fail. Fail for the simple fact that it is just more of the same.

    And I assume we are all pretty much familiar with the definition of madness.

    1. I do not buy the Euro U21 excuse at all. Koeman was willing to throw Frimpong under the bus to prove his point last time, to criticize Frimpong publicly for his defensive skill. But now he certainly care so much about Frimpong’s development and want him to play Euro U21 to pick up more experience. And why does Frimpong need U21 experience? He played multiple full Bundesliga seasons and CL.

  15. When you look at the provisional squad, it becomes pretty clear that fringe u21 players were not called up on purpose.

    All the player below are guys who have made provisional senior squads (with many getting full call ups) but none are likely to get meaningful minutes with the senior team.
    Frimpong
    Bakker
    Hartman
    Rensch
    Van de Ven
    Gravenberch
    Taylor
    Dallinga
    Summerville

    There is logic to not calling these players up and allowing them to experience the U21 euros instead. I am not saying its the logic I would use but realistically only frimpong has a case to be a starter for the senior team. However, dumfries is not getting dropped so it makes sense to let frimpong play at the euros.

    Interesting that everyone cried to have Taylor axed and says that koeman should get fired for calling him up, yet when he doesnt call taylor, no one gives any credit to koeman.

  16. When I look at the provisional squad, I see a few names that I dont love. If you dont include fringe u21 players then its hard to see which players are missing.

    Gk – seems fair
    LB – Malacia, Ake – Theres no better LB at the moment. Bakker and maatsen at the euros
    CB – VVD, De ligt, Botman, De vrij, Timber – It’s hard to argue these 5 inclusions. – St juste, doehki, schuurs are all at a worse quality
    RB- Dumfries, Geertruida, tete- This is a bit of a debatable position. With frimpong and rensch at the euros the only other option is karsdorp and his attitude seems to rule him out. He also is too attacking/weak defensively for koeman based on the selection of Geertruida/tete over frimpong

    CM – Frenkie, Blind, Klassen, Koopmeiners, Reijnders, de roon, Simons, Vermaan, Wijnaldum,Weiffer – Again a contentious position. Blind, klassen, and wijnaldum are there for expereince rather than merit. all the other players are logical call ups. Without the U21 players, who are the better options. Schouten? van den Boomen? Til? Clasie? Bazoer? None of these guys would be likely to start or even make the final squad, so I can see why koeman picks experience in the provisional squad. Theres a good chance that the 3 guys I mentioned dont make the final cut. Who else is an option?

    Wingers – berghuis, bergwijn, Gakpo, Lang, Malen – Again, who else is a candidate. Danjuma who hasnt started and has about 100 minutes since january. Kluivert?

    St – Depay, Brobbey, Weghorst, – Again, who else is there? Piroe in the 2nd division? Zirkzee? Boadu? Jansen?

    When I look at the squad, the only 2 players I see as having a really strong case is frimpong and Danjuma but both of their omissions can be explained (whether you agree or not, there is logic from koeman).

    I’d love to hear who else is missing that isnt going to u21 euros.

  17. I will answer to this when the squad is trimmed. otherwise alot of criticism is on the selection of dead wood whom you have mentioned that there are there for experience. I said this above, they will offer nothing vs croatia just like vs france as the difference is clear, Croatian players are experienced and in from compared to the dutch (dead woods) being experienced and out of form to bench players

    1. @wilson – I appreciate the reservation of judgement until the final squad is picked.

      Like andrew I will be disappointed if the “experience” guys get minutes. However, if we play with a similar lineup as to what you have posted above and then we have de roon, bergwijn and klaasen on the bench, I won’t be too upset. Is our 20,21,22,23rd choice players going to see the field? Unlikely. So if koeman wants to bring some older guys for experience to sit on the bench instead of younger guys to sit on the bench, I won’t be livid.

      Now there is a possibility that the “experience” players we mention are viewed as starters or even as our 12,13th choices. De roon in particular could be useful for finishing off a match.

      Another sidenote on frimpong- I want him to be called up but after watching dumfries shut down leao and hernandez in CL semi final, its hard to see frimpong getting any minutes. I think theres more value for him at the euros getting minutes than sitting on the bench….. I just hope we cap him soon though.

  18. Agree; have to see what the final squad looks like, and most importantly who plays. Other than Frimpong, Van Den Boomen, and Danjuma, I don’t see anyone who I’d have preferred out there…and neither of those guys was going to start.

    He’ll probably start Depay. Coaches often talk about having one experienced player on each line, and Memphis would be that for the forwards. He’s already as much as said that Malen would be on the right. Gakpo could go at the 10, with Simons or Lang on the left. (He’s already said he doesn’t see Simons as a 10 at this point in his development—he plays more on the left for PSV these days, too, doesn’t he?) But like you guys, I’ll be pretty disappointed if Blind, De Roon, Bergweijn, Klaassen are in the lineup.

  19. Coventry city booked a playoff spot with luton town after dutch Brazilian Gustavo Hamer scored the winner against Middlesbrough. 10 gaols and 10 assists for the season and if they win vs Luton they will be playing epl next season. Not saying he should be called up to NT, but given the midfield is area of concern especially on the right, somebody to keep a eye on next season if they qualify.

  20. out of koeman’s favorite selection of provisional squad,who all will make final cut??
    my guess..not my choice
    Gks
    Cillessen
    Bijlow
    Flekken
    ============
    Defenders
    Malacia,Ake,Virgil,botman,Deligt,Timber,dumfries,geetruida,Blind……9nos
    Midfeilders
    Wijnaldum,frenkie,weiffer,koopmeiners,Reinders,klassen,De roon —7 nos…
    forwards
    Depay,weghorst,Gakpo,malen,Simons,Berghuis,Berjwin…7 nos….
    how many complete useless and illogical selection in 26…
    1-Cillessen
    2 Blind
    3 De roon
    Howmany undeserved call ups
    Weghorst,Berjwin,Berghuis,klassen,Wijnaldum….minmum 5 thats means 8 players..ohh God..how can a mager be this dumb..i am sad for others as they have to carry these dead woods…

    1. @Emmanual – I think youre pretty close to what koeman will select. I would say only 1 of reinders or blind will make the cut and lang will be the other. I also think bart gets the call up in net for flekken.

      Which 8 players would you replace the 8 you said are dumb?

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