Danny Blind had contact with son Daley several times prior to the European Championship opener of the Dutch national team against Ukraine (3-2), he reveals on Monday morning in the online talk show of Football International. There were a lot of doubts with the defender, who saw former teammate Christian Eriksen become unwell on Saturday evening during Denmark-Finland. Blind junior has been playing with a defibrillator since he went to ground against Valencia at the end of 2019.
“There is of course a lot of emotion with Daley”, said Blind, who saw the Ajax player walk off the field with tears after his substitution against Ukraine. “In his mind, everything came along again, his own problems. And Daley knows Christian very well, of course, they are friends.” There was therefore an intensive contract on match day. “On the day of the game, we called three times and discussed a number of options. In the end, Daley had to let his feelings speak and also talk to other people, professionals, about this.”
According to the former national team coach of the Dutch national team, there were a total of three options for his son: “I’ll skip the game and park it all for a while, I’ll stop completely or you say: ‘I’m going for it’. Blind eventually chose it. for to play and Frank de Boer also had a starting spot in store for him.” That is very clever, because the right focus was not always there. I remember well: in August (in the friendly match against Hertha BSC, ed.) Daley had another moment with his heart and only on December 11, away against Liverpool in the Champions League, did he say: ‘Dad, this is the first time I didn’t think about it during the match’. When you make a wrong pass or lose a duel, you immediately think: Is it my physique? So it is super difficult to maintain concentration. I think Daley has done a very good job,” said Blind senior.
Blind declared Sunday evening at the NOS why there were emotions during his substitution in the second half. “Last night (Saturday evening, ed.) has had a lot of impact on me personally”, Blind agreed after the 3-2 victory in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “Besides that I know Chris well as a friend, and the situation is terrible for him, I have also experienced a few things in that corner myself. I had to overcome a mental hurdle for myself today to play. I had a hard time with that, last night and today. I’m proud I did it. In the end, the emotion comes out.”
Blind has “definitely thought about” skipping the game. “Those thoughts run through your head. Yesterday’s moment had a big impact on me and made me realize a lot. That only makes the moment today more difficult to get on the field. I didn’t sleep well, should I to be honest. It was a big mental hurdle to do this anyway.” The defender watched the match between Denmark and Finland live, he says. After the incident, he sent a message to Eriksen, but he has not yet spoken to his old teammate.
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