Matthijs de Ligt reacted for the first time at the Dutch press conference on Friday afternoon to the criticism that Marco van Basten had on him on Thursday evening. The analyst saw the centre-back against Austria (2-0) do the necessary things wrong and highlighted this in his analysis for the NOS. Van Basten especially thinks that De Ligt should give more leadership to the the Dutch squad.
“De Ligt is a central defender and he must give more leadership,” said Van Basten after the second group match of the Dutch at the European Championship. “Either Stefan de Vrij should go with his husband, or he should go himself, or he should go out”, the mandekker was advised. “You have to make yourself heard, assert yourself. Because you have to lead the defense. He just runs after his man and leaves a gaping hole. De Ligt went to Italy to learn how to defend, but I think he has learned little there. Based on moments like this. These are the things that matter. He is the last man to lead De Ligt and De Vrij. If he goes along, he must be one hundred percent sure to have the ball. But he runs along and if that other player goes deep, you walk freely to the goal.”
Van Basten is tough: “I think De Ligt has learned little there”
The analyst believes that the the Dutch defender can still take significant steps.
De Ligt will be confronted on Friday with the words of Van Basten. “I got it,” confirms the the Dutch defender. “And if someone like Mr. Van Basten criticizes, then you go and have a look. He has also played in Italy, just like me. I know how they think there, always from the zone. He also talked about communication, that went well yesterday (against Austria, ed.), but that can always be improved. Even if things are going well, you should always try to improve things,” De Ligt looks critically at his own performance.
“I’m happy with the compliment and the criticism, then I can only improve myself. And when someone like Mr. van Basten says that, that’s only nice,” De Ligt adds. ESPNreporter Pascal Kamperman then notes that De Ligt did not seem completely fresh in the final phase against Austria, which the player in question can confirm. “At the end I suffered from cramps, it was the first game in two weeks. I wasn’t able to train much, because the group played a lot of games. Then it’s hard.”
De Ligt does not feel like dropping the third group match, as the the Dutch is already assured of a place in the eighth final of the European Championship. “I always want to play, then I’m always the sharpest. I always want to play, including against North Macedonia. It’s not a glorified practice match, it’s just a European Championship match. We look at it from match to match, even if there are ten days to the eighth final”, De Ligt refers to the fact that the the Dutch squad will resume the European Championship on Sunday 27 June in the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
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