According to Valentijn Driessen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst is a plan B for the KNVB if it fails to appoint Louis van Gaal as national coach of the Dutch national team. The NOS reported on Thursday that Eric Gudde and Nico-Jan Hoogma will visit Van Gaal one of these days to discuss a third term as national coach. Driessen expects that the KNVB will not have to fall back on a plan B or plan C.
“There is a Plan B and a Plan C. I think Giovanni van Bronckhorst is involved in Plan B,” says Driessen in the program The the Dutch Summer from SBS6. “Plan C is a foreigner. But it doesn’t get that far. Which is weird, because I’ve been on a job interview a few times and then I had to go somewhere. When this gentleman wants a new job, everyone comes to him. That is very strange and emphasizes the dependent position of the KNVB in relation to their main candidate, so this will certainly continue one hundred percent.”
René van der Gijp understands little of the fact that Van Bronckhorst is the second choice behind Van Gaal. “Van Gaal is plan A and Van Bronckhorst is plan B. How is that possible? They are so different,” says Van der Gijp. Jeroen Stekelenburg, the Dutch watcher for the NOS, said earlier in the Sports news that there is currently no other serious candidate in the picture at the KNVB besides Van Gaal.
“The players were also asked what they think about it,” says Driessen about the KNVB’s choice for Van Gaal. “They want a type like Ronald Koeman. Frank de Boer was one extreme with regard to Koeman and Van Gaal is the other extreme. They have not said that he is not welcome, they are willing to work with him. They want a little more space than last time, because in Brazil (during the World Cup, ed.) he was on top of it.”
“The evaluation after the European Championship showed that someone had to come up with a hard hand: a leader, an authority with international appeal and experience. All open doors were kicked in, such an evaluation means nothing”, the football chief of The Telegraph further. “It was already made by Nico-Jan Hoogma, otherwise you won’t immediately say what you’re looking for after Frank de Boer’s resignation. Eventually you end up with Louis van Gaal, because that is the ideal lightning rod for this management. That management, soon with the new chairman Marianne van Leeuwen, can spend a year and a half picking from his nose and continue making mistakes, because Louis will take care of everything. Because he will be the new figurehead of Dutch football.”
Driessen is asked what is now being discussed by Hoogma and Gudde with Van Gaal. “We are talking about the staff. And the hotel, the question is whether that’s great. It’s been said that that’s great, because they’re so comfortable on their own and have privacy. But the older players do want to be able to get out every now and then, that’s not possible there (in Zeist, ed.), You’re just locked up there. But now it’s mainly about the staff.”
“Frans Hoek will undoubtedly be approached again. Marcel Bout, Albert Stuivenberg (previously worked with Van Gaal at Manchester United, ed.): he is all going to find out people in whom he has confidence. But I’ve heard that a tan should also be added, so Van Bronckhorst would be something in that regard. But I don’t think he’s going to play second fiddle to Van Gaal. Maybe Henk Fraser is something. gullit? I don’t think so,” says Driessen. Van der Gijp emphasizes that Gullit will not work as an assistant to Van Gaal. Gullit will never work with Van Gaal, will he? The Van Gaal of Antwerp who is going to treat the great Gullit like a baby, he will never take that.”