Joey Veerman understands that he is not included in the pre-selection of the Dutch national team. The PSV midfielder leaves his mark on the game of the Eindhoven players and was briefly associated with the the Dutch squad for the coming international match, but did not receive an invitation from national coach Louis van Gaal. Veerman himself is not surprised by this. “If I have played eight games in the base, five of them were fine. It is not the case that you are immediately part of the Dutch national team. I understand that.”
Veerman has been in a good phase since his arrival at PSV. In the thirteen games he played, he was directly involved in nine goals (four goals, five assists). Despite this, he is not guaranteed a weekly starting spot under Roger Schmidt, who seems to prefer a midfield with Ibrahim Sangaré, Érick Gutiérrez and Mario Gotze. “There was really no need to bring Joey back to earth,” said Schmidt after he replaced Veerman for FC Copenhagen at half-time. “He’s a good boy, very intelligent. Joey really doesn’t think he’s the best. That’s what the outside world makes of it.”
Veerman was also not surprised that he was not included in the pre-selection of the Dutch national team for the friendly against Denmark and Germany. Van Gaal selected Frenkie de Jong, Davy Klaassen, Teun Koopmeiners, Marten de Roon, Guus Til, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordy Clasie for the middle line. “I know how it goes in football. After a few good matches, a number of decisive actions and goals, everyone suddenly talks about the national team, blah, blah, blah… Then it’s about the Golden Ball and you name it.”
Veerman acknowledges that he has ended up in a different world. Where he dangled at the bottom of the Eredivisie with Heerenveen, he is still participating on three fronts with PSV. On Thursday evening, the people of Eindhoven buy themselves at the expense of Copenhagen to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Conference League. The first game ended in 4-4. “I do know that I am now at PSV and maybe it is also adapting for me to think about that, but it is not the case that I have been playing well in the top of the Netherlands for a whole season or something like that. If I can play eight games played in the base, five of them were fine. It is not the case that you are immediately part of the Dutch national team. I understand that too,” concludes a sober Veerman.