The Netherlands failed to reach the Final Four of the Nations League on Wednesday-evening. Although the team of national coach Frank de Boer won 1-2 against Poland, it turned out to be not enough for a group win due to Italy’s victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina (0-2). Valentijn Driessen points in his column The Telegraph four main culprits for missing out on the lucrative final tournament.

The KNVB could have described 7.5 million euros if the the Dutch had participated in the Final Four, Driessen knows. “Due to mismanagement regarding the succession of Ronald Koeman by the directors Eric Gudde and Nico-Jan Hoogma and the supervisory directors Jan Smit and Han Berger, the Dutch missed the Final Four”, writes Driessen. “A ‘joke’ that the football association saves at least 7.5 million euros in income in these financially difficult corona times.”

The best three players of the Dutch were also not that good at all

Voetbalzone handed out scores to the players of the Dutch. Read article

According to the newspaper’s columnist, the KNVB has delayed far too long in appointing a successor to Koeman, who left for Barcelona on 17 August. “Then they opted for an extensive application procedure with the spearhead: the next national coach had to be a Koeman 2.0. The management duo took all the time for this, while Poland came to visit nineteen days later for the opening match in the Nations League.”

“Zeist was the eternal clincher in application procedures: not speed, but quality is decisive. As if this cannot go together. If Frank Rijkaard and Peter Bosz are candidates one and two and Frank de Boer is number three, then you tick such a list of candidates. within a day. Then it will take you two days to reach an agreement with De Boer and appoint him on Friday, August 21, two weeks for the Netherlands – Poland and seventeen days for the Netherlands – Italy. “

In the end, it took 37 days until De Boer was appointed, Driessen calculates. “Hoogma and Gudde paid the main prize. The blunders of Dwight Lodeweges (as interim national coach, ed.) Against Italy were the beginning of the end in the group phase of the Nations League. That is why the management duo is responsible. Together with their commissioners Jan Smit and Han Berger. They also sat on their hands forever after the departure of Koeman. There was no sense of urgency. Because shared responsibility is not a responsibility, Gudde, Hoogma, Smit and Berger remain calm after their blunder festival. Cold consolation: Gudde and Smit will leave the KNVB after the European Championship in 2021. “