At NEC, people are displeased with the choice of national coach Louis van Gaal not to take Jasper Cillessen with him to the World Cup in Qatar. The 33-year-old goalkeeper was called on Friday morning with bad news by the Dutch goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek. The Gelderlander came a little later with the news that Cillessen is furious about the decision. His club is fully behind him, according to a reaction from captain Lasse Schöne.
The 36-year-old Dane reveals opposite Broadcasting Gelderland that no one at NEC expected that Cillessen would not go to Qatar. “It was definitely a surprise for us. For Jasper, this is the worst. It’s a huge downer. Very incomprehensible, I think. We were quiet for a while. This is not something we had anticipated. This was hard, yes.”
Nijmegen resident Danny Hoekman, who played for NEC in the past, thinks that Van Gaal was influenced by outside opinions. “Astonishing. This is not based on sporting arguments. It started with that annoying comment from Rafael van der Vaart. It seems like a smear campaign from the national media. And that just now the story of that mother of his child is coming out.”
Van Gaal said during the press conference of the Dutch national team in Zeist on Friday afternoon that it was difficult to disappoint the dropouts. “This morning I spent an hour and 45 minutes to cancel the eleven players via FaceTime, Frans Hoek canceled the two keepers. That was a tough job.” Van Gaal then discussed the choice to leave Cillessen at home. “I don’t know if you see matches, but he hasn’t been in shape the last few weeks. I think the World Cup is now and not in five weeks.”
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