Hendrik Pieter de Jongh went viral on social media this week with a remarkable interview. The trainer of the Zimbabwean FC Platinum spoke to the press in coal English a year ago and the video of that interview surfaced again this week. De Jongh himself has no problem with attention, he says in an interview with it Algemeen Dagblad.
“We started very aggressively. First half 2-0, it was even possible a higher score“, said De Jongh, among other things.”Lot of possibilities for a dirt (third) goal.“However, De Jongh did not understand a subsequent question from a journalist.”I don’t hear what you say. So uh, I can no answer give, if you don’t speak that clear EnglishThe images led to a lot of hilarity. Also on the Facebook page of Voetbalzone there were more than 3500 responses to the remarkable interview.
“My English isn’t that bad either”, De Jongh thinks. “I have to admit, I am not the best at English. But I am not worse, really no less than, for example, Ronald Koeman or Louis van Gaal. Players, board members, journalists: they all understand me. My English is quite good by African standards. It is not for nothing that I have been standing for a long time. “
#ICYMI: Watch FC Platinum head coach Hendrik de Jongh speak to the media after guiding his side to win the Challenge Cup. #ZiFMSport pic.twitter.com/VFUmbdEhL7
– ZiFM Sport (at ??) (@ZiFMSport) March 16, 2020
Fifty-year-old De Jongh, former player of NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam, worked in the Netherlands as an assistant coach of FC Dordrecht and decided to travel the world from 2012. Clubs like AFC Leopards (Kenya), Ulaanbatar City (Mongolia), Eswatini (Swaziland), Highlanders (Zimbabwe) and the Moldovan Olympic team adorn his resume; he has been at the helm of Platinum FC since 2020.
“In Zimbabwe I won two cups in three months, in Kenya I won derbies that were comparable to Feyenoord-Ajax”, continues De Jongh, who thinks that he never received appreciation for his work in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, he does not rule out working in the Netherlands. “I saw an action by VVV Venlo fans on Twitter that their club should get me. I think it’s good, dude. I’m a long time out of Holland, but I also stay open. “