Frank de Boer can take a look on Monday Rondo for the first time in the publicity back at the failed European Championship with the Dutch national team. The former national coach explains in the talk program how he came to the decision to leave Jasper Cillessen out of his selection due to a corona infection, and why Donyell Malen was substituted against the Czech Republic (2-0 loss) after 52 minutes.
Before the European Championship, Cillessen contracted corona. The surprise was great when De Boer decided to leave the goalkeeper at home. “Jasper was injured a lot that year,” explains the ex-national coach. “We did not know how long it would take (with his corona infection, ed.). I also knew that I just had two good keepers on hand with Tim Krul and Maarten Stekelenburg. I had to make a choice: suppose a keeper does well. does in the first two or three games, do I have to put him next to it? So it also has a lot of influence on the process in the group. At that moment I thought the difference between Tim Krul, Maarten Stekelenburg and Jasper Cillessen small “If it had really been a big difference, I would have wanted to take the risk. Stekelenburg made an incredible impression on me, also in training.”
In the press, the story quickly circulated that Cillessen would be bad in the the Dutch squad, but De Boer disputes that. “He’s in the group well, but the point is: what would happen if he were second goalkeeper? You know for yourself whether a player can be second goalkeeper or not. That’s not his thing. He was my first. first keeper, but in my eyes there was almost no difference.”
De Boer decided to take on Malen in the eighth final against the Czech Republic instead of Wout Weghorst, who had started the matches before. “He came in a few times already and we all know that he is a great talent, who can make the difference with his speed,” explains De Boer. “He also proved that, because he was the most dangerous man.”
It went completely wrong for the the Dutch shortly after the break when Matthijs de Ligt got red. To the surprise of many, De Boer decided to bring in Quincy Promes for Malen two minutes later. “It’s very simple, isn’t it?” De Boer asks rhetorically. “I think everyone who has been a coach knows that: you just know that he is an explosive player. We knew in advance that he can really deliver an hour at this level. It was the 55th minute. the staff, people who understand that. Go and see how much Donyell Malen has played 90 minutes this season.” Malen played seventeen official games this season and did not finish any of them. He did come to Borussia Dortmund once to 83 and 81 minutes in a game.
Finally, the incident surrounding Anwar El Ghazi was also discussed. The wing striker of Aston Villa was informed by message from De Boer that he was not part of the final European Championship selection. “Maybe it’s sloppy, but we shouldn’t be dramatic about it either,” said De Boer. “I think there have been more national coaches who have put it on teletext, you had to deal with that. I sent a neat message. He has never been there, eh. Then it could be something different, but I could certainly have called him.”