Clarence Seedorf questions the appointment of Louis van Gaal as national coach of the Dutch national team. The former midfielder writes in his column NRC that there are ‘so few fresh ideas’ coming out at the KNVB. Seedorf states that Van Gaal was chosen ‘under pressure’ and would have preferred to see him appointed in a different role.
“I will be respectful of the person who once launched me into this beautiful but bizarre football world, Louis van Gaal. By accepting the national coachship for the third time, he clearly has not kept the credit to himself. So third place in 2014 was not enough for him and I respect that,” Seedorf begins. However, he points out that ‘so few fresh ideas’ are coming out at the KNVB and that ‘fear has turned out to be the biggest advisor to policymakers’.
“Showing guts can lead to loss, but repeating choices that do not show any progress, I see as a problem that needs to be solved,” Seedorf continues. The former midfielder of Ajax, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Internazionale, AC Milan and Botafogo attributes ‘unbelievable potential’ to the KNVB. “But apparently it’s stuck somewhere. Where innovation is needed, something old emerges and where a strong position is needed, such as the recent boycott of social media for racist statements, the union proudly held on to very painful principles. Performing under pressure is a capacity that players, coaches and policy makers need to know how to deal with, and that was clearly not the case here.”
“Under pressure, Van Gaal was chosen, with Danny Blind again – who not so long ago as an assistant and as head coach did not perform well with the the Dutch squad – and with Henk Fraser, who has been doing well in the Netherlands for years but now must resign to a role as an assistant,” writes Seedorf. He thinks Van Gaal will show his ‘undisputed qualities’ as a trainer. “Still, I would have preferred to see him as an advisor for technical policy or as a mentor to the coaches who follow the trainer training. There, his knowledge could mean the most for the next generation of coaches and players.”