Return of Van Gaal sign of poverty

Johan Derksen had most enjoyed “girl Bol” this Wednesday. He delivered it with conviction at the start of the umpteenth episode of The Orange Summer. But whether he and the others at the table were really so full of a hurdler and of the Olympics, was the question. The first, full-fledged subject that Derksen, René van der Gijp and guest Youp van ‘t Hek eagerly threw themselves into turned out to be Van Gaal. After the signal from presenter Hélène Hendriks (“It’s time. The nation has been saved”), the free shooting at the new national coach of the Dutch national football team could begin.

The appointment was not such big news everywhere. The NOS news devoted no more than a short message to it. It had been sung around for a while, of course. Bee Humberto in On 1 it was one of the things of the day to be mentioned. In the talk show of RTL4, Laurens Dassen, foreman of Volt, said that it will not be boring with Van Gaal. The appointment does raise the question for him, however, “how do you ensure new growth. We have also seen that in politics with Tjeenk Willink.”

Bee On 1 ex-athlete Ellen van Langen called the national coach “the best man on the spot”. She also praised his bravery “to leave the safe geraniums for what they are.” Jort Kelder opened the Great Book of Van Gaal and Football Clichés by predicting that there will be „thunder and lightning in the dressing room. Those millionaires need that a little bit.” Van Langen and former hockey international Ellen Hoog judged that a little fear can do no harm. Marathon swimmer Maarten van der Weijden then raised the right question whether ‘being afraid is a good basis’. There was no time left for the answer. Hop on to the next topic.

The Orange Summer took plenty of time for the subject ‘Lowietje’. The table was happy about an old fragment from the program High trees. Singer Jeroen van der Boom brought it to the tune of Wim Sonnevelds The village, a musical tribute to the coach: “Although the wind turned on you / Have you always weathered the storms”. Van Gaal had no problem with the slightly North Korean features of this tribute. On the contrary, he visibly fought against the emotion after so much beauty. “Is this serious?”, Youp van ‘t Hek asked after showing the video to be sure.

Dropped pants

According to Derksen, the word ‘self-mockery’ does not appear in Van Gaal’s dictionary. Van der Gijp sprinkled with anecdotes. In a parking lot, goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek once started to tell about “the huge dick” Van Gaal without being asked. It didn’t stop Hoek from becoming part of Louis’s staff before and now again. Even more astonishing: as Bayern Munich coach, Van Gaal is said to have let down his pants in the dressing room to show the selection that he is also just human. However, many players continued to take him seriously. For Italian striker Luca Toni “it was done.” In any case, Van der Gijp’s story provided a refreshing, new look at the total-human principle propagated by Van Gaal.

At all talk show tables, the KNVB’s choice was in any case seen as a choice out of poverty. Hockey national coach Marc Lammers knows it Humberto to the trainer courses of the association ‘with a lot of attention for football but not for coaching’. If this first round of TV made anything clear, it is that the Orange squad will have to fight against Van Gaal’s caricature in the coming period as well as against opponents and themselves. And even if the national coach turns out to have a golden cock, there is a chance that the cock story from the Bayern locker room will overshadow everything.

Paul van der Steen replaces Arjen Fortuin this week

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