Van Hooijdonk ends up in a heated discussion with Sherida Spitse in Studio Voetbal
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 00:04
Pierre van Hooijdonk believes there is little chance that a woman will ever be at the helm of an Eredivisie club, he said on Sunday evening in the Studio Voetbal program. At the table with defender Sherida Spitse and journalist Jeroen Stekelenburg, among others, the analyst will discuss women in men’s football. The trio cannot agree.
“The football world is a rooster’s world, it’s that simple,” Van Hooijdonk responds to the statement that a woman can lead an Eredivisie team. “I just can’t imagine a Sarina Wiegman stepping into the dressing room of a Rafael van der Vaart.”
“Why not?” Stekelenburg asks. Van Hooijdonk: “If you say why not, then I wonder if you have ever been in a men’s locker room. We can say so, right?”
Spitse does not understand where Van Hooijdonk’s position comes from. “I don’t understand it either. I think it is possible, because you have to look at the qualities. You shouldn’t look at whether it is a man or a woman. Of course you are in a certain world, but that does not mean that a man can do more than a woman.”
“It’s about a bit of credibility that you have to have towards your group of players,” responds Van Hooijdonk, who is interrupted by Spitse. “So you think a woman has no credibility if she stands in front of the group with the men?”
“Less than a man, indeed,” answers Van Hooijdonk. “The ‘why’ is not important, it’s about the fact that it is that way. It’s not about who is better, the man or the woman. Everything just has to be broken these days.”
“Becoming head coach of an Eredivisie team, guys… I think you greatly underestimate what an impact a woman will have as a coach,” the former striker continues. “For example, away games: a woman on the bench as head coach and fifty thousand people in a stadium. Things are thrown onto the field…”
Stekelenburg does not agree with the point that his table companion wants to make. “She may have to break down high walls, but if someone has the qualities, it should be possible, right? If you always stand like that, it will never happen. That is clear.”
Van Hooijdonk decides. “Men and women are equal for me. I just indicate that the impact on the football world is great. The football world is simply not the same as society.”
2023-12-10 23:04:00
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