By Jeroen van Barneveld
16 July 2023 at 05:07
At her third World Cup, Merel van Dongen seems to have to reconcile herself with a reserve role with the Orange. The veteran will not mutiny in the interest of the team, she emphasized. But she doesn’t give up easily either. “I’m ready for anything.”
Of course, Van Dongen says to NU.nl after talking about her role in the ‘hakarel’, there are times when she is fed up with her spare role in her hotel room in Sydney. “But what does the team need? We want to win the World Cup. What can I do for that?”
“In any case, don’t walk around in a bad mood all day because I haven’t made any minutes. Or throw the cap at training sessions. Or argue with my competitors. Or even slip on their ankles. If players are angry all day ask the trainer why they are not playing, you have a rotten tournament.”
You will therefore not hear thirty-year-old Van Dongen complaining about her expected reserve role at her third World Cup and her sixth final tournament. The defender of Atlético Madrid, one of the atmosphere creators within the Orange, is still as cheerful and amicable as ever. For her, the team’s interest is number one. “And then I’ll come.”
That is why Van Dongen has accepted her reserve role. “If everyone does the same, it brings a lot of peace to the team. I sit very calmly on the bench. At the same time, I do my very best to show the trainer that I should play. I’m not here to sit on the sitting on the couch, absolutely not. I’m here to play.” That chance is not great: in the last six international matches she sat on the bench for the entire match.
Merel van Dongen (far right) is currently preparing for the World Cup with the Orange. Photo: Getty Images
“Don’t have the speed of a left back”
When Andries Jonker took office in August last year, Van Dongen spoke to the national coach about her future role in the team with which she became European champion in 2017. Under Mark Parsons, Jonker’s predecessor, she was mainly used as a left back.
That immediately changed. “In my first conversation with him, Andries said that I am a good footballer, but also that I do not have the pure speed of a left back. He was very clear. It was not confrontational, I am old and wise enough to do that myself to know and to see.”
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In the intended 3-5-2 system of the Netherlands, left winger Esmee Brugts will play as left wing defender, as it turned out during training sessions in Sydney in recent days. Van Dongen focuses on the place of one of the three center defenders.
In her own words, Van Dongen finds her strength there better and she feels “like a fish in water”. She has also played as a central defender at her club Atlético Madrid for years. But at Orange, Stefanie van der Gragt, Dominique Janssen and captain Sherida Spitse keep her on the bench.
Merel van Dongen played her last international match for the Netherlands against Costa Rica on November 11. Photo: Getty Images
Van Dongen does not share troubles with the team
Van Dongen is not very bothered. But to say that she is effacing herself for Orange, she thinks is going too far. “Then it seems too much like I’m okay with it. I do what the team needs and I keep my troubles to myself and the trainer. Who knows, there may be something nice in it? Everything always happens at a World Cup.”
Van Dongen experienced this herself: four years ago she was passed over for the World Cup final against the United States, while she had played most matches in France as a bass player. The then national coach Sarina Wiegman preferred Dominique Janssen for the final battle.
Van Dongen says he takes all scenarios into account at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which starts for the Netherlands on July 23 with a match against Portugal. “I’ve been through everything: I’ve been selected, I’ve been a bench seat and I’ve been in the starting line-up. That makes me feel like I’m ready for anything.”
Whether Van Dongen’s attitude will be enough for the world title is the big question. Jonker’s team is now full of self-confidence again, one year after a weak European Championship. “I think something is possible again. We can beat anyone.”
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2023-07-16 03:07:29
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