“You shouldn’t overdo it”
The national coach of the Dutch national team spoke about the incident during training during a press conference on Monday, he indicated that Weghorst visited him after training: “He came to me at the hotel. We talked briefly about what had happened, but you shouldn’t make it bigger than it is,” said Ronald Koeman in the run-up to the Nations League match against Germany. “I’ve had to separate players in the past. That’s part of it, it happens everywhere. You shouldn’t exaggerate it. It is important to emphasize that Wout didn’t leave training early. We were done. Normally he stays a bit longer, but not this time.”
“It’s part of it”
When Weghorst continued to complain, Ronald Koeman called him to order. “I didn’t mind. But if it goes on for a while, it has to stop. Then we can talk about it later. But I’ve never had a problem with a bit of tension or venom during training.” Ronald Koeman even believes that brawls do not always have a negative effect; “That also shows the character of players and that can be very positive. As long as it is done with respect, it is good, and that was the case yesterday. It is not a matter of ‘this must never happen again’. Occasionally tackling each other a bit, that is part of it.”
Nathan Ake on arguing
Reserve captain Nathan Aké sat next to Ronald Koeman during the press conference. The Manchester City defender also reacted to the incident between Weghorst and Timber: “It wasn’t a big deal. We discussed it, but we shouldn’t make more of it than it was.”
Match against Germany
The match between the Netherlands and Germany in the second round of the Nations League starts on Tuesday at 20:45. The match in the Johan Cruijff ArenA will be led by the Italian referee Davide Massa. The Dutch team started the Nations League on Saturday with a 5-2 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Germans achieved a convincing 5-0 victory over Hungary.
