Virgil van Dijk has emphasized that the players of the Dutch national team have had little influence on the appointment of Frank de Boer as head coach of the Dutch national team. He is the successor of Ronald Koeman, beloved by the selection.
After the departure of Koeman to FC Barcelona, the players of Orange indicated to the KNVB that they would prefer a similar type for the group, but according to Van Dijk, that fact has been made bigger in the media than it actually was.
“As a group of players, we have never passed a list of names to the management of the KNVB. We only asked for our opinion”, said Van Dijk on Monday at a press conference in Zeist.
“So I wouldn’t call it a wish of ours. We would like to continue the line we had started. Ultimately, the KNVB and the supervisory board took a decision about the succession of Koeman.”
‘Does not create an obligation towards the players’
According to Van Dijk, De Boer does show a resemblance to Koeman. De Boer announced on Monday that he does not intend to change much in the Netherlands immediately and will first take a helicopter look around him in his first days.
“I think that is why the choice of the KNVB fell on this national coach. I do not think this creates an obligation towards the players. We are all looking forward to the future”, said Van Dijk.
The Netherlands will already play an exhibition game against Mexico in Amsterdam on Wednesday and then continue the Nations League with away matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sunday in Zenica) and Italy (next Wednesday in Milan).
View the program, the results and the standings in the Nations League
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