Ah, here’s a photo you don’t see everyday. A giggling Ibrahim Afellay (make what you want out of it) next to his teammates Dirk Kuyt, van Bommel and coach Bert van Marwijk at their friendly match against Uruguay in June. Interestingly, van Marwijk has given an interview admitting that the Oranje did find it hard to get over their World Cup finale loss against Spain last year, but are officially back in business!
“The players that were part of the squad in South Africa had no motivation either, but since 2008 this team has learned how to win no matter the circumstances, whether they feel motivated or not. So yes, I’m happy to admit that perhaps I did underestimate this new faculty of theirs. After the match against Ukraine, the lads went back to their clubs and the new season kicked off, so they were in a much better physical condition when the qualifying matches for EURO 2012 came around.”
It’s a very honest and in-depth interview and the Dutch coach added that in football, there are no guarantees of winning any match. And to be honest, this obsession with winning has eroded the Beautiful Game in recent times.
“The key is to understand that there’s never any guarantee of winning your next match. It’s hard to find the words to explain how we work. I often feel like saying to journalists: “Come with us, follow us around, and observe us. Then you’ll see.”
“I try to be as clear as possible with my players. Transparency is one of my ground rules. I want my team to be able to understand my methods, to support them and to put them into practice. To achieve that, you have to stick to the same style of play, and not make changes depending on your opponents or the context of the match. Otherwise the players start to doubt you, and it’s impossible to make real progress.”
Read the full interview on FIFA here!
Photos via AP
