Feyenoord 1-1 Ajax: Netherlands national coach Ronald Koeman enjoyed Sunday’s De Klassieker. The Orange manager did not praise football so much during his presentation, but liked the intensity of the cracker between Feyenoord and Ajax.c
“Yesterday I was at Feyenoord-Ajax and I was impressed by Feyenoord,” said Koeman, who was at the helm of both teams in the past. He added, “the intensity of playing, that is the basis of success.”
Later during the first press conference of his second tenure with the Orange, it was again about the Eredivisie. “I’ve seen PSV, Feyenoord-Ajax and a lot on TV for months. Then you can see quite a bit of quality, but I was especially happy with the intensity of Sunday’s game. That is not very often the case, you see that many times more often and higher abroad. It is therefore also good that players take a step, but you should not do that too early. Because you have to make playing minutes,” he continued.
The transfers of Depay and Gakpo
The manager is so happy with the transition of Memphis Depay from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid. “That is very positive for Memphis, because he played little in the last period at Barcelona. He will get that playing time now. That is also necessary. He also started the last World Cup injured. He does need some matches to reach his level, the high level he has shown before with the Dutch team,” hoped the Dutch manager.
“Gakpo has made a great transfer and also plays his matches,” he continued about the attacker who just left the Eredivisie and PSV and opted for Liverpool. ‘It will only make him better. I always ask players when it comes to transfers. ‘Are you going to play?’ That is a requirement to develop as a player.”
Provided they are fit, Memphis and Gakpo are certainties with the Orange. Nevertheless, Koeman already said that it is certainly not the case that he will only rely on old acquaintances. “I know the qualities of Virgil van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij, for example, but there are also guys who knock on the door that I know less well. That’s what we focus on in particular,” he replied when asked about the new batch of defenders.
