ANPBart Verbruggen on his bike in Zeist
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 08:03
Thierry Boon
follows the Dutch national team
Thierry Boon
follows the Dutch national team
Will it be Bart Verbruggen, Mark Flokken or Justin Bijlow? National coach Ronald Koeman had already decided who will be in charge of the Dutch national team this European Championship, he said last week. “That person will also keep the next two practice matches.” But who?
At the well-attended open training in Zeist, the answer was not yet visible on the faces of the trio of goalkeepers on Saturday evening. According to Koeman, they will hear it this Sunday at the latest. This means that exchanging pennies under the bar is over for the time being.
Away training for the Dutch team in amateur shirts, De Jong only does a warm-up
There are many indications that Verbruggen will become number 1 in Germany. At 21 years old, he is the youngest of the bunch and the one with the most potential, according to the Oranje staff.
Hoek goes for Verbruggen
And that is not without reason, as Frans Hoek, the goalkeeper coach of the Dutch national team at the World Cup in Qatar, knows. “If I look at my own criteria, Verbruggen is the most logical choice,” says Hoek about the 1.94 meter tall goalkeeper from Brighton.
Hoek, who also worked at Ajax, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, explains: “He is very all-round. This means that he can make a good contribution to the build-up, but that he can also defend his goal well.”
“When I look at Fleken, he is by far the best builder of the three. But in purely defending the goal, Verbruggen and Bijlow are better. Bijlow is also all-round, but his injuries get in the way. And if you don’t play you don’t develop either.”
John Achterberg, responsible for the goalkeepers at Liverpool for the past fifteen years, is not choosing Verbruggen for this European Championship. He goes for the other Premier League goalkeeper: Mark Flokken, at thirty years old the oldest of the three.
Pro ShotsBart Verbruggen (r) with Mark Fleken at the training of the Dutch team
“Verbruggen is the great talent for the long term, but for now Flek’s experience counts for me,” says Achterberg. Fleken is Brentford’s regular goalkeeper, while Verbruggen only keeps half of the matches at Brighton.
Hide on Liverpool lists
Achterberg does see Verbruggen as the man for the future. “I have been following him for years. He was also on Liverpool’s lists, but we already had a talent as a second goalkeeper in Caoimhín Kelleher. Sometimes something like that just has to go well.”
Achterberg saw that Verbruggen had to get used to his first Premier League season. For example, Liverpool received a penalty against Brighton after a bad pass from Verbruggen in his own sixteen-meter area.
“But it is normal that you have to get used to the higher speed of action in England,” Achterberg says. “He has improved since then and I think he will be the undisputed number 1 at Brighton next year.”
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While Achterberg has Verbruggen high on its list, Bijlow cannot be found there. The goalkeeper coach thinks the Feyenoord player, with his 1.88 meters, is on the small side for the Premier League.
“And there is always a small mistake with him. That has to be removed. And because of the many injuries he has fallen behind a bit. But Bijlow, Fleken and Verbruggen are good goalkeepers. Things have been a lot worse in the Netherlands in recent years. .”
Van Dijk helped Noppert
Although Verbruggen is the youngest of the trio, this does not necessarily have to be a risk, according to Hoek. “He has an experienced and good defense in front of him, including players who have an eye for others.”
As an example, Hoek mentions the way in which Andries Noppert was welcomed by captain Virgil van Dijk, after it became clear that the inexperienced Frisian would become the first goalkeeper at the World Cup in Qatar.
“Virgil has given Andries a lot of peace and confidence by helping him, even during training. Then he said: just stick to your goal, we will close the gap. Andries was also fully included in the group.”
ANPFrans Hoek (l) in Qatar with Andries Noppert
Like Koeman, Van Gaal and Hoek told the goalkeepers early in the preparation who would be the first choice. “In the first conversation with Andries we told him that he had to take into account that he was going to play.”
“Then you look at how someone deals with it. Will such a boy behave differently? In Noppert’s case, that turned out not to be the case at all. Then you have to create clarity for everyone.”
Van der Sar’s successor?
If it is up to Hoek, Verbruggen will become Noppert’s successor as goalkeeper of the Dutch team at a final tournament. “He is a natural talent. Now he has to convert potential into performance.”
“Then it may well be that he will be the next one that the Dutch team can build on for a long time, à la Edwin van der Sar. But we are not that far yet.”
2024-06-02 06:03:48
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