Piet de Visser is not pleased with the way in which the Dutch national team and Louis van Gaal in particular presented themselves during the World Cup. The Dutch made it through to the quarterfinals quite easily in Qatar, but hardly made an impression. In particular, Van Gaal’s playing style is heavily criticized by De Visser. The master scout also confronts the 71-year-old retiring national coach once again with his criticism of the ‘walking’ Lionel Messi.
De Visser is particularly disappointed in the fact that Van Gaal has promoted the so-called ‘provocative pressing’. “I have to be honest: I have only seen cowardly football from Orange. Just don’t play football, just wait for an error by the opponent, score a goal and then it’s done,” said the scout in conversation with the NOS. “Prior to the quarter-finals, Van Gaal said that Argentina played with ten men (and Messi mainly walked, ed.). Well, Louis, let me tell you this: the Netherlands sometimes walked with ten men. It was just stagnant football. Is it true or not?”
According to De Visser, the Orange has only ‘waited’ in four games. “If the Netherlands had become world champions with this game, it would have been a disgrace for football. Imagine that this game by Orange becomes the standard for European club football! You shouldn’t think about that, would you? I thought it was very, very It’s a pity that the Netherlands played football like that. I’ve always admired Van Gaal. Still, by the way. But I was very disappointed in him this World Cup. Not so much in his 5-3-2 system. Because a system means nothing to me I mean: a team that defends is always with five men in the back, even when you play 4-3-3. Then the defensive midfielder drops to the back line.”
Spotlights
Both Orange and Van Gaal receive a 5 as a report mark from De Visser. “We didn’t let our football hearts speak. We wanted to play calculating. Van Gaal said it himself: ‘I play chess’. Well, if I want to watch a chess match, I will go to the Hoogovens Toernooi,” says De Visser. “I know Van Gaal personally and I think he’s a nice guy. Still, I thought he focused too much attention on himself because he supposedly wanted to protect his players. I would have preferred him to put his players in the spotlight and not himself. They have played fresh on the attack once this World Cup, when they were 2-0 behind against Argentina.”
De Visser calls the quarter-final between France and England ‘one of the most beautiful matches’ he has seen this World Cup. “Great. Wonderful. Only England should have won. That match really had everything that makes football so beautiful. Players with a lot of technique. An incredible amount of experience. And tactically strong play from both teams. There I saw everything that I wanted as a football fan wants to see. Ball handling. Passing. Responding to each other’s strengths. That match showed that top players can increasingly excel under enormous pressure. Unfortunately, not always.”
