Pro ShotsMichael Reiziger gives substitute Fedde de Jong instructions.
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 09:37
As if he has never done anything else, Michael Reiziger – white blouse, black trousers, white shoes – sits so calmly in his plastic bucket seat along the line in Waalwijk. Every now and then he gets up to give his players some short instructions on the field.
By this he is not so much referring to his own baptism of fire as national coach. The team has been significantly rejuvenated compared to the European Championship, where the Dutch Juniors lost in the group stage more than two months ago. Reiziger included no fewer than fifteen debutants in his selection for the European Championship qualifiers against Young Moldova and Young North Macedonia. Seven of them can start in the starting line-up in Waalwijk.
ANPMichael Reiziger
“It’s challenging and fun,” Reiziger says about working with the newcomers. “They provide a lot of energy and are eager to learn. And they are not very inexperienced. Most of them play in the Premier League or even in a foreign competition. So they really know what is being asked.”
The new crop of basic players includes AZ revelation Ruben van Bommel and PSV player Isaac Babadi, who speaks of an “almost perfect week, already”. Not only is his starting position “great and indescribable”, this also applies to the 2-0, with which he ends the match in the second half.
Pro ShotsMark van Bommel looks at his son at the Dutch Juniors
Babadi has not been able to have long conversations with Reiziger in the few days that the selection has been together. Nevertheless, the PSV player has received a positive impression of his new national coach. “It is immediately nice to work, we immediately have a good bond. I think I speak for several boys. We want to play good football and that shows, I think.”
Devyne Rensch previously worked with Reiziger, who was an assistant coach at Ajax, including during the glory years with Erik ten Hag. “I already know the way Reiziger wants to play. He has also helped me a lot. He is a good man, with whom you can talk well. Not only as a football player, but also as a human being.”
With all his experience, Rensch believes, the top defender of the past can teach the talents of the future a lot. “He has had a very nice career. And we have so many young players who are actually just starting out. He can give good advice.”
Michael Reiziger has also acquired the necessary knowledge as a trainer. This does not alter the fact that his new position in KNVB service is very different from that at Ajax. “Here I have a few days to get a certain system in place, which I had much more time for as a club trainer. But that also makes this job challenging.”
Pro ShotsJoy among the players of the Dutch Juniors in Waalwijk
Another difference, it seems, is that Reiziger works with young, eager-to-learn players at the Dutch Juniors, while at Ajax he also worked with established stars. “That is a misconception. The stars also want to learn every day. They are also working to improve every day. You hardly have to guide the older players in this anymore.”
In the refreshed Dutch Juniors, Devyne Rensch (20) is now considered a veteran. He made his first appearance in the team in 2021. Reiziger has appointed the experienced Ajax player as the new captain. “It was an honor to hear that. I wear that captain’s armband with love.”
Debut of national coach Reiziger
Rensch thus expresses the Orange feeling that national coach Reiziger also preaches. “I only see boys here who really want to. I have seen that before, during and after the match.” How different that seems to Ryan Gravenberch, who dropped out of the two European Championship qualifiers because he wanted to acclimatize to his new club Liverpool.
“I have known Ryan for a long time,” Reiziger responds. “I know he is a very good boy. Also a very young boy. Sometimes you make the wrong choices. But he also grows out of that.”
On a warm Friday evening in Waalwijk, national coach Reiziger is satisfied after a winning debut. Because of course, he would like to pass on his football lessons to young talents. But as an ambitious coach, it’s really only about one thing: winning. “That word is written in capital letters on my forehead. You do everything to win. And if possible, we do it with beautiful, attacking play. That is always the intention.”
2023-09-09 07:37:40
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