NOS Football•
In the PSV selection these days it is a lot about points and probability calculations. The Eindhoven team will play against Newcastle United in the Champions League tomorrow evening and hope to reach the next round in that tournament.
According to data models, PSV, which is currently in 21st place with eight points, has an excellent chance of reaching the play-off round of the Champions League. Midfielder Joey Veerman appeared to be aware of the percentages.
“I saw a calculation this morning that we have a 78 percent chance of continuing with this number of points,” Veerman said at the press conference before the match against Newcastle. “But it would be nice if a few more points were added so that it became one hundred percent natural.”
Calculating with Veerman and Bosz: ’78 percent chance of continuing’
Trainer Peter Bosz turned out to be a bit more cautious than Veerman. “You still have to get points in one of these two games,” he said, referring to the away game against Newcastle and the home game against Bayern Munich. “I personally think that eight points are not enough, so we still have to get points.”
Are nine points enough according to the trainer? “I actually don’t want to participate in all those reflections. We go into tomorrow’s match like every match we play: to win.”
Furthermore, for many PSV players it will be a reunion with acquaintances. This is how Veerman meets one of his best friends: Sven Botman, who plays in the center back at Newcastle. “I know him from our time together at SC Heerenveen and we have always kept in touch. You don’t always have that in football, but you do with Sven.”
“We also often go on holiday together, to the south of France. It will be great fun to play against each other tomorrow. Although he was cool that his teammates had never heard of PSV, haha.”
And Bosz also meets someone he knows. He worked at Olympique Lyonnais with Bruno Guimarães, who now plays for Newcastle. “One of the leaders in that team, a great person and a real winner,” praises Bosz. “I completely understood that Newcastle got him then, but I was disappointed. It was also during the winter break, so that was less fun for me.”
