” href=” The youngster has recently gained the confidence of trainer Fred Grim, but according to Pastoor ‘cannot defend’. That’s what the football coach says on the television programme Rondo.
“I don’t like to look at a defender who cannot defend. I think his name is Bouwman,” Pastoor begins. “Why can’t he defend?” asks presenter Wytse van der Goot in surprise. “I don’t know, but I have observed that,” Pastoor responds dryly.
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Pastoor then draws a comparison: “A goalkeeper who can play football, but cannot keep goal, is not nice either. The boys who are at the back these days can play football quite well – actually play excellent football – but defending… that sometimes also involves reading where the ball can fall and dueling. I think that is very poorly cared for.”
Rafael van der Vaart then joins the discussion. “As a young boy, it is easier to make your debut offensively than defensively. As a defender, you are really asked to stand your ground. Bounida is not strong either, but he can compensate for that with football. At the back, every mistake is immediately decisive,” said the analyst.
Van der Vaart does make a comment: “Bouwman often made mistakes at Jong Ajax, just like in the Youth League. Yet I actually thought he played quite well in the first team.”
