Dutch national team coach Ronald Koeman did not include Steven Bergwijn, who transferred to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, in his Dutch national team squad, citing the Saudi Pro League’s “low sporting reputation” as the reason for this.
Bergwijn, a 26-year-old Ajax player who has played 35 times for the Dutch national team, reacted to the coach’s decision and said that “as long as Koeman is in charge, he has closed the national team book.”
Bergwijn, who played for Dutch league team Ajax last season, agreed a deal with Saudi Pro League team Al Ittihad for 21 million euros on transfer deadline day.
Koeman, who stated that he could not understand why Bergwijn “went to a league with such a low sporting reputation”, said, “This step at that age does not mean that sporting passion prevails.”
Bergwijn, who said that he learned about Koeman’s words towards him from the media and that it was “shameful”, expressed his reaction through the media.
“If he was a dedicated national coach, he would call me first,” Bergwijn told De Telegraaf.
Emphasizing that Koeman will not wear the Dutch national team jersey as long as he is in office, Bergwijn said:
“I’ve always considered it an honour to play for the Dutch national team, but under this coach I don’t want that anymore. I’m done with someone who deliberately portrays me in this way in the media.”
Bergwijn pointed out that Georginio Wijnaldum, who is playing for the Dutch national team in the European Championship, is also playing in the Saudi Arabian league.
But according to Coach Koeman, Wijnaldum’s situation is different, Wijnaldum had problems at Paris Saint-Germain and he was already much older.
Stating that he did not wait until he was 32 to take such a step, the Dutch football player argued that the Saudi Arabian league is better than the Dutch league.
Emphasizing that many famous coaches and players are in the Saudi Arabian league, Bergwijn said, “I am improving in every aspect and I stand behind my choice one thousand percent.”
Steven Bergwijn, who previously played for PSV, Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax, scored 8 goals in 35 matches he played for the Dutch National Team.
Saudi football has made major investments in recent years and transferred many world-famous stars.
The two most important examples of this are Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Many famous football players such as Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, Moussa Dembélé, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Marcelo Brozovic, Rúben Neves, Moussa Diaby, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also play in the Saudi Pro League.
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2024-09-10 06:53:38