In episode 1 of the podcast ‘1 op 1 met Rob Jansen’, a new series from the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast, Ronald Koeman talks about his work as manager of the Netherlands national team.
Among other things, the manager discusses with Jansen the management of different types of players, both on and off the pitch. “You have to give freedom to players who can bring something extra to a team,” is one of his guiding principles.
However, Koeman emphasises that there are definitely boundaries that must not be crossed. He cites the example of Ismael Saibari, who caused Peter Bosz great frustration last season.
The Moroccan playmaker was regularly late and did so again ahead of the Champions League clash with Arsenal. Bosz had had enough. “I left him at the hotel. He was late for the umpteenth time,” he said at the time.
"Not for the first time, not for the fifth time, but for the umpteenth time. And at some point, enough is enough." Koeman finds that sort of behaviour 'absurd'. "What happened at PSV recently, with players turning up late for a team meeting on match day, that’s absurd. It’s bad for a team when that happens."
"You have to take action on that. It disrupts your squad and what you want to achieve together. You have to do everything for the team," says the national coach, who is also discussing the upcoming World Cup with agent Jansen and how Koeman plans to manage his 26-man squad.
"When you go into a tournament, you know that eleven will play. At the start, the other players still accept their role, but after two weeks some of them realise they won’t be coming on as substitutes," the national coach explains. "Then you always face a difficult moment with a national team at a tournament, because they still have to adapt to the team."
"That means you have to ensure there’s a certain energy or vibe within your team. That, despite their disappointment, they train hard every day, continue to give their all, and make things as difficult as possible for the opposition. It’s difficult, but that’s what you have to manage."