De Telegraaf made a striking discovery on Sunday. In a column from August 2021, Clarence Seedorf spoke negatively about the appointment of Louis van Gaal as Netherlands manager. The former top footballer is now working as commissioner for technical affairs at the KNVB, and De Telegraaf now see his five-year-old words in NRC as a possible reason behind the recent, quiet rejection of Van Gaal.
Back then, Seedorfwas described in his column as an 'entrepreneur, philanthropist and guest speaker' and had no role within the KNVB, let alone any influence over the appointment of a new national team manager. That is now very different. Together with managing director Marianne van Leeuwen and director of top-level football Nigel de Jong, Seedorf is choosing Ronald Koeman's successor.
Van Gaal recently opened the door to a fourth spell as national team manager, but heard nothing back. "In fact, despite Van Gaal's enormous significance to Dutch football, the KNVB did not even make the effort to give him a call (to reject him), as was heard on Saturday at Van Gaal's 75th birthday party in Noordwijk," writes De Telegraaf.
"That is incomprehensible, but given a column by current KNVB commissioner for technical affairs Clarence Seedorf in NRC on 6 August 2021, certainly not unexpected." The column appeared two days after Van Gaal's third appointment as Netherlands manager.
"I will speak respectfully about the person who once launched me into this beautiful but bizarre football world, Louis van Gaal," Seedorf wrote. "By accepting the national team job for the third time, he has clearly not bowed out on his own terms. Third place in 2014 was therefore not enough for him, and I respect that."
"So few fresh ideas are coming out of the KNVB. Fear has proved to be the greatest adviser in the choices made by the policymakers. Unfortunately, after 30 years in top-level football I can safely say that football is too conservative. Showing courage can lead to defeat, but repeating choices from which no progress whatsoever is evident is something I see as a problem that must be solved."
"The KNVB have unbelievable potential but apparently something is jammed somewhere. Where renewal is needed, something old comes out of the hat, and where a strong stance is needed (…) under pressure, Van Gaal was chosen, with Danny Blind involved again, even though not that long ago he did not perform well with the Netherlands as assistant and as head coach."
De Telegraaf now draw this conclusion from Seedorf's five-year-old words: "With the column of 6 August 2021 in hand, a choice for Van Gaal would damage Seedorf's credibility. With what we know now, this appears to be an explanation for his choice of Reiziger or the rabbit that he, together with Van Leeuwen and De Jong, pulls out of the hat."
Earlier on Friday, Valentijn Driessen had already taken aim in his column for De Telegraaf at the 'incompetents at the KNVB'. "You can script the unbelievable good-news show of Marianne van Leeuwen, Nigel de Jong and Clarence Seedorf when they soon present the new national team manager for the Netherlands."
"Carefulness has taken precedence over speed and with this new man we think we can realise our ambition of becoming European champions. What incompetents. It is a façade for the dysfunction of the two KNVB directors and the football commissioner."
"Anyone who fails to land one of the three logical, capable, acceptable and available Dutch top candidates has failed. Peter Bosz is busy surviving a false start at PSV, Erik ten Hag is playing technical little director at FC Twente and Arne Slot is acting like a show-off on Ibiza."
"It was the KNVB's strategy to ignore the post-World Cup era in public. In that way Bosz, who was never even contacted despite his expiring contract at PSV, was discarded in advance. This deliberate sabotage kept the wet dream of Van Leeuwen, De Jong and Seedorf alive: appointing Jong Oranje manager Michael Reiziger as Koeman's successor," Driessen said. Seedorf and De Jong have already held extensive talks with Reiziger.