Kees Smit will miss Saturday evening's Eredivisie showdown between Feyenoord and AZ through injury, and that has drawn criticism in the ESPN studio. Kees Kwakman in particular reacted with utter disbelief.
Smit picked up the injury during the warm-up on Tuesday for the European Championship qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina and had to pull out. Jong Oranje went on to win 4-0, but it later emerged that Smit would be out for at least several weeks. On De Eretribune on ESPN, Kwakman called it incomprehensible.
"Ultimately, as a player you are always responsible yourself. You also simply have to make the right choices yourself in that", he begins. "But these days everything is monitored so closely, everyone walks around with an iPad. Then you're playing at home against Bosnia...", sighs Kwakman, who mainly blames the Jong Oranje staff.
"Then surely you just say to Kees: 'If you've got a slight problem, then you go back to AZ and make sure you're fit for Saturday at De Kuip'. Against Bosnia, lads... We'd manage with Steur and Van Bergen as well, wouldn't we? Yes, that turned out to be the case too."
"I really don't understand this", continues an irritated Kwakman. "Of course, you are also responsible as a player, but as a federation you also have a certain responsibility. Smit has already been out for a while and it is far more important that he plays away at Feyenoord than at home to Bosnia. Now he's worse off."
Meanwhile, AZ coach Leeroy Echteld is also hugely disappointed by Smit's absence, but they must switch their focus quickly. "He knows what he has to do, we know what we have to do. I'm leaving that anger behind me for now", he says.
For Echteld, it is mainly a learning moment, also for Smit. "Yes, I wasn't there (with Jong Oranje, ed.), so I couldn't ask him how he was really feeling. But with Kees, you really have to keep asking, otherwise he'll just say he can play."