KOEMAN AND VAN GAAL IS THE DUTCH DREAM TEAM FOR WOTTE
MARK WOTTE has implored the Dutch FA to install Ronald Koeman as head coach and Louis van Gaal in a director of football role in order to move on from the ‘embarrassment and disaster’ of two major tournament misses.
Holland play Scotland in Aberdeen this week, then travel to Romania for a friendly double-header expected to signal the end of Dick Advocaat’s third spell in charge and draw a line on a period of sharp decline and failure for the national team.
Advocaat’s stint only began in May in an emergency appointment designed to rescue World Cup qualifying. However, he could only steer Holland to third in Group A, losing out to France and Sweden. The damage had been done by the Danny Blind reign and, before him in a Euro 2016 catastrophe, Guus Hiddink — two coaches whose commitment to romanticism and idealism proved so costly, according to Wotte.
The former SFA performance director believes both those managers ignored the lessons learned under the pragmatic watch of Bert van Marwijk then Van Gaal when they guided Netherlands to second and third respectively in World Cups.
Hiddink lost to Czech Republic and Iceland among five defeats in ten months before handing over to his assistant Blind.
Holland failed to make the European Championships for the first time since 1984, then repeated the same mistakes on the road to Russia.
‘Van Gaal recognised we had defensive problems some years ago,’ explained Wotte. ‘We have lacked defensive skills and experience.
‘A great exponent of 4-3-3, he was the first to acknowledge we must play with three central defenders.
‘He was realistic about our failings, played more counter attacking and it worked. The other coaches overestimated the quality of Holland.
‘Hiddink was back to the more romantic 4-3-3 philosophy passing from the back.
‘I know and I understand these are our roots. But you need four quality defenders and that wasn’t the case. I think coaches have been naive even though games have been won. They should have been more pragmatic and looked at the deficiencies of the team, tried to strengthen around them, adapt to the quality of the players.
‘To play four at the back, you need experience and speed. That was a problem. Hiddink and Blind kept playing four at the back when it should have been three central defenders. We have been too idealistic.’