Steven Bergwijn has hit back at Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman following his exclusion from the national team.
Koeman stated recently that he would not select Bergwijn following his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, labelling his national team career as a ‘closed book’.
“Steven Bergwijn goes to Saudi Arabia at age 26,” Koeman was quoted as saying by CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano.
“It’s clear that this has nothing to do with sportive ambition. His book with the Dutch National Team is closed.
“He probably knows that I would have said this.”
Ex-Tottenham forward Bergwijn hits back at Koeman
Ronald Koeman, Head Coach of the Netherlands, applauds the fans after the team’s defeat in the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match between Netherlands and England at Football Stadium Dortmund on July 10, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany.
However, former Tottenham and Ajax forward Bergwijn — who played 83 times for Spurs between 2020 and 2022, scoring eight goals — is not taking Koeman’s comments quietly.
Instead, the forward has hit back at the Oranje manager, insisting he has no interest in playing under him anyway.
“I don’t even want to play under Koeman anymore,” Bergwijn told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (via BBC Sport).
“I won’t play for someone who portrays me like he has done in the media. He could have called me, heard my side of the story. How can he say such things without talking to me?
“If he had been a committed national coach, he would have called me first. Now I had to hear about it on TV. I’ve had many beautiful moments with him, so this is far too easy and I’m disappointed with him.”
Koeman has also criticised Ajax striker Brian Brobbey in the past for an apparent lack of technical ability. Bergwijn had something to say about that as well.
“He had previously publicly expressed an opinion about Brobbey, which was also not nice and which he later said was not smart,” the forward — who played twice…
Source link : https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/09/06/steven-bergwijn-responds-ronald-koeman-netherlands/
Author : CJ
Publish date : 2024-09-06 14:45:35
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