Analyst Ziggo Sport speaks out: ‘I have the feeling that the KNVB didn’t want Bosz’

Over the past month and a half, a lot has been written about who the new head coach of the Netherlands national team should be after Ronald Koeman announced that he would be stepping down. In the process, some analysts and fans also mentioned the name of current PSV coach Peter Bosz.

In the end, to everyone’s surprise, the KNVB presented Xavi Hernandez as Koeman’s successor. In the Netherlands, this appointment led to division among fans and analysts.

So, too, Youri Mulder, analyst for Ziggo Sport, is not entirely convinced about the appointment of the Spaniard. Mulder says this in the program Rondo on Ziggo Sport.

''Someone else should have been sitting there. Xavi is there now, choice number four or five, I think. He can’t do anything about that. We have to give him the chance, that’s just how it is. In itself, he isn’t a fully experienced coach. In that respect, there were other options. He is a coach who fits the Dutch idea of playing football. He does have to be able to determine his own staff very much himself, otherwise it won’t work properly,'' says the sporting director of FC Schalke 04.

After that, colleague Ruud Gullit joins the discussion. ''I read everywhere that Nigel hadn't handled it well. How should he have done it?'', asks Gullit, to which Mulder replies: ''Before the World Cup, he could already have known that Koeman wouldn't go through. Bosz could have been available.''

Then Gullit adds a footnote. ''Suppose Bosz was contacted and he hangs on the bell that Nigel has been there. That’s not pleasant for Koeman. There are a lot of considerations as to why you do it or why you don’t,'' says the former PSV player.

Then Fred Rutten jumps in. ''I think you can still speak to someone on the market and that it then remains a secret. I think that if Peter had been approached directly, the secret would have stayed secret'', Rutten is certain, after which Khalid Boulahrouz has his say. ''Maybe they arranged it themselves so that nothing got out about Xavi. I think it’s a good appointment. I think he can bring something we don’t have in the Netherlands. People are calling for Slot and Bosz. In my view, this is an honorable job. If that position is vacant and they are free… If Bosz really wanted it, he could have taken a different route and made it known that he would really like to do it. When I see and hear what’s being said about Nigel, he deserves a big round of applause for having pulled this off'', Boulahrouz said.

Yet Mulder still thinks that Bosz was never an option for the KNVB. ''I have the feeling that the KNVB didn’t want Bosz'', the analyst says, after which Boulahrouz responds: ''I think journalists also write a lot, while they don’t know.''

After that, Mulder talks about the conversations with Michael Reiziger. ''They talked with Reiziger for a very long time, and that's not proper. They left him hanging,'' says the former footballer. ''I think they looked at how much support there is for Reiziger,'' Gullit adds.

Unlike Mulder, Boulahrouz and Gullit do look forward to the Xavi era as head coach of Oranje. ''I think it's a good match'', says the former defender and Gullit agrees. ''I'm also positive'', concludes the former PSV player.