Once again, support for Joey Veerman: “I think he put it well.”

The story between Joey Veerman and national team coach Ronald Koeman has been known for a few months now. Despite a strong season at PSV, Veerman has not been selected by the national team coach for the World Cup squad as, in Koeman’s eyes, the midfielder would have a different character.

After the Euro 2024 in Germany, where the Netherlands were eliminated in the semi-finals by England (1-2), Veerman was no longer called into action for the Netherlands national team. At a press conference in March, it was already clear that the PSV player did not need to expect an invitation for the World Cup in North America.

After the match PSV - FC Twente (5-1) on 17 May of this year, Veerman openly told ESPN’s camera that the national team coach no longer needs to call him either. This gave the midfielder both support and criticism.

Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld, who debuted for Oranje in 2018, thinks it’s justified that Veerman is frustrated because Koeman has brought the character of the midfielder in. ''I also saw his interview and I’m with him on that. I think he expressed it well'', says Groeneveld in the program Het Oranje Café on SBS6. 

According to the attacker, it is primarily the coach's job to look at the players' footballing qualities and not to bring any extraneous matters into it. ''In the end, national team coaches arrive and then they also leave again. I think you should mainly keep looking at someone's footballing qualities. There are also players in the current Netherlands national team who have their own way of doing things off the field, and that isn't always held against them'', Groeneveld said.

In addition, the six-time international has never experienced any problems with Veerman. ''I know Veerman personally and I have always found him a very decent guy. I don't know him as a bad person. I don't know what exactly happened with Oranje, but my experiences with him are nothing but positive,'' concludes the attacker.