As head coach, Ruud van Nistelrooij does not experience the dream start he had in mind. On the threshold of the Champions League, he was eliminated with PSV on Wednesday evening by Rangers FC of Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Just like last year, PSV has been sentenced to the Europa League. The Scottish club is in pot four on Thursday in the draw for the group round of the Champions League.
PSV was not ready for the big work outside and inside the lines. This became apparent before the duel in Eindhoven when the Rangers FC team bus was stuck for fifteen minutes between fanatical PSV fans. In any case, this reception was unworthy of Champions League. Just as much as the press gallery, which was already too small to receive all the important media. It has therefore been four years since PSV last played in the Champions League.
The game of both teams was below par to appeal to neutral fans at the highest level. Those are concerns for later for Van Nistelrooij and PSV. The big interests had a visibly paralyzing effect on both teams. The number of big opportunities was few. PSV was there for the break with Luuk de Jong and Cody Gakpo close by. But both failed. Antonio Colak decided the game after a blunder by Ramalho with a scorer. Gone was the kickstart for Van Nistelrooij’s coaching career.
Second career
As a footballer, Van Nistelrooij opted for the gradual approach. From Never Thought he made the step to professional football at the modest FC Den Bosch via RKSV Margriet. Then via sc Heerenveen and PSV to the absolute top at Manchester United and Real Madrid. In the Champions League, he scored 56 goals in 42 games before stepping down from Hamburger SV to end up with Málaga. Van Nistelrooij was inspired by coaches such as Foppe de Haan, Eric Gerets, Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello and Manuel Pellegrini.
A year after Van Nistelrooij stopped as a professional football player in 2012, he took his first steps on the road to a second career. Again followed Van Nistelrooij deliberately followed a long-term trajectory through the youth of PSV in combination with a job as an assistant at the Orange squad under Guus Hiddink and Frank de Boer. As coach of Jong PSV, Van Nistelrooij made his debut as head coach in professional football. Still in the shadow of the Philips Stadium. There he seemed to want to grow in relative anonymity. Less than a year ago, Van Nistelrooij said he was not ready for PSV 1.
Within a few months, Van Nistelrooij changed his mind. The announced departure of PSV coach Roger Schmidt and the resignation of director Toon Gerbrands were reason enough to become head coach in Eindhoven as of 1 July. With the assistance of Fred Rutten, André Ooijer and Javier Rabanal, Van Nistelrooij started his first serious job as a relatively blank sheet.
Van Nistelrooij did not get much time to build at PSV. In fact; while the transfer window is still open until August 31, the former striker had to make the season a success from a sporting and financial point of view with qualifications for the Champions League. Before that, the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale against Ajax served as a test. Van Nistelrooij proudly took his first prize with PSV after a 5-3 victory. Although his joy was even greater after AS Monaco were eliminated from the Champions League in the third qualifying round. Although PSV had the necessary luck, Van Nistelrooij praised the fighting spirit of his team and pointed out the strengths of his players.
Ultimate last hurdle
A play-off against Rangers FC was considered the ultimate last hurdle before entering the group stage of the Champions League. After a 2-2 draw in Glasgow, Wednesday was the night of truth for Van Nistelrooij after 55 days as head coach. The evening ended in a disappointment against a club that had not played in the Champions League since 2011. A departure from Gakpo is obvious.
Van Nistelrooij will probably have to continue building his ideal formation at a lower European level without his star player. Or rather: formations. The PSV that acts internationally plays more conservatively than the team that also wants to entertain the public in the Eredivisie. In practice, it comes down to Ibrahim Sangaré and Erick Gutiérrez like ‘in Europe’ against Rangers FC as midfield controllers behind playmaker Joey Veerman. In the Eredivisie, Van Nistelrooij will probably choose the young, creative Xavi Simons instead of Gutiérrez in midfield against Excelsior from the start.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of August 25, 2022