“The Dutch national team is my huge dream,” said the Groningen native with Italian roots, “but if Italy comes sooner, I will certainly consider it.”
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This cross from Valente should have been immediately headed in by top football director Nigel de Jong of the KNVB and national coach Ronald Koeman. The Football Association previously allowed Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen to escape. He chose Spain over the Netherlands and this week Anas Salah-Eddine also put an end to the Dutch team by choosing the national team of Morocco.
Both players, like Valente, had a history with representative youth teams of the KNVB, but Zeist ultimately let them go.
Luciano Valente and Sem Steijn, who already made his debut in the Dutch team © ANP/HH
Last summer, national coach Michael Reiziger of the Dutch Juniors picked the midfielder up from his holiday address at the eleventh hour to play in the European Championship. “There was no further contact with the KNVB after the European Championship with the Dutch Juniors. It’s not like I’m already working on Orange. You see players around you leaving for Feyenoord and then it gets closer. Yet I don’t think: I should be in the selection for the next international match.”
Luciano Valente already played for the Dutch Juniors at the European Championship
According to Valente, it was not without reason that he participated in the European Championship for the Dutch Juniors. “I played that European championship because I like to play for the Netherlands – mother Valente’s homeland.”
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But what if Gennaro Gattuso, the Italy coach, calls? “He has not yet made himself heard. If he comes before the Dutch national team, I will of course consider whether I will play for Italy or not. Because then it will count for something. But my dream remains to play for the Netherlands one day. Hopefully that moment will come, but for now it is far away. Just like Italy.”