“There is nothing wrong with the field here”, said Van Gaal afterwards in his press conference in the Kuip, the home of Feyenoord since 1937 and the place where the Orange has been unbeaten for 22 years. ,,This is the best field in the Netherlands. It was not because of this field that we lost so much ball in the first half. But the coaching staff has to be here in the gym. A pot of coffee is placed on a table. And at halftime it is so tight that I stand with my back to ten or twelve players. That is of course not possible.”
,,Okay,’ continued Van Gaal. ,,Feyenoord is not allowed to build a new stadium. So we have to make do with this. But in the Arena, the technical staff simply has their own beautiful room. The national coach therefore has a great preference for the Arena. But who am I? I have nothing to say about that.”
The Orange squad last lost in the Kuip on October 11, 2000, when Portugal won 0-2 in Rotterdam during the first of three periods as national coaches of Van Gaal. Portugal then became group winners and qualified for the 2002 World Cup, number two Orange failed to do so due to the defeat in Ireland in the play-offs. Since then, the Netherlands has played 29 more times in the Kuip: 23 victories and six draws. The last nineteen international matches in Rotterdam were all won by the Orange squad, which will play against Wales again in Rotterdam on Tuesday-evening.