Ronald Koeman had known for a long time that his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooij would only report to the Dutch national team in the United States on Sunday. His absence was due to a nice event in his family. “When I approached Ruud for a role in the technical staff, he had already indicated that there was something big last Saturday,” the national coach said at his last press conference before Monday’s friendly against Uzbekistan.
“When it is said that it is about ‘family circumstances’, that sounds difficult and heavy. But these were nice family circumstances,” said Koeman, who did not say what it was.
Consent
“I gave him permission for that at the time,” Koeman said. “I knew it for a number of months and so did the players. So that’s no problem.” The national coach recently refused Quinten Timber permission to attend the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest. The midfielder wanted to support his brother Jurriën who plays for Arsenal. “I don’t think you can compare the two things,” said Koeman.
Van Nistelrooij returned to the Dutch team for the third time in February after his active international career. He also fulfilled the role of assistant coach during the 2021 European Championship, having previously served as assistant in 2014-2015. As a player, Van Nistelrooij played 70 times for the Dutch national team and scored 35 goals in that time. The striker was active in three final tournaments.