Vincent Janssen from Oss reports to the Dutch national team today. The Mexican Monterrey striker was missing against Belgium because of his marriage. He will not participate in Wednesday against Wales. Meanwhile, football experts in Mexico are wondering how it is possible that Janssen has been called up.
Do you remember where you were when Vincent Janssen was selected for the Dutch national team? Mexican journalist Daniel Reyes laughs on the other end of the line. “I was on an American radio show when the news came in. It was a shock, nobody really expected this.”
“Vincent Janssen did not do well in Mexico.”
Reyes has been living and working in The Hague for eleven years as a correspondent for, among others, the Mexican sports medium Marca Claro. He closely follows football in his homeland and therefore understands little about the selection of 27-year-old Janssen, he said. against the NOS†
“He did not do well in Mexico. Expectations were high when he came. He had done very well at AZ and he played for the great Tottenham Hotspur. But it never worked out at Monterrey.”
Since Janssen left AZ for the Spurs as top scorer in the Eredivisie (27 goals) in 2016, he has only scored 21 league goals in almost six years. In 124 matches. Nevertheless, national coach Louis van Gaal ended up with Janssen.
“Janssen’s selection is mainly based on a lot of luck”
He was looking for a striker who could bring something different than Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay, who, according to Van Gaal, often drop too far back. In addition, Donyell Malen and Luuk de Jong were not available.
“Janssen’s selection is mainly based on a lot of luck,” says Reyes. “Not only were his competitors unavailable at Orange, he was also lucky to be in the starting line-up for a series of games, because the first striker at Monterrey, Rogelio Funes Mori, was injured.”
In the two games that assistant Danny Blind came to watch, Janssen scored his first goals of the calendar year. Reyes: “So pure coincidence.”
In Mexico, there is mainly a lack of understanding among the supporters and in the media about the selection of Janssen. How was it that the Netherlands, a country that has produced world strikers such as Marco van Basten, Ruud van Nistelrooij and Patrick Kluivert, ended up in the reserve of Monterrey?
“He has often been involved in our goals.”
Reyes: “When Janssen was selected, Monterrey had just been eliminated from the play-offs by San Luis, a small club in Mexico. Monterrey is one of the largest and richest clubs, so the supporters were furious. At all players, but certainly also at Jansen.”
Janssen’s trainer at Monterrey, Víctor Vucetich, does not think the deluge of criticism against Janssen is justified. “He has often been involved in our goals, even if he didn’t score them all himself,” he told Mexican newspaper Cancha.
“He was also important in creating space. Moreover, he is the only one who can continuously fight with the central defenders. You should not only judge him on his goals.”
Janssen is therefore not there yet against Wales, but Van Gaal will undoubtedly give him minutes on Saturday in the Nations League match with Poland. For the 17-time international, that will be his first appearance in Orange since 2017.