The battle between PSV and the German Borussia Dortmund for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League is still completely open after last night’s 1-1 draw. The most talked about moment was undoubtedly the penalty for PSV from which Luuk de Jong scored the equalizer. Disbelief and anger prevailed in the German camp, but PSV icon Willy van de Kerkhof is crystal clear in his assessment: “It was just a penalty. Period. Don’t complain about it.”
The day after the match, twin brother René also believed that PSV deserved a penalty. “I would have given it too,” says the former right winger in the Willy and René Podcast of Omroep Brabant. “Tillman was hit full on the foot and there is only one penalty.” However, according to René, the referee could have decided differently. “He plays the ball first so you can discuss it. Well, then we also have the VAR with us sometime.”
“Then I walked over corpses.”
The brothers can live fine with the level playing field. “Only the wing attackers Bakayoko and Lozano were not good,” says Willy. “Luuk de Jong also didn’t get enough good balls.” Although a victory would have been nice, both brothers think that PSV will make it in Dortmund in three weeks. “It will be very exciting, but I think we will decide it during the official playing time,” predicts René. “I foresee a similar scenario as in Seville, where PSV won 3-2.”
In Dortmund, PSV will have to deal with a packed stadium with more than 80,000 spectators. Part of the stands consists of the famous ‘Gelbe Wand’ packed with 25,000 passionate Dortmund fans. “Isn’t that wonderful?” Willy beams. “I loved playing in such a full stadium, I was really overwhelmed.” The brothers recall the World Cup final against Argentina. “That was also great to experience,” says René. “Then you just can’t play badly, can you?”
“De Kromme from Oranje played.”
In the podcast, the brothers also congratulate their friend and colleague Willem van Hanegem on his eightieth birthday and reminisce about him. “I actually played Willem from Oranje,” says Willy. “Before the 1978 World Cup we played a practice match in France, then coach Ernst Happel called Willem and me over and he said to Willem: ‘That guy next to you is going to play in your place. You have to decide for yourself whether you want to play. “After that he decided not to go to Argentina.”
Fortunately, this did not lead to any problems between the two. “Willem understood it too. I was about eight years younger than him and he wished me and the entire team the best of luck. And Willem has become a friend for life, he has always participated in our golf tournament.”
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