‘If you believe in something, you can make it very tough even for PSV’
NOS Football–
Cheering fans disrupt interview with Spakenburg captain after ‘slightly sour’ PSV loss
The Spakenburg artificial turf pitch belonged to local fans shortly after the final whistle. The interviews after Spakenburg – PSV (1-2) were conveniently done in the catacombs of the amateur club. It was crowded there, bulging with journalists, players and cheering fans at the end of the tunnel.
“Cozy cozy,” Ruud van Nistelrooij called it. The winning PSV coach had compliments to spare for the just-beaten Spakenburg amateurs. “It was a great cup campaign they ran,” he said.
Van Nistelrooij didn’t really get nervous anymore during the game. “Every match is a potential banana skin,” he admitted. But: “The goal has been achieved, you don’t have to be difficult about that anymore. We are going to play the final and that’s great.”
Compliments Van Nistelrooij for Spakenburg: ‘Great campaign played’
About his own play, the PSV coach is brief. “You have to make sure you play the opponent to pieces, that you keep the ball. We had three chances with Til, after halftime we came out of the locker room great. And you don’t give anything away the whole match.”
In the crowded players’ tunnel, under the Spakenburg mural – “our glory, our blues” – Joey Veerman admits he would have preferred more goals. “If you look deep into my heart you want to score as many goals as possible. But in the end the most important thing is that we won.”
“We are in the final. How we played, we will have forgotten tomorrow,” said the PSV midfielder, admitting that it didn’t quite go our way. “They just throw the pot. And then the left back also shoots a ball in from thirty yards, a world goal.”
Veerman would have preferred more goals against Spakenburg: ‘Tomorrow we’ll forget how we played’
That peg came off the left foot of Dwayne Green, neighborhood coach with roots in Barbados. The first amateur soccer player ever to score in the semifinals of the KNVB Cup. It was somewhat of a “bewussie,” yes. “I did shoot it aimed,” the left back spoke afterwards.
“I thought: just shoot from that position. To have it go in like that is great. In a game like that with an atmosphere like that, it’s great that you score a goal like that.” Green continued, “We really needed a goal, because that 2-0 fell quickly. Then they start pressing and pulling a little bit of time, but unfortunately. Sour that it ends like that.”
“Sure they are the better team, but we showed we can achieve a lot with fight. We can be proud of how we presented ourselves this cup.”
Maker of Spakenburg world goal: ‘I just thought shoot from that position’
Greens coach, Chris de Graaf, underscores that. “It’s a shame, but all in all a big compliment to the guests. They played a great tournament,” spoke the Spakenburg coach, who felt his men executed the battle plan prepared in detail well.
“The ambiance was great. And so was the game. Not always polished, but that was our plan. Ninety percent of what we had prepared came out,” De Graaf said. And that goal? “Peerless. We had agreed, though it could have been more, that we would shoot from distance.” One time that worked out perfectly.
“Hopefully we showed all of Holland that you shouldn’t listen to opinions of others who don’t believe in anything. We lost, but we showed that if you believe in something, you can make it very hard even for PSV.”
Spakenburg coach after loss against PSV: ‘Not always polished, but that was our plan’
