Netherlands head coach Arjan Veurink has celebrated the shared ‘deeper purpose’ that he has with Carla Ward to contribute to the women’s game.
Both Veurink and Ward were only recently assistant coaches to international tournament winning coaches in Sarina Wiegman and Emma Hayes. Both have a long and storied history in the women’s game that belies their years.
Ahead of the visit of Ward’s Ireland to Utrecht, Veurink spoke to the media and The Halfway Line was present at KNVB Campus to hear from him.
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Veurink expects a ‘tough challenge’ against Ireland
The Halfway Line asked Veurink the type of challenge he was expecting from Carla Ward’s Ireland side,
“I do expect a tough challenge to be honest” Veurink admitted.
“If you look for an example to their game, your game, against the team of France, also France are struggling a bit to break their low block. That’s definitely a picture I do expect tomorrow as well, so hopefully we’re able to break them down.”
As for team news ahead of the match in Utrecht,
“The team news is very positive, everybody is fit and everybody is able to play tomorrow” the Dutch head coach explained.
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Veurink celebrates shared ‘deeper purpose’ with Carla Ward
The Halfway Line asked Veurink about his shared experience with Carla Ward and the similarity of their careers so far. Veurink pondered that for a moment,
“Yeah, I think we both try to contribute to the women’s game and always with a bigger purpose of course” he replied.
“We do our best to perform really well with our teams and that’s of course what I want with this team and that’s what I wanted with my previous teams.
“So there’s always, let’s say, a deeper purpose to try to contribute to the women’s game.
“And of course I wish Carla all the best tomorrow, but I wish myself a bit more luck tomorrow. So no, it’s really good and I wish her the best.”
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Arjan Veurink lauds ‘special’ talent Veerle Buurman
One of the stand out young players for club and country this season has been Veerle Buurman. Buurman has become a mainstay in the Chelsea defence and is bringing that form to the national team, as her goal brought Netherlands level against Poland on Tuesday night.
The Halfway Line asked Veurink how he has found working with the
Netherlands starlet,
“I think Veerle is a very good talent, a talented player” Veurink said.
“I think it’s quite special if you’re so young, you’re playing already in England for a top club. So yeah, I’m really happy to work with her.”
Players ‘criticised themselves’ after Poland draw says Arjan Veurink
Despite the 2-2 draw which was a disappointing result for Netherlands Veurink was upbeat. He explained that important conversations had been had within the Dutch camp,
“I think the mood in the camp is really well” Veurink explained.
“Of course we were hoping for a better result, so to say, but that’s sometimes how it goes in football.
“If you look at the game, we were struggling a bit to make the game, to break their pressure and to make better decisions. Hopefully we’re able to do that tomorrow a bit better.
“And [that’s] how it goes in football, the next day you analyse, you talk about that with the team. I think the day after was a very special meeting, I would say, because there was a lot of openness and a lot of criticism from the players on themselves.
“Just the tone and the mood was really good and from there you continue, so that’s football as well. Training sessions the past days were really good, so I actually think there’s a lot of confidence.”
Ireland face Netherlands at Stadion Galgenwaard in Utrecht on Saturday night with kick off at 7:45pm, the match will be shown live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player.
