“If Xavi Simons plays for this team, he can play for Bayern Munich”

Ronald Koemanselector Netherlandsadmitted on Monday that it had been a “very long week” for his team, after the loss against Austria on the final day of Group D of Euro 2024, with internal talks and training sessions waking up the coach of “a change” to the team in the rivalry against Romania in the round of 16.

“It was a very long week. I would have preferred it to be a bit shorter. Seven days between the game against Austria and this one in Romania is a long time. But we also had enough time to look back and study the game against Austria. Sometimes it seems that our intensity is too low, but it could also be because we are not very compact, so we arrived late,” he said. Koeman.

“The players and the coaching staff opened up to each other. We have moved forward. I have seen a reaction in training. We have been processing the disappointment in different ways. We know that we must do things differently. We will have to confirm this on the field,” said the former coach of FC Barcelona.

“My feeling is that something will change, although there is never a guarantee. It is not always due to attitude,” he continued Koeman in the press conference a day before the round of 16 match against Romania, where he emphasized that they can be a “very aggressive” team, while highlighting that “physically” they are “strong at the back”.

Koeman He assessed that the midfield is “completely new”, which requires “adjustments”, both for the defensive line and for the midfield itself, although he did not focus only on those points of attention to his team: “Communication between of the center -backs and the midfielders it should be better”.

Blind, a choice

maybe Daley Blind a possibility for the starting eleven in the middle of the field? “Yes. It is an option for several positions,” said the coach, although, predictably, he does not plan too much to change the first team to face. Romania.

He was also asked why he would think that Johan Cruyff of defeat against Austria. “I know that he really likes attacking football. I played in his team for a long time and we played a worse game than we did against Austria. We are a proud country that wants to win and wants to play great football, although that doesn’t always happen,” he said. Koeman.

Ahead, if he succeeds Romania, one side of the painting is simpler than the other. For example, avoid Spain, Germany, Portugal, France either Belgium until a hypothetical final. And in England until the semi-finals. “I think all that was also heard in 2021 and then we lost against the Czech Republic – in the round of 16 – and it’s over. Let’s not be too positive. Let’s improve and secure qualification,” he warned .

Simons’ future

Besides, Koeman confirmed Xavi Simons He is “a great talent” and “can play anywhere,” when asked about the possibility of him signing for Bayern Munich. “Great talents can play anywhere. He has shown it at PSV and Leipzig. Also in the Dutch national team. If he is part of the Netherlands national team, he can also play for Bayern Munich. But despite that there is no I know about that,” he explained.

Xavi Simonswith a contract with Paris Saint-Germainplayed on loan last year at RB Leipzig, with 10 goals and 13 assists in 43 games.

Before he did that PSV Eindhoven, with 22 goals and 12 decisive passes among his teammates in the 2022-23 campaign. At 21 years old, his relationship with the current French champion runs until 2027.