SurinamecompeteinLeagueA of the
CONCACAFNationsLeagueinJuneafter
winningpromotioninthe 2019 -20 edition,
butwhatdoyouthinkabout yourdraw
againstJamaicaandMexico?
I don’tknowwhatMexicoaregoingto
dointerms of usingtheNationsLeagueas
preparationfor theWorldCupor not, butthey
arefavourites.Jamaicaareourmainopponents
forthesecondspot.Welosttotheminthe
lastGoldCup[2-0inOrlandoin July 2021 ]
buttheyarenotunbeatable.Wewon’thave
timetoworkmuchwiththeplayersbecause
ofthetightscheduleandthetravellingbut
thatwillbethesamefor everybody.
Whatareyourlong-termambitionsfor
theteam?CONCACAFwillhavesixplaces
atthe next WorldCup finals in 2026...
That’swhatI trytotelltheplayers,that
there’sabigchancethatyoucanplayata
WorldCup.Butwehavetostartnowpreparing
andcreatingateam.Canadahadalong-term
vsonandnowthehaveualfed.h
preparedwithafive-yearplan,progressively
strengtheningtheirteam.But themainpart
oftheteamwasthereforalongtime.
Ifyou’reambitious,thisisthehighest
level youcanreach.Solong-termthisis
whatwearestrivingfor,developingabetter
nationalteamandgoodyouthdevelopment.
Inthemeantime,wemusttrytogeteverybody
motivatedandinspired.Wemustalsoqualify
fortheGoldCupbecausethenwe’regoing
toplayalotofmatches andtheteamwill
developmoreandmore.Howmuchdidyourpreviousstint
asnationalcoachofArubahelp
youpreparefor thisbiggerjob?
Arubawasimportant. I gottoknowabout
theCONCACAFregion,gottoknowthe
strengths andweaknessesoffootballaround
here.Youknowthementalityoftheplayers
mightbeprofessionalbut it’s still aCaribbean
organisation.Soyoustarttolearnhowtodeal
withthat.Thingsdon’talwaysworkoutlike
oumitbeusetonteetherlands.It’satotallydifferentorganisation,living
environment,mentality. Andthatmeans
workingwithArubahandedmeasmall
advantage.Youplayed underJohanCruyffat
Ajax,howmuchdoeshiscoaching
methodologyresonate withyours?
Alot. ButI thinkI’vehadmoreof aninfluence
fromLouisvanGaalbecauseI workedlonger
withhim,andwhenI wasmoreexperienced.
I wasamorematureplayerandtookmore
in.WithCruyff,itwas likeajourney, like‘well,
whereamI now?’I wasyoungandnotso
experiencedandsoeverythingseemedto
flashpastme.WithVanGaal,I wasolderand
I couldtakeinmoreof theway of working.
I sawhowyoubuildateam,howhebuilt
thewayofplayingandhowyoubuiltaway
ofcoaching.But Cruyffhadarealinsightinto
thegame,hiswayof thinkingwas not
muchdifferentfromthatofVanGaal- evenif theyneversaweye-to-eye!
ntervewyar eeson