Footballer Robin van Persie may return to the Dutch national team under new coach Ronald Koeman. Koeman is keeping the possibility open, he said to broadcaster NOS.
"If he shows the necessary fitness and shows that he is still one of the best... Then who am I not to select him. Age does not matter, what matters is what they show", Koeman said.
Ronald Koeman will be signing a contract next week to coach the Dutch national football team up to and including the World Cup of 2022, the Telegraaf reports. The former Barca player reached an agreement with football association KNVB and will sign his contract next Friday. His performance will be evaluated before or after the European Championships in 2020, according to the newspaper.
Koeman confirmed last week that he is in talks with the KNVB. It is expected that he will start coaching Oranje in March already.
The family of football legend Johan Cruijff regrets that that still no agreement has been reached about renaming the Amsterdam Arena to the Johan Cruijff Arena, Cruijff's son Jordi Cruijff wrote in his column in the Telegraaf on Monday.
Amsterdam missed out on the chance to host the opening match of the UEFA Euro 2020, but the Dutch capital will play host to several Group C and Round of 16 matches during the European football championship. Bucharest, Romania was also named host of Group C matches, and it will also serve as a quarter-final location.
Rome's OIympic Stadium was selected by the European football federation as the site for the opening match. The Italian stadium is also a quarter-final site. The semi-finals and final of UEFA Euro 2020 will be held at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
American president Donald Trump was also on people in the Netherlands' minds this year, according to Twitter. The social media platform released the top Twitter trends of the Netherlands for 2017, and Trump is number four on the list. Like last year, 'vacture', or 'vacancy' in English, topped the list for the Netherlands this year. According to Twitter, this shows that the platform plays an important role in finding jobs in the Netherlands, RTL Nieuws reports.
A 40-year-old player for football club Victoria '03 from Oudenbosch was arrested for kicking a player for football club DSE in the head during a match between the two teams in Etten-Leur on Sunday. The victim was taken to hospital, Omroep Brabant reports.
The DSE player's condition is stable, a board member of the club said to the broadcaster.
Dick Advocaat resigned as coach of Dutch national football team Oranje, he announced after Oranje won a match against Romania 0-3 on Tuesday. He already decided that he would step down if the Netherlands didn't make it to the World Cup, he said, according to RTL Nieuws. "The main reason I'm leaving is that I find it time for another generation. The younger people must take over at Oranje."
An 18-year-old man from the Noord-Brabant town of Langenboom was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl from te same town, the police said in a statement. "What exactly happened, the police don't know yet. The sex crime department is investigating the case", the police said.
Several local residents told newspaper AD that the sexual assault happened at local football club SES Langenboom on Dennendijk. The girl was playing on the terrain of the club when the young man attacked her.
Child pornography found on a 21-year-old man from Schaijk, contained young members of local football club DAW Schaijk, according to Omroep Brabant. The man, arrested on Tuesday, used to be a youth leader at the football club. He worked with boys between the ages of 12 and 14.
The police arrested a 21-year-old man in Schaijk, Noord-Brabant, in on ongoing investigation into child pornography. The man is the leader of a youth team at local football club DAW Schaijk, the club confirmed to Omroep Brabant.
Former Ajax and Vitesse footballer Abubakari Yakubu passed away at the age of 35 in a hospital in his native country of Ghana on Tuesday, NOS reports. The cause of his death is not yet clear.
Yakubu played for Ajax between 1999 and 2004. The defender also played five seasons with Vitesse, and took the field for the Ghana national team 16 times between 2002 and 2006.
Lieke Martens was named female football player of the year at the FIFA Gala on Monday. And coach Sarina Wiegman won the title of best coach of a women's team. The two women, and the rest of the Oranje Lionesses, won the European Championship over the summer. The Dutch women were not at the award ceremony in London, because they are preparing for the World Cup qualifier against Norway in Groningen on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Despite a win against Sweden on Tuesday, the Dutch national football team will not go through to the World Cup in Russia next year. Oranje beat Sweden 2-0, but a win of 7-0 was needed for the Dutch team to place in the playoffs for the World Cup, RTL Nieuws reports.
Dutch football association KNVB declared 1,461 tickets for the match between Oranje and Sweden invalid because they were offered on resale websites for too high prices. "We want football to remain accessible to everyone", KNVB director Gijs de Jong said to the Telegraaf.
A 26-year-old football player for SC Helmondia collapsed on the field during a match against SPV in Vlierden on Sunday. The young man died in hospital on Sunday night, a board member of SC Helmondia confirmed to Omroep Brabant on Monday.
A few minutes after half time, the footballer went to sit down because he did not feel well. He collapsed a short time later. He went into cardiac arrest. Teammates and a player for SPV resuscitated him on the field and he was rushed to the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven. He was kept in a medically induced coma until he passed away.
Stefano van Delden, manager of Jong Ajax player Mees de Wit, was attacked after a football match in Helmond on Friday night. "It was clearly about my skin color", he said, according to RTL Nieuws. He pressed charges of public violence and vandalism with the police. Football director of Helmond Sport, Marcel van den Bunder, condemned the violence on Monday. He called it "unacceptable" and "unworthy of Helmond Sport" in a response to Omroep Brabant.
Ruud Gullit, assistant coach for the Dutch national football team, expressed regret for filming a video with the footballers in the locker room after the match between the Netherlands and Bulgaria on Sunday evening. The video caused some controversy when he posted it on social media, NU.nl reports.
Whether the Dutch national football team will be able to qualify for the World Cup in Russia next year, is a question that's on the mind of every sports lover in the Netherlands today, including the government. Almost all Dutch Ministers watched Oranje lose 4-0 against France in the qualifier on Thursday, according to broadcaster NOS.
A 7-year-old boy died in hospital on Thursday evening after he collapsed on the field of football club AZSV's school in Aalten earlier that afternoon. Exactly what happened to the boy is still unclear, the Gelderlander reports.
Young Thijn was immediately helped by experts who happened to be on the sidelines of the field. An ambulance picked him up soon after his collapse and rushed him to hospital, where he passed away later in the evening.
The Dutch national women's football team was celebrated and honored for their European Championship victory in Utrecht on Monday evening. Some 12 thousand fans cheered the Oranje Lionesses as they sailed over the Stadsbuitengracht and then took the stage in Lepelunburg Park for the official ceremony, NU.nl reports.
The Oranje Lionesses beat Denmark 4-2 in the finals of the European Championship in Enschede on Sunday, thereby winning the European Cup for the first time ever. The Dutch women's football team was ecstatic by the win.
"This is truly unbelievable", an emotional Vivianne Miedema said to NOS in the Grolsch Veste after the match. "The realization still has to set in, but this is really great."
The Netherlands national women's football team beat England 3-0 on Thursday night and thereby progressed to the European Women's Championship finals for the first time ever, according to ANP. The Oranje women will be facing off against Denmark in Enschede on Sunday. Should they win the cup, the Dutch team will be honored in a celebration ceremony in Utrecht on Monday evening.
Goose bumps and tears filled the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on Tuesday night as tribute was paid to Ajax footballer Abdelhak Nouri during the Championship League match between Ajax and Nice. Nouri sustained serious and permanent brain damage after he collapsed during a practice match a few weeks ago.
The Dutch national women's football team won the last group match against Belgium 2-1 on Monday. The Oranje women is thereby the group winner and progressing to the European Championships quarterfinals, NU.nl reports.
Sherida Spitse scored the first goal for the Netherlands halfway through the first half in the Koning Willem II stadium in Tilburg. An hour into the match Belgium came back with a goal by Tessa Wullaert. In the 75th minute Lieke Martens scored, brining the Netherlands to 2-1 and to victory.
