Youri Mulder sharp for Vincent Janssen (and Luuk de Jong) after saying goodbye to Orange: “They let things down a bit”

“I don’t understand it well,” Mulder admits. “It is the best thing there is to represent your country and Janssen in particular is still very young. I would never have made such a decision on my own. Even if you don’t play everything, as was the case with De Jong and Janssen, it remains an honor to be an international. But in the end it is a personal choice. Maybe they have aches and pains and need a little more rest in their schedule to keep it up at their club. And sometimes boys don’t feel comfortable in a group.”

Janssen played a total of 22 times for the Netherlands and scored seven times, De Jong gave up after 39 international matches and eight goals. During the last World Cup, Janssen played 86 minutes, De Jong was allowed to come off the bench for 56 minutes.

Still, Mulder thinks they should have continued to represent their country. “They actually let things down a bit, because the Orange is not in the thick of the striker,” said Mulder. “Behind Depay and Weghorst is only Brian Brobbey, but he does not play everything at Ajax. If you then look further into the Eredivisie, it is mainly foreign strikers who are high on the top scorers list. Maybe Koeman should take a look in France at Toulouse, because Thijs Dallinga is doing very well there.”

Van Marwijk and Blind milder

“You can’t really judge it from the outside. It’s how they experience it and you can only accept and respect that,” says former assistant national coach Danny Blind. “If they feel they need this, then it’s good that they made the decision, because then they don’t have the full motivation anymore.”

Ex-national coach Bert van Marwijk also shows understanding. “I can’t separate it from the fact that they both played little. I think that also plays a role. Then you are away from home a lot, while you don’t take much action.”