Euro 2024: Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman says increase in matches ‘killing footballers’
- The Dutch have lost five players to injuries, with the coach saying the large and growing fixture list is ramping up pressure on footballers
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The ever-increasing fixture list in men’s football worries Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman.
“It’s not always about sport. They’re killing footballers,” the 61-year-old told Germany’s Sport Bild magazine on Wednesday ahead of the start of Euro 2024.
Koeman referred to the increase in the Champions League next term from 32 to 36 teams with even more group matches, and the number of World Cup participants going up from 32 to 48 teams in 2026.
“Or the clubs are travelling to Asia or America to prepare [for a season]. That’s the problem. Instead of reducing the pressure on the players, it’s getting more and more,” Koeman said.
His comments come in the wake of recent warnings by players’ unions of strike action if Fifa, football’s world governing body, did not address the workload of elite players.
England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) wants action to alter the congested football calendar, especially with the expanded 32-team Club World Cup proposed for next summer.
An event last month in London by the PFA and Fifpro, the international players’ union, heard that players were at “breaking point”.
Fifa was already facing the threat of legal action if there was no rescheduling of the 2025 Club World Cup.
A letter recently sent to Fifa president Gianni Infantino by the World Leagues’ Association and Fifpro said football’s worldwide schedule was now “beyond saturation”.
Fifa in response said it would guarantee player welfare with its “harmonious” scheduling.
Dutch coach Koeman has already seen midfielders Frenkie de Jong, Teun Koopmeiners, Mats Wieffer, Marten de Roon and Quinten Timber ruled out of the tournament.
Koopmeiners, the latest to be ruled out, played a strong season with Atalanta and was a regular player under Koeman.
On Monday, the Netherlands had already announced that Barcelona midfielder De Jong was out.
He had suffered an ankle injury in the derby against Real Madrid in April and had to be carried off the pitch. Since then, the 27-year-old has been in rehab, fighting for a place at the Euros.
In response to the absence of the two players, Koeman called up Borussia Dortmund left-back Ian Maatsen. The 22-year-old, who had been on holiday in Greece, was part of the pre-Euro squad but was dropped from the group.
He is the only replacement brought into the squad, which means the Dutch will take 25 players to Germany
The Netherlands start their European Championship campaign against Poland in Hamburg on Sunday. Other opponents in a strong Group D are France and Austria.
