Russia – Holland at Euro 2008, how did the fate of coach Marco van Basten, photo, what happened
Marco van Basten had a bright but dramatic football career: he shone in Milan, many contemporaries called him the strongest player, but later a serious injury blocked his path. So Marco got into the list of talented, or rather, very talented football players, who early quit football because of anxiety. We even collected a detailed text about this two years ago.
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Since the end of his playing career, van Basten has been training – including his time in the Netherlands national team – the legendary match against Russia at Euro 2008. Victory 3:1, those same emotions after Torbinsky’s goal. And that was exactly 14 years ago.
In this text we have compiled: how is van Basten. How did his life and career develop after that summer match in 2008?
Van Basten in the national team: the benefit match of the Russian referee Ivanov and the conflict with the leaders
In July 2004, van Basten became the head coach of the Netherlands national team. Under his assessment, the team was selected for the 2006 World Cup, where they flew to the 1/8 finals from Portugal. In that famous match, refereeing was Valentin Ivanov, who dealt 16 yellow and four red cards.
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Holland v Portugal at the 2006 World Cup
Photo: Alexander Heimann/Getty Images
Vansten Baa’s team started Euro 2008 powerfully: they went through the opponents in the group, but participated in the quarter-finals, assembled by their compatriot Gus Hiddink. After the match, Van Basten congratulated the Russian team in the locker room, the Dutch Football Federation wanted to extend his contract. But Marco chose to go to his native Ajax. Where he worked for less than a year, leaving after an unsuccessful performance in the national championship.
Marco left an exceptional impression about his work in the national team. On the one hand, they updated the squad there, removed the veterans and pulled up the youth. On the other hand, he came into conflict with the current leaders. The loudest turned out with Ruud van Nistelrooy, who left the team for as long as van Basten is in charge.
Now the Dutchman admits that he could have behaved differently then.
Marco van Basten
football coach
“Cruyff was cruel to me because he played in the street where you speak a different language. I did the same with Nistelroy when I was national coach. Maybe I was too strong, too hard, just too linear, like Johan was with me. I should have been a little softer with him. I have a very good relationship with Rud now. He’s a fantastic person, but at first we didn’t have that feeling – maybe because he respected me too much.”
With Cruyff, Marco had a conflict that they never settled until the death of Johan. The two legends did not agree on the further development of Ajax, where both worked at that time.
Utrecht Swan
“I’m a bad coach.” How did van Basten’s coaching career end?
after the end of his playing career, van Basten announced that he was not going to be a coach. But the decision that entered the courses at the country’s football federation changed rather quickly. A year after being appointed to the Ajax youth team, he was called to the national team – and then everything happened, that in the discovery of the block.
After the fatal departure from the Euro, the coaching career almost did not work out – Marco went downhill: there were mediocre results with Ajax (yes, again), AZ and Heerenveen. The coach took advantage of the stress and eventually expected to be reassigned. So he became an assistant coach, first in AZ, and then in the national team.
Marco van Basten
Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images
Van Basten himself admitted that he failed as a coach. And this happened due to the fact that he took any failure to heart. And here are three of his quotes about his work:
1. “I’m a bad coach. Losing as a coach was extremely painful that I couldn’t live with it. As a coach, you have to be positive towards your guys, like a father towards his sons, and I really didn’t have that. This profession is also bad for your health. When he became an assistant, he was smart and responsive. I had patience. As a head coach, I was the complete opposite. I made the right decision by leaving this job. Now he is doing other things and imagines himself much freer. ”
2. “Why did I decide that I have no coaching gift? I did everything I could, but I couldn’t make the difference as a coach. It was hard for me to control everything.”
3. “After all, I am a flower that this job does not give me pleasure. Being a coach is really difficult, and, to be honest, I am not equipped, as it is of key importance to the team from the bench. Does the coach really know the properties of the game? If so, why are coaches generally less successful the more knowledge and experience they accumulate? Obviously, this work should improve over time, however, we see that most coaches are more successful in their 40s and 50s than in their 50s and 60s. This is strange”.
“After all, it can! Well, this is genius! What do you remember about the match between Holland and Russia? Test
What is Marco doing now?
In 2016, van Basten decided to retire from coaching and took a job at FIFA. Marco’s new position was called as follows: head of the technical development department of the international football federation.
In addition to the administrative position, van Basten is engaged in business, works as an expert on television and fought with FIFA to abolish offsides and yellow cards. Judging by the contents of Marco, the development of stress has stopped. Instead, a happy life and leisure with beloved grandchildren.
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Van Basten’s thoughts on football are also revolutionary
Van Basten announced an increase in the number of participants in the World Cup up to 48 years old, starting in 2026.
Quote: “This is a great decision. The World Cup should be the best tournament. All continents are involved in the accumulation in the championship. It seems to me that the new format will be better than the market.”
Next – an advanced series of shootouts. This would make it easier to determine the position of the team in the group.
Quote: “Let’s imagine that a team has gathered at the tournament with one opponent 0:0, and with one – 1:0. In this case, there is a high risk that in the end the three teams will have the same number of points and the same ratio of goals scored and conceded. If, after 90 minutes of play, a shootout is introduced, one team scores five times, the other four, the third three, then it will be easy to determine who is in the group in some place.
Each command has five values. The referee whistles, the player starts to run to the goal from 25 meters. In eight seconds, he must carry out the blow. The goalkeeper is in the penalty area and cannot release it. If he hits the ball, the bullet is over.”
Marco van Basten
Photo: Getty Images
He talked about “basketball” deletions.
Quote: “Temporary punishment is a little scary. It’s harder to play with 10 against 11 players, not to mention how to play with 8 against 9. For a long time I have had an idea to introduce a system, like in basketball: five fouls – and let’s say the field.
He advocated the abolition of offsides.
Quote: If offsides are possible, then there are significantly fewer problems and the team will continue to look for solutions that will offer a good match. Everything will be as impressive as it is now, but without this bad rule. I am very interested in this. It would be great to protest this idea.
And, of course, he talked about VAR and pure time in football.
Quote: “I am very disappointed with the way this system is being used now. We are discussing this issue in FIFA, but I must not divulge the details.”
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Adventures in Russia and TV suspensions
During the 2018 World Cup, he rode the Moscow metro and met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Over the past few years, various political motives have been discovered in the homeland. To which van Basten replied: “We only kill about football and the World Cup. I was just asked to come and talk about football. Nothing else”.
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The next chapter in Marco’s contrasting biography is a week-long suspension from Fox Sports for a Nazi salute conceived on the air.
It was like this: before the Ajax-Heracles match, Fox Sports host Hans Kray interviewed Heracles coach Frank Wormuth in German. Van Basten, on the other hand, comments on the pronunciation of a colleague, pronounces the same greeting in German.
Marco later apologized for his joke. And his weekly salary on television was transferred to the Institute of Working Documentation. The reason is “to get acquainted with the history of the Second World War.” What did not save the football legend from the fact that his card was removed from the game FIFA Ultimate Team.
Marco van Basten
Photo: Getty Images
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Now van Basten, judging by its content, is just enjoying life – playing tennis, golf and meeting with his teammates. And they probably remember the match Russia – the Netherlands.