World Cup
Spain and Argentina’s coaches defy the ‘Reiziger can’t’ claim
Today at 16:50 the Kick‑off podcast contrasted the rapid rise of Luis de la Fuente in Spain and Lionel Scaloni in Argentina, using their stories to question the prevailing view that Michael Reiziger cannot succeed as the next Oranje‑bondscoach.
Both de la Fuente and Scaloni had little experience at the highest level, yet they have captured European Championship (EK) and World Cup (WK) titles, providing a vivid lesson for appointing the new Oranje‑bondscoach.
Jeroen Kapteijns opens the discussion with praise for de la Fuente, noting his journey from youth‑only roles to leading Spain’s senior side. He remarks, "It is a beautiful story of that coach. Until a few years ago he only worked with youth and coached a few smaller clubs in Spain. Now he is in the World Cup final, is European champion, and has lost only three of 49 matches."
World Cup reshapes Ballon d’Or race ahead of Yamal’s showdown with Messi
Valentijn Driessen draws a parallel for Scaloni, recalling his arrival with Jorge Sampaoli in 2018, a period that "went wrong" before the federation promoted him. Driessen adds, "He is a great people manager. He has Messi – no other national coach has Messi – and he has done it well. This is a world performance, two World Cups back‑to‑back in the final." The chief football writer of De then turns to Michael Reiziger, frequently cited as a possible successor to Ronald Koeman. He quotes, "We say: ‘Michael Reiziger cannot’, but if you project that onto Argentina and Spain you could say: ‘Try Reiziger, maybe that works.’ Op het moment dat het goed uitpakt, zegt iedereen: ‘That is the right choice.’" The contrast between the proven success of Spain and Argentina’s coaches and the skepticism surrounding Reiziger highlights that limited top‑level experience does not preclude major achievements, suggesting the Reiziger debate may need to be revisited.