Coach Ronald Koeman was emotional Sunday night after his son’s promotion with Telstar. The former international said Tuesday during a press conference of Oranje that he was at home with tears in his eyes watching the performance of Ronald Koeman junior and his teammates.
Koeman had deliberately chosen to watch the match against Willem II on television and not go to the stadium. “I thought that was appropriate, because then you come into the picture again. And it’s not about me, but about him,” he said.
In front of the television, Koeman and his wife Bartina saw how Telstar quickly took a 0-2 lead and then held on thanks to the goalkeeping of their son. Thanks to the 1-3 victory, Telstar will play in the Eredivisie again next season after 47 years.
“I am proud of what they have done as a club and also what he himself has done,” said Koeman. “He has worked very hard for it and has not always been happy with his last name. But now he is getting the recognition he deserves.”
Koeman junior said after the promotion that his father was emotional. “I think it’s the age,” said the coach with a laugh. “They weren’t tears of sorrow, but there were tears. That was because you want it so much for someone, especially if it’s your child.”
Koeman joked about selecting son
Koeman had earlier in the play-offs told his son that he would select him for Oranje if he kept two clean sheets against ADO Den Haag. The goalkeeper succeeded, but Koeman did not hesitate for a second to actually select him.
“No, no. That was a joke. Although we know that we don’t have a very big pool to draw from in terms of goalkeepers,” Koeman replied. With a laugh: “If he keeps everything out next year, then he might come into the picture.”
Koeman junior said earlier that he thought Oranje was more likely to win the World Cup than Telstar would be promoted. “Well, maybe,” Koeman replied.
“He’s a sensible boy. But we shouldn’t just base that on the matches against Spain. Then we have to show what we count for in the coming period.”