Andries Jonker considered resigning as coach of the Dutch women’s team shortly before the European Championship, according to the 62-year-old Amsterdammer in the NOS Voetbalpodcast.
The KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) informed Jonker at the end of January that his contract, expiring after the European Championship, would not be extended. He expressed surprise and disappointment at the time, but did not mention considering quitting.
“I immediately wondered: what now?” Jonker says in the podcast. “When you have to say goodbye, it affects your position with the players and staff. I immediately wondered what this meant.”
Jonker’s doubts disappeared in the first international periods after the KNVB’s decision, when the Dutch team performed well. After the 4-0 defeat against Germany and the draw against Scotland a month ago, the coach started thinking.
“That was bad,” Jonker says about those matches. “Then you talk to people around you. Everyone around me thought I should just stay home.”
The coach then considered quitting. “Do these girls still want to do it with this staff?” he asked himself. “That is important to me. That’s where the key lies.”
Jonker asked players to sign
Jonker got the good feeling back. To confirm that feeling, he literally asked the staff and players to sign their commitment to total dedication until the European Championship.
“I brought an orange shirt and told all the staff members: either you’re going to give it your all or you say now that you can’t do it. There are 25 signatures on the back. And then the players. They all signed on the front.”
The Dutch team opens the European Championship on Saturday with a group match against Wales. France and England are the other opponents in the group stage.