“Women do not close like men, but Xavi is the best I have trained,” says the Netherlands president.

Ask from Andries Jonker Explain the difference between men and women training and up to its past for example. It is December 2002 and is the assistant director of Luis Van Gal in Barcelona and cannot believe what he just saw.

Newcastle are visitors to the Camp Nou to obtain a tie in the Champions League and a player guarding the post -Barcelona park. However, he has his left hand on the position and his right hand on the hip joint. Those hands are still present when Thiago Motta heads.

“He really took comfort,” says Jonker Sky Sports. He does not call the player but Newcastle supporters will not need to be reminded that he was Kiron Dyer. The Dutch continues to remember the moment 23 years. This was an opposition player, remember. “With men, I can’t afford it. I get angry. Not to do it. That’s impossible.”

And women? “Women do not do it. They never do it. I have never seen a woman standing like this when the ball enters. It was not even our player, of course. But it is an example of different behaviors between men and women, and therefore my different behaviors.

“It is not logical to me to get angry now because, in my opinion, the women I always work with are doing their best. You don’t have to wake them up. With men, you sometimes have a feeling, come, be careful. This is your job. You have to do.”

Jonker, who will lead the Netherlands in Euro 2025, is a stranger in women’s game. His story also suggests that night in Barcelona, ​​this is a coach at the top of the men’s match for many years, and later on Van Gal in Bayern Munich as well.

Ergin Robin praised him for re -joy in Bayern. Arsene Wenger, with whom he continued in Arsenal, is attributed to him a major role in developing structures that helped produce a generation of Dutch talents of the first -class.

But the best player with Jonker is Cataloni. “Xavi should be in Barcelona,” he answered, without hesitation. “He wasn’t tall. He wasn’t quickly. He was not really physically strong. But in the head, I didn’t see any player better than he was.”

“He was great. He was heading on the field, and he always did a scanning, and he always puts his body in the best position. He was in two feet and he was unprecedented. There was always a time and space for him to play but he created him himself.

“I have seen players getting prizes for being the best player. He has always been for the best scorer, for Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. Of course, they are also great. But we should have given enough prize for being, for 10 years, the best midfielder in the world.”

At the age of 62, after working with the best, what keeps Jonker outside the grass? To explain this, he has another story, this is a little more story. His mother, 86, had to go to a care house. Jonker and his brother began cleaning the family home.

“We have found all kinds of things related to football when I was eight or nine years old,” says smiling. There are old shoes. There is a book that collects pictures of players from the 1969/70 season. There is even a football player model made as a child.

“At least it seemed to be a football player. I must be seven years old. But it appears that he was in the bone. I was really excited about football even at the time. It is really great to see everything again, to feel this passion. It doesn’t disappear. He still there. I only love football.”

Of course, Van Gal is called one of his biggest effects. Others are not a big surprise either. “I am from Amsterdam,” he says, as if this was all the required interpretation. “The effect of Renos Michels, Johan Cruyff … which made me love football I am.”

He had to adapt to his ideas, of course. “The men and women of this century cannot be compared to men and women in the past century. The game has developed a lot physically, and it is at a higher pace, so the brain and feet should be faster.”

Stop saying football is better. But he believes he is a better coach. “You are developing with the game, and the new effects come. In the end, you find yourself a completely different coach. I am now much better than you were 20 years ago.”

The first experience of Jonker in training in the women’s game came before that, where he worked for Dutch youth. Then he first noticed how he showed different characteristics as a coach. “Immediately, I felt that I was doing it in a different way,” reveals.

“At that time, I thought about it. Why did I speak differently with girls about boys?

Not as if he does not demand. He has great expectations for his team before Euro 2025 and was disappointed by their offer against Germany and Scotland at the beginning of June. Hope is that a short break may renew the youth of a group that is kept strong.

“On paper, this may be our best team ever.” The bold talk, given that Sarina and Yumman, which the England team will face, will face it during the group stage in Switzerland, won this championship with the Netherlands in 2017, where the World Cup final was reached.

“Sarina achieved success with 10 or 11 distinguished players and managed to maintain their fitness. Of course, the others helped. But we had 15, 16 or 17 players at the highest level.” Now, there are more options. “I have some difficult options. This is a big difference.”

Many Jonker describes as the “golden generation” of the Netherlands – thought of Vivian Medima, Sherida Spacey, Daniel Van de Doc, Jackie Greenn, Chang van de Sanden, Dominique Yansen and Jill Rour – in this tournament.

Meyma fought to be ready, and scored twice against Finland in the final warm -up match. “She is a world -class player and worked hard, where she brought her visa on vacation, and trained with (partner) Pet (Mid). We are doing everything to get her fit.”

But others also appear. “With young talents like Veerle Buurman, Esmee BRUGTS and Wieke Kaptein, it is especially. This is the opportunity. When the older stops, Arjan Veurink must do a lot of creating and building a new team.”

The mention of Veurink, which, in a delicious coincidence, will help prepare England to face the Netherlands in his role as a Wiegman assistant, is a sign of the fact that Jonker will be replaced at the end of Euro 2025. The change was not choosing it.

“I was surprised and disappointed. There are many other things to say, but this is what I can say.” From time to time, his mission is to prepare his team for collective matches against England and France – but only after the opening of the match against Wales.

“It seems that everyone in my environment believes that Wales is a piece of cake. I think they are all wrong. I think Wales is difficult. I have no sand in my eyes.” Favorite group? “He will be in the best shape or maybe who has the most lucky.”

For Jonker, hope is to be able to submit elegantly. “When I accepted the job, I said two things. One, I wanted to enjoy the World Cup and a European championship. The second thing is to help women’s football take few steps forward. I think we did that.”

“We play very attractive football and try to inspire children who love football, especially, and this is what we have been able to do. It will be a practical crown if we can do this tournament very well,” he explains. But what does that mean?

“The best thing we can do is win the championship,” he says. But perhaps in reference to those inspiration in the past, Michels and Cruyff, as well as the little boy who loved the football game, adds: “At least, we have to play a great championship.”