Davy Klaassen can speak. Oh he can speak.
And he’s refreshingly frank as far as footballers go, but that tends to be more common among those from the Netherlands.
This is why there’s endless quotes from the former Everton player about his difficult time at the club and how the football, specifically after Ronald Koeman left, didn’t suit him one bit.
But it’s still worth covering his musings on Everton, because they’re interesting. Speaking to Voetbal International, who carry some genuinely brilliant interviews, this week, Klaassen opened up again.
On how things got worse after Koeman, he explained: “Unsworth is a fine guy, although he had different thoughts about football than I did. Which he can. He did not find me physical enough to play his way of football. He had a theory that my technical qualities would be better if I were physically stronger. The logic of this escaped me a bit. But it was clear to me that I didn’t have to count on playing time. After a month Sam Allardyce was appointed and from that moment on it was hopeless.”
See, Everton fans, it was worth covering just for that Allardyce line, right?
On occasion, Klaassen has accepted some responsibility for his failure in English football, but sometimes he goes the other way, and he told VI: “I think no one at Everton can say that I didn’t do my best. And how difficult it sometimes was. The last few months I drove to the club knowing how much it would suck.”
But there’s life outside football, for a millionaire footballer there’s plenty to enjoy, and the Werder Bremen midfielder explained: “When I drove back home after a few hours, I told myself that my private life should be fun anyway. I didn’t want to be grumpy all day long. So I tried to keep it separate and that worked out pretty well.
“Our personal life was fun in Manchester. I spoke regularly with Daley Blind, who was in the same boat at Manchester United. The contact with Maarten and Daley helped me to deal with the situation. It was very special to experience. It did not matter how much I did my best, it didn’t change anything about my situation. Then you still have to make something of your life. Actually, I am not normally like that. But you have to be realistic.
“There is so much money in English football. It does not matter to the rich clubs when they see an expensive player go out the door. Better luck next time. That’s just the way it is. How unfair it can sometimes be. Fortunately, that is a thing of the past. I’m comfortable in my skin again.”
Now Klaassen aims to get back into the Netherlands squad and he says Ronald Koeman has called him to explain he’ll come under consideration when he played a bit more football.
