Hans van Breukelen has shared his fond memories of Nottingham Forest and Brian Clough, despite his contentious exit from the club.
NOS have an interview with the former goalkeeper today. He’s been talking to them ahead of Nottingham Forest’s clash with FC Utrecht in the Europa League.
Van Breukelen played for Nottingham Forest from 1982 to 1984, signed by Clough as a replacement for the legendary Peter Shilton.
His time at the club was considered successful, if brief, with Nottingham Forest qualifying for the UEFA Cup and finishing third in 1984.
He left under something of a cloud, though. The goalkeeper was keen to play for the Netherlands whenever possible but found that path blocked by Clough. The iconic manager insisted that, as he was paying his wages, Nottingham Forest took priority.
Van Breukelen would eventually leave for PSV Eindhoven. He enjoyed great success at the Dutch club, winning six league titles and the European Cup. He also established himself on the international stage, winning Euro 1988 with the Netherlands.
Given the arguments with Clough, it would be easy to think he isn’t his biggest fan. But the opposite appears to be true as he fondly remember the Nottingham Forest legend today.
“Yes, he was simply The Boss,” he said about Clough, who he also labelled “the nicest dictator on the planet.
“Whether it was the bus driver, the groundskeeper, or the footballers, he decided everything. Players hardly dared say anything to him.
“We’d have a team meeting at 1 o’clock, for example. All my English colleagues would grumble: where is he? And then he’d come in at 1:30 and I’d say: ‘Boss, didn’t we have a meeting at 1 o’clock?’
“And then he’d say: ‘Shut up. You’re here to stop those balls and I’m here to manage the club. That’s it.’ Yes, times have changed.”
