Driessen praises Summerville after disappointing Orange show
The Dutch national team finished Thursday evening with a 2‑2 draw against Greece in Thessaloniki. Journalist Valentijn Driessen was critical of the overall performance, but emphasized that he thought Crysencio Summerville was good.
At halftime, Orange in Thessaloniki put on a rather poor display, which Driessen labelled as disappointing. He found the first half insufficient, especially given the expectations for the national team.
Summerville receives praise from Driessen
“That was quite a surprise, I must say honestly. I did not expect him to manifest himself at this level, you think we have the right winger for the next ten years. That is a luxury,” said Driessen about Crysencio Summerville. Thanks to three starting places in this international period, the forward now has nineteen caps.
Other players and perspectives
Driessen continued: “On the other hand you have Gakpo. It is said that it will become a battle between Gakpo and Van Bommel. Gakpo contributes almost every match for the Dutch national team, and Van Bommel does not contribute at all. That is not a problem either, but it disappointed me.” He also noted that Meerdink was in a similar situation, partly influenced by what happened behind him.
The substitute Joshua Zirkzee also performed well, Driessen thought, but he is not necessarily the solution to the striker problem for Orange. “We thought that a while ago as well. He does not finish. It is not for nothing that he sits on the bench at Manchester United,” said the journalist.
Hans Kraaij Jr. already expressed words of the same vein about Zirkzee: “I think one half is pro‑Zirkzee and the other half is anti‑Zirkzee. I belong more to the pro side, because I love truly beautiful footballers. Everything about him is football. In a full sixteen he can play the best football of all the forwards, he also had a good header. Zirkzee is indeed a type of Xavi‑player, which gives us all some breathing room on that damned number 9 position.”