Marco Rose has defended his protégé Xavi Simons against criticism from Dutch Bonds coach Ronald Koeman. "I have spoken and written to Xavi. He is his national coach and my advice was to listen to the coach, to accept things," said the coach of Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on Friday. "But it must also be allowed that we in Leipzig see things a little differently."
Koeman had publicly criticized Simons after the 4-0 defeat to Scotland and accused the 20-year-old of causing too many ball losses. "He must slowly learn that we don't benefit from losing the ball in the Netherlands," said Koeman. In the following game in Germany, Simons was only substituted in the closing stages. In 13 games for the Elftal, the top talent has yet to register a scoring point.
In Rose's opinion, this is not solely down to the player. "Again, I can only advise the Netherlands to try and get Xavi into a role where he can show his obvious qualities," said the 47-year-old. Simons has already proven this not only in the Bundesliga, but also in the Champions League. In 36 competitive matches across all competitions, the attacking player has recorded nine goals and 13 assists so far.
