Koeman demands Dutch silence fervent Turkish fans at Euros

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman wants his team to quiet Turkey’s raucous fans in their Euro 2024 quarter-final clash on Saturday in Berlin.

With a large Turkish diaspora across Germany, Vincenzo Montella’s side have been fervently backed this summer and Dutch defender Daley Blind said the clash at the Olympiastadion will feel like an “away” game.

“I’ve got some experience against Turkish teams, the atmosphere is always great,” Koeman told a news conference Friday.

“We just need to keep the ball and they will become quiet. You need to be cool, business-like and play your game.”

The Netherlands started slowly at the Euros, creeping through the group phase as one of the best third-place teams, but thrashed Romania 3-0 in the last 16 in a much brighter display.

“The last match was at a really good level football-wise, if we keep that level then it can be a really good tournament for us,” continued Koeman, who captained the Dutch to their sole Euros triumph in 1988.

“Every match is difficult, all the big teams have struggled in different matches to win them—England scored in the last seconds, Portugal won on penalties. You have to fight for it.”

Netherlands were hurting from a 3-2 defeat by Austria in their final group game which Koeman called “appalling” and responded strongly against Romania.

The former Barcelona coach said they did not need that kind of inspiration to play well against Turkey.

“If you want to have a good game, you don’t need to have a defeat first – not an Austria all over again,” said Koeman.

“You need to do it by yourself, the players are standing in front of a semi-final, it’s an opportunity to progress in this tournament.”

Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries agreed with his coach. “I don’t need extra-motivation for this game, it’s a Euros quarter-final, it’s great to be here… and none of the other players need it either,” said the Inter Milan full-back.

“We will need to have good possession and enough energy.”

Dumfries admitted the expected Turkish dominance in the stands could complicate things for his side.

“Everybody knows how important this game is, we know what we can expect in terms of the atmosphere in the stadium… it’s probably a bit more difficult to hear each other,” he said.

“We’ve seen how great our fans are (too)… they will support us, we need to play the game on the field, but it will definitely give us a boost.”