Tim Krul spilled the beans on how Louis van Gaal made Jasper Cillessen look like a right mug during the World Cup substitution that changed the course of football history.
The former Netherlands international became the first goalkeeper to be subbed on specifically for a World Cup penalty shootout in 2014, and what a bloody genius move it was!
The Dutch played out 119 minutes of goalless footy against Costa Rica in their quarter-final clash. A minute before the match went to penalties, Van Gaal turned to his bench and decided to swap out his number one Jasper Cillessen, who had never saved a penalty in his career at that point. What a bellend!
Krul had saved just two of the 20 spot-kicks he had faced, but at 6ft 4in, he also had greater height and reach than 6ft 2in Cillessen. The 37-year-old doubled his save record from 12 yards to deny Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umaña and helped the Dutch through to the semis. Get in, you beauty!
Krul revealed that he'd been told of Van Gaal's plan by the Netherlands' goalkeeper coach at the team hotel before the drive to the stadium. "So initially my reaction was like, 'Yeah, good one, it's not going to go to penalties anyway, with all respect to Costa Rica'", he said. "And I didn't think they were going to actually do it. Then he came back five minutes later, he said, 'Right, keep this between us, don't tell any of the players.'"
When it hit extra time, Krul put on his little vest and his teammates were looking at him going, 'What are you doing, mate? Where are you going for a run here? It was quite a funny, nervous, obviously moment for me."
Cillessen was caught by World Cup TV cameras booting over water bottles in the technical area when he came off the pitch. The 36-year-old later publicly apologised for his outburst, but Krul revealed it was only after a threat made by Van Gaal.
On Cillessen's initial angry reaction, Krul said: "He was kicking water bottles and, funny enough, the next morning all the goalies got summoned into Van Gaal's penthouse to have a chat for Cillessen's reaction."
Van Gaal told Cillessen, "Right, if you ever disrespect me like that in front of the world again, you will never play for me again." Krul joked, "Oh, happy days here, let's go, let's kick off. Say something."
But Cillessen just took it and said, "Yeah, sorry, Gaffer, I won't do that again." What a melt!
In the end, Cillessen was restored to Van Gaal's starting XI for the semi-finals, which again went the full distance after 120 goalless minutes. Unlike the previous round, he remained on the pitch for the shootout but failed to save one as Argentina won on penalties 4-2. What a muppet!
Van Gaal said at his post-match media conference, "If I could've substituted him [Cillessen] with Krul, then I would've done. I reached penalties with no more substitutions left." What a Load of Bollocks!
