A week ago, Ryan Gravenbrech was finally fit to take on Liverpool, on the final day of the transfer window. The Dutchman wanted more playing time, and was the player Jurgen Klopp had been looking for for a long time.
That same weekend, the Dutch Football Association arrived with its national team squads, and Gravenberch was selected for the under-21 national team. The 21-year-old opted not to play European Championship qualifiers with the under-21 national team, focusing instead on starting out with his new club.
It lit a fire in the Netherlands, and was criticized by football icon Marco van Basten, U21 team boss Michael Riesiger, and national team president Ronald Koeman.
Liverpool surprised
According to Matt Hughes in the Daily Mail Should Liverpool be surprised by the reaction in Holland?
The club has been in contact with the Football Association regarding the decision, and Grafenberch himself spoke to Reziger to explain his decision. They did not achieve anything with it, and Koeman came out and said that he was not happy because the player would not play for his country’s national team.
Gravenberch will not receive any sanction from the Dutch Football Association. He played 11 international matches with the Netherlands national team, the last of which was last March. He could also have represented Suriname, as his brother Danzil does. Danzil has visited English football and was a Reading player between 2016 and 2019. He is 29 years old and plays as a central defender and striker…
The U21 match in which Gravenberch refused to play is 18.30 Friday against Moldova. On Thursday night, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Jacobo played in the senior team’s 3-0 win over Kostas Tsimikas and Greece. Jakopo scored the goal, 2-0.
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