Danny Blind Sacked as Netherlands Head Coach

Dutch national football manager, Danny Blind, has been sacked by the Dutch Football Federation (the KNVB) after a dismal performance against Bulgaria in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

During Sunday’s World Cup qualifier, the Netherlands lost to a tenacious Bulgaria, failing to score any goals, and ending in 2-0 loss.

The Dutch now find themselves in fourth place in Group A – six points behind group leaders, France. This was very bad news for the Dutch, as only the winners of the group will qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The Netherlands has been in caught in somewhat of a slump as of late. Last year, the team also failed to qualify for the European Championship. Portugal went on to win Euros 2016.

The recent slump in performance has all occurred under the management of Blind.

Blind took over the reins from Guus Hiddink in July of 2015.

The KNVB said in a statement that they had decided to let Blind go after a string of negative performances. And while they have respect for him, they ultimately decided to let him go.

“We [the KNVB] have a lot of respect for Danny, but due to negative results and the difficulty we have to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, we must part company with him,” a part of the statement read.

Blind himself said that he is sad about the decision of the KNVB and sad about the game against Bulgaria.

“We were on the right track in Bulgaria, but it’s a pity that it ends like this,” he said.

Fred Grimm, the assistant coach of the national team, will take over as head coach for the team’s friendly against Italy on Tuesday.