Dutch coach Louis van Gaal has tested positive for Covid and will be placed in solitary confinement in the coming days as the “Orange” are to face Denmark on Saturday in a friendly, the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) announced on Tuesday.
The other members of the technical staff will take over from van Gaal “until he returns”the Federation said in a statement.
However, she did not specify whether the coach, who tested positive on Tuesday morning, could go to meet the Netherlands against Denmark on Saturday in Amsterdam, where, three days later, the “Orange” also face Germany.
The latest anti-Covid measures will be lifted in the Netherlands on Wednesday, but it is still recommended to remain in isolation between five and 10 days in the event of a positive test, from the start of symptoms.
All Dutch national team players and staff tested negative for coronavirus upon their arrival at the training camp in Zeist (center) on Monday, a KNVB spokesperson told the Dutch Press Agency. PNA.
Most “the national coach had a cold and continued to show symptoms”said the spokesperson.
Denmark’s star playmaker Christian Eriksen also tested positive for coronavirus last week. But Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand hopes to see him face the Netherlands on Saturday, more than nine months after his cardiac arrest during the Euros.
Before the last international match in November, Van Gaal had fallen while parking his bike and broke his hip.
The 70-year-old coach watched from the stands as the decisive World Cup qualifier against Norway in De Kuip was won 2-0 by the Dutch.
Van Gaal has since recovered from the injury, he told a press conference on Monday. “But when you’re 70, you’re never fully fit,” he joked.