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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has a newborn granddaughter. He also has four daughters. And wife. So what does it feel like at home this Christmas?
‘Emotional!’ he explodes. “Many screams, many ups and downs.”
And it’s just you, right?
‘No, no, no… I’ll stay out of it. I walk out the door. I sit on the fence. ‘
It will be one of the few times Hasselbaink has risked breaking. He may be Grandpa Jimmy now, but the former Leeds, Chelsea and Holland striker is not to be appeased yet, not at 48.
And, as of Friday night, he returned to management with League One Burton Albion, the appointment coming after his interview with Sportsmail.
It will be a loss for television, because Hasselbaink has gained attention and ears in recent months with some spirited exchanges as a Sky Sports expert, including a verbal joust with Patrice Evra.
He was contradicting himself. I wasn’t being awkward, I just didn’t agree with him, ”Hasselbaink says. The clip went viral online.
The fire, then, continues to burn. That was also obvious from the video, shot by former Chelsea teammate John Terry of Hasselbaink competing in the daddy race on his daughter’s school sports day. We will let the story tell.
‘I got off to a good start, I was up front. Then I notice that another dad is approaching. And closer. I think, “I need to dive to win here.” So I spread my hands and shoulders forward. But I end up tripping and falling over the line. But hey, I won! I made my daughter proud. I’ll be in Grandpa’s race next year though. ‘
Hasslebaink, you suspect before you meet him, might be in a bad mood. I certainly saw him as a gamer. So how do you ask someone if they are prone to being in a bad mood without, well, risking it? I give you a choice: grumpy diva or good boy?
“I’m a very bright guy,” he smiles. ‘One thing I’m not, I’m not in a bad mood. Everyone who knows me will say that. I know why you ask. Even my girls say, “Dad, on the court, why do you look so angry?”
But I’ll tell you now: it had to be this way. Technically, he was not as good as the others. I had to give myself aggression, get angry. It gave me the advantage. He needed that to compete at the highest level. Without him, he would not be the same player.
But that bad mood has not gotten over me. I always have a smile on my face. I enjoy life; my family, good food, a glass of wine. When I am a real grandfather, an old man, I want to say that I lived my life as I wanted. ‘
The new arrival, then, hasn’t made Hasselbaink feel old yet.
“Definitely not,” he protests. ‘I feel very young. I’m not so happy with my daughter to be a grandfather! But no, she is absolutely beautiful.
‘Unfortunately, since they live in the Netherlands, I’ve only seen it once, so there’s a lot of FaceTime. It’s a weird feeling because I still have young girls here, 14, 12 and six, and that definitely keeps me young.
But it is different, my children, I have to take them everywhere. To my granddaughter, I can love, kiss and turn my back on Mom!
Don’t be fooled into thinking that Hasselbaink has gone soft. We are talking about family, not football.
However, let him start with the latter, and it’s just as forceful as those shots he would make beyond goalkeepers. He did it 258 times. No wonder he is a man of convictions.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich recently celebrated his 1,000th game at the club.
Does Hasselbaink remember the first one? The slow, deliberate nod and the inhalation of air tell you yes, and there’s a story to go with it.
By way of background, Claudio Ranieri was manager in 2003 when the Russian billionaire arrived at Stamford Bridge. Hasselbaink had scored 70 goals in three seasons and now had 31. Chelsea were absent at Liverpool on opening day.
“A couple of weeks before, I was called into Ranieri’s office. He said he had always done well. But, now that he had money to spend, he could find a new club. I told him I was not going anywhere.
He said: “Okay, but I’m going to buy two really good forwards. We want to be champions and you may not play ”.
“I told him: ‘Okay, you have the right to buy two forwards who you think are better than me. But I’ll end up playing, because you’ll end up coming back to me ”.
Sure enough, Ranieri turned to replace Hasselbaink at Anfield. With the score at 1-1 in the 87th minute, he picked up a pass from Frank Lampard, beat Jamie Carragher and shot into the bottom corner to win the game. He took off his shirt but frowned.
In that period, Ranieri treated me very badly. He did not let me play a Champions League tie. So when I scored, a lot of anger and satisfaction came out. It was an important moment for Abramovich, but just as important for me. ”
It’s fascinating that Hasselbaink never spoke highly of Ranieri, the manager, but arguably played his best football with the Italian. He was Chelsea’s top scorer three times and a Premier League Golden Boot winner once, as he was at Leeds, his first English club.
“I don’t play for a coach,” he begins as we explore the contradiction. And when I did, I didn’t expect players to play for me. I did it for myself and my family and I always gave it my all.
I think the fact that Ranieri ended up coming back to me proves that, doesn’t it?
Hasselbaink is still respectful of a “good man.” He even felt sympathy for Ranieri when midfielder Gus Poyet refused to translate for him in front of the entire team.
‘It was difficult, I felt really uncomfortable. Gustavo was his go-between from the beginning, but he wasn’t playing games. And then he did that. Soon he was gone.
By the summer of 2004, Hasselbaink and Ranieri had also left. Chelsea had finished second in Abramovich’s first season and Hasselbaink was the top scorer again, despite Ranieri paying £ 32m for Hernan Crespo and Adrian Mutu. But José Mourinho arrived.
Mourinho wanted to give me an example, that’s how he managed. He wanted to show that he could let the great players go. He was still the top scorer, even though they had signed two really good forwards that season.
Mourinho wanted to show who was in charge, and I was the one who used. Yes, Chelsea then won the league, but it could have added the team that year.
But Mourinho has always done that. He’s doing it now with Dele Alli at Spurs. This is how he copes. This is how you succeed. You can’t blame him.
Mourinho later admitted to Hasselbaink that he was wrong, especially considering that he outpointed every Chelsea striker in Middlesbrough colors the following season.
However, there seems to be no hard feelings, not with Hasselbaink envisioning Mourinho’s Spurs as more realistic title winners than Chelsea this year.
“I said a couple of months ago that Chelsea are not a contender and people reacted, but I still don’t think they are. They are building. Let them build.
‘Mourinho is a serial winner. The Spurs have it all, this is the best opportunity they’ve had. ”
So how would Hasselbaink fare in today’s game? I suggest that the need for the strikers to pressure the opposition would not be to their liking.
“I don’t agree that I didn’t push,” he replies. ‘I did. But it was calculated by pressing.
Good answer.
Anyway, I think now he would score tons of goals. Tons and tons and tons.
Why?
Because he could easily intimidate today’s central defender. Most of them just want to pass the ball. They don’t really want to defend. I’d back up against them, all the time. ‘
That same internal belief means Hasselbaink will back up before his return to the dugout with Burton. Two and a half years have passed since his dismissal at League One Northampton. Before that, he won the League Two title with Burton and had a less pleasant turn at QPR.
“I don’t think I’ve had a good run, especially in my last two jobs,” he says. “I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity.”
So, getting back to management, we are heading towards 2021. Oh, and real estate development, including renovation work on your own home. Hasselbaink shows me a bunch of boxes inside his house in Surrey.
‘My wife demands that I run everywhere. She is in her element! You see these boxes, I have to sort them now. I only do what they tell me.
Perhaps that explains why Hasselbaink was late for a recent appearance on Super Sunday. Of all the co-experts, it was Roy Keane who left waiting. He laughs as he remembers Keane suggesting on air that he should be fined two weeks’ salary.
“ It was the first time I was in his company properly. People have this perception of him, but it’s a lot of fun. He was tough as hell as an opponent. He would never smile, but what an excellent player. ”
Hasselbaink’s debut for Chelsea was against Manchester United on the Charity Shield. He scored in the 2-0 victory. Keane was expelled.
I don’t think it reminds you of that, does it? Not when he can say, “Jimmy, how many titles have you won?”
And that’s Hasselbaink’s biggest regret. He was runner-up in the FA Cup with Chelsea and Cardiff, as well as with Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup and Atlético de Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
Chelsea signed me to win the league (a joint British record of £ 15 million from Atlético). In that sense, I failed. We don’t even get close.
Mourinho then apologized for letting me go. But I’d rather not have that apology. I’d prefer the Premier League winners ‘medal.’
For now, Hasselbaink can console himself with his school sports day award, and Grandpa Jimmy isn’t done on that score yet.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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