As soon as the Dutchman Daley Blind scored the second goal in the closing minutes of the first half against USA, he ran towards the Dutch dug-out. During his run, two thoughts raced through his mind: first his father Danny and second the benched player Wout Weghorst.
Danny Blind, the father, played in two World Cups for the Netherlands (1990 and 1994), and has coached the Netherlands for two years from 2015. He is now an assistant coach at Louis Van Gal.
❤️ Daley Blind shares a proud moment with his father Danny Blind.
🇳🇱 Danny Blind played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Dutch national team.
🫶 Like father, like son#FIFA world cup|#ENG|#NEDUSA pic.twitter.com/KqucJmlUuA
— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) December 3, 2022
And so Danny ran. He saw Weghorst for the first time along the sidelines. “He recently polished my shoes after training and then said: ‘I will polish your shoes. Then you’re going to score a goal.’
And so it had turned out. “Then Wout was standing there in front and I thought ‘I’ll get you then’. The two celebrated before Danny went to his father. He held his father’s face with a beaming smile.
“He was busy with his work. I said nothing. I grabbed him. I know he’s very down to earth and doesn’t want to show too much of the father-son moment. But we do enjoy it together. So much emotion comes up and sometimes you act a little weird. It’s pure emotion. I don’t score that often and if you can be important to the team at a time like that, that’s fantastic. Of course, it’s also great for yourself to score at a World Cup,” Daley told reporters in the mixed zone after the game. The father had won all three European club trophies as a player, including the 1995 Champions League. son going into this World Cup?