van Hecke explains Guardiola conversation

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Defender had a conversation with the City manager on the pitch after our 2-1 win.

Nick Szczepanik

2024-11-11T09:00+00:00

The defender gives Danny Welbeck a hug after Albion scored against City. 📷 by James Boardman.

Jan Paul van Hecke left the Amex for international duty with Holland after the 2-1 victory over Manchester City with praise ringing in his ears - not only from Albion fans and pundits but also from City manager Pep Guardiola.

The Dutch defender and the City boss could be seen deep in conversation on the pitch after the final whistle, and in the post-match press conference Guardiola said: “He played a really good game.”

“He said that? Wow, That is good,” JP said. “It is a proud moment for me. I think he is the best coach in the world.”

Jan Paul van Hecke battling with Erling Haaland. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

The on-pitch conversation, the Dutch defender explained, concerned his tangle with Erling Haaland in the game’s final minutes, which resulted in a yellow card for the Norway striker.

“He just asked me what happened in the box and I explained. He is a great manager. You see the way his team played at the end of last season, we lost 4-0 and I felt like the whole game I was in a rondo. I only have a lot of respect for him.”

JP felt that justice was done on Saturday after defeat at Anfield the previous week. “Of course we got three points now, but I think the performances were quite similar,” he said. “In both games we played really well. Today we got what we deserved. Last week maybe we deserved a bit more.”

Jan Paul van Hecke has made 62 appearances for Albion. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion knew that City would be determined to avoid a fourth successive defeat. “Yes I think you have to be aware of it. They really wanted to win because they are not used to losing. You could feel that in the first 30 minutes, they were really at it. I think we are also a really great team and on our day, we can win against anybody which you saw today.

“That first 30 minutes was tough. I think City showed some great qualities, and scored a goal. Bart has some good saves. But we defended well. [Haaland] is a top striker but he needs also some passes from midfielders and centre-backs. Our team did really well to press and kept them away from our goal and sometimes you need to defend in the box and I think we did well.

“After that we started to have more confidence in the game and played better. You saw a different team after the break, a bit more aggressive - we showed our qualities. The strikers did really well to push even harder and get pressure high up.”

Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen will go on international duty with the Netherlands. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

JP dismissed suggestions that injuries had made City easier to beat than they might have been on another day. “Yes, but we have injuries,” he said. “Last season we had big injuries and not a lot of people were speaking about us. I think it is part of football that sometimes you have your best players injured. Of course it is harder to play against De Bruyne when he is fit because he is an unbelievable player but I think we missed some players."

Victories such as this, he said, build confidence about what the team can do this season. “I think a lot. You can see that today. But it is tough. We just need to keep going and improving. We know we can beat the big teams but we also have to beat the lower teams in the table. We need to be consistent.”

Now he is looking forward to a Nations League match against Hungary in Amsterdam on Saturday before a trip to play Bosnia-Herzegovina in Zenica the following Tuesday after only his second call-up to the full Netherlands squad.

“I’m really proud,” he said. “If you can play for your nation it’s one of the best things you can do, I think. I’m going straight away now to Holland and I’ll see the boys there on Tuesday. So I’m looking forward to that one. It’s the second time now but the first time it was because somebody got injured. So another great moment for me and hopefully more to come.”