Ruud Gullit on Memphis, Mourinho and the Irish-Dutch 'bondage' - SportsJOE.ie

The dreadlocks are gone.

But the attitude, the effortless cool and the impressive knowledge of football remain. Ruud Gullit was one of the first major foreign player to arrive into England's top flight in the mid 1990's. As part of a flying visit to Dublin this week, the Dutchman gave SportsJOE his thoughts on Memphis Depay, Robin Van Persie, Jose Mourinho and life in the MLS.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: Memphis Depay of Manchester United controls the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on August 8, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

How highly do you rate Memphis Depay? "The good thing is, what I say to a lot of talents in Holland, is to stay in Holland until you have played some first team football to get experience. He played a couple of seasons already with PSV and came because of that in the national team and this is the bonus you get for what you have done in the Dutch competition and the national team." "You go to a big club. Now I see a lot of kids at 15 or 16 who don't play any first team football who maybe later on go on loan somewhere, but that is not what you expected." "Depay is a good player and he's excited to play at Old Trafford, everyone would, but he needs time to adapt himself. But it's also strange as he plays his best football from the left and now he's behind the striker." "If you want to get the best out of him, play him in his best position but we have to see." What do you think of the latest drama at Chelsea over their physio?

“I don’t know, I think it’s not this, this was not the reason. I think something happened already previously. But to judge something that only just occurs."

“I think with Chelsea there is always something going on, I think they had a wonderful season last year, I still think the main thing they want to do is win the Champions League."

"Robbie Di Matteo put Chelsea on the map of international football, he is very responsible for that. I think they are still the team to beat and everybody tries enormous effort to beat them."

REPRO FREE***PRESS RELEASE NO REPRODUCTION FEE*** Carlsberg excite football fans with Barclays Premier League Trophy Visit to Dublin 12/8/2015 Carlsberg ambassador and former Ballon d'Or winner, Ruud Gullit, showcased the most coveted trophy in English football to fans in Dublin today. Carlsberg, official beer of the Barclay’s Premier League, brought footballing icon, Ruud Gullit, to Dublin along with the Premier League trophy. Carlsberg gave fans the opportunity to get up close to the coveted trophy and Gullit at D2 Bar on Harcourt Street to discuss all the talking points from the opening round of fixtures from the new season. Visit facebook.com/Carlsberg for more information Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Is the Premier League still the best league?

"The Premier League is the holy grail, money wise at least, there are other competitions as well but the English Premier League is the most exciting one."

"Germany is very good, Spain already showed how good they are. Even the Italians who are criticised are doing very well because they had semi-finalists in the Europa League and one of the finalists in the Champions League so they are doing something well as well."

"The Premier League was thinking ‘Hey, what happened’ because they were convinced they would be dominating the Champions League. So other teams in other countries are doing something well as well."

Is it a worry to see so many European player heading into effective retirement in the MLS

"At the moment no, because at the moment they are players who have already done everything in Europe. They are basically in retirement mode."

"Last time in New York they lost with Pirlo, Lampard and Villa, so it doesn't matter. The most difficult part also in America is you play in the summer, you play in 30-35 degrees celsius, humidity 90 percent. You have to play games in the summer, so it is not easy. You have to travel a lot and the level is quite okay."

"The potential in America is unbelievable. If you see how big that country is and how many players there are, the only thing is they know, kids who go to high school, they know there is not so much to earn when you compare to all the other sports. So sometimes that makes them decide to do something different. But the potential is enormous."

Do you want to get back into management?

"I would love to. If something comes along that I would like. I must say that I like my life at the moment. I have opportunities to travel a lot, to see around the world. I am always involved in football.

You see the difference when I was playing and now, how much change that has happened. And I keep an eye on what happens. The Irish team is struggling a little bit, I see. Fourth in qualification?

The Dutch are also not much better. They have also difficulty in qualification. But the Dutch and the Irish have a good bondage(he means bonding) So we have a history together."

Ruud Gullit spoke to SportsJOE in Dublin as part of the Carlsberg Premier League Trophy Tour of Ireland.

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Ruud Gullit on Memphis, Mourinho and the Irish-Dutch ‘bondage’

The dreadlocks are gone.

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