Month: June 2012

by Jan

The New Coach, part 1.

We will most likely have a number of posts on this topic, before we can go to posts covering the actual new coach….

So, from all the names we’ve seen and heard, I think we can rule out Ronald Koeman and Frank de Boer. Both are committed at Eredivisie clubs and the KNVB will not lure a coach away from its members. Not done.

So, big sigh or relief ( in Koeman’s case… Although now I have him at Feyenoord :-(… But he does well there…so all good…)

The name of Louis van Gaal is dropped a lot too, but the media respond very badly to him. His tenure earlier was a drama. Not just the results, also his relationship with the media.

He resigned and had this live broadcast press conference ( no longer available on YouTube) where he basically screamed one last time at the press… “Are you happy now? Louis steps down?? Are you all gloating??”… Classic stuff.

I don’t think the KNVB will want him back.

Rijkaard’s agent already said Frank isn’t interested.

Guus isn’t interested. Dickie won’t do it ( Thank God)…

Danny Blind apparently is not well-liked

Co Adriaanse is obviously available but like Louis is seen as difficult to deal with.

The players would like him. Van Hagegem supports him.

Ruud Gullit is actually putting his hand up. Gullit did ok with the U21s and is seen as a great ambassador for the sports. Johan Derksen is publically supporting Ruud’s bid as he could be a key figure head internationally to restore our pride.

I don’t see Ruud in the lead role though. Because you do have to be a fairly good coach too… Derksen forgets that it’s important mostly, to get results to get international acclaim…

But Co in charge, with Ruud as side-kick for the PR and a strong field coach to work with the lads… Maybe two? Cocu steps down… Maybe someone like Ronald de Boer? And Jan Wouters? Or Patrick Kluivert (who won the title as coach of Twente 2)?

What a team!!

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by Jan

Who will be our next leader?

You can see their response: De Boer and Hiddink yell NOOO, Van Gaal fancies it…. Adriaanse tries to find the exit and Rijkaard & Koeman act as if they’re deaf… 🙂

While Italy, Germany and Spain excite the world of football (and soccer 😉 ) the Dutch are debating, blaming, leaking, hiding, evaluating and – since yesterday – looking for a new coach…

While all this is happening, it is interesting to see – on a grander scale – how three of the four semi finalists owe a lot to the Dutch football school.

It’s not a secret that Barcelona and therefore Spain as a football team owes a lot to Johan Cruyff, Rinus Michels and to a lesser extend Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard. Total football was introducted to Barcelona in the 1970s and Guardiola and co have all expressed their gratitude to JC for his football lessons. Xavi, Iniesta and even Guardiola have shared how Louis van Gaal, despite being less influential, also added some touches to the way they play football in Barcelona and with so many Barca players in the national team, it’s only logical that Spain plays, well, Dutch…

It’s also known to most that Germany has made a huge shift from 2004 onwards in recognizing that youth development and personal abilities are key pillars for football. When Klinsmann and Low took the reigns in 2006, a huge youth development turnaround Total Football-style was under way, allowing players like Muller, Ozil, Kroos and Reus to make their way to the top, playing un-German football.

Former Bayern assistant coach Andries Jonker (no, he’s not a candidate for the job!!) explained earlier how Low copied the way Van Gaal played with Bayern in his first season. The positions Van Gaal found for players like Schweini, Muller, Badstuber and Boateng was instantly copied and although Gomez did not have a good relationship with Die Mannschaft, now the lanky Bayern center is the first choice for the German coach. Jonker: “Low did exactly what we did, and picked the best alternatives for the spots we had occupied by foreign players.”

What I didn’t know, is that Arrigo Sacchi – of AC Milan 1980s fame – is the current director of youth development of the Italian Football federation. Since quite some time now, he’s moulding the Italian youth rep teams to the – yes, you guessed it – Dutch school. It was never a secret that he loved Dutch football ( Duh!! Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard) but what I didn’t know is that as a young man he traveled with his dad to Holland a lot, as his dad was a shoe salesman and visited Dutch customers in Amsterdam. And young Arrigo would take the tram to the De Meer to watch Cruyff and co train under Michels, Kovacs and Ivics. These lessons are now imposed on the youth reps of Italy and coach Brandelli and Sacchi work well together in translating this onto the pitch.

Portugal is the one country of the top 4 not really interested in playing Dutch. They play “10 mediocre players + C Ronaldo” tactics.

So, with the real Dutch team imploding and playing without any passion, tactics, cohesion and desire, it’s good to see three other “Dutch” teams playing with intelligence, intend, focus and joy…

And I do wonder…. Cassano, Balotelli and Pirlo… They make the difference… What if we would play Robben, Van Persie up front with Sneijder in the Pirlo role… And the rest of the team simply in service of those three… So Van der Vaart, Huntelaar, Afellay and all the other wanna-be artists: on the bench!

A team like this…

Robben – Robin

Schaars Strootman Sneijder De Jong

Emanuelson Heitinga Vlaar VD Wiel

Stekelenburg

Three prima donnas and 7 work horses…

What if….

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by Jan

Thank for the memories, Bert….

Bert resigned.

He saw that there is no basis to move ahead.

Despite the earlier “leaks” saying that he would give it a go and would sacrifice two key players (well, at least one world class striker), he sees now that it is not going to work.

Whether it was Bert’s wife telling him, or whether it was Bert van Oostveen or even Wesley Sneijder whispering in his ear, we will never know…

It’s sad though. The man didn’t deserve this exit.

He gave what he had. But he failed at the end….

Too bad. I will remember him fondly. But stepping away is/was the best decision.

Now I only hope they will NOT GET KOEMAN!!!

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by Jan

Don't be fooled by all these media people

Before I begin this post: I have something new and exciting on the homepage! Exciting for me, that is hahaha. A donation option!! Yes… You can finally share the love with me ;-).

Seriously, I do incur some cost for this site and although I’m happy doing this I wouldn’t mind you would support me for the time I put into this… So, that is all I will say about it. For now. I will try and make the option a bit more sexy, but for now, it works. Wanna check? Be my guest!

Back to football!

I can imagine most of you are getting really anxious reading about all the things that will happen with Oranje.

Let me assure you: most of the stuff that you read is spat out into the open by none other than Johan Derksen.

A vulture.

This guy is the biggest commercial rat out there. He is the publisher/editor of the VI magazine, co-produces the tv program he co-hosts and he publishes football books (which he plugs constantly during the program). He makes stupid music cds around the euros and is the one to gain most commercially from the Dutch team. But whenever he can, he will slander and criticise and humiliated our players.

Take the wife of Heitinga. She is not a bad looking girl. And apparently wants to be on tv, like Sylvie. So he attacks her in a vile way for being the leak of Oranje and trying to be as good as Yolanthe and Silvie. And in a vile and meanspirited way.


Mrs Heitinga

He will never conduct himself in the right way of checking sources and stories out but is the first to throw up his rumours on telly because he wants to be first.

Last time he said “all players have a line out to their fave reporters and then they will use those reporters for their own personal interests etc etc.” A day later, he suddenly comes with all sorts of stories about all the big name players in the squad. Bar one. Wesley Sneijder. So the show’s host asks him: so now you have a player chucking a line out and using you, eh? And as Sneijder is the only player not named in his diatribe, the link must have been Sneijder. Or maybe Derksen makes it all up?

I watch the program ( I like Rene van der Gijp) but I loath Johan Derksen.

The stories simply don’t add up.

Now he said Bert doesn’t want to work with Hunter and Raf anymore. Ridiculous.

I personally don’t believe that is true. Two days ago, for instance, he said that the whole squad wanted Huntelaar out, as he behaved like a spoiled brat. Jack van Gelder, the reporter on the rival channel, checked this over the phone with Sneijder ( on holiday on Ibiza), who said: “Huntelaar? Bullshit. That is nonsense. We didn’t have a problem with Huntelaar.”

So, Derksen is trying to create mayhem, because it sells magazines.

But if it is true, it would be stupid. If Raf and Hunter were showing discontent, it had everything to do with expectations management by Van Marwijk. I don’t think these players were annoyed that they didn’t play, but that there was no clarity. Van der Vaart had demonstrated his contributions and value at the World Cup 2010 and in the qualification games. He expected to hear from the coach what the plans were, but the coach was never consistent in his communication and choices.


Van Persie and Huntelaar with an awkward embrace

If there is one thing, players despise in a coach, it is uncertainty and doubt.

Cruyff is 100% right when he said that no one on telly sees the big picture. They are all talking about Ibi being arrogant, Robin not needing to talk to the media, Robben being selfish, etc etc. But that is all symptoms!! Not the problem.

The problem is management! Clear and simple.

Codes of conduct.
Shared values.
Rules.
A shared objective.
And sanctions if you don’t live by this.

If the rules says that players need to be available for interviews, then Mr Wenger and Van Persie have a choice: either you give interviews or you are out.

If the rules say that the coach needs to be clear and consistent, then Bert should not exit Urby for not being a real left back but at the same time keep Schaars for that spot.

If the rule says that benchwarmers can not come to the Euros, sorry, but Bouma and even Afellay shouldn’t be there.


Johan Cruyff: “Talk to the hand, Bert! Talk to the hand…”

If the leader does not behave in accordance to the code, the players won’t either.

So, despite my sympathy for Bert ( he won us a UEFA Cup in 2002 and got us to the World Cup finals) but he made too many mistakes to be given a second chance. I simply don’t think it will work. So, I’m protecting Bert a bit as well.

The travel arrangements ( 3 big flights before 3 big matches???) were a big blunder.

The selection criteria changes ( Bouma, Afellay, Willems, Maher, Anita, Emanuelson) were questionable.

The “chance” Vaart and Huntelaar were given was questionable.

The decision to play a non-fit Afellay and bench fit Vaart or Narsingh was questionable.

Not instructing Robben to play on the left and cross balls in was questionable.

Too many things happened (in my view) to ever enable players and coach to look each other straight in the eye.

I think Bert should say to the KNVB: “I want another chance, but I want a round table meeting with my key players. If they afterwards demonstrate a will to go forward, cool. If not, I will resign.”

And I wouldn’t invite Bouma or Narsingh per se, but the strongholders of the team: Sneijder, De Jong, Stekelenburg, Van Persie, Robben, Huntelaar, vd Vaart, etc.

And have a go. For half a day, full day, what ever.

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by Jan

Bert will stay in the job

Mid-way through the evaluation, the final conclusion has been leaked to the media already.

Bert van Marwijk will stay. The KNVB sees a future and so does Bert.

The KNVB and Bert do see changes need to be made. Let’s assume they are alluding to tactics and staff make up and selection criteria and codes of conduct etc.

But in principle, Bert will stay on.

Your thoughts?

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by Jan

Renovate the Oranje team!!!!

Not really… :-).

I’m not for that. I don’t believe in forced things. It doesn’t work. It’s all emotion! Sneijder out! Vaart out! Van Persie out! Heitinga out!

It’s all based on our disappointment. We feel betrayed.

Well, I’m sure the lads are not sleeping well either.

These are the same guys that almost got the big one two years ago.

I am also not about “age”. And that is partly because I’m “getting old”.

But what is age? Good enough is young/old enough. If Willems and Maher are mentioned, that surely Kuyt and Mathijsen are still welcome too. As long as they are GOOD ENOUGH!

Apologies for yelling.

But let’s get serious people.

We are not in trouble.

We have great goalies. Stekelenburg is 29 years old. He has 6 good years in him. That is two World Cups and one Euro to go. And behind him: Vorm, Krul, Cillesen, Mulder and God knows who shows up in the next 6 years. Period.

Central Defenders. Maybe we are not too strong here. Maybe. We have Ryan Donk in Belgium doing well. We have Viergever, Bruma, Gouweleeuw and De Vrij making their way up. Rekik is only 18 years old now but he’s made his debut for Man City and he will certainly improve. Heitinga is certainly not spent. Daley Blind will focus on the center back role at Ajax and with a strong marker next to him, he can be the same kind of players as dad. Relatively good defensively, but very strong in build up. The point is we need to practice. Test people. Develop them. And then there is that man Douglas! Most likely playing for us in Brazil in two years. I am not concerned. And if it was me as team manager, I’d try out Strootman as sweeper.


Looking through an orange pair of glasses…

Full backs. A spot of concern. As full backs in the 1970s and 1980s were usually the worst players in the team, these days they need to be really strong. Fast, strong defensively, good vision, good headers and being able to cross a ball in.
Jetro Willems is a man for the future on the left. Erik Pieters will get back. Buttner will further improve and hopefully Emanuelson will too. And then there is that man Drenthe?! He is so sensationally talented! But needs a coach who can “touch” him. Instead of criticising him for being late at practice. Surely, if Balotelli is allowed to step on faces and burning down houses, someone should be able to motivate Royston?? I’m sure Feyenoord will produce some prospects for that spot too. At Ajax we saw Koppers playing really strong there for a spell and Patrick van Aanholt is a candidate too by then. I’d say, we should be fine.
The right back spot might be Van der Wiel’s now, but Kelvin Leerdam will be breathing in his neck and so will Ronnie Stam hopefully. And Ricardo van Rhijn will show himself too.

In midfield, I’m hoping we will play with only one holding mid. And we have a number to choose from. Nigel de Jong is still going strong. Strootman is too. Stijn Schaars is a candidate, while youngsters like Jordy Clasie and Leroy Fer will knock on the door with full force. Vernon Anita was close already and Ibi Afellay and Adam Maher can play the part too.

Creative midfielders galore, normally. The playmakers. Van der Vaart and Sneijder will not throw the towel as yet. Van Ginkel at Vitesse is catching everyone’s eye, as is Adam Maher at AZ. Georginio Wijnaldum was close already this time around. I personally don’t see it in Siem de Jong, but hey…add him to the mix. We have some exciting youngsters coming through at Feyenoord and I’m sure at Ajax, PSV, Vitesse, Sparta and AZ too… But with the number of strikers on hand, we should consider Mr Van Persie as a creative midfielder too.

Central strikers, no problemo. Hunter, Luuk de Jong, Bram Dost, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Luc Castaignos, Zeefuik, Nacer Barazite, etc etc…

On the wings, Arjen Robben will be around for a bit. At least I hope so. I think he is great. But please please, on the left wing, so we’ll see some crosses come in. If we play with a Hunter like striker, that is actually handy… We have Ola John on the left too and he has shown tremendous skill in crossing the ball in. And then there’s Derk Boerrigter on the left too. Narsingh on the right is a good classic winger too. Wijnaldum can play on the right wing and we know that if necessary Afellay can play there too.

And with youngsters like Memphis Depay (PSV winger), Stefano Denswil and Mitchell Dijks ( Ajax defenders) and Tonny Trindade de Vilhena (Feyenoord midfielder) even in the mix ( all around 20 years old in 2014), our future does look bright.

So, in summary, what do we have:

1. A very talented and skilful group of players, in a nice age mix
2. A football culture and style to rely on
3. Tactical smarts ( if we pick the right coach)
4. A strong need/urge/desire to take revenge on ourselves for this Euro debacle

The only thing we need to create is time to try out new players and test game play. Whenever the A-team gets together for a game, get the second tier lads together for practice. In the 2013 summer, don’t fall for the money trap to take the team to Japan, China or Argentina, but get the boys together for a practice period in Holland. Test young defenders, organise practice games against Ajax 2 or Katwijk.

Don’t let money be the guide and new coach, don’t do things “because that is how we always do them” but invest in re-visiting the Dutch playing style and drill it in. Forward pressure, high paced passing, wing play and pass&move.

There is no need to consider the 2014 World Cup as lost. We can be ready with a strong squad IF the KNVB has the balls to make the right choice.

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by Jan

My evaluation of Bert van Marwijk

The KNVB will evaluate Bert van Marwijk in the coming weeks.

We will do it now!

I believe Bert should go.

Not that he should be fired per se. I think Bert should resign. But despite everything ( weak defense, egos, blablabla) it is his job to keep it all in check and manage it. That is why it’s called team manager.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

He did well in 2010, we all say, but maybe it was the team carrying Bert to the finals, more than the other way around?

There is a number of aspects I can not pass judgement on. And I won’t. But I will mention them. The players’ fitness. What could Bert and co. have done about that? The weird 1300 km travel program for every game? Was that really necessary?

Things I can judge are:

– Squad & Team Selection
– Tactics
– Subs
– Team culture

I’d like to bring in some stuff I overheard in the post-Euros debates on Dutch telly. One fairly well positioned ex-player said that he had some off-the-record debates with Bert about Oranje and he got the impression Bert saw this implosion coming. Bert apparently lamented the fact that we had such weak defenders. Apparently, Bert felt that the Eredivisie central defenders ( incl Vlaar, De Vrij, Marcellis, Viergever, Gouweleeuw, Brouwers too) were too weak in footballing sense to support the gung-ho midfielders/forwards. The mismatch. According to this ex-player ( Rene van der Gijp), Bert was pretty desperate about this. ( “You tell me, Rene! You tell me who to pick!!”)

Can I start with Team Culture? The so-called camps and rifts? I think that is all a bit exaggerated. These camps and rifts are always there. 23 guys who are all machos and winners. You’re bound to get that. Even during the World Cup 2010 campaign I’m sure some players had issues, but we never heard. Because we were winning. Once you start losing, these things come out. Camp Sneijder Camp Schmeijder. Who cares. They are all cocky little brats. Let them sort it out. It’s of course something Bert needs to manage, if possible, but as we don’t know exactly what went on, I think it’s hard for us to judge Bert on this.

As for Squad and Team Selection, I do believe Bert is to blame for some of the grieve. Wilfred Bouma? Really?? Why? Why wasn’t Brouwers or Viergever or De Vrij ever tested? Is it really so that a 34 year old spent benchwarmer at PSV is a better option that someone like Viergever? If you haven’t tested it, how do you know?


I wanted to avoid Spain and I managed to do so…

Urby Emanuelson played left back for Ajax. Plays left back at times for AC Milan. Is experienced. Has 100+ pro games under his belt. Plays in the Serie A. Surely, he is at least as good as Willems? Don’t get me wrong: I like Willems. But an 18 year old rookie can only do so much in a team that is dysfunctional. Put Willems in Spain or Germany and he’d be great. But what do we expect from him in this Oranje. Knowing how badly out of shape we are/were, Bert should have protected him. In the Portugal game, he played horrific. Also, three top matches in 8 days is a lot for any player, let alone an 18 year old rookie…

I like Schaars a lot. Another player I like to see more of, but if you have De Jong, Van Bommel, Strootman, Afellay and Van der Vaart for the holding mid role and if Schaars himself declares left back is not his thing, why select him? Why not take another player who can play or is willing to play there? Vernon Anita for instance?

And why bring a real winger like Narsingh with many assists under his belt to the Euros and not play him? At all?

Why putting so much faith in a player ( Afellay) who hasn’t had 18 minutes of play in the last 6 months? Why play him in two games in a row? He’s not even a winger? Against Germany, a real left footed winger would have found Van Persie, but Afellay screwed up a relatively simple pass over 6 yards by playing it behind the Arsenal striker… And like Willems, everone knew Afellay would be able to play 3 games at top level in 8 days!

And any coach with Hunter and Van Persie in the squad would gladly play them both. The whole nation ( incl. Cruyff and Van Hanegem) pleaded with Bert to use them both. Put Sneijder on line back (on the holding level) and use Van Persie behind Hunter. At least try this out once! Bert never did. The only chance Huntelaar got was with Van Persie and Van der Vaart as wingers. Goodness gracious me! No wonder Hunter is pissed off! Bad management, Bert.
But if you do play Huntelaar, you need players on the flanks that will cross in. So, Robben on the left, someone else on the right. And you really want to play offensive football: Narsingh. If you are fearful of the balance ( or lack thereof): Kuyt.
And if you need legs to go from box to box, why not play Strootman instead of De Jong? Why not test these concepts?

So we’re evaluation tactics now… We played our best match in the qualifications with Van der Vaart on the holding mid spot. Why not continue on that path? Why resort back to the couple Bommel/De Jong? So many questions on line ups and tactics…

The most important one, the role of Arjen Robben. Robben in top form is in the same league as C Ronaldo. Just under the Messi league :-). He can tear you apart. But if he’s not ( the dribbles didn’t work, the left foot shots were all wasted), maybe he should play on the left wing. So he can serve up crosses. In particular when Hunter is on!

And we have all seen how the team was divided into a group tracking back and a group pushing forward. Leaving huge gaps for Danes, Germans and Portuguese players to have fun in. This is something the coach should fix. ( I think it’s something the players should fix too, but they clearly weren’t able to). And our coach wasn’t able to fix it. Too bad. Really sad. But that is a big no no of course.

We didn’t play too sexy in 2010. We wanted to fix that. But did we ever practice this? Do we actually have the back four to do so? Shouldn’t we be realistic and realise that without Xabi Alonso, Busquets, Pique, Ramos and Alba we can’t play that kind of football?

If Bert sees that Van der Wiel is not in top form, Mathijsen is not fit and inexperienced Willems is in the team, shouldn’t he be asking the lads to play sexy and attacking football?

I think Bert became the victim ( and the players too by the way) of good intentions: trying to appease the fans, trying to impress the world, trying to keep the “mates-vibe” in the squad intact….

Maybe Bert should have said: I can not play total football with this group. We are not good enough for that. We have no Krol, Rijkaard, De Boer, Stam. We will play like we did in 2010. Go for result. Win the Euros. And hopefully club coaches will develop some better defenders…

To top if off, I believe the substitution actions of Bert said enough. Bringing Vaart and Hunter changed the whole make up of the team. It affected too much. After they were on, it was chaos. Nothing was created, really. And bringing Kuyt late in the game had no function other than making sure the number 14 in the hierarchy got some minutes. Against Denmark, we needed Luuk de Jong. Against Germany and Portugal, we needed Narsingh.

In summary, I think Bert made many mistakes. And these mistakes tell me that tactically, he is limited. He only knows one system and has no ability to improvise or be flexible. He basically hoped and gambled that Oranje could repeat the 2010 trick. With lesser full backs. Non-fit Mathijsen. Rusty Van Bommel. And an unfit Afellay.

These mistakes, for me, mean that he needs to go. Let someone else have a go.

Bert deserves a statue. But he doesn’t deserve the job anymore…

So, the question arises: who now?


Is this our new ambassador??

In my book, no Ronald Koeman.

I don’t have any reason to believe Koeman is “The Man”. Why? He was great as a player but mediocre as a coach until now. He played 4-4-2 with Ajax! He got into trouble there with everyone. Including Sneijder and Van der Vaart! He left PSV for Valencia. Where he made a
mess of things. Some Valencia officials still wake up screaming “Koeman!!” when they had too much to eat that evening… He almost destroyed that club. Then he landed at AZ where they kicked him out before the season was over… There is no indication whatsoever that Mr Koeman can handle this. He has had one good season with Feyenoord. That is all!

Also, I think it’s wrong for the KNVB to approach coaches who are employed by memberclubs of the KNVB. Not done!

We need someone with:

1. Authority
2. Proven experience in getting results
3. A passion for total football, attacking football
4. Dutch nationality

In my book, Van Gaal is out. He screwed it up once. He, like Koeman, is thrown out everywhere as he’s a dick.

Van Hanegem won’t make a good team manager. He’s probably good as an assistant.

Cruyff won’t do it.

Rijkaard probably won’t do it.

So the best candidate is Co Adriaanse!

He has done tremendously well with Ajax, Willem II, AZ, Salzburg and Porto. He has authority. The players look up to him. Sneijder and Van der Vaart rate him as their best coach ever. He is great as a figure head, supporters and media respect him and most importantly, he has the balls to play attacking football. And he’s available.

End of evaluation.


My balls are this big!!

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by Jan

Player Ratings and our Future

It’s time, with some days behind us for the dust to settle, to do a proper analysis of our current squad, their performance and their future in our Oranje.

We will analyse the coach separately after this post. And then look at our future material. The prospects…

Maarten Stekelenburg
Coming out of a mediocre season it Italy, Maarten Stekelenburg played an ok tournament. He was lucky to stop a number of close efforts (most of them by sheer luck I believe) and did what you expect from a goalie. But to win a tournament, you need your goalie to stop at least that Denmark shot and the second Gomez goal too. He didn’t look too good there. In terms of coaching and defensive management: I do not get the impression he is at Van der Sar level. I believe he is a bit lacklustre in his body language. Aspects were both Vorm and Krul have impressed me more. Although I do not think that Vorm and Krul – being still young – would have faired better in that department. I do believe though, that Vorm would have stopped the Denmark goal and Krul would have stopped the 2nd Gomez one :-). But, Stekelenburg is still going to be in our World Cup squad, although not necessarily as first goalie. If rumours are correct and Vorm moves to Tottenham and Krul to Chelsea, who knows what happens.

Gregory van der Wiel
Came out of a troublesome season with Ajax. Was injured for a while (and Ricardo van Rhijn played Van der Wiel into oblivion) and didn’t return to his full form. Played a bad tournament but showed some good spells in the Portugal game. His defending and passing were under par and his crosses atrocious. Needs to really up his game or could be easily surpassed by said Van Rhijn, Feyenoord’s Kelvin Leerdam or even Ronnie Stam, if he indeed decides to come back to Holland ( PSV). Stam has the right age and playing for Wigan will most certainly have strengthened him. Van der Wiel will need to improve big time. And his post tournament interviews don’t bode well. “There is something wrong between Oranje and me. I can’t play my own game.”

Joris Mathijsen
Didn’t have a great season at Malaga. Was criticised and benched and most likely his legs can’t carry it anymore. He came into the tournament with an injury and was almost out for the whole tourney. Played a bad game against Germany. Showed some positive forward movement in the first 15 minutes of the Portugal game, but drowned with the rest of them. Doesn’t show the leadership and build up qualities we need if we want to play Total Football. Joris was a good soldier for us, but needs to retire. And I wonder if we will be mentioned in ten years from now…

John Heitinga
Did have a tremendous season at Everton. Man of the Season. Doesn’t get better at that level. Johnny won’t win CLs or even European League trophies with Everton but this was a mighty season. But playing central defender at Everton or at Oranje is a different thing. He is not expected to push forward with Everton. At Oranje, he constantly tracked back. Don’t know why, but he did. He also didn’t seem 100% fit. Did he not mention this to Bert? Johnny will be a 2014 player though, and I can even see him making one last jump to Liverpool or Tottenham.

Ron Vlaar
Ron had a big season at a small club ( relatively speaking). Being great at Feyenoord means you can tag along in Oranje. We can’t expect Vlaar to suddenly carry the team. I think he played ok. Any defender would get in trouble against a C Ronaldo on fire. And with Van der Wiel slipping up, the tall (but slow) Vlaar had trouble playing against Portugal. But he could be still valuable. He’s only 26 years old. He’s strong, good header of the ball and a good long pass. Vlaar should have put that Sneijder cross against Portugal away, allowing Oranje a chance at 2-1 to progress. You only get one of those in these types of games and a real winner, a real top player, scores it. Vlaar could be 2014 material, unless Viergever, Bruma and Gouweleeuw develop much better.

Jetro Willems
This 18 year old prospect had a big step up from playing Jupiler league with Sparta to playing Nani and Thomas Muller. I was tremendously excited to see him in the squad, but in hindsight: this only works if a lad like this can settle in a team that operates well. In a Germany or a Spain, Willems would have been great. In this nervous and torn Oranje, it was actually a sorry sight to see the lad struggling. Irresponsible of our coach. Maybe Jetro told him it was all good, maybe the lad is mentally super strong, but was this necessary. If you have Buttner, Emanuelson, Schaars, Bouma, Anita… I think the lad did well, considering… What can you expect? I also believe he has the goods to become a really exciting player. But he needs at least couple of consistent seasons. Man United apparently wants to sign him and that could work out really well, or it could ruin him… Drenthe style.

Mark van Bommel
Had a good season with AC Milan, but in a different system and in a different role. His 35 year old legs can not cope with the gaps we shown between defence and offence, but I don’t think any midfielder could. Maybe Strootman could have been the exception. But he never got the chance to show it. Bommel’s individual game wasn’t too great. He missed his men, he allowed himself to be muscled off the ball… he had great moments and he had bad moments. One also has to question his leadership, if it’s true that there are two camps. But… I can’t imagine Mark continuing in Oranje, so let’s thank him for all the great memories. He gave it what he had, I’m sure. But it’s time for new blood now.

Nigel de Jong
Had an ok season with Man City. People on telly in Holland claim he only played 12 games or so, but that is total rubbish. I watched him weekly ( or Man City) and Nigel was called on anytime City got in trouble. He is still highly valued at City and he had a good season there. He is still strong, committed, focused and playing sober. I think he was the best player we had this tournament! Which is not good news of course. But Nigel deserves to be a squad member still. For sure. He lacks dynamics ( see Strootman) but he surely plug holes and destroy. And apparently, he is a good header too, suddenly?

Rafael van der Vaart
Had an ok season with Spurs. I don’t think they did tremendously well. They should have ended number 3 for that. And Rafa is not as important and influential as Modric is. Rafa is a great player, good vision, good passing, good goal scoring etc. But he’s not a holding mid. So in a 4-2-3-1 he’s not the right man for the holding mid role. He is a playmaker. But if you have Sneijder already…? Do you play them both? And what to do with Van Persie? And on top of that, he’s not getting fitter and not younger either… He will be 31 years old in 2014. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a massive Vaart fan, but… With Maher knocking on the door, and Wijnaldum, Clasie…. If he is in great shape, he could come along. Also, Rafa does need to keep his ego in check. He always thinks he should play. This tournament, last World Cup, I agreed. In 2014, probably not…

Ibi Afellay
Came out of a horrendous injury. Hasn’t played more than 18 minutes for Barca since. Bert thought Ibi could make the difference. This tells me Bert lost faith. It’s ridiculous to think a player who isn’t sensational in the first place (he’s not Messi or Rooney or C Ronaldo) to lift us in three top games in eight days after such an injury. Ibi did well against Northern Ireland (YEA!!). And ok against Denmark. But drowned in his second game against Germany. He was also playing against type (he’s not a left winger) and Bert could have or should have used the only other real winger we have in the squad: Luciano Narsingh.
If Ibi keeps on developing, he will be a key player for us at the World Cup 2014. He played holding mid for PSV for a while and did that really well. I don’t see a winger in him.

Wesley Sneijder
Came out of a troubled season, with injuries and issues at Inter. His mentality and personality – as ever – were great. Good positive vibes. Winner mentality. Humor. And leadership. On the pitch, he was hot and cold. Great in possession, but lazy when he lost the ball. He did show his class and a fit and motivated Sneijder is definitely one of the best midfielders/players on the planet. He does need to keep his ego in check, but with Sneijder it’s relatively easy: make him important and he will carry the responsibility. He will most likely be the future skipper of Holland in 2014 and beyond. The problem with Wes, like with Robin, is that they have a protected position at their clubs. They are the guys that call the shots. They need to lose that attitude once back in Oranje.

Robin van Persie
Came out of a sensational season with Arsenal on a personal level. Staying fit all season and scoring from every angle. But his position in the Oranje hierarchy is different and his role in the team was overshadowed by Huntelaar’s position. There have also always been rumours about Van Persie’s bad relationship with buddies Sneijder/Van der Vaart, but Robin was the first to jump Rafa after he scored against Portugal. The national debate Van Persie vs Huntelaar probably didn’t help. For either of them. Van Persie played a good game vs Denmark but once in scorings position, he blocked. Bad touches, bad balance, bad decision making, too eager….etc. Van Persie carries a weight on his shoulders and bad management by Bert may have caused all this. But, with Van Persie’s skill and talent, he will most certainly make the World Cup cut. Hoping the team manager will be able to craft a winning team of all those talents.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar
Came out of a tremendous season with Schalke. Has Man United and Valencia chasing him for his signature, apparently. Started in a bad way. Was promised a fair chance as the starting striker but felt screwed by the coach. Couldn’t make an impression in all his minutes, but in his defence: he didn’t get a playable ball all this tournament. Hunter will most certainly be part of the new squad, unless Van Marwijk stays on. Then, Klaas Jan could chuck a Van Nistelrooy and retire early.

Arjen Robben
Came out of a difficult season with Bayern. Suffered injuries and let his team down at the key moments (Dortmund, Chelsea). Came into the tournament totally focused on re-establishing the brand Robben. Over-zealous. Over-eager. Too self absorbed. Playing too much for Robben. Bert needs to share the blame by persisting with Robben on the right wing. But it does seem that Robben’s injuries robbed him of his speed. And his left foot clearly was out of whack. He’s still a threat. And an in-form Robben can compete with C Ronaldo for the second-best of the world trophy. But despite all his efforts, his contributions were mediocre at best. If his body agrees, Robben will be a candidate for the 2014 World Cup.

Dirk Kuyt
Came off a disappointing season with Liverpool. Didn’t play a lot. And if he did, didn’t play too well. Is always hailed for his work ethics. But the minutes he got never enabled him to make a change. In my view, Narsingh would have been more impactful. It’s interesting to see how Dirk will fair in Turkey. He might be spent. He might not make the cut for 2014. That is what I expect. But never say die with Dirkie…

The Others
Schaars disappointed me by throwing the towel on the left back spot so quickly. He is a good midfielder and if he indeed moves to Inter, he might develop further and take Van Bommel’s position in the squad. But he’s not getting younger either and needs to compensate his lack of speed with something else.

Bouma should never have been selected in the first place. Boulah will most certainly not make it into Oranje anymore although the Cannibal might make a new career in Turkey.

Strootman is still my main man for the future. Tough, great passer, good work ethics and mentality and most importantly: dynamic and penetrating.

Luuk de Jong has a future. The striker has shown he can score, create and work for the team. Good header, smart mover. Nothing wrong with him. Will be part of WC2014 squad if he keeps developing. Will have competition from Dost, Van Wolfswinkel, Castaignos and Barazite, though….

Luciano Narsingh had the most assists in the Eredivisie. He basically made Dost the topscorer and the latter should pay 20% of his salary to him. Narsingh can further develop under De Boer if he goes to Ajax. And might develop into a fresh new Robben… Let’s hope so… He will most likely be part of the 2014 World Cup.

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by Jan

Interview with KNVB CEO Van Oostveen

Pic: Bert van Marwijk signing till 2016, Bert van Oostveen gloats.

Before Friday July 6, we will know if Bert van Marwijk is going to remain Oranje’s team manager. Before that date, the KNVB will do an evaluation. “Bert deserves a real and honest evaluation,” says Bert van Oostveen, KNVB’s CEO.

“We will analyse this project 360 degrees.”

When Oranje leaves Krakow for the last time, Bert van Oostveen is driving on the A2 in Holland together.

That was quick?
“Well, there was nothing to do for me there anymore. The works has to be done here now. I need to brush up the splinters and get them together one more time to analyse it all.”

Is this the end of the team manager?
“What kind of question is this? That is not how it works. We always evaluate tournaments. And Bert deserves an honest and objective evaluation.”

When?
“We will meet before we go on a holiday. I am leaving on July 6, so before that date.”

Van Oostveen was surprised by the atrocious physical condition of the Dutch team. “I want to know how it was that other teams were so much fitter than we were. I need to know as the CEO, but also as a fan? Everyone saw it? And I saw more things that surprised me. So we’ll approach this from all angles. 360 degrees. We cannot accept this scenario again ever and therefore we will scan it all. It’s not about missing chances on the pitch, but also about missing chances off the pitch.”

So what is the cost to the KNVB in total?
“Well, it is all under pressure now. We will lose our ranking position. We will be happy if we stay in the top 10!! And that means we will be less interesting as opponents. And we might lose money in ticket sales. It will be less. And we will all have to pull our weight a tad more now. We play the Turks in Amsterdam in September and we don’t want more Turkish fans than Dutch fans of course. On the other hand, our stature as vice world champs is still intact in Asia and South America, so we can probably leverage that by doing a trip in that direction.”

With the current coach?
“We’ll know soon enough!”

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by Jan

Oranje wins the blame game…

We might not always win the trophy (actually, we hardly ever do) but we usually win the blame game after the tournament. Whether it was 1980 Euros, with the AZ players trying to break the Ajax dominance, the 1990 WC, with Beenhakker pushed onto the squad instead of Cruyff, the 1996Euros with Davids/Hiddink or the Van Gaal debacle in 2002…

According to the well informed media, there were again two camps in the squad. Camp Sneijder (Robben, Vaart, De Jong, Huntelaar, Van der Wiel, Heitinga and the little big man) versus Camp Van Persie (Boulah, Afellay, Van Bommel, Van Persie himself). The Sneijder camp wanted all out Ajax-like attack. Van Persie wanted WC2010 style tactics. The result? Half the team played upfront, half the team pushed their behinds in their own box.

It’s not clear where Willems stood, but footage shows there were times he wasn’t even aware himself…

The tension increased and at a certain point someone in the staff told Huntelaar: “And now you shut our face or we exit you from the players’ hotel!”.

The post match interviews clearly demonstrated that some players felt they weren’t enabled to play their normal game. In particular Greg van der Wiel had tears in eyes of anger when he said this team didn’t allow him to play to his strengths and that his relationship with Oranje was disastrous.

Arjen Robben concurred “things had happened” while Van der Vaart said he “didn’t think it was appropriate to mention the reasons for this drama right now”…

And to make matters worse! The so-called Oranje fans at Schiphol Airport this time around didn’t show up as Orange Indian chiefs or dressed in traditional frocks. Instead they came in anger to lynch a couple of players and a coach. Van Persie was yelled at “arsehole!” while all the players were made out as “money wolves”…

Can you imagine?

This is unimaginable for me… You support your team through thick and thin. Sometimes they grab silver, sometimes it all goes to pieces. That is when they need the support most.

If you want these lads (or others) to bounce back, you need to support them.

People have made mistakes ( players, coach, KNVB) but life goes on and the key thing is to take those mistakes and learn and adapt.

Here, we will follow the homecoming of the Oranje team for a bit and will then move on to analysis. What went wrong? What would be a better strategy? What options do we have? Which players will be key?

While we also follow the rest of the tournament.

And look out for the new season’s warm ups…

Exciting times ahead!!

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