Month: August 2012

by Jan

Ryan bleeds Orange

Hey my friends, remember I asked you to send me some personal thoughts or anecdotes or memories or simply cool stories about our team, our players, your dreams or whatever?

Ryan Brown is getting to be assistant moderator real soon, after taking very cool pics back in 2008 and now contributing this cool blog post.

I am waiting for you to send me stuff to: netherlandsworldcupblog@gmail.com.

“Hey my name is Ryan Brown on the blog im known as OranjeAussie or Stijnis, here is my story for you about my love for dutch football and the Netherlands in general and why i bleed Oranje, I hope you enjoy.


This is the only disappointment about this bloke: he’s an Ajax fan 🙁

To get started, of why i have such a love for The Netherlands and Bleed Oranje is that my Mother is Dutch, born in Amsterdam and moved to Australia when she was around 10 with her family. Stijnis is my mums family name, my mums name is Mieke (very dutch) so thats where it all starts.

i was born in 1984 i grew up with a strong Dutch up bringing as my mums Aunties and Uncle’s all decided to move here and we where part of small Dutch community in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne mainly Brighton and Hampton. Unfortunately i never became fluent at the Dutch language but can understand it quite well. Living in Melbourne, Australia i grew up loving and still do our national game AFL (Australian Rules Football) where i follow the Essendon Bombers who coincidentally enough have the most famous dutch expat to play AFL known as Paul van de Haar who was a cult figure in the 80’s known as the “flying dutchman” for his fantastic aerial marking abilities.

As well as my love for AFL you could often find me in the back garden of my Opa & Oma’s house having a kick of the world famous round ball with my Opa who would also tell me stories about the Dutch national team and his beloved Ajax and the days when he would go to the famous “de Meer”. at the time in Australia there was not as much exposure of the game that ruled the world except a highlights show of the Premier League on a Monday night and a Serie A highlights show on a monday morning as there a a lot of Italian immigrants living in Australia.


Ryan with his Dutch oma….

But it was in 1994 and the World Cup in the USA which was my first time to watch Oranje ply there trade and from then on i was hooked. Within two week’s i had my first dutch national top its was a kit made by Lotto and of course i got my hero’s number on the back the one and only “Iceman” Dennis Bergkamp who to this day is still and i think will always be my favourite dutch player. I dont want to blab on and bore everyone to much with my background so i will get onto more of my memorable football moments of why this country and team mean so much to me.

To keep it short and sweet i will just name my top three most memorable Oranje moments going from 3 to 1…

3. Euro 2008 and the games against France & Italy, its simple the way we totally destroyed two of the worlds soccer powerhouse’s was lovley to watch it had me going crazy even if i was watching the games live at 4am in the morning.

2. Would be the 2010 World Cup and if things had of been different and we where to change the final result. i agree we didn’t stick to what Oranje football has always been about which wasn’t nice, but for me personally living in Australia if you said when it comes to great soccer countries in the history they would say Brazil, Italy, England, Germany and Argentina, The Netherlands would not even get a mention so the success that the dutch had brought a great deal of respect for dutch football and its significant history in creating the most attacking, creative and exciting football the world has seen revolutionising the game to what is today.


Ryan in Orange, looking like the deer with the headlights, etc… 🙂

1. I have two joint number 1’s. Firstly is my hero Dennis Bergkamps wonder goal against Argentina, Yet again i was watching the game live at the early hours of the morning on the edge of my seat in my Oranje top it was a game with everything lows, highs and a dramatic finish. i had my older brother who was drivng to the snow on his mobile the whole of extra time doing the best i could to be a commentator… and when that long ball came to Dennis and his cut in and goal all i can remember screaming on the phone to my brother GOOOOAAAALLLL! it was amazing all the dutch fans behnd the goals the comentary and Bergkamps celebration will stick in my head forever. sends shivvers down my spine thinking about it.

1. Take 2… was when the Dutch team travelled to Australia i decided two buy four tickets in the Dutch end of the stadium of course, i convinced some mates to join me on the trip to Sydney. I went up early hoping to catch a training session but was unable too. the only dissapointment was a nil all draw but that isnt where it ended me and my mates decided to head out after and went to Sydney’s hottest nightspot The Ivy… halfway through the night and many drinks later across the packed nightclub i see a short statured guy at the bar and who else could it be then Mr Sneijder himself enjoying a drink with Cocu, i didnt even think i went straight up and offered to by him a drink he declined, saying to me… ill get you a drink opening his wallet filled with cash i was speechless i talked about my dutch background and love for oranje, after the chat he said to me would you like to come up to the Ivy’s famous private pool bar on the top of the hotel to meat the rest of the players… i met the whole team and they even came down to the club and met my mates, they where just like any other guys it was surreal… i had my camera in hope that something like this may happen and it did and they where more then happy to take photos partying with me… at the end of the night i even had help Johnny Heitinga and a few of the boys get a cab as they where finding it difficult….. It is and will always be one of the greatest moments of my life.

i dont want to go into to much about the disappointments but all i can say is my life will not be complete if i dont see this great country win a world cup…

Anyway to finish up i love oranje so much even at my Opa’s funeral my Oma in her eulogy talked about his grandkids and when she talked about me, “Ryan the second oldest grandchild is as dutch as any dutchman i know and would always make his Opa proud that i will continue the families strong dutch traditions” i was extremley proud.

Anyway thats me and my story of how i Bleed Oranje….. I would just like to finish with a big thank you to Jan who has brought all us passionate dutchies together he keeps me in contact with everything Oranje and without the job he has done here i dont what i would do. and a second thank you to all the other contributors on this website, everyone is so informative and makes the website what its is today, thanks guys hope you enjoyed

HUP HOLLAND HUP

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Let's take Europe seriously!

This midweek saw our top clubs – sans Ajax of course, as they are qualified to play CL – compete for a spot in the Europa League group stages.

And bar PSV, they all disappointed.

Heerenveen played away against Molde in Denmark and lost 2-0, playing tremendously lacklustre. Coach Van Basten was furious after the game and needs to make sure his team starts to respond to his coaching.

FC Twente, so successful in the EL in recent years, lost away against Bursaspor with 3-1 despite being 0-1 up at half time. AZ, impressive last season, lost in Moscow to Hiddink’s Anzhi.

PSV had no problems “owning” Montenegro’s Zeta, winning 0-5 away. A record score for PSV in Europe, but hardliner Dick Advocaat was not impressed: “If you look at the chances we had, we should have won this 0-8, at least. We are too easily satisfied.”

Feyenoord played Sparta Prague, a strong opponent, and the visitors were 0-2 up at half time after an insecure and spineless first half of the hosts. Playmaker Jordy Clasie was man marked during the game and it took center half Martins Indi – yet again – to lead the comeback of the Rotterdam team in the second half, with Nelom scoring with a distance strike and sub Anass Achahbar scoring in the dying seconds with a sweet backheel flick. The Kuip stadium exploded, with Feyenoord at least having a chance to progress.

And Feyenoord is the last team in Holland to win a European cup. Led by Bert van Marwijk and skippered by Paul Bosvelt. Feyenoord beat PSV, Glasgow Rangers, Freiburg and Inter Milan until defeating Borussia Dortmund in the finals.

But it appears that the Europa League doesn’t hold any priority for PSV, AZ, Feyenoord and Twente, who will all rest certain players for the Eredivisie games, as these clubs focus on a position in the top 2 ( giving them a chance to play CL football). Paul Bosvelt has difficulty stomaching this position.

“Last year, with Twente vs Schalke 04, Mc Claren rested 5 starters for this game. Twente was focused on winning the title and didn’t want to give it all for the EL. Unbelievable. This strategy led to nothing. I never understood this “resting” tactics.”

“I think it’s naive, to do that. We are the only nationality to think in those terms. You need to be able to focus on more than one goal. It’s not “either or” but “and and”. This is how the big teams and the big players think. I never wanted to rest. I wanted to play! Players need to be fit, so they can play 50 games. If you play European games midweek, train less. And give it your all. If you fail, too bad. There’s always next year. But you have to go for it. You have to believe in it.”

Bosvelt was the last skipper to hold up a European cup for a Dutch club. “We didn’t start out that season thinking we’d win it. Of course not. Our group was fairly strong. When we came out we knew we had to play at least 4 massive opponents. But Rangers was doable. PSV always is doable. And Inter Milan is normally too strong for us, but once in a series of 10 games, you can win it. And you need to make sure you play that one unique game. And if you reach the finals, anything goes…”

Do you believe Feyenoord didn’t have the faith against Kiev. “I didn’t like the mentality I saw. They played as if Kiev was Barcelona or Chelsea. All that respect. Why? They didn’t need to lose against Kiev. But they want to be the underdog in Rotterdam. Always moaning about lack of funds or needing a striker. If you talk like that, lack of confidence will enter the picture. And you saw it: two players free before the goalie and they miss. It’s a mental thing. You need to be able to be 100% in the game, in Europe. We seem to lose games on mental grounds. You saw it at the Euros too. It’s part of our game. Twente lost many games in the last minutes. That is not a coincidence. This is where we need to work on.”

How?

“By realising it. By discussing it. By using these examples and making them debatable. And by adapting to the rhythm. If you play on Wednesday, you simply train less but you use the top name players. You need to take the European competition seriously. Sometimes it seems like we are too weak, too junior. If Feyenoord plays Kiev, we have a lad like De Vrij in the back four, they have four night club bouncers. I don’t think money is an issue. I think preparation, mental coaching, focus, those things are key. Wanting it more than the others.”

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

The Dust is settling….

With Oranje’s and Louis’ first defeat behind us, the most important competitions have started… Eredivisie had weekend #2, the EPL has started (it takes time for me to get used to this…) and the Bundesliga and La Liga as well.

Game on!

Bring it on!

Breaking news: Alexander Buttner, the man who could have been Oranje’s left back at the Euros (ex-Ajax, now Vitesse), signed a 5 year deal with Man United!! Obviously, Robin van Persie’s signature overpowered the news of Buttner talking to the Mancunians, but Sir Alex (and Rene Meulensteen) believe Buttner is one of the best left backs in Europe. I’m sure he’ll be nicknamed Nicky ( after Nicky Butt).


The other BIG Dutch signing by Sir Alex: Buttner…

Interesting developments in Eindhoven, where PSV coach Dick Advocaat lost his first game, as a result of a lacklustre performance, and drilled a thunderous response from his team in the second game. But PSV might lose two key players before the end of the month, as Toivonen is put in the shop window and striker Matavz might go to Benfica. Good news for Wijnaldum if this happens, as the ex-Feyenoord talent will claim the number 10 position.

Ajax had an easy afternoon away at NEC, with the hosts gifting three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game. Impressive performances by some youngsters in the Ajax’ team (Ricardo van Rhijn, Mitchell Dijks’ debut) and a brace by new Swedish forward Sana.

Feyenoord and Joris Mathijsen look back at a disappointing debut together. Against Heerenveen, the ex-Hamburg defender got red-carded after a tackle in the area on the Heerenveen center forward. Despite Mathijsen playing the ball, the ref judged it to be a tackle on the legs of the opponent and gave Heerenveen a spot kick (and Joris a red). Earlier on in the game, the ref should have given Feyenoord a penalty kick for a blatant hand ball but didn’t. Ruben Schaken bulldozered his way through the Heerenveen defence in the last minutes and equalised so the match between mates Koeman – Van Basten ended in 1-1.


To quote my late friend Finnster: “A football player called Anita…??”

With PSV, Ajax, AZ and now Feyenoord dropping points, FC Twente leads the way as the only club with 6 points after two games. I saw all the top teams play this weekend and have to say: AZ looks REALLY good… They could won their game 9-0, with ease (only won 3-1 as it was). Altidore is a decent striker, he scores goals ( a brace this time) but misses a lot of opportunities as well. But so did Martens and Maher, to name two.

In Spain, excitement on day 1. Barca winning with Villa and Messi on target while Real Madrid ( sans Modric still) couldn’t get past Valencia. It’s game on there!

In Germany, Dutch goals. Luuk de Jong scoring against his own club in the European game vs Kiev… And Elia scoring for Werder Bremen last weekend.

In England, the first weekend is behind us and it does take some time for me to get used to Spurs without Modric, Van Persie in a ManU jersey and Liverpool without Kuyt. Everton doesn’t seem to miss Cahill and Drenthe, but I do… NY Red Bulls benefitted from Cahill’s goalscoring already and West Ham United apparently is out to sign Royston Drenthe.

Martin Jol’s Fulham and Newcastle (the new club of Vernon Anita) want to sign Twente’s Douglas while Assaidi received jersey number 11 at Liverpool.

All these movements will turn out for the best. Elia, Anita, Drenthe, Buttner…

I’m sure Oranje will benefit from all of this…


Elia in Bremen

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

A Big Puzzle for Louis

You can say a lot about Louis, but he does have balls.

Most of the nation think he is a dicknecked pompous asswipe, most people feel he failed with Oranje in the past and the media are clearly feeding him suggestive questions hoping that he’ll blow up….

But he took up the reigns of Oranje in a time when even our most successful team manager ever wasn’t able to “reach” the players anymore.

And in his first game, against old rivals Belgium, his team of world class talents and established names failed. Scoring two, conceding four. And if it wasn’t for Stekelenburg, we could have conceded seven or eight…

Quite the jigsaw for Louis.

The old guard at the back or done. Boulah, Mathijsen… I still believe in Heitinga but other than him, we do need fresh blood. Willems I like… Erik Pieters is good at left back but might be even better as center back. Don’t forget: this is his natural position. And with Vlaar, Douglas, De Vrij and Martins Indi we might be in good shape, just as Ricardo van Rhijn and Nick Viergever will most likely have the goods.

Van Rhijn is a good replacement for Van der Wiel and Kelvin Leerdam can play right back as well.

Nigel de Jong had an unlucky game ( and was singled out as such by Louis) but Nigel has demonstrated in the past – for me at least – to be great value. He mishandled the ball and it was 2-2, sure, but this doesn’t seem to happen to him in big games. And as Carlos pointed out after the England game, our goals all came after De Jong stopped England attacks…

But sure, Kevin Strootman can play there too. Or Leroy Fer maybe? Or Jordy Clasie? Or Afellay… Vernon Anita? Enough candidates…

With Robben on the left (with Ola John and Elia as stand ins) and Narsingh on the right (with Robben or Wijnaldum or Lens or Kuyt or even Van Persie) as stand ins, we do look good upfront. Huntelaar, De Jong, Dost, Van Persie, Wolfswinkel… all capable of scoring goals…

Louis will need to fix the heart of our defense and the right holding mid.

I believe 4-3-3 should work out for us in most games. As we can quickly adapt to 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 in the game, depending on having the ball or not…

I do worry a bit about Sneijder and Van der Vaart on the same midfield in a 4-3-3. I can see it with Van der Vaart as holding mid in a 4-2-3-1, but Sneijder needs a more penetrating midfielder with him, I believe. Someone like Afellay or Maher, indeed… But who knows, with Strootman as holding mid, he could even be the man with depth, if Raf will take over his position…

From what I’ve heard, Turkey was not too impressive. We should be able to beat these guys.

Once the EPL is on its way, we will see how things progress. Sure, a defensive line up with Heitinga paired with someone like Martins Indi or Vlaar should work. Willems and Van der Wiel or Van Rhijn on the flanks should be enough.

And Van Gaal will have to watch both Strootman and De Jong in how they operate, to pick the man in form for that match.

I believe this World Cup qualifications series will be played with a large squad. Douglas, Van Persie, Ola John, Afellay, Kuyt, Strootman, Vlaar, De Vrij…

Some players will need to present themselves, others will disappoint and/or Louis will try out different combinations.

And only a couple of months before the World Cup, we will see the final contours of our new Oranje emerge…

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Louis wins the press, but loses the match

Most of you know I was not 100% behind the appointment of LVG. I know he is a great coach and knows a thing or two about (good) football but I sort of fear his dark side…

In the last press conference, however, he was more Han Solo than Darth Vader.

It gives me hope!

He manages groups well, in first instance, and he clearly won over the media with his new behaviour.

Most important question: is this a new Louis, or is he merely acting?

Louis gave clarity to a lot of questions prior to the game. About the captaincy, the line up and even the players he’d bring at half time…. And seemingly, in a friendly way. That did promise something for the future :-).

Holland plays with Stekelenburg on goal, Van Rhijn, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Willems at the back. Nigel as sole holding mid and Raf and Wes as forward midfielders. Robben, Huntelaar and Narsingh play upfront in a 4-3-3.

Fairly remarkable was his comment that Huntelaar will be his striker for the near future. About his conversation with Robin van Persie: “Robin struck me in that. He is very intelligent and we had a very profound talk about football and about life. I have not had a conversation this deep with a player for a long time. It felt good and Robin in my eyes is an absolute top bloke. But Klaas Jan did bring more in the orange and he gets the nod now.”

Breaking news: Arsenal and Man United have reached an agreement on a transfer sum for Van Persie. Tomorrow, the ex-Feyenoord man will negotiate with Ferguson about his personal package.

Holland and Belgium. A famous fixture in the past. In the last decades, Holland likes to see Germany as their arch rival, but our neighbours in the south still see us as such. We played them last in 2004. Much too late. We lost 0-1, on a Bart Goor penalty kick. Sneijder, Heitinga and Kompany played in that match too.

The most famous friendly was the 5-5 in Rotterdam in 1999 with an Edgar Davids on fire.

Today’s Belgium played with (former) Dutch Eredivisie players Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Chadli and benchwarmers Mertens, Alderweireld, Simons, Dembele and Pocognoli.

Belgium plays with pressure high up the park against us and Mathijsen looks sluggish. Narsingh on the other hand impresses with his speed and a good cross on Huntelaar. Holland has lots of possession in the first minutes. And it’s also not as “friendly” in the first phase, with celebrated Van der Vaart copping yellow for a sliding on goalie Coutois.

After 20 minutes, Belgium scored. A lucky. Genk striker Benteke receives the ball after a Heitinga block and scores via Stekelenburg’s feet: 1-0.

Five minutes later, debutant Van Rhijn almost scores on a Narsingh cross. Coutois’ fingertips save Belgium here. The Ajax defender is bulldozered 7 minutes later, in the Belgium area, but ref Atkinson refuses to point to the spot.

Oranje is strong in possession but vulnerable in defense. Van der Vaart has the last word in the first half with a distance strike, blocked off by Vermaelen.

In the break, it’s Mario Been on Belgium tv criticizing Mathijsen: “He’s too slow and sluggish. His build up play is lacking.” And Ruud Gullit on Dutch tv: “Huntelaar isn’t found. If you can’t engage your striker, you are playing with 10 men. And Stekelenburg gambled with that first goal. If he would have stayed on his feet, he would have stopped that one. Like with Germany’s second goal at the Euros…”

In the second half, De Vrij, Maher, Viergever and Martins Indi all make their debut. Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems and Van der Vaart stay in the dressing room. With Van Rhijn in the line up, Oranje plays with all debutant defenders.

Ten minutes into the second half, it’s Martins Indi’s pass to Robben that creates the equaliser. His low cross is too strong for Hunter, but Narsingh – Holland’s best man in the first half – is at the right spot to score the 1-1.

And only two minutes later, the same actors create the 1-2. Martins Indi’s pass reaches Robben who finds Huntelaar available to tap in the second goal.

Stekelenburg keeps Oranje in the game with good responses to shots of Defour and Chadli. Not much later, it’s Robben dribbling past three defenders, only for Belgium to stop him halfway their own area. Martins Indi impresses in possession but is sloppy defending. Chadli gets a free header thanks to the Feyenoord defender’s lack of marking. Stekelenburg saved Holland just moments before.

Stekelenburg actually needs to act more in the minutes after. A Lukaki shot, and Witsel with a tap in, almost. Adam Maher attempts a distance strike, but Coutois saves this time.

Oi, 2-2 for Belgium. De Jong loses possession and Mertens is away. He outpaces De Vrij and scores. Martins Indi offered Mertens a chance earlier too.

And Belgium scores twice in two minutes too. Mertens creating again, this time Lukaki gets the tap in.

Oh dear, another goal two minutes later yet again! Van Rhijn is marking air and offers Mertens all the time to find ex Ajax skipper Vertonghen who beats ex buddy Stekel. Three goals in 5 minutes? Hmmmm…

Van Persie, Afellay and Kuyt remained on the bench.

So Oranje loses with four goals conceded. The fourth defeat in a row. This happened last in 1954.

Captain Sneijder: “The first 20 minutes in the second half were fantastic. And then we make individual mistakes and we lose the game. That is sad, in particular because we all support this new system we are playing. We should look at the positives now and build on that.”

Coach Van Gaal: “Everyone is really emotional. So I didn’t talk to the lads yet. The first half was not great but we did create 6 chances. We had two great goals in the second half but we had trouble with Lukaku. Personal mistakes get Belgium back into the game.”

Mario Been: “It’s clear where the issues are in Oranje. It’s the back four with the problems. Fix that, and you have a good team.”

Arjen Robben: “We learned a lot today. But there is work to do. But despite the result, this were 3 days well spent. We had good talks and the coach gave me clarity where he wants to use me. In Oranje, he believes my ideal spot is on the left. At Bayern, he switched me to the right. I have a preference there, but I am happy to play on the left wing.” Robben had two assists today.

VI editor and analist Johan Derksen, earlier on extremely critical on Van Gaal (calling him a sneaky unreliable backstabber): “I rate Louis van Gaal’s work today an 8 out of 10. He has put the right players on the right spot. He was very logical today. If players make mistakes on the pitch, he can’t really help that. This must have been a useful night for Van Gaal. Here he could see what happens when we are not at our best. We lose against Belgium.”

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Oranje is back on the pitch!!

After a first weekend of Eredivisie football and weeks and weeks of cycling, swimming, running, throwing, fighting and what not, the Dutch top football players are back together under their new coach Louis van Gaal.

Ajax dropped a point against AZ and is facing huge financial deficits (hence their attempts to sell off Anita (Newcastle?), Van der Wiel (Arsenal?) and Janssen (Vitesse?)) and PSV lost against RKC this weekend but the cream of the crop will have different things to think off as off today.

The main topic: to show a brave face to the fans and media and to make a good first impression on the new coach.

Not that they don’t know him well already. The key players have dealt with him before. Like Arjen Robben, at Bayern: “I worked with him for almost two years at Bayern and he’s by far one of the best coaches I ever worked with. He always focuses on attractive football, which I like and he focuses on team discipline too. We will need this a bit. Although we should be able to bring that ourselves too…”

And about the Euros. “It was a disaster. Starting over can be fine, but if you have to do it for this reason, it’s not that great. But, sometimes things happen in a tournament that totally deflates the team. I won’t go into it publicly, but we will talk about it amongst the group, I’m sure.”

Louis van Gaal confirmed he will talk about the past Euros with the group. “I heard what I heard from the KNVB staff, I have witnessed things myself. Now I want to hear it from the boys. But I won’t allow this story to go beyond Day 1. We talk about it, deal with it, and that’s it. Then we focus on the here and now.”

Sneijder already told the media that according to him the changes in the hierarchy made it harder at the Euros. “We had players on the bench that were very important with their clubs. That wasn’t dealt with properly. Not by the coach and not by the players themselves.”

Robin van Persie was back in talking mode again, although he did answer most questions with the annoying “no comment” or “I don’t want to go into this” or “I prefer to discuss this within the group”.

Against Belgium, this Wednesday, the new plans of LVG will be made clear. Will he play with one holding midfielder or two? Will he use some of the youngsters ( De Vrij, Viergever, Maher, Narsingh, Van Rhijn?).

Kevin Strootman, one of the holding mids in the squad, left the camp by the way. He took an injury with him from the RKC match and decided to let this one go by.

Rafael van der Vaart will have had a special feeling when he shook Van Gaal’s hand again. The team manager was the one who gave Van der Vaart his debut in Oranje, and will most likely be the one to allow Raf his 100rd international game.

Van der Vaart: “As if it was meant to be. I think that’s pretty special.”

The 18 year old Van der Vaart made his debut against Andorra, in October 2001. Adam Maher, his current team mate at Oranje, was 8 years old when that happened. Three Euros and two World Cups later, the 29 year old Spurs player is a veteran, but still has a whole life ahead of him. And carries lots of experiences. “High point and low points,” as he said, “like the last Euros.”

“Of course there were agitations within the group. That is normal when the performance isn’t there. I was highly surprised to hear my name mentioned as one of the bad eggs. People who know me, know that I will never be the negative factor. I said on one occasion that I had difficulty with my role as bench warmer. Isn’t that a normal thing to say? I never said I wouldn’t. I have always given my all.”

And… “I expect to have a good group talk before Belgium and I also think Van Gaal will put his plans forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he switches to a system with one holding mid.”

Van Gaal expressed his concern about Van der Vaart and Van Persie, as they haven’t played too many games as yet ( Van der Vaart copped a slight injury in the US trip of Spurs). “Oh, I’m fit alright. I can play and I expect to get some playing time.”

Raf is looking forward to joining the club of 100. Only Van der Sar ( 130), Frank de Boer ( 112), Gio van Bronckhorst ( 106) and Phillip Cocu (101) wore the jersey more often. Van der Vaart will be given a watch with inscription and a silver plate with all his international games engraved. The UEFA will offer Van der Vaart a medal for the honour. This is a fairly new activity for the European federation.

Van der Vaart, with a broad smile: “Of course it means a lot to you. It does. I do look forward and believe I will have 4 more years in me. If I remain fit… Why not? If we qualify for tournaments I might add another 20 games to my tally. I do believe Sar will be unreachable, haha… When I played one game, I looked forward to 10. When I had my 10th I dreamed about playing 50. And before you know it, the 100 looms. Once that one is in the bag, I will start texting Phillip and Gio, hahaha…”

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Louis van Gaal is ready

After the Dutch hockey women showed Oranje how it’s done ( congrats with Gold, the men got silver…lost against Germany…) it is almost time for us to forget about the Olympics and focus fully on football again.

Due to those games in London, Louis’ press conference did not get headlines in Holland, although it should have…

The man who made it all “about him” when he was team manager in 2000-2012 and who did not do himself huge favours with stints at Bayern Munich and (almost) Ajax most recently, showed himself from his worst side, yet again.

When Louis was appointed at Ajax as Technical Director, back in the mid 00s, he read out a poem to the press. This time around, he made everyone believe he would do so again. Thinking that the assorted press would be breathless, he then quickly said he did NOT have a poem, as the KNVB “is a tougher employer than Ajax”. A silly comment to make. It’s not a joke, as it is not funny. It’s not a wisecrack, as it has no profound message or ironic depth or whatever. It was embarrassing really. The words of a man who really thinks that everything he says is important. It does not bode well.

When, during the press conference, a reporter asked him about the future “home” of Oranje ( Van Gaal changed it during his first tenure from Noordwijk to Hoenderlo… Advocaat changed it back to Noordwijk in 2002…), he immediately responded with cynicism.

One has to wonder… If that question invites a biting response, we are in for quite a ride…

But…as promised, I will remain positive…


Louis also presented his team to the media. Danny Blind is Louis’ first right hand man (“Danny knows every talent in Holland”) while Patrick Kluivert is picked as the second assistant. Frans Hoek will be Oranje’s keeper’s coach. Van Gaal worked with Hoek at Ajax and Barcelona before. Edward Metgod is added to the group as scout, although Ron Spelbos will remain the head scout. Van Gaal also added physiology coach Jos van Dijk to the team and computer analist Max Reckers. Reckers worked with Van Gaal before at AZ and at Bayern.

Hans Jorritsma remains the team manager and Kees Jansma stays on as press manager.

Van Gaal wanted to add Gio van Bronckhorst to the mix, but the former skipper can’t combine the job with his assistant role at Feyenoord ( Gio is also coach of Feyenoord’s C youth team).

His squad for Belgium does have some surprises. The new Oranje coach did not pick Vernon Anita, Jordy Clasie or Ola John, but instead chose Bas Dost, Martins Indi and Ricardo van Rhijn. Schaars, Vlaar, Boulahrouz and Luuk de Jong are also not present in the squad. Van Gaal picked 24 instead of 23 players. “I did this as not all key players are match fit. Van der Vaart and Van Persie have hardly player for instance. I have invited them as they are key players, normally, but in the future I will not select players lacking match fitness.”

De Vrij and Martins Indi (“He played impressive against Dynamo Kiev”) replace Vlaar and Boulahrouz while Emanuelson is back as well to replace Bouma. Bas Dost replaces Luuk de Jong and Lens seems to be an extra striker in case Van Persie can’t play. Maher is in the squad in place of Van Bommel.

Van Gaal has not yet picked a new skipper. With Van Bommel no longer part of the Oranje squad, a new leader is needed but Van Gaal won’t select a name, just like that. “The skipper needs to have a good chemistry with me in terms of vision and philosophy. This is really important to me.”

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Billion $$ for Dutch Eredivisie!!

While the maligned Dutch hockey men are giving the Brits a severe beating at the Olympics ( 9-2, well done!) I am writing this post on what might well be a turning point in Dutch football.

The big news, only days before the Eredivisie starts, is not about a transfer or Louis van Gaal or about Feyenoord missing out on the CL. It’s about a multibillion dollar man from Australia putting his money where his mouth is. And sadly, this guy isn’t me. (yet)

Through my football contacts in Holland I was aware something was brewing, but since yesterday we know it’s about former Aussie Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network who pay 1 Billion euros for the right to broadcast the Eredivisie for the next 12 seasons.

Keith Rupert Murdoch (81) is seen as one of the most influential media tycoon on the planet. He is currently the number 106 on the Forbes list of most wealthy people on the planet and he’s the major sharegolder of News Corporation. The media tycoon was born in Melbourne but became a US citizen in 1985.

Murdoch made a name for himself in Australia first and become a global name when he bought the infamous News of the World and later on The Sun and The Times.

In 1985 he acquired the Twentieth Century Fox film studio and this deal forced him to become a US citizen. Fox is currently one of the biggest tv networks and BSkyB is also part of the Fox family.

His image got a dent last year/this year when it was made known that reporters of his News of the World hacked into computers to obtain private records and to manipulate the news in order to sell more advertising and editions.

Murdoch now acquired the Eredivisie Live channel and will expand this – most likely – into an American-type show with entertainment and all.

Murdoch will have the rights to live and high light footage but as he did in other countries, he will most likely make the time gap between both broadcast wider (time-slicing) in order to force more people to get a subscription to the live games. The highlights will also be seen on the free-to-air network, as decreed by the Dutch government.

Currently, the high lights are with the NOS ( Studio Sport) but the NOS CEO already spoke of a media revolution and admitted it will be tough for the NOS to hang on to the rights for high lights.

Jan de Jong, NOS CEO: “It’s like someone bought Rembrand’s De Nachtwacht and will take it out of the Rijksmuseum, where you can see it for free, and who will show it now in his private collection for a hefty fee. We do like to show the high lights of course, but we can not compete with Murdoch and we don’t want to.”

Dutch sports marketing guru Frank van den Wall Bake: “Murdoch will most likely use this sports channel to add more sports. In terms of pay tv, Holland is a toddler. The consumer will be happy to pay more for great broadcasts. The 7 pm high lights will most likely shift to 9 pm. If you pay a bit more, you can get the live games, plus a juice game at 6 pm and the high lights at 9 pm. I don’t think this will result in too much commotion.”


Most sports experts in Holland see this deal as the saviour for Dutch football. Media expert Anton Lippold comments on the unexpected deal: “The competitive position of the big clubs will become much stronger. Finally, tv income will make a huge jump and the clubs will be enabled to compete better. Murdoch has big plans for Dutch sports and it won’t stop with football. Fox wants to own most international football competitions and believes the Dutch competition is really interesting in quality for the viewer.”

As an example, today Ajax receives 3 Mio euro tv money every season, in the new situation, clubs like Ajax will get close to 8 or 9 million euro.

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Football, here we come….

Above: PSV skipper Mark van Bommel celebrates with Mr PSV, Willy van der Kuylen

The Olympics are on the last stretch, towards the finish. As ever, I highly enjoyed all that sports on telly. My goodness…. After the disappointment that was the Euros and the Tour I got tears in my eyes watching Marianne Vos win gold, seeing Ranomi slicing through the pool, Dorian humiliating his competition and Epke Zonderland win the first gymnastics gold for Holland ever!!

Wonderful sports… And the hockey boys and girls are in it too, still….

But….I am ready for the football to begin!

And with the JC Plate game of last Sunday and Feyenoord’s CL qualification game yesterday, it does feel that we are back in business. So expect the frequency of posts to go up soon :-).

So lets start with Feyenoord. My team. But my oh my, how they fumbled it. They played well. Good enough, at least. Creating massive opportunities. A ball on the post, a free header (should have been a goal) and most shockingly, two players (Cisse and Guyon) going towards goal after a dramatic throw in… If Feyenoord was ever going to beat Kiev it was yesterday. With the 2-1 from the away game, 1-0 at home would be enough. But Feyenoord simply didn’t score. Immers had a close range effort, straight to the goalie in the second half. And of course, Dynamo would chuck salt in Feyenoord’s wound by scoring a late goal themselves.

And having witnessed Koeman’s young team play, one has to say that the CL is probably a couple of levels too high. Sure, the money is great but the team will be butchered by any conceivable opponent and maybe, just maybe, it’s better for the talented youngsters to play Europa League.

Ajax and PSV played their JC plate game, last weekend. The first prize of the season. And taken seriously, at least by PSV. With Dick Advocaat at the reigns and Mark van Bommel back in the jersey, it seems PSV wanted to show Ajax that it means business this season. 2-0 up after 12 minutes, against an Ajax not ready to compete. PSV seems to be eager to start, having signed all the key players they wanted ( Narsingh, Van Bommel) while Frank de Boer of Ajax is still uncertain what will happen with Van der Wiel, Anita and Theo Janssen. The latter is flirting heavily with Vitesse and expects De Boer to really want him to stay, while the EPL is chasing Anita and Van der Wiel. Christian Eriksen was not fit yet so he missed the JC Plate game (and it showed) but all in all, Ajax simply didn’t want it that badly.

It will turn into a massive battle this season, between Frank de Boer’s youngsters and PSV. Dico Kopper, Van Rhijn, Fischer, Eriksen, Blind, Ozbilic… It might take a while, but I love to see them play.

Obviously, PSV is interesting too with Willems (played well!), Wijnaldum, Narsingh and Strootman. And Mark van Bommel of course…

The Eredivisie can start as far as I am concerned.

I will give you my predictions for the Title:

I see PSV win it this time. I think Ajax will lose some players before August 31 and Frank will have to struggle a bit to make it all work, the national competition and the CL.

I do see Ajax finish second and do well in the CL this season.

Feyenoord finishes 5th, as they can’t replace Guidetti and Vlaar and have a decent but not spectacular season.

AZ and Twente occupy 3 and 4 and Heerenveen is knocking on the door still, to enter the top 6.

I think the season will be key for Feyenoord’s future. Do they pay off more debt and get more cash in from sponsors, so they can build on the current talent pool… Or will they have to sell the next lot of talent (Clasie, De Vrij, Leerdam, Martins Indi) to make ends meet?

Share your thoughts with me, good people and let’s prepare for an amazing new season…

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Louis van Gaal won't change much….

This week, new Oranje coach Louis van Gaal got presented to the press. His first working day got squashed in between much more important news: Olympic news from London and the first preliminary squad for Oranje.

Van Gaal will make the definite selection known on August 10.

The former Ajax and Barca coach decided to not rock the boat too much.

“I think Bert van Marwijk can not be faulted for his team selection choices. He clearly picked the best players at his disposal so I can not really make too many big changes, nor do I want to.

Mathijsen and Kuijt are still part of the squad, as are so-called rebels Huntelaar and Van der Vaart. They only players not longer in are Wilfred Bouma and Mark van Bommel.

Van Gaal did give the same signal as Van Marwijk before him towards the youngsters in the Eredivisie: Clasie and De Vrij of Feyenoord and Adam Maher of AZ are called back into the frame, as are Bas Dost (Wolfsburg) and Ola John (Benfica).

I personally believe Louis is taking the wishes of the people into account, but Bas Dost will not make it to the final squad, with Van Persie, Huntelaar and Luuk de Jong all present as well.

Erik Pieters is not part of the selection as he is still injured. Ricardo van Rhijn’s inclusion is pretty remarkable as he hasn’t played too much since Van der Wiel is back at Ajax, but with Vertonghen in London, chances are that the talented defender will see much more action.

As mentioned on this blog, Van Gaal loves defenders with build-up skills and both Van Rhijn and De Vrij fall into that category.

Jeffrey Bruma ( Hamburg) and Douglas (Twente) will both be on Louis’ radar as well.

PS Louis visited the Dutch hockey women at the Games, hence this pic 🙂

Bookmark and Share