Month: November 2012

Oranje U21 in Group of Death

In a week in which Wes Sneijder is humuliated by his club, Robin van Persie and KJ Huntelaar keep on scoring and a tweet of Van der Vaart claims he will be going back to Tottenham Hotspur, Oranje Under 21 saw the draw for their Euro campaign end in another Group of Death situation…

The seniors used to do pretty good in such circumstances ( 2006 and 2008) but crashed and burned dramatically in another such groups in the 2012 summer….

Young Oranje finds itself in Poule B and will have to deal with Germany, Spain and Russia.

The other groups consists of Israel, England, Norway and Italy.

Coach Cor Pot was actually delighted with the draw. “We couldn’t draw a tougher group but this is very interesting. Four top nations in the group. Spain is the ruling champs, Germany won it in 2009 and we did in 2006 and 2007. And Russia is an up and comer. It’s tough but we want it this way. The best teams facing off. I expect tremendous games.”

Pot continues: “And we have only one goal. Winning the title. I said that before the draw already. If I can use the full squad, including players who are already part of the senior squad, I think we will see a tremendous strong and experienced team and we will definitely be amongst the favorites.”

The numbers 1 and 2 of the groups will progress to the semis.

Oranje can bring a strong group together for Israel, with the likes of Kevin Strootman, Jetro Willems, Luuk de Jong, Luciano Narsingh, Ricardo van Rhijn, Jeffrey Bruma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Adam Maher, Jordy Clasie, Leroy Fer, Stefan de Vrij and Marco van Ginkel.

But the competition isn’t that shabby either. With Mario Götze, Toni Kroos, Mario Balotelli, Danny Welbeck and Alan Dzagojev this could well be a tournament to look out for.

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Year of Truth for PSV

PSV seemed to join the ranks of Dutch behemoths Ajax and Feyenoord over the last 15 years with a huge string of titles. The last years, however, PSV had to allow two non-Top-Three clubs (Twente and AZ) to snatch the title while Ajax won it twice in a row now.

Fred Rutten had to make way, just like 95% of the squad was renewed over the last two years. The designer behind this renovation is Marcel Brands. With Martin van Geel (ex Willem II, ex AZ, ex Ajax and currently Feyenoord) the most “visible” of technical managers in the Dutch Eredivisie. And like Van Geel, he has a history as a player in the Feyenoord jersey (Van Geel also played for Ajax).

Brands succeeded Van Geel when the latter left AZ for Ajax and PSV was happy to snatch the former Feyenoord and RKC midfielder to reconstruct the PSV squad.

You used to be able to find cheap players with a lot of potential, but at PSV it is as if you are throwing big money to young and coming talent?

Marcel Brands: “That has to do with the club where you work. At AZ, we had less means. We had to buy smart. PSV has a higher yard stick. We want to win titles and play along in the CL. This means you have the buy quality. And quality costs more money. At PSV, we need players who can immediately settle in. We used to get players for the future, like Stef Nijland, but that doesn’t work here. Jetro Willems is an exception. He was signed for the C team and immediately made his way in. But players like Narsignh and Wijnaldum are players who are expected to deliver immediately.”

Narsingh was also on Ajax’ hit list. Did you outbid them?

MB: “No. He could make more in Amsterdam. He simply wanted to play for PSV. That is a strong factor, which is often overlooked. We wanted to sign Sighthorsson as well, last year but he picked Ajax. Not because we didn’t offer enough. But because he always dreamed of playing for Ajax. You can’t fight that.”

Don’t you fear that clubs will make use of the fact that PSV is willing to pay top dollar?

MB: “But we aren’t. We set the norm for players. If a club doesn’t want to negotiate, we walk away. We wanted Moisander from AZ, last year. They over-asked and we walked. Same with Jorgensen from Kopenhagen. We are prudent, even though out budget is bigger than other clubs.”


Proof that Brands played for Feyenoord ( standing in the mid row, next to Martin van Geel)

So you changed the squad and technical staff over two seasons. Is this the Year of Reckoning for PSV?

MB: “You can name it what you want, haha. The point is that we have certain expectations. And sometimes, the media share this opinion and then they proclaim us to be the title favorites. But you can only know if this is reasonable when you’re a couple of weeks into the new season. Players need to settle, tactics need to fit, etc. Once it’s August 31, the market closes and it’s up to the coach to work with the material.”

The current squad has three PSV talents (Depay, Locadia and van Ooijen) in it. Is that satisfactory?

MB: “We are starting to see talents. I am satisfied about the progression. We can also see it in the Oranje youth teams. We didn’t have starters in those youth teams. We have more and more starters now. We have some huge talents in Eindhoven.”

Were you shocked by the level of the PSV Academy when you came here in 2010?

MB: “The density of talents in Eindhoven is less than Amsterdam or Rotterdam. That is fact. Plus, our competitors spend much more than we do on their Academy. Viktor Fischer of Ajax, has cost them 1,4 Mio euros! We have never paid a fee like that for a youth player! We only invested 700k euros per year on the whole academy! So, the low return is not that strange, considering those facts.”

PSV had a tremendous number of Belgian talents in the youth academy. None of them ever made it through?

MB: “I know. Belgium is part of our service area. It’s only 30 car minutes and you’re in Belgium. But we have now deployed the rule that the further a talent lives, the better he needs to be. We have three quality levels (A, B, C) and players who live further away, like in Belgium, need to be A-level players. We now have a Belgium player in our midst, 16 year old Bakkali, who is definitely A-team quality.”

It was quite a battle to keep him in Eindhoven, right?

MB: “Yes it was. That is today’s football world. Someone from Anderlecht simply stood at the door of Bakkali, to try and get him to sign. And one day before we would sign our contract with him, some unlicensed agent invited him to come and see a Manchester City match. Man City!! The lad is only just 16. Luckily he was strong enough to ignore these people. But there is only so much you can do. We hope to be able to keep a good relationship with the kids’ parents. They are the ones that can be counted on, to take the wellbeing of the kid into account. But, we lost Perreira, who went to Man United. He was 16 years old and it was his dad who forced this move…so…”


Jetro Willems

And now, PSV sold two players to the two Sevilla clubs and is owed 5 Mio euros. Which are not forthcoming…

MB: “this happened before my time. I don’t know all the facts. It’s the Spanish federation that is at fault. In Holland, Germany or England this would never happen. When at AZ, I sold Medunjanin to Valladolid. For 450k. We’d get half in cash at signing and half a year later. That second half was never paid, but Valladolid sold him on to Tel Aviv for 600k and still AZ didn’t get paid. That is just crazy… Only in Spain.”

Remarkable, Dick Advocaat had allowed you to cut away a full time equivalent in his staff? He only works for Ernest Faber and sometimes Cocu as assistant?

MB: “That is result of Dick’s philosophy. He doesn’t want to work with line-coaches. One for attack, one for midfield and one for defence. He rather has one assistant for the whole week, than 3 assistants for 2 days in the week. We also want to invest more in youth academy coaches.”

When is PSV able to invest in a serious way in youth?

MB: “That has to do with our CL qualifications. Once we get acces to the CL, the income stream will increase and we can make some delayed investments. We are still making investments. Narsingh is one example. But we also invested in a heated practice pitch, we renovated the the first floor of the main stands…we do what we can.”


Dickie, always happy to save PSV some money…

PSV also wanted to decrease wages cost in the A-squad. Did that happen?

MB: “Yes, we have a salary cap. 1 million euros gross and no one is paid beyond. When I started here, we had 7 players above that level.”

And suddenly we here in Eindhoven that the title must be won. Must?

MB: “Yes, that is Dick Advocaat for ya. He is the one articulating the objectives loud and clear. THis is also the difference between Rutten and Advocaat. Advocaat is not happy when he doesn’t win anything. Our squad is ready, we have experience and talent in all lines. We are ready.

In the first weeks of the Dutch competition, the hand of Advocaat is not yet too visible.

He has had his run ins with big name players such as Mertens and Wijnaldum and he has also put Matavz and Narsingh on the shame bench. Matavz was too heavy and Narsingh didn’t deliver enough.

Advocaat means business, but he still needs to rule out the lack of consistency of his team.


Dickie: “So I said to De Kromme… I have ball this big! I will demonstrate it to you. In the second half, I’ll sub Robben!”

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Meanwhile, in the Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is exciting again!

Ajax is still in the race for a spot in the CL after the winter. The Sons of Gods play Borussia Dortmund this coming CL matchday and it could go anywhere. Ajax could end up last (when they lose against the Germans and Man City beats Madrid). And with a last game at the Bernabeu, it might mean Ajax finishes empty handed. But Ajax could also end this match day in the second spot.

Exciting stuff. Ryan Babel is the big absentee this time around. The Ajax striker played a great game in Dortmund (and missing a huge chance to score, like Eriksen) but will be missing. Alderweireld and Ken Vermeer however, are back from being absent and Frank de Boer can use his full squad.

PSV is the ultimate fave for the title this season. Dick Advocaat, Mark van Bommel, Kevin Strootman, Jeremain Lens, Dries Mertens… The Eindhoven team does show their class regularly but lacks consistency. Wijnaldum, Matavz, Mertens, they all felt the thorn of Advocaat already. If they can overcome their lacklustreness for a spell they should be able to win this.

FC Twente is doing well and collects the points, but seems to lack the width to make it to the end. With Leroy Fer sidelined for a bit, it was clear Twente does not have players to replace him. When Chadli, Tadic and/or Douglas go AWOL for whatever reason, Twente is too vulnerable.

Ajax, like Feyenoord, seems a bit too young, playfull and inconsistent this season and lacks real top quality. Whenever players like Siem de Jong, Eriksen or Van Rhijn are not performing, Ajax becomes mediocre. Same with Feyenoord, with Jordy Clasie, Daryl Janmaat and Graziano Pelle at Feyenoord.

The contenders might have a shot this year. AZ has serious difficulties replacing Martens (injured), Moisander (sold), Rasmus Elm (sold) and Aussie Brett Holman ( sold). FC Utrecht does very well this season under Jan Wouters but will most likely lack stamina. Vitesse might be the club most likely to challenge PSV.
With Fred Rutten at the helm, Theo Janssen and Marco van Ginkel in midfield and Bony scoring the goals, they keep on winning.

With Daryl Janmaat, one of the relevations of this season is mentioned. Last season an anonymous right back at Heerenveen, this season one of the most impressive Oranje players against Germany.

This is actually his second term at Feyenoord. The young back played in Feyenoord’s youth academy until the C youth group. He had a great time in the youth system. ” I never was a great talent. Was a defender or midfielder in those days, but probably one of the least “exciting” players.”

He actually started as a often scoring striker in the F youth. He was topscorer of his first season and scored from literally all angles and positions.

But, he had to go back a line every season. “I stopped scoring at a certain age. There probably were better defenders and also better strikers than me. So I ended up in the position that naturally fits me best: right full back.”

“I do believe not being the biggest talents helped me. I developed a strong mentality. Physically I wasn’t the best either, so I had to train really hard and leave a lot of fun out of my life, to make sure I would make it. It sort of came naturally.”

Janmaat is very confident in his first season in De Kuip. “I know some players are a bit overwhelmed with the atmosphere here. I love it. Totally. We all feel indestructable.”

Feyenoord isn’t beaten at home for a year. The last time Feyenoord had a series like this was in 1996.”In De Kuip, we are invincible,” Janmaat says. “It’s the venue, the pitch and most importantly, the fans!”

The support from the Legion works like dope. The right back, who came transfer free from Heerenveen, gets wings from the buzz from the stands.”

The gung ho defender feels like he is in seventh heaven anyway. His position in the team is without question and now he is also becoming a stayer in the Oranje squad. And not just him, Bruno Martins Indi, Stefan de Vrij, Joris Mathijsen, Ruben Schaken, Jordy Clasie are all on LVG’s list.

The discussion re: De Kuip and the planned demolition (and building of a “New Kuip”) is fueled by statements like the ones made by Janmaat…. The team feels powerful at home. The fans adore the venue. And the ex players lament the destruction of the historic grounds.

But, De Kuip is no longer a model venue in Europe, like it was in the 1950s all the way to the 1980s… Slowly but surely, other venues got renovated or clubs built totally new, modern stadiums. The Amsterdam Arena is often criticised for being like a theatre but from personal experience, I can say that visiting the toilet in the Arena is like going to the loo in the Sydney Opera House while trying to go to the toilet in De Kuip is like visiting a slaughterhouse.

The security protocols can’t be met in De Kuip. It’s becoming a dangerous venue.

One can only hope that the powers that be in Rotterdam make the right decision when moving to a new venue. So Janmaat and Co can feel invincible for many a season…

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Holland – Germany; my analysis

Daryl Janmaat had the best opportunity for the Dutch

I am pretty sure I start most reviews on friendlies with “I don’t like friendly games”…

And I still don’t.

What does it offer me? It offers excitement in the run up and then massive disappointment. Because if we lose against Germany, we lost against Germany. And if we win, it’s basically irrelevant as it’s merely a friendly…

And I hardly ever get entertained. There is no excitement in it. The only people who actually “enjoy” these games are the national team manager and his staff. And most likely the media.

Not me.

But looking at the game through the glasses of Louis van Gaal, I think there are some interesting conclusions:

1. Germany is further than we are. There “flow” in the game was better. They were more confident, played a higher pace and were able to find each other in time and space. And they created good opportunities using the wings and pushing forward.

2. Using players that hardly ever play together in these roles does not work well. Our team lacked any flow as a result. Huntelaar and Afellay play together at Schalke: LVG benches the Hunter. Why?? Schaken and Janmaat play well together at Feyenoord: LVG lets Van Rhijn start. Why?? The hub in Feyenoord is Jordy Clasie. He plays or has played with Vlaar, BMI, De Vrij, Janmaat, Schaken but LVG decides to use Nigel de Jong centrally in midfield…

3. Our youngsters surely have the goods. From Vermeer and Krul to De Vrij, Janmaat and Van Ginkel. Bring it on. It might now be said that Bert van Marwijk was a bit too slow using youngsters, which now results in Holland being behind Low’s Germany. And we know Maher, Fer, Narsingh and Strootman are waiting in the wings to come back. Our present time might not be world class, but our future most certainly is.

4. Louis van Gaal makes weird choices. Why does he risk getting on a bad footing with Huntelaar? Why does he play Nigel de Jong who offers so much in defence, but so little in build up?

My fear is that Van Gaal is merely another “rigid” coach, just like Van Marwijk. The latter held on to his 15 man squad and 4-2-3-1. Van Gaal seems to be married to 4-3-3 and likes to impress whoever (media? his wife? The opponents? The players? Danny Blind?) by making weird choices.

Playing against this Germany, he could have used the Ajax system, with a false striker. Don’t use Huntelaar when he’s out of form (is he really??? The Hunter is NEVER out of form… He always scores) ok, but maybe use a stronger midfield… And let Van der Vaart play as central midfielder behind Schaken and Robben… I probably would have picked Afellay over Schaken. Used Clasie in midfield. With De Jong and Van Ginkel. Second half, bring Emanuelson for Van der Vaart. Siem de Jong would have been the right player for that midfield too. He is in form. But being “in form” clearly is less important than being out form…

Anyway…too late now.

I’m just a bit concerned that Klaas Jan might lose it one day. Before the Belgium game, he is called the no. 1. After the Belgium game, Robin is the number one. Now, suddenly Kuyt gets the nod. And every player loves playing against team mates, so I’m sure Klaas Jan feels terribly humiliated. Smart move, Louis!

On a closing note: our width is improving massively. Players like Emanuelson, Van Ginkel, Elia, Janmaat, Fer, De Vrij etc have a lot to offer. I loved how the two Feyenoord defenders took the game to Germany (De Vrij and Janmaat).

So, all in all: I’m happy with our talent and future prospects. But I’m still on the fence with Louis…


Eljero Elia back in the squad


Marco van Ginkel shows lots of promise…

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Holland – Germany: it's our time again!

A game with so many absentees might be seen as a “devaluated” match, but not Holland – Germany. Never Holland – Germany.

There is too much at stake. In this case: prestige. Holland lost the two last matches against the arch enemy (friendly 0-3 last year and at the Euros 1-2 this year) and Holland wants to win.

Van Gaal has to make do without Sneijder, Van Persie, Strootman, Stekelenburg, Narsingh and Lens. At least four of which would start in the game, normally. And Germany coach Low has to miss Ozil, Klose, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Boateng and Schmelzer.

Some of these players are not present because their club coach (interests) doesn’t want them to play. Robben: “Yeah, the club coach won’t like it too much.” And Strootman said earlier “If Advocaat has a say in it, I won’t ever play an international game…”. And the PSV midfielder indeed had to send his apologies.

Team manager Louis van Gaal has seen this reality from the club coach perspective and understands his colleagues. “But my job is to create a team that can go for gold in Brazil. But surely, some players won’t be here and we will do what we can with the ones we do have. It’s never a good time to expect to work on the automatisms now. We’ll do that in the run up to the World Cup.”


Neo international Van Ginkel (Vitesse)

Van Gaal has called up more youngsters to replace the absentees: Jeroen Zoet, Bas Dost, Jordy Clasie, Ruben Schaken and Stefan de Vrij are the new names. But the former Bayern coach doesn’t want to experiment: “We started a new direction. I want to stick to this now. We are doing well in the series, so experiments are now not really required.”

The Oranje players do not see this game as a “obliged calender fill”. Robben: “I think this game is more important than the qualification games. In those games, we are supposed to win and the opponent plays defensive and hopes to get a result. Germany is actually a step ahead of us. We are not the favorites this time. And there is the usual pressure on both nations.”

“I’m not thinking about it in terms of revenge. We have started a new journey together. New players, new coach, new goal. And seriously, you can wipe a lost Euros game away with a win in a friendly…”


Robben looking lost…

Rafa van der Vaart, player for HSV Hamburg: “Listen, it’s not a World Cup game we’re playing. It’s a friendly. But I like the attention, the pressure. It’s a special fixture. And despite the absentees on both sides, I’m sure we will see two quality teams. And as we’re not doing too shabby under Van Gaal I’m really looking forward to this game.”

Van der Vaart is in a betting game with the HSV goalie. When Oranje wins, the HSV goalie will wear an Oranje jersey at training. If Germany wins, Raf will wear a Mannschaft shirt.

“They like these types of bets in Germany. Just for a laugh.” The former Spurs man could be wearing the band for this match, with Strootman out and Kuyt most likely not starting. “I might. Who knows. But I don’t even know if I play. I’m not bothered. We’ll see.”

“This game is a good test for us. And interestingly enough, some of our new players are unknown in Germany. They don’t watch the Eredivisie in Germany. I think they will get to know some of our new lads. And it is time we beat them again.”

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Ajax appoints Edwin van der Sar. Smart? Or…

It might seem that this Oranje blog is on its way to become an Ajax blog, with all the Ajax focus of the last weeks. But not to worry. It’s not so. Ajax has done pretty good though, to be still “in it” in Europe and taking 4 points against the England champs, right?

But Holland – Germany is on its way and I will be publishing a cool article on PSV soon too.

But, with Edwin van der Sar in the lead to land the Ajax general manager’s job, it’s probably timely to look at this piece of news. Because it begs the question: Does the former goalie have what it takes to lead Ajax? What if Ajax cops a 15 mio euro loss and hooded fans assemble with rocks in the main building to ask for an explanation?

Former Ajax goalie Piet Schrijvers: “Sar’s candidacy fits with Johan Cruyff’s plans. Ex-players in the club management. I like it. Edwin has always remained cool and collected. Never had much bravado. He always analysed situations before he acted. He has most likely learned a lot about club management in England, with Man United and Alex Ferguson. He might have exactly what it takes.”

Former IBM manager and ex Ajax general manager Frank Kales. “It’s very original to make Sar general manager so quickly. Very original and remarkable. But not a good idea. He is a well balanced guy but you will only find out if he’s strong enough in a crisis. And that is quite a risk. What if Ajax ends number 8 and Frank de Boer’s position is at stake?”

Arie van Eijden served his club in that role for 6 years and was board member for 10 years. “There is no education where you can learn to be Ajax general manager. There is only the real thing. It’s not a bad plan to give Edwin the job but the practice will have to teach us if he’s ready for it. One of the hardest things in this role is to deal with all the different blood-types within Ajax. That is a tough job. It’s not something you can do from one day to another. It takes time. Some groups in Ajax have a more “hidden” agenda or are not that easy to approach. I know the man Edwin van der Sar. As a goalie, he was the best but as a man he’s quite a good bloke too.”

Joost de Wit is general manager at RKC and was Van der Sar’s teacher at the Cruyff University. “Edwin was a very good student. He saw the links. And he’s got all the experience in football as a player of course. That is a good foundation. The past has shown us that a long experience in business or an academic background does not serve as a guarantee for success. I do hope Edwin will appoint experts in specific fields to support him. In Cruyff’s philosophy, it all starts with passion. That is more important that a certificate or diploma. Edwin has that passion and he understands football. On top of that, he’s a very nice and open guy. I think he’ll make it.”

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Sex drugs and R&R: Andy van der Meyde

In the end of the 1990s, a group of young players was developed under the management of youth director Co Adriaanse and his right hand man, Jan Olde Riekerink.

Two players made their name, relatively quick: Cedric van der Gun and Andy van der Meyde. The first, a mercurial prolifically scoring midfielder and the latter a typical winger in the style of John van ‘t Schip and Robbie de Wit.

Not much later, another “Van der” made his way into the squad: Rafael van der Vaart, with his buddy Wesley Sneijder on his heels.

But where Cedric van der Gun saw his career impeded by a very serious knee injury (he’s back playing pro football for FC Utrecht under Jan Wouters), Andy van der Meyde’s career went stellar (Inter Milan), only to crash and burn via Everton and PSV. Here’s a look at his life, based on sex, drugs and rock & roll…

The former Ajax winger published his biography this week. The 33 year old ex Oranje winger lost control over his life in 2005, when he left Milan to go and play for Everton in Liverpool. “I made good money in Milan but Everton offered me 37,000 euros per week. Double what I made in Italy.”


Andy at Inter

Van der Meyde thought he was in paradise. “I immediately bought a Ferrari and went to celebrate at the News Bar, a popular spot in Liverpool. After a couple of hours, with too much alcohol in my blood I drove to a strip club. Getting drunk in a strip club in the center of Liverpool is not smart. But, I had a strong desire to find naked girls. I saw this brunette and wanted only one thing: sex. And after I had sex with Lisa I was addicted. She was wild, crazy and horny like horse.”

The affair cost him his marriage. His wife hired a private eye who photographed the player with his stripper girl. “There are some pics and movies of me having sex with her. My wife asked me if she was good in bed. A day later, I had to say farewell to my daughters. What an idiot I was….”

The winger, who only played 10 games in three seasons at Everton discovered cocaine, apart from women and hard liquar.


Andy at Everton with Moyes who was on Van der Meyde’s case

“I hung out with Lisa a lot and in her world, cocaine was normal. When she turned 26 year old, we had a little party. Suddenly I got sick. I only had two beers by then but I had to vomit and gave up blood and I lost consciousness. I woke up in hospital. They probably gave me shit drugs…”

At Everton, coach David Moyes tried to get him disciplined. He once got a 30,000 pound fine for being in a bar two days before a game. Some days later, Moyes and Van der Meyde almost ended up in a fistfight. “Moyes grabbed me by the throat and yelled at me: at now you will start practising.”

From that moment on his life was on a highway to hell. “I was once partying in Manchester. I had downed a full bottle of rum. I got in my car and went straight to practice. I wasn’t able to keep the liquor in. Strangely enough, my tests were all fine in those days…”


Andy in Oranje

His constant battles with his girlfriend Lisa and the illness of his daughter, he got insomnia. “I drank bottles of wine and rum on a day and never got tired. I started to take sleeping pills to sleep. I couldn’t sleep without them. I was addicted. And they were pretty strong. You needed a prescription for them and I simply stole them from the club doctor’s office. For two years.”

“My friends had the solution: cocaine. I took coke and alcohol and partied seven days a week. I couldn’t concentrate on football or anything else for that matter. Partying was what my life was about. Liverpool is dangerous if you don’t now how to control yourself. I realised Liverpool would kill me. I needed to leave.”

This was in 2009. But his move to PSV in 2010 was not a success. He didn’t play one single game. Van der Meyde is back in Holland for a couple of years now and totally clean. He hopes to return to football soon as a coach.

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