Month: January 2013

Lets build Oranje around Van Persie

We are on an interesting T-junction. I am not talking the economic crisis. Or the situation in the Middle East and Iran. Neither the GMO foods that are invading our supermarkets, nor am I referring to the recent floods in my hometown.

I’m talking Oranje. Of course.

We have Sneijder yet to show his level after months being sidelined. Will Raf van der Vaart be able to catch on to our pace? Is Robben ever match fit for a longer period? Do we really need Nigel de Jong now we also have Fer, Clasie, Van Ginkel and Anita?

But we still have at least one Superstar. The 29 year old Robin van Persie is one of the best players on the planet and according to recent statistics, the most lethal striker in the world. Even more lethal than one Leo Messi.

Sir Alex Ferguson never forks out big money for players older than 25 years old. He signs them young (C Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Phil Jones). Or he gets them cheap (Henke Larsson, Michael Owen). Only once in a Blue Moon (pardon the pun), he takes out his check book for a special player. He did it for Eric Cantona. And he has done it for Robin. 26 Mio euros for a player who will most likely not be sold with a profit.

And while signing him, Sir Alex mused about that Eric Cantona era, saying Robin van Persie would most likely do for his team what Cantona did for the team back then.

When the enigmatic French player joined United in 1992, he did give Man United a lot. Goals, sure. Intelligence. But most importantly: personality, charisma and class. This turned the Red Devils from a very good team into an unbeatable side.

Cantona was the cherry on the cake and became one of the first superstars in the EPL.

Just like Cantona, Van Persie is a mature, balanced player. Not a lot Sir Alex or Meulensteen will be able to add to him. And both players are heralded for their impact in the dressing room. Van Persie is complimented on his “glue-factor” off the pitch. Both Cantona and Van Persie will always give attention and energy to the club people behind the scenes. The material manager, the cleaning staff, the kitchen people, the secretaries… And Van Persie comes in, with a focus. To win trophies. Many trophies. A total pro.

Ryan Giggs: “Whenever a finished product, a world class finished product, comes into the team, it lifts everything and everyone. With Robin, that is so clear.”

Van Persie said the same, but vice versa. “Arsenal is a fantastic club. But I needed a new challenge. When I came to Arsenal, I was in awe. I looked at Henry, at Bergkamp, I followed them, watched them to their thing and it was addictive. I wanted to do what they did. They set the standard and showed me what it is to be a pro player. At Arsenal, I missed that inspiration, at a certain point. I needed a new environment. At Man United, I see that again. I see players focusing to the max and doing everything they can to be world class. Giggs, Scholes, Rooney, Vidic, Evra… Highly inspiring. I feel like a kid in the candy store again…”

And this kid needs an Oranje candy store around him soon. The man who can score whenever he wants doesn’t seem to be able to do so with the Dutch lion on his chest.

I still wake up screaming with images of RVP missing the ball vs Denmark if I had too much red meat at dinner….

He never really delivered for Oranje. But it can’t be his fault.

Watch the high lights of his first season at Man United and it’s clear. RVP can score from any angle, with both feet, head, backheel, chest, arse, it doesn’t matter. But he needs to be the focus of the team.

Even with 10 mediocre players playing in service of him, we should be able to beat at least 98% of all opponents.

So, mr Van Gaal. This is the time.

We have one of the best players in the world, in top form, in our squad.

Build.The.Team.Around.Him.

Talk to him. Ask him how he would play. Forget systems, forget 4-3-3. How does Man United play? Is it 4-5-1? Is it 4-2-4? Who cares?

If fit, Robben and Afellay should be names to select. Van der Vaart and Sneijder will have to prove themselves again (in my book). With all due respect.

Other than that, we have some players who could do the job on the wing. Narsingh, Lens, Elia, Schaken, Boerrigter, Boetius…. (who cares, really).

We have Maher, Fer, De Guzman, Siem de Jong, Anita, Theo Janssen, Clasie, Strootman, Vilhena, Van Ginkel in midfield….

And Blind, Janmaat, BMI, De Vrij, Willems, Van Rhijn, Vlaar etc at the back.

And wonderful goal talent in Vorm, Krul, Vermeer, Zoet, Mulder…. Really…

Van Gaal’s job is not that hard….

( Used some insights from the great Willem van Hanegem)

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LVG ignores big name players

Oranje plays his first international game of 2013 on Feb 6 against Italy. And the classic last weekend gave Louis van Gaal a lot to think about.

The Dutch team is in a period with lots of injuries. And there are many bench roles for players in the big competitions. Ajax-Feyenoord was double interesting, due to this. Louis van Gaal saw 14 candidate internationals at work.

And what did we learn? That it’s a thin line between international top defender and flop of the match… Bruno Martins Indi made it into Oranje when LVG took the reigns but the agile Feyenoord defenderr played atrocious against Ajax. Weak in the passing, naive defending, no personality and will.

Joris Mathijsen’s problems could be seen by any one watching while Darryl Janmaat and Ricardo van Rhijn both struggled. Both very good in offensive duties but very vulnerable as real defenders.

But, some players impressed. Kenneth Vermeer is Ajax’ eleventh player in build up. Very good with his feet. And Daley Blind played like he did before the break. He deserves a call up for Italy. He was boss against Schaken and had time and air to support in offensive duties.

Vermeer could even start against Italy, as Krul is losing game after game and Stekelenburg is benched.

Amongst the midfielders and strikers it was remarkable to see that the most impressive players are Danes… The only Dutch player to impress in that area was Jean-Paul Boetius. He is only 18 years old and kept on taking the game to Ajax, with bravado and a good work ethic. Even when Feyenoord had clearly lost the game, he tried to do what he could.

It’s important that he is able to play at a higher level than Eredivisie at times, such as Europa or even Champions League. Feyenoord struggles to offer him this, while Ajax seems to have that consistency at least.

Jonathan de Guzman might make his debut for Oranje. The Swansea midfielder can finally count on wearing a Dutch jersey with the seniors. The Canadian born player did play for Jong Oranje before.

Former Feyenood man De Guzman left Rotterdam for Spain but Laudrup signed him for Swansea, where he scored twice last weekend with assistant Danny Blind in the stands.

Wesley Sneijder and Stekelenburg didn’t play for their clubs for quite some time and are left out. Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben are on their way to match fitness and won’t be part of this, while Heitinga is ignored as he hardly gets playing time at Everton. Nigel de Jong hardly is match fit while Afellay is also injured.

De Guzman was part of the pre-selection in 2008 as well, under Van Basten. He had just received his Dutch passport. Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Khalid Boulahrouz – both Sporting Lisbon – are selected too.

This Friday, LVG will present the definitive squad.

Pre-selection Oranje

Goal: Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax), Michel Vorm (Swansea City).

Defense: Daley Blind (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Sporting), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Joris Mathijsen (Feyenoord), Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord).

Midfield: Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Leroy Fer (FC Twente), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Adam Maher (AZ), Kevin Strootman (PSV).

Forwards: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04), Ola John (Benfica), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Jeremain Lens (PSV), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Ruben Schaken (Feyenoord), Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Sporting).

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Wesley Sneijder's decision to move to Turkey…

Gobbledegook…. Turkey time…

28 years old. Skipper of Oranje. One of the best playmakers – if not the best – on the planet. Won titles. Won Champions League trophy. Played for Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan… Next stop…. Manchester? Nope. London? Nope. Liverpool? Nope. Munich? Nope. Barcelona, Valencia, Moscow, Paris….Nope.

Istanbul.

Why, a lot of people will say….. WHY? WWWWWWHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY????????

Well, simple. There were no other takers. Man United sniffed a bit. Liverpool made some moves. Man City hesitated. Anzhi made inquiries. But Galatasaray was the only club putting a concrete deal on the table.

Wes even waited for Liverpool to come with a serious offer… but it wasn’t to be.

So Wes had the option to stay at Inter, make a lot of money (still) but not play. Lose his spot in Oranje. Lose fitness.

Or, go to a club where they will revere him, where he will play CL football and where he can prove his fitness. My idea is, that he has a limited transfer sum in his new deal with the Turks.

Galatasaray paid 8 Mio Euros for the playmaker. If Wesley plays a great second season half (based on his limited transfer sum of say – 15 Mio), a club like Chelsea, Man City or Man United might decide to have a bite.

Time is tough for big transfers now. No club is capable of spending mega-bucks at the moment, and Wesley is picking the best option for him and his international career.

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The Big LVG Interview – Pt 2

This is where we proceed with the Big Louis van Gaal piece, from De Voetbaltrainer.

Still no pictures (other than the main one) and no way to augment fonts :-(.

So, after all those staffing steps, it was time to select the first squad?

LVG: “No. I first went and looked at our regular hotel. The one where we have been putting up our camp for years now (Oranje Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk). I felt the players were dispersed too much. Across several floors and all that. I want the whole squad together on the same floor. I also wanted a central room on that floor for the medical staff. And I wanted a bigger room for the players to hang in. You know, for entertainment. Or to just sit and talk and be sociable. Players love to play table tennis or air hockey or pool or play cards. Now, after the renovations, we find approx 15 players there at all times. In the past, players went to their rooms to play games or play cards… Call it a player home. I also heard that the players got agitated with the internet speed for their online gaming. So we went to the hotel management and told them about their wishes and they promptly executed all of it. We needed fast internet for our video analysis too, by the way. Not just for gaming, but in general. Webstreaming, etc.”

Ok, so then finally the first squqd for the Belgium game?

“Yes, and it was not hard. Bruno Martins Indi played very strong in Feyenoord’s CL qualification game against Kiev and I was happy to select him. I took the core of Bert’s group and Danny came up with most of the other youngsters. We didn’t spend too much time on this. Was quite easy, actually. We spend more time on the planning of our first get together. Every step, I thought through. What will I say? When will I say it. Where will I say it, etc. What is the best tone of voice. How do I create the right mood? When do I talk and when do I let my assistants take center stage. Which order of individual talks. How do we pick the new skipper. How do I manage the media attention? Which video clips do I want to show them?”

Can you tell us the program?

“We knew there were some issues after the Euros. The KNVB had issues they wanted clarity on, so did I and obviously the players had their own issues. Some of the relationships had turned sour. I normally would have started with a group talk. But in this case I didn’t. I wanted to ask the question: Why do players keep coming back when called up to Oranje, even after such an abysmal Euros tournament? The answer: because they all want to play at the highest level. They want to win trophies at the highest level. So, for me, it was logical with fantastic videos from the last 40 years. All the top notch games, the classic moments…. Then we followed this up with a video in which I presented my football vision, which is not unlike the way Barcelona plays. This is the hardest style of playing and most people say “you can do that at club level, not at national team level”. I don’t agree. We used to play like this. Spain plays like this. In Holland, we do think a bit differently about attractive football. We do not like all the extensive passing and passing that Spain does. We want to do business. Score goals. Be more direct. So we will not “copy” Spain, that is not my intention. We want to play Dutch. And we can. I explained what I want to do with our tactics and I explained the move back to 4-3-3. After that, I sent the players to their rooms. To rest. I wanted them to have it all sink in. Lying on their beds and visualising what this would mean for them.”

And then the group talk?

“No, then we did a media-genic training session, led by Blind and Kluivert. Lots of fun, lots of rondos, lots of playing with the ball. Good for the media. The media got some time to question the players and they were keen to hear about all the problems. But the players couldn’t say more than “we spoke about the football vision and we watched videos and put our objectives out there”. Then we had dinner and after dinner, we had the group talk. I didn’t want all of the players in it. Only the ones who had played at the Euros. I’m sure I would get all the insights from that group and it would have been manageable to do it with 23 players. So, with the fact that some players were missing, we ended up doing this with 13 players.”

So, what room did you use for it?

“A cosy room. Like a cigar bar, but without the cigars. Open fire, soft chairs, lights a bit dimmed. We were in half a circle. No one could escape it. Everyone could see the other ones in the eye. And I had a table at the head of the circle for myself and my notes. I started with video clips, again. The documentary about the Oranje 1996 campaign, under Hiddink. Lots of trouble. And 2 years later, he almost wins the World Cup with the same players. And funnily enough, Pat Kluivert was in that doco and also in the room with us. Which helped. Then we looked at the tremendous WC2010 campaign. And I had an interview with Wesley Sneijder, right before the 2012 Euros, in which he says “With this squad, we need to go for gold”. And then I said: How is it possible that this squad got sent home with zero points? I also asked them if they wanted us in the room (the staff- Jan) and I’m happy to say that they were fine with us there. We talked for two hours. After the talk, I handed out my manifest. The new rules. I have added a couple of rules but also deleted some of my predecessor. I supported our new rules with video images again. One rule is “no more headphones when you are in a public area”. In the bus? Fine. When you walk from bus to dressing room, not fine. It doesn’t look good, is my opinion. After all of that, we asked Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt to come and talk individually, to discuss the captaincy. They both accepted their roles after talking about it and we concluded Day 1.”

On to Day 2…

“We woke up at 9.15 am. That is standard. I don’t like different schedules. I don’t want players to have to look on pieces of paper all the time. We also have the matra: “slow down, take it easy, haste is not good”. That second day we had two individual meetings. One with Robin van Persie, as he wouldn’t start against Belgium and one with Arjen Robben, as he would have to play on the left, and not on the right. I figured those two could have been intense and difficult meetings but they were both very positive. I explained my motives and they accepted it. Both players can talk very intelligently about football, so they were both very pleasant talks.”

And then you do something extraordinary. You are the first team manager to rotate intensively between the two games in a double match weekend. Andorra and Romania. Totally different squads.

“Well, if you consider that both games will be different, you can utilise different types of players. Huntelaar is a different striker than Van Persie. Huntelaar is the best killer in the box. Van Persie is the better football player, who can also create. You can look at all positions and utilise the best player for that game. Some players have more skills in a narrow space, others do better with space ahead of them. I can explain all my decisions to the group and they seem to accept my motives. And I am very clear. And I am also sharp at training. If I tell a player I pick him for a reason and at training he doesn’t prove to the squad that I was right in my decision, I have a go at him. I say “I picked you because you hardly ever lose possession and now you start giving the ball away?”. I coach very personally. Up close and personal. In their face. I try to reach inside of them.”

But are you motivating or criticising?

“Everything I do and say is to motivate. To make them better. More aware. Every time I see the players, I give them an evaluation moment. I tell them where they stand, in my book. And so do Patrick and Danny. I need to make them better. Or I need to make sure they perform better. And I tell them: I am giving you tools to become a better player. It’s not personal. I am not angry or negative. I see that there is room for improvement. I explain all players how I want to use them. Last time, Gertjan Verbeek of AZ was annoyed that we told Adam Maher we see him as a number 10. In Verbeek’s system, Maher plays right midfield. So what? Verbeek has different players at his disposal and has a different vision. I say it like I see it. In our midfield, we have one more static defensive midfielder, who is the anchor, we have a more penetrating player who can go from box to box and we have a creative shadow striker. I see Maher as that player. Verbeek uses his midfield differently.”

But what if Alex Ferguson decides to use Van Persie as a leftwinger? Will you then do the same?

“It depends of course, but theoretically: yes. If Robin would play a whole season in that role, we’d have to put him in the left winger category and he would have to compete with the Arjen Robbens of this world. But…it’s silly speculation. Which I normally don’t engage in. I leave that to the media.”

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The Big LVG Interview – Pt 1

NOTE: I apologise again for late post. This time, a site update didn’t go too well. Can’t do anything with pictures or fonts… :-(. Hopefully to be dealt with soon!

As you may remember, the Dutch professional magazine for football coaches “De Voetbal trainer” ended 2012 with a big LVG interview. Thanks to the donations by you to this site, we took a subscription on the publication and now herewith find part 1 of the interview.

Louis van Gaal is thrifty with his time. Not every medium gets to interview him at length. He doesn’t say it out loud, but it most likely has to do with him not having a very high opinion on most journalist.

Ex-colleague Sef Vergoossen ( retired professional football coach of several Dutch and Belgian clubs) interviewed him for De Voetbaltrainer and Van Gaal quipped “I will do this as the target group of this magazine are my colleagues. And who knows, maybe other journalists will read it and I will get more intelligent questions next time…”

What have you done to get a very down Dutch team back into winning ways and enjoying themselves visibly, in such a short term?

LVG: “Football and coaching are processes. It starts with a vision and you work from that vision. One of the first decisions I had to make was to establish a new staff. It is key that the right staff would be put together to support that vision. I didn’t focus on the players, but on the technical staff….”

But most coaches by then were already taken by the different clubs?

“It was not the ideal moment maybe and I told most of the people I worked with at Bayern to follow their own journey. Only Max Reckers – video analyst – and Jos van Dijk – physio- and keeper trainer Franks Hoek were available. Jonker and Bout already commenced new jobs. I only wanted to work at a real challenging environment. I had only spoken with Ajax and Liverpool. All other offers I had put aside. Until this came. What a great challenge! I think Bert van Marwijk did a marvellous job but something went awry between him and the group.”

Did you talk to Bert about that?

“No. I really thought about it. But I can not let the opinion of the ex-coach have an impact on the chemistry between me and the group. I didn’t want to put energy in what “was”. I heard stories already and decided not to go there. You come subjective if you don’t watch it. The people who were there were part of it. I heard some stories from Kees Jansma and Hans Jorritsma and I am only interested if something impacts the way ahead.”

The way ahead…

“The KNVB has given me a very ambitious goal. Finish in the top 4 of the World Cup. Achievable, sure…. But not very easy. You could easily debate whether it is realistic, even. But, it’s on the table so we will go for it. We have three objectives: 1) play recognisable “Dutch” football, 2) integrate the new generation of talent and 3) re-establish the relationship between Oranje and the supporters.

Looking at those objectives, I immediately called Danny Blind. Danny has won everything you can win bar the World Cup as a player and captain. He has worked in almost all roles in a football club and all of them successful. Technical director, assistant coach, head coach, Manager Youth Systems, scout… he’s seen it all. And there is no one in Holland with more insight in the talent base in Holland as him. We share a similar football vision, but he is not a Yes Man. He has his own opinion and he knows me well enough to be a worthy adversary in debates.”

And then you decide to select Patrick Kluivert. Not a surprise for me as I had him in my coaching class at the KNVB. He thought as a mature coach already four years ago…

“I know him very well of course. Worked with him at Ajax, Barcelona and Oranje. It was always quite predictable that players like De Boer and Blind would turn into good coaches. Patrick is more an intuitive player. These players normally don’t make great coaches, as they cannot really analyse why they do certain things or how a team should play. It’s not an anomaly that some of the biggest players out there (Maradona, Hagi, Zico, Van Basten, Zidane, Hoddle) never reached the same level as coach as they did as a player. There are exceptions, like Happel, Cruyff and recently Laudrup and hopefully Kluivert too. He did his practice at AZ when I was there and he was remarkably clear towards the players. And it’s interesting if you look at his coaching career. Because let’s face it: name three top strikers of Oranje of the last 50 years and you go 1- Cruyff, 2- Van Basten, 3- Kluivert, right? But instead of going the short route, like Van Basten did, he started at NEC. In the youth. And then he went to Twente. And he coaches the most difficult team: the C-youth.
You have to motivate players who were not yet selected for the A-team and you have to work with established players who are focused on getting fit for the A-team. And still, he wins the title with Twente! He deserves much more kudos for this than he got. The current generation has seen him play, and that is also important for an Oranje staff. Someone they can relate to. Patrick listen to the same style of music, knows the same street slang as they use. Patrick is the one who will communicate with the group most. He is our translator, you could say. I also added Piet Bon to the staff. Physical Doctor, but also a great guy. A personality. Most players trust him, like him and confide into him if there is an issue outside of football. A good mental coach, in other words.”

Speaking of doctors, you did say you will only select fit players, correct?

“Of course. I have selected a broad medical staff. We have added doctor Edwin Goedhart, who works intensely with a very good online platform for players management at medical and nutritional level. I worked with him already before, and he was head of medical at Ajax. We have an orthopedic in Rien Heijboer of the Rotterdam Erasmum University and we have the same team of physios as Van Marwijk used. But speaking of fitness, I do not only mean physical, but also mental. With national teams, you can not select players to support them or to give them confidence. At club level: yes. Not at national level. You play one key game every time and it needs to be 100%. We do not support players who are recovering from injury or anything like that. Can’t do it. And players who have distractions in their private life, whether it’s marital issues or transfer issues, will not be selected either. Too much risk for both.”

And then there Hans Jorritsma and Kees Jansma…

“And Kees’ PR staff. We kept them all on. Hans is team manager since 1996 and is doing a perfect job. If Hans organises something it is 100% done. Always. I also added Edward Metgod to the scouting team. Ron Spelbos is in charge and he has a certain style of working, which is great. Edward works a lot with an international scouting system – Scout7 – and every weekend 1600 games are uploaded. The system has info on 100,000 players from 126 different competitions! We can watch these games via livestream on our computers. On top of that, the system offers a variety of statistics on the players so every weekend we can compare the performance of our national team players. You can see patterns, and progression and all of that. You can see if a player loses possession more in certain situations, or what combination of players work better…. I can use these stats and combine these with our own video analysis and email it to the players and have them work with it or focus on it without having to see them….”

That is intriguing. So what do you do with all that data?

“That is always the key question. Bert van Marwijk left us his list of 50 players who are top drawer for Oranje. We used this list as a starting point. We changed our system from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 (with a defensive or offensive central midfielder) or even 3-4-3 and we applied the role descriptions of these positions to the list. So we have the data from scout7, we have scouts and the staff watching games live or on tv and we collate what we see on Monday. Danny Blind, Jos van Dijk, Frans Hoek and Edward Metgod sift through the initial data and prepare a report which I discuss with them on Tuesday. We basically re-shuffle the top 50 every week. To determine what the ideal starting eleven would be based on the results of that particular weekend. In our Tuesday meeting, they have to convince me to change a certain player, for instance. The closer we get to a game, the more the specific qualities of the opponent are taken into account. We try not to use “coincidences” in our approach.”

How many games do you still see live?

“Less and less. I I go and watch a game, it takes a lot of time. Geting there, spending time at the venue, going home… I can watch three games at home, in that timespan and with all due respect: I can see it better. More angles, more cameras, more slo-mos… I try and see 75% of all the players in a given weekend and I can do so by watching on tv. We do go to see the internationals live. Scouts, the assistants, I do it too at times… Because personal contact is key too.”

So your staff has quite some people with an Ajax and/or AZ background…

“Well, you can also say a Barcelona or Sparta background… We tried to get Gio van Bronckhorst. Perfect guy for the role. Ex skipper of Oranje. Also a Barcelona background… But his two jobs at Feyenoord didn’t allow for him to join. Pity.”

How are the tasks divided within the staff? Who does what?

“I will face the whole group when we discuss team tactics. I coach the starting eleven when we prepare for a game. And Patrick is my assistant. Danny works as coach with the “opponent” and instructs them to play like our opponent plays. Danny Blind also does the opponent scouting and instructs our team about their strengths, weaknesses, etc… Frans Hoek does the set-pieces and dead-ball moments. We do line meetings on the match day. It’s interesting, the defence is always a longer meeting than the forwards meeting… Defenders seem to be able to soak up more info on their opponents and can concentrate well. The forwards are less interested. More intuitive I guess. I do these meetings, with Pat supporting me with the forwards and Danny with the midfielders and defenders. I also do individual talks and normally Pat or Danny is with me, depending on the position of the player…”

Stay tunes for more, in Pt 2….

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Europe focuses on youth: Ajax leads the way

Dear reader, the blog techno geeks have updated the blog software for some reason but as a result I cannot get images to work :-(. I’ve spent three days hassling and trying and calling and what not. But I didn’t want to stop the progress of the posts.

So here is a post without images. Apologies. I will go after the bad guys.

The European top clubs are fed up. They do not want to pay top dollar anymore. They don’t want to pay top dollar to the “agents” and they need to prepare for the Financial Fair Play code coming up. Most clubs spend more on player-agents than their own youth academy. And now, the top clubs suggest a prohibition of under-aged transfers (trade).

One of Michel Platini’s supporters at the UEFA hq to implement the sane measures to make (keep) football healthy is Maarten Fontein. Dutch, former Unilever Asia CEO, former Ajax general manager and currently board member at AZ and UEFA strategy committee member.

Fonteijn presented his Youth Academy Strategic Plan last year to top officials of the major clubs in Europe and got a standing ovation. But not from his former club Ajax. The representative of Ajax left the room prior to Fonteijn ending his presentation.

“They are angry. We had to have some parameters, some place to start and we decided to start the youth CL with the youth teams of the clubs who qualified for the senior CL so to speak. Ajax was not happy, as they do not qualify every season. I understand their position, but Ajax was part of this whole project plan and during earlier meetings they never said anything….”

Ajax’ position is indeed understandable. Hardly any club in Europe spends so much on youth as Ajax does: 6 mio euros every year. More than – say – Bayern Munich or Inter Milan. Today, the youth competition in Europe was organised by NextGen and Ajax did so well in those competitions. Ajax went on a rampage in Europe beating the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool but bravado. This season, led by Danish talent Victor Fischer, Ajax has started where it left off.

The UEFA has executed a studies to compare the youth strategy of the different clubs and Barcelona is seen as the ultimate example. The only club to spend more on youth than Ajax, with 10 Mio euros per year. The authors of the report give kudos to Johan Cruyff as the architect of the Barca Academy. And the same foundations are now put in place in Amsterdam.

It’s remarkable how clubs like Bayern and Arsenal only spend half of Ajax’ spendings on their youth system. IT’s probably less lucrative to do? Although Ajax made 20 mio euros this summer out of the sale of Vertonghen and Anita. Not a bad result. Eclipsed by Inter, though. The Milan club made 74 Mio euros last year, with 24 Mio of that amount for one Balotelli.

Most clubs rather spend money transfer fees and agent commission, apparently. Instead of developing a culture and an academy, some clubs don’t mind their euros leaking away to Monaco or Zurich.

Among the authors of the report are famous names, like Liam Brady ( youth system manager at Arsenal) and Bodo Menze ( Schalke 04). The authors seemed to be infused with Cruyffian wisdoms: scouting needs to be part of the technical heart of the club….

Ajax is mentioned a lot. Any club delivering talents like Cruyff, Van Basten, Keizer, Bergkamp, Rijkaard, Kluivert, Davids, Van der Vaart, Sneijder and now Eriksen would get attention.

Wim Jonk is interviewed for the report and says: “I never pay attention to who won or what the results was. I look at the way a player runs. When he makes the decision to press or in what circumstance he tracks back. The will to go and play. Their creativity… These factors are key for their development. I know at Inter, youth academy is set up to prepare boys to become men very quickly. Pushing iron, running, etc.”

Another factor the report brings up is the borderline slave-trade aspect. Young kids lured to come to European cities for money. Poor families in Brazil, Uruguay, Nigeria or South Africa are highly keen to facilitate. But there are many stories of how these things can go wrong. Leonardo, signed by Feyenoord at a young age, complete got derailed. And Ajax does this too… There are as many foreign kids in Amsterdam as there are in London (Arsenal) or Munich.

Signing young players is a bit like doping in cycling. Everyone does it, no one wants to talk about it. Chelsea was banned from making more transfers when they signed Gael Kakuta some time back. The player got a 800,000 euro fine. Kakuta has seen different clubs in England and France and is now on loan at Vitesse. If you’d like to go and watch a youth game of a good level (say, at Feyenoord, Ajax or Sparta) you will see many expensive cars on the parking lot. Agents, scouts, managers….

And the big clubs spend money like there is no tomorrow. Man City and Chelsea have more than enough players to field 4 senior teams. These four teams would all win the title in Holland, finger in nose.

Clubs like Barca and Real Madrid have extremely debts to pay for their exploits. Debts bigger than the total turnover of the Eredivisie. This has nothing to do with honest sports anymore.

When Anzhi came past in Holland to take care of AZ and Vitesse, these two ambitious midtable Dutch clubs were taken to the cleaners. No chance in the Europa League for those clubs, this year. And Feyenoord failed to qualify for the CL as they simply weren’t able to secure the full squad (Pelle in particular) before the end of August.

This is where Dutch football is, internationally.

But obviously, FFP (Financial Fair Play) will change a lot. Today, clubs like Real Madrid and Man City have what Michael van Praag calls “collectors’ greed”. They have close to 60 players in their squads and simply buy up talents. This is not longer going to be tolerated. Limited number of players per club.

Talents are also obliged to sign their first contract with the club where they are developed and once a player is transferred the new club will need to pay a higher “development fee”. This is all done to motivate clubs to develop their own players.

A cricital note towards Ajax: the Sons of Gods lament all this talent scouting by the big clubs, but reality is, that they do the same thing but on a lower level. Where Ajax fears the power of Man City and Madrid, clubs like Kopenhagen and Malmo get the shivers when an Ajax scout appears.

On average, 3 of the 100 youngsters in the European clubs are foreigners. At Ajax, this percentage is higher than average: 5%. Ajax’ youth is as international as the youth of Barca, Arsenal or Inter. The only two clubs with more foreign talent in the youth are Barca and Sporting Lisbon.

Ajax may have one of the most successful youth academies, they also have the most expensive one. Ajax injects 6 mio euros every year into the youth plan. Barca invests 10 mio euros, as mentioned but as a % of their yearly turnover, it’s actually not that much. Ajax’ % going to youth, is close to 5%, Barca only commits 2,5% to the academy. Arsenal spent twice the amount of their youth academy on players’ agents commission!

Sporting Lisbon is by far the most aggressive club in scouting. They employ 150 scouts across Europe and lead the way. Ajax is number 2 with a mere 55 scouts… Inter Milan is third on the list, with Standard Luik, Barcelona and Bayern Munich right behind, with 37 and 36 scouts respectively.

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Happy New Year :-)

Hi all,

I’d like to wish you a very happy New Year…. And a big big thank you for being part of this blog.

It’s been a tempestuous year for the blog (relatively speaking 🙂 ). For starters, we made our move away from the Blog Gods of the Worlcup blog to go it alone.

And we created this wonderful home for all fans of the Clockwork Orange, right before the 2012 Euros and wouldn’t you know it: we had the worst Euros ever :-)….

In the last months, I had serious challenges to get a post happening every two days due to busy-ness. But I hope that will change soon.

But, 2013 looks great already.

Why? Well for starters, because we can’t be humiliated at a big tournament!

Kiddin…

I think it will be top year, because Robin van Persie can’t stop scoring… because it’s the year of the snake and Robben earns the Rensenbrink nickname Snakeman…. because Van der Vaart will be fighting fit…..Heitinga, Stekelenburg, Vorm are well-rested…because Ronald Koeman finally does what he is good at: delivering talent…because Louis van Gaal will definitely qualify this year…Sneijder will make a move to a real football club….Elia will find his mojo…Clasie will grow a little….Fer will never look back….we have the best full back talents (Buttner, Blind, Janmaat, Martins Indi, Willems, Pieters)….

I am SURE you can come up with much more reasons… 😉

Best reason gets a cool gift!

My predictions:

RVP = Golden Boot

Feyenoord = Champ of Holland

Sneijder = Back to Real Madrid

Robben to win the Champions League

Ronald Koeman to take over from Tito next summer at Barca

Benitez to be fired, to be succeeded by Martinez, to be fired two months later, to be succeeded by Dick Advocaat to be fired in the coming summer to be replaced by Michael Laudrup….

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