Month: February 2013

The Big LVG Interview – Pt 3

A lot has happened in between PT2 and PT3. For starters, we saw Sneijder being subbed, Robben being benched, RPV getting injured, Heitinga being snubbed, Mathijsen fumbling, Stekelenburg not playing, Van der Wiel rested, Huntelaar injured and out of form, Afellay injured….

Not too positive.

But we also saw BMI/De Vrij, Blind, Janmaat, Clasie, Maher, Lens, Ola John…

Not too shabby.

But for now, we will take our mind of all that and return to the thoughts of our Great Big Leader.

SV: In terms of playing style… Is it correct that in your system, you left the team sit deeper when losing possession than Van Marwijk?

LVG: Correct. In my view, this fits our skills better. We want to create some space. Make the playing field tight. Easier to get possession back and once we do, we can use the space up front with the specific qualities of Robben, Lens, Narsingh, Schaken and Van Persie. We sort of demonstrated that against – of all opponents – Andorra. Against them, we pressured high up the park. We did get the ball back early but hardly any space to move. Against Romania, we dropped deeper and we were much more effective. I call that provoking pressure. We did that in my AZ days too, but no one recognised it. Everyone said we played so offensive, but we really didn’t. We were quick on the break once we had the ball, sure, but we always created our space first. That is a subtle difference to the Barcelona system, which I want Oranje to play. The passing game Barca plays is technically perfect, but its too wide. They play the ball 10 meters diagonally max, and then back again or wide to the other flank. I believe in bypassing the nearest stations and finding the goal more directly. You need to provoke the space first, so to speak. And then you can utilise space for swift, deep actions. I think it’s more entertaining and more effective. Barca wants the ball really quickly but they will be high up the park and they will have absorped lots of space doing so. Despite the moments of genius of a couple of world class players it gets boring, to me. And the KNVB wants me to develop – or re-discover a Dutch style of playing. The Barca style is not that. I am happy with the feedback I am getting and we’re only 7 months on the way.”

SV: What strikes me too is the way midfield operates. Your midfield rotates constantly, and squeezes and adapts. Sometimes it’s two defensive players, then it’s one. What kind of agreements can you make with the players at that level?

LVG: It’s all about football intelligence. And this has to do with the skills of Kevin Strootman. That is a a great player. He is the man with balance in midfield. He makes his decisions instinctively and he hardly ever makes the wrong choice.”

SV: And the rest simply follows?

LVG: Strootman adapts quickly to what is going down. I have seldom seen a player with those qualities. Philip Cocu, Jari Litmanen, Iniesta… Strootman allows us to play with one defensive mid and he can play box to box with tremendous legs and lungs. And with Leroy Fer, we simply have another player like Strootman. Fer needs to prove himself but is these type of players are essential. And if you combine these qualities with the top 3 or 4 of our creative players, you have a lethal team.”

SV: Does this mean you will be pushing either Sneijder or Van der Vaart on a flank?

LVG: No, Sneijder and Van der Vaart are the guys who make the play. And these lads need to play where they feel they offer the most value, where they feel most comfortable. But in my system, I think only one of the two will play, normally.

SV: It seems that Oranje has basically qualified… It’s key to keep everyone motivated and focused. Is it hard?

LVG: I don’t think it will be. I am very self motivated and my whole staff is intensively following our progress. Danny, Pat, the others…we are all focused on process more than results. So once we qualify, great! But that is not the end goal. The end goal is be the best we can be. I think that as long as we are super motivated, we will have that impact on the players too. And if I notice that one or more players are not that focused, I will replace them. Quite easy for a national coach. Less easy for a club coach. But our goal is: to get better every time, so there is never time to sit back and loose focus.

We will now look at one favority practice Louis van Gaal uses with his squads. It looks simple but it covers quite a philosophy.

Organisation:
– passing distance – 12 to 18 yards
– even if a mistake is made, the players keep on rotating as to keep the pace going
– good pitch
– match balls.

Content:
– de receiving player is supposed to run away from his marker with an explosive sprint, into the ball
– if the player turns away on the right hand side, the ball needs to be passed on the right foot
– if the player turns away on the left hand side, the left foot
– there needs to be continuous movement without the ball
– the ball needs to be passed as fast as possible
– players should ask the maximum of one another, making mistakes is not a problem, the main condition is utter concentration

Comments:
– the triangle format is chosen as it represents the system the team plays in the matches… (left back/left midfield/left wing or leftback/centerback/centermidfield or leftback, leftmidfield, centermidfield, etc etc)….
– the triangle offers most of the often occurring passing options like players will encounter on the pitch.

Variance
– Van Gaal chances instructions sometimes, allowing players only touch, or two touches, or a bounce back first…
– sometimes the passing player needs to track back around a marker
– sometimes a player needs to sprint to the next marker and the pass needs to be perfect in pace
– finding the third player

Thanks to magazine De Voetbal trainer

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Who is Adam Maher? Meet Oranje's future no. 10

Adam Maher was on the radar of big clubs for years now. But the youngster decided to stick with AZ. He dazzles clubs every week and two weeks back he showed Pirlo and De Rossi what he can do too.

The midfielder is probably playing his last season in the AZ jersey. Ajax or PSV is the next station. “The bigger competitions will have to wait. I’m not ready to leave Holland yet.”

The story of a focused lad, who adores his parents.

“If I ever go abroad then my parents will come with me.”

Till death do them part, they will stay together, father Ider, mother Latifa and son Adam Maher. They still live in an apartment in Diemen, but soon they will move to the house Adam bought for the three of them. If everything goes well, they will to stay together for the rest of their lives.

Father Ider Maher: “I come from a place called Tinghir, situated in the south of Marocco. When I became 20, I moved from Morocco to France, but after a few months I moved on towards the Netherlands. That was in 1970. I lived with a friend in the Beilmer and was able to get a job with “Luycks Tafelzuren”, a factory in Diemen, where we produced mustard’s, different oils, pickles and mayonnaise. I even lived for a short time next to the factory. On Saturday we got Dutch language lessons, but in the evening hours I took extra lessons. The language was the most difficult. I understood little of this new society, did not read any papers, did not watch Dutch television and did not understand people on the street. It was some kind of jungle for me. Many Moroccans came with the idea of working in the Netherlands, making money and going back. I never had that idea. I just went with where life took me. In Morocco there was very little opportunity to work. That’s why I stayed here, to make something from my life. 10 years later I married with Latifa, who lived 50 kilometers from Tinghir.”

Mother Latifa Maher: “December 1980 I saw Ider for the first time, on the day we married. After the marriage I went with him to Diemen. It was tough at first, I had a lot of adjusting to do. That took a year. Then I got a job in a hotel and luckily Ider knew the way in society. Unfortunately there is no family from us over here, only friends and acquaintances.”

Adam Maher: “Until I was 16 I went every year to “our” second house in Tinghir. The last 3 years unfortunately I wasn’t able to go anymore as a result of short vacation periods in football. That won’t change the next 2 years hopefully. If we don’t have long vacations, we always go to our third house in Rabat, which takes far less traveling hours. It is always a pleasure to go to Morocco. Then I am with family, beaches, always nice weather, everything tip top.”

Ider: “It sounds like a lot: 3 houses. However here in Diemen we rent an apartment and the house in Tinhir is from my father. In 1985 we bought our house in Rabat for a couple of thousands of Euro’s. As a factory worker one does not get a big salary, so a house in the Netherlands was not affordable without a mortgage. The idea to have an own house when going on vacation and where we could invite family was important for us. That way we were no trouble for anyone and at the same time did not have to sleep in a hotel.”

Adam: “Tough my father and mother lived in Diemen for over a decade, I was still born in Morocco at Julie the 20th 1993. That is what my parents wanted. I don’t know if I would do the same in case I get children. For my parents it was different, because they came to the Netherlands. I could celebrate something like that in Diemen with my parents now.”

Ider: “If everything goes well, the plan is to stay together forever. Diemen is our base, whatever happens. If Adam stops with working, he will go back to Diemen and so will we.”

Adam: “I do plan to live on my own, but for now we are happy with the three of us. If I go abroad, then they will come with me. No doubt about that. They have always supported me. However we always want to be able to come back to the neighborhood. That’s why we are busy to buy a house in Diemen.”

Ider: “We are so proud that Adam does this for us. We could never have dreamed of it.”

Ider: “When he was young he practiced 3 sports: Judo, swimming and football. I picked him up after school time and brought him everywhere for 2 years. However football was really his thing. When we put a big basket with toys in it in front of him, he always picked something round which he could kick away. When he became 4 years old, we brought him to SV Diemen. Though he was too young to play games, he was allowed to participate in training. They immediately recognized him as somebody with special talent.”

Adam: “The moment I became member of the club FC Diemen, everything in life was build around football. My parents did everything for me, brought me everywhere. My father still watches every training of me. I still don’t have a drivers license, so he brings and picks me up everywhere. If we have played in Kerkrade, they drive back with the 2 of them to Alkmaar and then we go with the 3 of us back home. In the car we recap what went right and what went wrong. My parents are critical and that only makes me better. When I went from SV Diemen to Zeeburgia it became all more serious. I got into a team with the son of Sigi Lens, now my agent, and he saw my potential immediately. I think it was then that my parents started to believe into a professional career as well. However there is a big gap between hearing compliments and becoming a professional player. It’s not something you achieve from one day to the other. I believed in myself, but I am raised with idea, that after hearing a compliment you don’t become full of yourself. My parents told me that I played a good game, but also that I was not there yet if I wanted to become a professional football player. “You are at base level and you still have to go up”.”

Latifa: “We always go to every game of Adam: home, away, abroad, always. I don’t think we ever missed 1 game of Adam.”

Ider: “When he went from Zeeburgia to the AZ youth, the intensive years came along. I brought him often as the bus of AZ did not travel on the good hours for Adam. From 7.30 AM to 10 AM I traveled between home, school and AZ before I could return home. I worked the night shift with TNT. That was a choice, as then I could be there for Adam at day time. However Adam was busy as well! When he was part of the AZ second team, he was also often a bench player for the AZ first team. Then he traveled in the weekends with the first team, to play on a Monday with the second team and there were times he did not have a free day between 3 matchdays.
However he never complains, that’s the way Adam is. We live for the happiness and future of Adam. We never got the feeling it was all too much or that he should quit, as we saw him grow and become stronger. My only thought was: As long as he has a nice future and stays away from trouble on the street. At the moment I don’t do night shift anymore at TNT, that is no longer necessary.”

Adam: “I have the names of my parents on my shoes. My mother left and my father on the right shoe. That’s not very common, as most footballers put the names of their children or wife on their shoes. I have also shoe’s with my own name and number on them, but I loved the idea to put my parents name on it. It is my way of expressing that I am so proud of them and that I accomplished all this thanks to them.”

Adam: “When I turned 15, Lyon, Inter, AC MIlan and Barcelona wanted me. I had a 4 country tournament with Oranje under 16 in Paris and there were a lot of international scouts.”

Latifa: “The scouts of Lyon came to us when we sat in the stadium and asked us if we were the parents of Adam Maher. My husband also speaks French so he did the talking. When we traveled back to the Netherlands, the scout already called back, to check if the number was correct. That was after midnight… ”

Ider: “Adam was not 16 years old and as a result of that, he had no contract with AZ. In other country’s players are allowed to sign a contract at a younger age. It happened to us for the first time and we had no idea what to say. We did not realize exactly what was happening. We gave our number and said we would think about it.”

Ider: “In the car we took the decision he would not go abroad as long as he was still too young. It is for young boys very hard to succeed in foreign country’s. He would have start to all over again, prove himself again, go to a new school and learn a new language and culture. We talked about it with football friends, but almost none of them thought it was a wise thing to let Adam move abroad. We wanted him first to become strong in the Netherlands.”

Adam: “Once we were in the Netherlands I heard from the interest and we have talked with multiple people, also the clubs. Of course it were magnificent clubs, but in the Netherlands I could develop myself in a better way and that was the most important thing. If you come to a new club, then people should come to you to introduce themselves, not the other way around. No foreign adventure we concluded and as a reward I could sign a contract with AZ when I turned 16.”

Ider: “Of course it was a lot of money those clubs offered, but his development was more important. If everything would go well, money and top clubs would come in time automatically. If you choose fame, you will run a bigger risk.”

Adam: “Last season I started out on the bench and after 7 games I became a starter. From that moment on, I always remained a starter, I was often a decisive factor, became talent of the year in the Netherlands and became part of the Dutch national team. At the end of the last season I have made an ambition statement towards the club. If a big Dutch club would come, I would like to make the step up. When journalists asked me about it, I have been open and answered their questions in a straight way. I am not someone who starts lying about his intentions. I still stand for the way I have dealt with the situation and I think I am ready for a next step.”

Ider: “We have always told Adam, whatever you choose, we support you. If you think you can make the next step, then we stand behind you. In the end, Adam is the one who has to do it.”

Adam: “I have experienced this year a lot. Also when I decided to choose for the Dutch National team. I have taken the decision with my parents and have followed my hart. It is really beautiful to represent Morocco, but representing the Netherlands is best for my development. With them you play beautiful tournaments. Apart from that, there is the possibility of top clubs doubting to take me as a result of the Africa Cup period. Not everybody in the Moroccan community agreed with that decision. Everybody had his own opinion, while I think that many people would have taken the same decision in my position. But because they were not, they could burn me to the ground.”

Ider: “We have discussed it of course, but he wanted to go for the most ambitious option. And if that is your aim, the Netherlands is the choice.”

Adam: “I am Moroccan, I have been born in Morocco, but I have lived my whole life in the Netherlands and I also think about my career.”

Latifa: “I think the same way. For me it is about his future. He had to take this decision himself. At first, the family did not understand it, but at a certain moment they accepted the decision.”

Ider: “If he does well in the Netherlands or where else in the world, they are proud as well. That decision was a difficult moment, but after that, it was over. Our close family understood the decision, but the outsiders did not. If I have a discussion with these people and I see them getting angry, I just walk away.”

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Oranje: a family affair…

World Cup 2010 was a high for most fans, but at the same time a bit bittersweet. We reached the finals and if it wasn’t for Casilla’s toe, we would have won it.

But we didn’t play great football. We didn’t dazzle. And even JC started to detach himself! We expected to improve but the next big tournament was a disaster!

While in 2008, we showed so much promise with this squad.

Still, in 2008 and 2010, we impressed also with the fact that Oranje was such a family oriented group. The lads all had little kids and it’s no secret that Raf van der Vaart’s son Damien has garnered interest from different clubs while little Van Persie almost was snatched up by Chelsea!

I’m pretty sure Van Bommel has a couple of little brats, so does Gio van Bronckhorst… Van Nistelrooy…

With Daley Blind, we have the eigth international making his debut, just like his dad did before him. The 22 year old Ajax defender started against Italy last week. His dad, Danny Blind, is assistant team manager and has 42 caps behind his name. If he hadn’t been in the same generation as Ronald Koeman, he would have played at least a 100 internationals.

Martin Koeman, Ronald’s dad, played only one international but he can boast to have two sons in the orange jersey. Ronald played 78 caps and Erwin played 31. The older Koeman was brought into Oranje at the Euros 1988 and helped Oranje win it.

Johan Cruyff, the most famous Dutch player (and one of the best if not The Best in the world ever) only played 48 international games. His son Jordi was a good player but lacked his dad magic. Still played 9 internationals and excelled at the Euros1996 in England under Hiddink.

Other father/son combinations are Wim van der Gijp and Rene van der Gijp. The Sparta/PSV winger didn’t play that many internationals. A bit more serious living would have increased this number. Jan Mulder, striker of Anderlecht and Ajax reached the Dutch team, like his son striker Youri (Twente, Schalke 04). Jan Everse senior and junior both played for Oranje (and Feyenoord) and Jerry de Jong (PSV) and Nigel de Jong ( Ajax, Hamburg, Man City, AC Milan) wore the jersey.

Then there is the brother connection. We have had 18 pairs of brothers in Oranje, in the past 110 years. Ola John was the last, as his bro’ Collins made his debut in 2004 under Marco van Basten. He played two games in orange. The first brothers were Tonny and De Kessler. The most famous ones were most likely the Van de Kerkhof (Rene and Willy in the 1970s), Ronald and Erwin Koeman (in the 1980s) and Frank and Ronald de Boer (in the 90s/00s).

There there is the Witsgche brothers (Richard and Rob), the Muhrens, the Van der Gijps and most recently, Siem and Luuk de Jong.

Feel free to add to the list in the comments below :-).

Ola John is also the eleventh international to be born outside of Holland. Siem and Luuk de Jong are in that group too (Switzerland).

Jonathan de Guzman was born in Canada. His brother Julian still plays for Canada. But De Guzman is not the first Canada-born player wearing the Oranje jersey.

Pop Quiz: Which Dutch forward was the first Canada born player to grace the Dutch National Team?

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New and Refreshed Oranje makes LVG proud

Louis van Gaal was always headstrong. And with that mentality he is working on his plan. A new Dutch team, going for gold next year at the World Cup. The coach had already told everyone who listened: Holland’s youth has the future.

Against the losing finalist of the last EC, Van Gaal picked the youngest team since 99 years. The average age being only 22 years and 361 days. Seven of the players starting against Italy are still eligible to go to the EC Israel this summer with Young Oranje.

And Oranje played fresh and gutsy football against Italy and scored the first goal via Lens. The lads forgot to score more goals and conceded a late goal, ending it in 1-1.

LVG was slightly disappointed in that equaliser but still walked through the Arena with his chest out. Eight players in his starting eleven are Eredivisie players and his team was better than a team full of Serie A stars. This gave him hope for the months to come.

The next qualification games are against Estonia and Romania and winning those two games will make all the difference in the quest to World Cup gold. “Again, I will pick the best players of the moment. Big names, small names… all the same to me.”

Bert van Marwijk held on to familiar faces and created consistency and stability. Van Gaal rewards players who develop well and play regularly. Less stringent. Only in the last months before the World Cup will he work on a fixed line up.

In the coming weeks, LVG will visit Sneijder, Stekelenburg and other experienced names. When players like Van der Vaart and Heitinga perform well, Van Gaal is happy to select them again. But they will do their utmost to get to that point. Reputations do not count.

Van Gaal: “We played well as a team. We played attractive and offensive and created chances. Sadly, we could convert them all and conceding late was a bummer. We simply didn’t respond well to them changing their system.”

Van Persie played like a captain (even if Strootman was wearing the band) and resembled a traffic agent, sometime around the 22nd minute of the first half. He’s waiting with the ball under his foot. Right back Janmaat comes storming on the flank and Van Persie shows him the way to run. In doing so, Janmaat takes along one of Van Persie’s opponents. He creates space for himself and instead of passing to the Feyenoord back, RVP takes on the other opponent. And passes the ball to playmaker Maher in the center of the pitch.

Kit sponsor Nike lauched the new away kit for Oranje with the slogan “the New Masters” but it’s Van Persie who bridges old and new against Italy.

If the inexperienced pups of Van Gaal are the new masters, then RVP is the Grand Master in this Dutch team. Not because he acts the dominant leader ( he doesn’t) but because of the total control in his game.

The combinations with Maher are clearly visible, as a fine combination of old and new. The AZ midfielder has instinctive feeling for space and time. Wherever the Man United star drifts off, the young playmaker arrives and vice versa. This results in a goal twice, almost. Van Persie seems to have a similar click with Maher as he has with Ibi Afellay.

Maher is constantly available and he has the legs to bridge between attack and defense in the turnaround. This is where he has added value over more static players like Sneijder and Van der Vaart. The playmaker spot is now broken open. For years, Sneijder and Van der Vaart monopolised it. That time is over.

This gives us a sunny perspective on our way to Brazil. How 19 year old Maher remained on his feet between Italian stars like De Rossi and Pirlo.

A week ago, his coveted transfer to PSV didn’t happen. But in nothing could we see any disappointment. In the second half, Maher is part of every attack of Oranje. The only disappointment for him, is that he wasn’t able to score a goal.

Stefan de Vrij is another name that played a remarkable game. The 21 year old concluded after the game that there are many different strikers in football. Last weekend he played against Willem II’s Joachim. This midweek, he played Balotelli. Super striker and mad genius. “On this level, strikers are so much better. Stronger, faster and they move differently.”

He came on as a sub twice and now finally had his starting berth. He played against renowned names as Balotelli, Gilardino and El Shaarawy but never really got in trouble until the late equaliser. “I think we didn’t do too shabby with this inexperienced line up, we can be satisfied.”

Coach Louis van Gaal was clear in his instructions to De Vrij and Martins Indi. “He told us to defend as we normally do, but he also instructed us to be adventurous in possession. Push forward, keep the pitch tight. We needed to play with space behind us, which is pretty daunting. Balotelli is strong and fast and Pirlo knows how to play a ball in….”

De Vrij was not surprised that they did so well. “No, not really. We know what we can do. We are confident players. This game was a test for us, sure, but we knew we could show the coach and the fans what we are capable of. When Italy switched to 4-2-4 we got in trouble a bit. They pushed up while our front four wanted to score the second goal. It was pretty obvious that one of us would score. Either we’d win it 2-0 or they’d come back to 1-1. But the overall feeling is a bit down with that equaliser. It’s always shit to concede in the last minute.”

The two center backs seem to be the central duo for Oranje’s future. Something Ronald Koeman doesn’t seem to see, as he still pushed Martins Indi to the left back spot and uses Mathijsen centrally, next to De Vrij. “Van Gaal has different options as left back, so he can do other things. I know Bruno since my 13th… We play together for a while. We know who to play together and compensate each other’s weaknesses. But I can play well with Joris Mathijsen too. Ronald Koeman has options and either way, I’m cool with it.”

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Oranje forgets to beat weak Italy

I’ve said it many times before: I don’t like friendlies. There is nothing to win (lots to lose, ask Van Persie vs Chielini) and mostly it’s boring.

But…this particular game, I liked. Why? Because Van Gaal decided to play a very young (and Feyenoord friendly) team against the number 2 in Europe.

Maher, Blind, John, Clasie, Janmaat…how would they fair?

And I have to say… A Dutch team playing at 80% of it’s capacity (slippery pitch, slow pace, never played together before) was able to play a 50% Italy off the pitch.

We beat them in the first 80 minutes, 1-0. But we should be 3-0 or 4-0 up by then. Lens with another big opportunity, Kuyt with a golden chance (thank you Adam Maher), a couple of Maher chances, a Robben opportunity, Ola John with a free attempt… Seriously. If you want silverware, these opportunities need to be put away.

And then in the last 10 minutes, an 80% Italy beat a 50% Holland (changes, forwards not tracking back anymore, fatigue) 0-1.

And if they were a tad more composed, they could have won it 0-2, in the last 10 minutes. I’ll grant them that.

So we saw two interesting matches :-).

But seriously… Our back four did pretty good. Krul was never really tested and we know how good he is, so no questions there.

But Janmaat was shaky before (and got some criticism here) but he played a faultless game. Both defensively and in attacking sense. De Vrij was not too bothered by Balotelli (BMI was tricked a couple of times, but hey…Balotelli is world class). Only Daley Blind saw himself outmanoeuvred a couple of times before the break, thanks to reluctant backtracking of Ola John.

Blind would push up like he does at Ajax, and every time when Abate would run forward, John was supposed to cover.

Our midfield impressed me. Clasie and Strootman had a good rapport and De Guzman did great in the second half (although he maybe was a tad too offensive in those last 10 minutes).

Adam Maher was probably one of the best players on the pitch. The 19 year old AZ midfielder played with flair and always looking to find a great option up front. He could have been more selfish for me and he should have converted at least one chance. But other than that, Maher was great and had a good understanding with RVP. I am sure Robin van Persie talked to Maher a bit about life at Arsenal, as Patrick Vieira was on the stands to check the AZ midfielder out.

Van Persie played one half and was strong. Creating space, leading the line, coaching his compatriots. Lens scored a good goal and had a good second half, where he played centrally and enjoyed the freedom.

The only dissonant in the team was the very nervous Ola John. He made a couple of wrong decisions and lost possession often. His back tracking was wanting as well. Louis van Gaal: “I noticed before the game that he was edgy. But he didn’t play bad. I simply think he can do much better.”

Adam Maher had something to prove. In the last decade or so, the number 10 in Oranje was worn by either Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Van Persie or Huntelaar. Afellay is normally before the midfielder in the pecking order but with all these players not present ( bar RVP of course) the playmaker jersey went on the lanky shoulders of the hot prospect from Alkmaar. And Maher took the chance to shine.

“I think I did well. We had initiative and pushed up. I could easily play with Van Persie, I sensed what he wanted and he knew instinctively what I wanted. This leaves a taste for more.”

Jordy Clasie played a good first half and was tough in the challenges. But a slight groin stiffness prompted him to signal for a change. “Not sure if the coach would have subbed me anyway, but it didn’t feel smart to play on…”.

It’s remarkable to see how invisible Kuyt was in his half hour. He supported Janmaat (and later Van Rhijn) defensively and killed a great opportunity to score.

At the same time, it’s quite remarkable to see how sovereign and strong Stefan de Vrij is. Defensively very strong in an anonymous way. No showboating a la Frank de Boer but also not in need of flying tackles a la Jaap Stam. Very focused and with a tremendous long pass. The duo De Vrij / Martins Indi might be Oranje’s defensive center for the next 10 years…

The future is bright.

We might have drawn tonight (who cares?). But who cares…

We have amazing talent between the sticks ( Krul, Vorm, Vermeer, Velthuizen, Zoet, Mulder, Stekelenburg).

Pretty good backs (Van der Wiel, Van Rhijn, Janmaat, Blind, Van Aanholt, Pieters, Willems, Buttner).

Very decent center backs (Martins Indi, Vlaar, De Vrij, Pieters, Marcellis, Van Dijk)

Amazing midfielders ( Fer, Clasie, Anita, Emanuelson, Maher, Strootman, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Afellay, Van Ginkel, Wijnaldum)

Fingerlickin’ forwards (Lens, Van Persie, John, Elia, Van Wolfswinkel, Robben, Boerrigter, Huntelaar, Dost, Narsingh)

We are not complaining…

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Lets have us some Italian!!

Holland never won a friendly against Italy.

We don’t do friendly too well.

For the 18th time in history, both nations face off and elevent times this was a friendly. Holland lost 6 and drew 5.

Goalie Buffon has more international games to his name than the whole starting line up of Holland.

Amsterdam has been the venue for a Holland – Italy five times. The Azzuri never lost in our capital.

The last time Holland beat Italy was at the EC in 2008. For Holland, Mathijsen, Kuyt and Van Persie were present. For Italy, we welcome back Buffon, Barzagli and Pirlo.

Holland won against Italy only once on home ground, in 1974. In De Kuip in Rotterdam, Boninsegna scored first before Rensenbrink and Cruyff (2x) responded.

Louis van Gaal will offer Daley Blind and Ola John their first starting position. Goalie Krul will start with Blind as left bank. Martins Indi, De Vrij and Janmaat complete the defensive line up. The midfield consists of Clasie, Maher and Strootman while the attack is formed by Lens (left), Van Persie and Ola John.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar had to leave the camp. A weird eye injury means he can’t assess depth. “He can’t play like that,” stated LVG. Experienced bench sitter Arjen Robben is now called up. The winger does not play regularly for Bayern but Van Gaal likes to make exceptions.

“We know what Robben can do. He is fit. He won’t start for us, but start on the bench, like he does at Bayern.”

Van Gaal wants his young squad to play dominant and pressing. “It is going to be a major test for the youngsters and I am actually pretty tense. They can hold their own in the Dutch league but now they need to make a step up.”

Players like Van Persie, Strootman and Krul know what that means, as they have played at this level many times. For Maher, Blind and John, to name some newbies, it might be tough.

“We know they have the quality. They lack the experience and maybe the mental strength. The good thing is, Italy will play with three strikers too and I don’t think they’ll hide against us. Let’s hope we can see some real football.”

Van Gaal is testing Maher as replacement for Sneijder and Van der Vaart. “If he is quicker in the turn around when we lose possession, he can score bonus points.” Van Gaal is also using Martins Indi as central defender, while Koeman uses him at Feyenoord as left back.

“I know that and I think it is because Koeman doesn’t have the same options as I do. I told him I would use Martins Indi as a central defender and he didn’t object.”

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