Month: July 2013

Young PSV impresses!

Not a title I have used before, for sure :-). I have used it for Ajax, for Feyenoord, probably for AZ, never for PSV.

Because they never really were young in Eindhoven and because for years they focused on players from Bulgaria, Canada, Sweden and Brazil.

I never liked PSV much, as you know. The Philips Sport Vereniging. The name says it. An outlet for a big consumer brand. Money talks in Eindhoven and so does not taking risks. Never invested properly in youth, always ready to snatch talents away from other clubs. The move from Gullit from Feyenoord to PSV in 1985 bothered me much, I remember. They won the Europa Cup 1 with players poached from Ajax. I never liked them.

They always seem to go for the obvious, risk-free coach choice and their football system was always 4-4-2.

I am biased of course. Because that same PSV also gave us Romario, Ronaldo, Luc Nilis and allowed us to enjoy Gullit, Koeman and co. a bit longer. Without PSV today, who knows where Wijnaldum, Schaars, Rekik, Bruma and Maher would be…. I should stop thinking that Wijnaldum might still have been with Feyenoord. He probably would be in Moscow or Leverkusen or Mallorca or some other place where I wouldn’t be able to see him…

So, as of today, PSV has raised its profile in my world. Because they make it possible for us all (incl Van Gaal!) to enjoy Schaars, Bruma, Rekik, Wijnaldum, Maher, Depay, Willems and co on a weekly basis.

And because they finally have the courage to not go for a coach they know and like (Hiddink, Rutten, Advocaat) but to go for a young turk who hasn’t proven himself at the highest level yet but who has the pedigree as a player, the trust of the players and the charisma amongst the people.

Phillip Cocu is from the same stock as Frank de Boer, John van de Brom and Gio van Bronckhorst. Cocu immediately went for a proper 4-3-3. And he handed the captains band to 23 year old Gio Wijnaldum. Young Jeroen Zoet seems to be the first goalie, before Tyton.

Hail Phillip Cocu.

 

cocu

And with this very young team, Cocu started the third qualifications round for the CL and they impressed mightily against Zulte Waregem: 2-0 (although 6-0 would have been a better reflection).

Cocu’s team had an average age of 21 years in this game. And 23 year old Wijnaldum is now one of the seniors. The fans were keen to see how their heroes would do without fan faves Mertens, Bommel and Strootman. Zakaria Bakkali, 17 years old, didn’t need long to establish himself in the hearts of the supporters. Within 2 minutes, the Belgium super talent hit the post. And in the first 60 minutes, his dribbles and speed appeared to much for his countrymen. In the last phase of the game, the tank was empty. Another remarkable player for PSV was 21 year old Bruma. The former Feyenoord defender showed that he brings grit and power to the team and his build up qualities shone through. Before the break, PSV had at least 5 golden opportunities, partly due to good play, partly due to Zulte’s defensive shenanigans. Wijnaldum rattled the woodwork twice.

It was Memphis Depay, that other prodigy, who broke the deadlock after an hour with a power hit from 35 yards. Sub Jurgen Locadia scored the second later in the second half.

matavz wijnal

Bruma: “This was a good night for us and for the fans. No one knew where we stood and we didn’t even know. But it’s too early to cheer. We still need to play for it. 2-0 is a tough result. We could have done better, but such is life. We need to approach the return as if it’s a 0-0 result on the board. We need to play for it.”

 

Coach Cocu had enjoyed himself: “I was impressed with certain spells but I also saw aspects we need to improve. We could and should have scored earlier I suppose, as we still have to be cautious in the return. Zulte is able to create opportunities and we can not become complacent.”

Line up PSV: Zoet; Brenet, Bruma, Rekik and Willems; Wijnaldum, Maher and Schaars; Bakkali, Matavz and Depay.

 

maher psv

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Oranje: one more year to prepare…..

Louis van Gaal has almost exactly one more year to prep his squad for the World Cup. Will the No. 5 of the FIFA Ranking have a chance in high heaven to win the World Cup? How strong is this Oranje.

A wonderful VI Magazine analysis, added with a splash of Jan insights.

Van Gaal is an optimistic man, normally. Who will always see chances for his team. His team is the absolute leader in the current Group D of qualifications, hasn’t dropped a point and is practically certain to go to Brazil.

But the same Louis van Gaal says his team is not yet good enough to go for the title. The ambition announced by the KNVB is to finish in the top 4 at the World Cup. One year into the qualifications, Van Gaal claims this is too ambitious and considers talking to the KNVB about this. “I would be a surprise if we win it. I don’t think we will. I can mention eight nations with better odds.”

Let’s analyse the squad and see where we stand.

Attacking capabilities

– Creativity, the ability to take opponents on one on one

These players are the big magnets. The players for whom fans pay the hefty price for a ticket. Clubs open their war chest to sign these lads. The Big Guns. Examples are Messi, C Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Reus, Balotelli, Iniesta, Cavani, Suarez, Bale… These are the lads who can make the difference at the highest level, under the most pressure, in the smallest of spaces. Holland has always had players like this. Cruyff, Rensenbrink, Bergkamp, Van Basten, Roy, Vanenburg, Ronald de Boer… We have demonstrated in the qualification games that we have a number of players who can do it at that level. The Narsinghs, Schakens, Mahers… But can they do it at the highest level? Doubt is justified.

We know Arjen Robben can. He belongs in the list above. Robben, injury prone, somewhat older… The only one at world class level. The afore mentioned Narsingh and players like Elia, John, Maher….they might have a good day… But they will also have a bad day…. That is part of their development. Even players like Neymar and Reus can’t bring it every game (yet).

Apart from Robben, we have Robin van Persie, who does not have that one-on-one dribble skill like Robben or Messi, but he definitely brings a lot of creativity in the box. Robben and Van Persie. That is the score on this topic.

sneijder backheel

Sneijder’s backheel vs China

 

– Goal scoring

We scored 20 goals in six games. Only three nations in Europe have done better: Bosnia Herzegowena, Germany and England. Top nations like Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium have more difficulty scoring. The Dutch goals were made by Van Persie (5), Lens (4), Van der Vaart (4), Martins Indi (2), Schaken (2), Huntelaar (2) and Narsingh (1). Siem de Jong, Robben and Sneijder added some friendly goals to it. A good wide range of goal scorers and we have goal scoring capabilities in attack, midfield and defence. Statistically it can be shown that Oranje creates a good number of opportunities on top. And we always did. The Dutch develop pretty good strikers and we had several generations with amazing forwards ( Cruyff/Van Dijk/Rep/Jan Mulder, Van Basten/Kieft/Bosman, Kluivert/Nistelrooy/Van Hooydonck, etc), but what do all the stats mean against nations like Hungary, Estonia and Andorra? Can we do it against the top nations. This year, we had three real tests: Belgium, Germany and Italy. In these three games we scored three goals and we conceded five. We have a phenomenon in Van Persie (we need to make sure he stays fit), a box killer in Huntelaar and players hovering around central striker position who can score goals but sometimes run cold ( Robben, Vaart, Sneijder, Siem de Jong, Maher). Bas Dost, Van Wolfswinkel and Luuk de Jong can still develop into goalscoring machines at the higher levels they now are, but it seems Louis should invest a bit more in his relationship with Huntelaar.

– Position play

Oranje demonstrated the perfect positioning play resulting in a goal in the last game of the season, against China. It’s the 66th minute when Sneijder repossesses the ball. He finds Van Persie. The striker dribbles a bit and passes to left winger Robben, who pulls the ball back on the coming man, Sneijder, who scores nicely with a backheel. This goal had class, smarts and all elements of a good cooperative team. Quick passing, good running, no egotistical moves. Effective and efficient. And Oranje showed many goals like this in the last year. Our team does not depend on one tactic or on set  pieces. it is clear that Van Gaal’s work with positioning play has paid off. He has managed to play more pass-and-move while introducing more and more new players. Where Van Marwijk relied on two strong defensive mids and put emphasis on defensive skills over build up skills, Van Gaal seems to switch Nigel de Jong for a more football player type like De Guzman or Clasie. Whenever Oranje has possession, we have so many tactically smart players on the pitch (Van Persie, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, De Guzman) that we are almost always able to create a man-more situation. Even against strong opponents. In South Africa, in 2010, it was visible already against Brazil. In the first half, we played with De Jong as holding mid and we couldn’t make the play. In the second half, Van der Vaart came on and Oranje got the upperhand. Same with the game this season against Germany, early in the campaign. Oranje was nervous and a bit afraid. We didn’t do well. But against vice Euro champ Italy, later in the season, we demonstrated our gogme, our wits and our prowess. It’s not all perfect yet. Against China, against 10 men, it took until Sneijder came on to allow the ball to run smoothly through the ranks.

 

oranje youngsters

Narsing, John and Maher. The new breed…

– Depth / Speed

The ability to penetrate behind the back four of an opponent. Every top team has at least one player with that skill. Spurs has Bale and Lennon. Real Madrid has C Ronaldo. Barca has Dani Alves, Pedro and Messi. Bayern has Robben, Ribery and Muller. Dortmund has Reus. The big Rondo, where players pass and move the ball swiftly until one of the ten field players can make the run. It takes timing, it takes speed, and it takes a player (at least one) to play the pass.

Oranje has Robben and Lens. Narsingh has the quality too, but is still an uncertainty. From midfield, the running man (Strootman/Van Ginkel/Fer) should be doing it and from the back only Daryl Janmaat/ Van Rhijn have the ability.

Whenever Oranje plays with Sneijder/Vaart/Maher, this ability is less apparent as these players want the ball in their feet. On the other hand, these three are all capable of giving the killer pass, as is Van Persie, De Guzman or Clasie. It seems the development of Fer (Norwich), Van Ginkel (Chelsea) and Strootman (Roma) will be key to give Oranje that edge.

It has to be said that your back four has not excelled in giving that killer pass. Heitinga and Vlaar demonstrated a good pass at Eredivisie level but have yet to convince at the highest level. Willems has the guts to play it, Blind has the vision to play it and hopefully BMI and De Vrij the skills. But we have yet to witness it.

– Length/Power

Robin van Persie and Huntelaar can both be seen as specialists in the air. Huntelaar is more the Kieft/Houtman header. Excellent timing, courage and strong muscles. Speaking of courage, who can forget the header against England. Where Klaasjan gave another meaning to the expression “eating dirt”. Robin van Persie is more of the Van Basten style header. Van Persie heads the ball like he plays football with his left. With class, with pizzazz and with vision. Van Persie can place a ball with his head like most others can with their foot. We saw him score pretty amazing header goals this season.

Van der Vaart, Robben and Sneijder all scored important header goals (Vaart at Spurs, the other two at the World Cup vs Brazil and Uruguay) but can’t be seen as experts. Jeremain Lens even got word from Van Gaal that he should be working on his heading skills. And he immediately scored a freak header from outside the box. Both the De Jong bros are strong headers, with Siem having added value in the way he senses where to be when the ball comes. An uncanny sixth sense for position. Van Wolfswinkel and Dost are not typically good headers, and neither is Maher. We do have aerial threats from midfield in Leroy Fer and Marco van Ginkel. The former being a real specialist. Strong jumper, good timing and tremendous courage. Van Ginkel is a strong athlete as well, but technically not a great header of the ball. Strootman, equally tall, is a remarkably weak header however. The two full backs are weak in the air, but the center backs (Heitinga, Vlaar, Martins Indi and De Vrij) are all pretty solid in the air.

RVP, Blind Janm

The young and the new: RVP, Blind and Janmaat

Defensive capabilities

– Ball winners / toughness / will to win

During the WC 2010 people criticised the two defensive mids De Jong and Van Bommel but when you ask players, you will always here the same : they love playing with Nigel and Mark. And they hate playing against them. And their role in 2010s Oranje was vital. They were the lock on the door and kept the team afloat when it didn’t flow. And the reality is, during a major tournament there is always at least one bad game. Every strong nation has players like these, to hold the fort. Spain has Xabi Alonso and Busquets. Brazil has Gustavo anD Paulinho. Germany has Schweinsteiger nand Khedira. Argentina has Gago and Mascherano. In Holland, Bommel and De Jong are absent. Van Bommel retired, De Jong has a long-term injury. De Guzman is now the man of choise for Van Gaal but his strength is build up. Not the destroyer role. Strootman, Clasie, Fer can all play on that position but none of them seem to have the grit of the two guards we use to have. In the Eredivisie, even Van Ginkel, Maher and Afellay played those roles but at the international level they would be too light.

In Van Gaal’s philosophy, taken from the Total Football text book, the whole team will need to be able to repossess the ball, Barca style. Gone are the days in which Sneijder/Van der Vaart could observe how Bommel/De Jong chased the ball. Tactical smart, will to win and physical fitness are the three players called up to replace Mark and Nigel.

– Tactical Discipline

Jupp Heynckes said recently that the biggest strength of his Bayern was their unity. Gone were the days of Robben and Ribery being the stars while the rest of the team did the work. Everyone does the work: even the Robbery couple. It was exactly this discipline that got Oranje in the WC2010 finals and the same lack of discipline that got us egg on our face in 2012. Does the current Oranje have “it”. The problem is: we can’t tell until we are tested. And we have not really been tested in a real match yet. Taking a look at Jong Oranje in Israel, it is clear to see how hard it will be for the youngsters to step up. We played nice matches against Germany and Russia when the circumstanves were good. We have a good spell against Italy, but when the Azuri scored, our spirit vanished. Van Gaal’s influx of debutants and youngsters will have affected the “team building” process. His captain-policy was a bit of a mishit (Sneijder and Kuyt both lost their standing this summer). Both Sneijder and Kuyt responded with great disappointment on that fact. The list of players that might have felt put down by the Team Manager grows. Van Persie was the first to be told he wouldn’t start, quickly switching roles with Huntelaar, who now must feel abandoned. Van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong, Ibi Afellay, Maarten Stekelenburg. This is quite a gamble. Sneijder and Stekelenburg could well bounce back but for Sneijder and Huntelaar it might be too late. It’s almost as if experience is a dirty word, since 2012. But Israel 2013 has taught us that youth isn’t everything. As for tactical smarts, Dutch players are universally admired for their vision and coaching and practice in Holland is always tactical. Young players like Blind, Clasie, Fer and Maher seem to be able to read the game and take the opportunities presented.

LVG Kluiv

 

“Louis leave the gangsta rappin’ to me, ok bro?”

– Defensive Headers

Oranje only conceded two goals. Spain and Belgium are as tight. Only Switzerland (vaults) and Russia (gulags) do better with only one goal conceded. Holland is well organised when losing the ball, but with the young and experienced back four and the fact that both De Vrij and Martins Indi lack the ruthlessness of Vidic, Terry and Silva, to name three, it is logical for Van Gaal to add some midfield length to the mix. Janmaat and Blind are not natural headers of the ball. Against opponenents with a strong airforce, Van Gaal might pick Van Ginkel or Fer over Clasie/De Guzman, purely to support the last line of defence. Being developed purely in Holland, it is clear that the current defenders lack some grit. Martins Indi being exposed in Israel (as was Van der Hoorn, now at Ajax) and De Vrij was humiliated a couple of times in the Eredivisie even. Janmaat and Blind like to find the footballing solution. Pieters might add some power to the back four, as could Vlaar. The latter misses the footballing skills and the speed of execution – maybe – but his physical power is an asset. Heitinga can’t be ruled out either.  A good header of the ball, but in need of a new challenge.

– World Class Goalies

Germany has Neuer. Brazil has Julio Cesar. Italy has Buffon and Spain has Casillas (and De Gea and Reina). Holland doesn’t even have a number one… Stekelenburg lost his spot (after a tremendous WC2010 and a poor EC2012 and a poor season at Roma). He might do a “Sar”. Edwin van de Sar drowned at Juve, made a comeback via Fulham and became one of the greatest. In top form Stekelenburg is world class. At the moment, Van Gaal is mixing it up. Krul had a go until his injury. The latter had an abysmal season with his club, while Vorm and Vermeer have class but it is not yet World Class.

– The Coaching Staff

Van Gaal has everything one needs to be a Top Coach. Experience, ambition, tactical smarts, communication skills (towards the players that is), a modern method (video analysis) and loyal assistants. Blind has been around and is a walking football encyclopedia while Kluivert is seen as a top coach in development. The latter has a great report with the players. But there are some weaknesses. Van Gaal’s relationship with the media is strained at the best of times. He tends to use players as pawns. Youngsters don’t mind too much, but the likes of Van Persie/Robben/Sneijder don’t like to be manipulated. In the past Van Gaal’s ego has forced him to make stupid tactical decisions ( Reiziger as left back, bringing 2 extra strikers vs Portugal when 0-2 up) and his track record as a club coach shows he can’t work anywhere longer than one season without ending up in drama. The man’s will to become a success on the World Cup Stage could be a blessing for us, it could also be a curse.

– Conclusion

Van Gaal said a month ago that he saw eight other candidates with better options to with the title in Brazil. He was most likely referring to Spain, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and maybe even Columbia and Belgium… He will also see England and France as outsiders. Van Gaal is a realist. He assesses Oranje’s strength well. We do have tremendous weapons, but also some vulnerabilities. We have one year to work on those, although the onus is less on Van Gaal and mostly on the question marks in the squad to develop well. In summary: the Feyenoord back four + Clasie, Daley Blind, Leroy Fer, Kevin Strootman, Marco van Ginkel and the goalies.


 

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What happened to the Class of '88 ?

The Class of ’88 will always be personified by players like Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit. Rinus Michels made one big change after the first game ( 0-1 against the USSR) and kept his faith in his line up. A number of players in that squad were never used. Players like Wim Koevermans, Wilbert Suvrijn, Joop Hiele and Hendrie Kruzen, for instance.

Sjaak Troost, Feyenoord defender, looks back as we check what happened to the 1988 heroes.

Troost was the tall and quick defender in Johan Cruyff’s champion team of 1983 and a product of the Feyenoord youth development (like players like Mario Been, Stanley Brard and Joop Hiele).

Instead of listening to Gullit or Van Basten (again!!) we will listen to the story of a benchwarmer.

Sjaak Troost: “It was an amazing experience of course, but I wouldn’t say it was the high point of my career. I can’t really feel satisfaction as it was really tough not to play. I couldn’t have that ultimate joy, you know. When we did the canal boat ride I downed half a bottle of champagne so I suddenly did feel as if I scored that Van Basten goal in the finals, haha.”

troost toen

Sjaak in the 1988 jersey

In the months leading up to the tournament, Troost’s chances were good. The right full back had a super year in 1983/84 and made his debut for Oranje in 1987 against Belgium. Half a year later he played his third cap for Oranje on Wembley, against England. “That was my highpoint in Oranje. Playing on holy ground, against Gary Lineker. I played center back. Lineker did score the first goal, but I played a good game. And I remember thinking: this is the highest a player can go. I did play massive venues with Feyenoord, but Wembley…. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The entrance, those two pillars. We had butlers serving tea at half time. And that pitch… The Feyenoord groundsman would shoot you if you’d go on the grass in Rotterdam, but in Wembley it seemed as if the Royal Crown was hidden in it. It was like a carpet, truly. That evening, I played myself into the Oranje squad for the Euros. I walked off the pitch after the game and Michels gave me a pat on the back. That was the biggest compliment you could get, haha.”

Troost had a good relationship with Rinus Michels. “He would invite me at his house. Whenever I called him for a problem or a question, he would say, in that characteristic voice: “Well… I guess you will need to drop in then….”. He gave me jersey number 3. I thought I was a starter in Germany. Rijkaard had had a tough year, walking out of Ajax and moving to Zaragoza. He got number 17. But man, Rijkaard was a better player than me and he did wonderfully. What can I say?”

The 1988 starters are still very positive about the subs. The substitutes kept the starters sharp by training on the edge. But apart from that, there was no dissent. “It was a homogenous group, for sure. Including the material guy. It was just a good bunch. We were not the most skilled players, I think. We did not have players of the calibre of Koeman, Vanenburg or Gullit on the bench. There was a quality gap, other than today with all those youngsters. But I think we were the best players, because of our mentality. What was funny, was that the B-team beat the A-team most of the times at practice. But Michels would never change anything, other than that one time. And whenever the starters had played, they got to take it easy, but Michels would work the B-team like dogs. But still, there was never any complaint.”

“Adrie van Tiggelen was my roommate. A rival, for sure, but a good mate. I had one issue. I couldn’t sleep in the afternoon. Arnold Muhren and Frank Rijkaard, both great lads, could put their heads down for only ten minutes and sleep! Van Tiggelen slept whenever his feet touched the bed. Impressive. I already had my own business back then (Troost is publisher of magazine  Friends in Business) and I would grab the phone, sit on the toilet and call customers, haha. It worked perfectly, as the customers all said “But…aren’t you in trainings camp with Oranje??”. And I would say “Yes, but this is so important for me” and they all said yes, hahaha.”

sjaak nu

Sjaak now

Just before the finals against the USSR, the squad went to a Whitney Houston concert. Marco van Basten and I were smokers but you couldn’t in the hall. So we slipped out via some exit door before the gig and found a room backstage with fruit and ashtrays and what not. So we sat there and smoked, until the doors swung open and Whitney strolled in with her posse. The bodyguards looked savagely at us and sort of pushed us out, hahaha.”

Troost’s fourth international against Bulgaria in De Kuip before the tournament was also his last cap…. “Feyenoord allowed me to come back a bit later that summer, but I didn’t act differently. That is not something you have to try in Rotterdam, hahaha. I never really bothered too much with successes. Or failures for that matter. And I had my string of disappointments. I could write a book about that. Feyenoord had some difficult years after 1988. The football world was good to me. I enjoyed it, but I enjoy myself much more in business. I am probably more happy in that role than as a player. And more healthy too, both important things to me. I could go to Ajax after the Euro. I am sure I would have played more caps as an Ajax player. Ajax won the Europa Cup in 1991… But my Feyenoord feeling didn’t allow me to do it. I could earn twice as much, but I wouldn’t be happy. Everytime I sat as sub on the bench for Feyenoord, I read the squad selection sheet and it said “Sjaak Troost – Feyenoord”… That made me proud. I’m a Feyenoord lad. My Euro jersey is in the Feyenoord museum. That is me, I guess…”

 

Nederlands-Elftal-1988

From the back: left to right.

Monne de Wit runs a physiotherapy practice and a fitness center

Gerrit Steenhuizen, material man, died in 2010.

Nol de Ruiter, assistant coach, is still scout for FC Utrecht.

Rinus Michels died in 2005 in Belgium ( 77 years old)

Bert van Lingen, assistant coach, also assisted Dick Advocaat at Oranje, Belgium and Russia. He lives in France.

Guus de Haan, physio, is retired.

Ronald Koeman is currently coach of Feyenoord (third season).

John Bosman is currently assistant coach of Jong Ajax.

Wim Kieft is football analyst on TV for Sport1.

Wilber Suvrijn lives in France and used to be antique dealer and player manager. He is currently dedicating his time to managing his daughter, a huge tennis talent.

Joop Hiele resigned as Feyenoord’s keeper academy manager and focuses on his company in NLP.

Hans van Breukelen is in the Board of Directors of PSV and does motivational workshops, public talks and workshops.

Hendrie Kruzen was assistant coach at Heracles Almelo and moves this summer to Vitesse Arnhem with Peter Bosz

Frank Rijkaard is on a sabbatical after his exit in Saudi Arabia.

Sjaak Troost has a company in Sales Promotions.

Wim Koevermans is national team manager of India

Ruud Gullit coached Chelsea, Newcastle, Young Oranje, Feyenoord, LA Galaxy and Grozny and is currently tv analist.

Marco van Basten was national team manager and is now coach of Heerenveen

Adrie van Tiggelen is coach of amateur top class team RVVH.

Berry van Aerle is scout at PSV.

Jan Wouters is head coach of FC Utrecht

Aron WInter is ambassador of his hometown Lelystad and used to be head coach of Toronto FC

Arnold Muhren was youth coach at Ajax for a long spell and currently does football clinics and presentations.

John van ‘t Schip worked with Van Basten at Oranje and Ajax and coached FC Twente,  Melbourne Heart and Chicas Mexico. He is currently inbetween jobs.

Geral Vanenburg like Suvrijn manages his talented tennis daughter.

Erwin Koeman is head coach of RKC Waalwijk.

The star of the team, Marco van Basten: started the Euros as benchwarmer, after an underwhelming season in Milan (injuries). Marco became the top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals. These would end up being the only ones he’d score at a big tournament. He didn’t score in 1990 and he had a penalty opportunity against Denmark in 1992 which he missed. He did assist Bergkamp in scoring a beauty against Germany and Marco scored an onside goal which was ruled offside.

But, the former EDO, UVV and Elinkwijk amateur became the European Footballer of the Year thrice and once the World Footballer of the Year. He won the golden boot in Holland four times in a row and twice in the Serie A. He won three titles with Ajax, three National Cups and one European Cup II. He won the title in Italy three times and two European Cup Is. He also won the World Cup and the Super Cup. Due to injuries, Marco only played 58 internationals and scored 24 times.

voetballet_vanBasten_Troost_BW_1Football ballet between Van Basten and Troost, smoke partners…

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Dutch Transfers…

Here is my update on transfers. I will not even try to be “complete” in my analysis as I am a bit far removed from the actions and people like DRB and Alex and others will have much more insights than me.

So, I will start this thread and you guys can add to it, ok?

In general, the transfer market is a bit timid at the moment. It’s still early days, as the actions will go onto September 1 and some clubs will pounce late in the process.

New coaches usually bring new names. We have seen some action already by some high profile coaches, like Mourinho, Moyes, Cocu and Blanc. Cavani’s move to PSG and Neymar’s move to Barca are the biggest headlines. Barca is eager to sign Brazilian PSG defender Silva, but the PSG chairman said that if Barca approaches the player, they (PSG) will make an offer for Lionel Messi… And pay the 250 Mio euros which is in the contract.

The economic downturn will most likely have its impact. Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Man City, Man United, Liverpool…they are all doing some business but major signings have not yet been done. ManU might sign Fabregas and Chelsea might sign Rooney, and once these things start to happen, the co-called caroussel will really kick into gear.

It always starts at the top. Napoli is spending their money and PSV is another big spender, what with the exit of Strootman, Mertens, Lens, Pieters and Toivonen.

The actions is limited in Holland though. PSV is changing tactics and is an exception to the rule. Most of you know I don’t have anything with PSV, but I have always been a big fan of Cocu and I think he might well be the real deal as a coach, like Frank de Boer. PSV got it wrong a number of times in the past and their sterile and elitist profile has always put me off. But their current actions on the transfer market are inspired (by Cocu no doubt). Signing Advocaat as coach last year was a coward’s act. Placing Cocu at the helm is more like it.

 

rekik psvKarim Rekik gets playing time as a loanie at PSV

And as PSV will allow young talents to shine (most likely) and support the Dutch cause, I am happy to give them the benefit of the doubt. Players like Wijnaldum, Depay, Jozefzoon, Narsignh, Maher and Schaars are always good value to watch.

PSV is also keen to score Jens Toornstra of Utrecht. The dynamic midfielder recently got his first Oranje cap in Asia. But Jan Wouters does not want to sell the midfielder so PSV will have to wait a bit.

Ajax is remarkably silent on the transfer market. Both in selling and in signing. Marc Overmars said it early on in this transfer period: we will not join in this madness (referring to the Maher option). Frank de Boer agrees: as long as no one leaves, we will not buy new names.
Siem de Jong gave a huge signal when he announced to want to stay in Amsterdam. His chances for the Oranje Brazil squad are obviously a factor. Frank de Boer hopes this will motivate Eriksen and Alderweireld to stay to. When Babel left, De Boer opted for Krkic and De Boer picked up Utrecht defender van Hoorn to cover for Alderweireld’s potential move. But as it stands, Alderweireld and Eriksen remain in Amsterdam. Eriksen could sign a massive deal with Leverkusen, but he aims high. And if the Barcelona’s or Man Uniteds do not bite, he will stay in Amsterdam. Should Eriksen leave Ajax, it seems Duarte will be his successor. De Boer and co popped the champagne when expensive Sulejmani left for Benfica, creating some space in the salary-budget.

Ajax does need to fear for Liverpool, as the Reds have followed both Eriksen and Alderweireld extensively. Brendan Rogers is only allowed to spend money when Suarez is sold, though, who is on the list of Real Madrid and Arsenal. De Boer wants to go for an internal option if Eriksen goes. Victor Fischer, Davy Klaassen or Lasse Schone can play in that role. Lerin Duarte of Heracles is an option too, although Ajax has some competition here from PSV.

SIEM stays

The Ajax skipper stays in Amsterdam

AC Milan is another club to follow Eriksen. They have offered the Dane 2mio Euros nett per season and are preparing a 16 mio Euro deal for Ajax.

The Oranje Selection for Brazil is also what keeps the Feyenoord talent in Rotterdam. Martins Indi and Clasie were both rumoured to move to London (Arsenal) but it appears that interest was not solid. Both players (and add Janmaat and de Vrij to that list) can count on a role in Brazil provided they will keep their starting berth. Italian striker Graziano Pelle might well leave. Italian, English and Russian clubs are on the prowl and if a good offer comes, I’m sure Feyenoord will let him go. One John Guidetti might well be his successor. Feyenoord does not have the funds to go berserk and Koeman will have to wait until a player leaves before he can move in. With Boetius, the left winger injured, Koeman does want to add Assaidi (not longer needed in Liverpool) to his squad and for now, that’s about it.

Darryl Janmaat frequents many lists in Europe, with Inter being keen to make a move. Feyenoord hopes that his Oranje ambitions will keep him for one more year in Rotterdam, and Feyenoord is preparing a new deal for the right full back, to extort a higher transfer fee, in case the player has a great World Cup campaign.

AZ and Heerenveen are the most active on the market, of the sub top. AZ has lost quite some good players over the last years and this summer prolific goal scorer Altidore (Sunderland) left, while playmaker Maher wears the colours of PSV. Verbeek is known to be a good picker of talent and with Jeffrey Gouweleeuw in Alkmaar and Nemanja Gudelj from NAC and Wuytens from Utrecht, Verbeek is creating his new team nicely.

At FC Twente, they refuse to play along in the game of expensive transfers. Top players Chadli and Tadic are still in Enschede, although the French media report that the Belgian winger might join his fellow countrymen Vertonghen and Dembele at Spurs. Central defender Douglas left for Russia, while Fer got his EPL transfer. The biggest signing is ex Feyenoord talent Ebicilio, who came on a free transfer from Arsenal.

kyle twente

Another young Dutch talent to be watched in the Eredivisie

Some remarkable news… With Royston Drenthe in the Championship to help Reading return to the EPL, we also see Quincy resurfacing after a Russian and Greek adverture. The former Arsenal youngster was one of the hot players in the Under20 Oranje squad in 2005.

Anderlecht is seriously eyeing Hedwiges Maduro. The former Ajax and Valencia player knows Anderlecht coach John van den Brom from his Ajax days.

The biggest “deals” till now is Kevin Strootman’s move to Italy and Van Ginkel to Chelsea.

His name was linked to Man United and Tottenham Hotspur for a while, but there was no offer coming from Albion so Roma picked him up.

Strootman: “I was always keen to move to England and I simply don’t know the Italian competition that well. But Mark van Bommel had a wonderful time in Milan and he told me a lot about the serie A and life and work in Italy. I kinda like the passion in Italian football and I think the lifestyle and playing style suits me.”

The midfielder doesn’t fear his spot in Oranje with this move. “Roma is a very strong team and the Serie A is a strong competition. I was really ready to move and I discussed it with Mr Van Gaal.”

Man City full back Maicon, deadly unhappy in England, will become Strootman’s colleague. Strootman was heralded as the new hero when he arrived at Roma Airport and if he ever returns to Sparta, he will be given a similar welcome as his transfer will add some much needed euros to the war chest of Sparta as well.

Marco van Ginkel to Chelsea is also a transfer that got people’s interest up. Who the hell is Van Ginkel and who the hell is Vitesse? In England, it’s only Ajax, PSV and maybe Feyenoord that have solid names. Although Twente and AZ have done well to establish their names. But Vitesse is like a branch or subsidiary of Chelsea these days. Vitesse puts players not longer wanted by Chelsea in the shopwindow and allows young talents to play regular games. So it’s quite simple for Chelsea to “scout” in Arnhem.

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Marco van Ginkel clearly still in shock

Bony, the prolific striker, apparently wasn’t interesting enough for Chelsea (who have Lukaku already) but box-to-box midfielder Van Ginkel was high up on the Blues’ wishlist.

And why not? A diamond in the raw, the young midfielder. Tremendous athlete, in the Michael Ballack / Steve Gerrard mould. Good mentality, all round in skills. The only thing Van Ginkel needs to learn is tactics. He can be a bit rambunctious. Picking the right moment is key. Knowing when to take the pace out. Knowing when to go and when to stay (he should listen to the Clash).

With this season leading up to the World Cup in Brazil (excited already???), it’s key for our lads to have a solid spot in their teams. I prefer Sneijder to be a starter at Gala, than a benchwarmer at Chelsea, for instance. I believe Wes will have a cracker of a season, as will Rafa at Hamburg.

Van Persie, Robben, Vorm, Krul, De Guzman… I can’t see any problems there. Just as De Vrij, Maher, Janmaat, BMI, Blind, Vermeer, Huntelaar will have secured their spots at their respective clubs.

It will be less certain for Lens, Strootman, Elia, Fer and Van Ginkel, to name a few, but Lens and Strootman should be doing well.

We will be following the lads as per usual in the coming months but before the season starts, we will look just one more time at the 1988 Victory. After that, an indepth analysis of Oranje TODAY is in the planning and after that, we’ll see what pops up…

largestAssaidiDespite some promising performances it didn’t work out for Assaidi at Liverpool. Feyenoord wants the former Heerenveen winger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I am really excited for next season.

And I am grateful to PSV and Twente among others for being able to keep or attract talent back to the home soil or keep them in Holland. Really keen to see Rekik, Ebecilio, Krkic, Maher and hopefully Assaidi perform….

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Rinus Michels successful without Johan Cruyff

Rinus Michels started to get really annoyed with Johan Cruyff. The Ajax coach definitely enjoyed the presence of the young tactical wizard and it didn’t take long for the media to keep on repeating that Michels’ success came as a result of working with Johan… The Europa Cup with Ajax, the silver medal in 1974 with Oranje… The title with Barca. The successes in the US. And without JC, Michels has not really been too successful.

Until 1988. Where the biggest success for Michels was not winning the finals, but in particular winning the semi finals against West Germany. After the heroic game in Hamburg, Michels sighed “Let’s hope that all those musings about 1974 will stop now…”

Total Football, more and more seen as the product of the brain of Cruyff, is now for a while moved aside. He doesn’t just deal with the stories of a generation past, but also with Johan’s shadow. And during the 1988 tournament, Cruyff was again a thorn in Michels’ side.

It is Cruyff who states right before the tournament that Oranje should be seen as a big favorite. In a Spanish newspaper, Cruyff says that Oranje will win the title. “As long as they play with three forwards.”

Cruyff is Ajax coach until January 1988 and impresses with his revolutionary approach. At times only playing with three defenders and putting his team under a lot of pressure. But he does win a European Cup with the youngsters, although PSV proves to be a bit more effective in the Eredivisie. Cruyff would make a similar move as he did as a player and will take up coaching Barcelona, with a similar revolutionary style, introducing Total Football in Catalunya.

And without a doubt, Michels will fear being deleted from the history books in Spain.

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Michels sharing the spotlight with JC

At that time, the south European teams play destructive football. 4-4-2 is the name of the game and Italy and Argentina win World Cups with that system, while Denmark impresses with a similar style. All the big European clubs at that time, Real Madrid, PSV, AC Milan and KV Mechelen all play a similar style. And Dutch coaches like Beenhakker, Hiddink and De Mos prefer playing with two strikers and a fortified midfield.

Cruyff enjoys the opposition: “If they play 2 strikers I can play with only 3 defenders. Meaning I have 4 midfielders to meet their and I have three strikers, to put pressure on the opponent.”

After one game at the Euro, Michels realised that this approach is not holy. The USSR only needs one well placed strike to beat Oranje. And after the first game, Michels immediately responded to Cruyff’s earlier comments. “We are merely an outsider. The expectations are set much too high.”

The coach also criticises his skipper Ruud Gullit: “He missed the boat. He had a free role in this game and he couldn’t support the team when they needed him. And as a team, we are too soft. Not winners. We were losing the game and in the second half we only had four fouls. That is highly unprofessional.”

Gullit is not happy with his new role in the team and Cruyff immediately criticises Michels for not selecting Rob Witschge. The best response however is Van Basten’s. Marco is sharp and he wants to start. At training, Van Basten never plays a decent ball to Bosman, his competitor for the center striker position. Later, Van Basten justifies this like this: “That’s how it works. You try to protect your territorium. It’s egocentric, but that is how it is.”

Just before the Euro, Michels says “We have a system we will adhere to” and “We have had enough time to prepare ourselves”. Only 5 days later, he significantly changes the team. Revolutionary, almost. The concept will be totally changed.

A fortified midfield with work horse Erwin Koeman for artist John van ‘t Schip. And two forwards: Gullit and Van Basten, in the AC Milan set up. John Bosman was striker #1, becomes striker #3. Kieft remains the pinchhitter.

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Michels instructing JC… Or… the other way around?

No more wingers. midfielder Vanenburg and forward Gullit need to guard the “operational areas” left and right.

Michels is taking a huge gamble. But, an educated one. Bssed on intuition, his analysis of his players and opportunism.

The second game, the win against England, was not built on the Dutch football culture or well prepared tactical prowess. The victory was based simply on the class of one Marco van Basten and luck. Luck, as England hit the post twice in the first  half and one of the MVB goals might have been offside.

Wim Kieft has an impact in this game as well. Michels knows a win is key and brings the target man. Once criticised by Marco van Basten, his successor at Ajax, once called him “that big tree”, but apart from being a great header of the ball, Kieft also excelled in keeping the ball and distributing the ball to the moving players around him. A combination of a good touch and vision. Kieft is the perfect lightning rod for Van Basten in the second half.

Against Ireland, another finals, Holland needs a win. Ireland can make do with a 0-0. And it seems for a long time that this would be the final score. John Aldridge is closest to the winner, with a header which might have been blocked by Vanenburg’s hand, and maybe even behind the goal line. Michels needs to change his line up again. Midfielders Muhren and Koeman are benched, and Bosman and Kieft are brought in. Holland plays with 5 forwards: Vanenburg, Gullit, Van Basten, Bosman and Kieft. And it works! There will be no smooth attack via the wings, but it takes a failed half volley by Koeman. The ball could have ended up in the stands, but it bounces onto the head of the attentive Kieft, pure luck, who instinctively tries to flick the ball on. The curve on the original ball, the Koeman volley AND Kieft’s header lets the ball bounce out of reach of Pat Bonner and seems to go past the goal, only to make a billiards-like shift and bounces into the goal.

This is a goal that has never been copied. There are no other goals like this one. That much coincidence in one passage of play.

Michels feels liberated and he embraces every piece of luck that comes his way. He becomes creative and even playful. And he calls this 1988 team stronger than the 1974 team… hmmm….

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Koeman wipes arse with Thon jersey

And he likes to pay out Cruyff once more. “Cruyff is merely a starting coach” and he even calls him a psychopath. Michels says about his successes with Ajax: “Ah, successes with Ajax in the Eredivisie? What does that mean? It’s a boyscout competition. What we need today, are football soldiers. Players who can suffer and battle. Every game we play is a battle. I am not talking about Cruyff, but players like Van Hanegem! Neeskens!”

Marco van Basten assumes that role against West Germany. He is not the Cruyff of the team, he is the Van Hanegem. He doesn’t walk away from being an irritating prick on the field. But Van Breukelen and Koeman join in as well. The goalie yells at Matthaus “I hope you fucking die!” when he is rolling around after a dive and Ronald Koeman wipes his ass after the game with Thon’s shirt. The victory is a celebration and releases pent up anger and frustration. The Dutch School is totally ignored. This victory is not build on positioning or total football. This Euro was a dirty Euro. And Johan Cruyff gets more and more quiet.

Oranje played like Argentina. Not like Brazil. Aad de Mos commends the coach’ ability to build up the mentality of the players, more than his tactical smarts. Two great passers from the back (Koeman and Rijkaard), two players who can decide games (Gullit and Van Basten) and two iron-eaters (Erwin Koeman and Jan Wouters)

There was the speed of Van Aerle and Van Tiggelen, allowing Oranje to play high. Vanenburg and Muhren were the ideal connecting players in midfield, who completely sacrificed their dominant roles ( both playmakers at PSV and Ajax).

All those qualities came together on June 25, 1988. Van Breukelen chokes Belanov when he is about to take his penalty and gives the signal of invincibility. This Oranje is not built on attractive and dominant play. Oranje’s success was built on willpower and determination. And luck.

The England and Ireland game, we discussed. The penalty against West Germany was another gift. Van Breukelen’s stopped penalty was a bonus and Van Basten’s volley was an eternal gem, but that ball could have ended up anywhere in the stadium.

The 1988 team has not captured the hearts of the world, like the Naranja Mecanica did in 1974.

Michels will embrace the 1988 campaign as his great success but the rift between Cruyff and Michels has not done Dutch football many favours.

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Did LVG and JC have an affair???

Oranje could have put the cherry on the cake in 1990 with a strong squad and with JC at the helm. But Michels clearly refused to let his victory be overshadowed and he decided to stonewall the players.

Cruyff never officially got the reigns over Oranje. His influence was ever tangible though. Louis van Gaal took JC’s textbook and gave it his own spin. Van Gaal also incorporated a lot of Michels in his approach. But Van Gaal did not (yet) manage to become the new Cruyff or Michels. The pompous one failed miserably in 2000, when he believed to have the strongest Oranje squad ever. Ireland and Portugal were too strong. Van Gaal misses the intuitive smarts of Michels and the creative genius of Cruyff.

The 1974 squad has a heroic glare. The longhaired rebels, all seemingly playing their own game, and in the process tearing Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and West Germany apart (albeit without winning vs West Germany, of course…).

The 1988 squad did not bring Holland anything but the silverware. No tactical finesse, no remarkable legacy.

The individual strength of players like Gullit, Van Basten, Koeman, Wouters and Van Breukelen will forever live on, of course as will the fact that almost every player of that squad became an active coach at some time. Passing on their experience and insights.

And it’s not just the Rijkaards, Koemans and Wouters we are talking about. Arnold Muhren was a youth coach at Ajax for a long time, like Van Tiggelen is still coaching at amateur level. But also players who were just not good enough for Oranje back then (Danny Blind, Wim Koevermans, Peter Bosz, Gertjan Verbeek, Fred Rutten, Ruud Brood, Ton Lokhoff) are all active in some form in pro football today. Bosz at Vitesse, Verbeek at AZ, Brood at Roda JC and Lokhoff was at VVV most recently.

Outside of Holland, 1988 will be remembered for the charisma of Gullit and Van Basten. “Achtentachtig allemachtig prachtig” is a term you still hear from taxi drivers in Thailand, Egypt, Mexico or New Zealand. And Van Basten was knowns as the Son of Cruyff while Gullit became a superstar, the first coloured player to accept a major trophy as skipper.

This social cultural heritage appeared more important for The Netherlands than the football legacy.

 

wk1990The book written on that weird 1990 campaign… 

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The Louis van Gaal show in Asia….

I said it here before and many of you concurred: Louis van Gaal is a wonderful coach. Great tactician. Good training material. Yadda yadda yadda. But he’s also a bit of a wanker. Big Ego. And not capable of not taking himself too seriously… We all said it: we will have some fun with Louis too, on the way to Brazil.

And I once mused….wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall at times?

Well, a journalist of VI, the Dutch football magazine, offered us this perspective. Michel van Egmond gives us his story about what is going on behind the scenes. When Oranje “did” Asia, he was present.

Here it is.

“Bejing is a wonderous city. You can see soldiers guarding something vague on the weirdest spots. People talk in some weird language, with mouth caps for. And eat anything on four legs. Except maybe the table. But the most hallucinating image on that particular morning is offered up not by a Chinaman but a Dutchman. He strolls through the massive door of the Peninsula Hotel and even Chinese taxi drivers push the brake to have a better look. And would you believe it: a middle aged guy, right out of his bed, walks out of the hotel, yawning and scratching his right leg, dressed in orange slippers and an orange robe…

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More interesting than the games Oranje play, are the press conferences Louis gives. The KNVB wants to do their best to show that Louis is not really the grumpy old man we all think he is. But everytime they try and position him differently, he mucks it up and comes across even worse!

How’ bout this one? The KNVB has organised a big suite in the hotel. Nice fruit, saucers with cookies, chocolates and fresh tea and coffee. And a nice Chinese wait person to help with all the necessities. Van Gaal is chatting with press officer Kees Jansma. The media people slowly come into the room. Van Gaal ignores them at first. People go up to him to greet him. Van Gaal would never greet first. As a Radja, he expects people to come to him. He doesn’t say anything but gives short nods. To some he says nothing more than “good afternoon”. Van Gaal doesn’t do visits. Van Gaal does audiences. Like the Pope.

Van Gaal turns around to Jansma and says: “That’s it?”.

Jansma: “I think so.”

Van Gaal seems to think he deserves more journalists. Then he says: “Ok go ahead”.

The first journo says: “Are you happy with the way things are going?”.

Van Gaal: “Yes”.

Awkward silence. The team manager is a master in giving his public the feeling they are not welcome. People always laugh nervously when he makes a joke. Because he is not a stand up comic. His jokes are not funny. People laught to break the ice. Everyone desperately tries to break the ice… And then he picks up and starts to talk. About the program, the preparation, about Wesley Sneijder and more. In a somewhat condenscending tone. But, as we all know, once Van Gaal talks football he doesn’t sell bullshit. He knows what he is talking about. But ouch….suddenly the door opens and a Chinese reporter comes in. Too late.

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Van Gaal: “Well you are too late!” and sits straight up into his chair.

Reporter: “Yes”.

(A day earlier, Van Gaal was late for a practice session with Chinese youngsters. Close to a 100 kids had to wait for the coach, eleven minutes to be precise, due to traffic jams. But this fact didn’t give any cause for self reflection )

Van Gaal acts the gym teacher from the 1950s again: “Too late, means…in my class you can’t come in!”.

Reporter: “Apologies apologies”.

Another question. Does Van Gaal think there is a risk in selecting young players, as they lack consistency and sometimes will have a setback in their performance?

Van Gaal: “Oh, you are trying to talk me into something? I don’t believe that!”

Reporter: “Eh no, I am not trying to talk you into anything… It’s not a suggestion, it is how it is, I believe.”

Van Gaal: “No, you are suggesting things. That young players can’t sustain their level. That is your theory. But I won the CL with kids of 20 year old. So, what you say is bullshit.”

A bit aggressive for a pretty normal question… Another reporter doesn’t want to give up on this topic and supports his colleague… Van Gaal: “And how bout Sneijder then? He doesn’t play at a constant level either. He’s 29 years old! Or Robin van Persie? You must have noticed that he hasn’t scored for a spell at Man United? Has nothing to do with age. That is what you, the media, make up!”

The tone of the meeting starts to make it Monty Pythonesque. Van Gaal is looking for a rift. One reporter asks if Sneijder’s form has anything to do with Sneijder’s lifestyle? Maybe Wesley is living it up too much? Can I ask that, the reporter adds.

Van Gaal: “No! No, you can not ask this. That is not decent. You don’t have any dealings with his personal life. How do you think you are?”

And when another reporters wants to know if Van Gaal can help Sneijder getting fit again, he again is annoyed. “No of course not! I only see him eight times per year and then I can’t even train with him properly. Because if I make Sneijder work too hard, you guys will start to criticise me again!”

Most reporters start to giggle. They can’t stop themselves. Van Gaal rants on: “This has all happened. All of this. And then you guys think you are the coach!”

And he stops talking.

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I try: “But why would you care? What does it matter if some newspaper writes you train to hard? You are the team manager?”

Van Gaal: “I don’t care.”

Me: “Well, it seems like you do….”

Van Gaal: “I don’t.”

Me: “No?”

Van Gaal: “No. But I can give my opinion what is in the media?”

Me: “Sure. You can do whatever you want.”

Van Gaal: “Or is it only permitted for you to criticise me but I can’t criticise you?”

Me: “No, I never said that. No please, criticise us!”

Van Gaal: “Oh, so I can?”

Me: “Sure! It’s entertaining!”

Van Gaal: “Oh well, thank you that this is allowed.”

Another reporter heard that Sneijder had “left the meeting when Van Gaal informed him he was no longer skipper”. He wanted to know what that meant? Did Sneijder leave the room or did he leave the trainings camp….?

This is a detail. Louis could have said: “Oh he went to his room.”

But Louis didn’t. This is what Louis did, raising his voice: “Oh you are a piece of work! You are an irritating little chap, aren’t you? Un-be-liev-able… Always taking the negative approach!! He went to his room! Plain and simple.”

Reporter: “I’m just doublechecking the facts.”

Louis: “So why didn’t you ask: did he go to his room?? Why does it have to be “or did he leave the camp?”… No my friend!”

Reporter: “Why are you being so worked up?”

Van Gaal: “I’m not!”

Reporter: “You are very wound up!”

Van Gaal: “No, I simply criticise the question.”

And he is silent again.

Reporter: “Louis, your whole body language and tone…it’s all so condenscending. Is it us? Or do you despise all the media?”

Van Gaal: “There are people in the media I respect.”

Reporter: “But these people are not in this room?”

Van Gaal: “And you are putting words in my mouth again!”

Reporter: “No, it’s a simple question.”

Van Gaal: “Oh you are simply asking questions… A top journalist you are, simply asking some questions. You have to stay sharp man.”

Louis van Gaal

“I am the best!”

Van Gaal is not present when the Oranje squad visits the Forbidden City later. The security people are with the players though. Although Jasper Cillisen and Jens Toornstra and Erik Pieters have nothing to fear from the people there. No one knows them. No one cares. Louis is not coming along. He might not care too much for culture or he is too busy. He was watching the Young Oranje games every night. When that team reached the semi finals in Israel he said: “I am not surprised. I expected them to.”

Nothing in his communication betrays anything that looks like self doubt. And maybe this is why people respond so fiercely to him. Someone who is so tremendously convinced of himself…you don’t see it in Wenger, Capello, Ancelotti, Heynckes or Guardiola. And he is never boring. His press conferences, even after totally boring and irrelevant games, are great. The only thing more fun than a press conference by Louis van Gaal is a press conference by Louis van Gaal in an other language.

Van Gaal believes that the others need to adjust to him. He loves literal translations of Dutch expressions and has baffled many in English, Spanish and German already.

The Barca players never understood him when he said “No Balon Hospital!”. And so he started to explain that concept.

Van Gaal takes himself so seriously that when the Chinese reporters start to ask the most silly questions at the press conference later, he will respond the only way he can: seriously.

Chinese reporter: “Mr Van Gaal, is it true you lost weight?”

Van Gaal raises his eyebrows. Looks at Jansma.

The reporter: “I mean, you look thinner now.”

Van Gaal: “That is correct. I had a hip operation some time back and I lost some kilos.”

Van Gaal was showered with applause after every question in Indonesia. In China, they don’t do that. But there are not critical questions and every reporter wants on the photo with Mr Van Gaal. One even says: “I am a big fan, Mr Van Gaal!”.

Louis acts as if that is normal.

An English journalist gets the last question: “Why would you want to work in the EPL? There is a lot of pressure on coaches in England?”

Van Gaal: “You clearly don’t know how much pressure there is in Holland. Ask your colleagues!”

Then he gets up. And spreads his arms, says “Thank You” and makes a deep bow. Kees Jansma smiles from ear to ear…

The Louis Show is over….”

lvg hitlerIn Germany, the comparisons between Van Gaal and a certain other famous personality were quite poignant…

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The Big Ruud Gullit Interview (Pt 2)

Gullit current girlfiend

Ruud happy now with his current Mexican girlfriend

And we pick it up with Ruud, talking about the 1996 Euro in England. Another tournament where Holland seem to implode due to infighting.

In 1996, Edgar Davids was sent home by Guus Hiddink. What do you think was the core of the problem?

Ruud Gullit: “I was in England in 1996, but I haven’t seen it from the inside of course. It was an Ajax thing that seeped into Oranje. It wasn’t even between coloured and white lads, but between young and old. But the media turned it into a racist thing, as all the youngsters were coloured lads. And sure, the chef of Oranje didn’t know how to make Suriname food and all that but they key was that lads like Reiziger, Seedorf, Davids got paid way less than Blind, De Boer and other older Ajax players. The gap between young and old was huge. And Ajax had told the youngsters they should be proud to be playing for Ajax. That really hurt them. And I think they were also hurt that their skipper and other players didn’t support them. And they carried it with them and took it into Oranje.”

We don’t seem to learn from this?

“Yep, it’s a Dutch thing. We can’t help ourselves and we want to give our opinion all the time. I remember in Italy people having enormous trouble with that. Hierarchy is a big thing there. In Italy, players listened to the coach. And suddenly, there were three Dutchies asking Sacchi all the time “Why?”. He told us to come to his office if we had something to discuss. They simply don’t like that. They call us the professors of football in other countries. Because we are so hardheaded and know-it-alls. In England they told me: “You believe you invented football”. And I always say “But we did!”. Hahaha, look at those faces… But that mentality has given us a lot in the world. In sports, in business, in engineering… But we do forget that in other countries they think we are too direct, too blunt… But you see it in the way we want to play football. A bit naive, too attacking and too open. But our reputation abroad is superb. Look at how that trip to China and Indonesia went. Amazing. And Glenn Hoddle called me up recently. He is doing radio shows at the BBC now. Wanted to talk how Dutch youth development could help English football. That is a huge compliment.”


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 Gullit winning the FA Cup at Chelsea with Di Matteo

 

How do you see the current Oranje squad?

“I like what Van Gaal is doing. It’s fun to watch Oranje again. I like it how the experienced lads need to fight for a spot. That is good. This mix of young and old is good for Oranje. Van Gaal has seen it well. But, with beautiful football alone you can’t win prizes. Ask Arsene Wenger.”

According to Van Gaal, there are eight other nations with more chances to win the World Cup than Holland. Do you agree?

“It’s a smart move by him. He’s covering himself a bit against huge expectations. And It’s probably realistic. Lots of players in the squad lack international experience. Playing against the opponents we had in the qualification series is not the same as playing Portugal, Columbia, Argentina or Italy. I don’t think we are without chances, but i don’t think we are amongst the faves. But Louis is an expert and he knows how to get the maximum from a group. And in 1988, we were not that seasoned. I just had one season in Italy, like Marco. Frank had a weird season. Koeman and Wouters were still in Holland, so was Vanenburg.”

Only the Koeman bros, Wouters and Van Basten are active as head coach. Why so few?

“I think most of them tried. Van Tiggelen, Vanenburg… I think Muhren always wanted to work with youth and Van Aerle never had the ambition but everyone has his own story. I mean Wouters… Come on… Great story. I always knew he would be a great coach. But that first job at Ajax was simply bad timing. He was revered at Rangers and seemed to be a good assistant more than head coach. But look at him now. Koeman is doing well at Feyenoord, after some difficult stints. You need some luck sometimes.”

When did you feel acknowledged as a good coach?

“Whoa, that was way back with Chelsea. We won the FA Cup. A big thing in England. I narrowly missed the cup final with Newcastle and with Feyenoord. People forget that. People tend to remember the last thing you did.”

Grozny… Not a great memory?

“Well, I do like to do left field, unexpected things, you know. People criticised my move to Grozny but I couldn’t care less. I am my own man. And it was quite a wonderful experience.”

Gullit Galaxy

Gullit with Becks at LA Galaxy

 

 

Do clubs find you with offers?

“Well, it’s a bit quiet, to be honest. I haven’t done great as a coach. I know this. And in all honesty, I don’t really profile myself as a coach, these days. I do have a score to settle with myself on that count. If a good club would come for me, I’d certainly consider it. But it’s not a must. I don’t need to prove myself to the outside world or anything. The key criterion is: will I enjoy doing this and is it a challenge. Because I love my life as it is now too.”

So what does an average week for Ruud Gullit look like?

“It doesn’t exist, haha. I travel a lot. My girlfriend lives abroad. I do analysis work for Sky Sports in England and Germany and I have several commercial gigs all over the place. My whole life I am offered interesting jobs, I enjoy that.”

Last year, the public saw you as an alternative to Louis van Gaal. National team manager. How did you experience that?

“I was very happy with that lobby. And it was the public, but also some influential media people (Johan Derksen, for one). It was a change from the way people approach me normally. People are highly critical of my career as a coach, as discussed, but still they could see my potential value as national coach. I was ridiculed for my work with Grozny and my private life was a mess ( Estelle Cruyff, Ruud’s wife had a public affair with a fighting champ and left Gullit). And then this candidate thing happened. It really touched me deeply. I have no idea where that suddenly came from. People did care about me and what I do. And then, I was asked to become the ambassador for the Rijksmuseum. I can still feel the emotions coming up thinking about those days. Those are big things for me.”

You need that acknowledgement?

“Maybe yes. The national team manager job is the highest job in football in Holland. And the Rijksmuseum is a key player in the cultural and historical realm of Holland. I am proud and grateful. When I told about all this in the tv program “De Wereld Draait Door” I could see later how I beamed with glee. That is something I hadn’t seen for years. For years, I couldn’t watch myself on tv. I found myself annoying. I didn’t see a happy man. Now, all is different.”

gullit married

Ruud marrying Johan’s niece Estelle. Didn’t end good.

 

But you appear to be so detached and relaxed?

“Well, I do feel the criticism. And now I feel like I can have some worth again. I remember that first official event for the museum. Queen Beatrix was there and suddenly someone comes up to me asking me if I had time for a talk with the Queen!! I was on Cloud Nine. I can’t remember a single word I uttered to her. I was so overwhelmed.”

If you look back…things you would have done differently? Any coaching activities you regret?

“No, none of that. I enjoyed all of them in a funny way. The criticism I received was always political. At Newcastle, they said I was shopping in Amsterdam. I have been working like this for many years. When I was successful at Chelsea, no one cared. At Newcastle, others made it into a problem to serve their agenda. I worked 4 days a week. That was my deal. I had field trainers and we worked well together. At Feyenoord, I may have relied too much on certain people in the organisation who were not too effective. In LA, well… It’s another culture. Football in the US… the travel, the sponsors… It’s hard to remain true to yourself. No my biggest regret in my career is not a coaching one, but was the World Cup 1994. I mean, we sadly missed 1986, then we had that horrific 1990 one. The 1994 World Cup was my last chance. And I really really really wanted to perform there. But yet again, the KNVB had bypassed Cruyff. For reasons we now only laugh about. Today, team managers are being paid top dollar. Back in the 90s, Cruyff wanted a decent salary. He was at Barca back then and demanded a similar sort of deal, for those two months.. And he wanted to pick his own staff. Of course!! He wouldn’t work with people who didn’t share his vision. Anyway, KNVB stifles it, picks Advocaat. Now, I don’t have anything against Dick. But when they didn’t get the message about the heat in Florida… The medical staff at Samp and Milan (Ruud was at Samdoria and returned to AC Milan that summer) were adamant about how to prepare for this. I discussed this with the staff and Dick and they sort of ridiculed it. Dick was also flippant about my role in the team. Said I had to prove myself. Was I still fast enough as a winger… I felt disrespected. I couldn’t get excited. I felt vulnerable. And I couldn’t face another debacle. Looking back at that World Cup campaign, with a bit more power, we could have won it. Brazil was not that great a team. Neither was Italy. We had exciting young lads in Bergkamp, Winter, Taument… I also should not have returned to AC Milan that summer. Another regret. But, making mistakes is not bad. It always brings you new things. Not doing anything, that is not good. But I am grateful that I always took risks…”

Gullit 94

 

Advocaat and Gullit at press conference where Gullit announces to leave the World Cup 1994 squad

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The 1990 World Cup Debacle revisited

The gap between skipper and coach….

In the interview with Gullit, he made some comments about the 1990 World Cup.

Some of you seem to be ignorant about the whole run up to that tournament. Here is a post I published some years ago on the topic.

So here goes, by popular demand… What happened at (or rather: before) the WC1990.

Well, it all started in 1988 of course. Van Basten & Co stunned the world. With Michels moving up from manager to federation official, former Feyenoord coach Thijs Libregts took the reigns. The ex-Excelsior and Feyenoord player had quite a reputation as a coach. Arrogant and authoritarian, he had a title to his name, but no one thought he actually won it… He was Feyenoord’s coach when Cruyff decided to avenge his departure at Ajax and JC (and Gullit, Houtman, Hoekstra and Jeliazkov) won Feyenoord the title. Libregts was a suave operator, wearing the right suits and hairdo. But he was also a bit crass, with careless slip of the tongues… Like “Gullit is lazy, that’s what you get with those blacks…”.

Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten were a force in these days. The Milan trio ruled. But so did one Ronald Koeman, Jan Wouters and Ajax captain John van ‘t Schip. And positivo Hans van Breukelen was a voice to be reckoned with as well. The big guns decided they didn’t want cold Libregts. They wanted to win the World Cup and they pleaded with the KNVB to replace the unpopular Thijs by a coach they respected. Someone like JC for instance.

Johan_Cruyff,_Thijs_Libregts,_Michel_van_de_Korput

Libregts as Cruyff’s coach at Feyenoord

At some point during qualifying for the WC1990 (which we intended to win) revolted. Gullit led the players to a vote of no confidence and Libregts was told to go. But who would have to lead Oranje to the title? The players got to vote.

KNVB honcho Rinus Michels chose the side of his players and a ballot was made. All players voted and the top three was: on number 3: Aad de Mos. The former Ajax and KV Mechelen coach is a tactical wizard and a kid from the street, who spoke the players’ language. Wim Kieft and Ronald Koeman (having had some negative experiences with Cruyff who made them leave Ajax) picked De Mos. Leo Beenhakker came in at number 2, with a tad more votes than Haagse Aadsje. Leo is well liked by most. He can work on players’ confidence and seemed ideal for a short stint. Although everyone remembered how Beenhakker failed to coach Oranje to a big tournament in the mid 1980s (Mexico WC 1986, with the dreaded late header by George Grun). JC topped the list, of course. The Milan and Ajax clan in particular (Witschge, Winter, Schip, Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard (despite Frank’s falling out with JC at Ajax). And JC was game.

But Rinus Michels showed his true colors. He looked at the list and thought…hmmm…Johan…Can’t have him winning the WC and putting my EC trophy in the shadows… And Rinus vetoed JC’s appointment, giving the job to his mate Don Leo in the meantime.

Can’t remember what Rinus said to justify this, but it was along the lines of “Leo is more experienced, Johan is an inexperienced coach. He never did the course. And Johan will cause problems with the KNVB, because Johan is expensive and he wants to pick his own staff. It’s not good to pick Johan.”

Later, off the record, he even called Johan Cruyff a psychopath…

The players were livid. The one-time schmooch-fest between Gullit and Michels was over. And before that WC1990 had started,  a true trench-guerilla war began. Michels wrote columns in the Telegraaf (Amsterdam-based newspaper) and he leaked inside stuff to the press. Gullit wrote columns in the AD, the Rotterdam based rival of Michel’s on-the-side employer. A war began, resulting in the KNVB forbidding players to write columns.

So, the scene was set. Beenhakker – the fool – accepted the job and should have known he couldn’t win. And then, as they have done many many many times before, the KNVB in all their wisdom came up with their tournament preparation scheme… How they fucked up, again! In 1994 they would highly, dramatically underestimate the weather in the US for the WC (Gullit was adamant that the summer would be too much for a normal prep and – influenced by the Milan scientists – begged for a special approach… When people told him he should stick to kicking footballs, the dreadlocked one decided to withdraw from the Dutch team… We all know the result of that group phase…).

breuk pissig

A scene from the game vs Germany. Van Breukelen going apeshit on Voller. Both Voller and Rijkaard would be red-carded

 

Anyway, the KNVB decided to book a monastery type castle in the middle of nowhere in Yugoslavia…

These top players, who had tough seasons with their clubs, were looking forward to fun and chilling out. To clear the heads for this WC. Some beach volley ball, a nice town nearby for the wives and girlfriends, maybe a golf-resort…. But they got medieval circumstances… Isolation and a full on training scheme…

Something broke in that period. The players were miserable, and some players started to rebel (again), breaking out of their prison and going haywire.

The performances were abysmal in this WC. Gullit and Van Basten weren’t able to deliver. Was it fatigue? Injuries (Van Basten’s right ankle was already in shambles)? Was it the Beenhakker thing? Van ‘t Schip and Wouters were the danger men for Holland, Kieft had a good spell, Rijkaard was solid, but it wasn’t enough. At one point, Leo Beenhakker left the dressing room with what seemed to be a black eye. Rumors started how Van Basten punched him out, but Don Leo said “he’d bumped into to something”… Marco’s fist? Other stories related how Van Basten had thrown an ashtray to Leo’s head. Whatever it was, we’ll never know.

Don Leo sighed that “75% of what happened behind closed doors will never be revealed” but when asked about this much later, he claims he never said it. Players now balk at that quote, saying they can’t imagine what Leo had been smoking…

“We just didn’t have it. It didn’t gel. Gullit, Van Basten, Koeman…they all seemed tired. It’s one of those things…”

The first knock out game against Germany was a classic. Oranje could have won that, there were some good chances (Wouters, Winter, Schip) but the Germans scored twice and we only once. That sums it up. Although Rijkaard scored twice against Rudi Voller of course . But that didn’t result in us winning, it only resulted in both men being sent off.

Rinus shouldn’t have screwed the players over. And maybe the players should have gone on strike.

mich libr

Director Michels with team manager Libregts. Who thought he would lead Oranje to Sicily

 

Maybe, they should have said: look, we’re the 3 from Milan. We won European cups, we won the EC in 1988, we have tremendously skilled players and we’re eager. We only need one thing: a coach we respect. Give us JC! If not, we won’t go.

That never happened. They went with Don Leo and stayed too long isolated from the world in some horrible camp. The spirit was broken. The mind wasn’t fresh. The legs refused to listen.

No gold and glory, only humiliation and mysterious insinuations of mythical proportions…

This is a 14 minute clip of the highlights of the Germany game. Before the Germans scored, we could have been 2 goals up….

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The Big Ruud Gullit Interview (pt 1)

Ruud Gullit is an icon. A legend. The first and only skipper to lead a Dutch national senior team to silverware.

Sadly for Gullit, his resume reads: former top player, former reggae wannabe, serial groom (and womaniser), icon, and failed coach.

He tried many things: musician, political activist, tv personality, fashionista, entrepreneur but he will always be remembered for his dreadlocks, big strides and sensational runs.

He played almost on every position in the team, defence, striker, winger, playmaker, midfielder… He had highs in Oranje and lows in Oranje. He had a father-son relation with Michels and a hate relation with Michels.

Time for a definitive talk. Thank you VI Magazine.

1988 was 25 years ago. What is your best memory of the whole tournament?

Ruud Gullit: “In all honesty, the whole post-final ceremony, the cup ceremony, the celebration… It’s al a blur to me. I never know whether it’s my memory or the memory of seeing the images on tv… Weird. The warmest moment for me, was the last day in Holland, before we went to Germany. We had this farewell tv program. And suddenly, when some guy is playing the piano, Michels starts to sing. Loud! Like an opera singer. The man could sing!! Amazing. No one knew. And he sang Droomland ( Land of Dreams) like a pro. It really touched me. We all saw Michels in a different light, suddenly. It sort of increased the respect and love we had for the man. It might have made a difference….who knows…. But I recall that memory often, that was a moment of magic. I tried to find that on YouTube but have never found it, although it was televised…”

Did Michels need that extra from this group?

“Of course not. He had status and personality and charisma. he had this tough image though. Disciplinarian. But we saw his softer side that night. And he wasn’t tough to us, actually. I heard stories from Cruyff and Van Hanegem, so I asked Michels one day: You are not that difficult as the older players said you’d be. He laughed and said: that is because you guys are pros. These guys were rebels. Michels had to drive to the Leidseplein (big square in Amsterdam with clubs and pubs) to chase the players from the cafes at night. We didn’t do that so much. “Those players needed a tough hand. You don’t.” I took that as a big compliment. Michels was a coach who could adapt to circumstances. He observed his players and customised his approach.”

 

ruud-marco

Was that first game, the 0-1 defeat against the USSR, a big setback? Were you concerned?

“Not at all! That was actually the best game we played! We dominated and attacked in 4-3-3 for 80 minutes. We simply didn’t score. Marco was getting stronger and stronger and I knew Marco would get his chance. I was playing pretty dramatically, that game. Nothing against Bosman, he played really well and was a super striker, but Marco was super fit, and from another world. And Marco was soooo eager. And I had this tremendous click with Marco on the pitch. Watch the England game and you’ll see that I am constantly looking for him. I was weak, he was strong and I played in service of him. I didn’t have that so much with Bosman, who is a different striker. Sad for the lads who had to make way, but to me it was clear that Marco was the man who could make the difference.”

So what was wrong with you?

“I was just spent. So tired from that first season in Italy. I was done for. The game against West Germany, that was when I started to feel my strength return. And the USSR final was my strongest game. And Michels saw it. He forbade me to take free kicks. Koeman was the first man for free kicks, until the finals. Then Michels changed that back. For me a signal that I could go full throttle in the finals. I had the backing and confidence of the coach. He was smart like that.”

Was there really a chance that Marco van Basten would have pulled out of the tournament beforehand?

“I don’t think he really would have. I know he was upset and angry that he was benched, playing with number 12. He did talk to Cruyff and later with Michels. Marco is a real striker. And therefore selfish. Almost funny. If he hadn’t scored for a while he would become nasty. He would scold people for not playing the ball correctly. He would blame everyone. And I would put him in his place and laugh at him. That is how you needed to work him. But most players feared him. Marco can be tremendously dominating. Bullying. You need to break through that mask and than it’s a very nice lad. We played for amateur club AFC together, after our career. It was good fun. But he would be so professional and eager and fanatical. Marco is top drawer and demanded everything around him to be too. His team mates feared him, the opponents feared him, the referee, hahahaha. Everyone played for fun, but Marco plays to win, hahahaha.”

Did Marco not get annoyed with your lose and somewhat undisciplined style?

“I’m sure yes. We are really opposites. But we we complimentary towards one another. And the combination of his personality and his qualities made him the best of the world. And make no mistake: he was mean. He was a bastard on the pitch. No one could bully him. I see this in Sneijder. And Van Bommel had it too. This is why Van Bommel and Van Basten clashed I think. Similar personalities.But Marco is the role model as a striker. The 100% perfect specimen. And every striker at Ajax after him got this baggage on his shoulder. Even Ibrahimovic, one of the best of the world now, was seen as a disappointment at Ajax, compared to Marco….”

Back to the Euro 1988. In 1990, the same generation disgracefully left the World Cup early. In 2010, Oranje won silver in South Africa and left the Euros in 2012 without a single point. Is that typically Dutch?

“I’m sorry to say it, but yes. Its that Dutch hardheadedness. The “we know it all” mentality. In a squad, you need hierarchy. And this hierarchy exists almost naturally if a team has not had success yet. The lesser players want to follow the stronger players. As it is the road to success. Once success hits, all the players in Holland start to think they can be a leader. And you get groups and cliques and issues. Towards 1990, we suddenly got many captains. Suddenly I read interviews where waterbearers – with all due respect – started to moan about the privileges of the Three of Milan and all that. WTF? Or some players started to talk about the fee we’d get if we would win the World Cup… That stupid behaviour.”

gullit beenhakkerBody language 101

You and Marco were very critical towards Van Marwijk and the Oranje squad in the run up to the 2012 Euro. You saw it coming?

“Of course! The dynamics were not good. You could see and hear it. Marco and I had deja vues. It was just like in 1990. Bert van Marwijk was not amused. He felt he deserved support. But this was us, trying to help. We were not slamming him, but giving constructive advice. He should have used those signals. There was that endless debate about Van Persie vs Huntelaar. Clarity, Mr Van Marwijk! The sooner the better. Afellay had a privileged position without have played a game and earlier Bert had said that he only took players along with rhythm. Another mistake. Rafael van der Vaart couldn’t get a look in after a couple of great qualification games as holding mid. Etc etc. The body language of players showed you there was discontent. This was a no hope mission.”

What should Van Marwijk have done?

“Clarity early on. Look at Louis van Gaal now. “This is my system, these are my players, this is how things will go.” And stick to it. Consistency. He kept his cards to his chest too long. Even in the prep phase of the tournament he was experimenting with the strikers. When players share their discontent with the media, it’s too late. The damage is done.”

And the 1990 run up was similar?

“Actually, worse. At least Van Marwijk was by then still the accepted coach. The players all like him a lot. We wanted Cruyff. We made a case for him and we even did the Federations dirty work by axing Libregts. And the Federation promised us Cruyff, but Michels blocked that. Said horrible things about Johan. Calling him a psycho. My God. I knew then and there it would be a disaster. Nothing against Leo Beenhakker. He had the balls to take it on, but he said something like “this is not my squad” and I knew for sure we were in trouble. We also heard, when we got back in the trainings camp from our Europa Cup finals against Benfica, that the other players were annoyed with us… The vibe was bad. I stayed most of the time in my room. I actually was ready to leave.”

When? During the World Cup?

“Yes. I felt like shit. So did Marco. We were both fed up. After the first group games, I went to see Beenhakker. Marco was there and Ted Troost (adviser to Marco and Ruud) was there as moderator. And I have to say, Leo was good in that meeting. Listened, sympathised and we sort of got a common ground which made me stay. I saw some positives in that meeting. And in the first game after that meeting, against Ireland, I scored and I felt there might be a way beyond all this. In that first knock-out game against Germany we played really good. We dominated, were the better team. Until Frankie spat Voller in his neck. And hour later, we could pack our bags.”

Did you ever talk to Rijkaard about this incident?

“Not really, what is there to say. Frankie knew he as wrong. He doesn’t need me to tell him that. And that was not the reason why our campaign failed. It was doomed from the start. The mentality of the players, the Federation not giving us Cruyff, the horrific training camp. I think Johan was the only one with enough clout to have pulled us all in. He would have been so tough on the water-carriers and would have had a simple and effective tactics and line up. I can still get mad when I think how the people back then screwed us over with this….”

 

rijkaard voller

Rijkaard and Voller made up and earned some money doing so (for a good cause, actually… they donated their fee)

 

Watch this space for Pt 2 soon. In which Gullit talks about the “racial rift” in 1996, his coaching career and the chances of Oranje in Brazil.

Ruud Gullit said he didn’t know about Michels’ voice. In 1974, however, the Oranje squad was sent off to Germany with a young Michels being hoisted onto stage to sing with typical Amsterdam singers (operette) Willy Alberti (father in law of Soren Lerby) and Johnny Jordaan. The Ode to the Westertoren, a famous Amsterdam landmark.

Dreadful music, really, but at the end of the clip, Michels is asked on stage and you can hear his tremendous voice.

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Why Robin van Persie will ROCK this coming summer

There is and always has been debate around Robin van Persie in Holland.

It seems like we – Dutch – don’t understand players like him. We like two types of players: players that perform (and we don’t care if they’re arrogant or annoying) and players that are humble and work their arse off.

In category one, we have Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Willem van Hanegem, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart…. Cruyff was very egotistical, Willem cynical, Marco aloof, Dennis didn’t fly, Wesley is cocky, Rafa overweight, etc etc. We don’t care. Actually, we love them all for it.

cruyff-bergkamp-van P

Three characters: RVP, JC and The Iceman

The humble ones? Jaap Stam, Jan Wouters, Phillip Cocu, Wim Jansen, Johan Neeskens, Gio van Bronckhorst, Edwin van der Sar, Aron Winter.

And there is a huge category we do not really warm too. The ones that think they’re better than they are. And the ones who rap. Although this second category is basically a subgroup of the first one :-). Drenthe, Babel, Elia, Kuyt, you know who you are.

In that category players who over-estimate themselves are the ones that leave for greener pastures early in their career. Again, Drenthe, Babel, De Ridder…all those players who disappear.

Robin van Persie was one of those lads, almost.

Terribly annoying at Feyenoord (sure, very gifted too), headstrong, streetwise (talking with a Moroccan accent as a result of hanging out mostly with Moroccan kids… Robin ended up marrying a Moroccan wife and according to some converted to Islam).

Bert van Marwijk (and his staff and senior players) couldn’t contain the young prodigy. He was amazingly talented, although Bert didn’t really know how to use the youngster best. Was he a winger? Was he a playmaker? A striker? Whatever he was, the playmaker role didn’t exist in Feyenoord ( Bosvelt played from deep, with runner Tomasson upfront behind Van Hooijdonk). Pi-Air was untouchable of course so left wing was to Robin’s spot.

When he moved to Arsenal, it still took some time for Robin to make it in the first team, as a starter. Sure, he had his games in his first seasons, but also his fair share of run ins with team mates and coach Wenger and even got a red card for a lunge, which resulted in Wenger yelling obscenities at Van Persie from the side line. Van Persie played a wide role for Arsenal for quite a while and had a number of goes as midfielder behind Adabayor. In the 2008/09 season, he took the role of Henry as main striker, when the Frenchman left for Barca.

It would take a bit of time for Van Persie to shine in that role due to injuries.

Robin has quite a reputation from his early days in Holland. He was known to be a misbehaved streetkid who was sent away from school many times. Later on, after a Dutch World Cup qualification game in 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of rape. He was held in custody for 14 days and circumstances were so bad in the little holding cell that RVP passed out at a certain point. The case was dropped as there was no proof that sexual contact with coercion happened and the “victim” – a former Miss Nigeria/Holland – admitted she claimed to be rape to “gain publicity”. RVP did have sex with her and cheated on his wife, in other words, which didn’t help his public reputation. It later emerged that over 200 police officers had had access to the case file, most of them not authorised to do so.

RVP was always seen as a tremendous talent but his personality and his vulnerable physique made it hard for him to be the dominant player he wanted to be. In 2008/09 he reached the 20 goals per season at Arsenal for the first time, but the season after, he dropped back to 10 (in 19 games) as as result of injuries. In 2010/11, his last season for the Gunners he produced a whopping 22 goals in 33 games, a feat he’d better last season for ManU when he scored 37 out 48 games. This is basically 0,8 goals per game!

RVP Bert

Here’s a tip for you: don’t sub me!

In the Dutch team, he scores once every second game (this year, he is on 4 goals in 5 games, which is as good as his ManU stat, by the way). This is certainly not bad for a striker. But somehow, the perception is, that RVP doesn’t deliver in Orange.

The reason being, of course, that he scores easily and prolifically against smaller nations (qualifications and friendlies) but hardly in big games or big tournaments.

In 2006, the World Cup in Germany, he scored one goal at group stage.

In 2008, RVP didn’t start until Romania and he scored two goals before Russia ousted Holland. Robin played as a winger, supporting Van Nistelrooy.

In 2010, RVP played as central striker, but only scored one goal (Cameroon) in a successful campaign.

Sadly, RVP’s performance stood out like a sore nail during that campaign. Sneijder and Robben were the heroes of the World Cup, with Kuyt, Elia, Van der Vaart and Stekelenburg getting headlines as well.

In 2012, the world expected more from him at the Euros, but a disastrous game against Denmark (in which he missed a number of good chances) resulted in a downward spiral. RVP only scored one goal, with his right, against Germany. A game in which he could have had a second one (and maybe saving Holland from disgrace).

The widely heralded striker can not look back on an international career like Ruud van Gol, San Marco, Patrick Kluivert or Johan Cruyff can in a similar position.

But…is it because he is not good enough? Is it because he chokes in big games?

I don’t believe that. To be able to play at this high level for so long (EPL, ManU, CL, etc) your mental state is totally fine. You will NOT survive one week at ManU if you are not mentally strong.

I would call that evidence #1.

Not good enough? There are many YouTube clips demonstrating how good Van Persie really is. His athleticism, his speed (both with his feet and his brain/vision), his ability in his left foot, his ability as a header of the ball, his ever improving right foot, his finishing ability, his ability to set a goal up…. There is nothing he can not do. I believe he’d even make a good goalkeeper.

Messi is probably faster with the ball and a better dribbler, C Ronaldo might be stronger, but other than that, RVP is the complete package.

So what is it then, that held the former Excelsior player back?

I believe it has to do with team-dynamics and hierarchy on the one hand, and team tactics on the other.

I believe Robin and Bert did not have the best of working relationship. I believe Robin may have genuinely liked Bert as a person, but I believe Robin thrives with a coach who really emerges into the team… Someone like Wenger, Mourinho, Guardiola, Ferguson and Van Gaal.

Van Marwijk is more distant. More like Mancini, Benitez, Capello, I’d say. Van Marwijk was very laissez-fair.

Let the alpha dogs sort it out.

We all remember how the Sneijder clan ( Robben, Van der Vaart, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Stekelenburg, Kuyt) knotted together while the RVP clan ( Van Persie, Afellay, Boulahrouz) had their own little circle.

Bert made Wes the man. Kuyt was his #2. And in the team, despite RVP’s role as central striker, it was Sneijder who dominated the game and would always look for Robben as an outlet, as these two complement each other so well.

I am not saying Sneijder did it on purpose to spite Robin. Playing the ball deep to Robben in space behind the defence of the opponent was simply how Sneijder could contribute best. RVP prefers the ball in his feet and Sneijder and RVP would frequently block each other’s space.

But Bert didn’t care about whether Robin shone or not. He cared about winning. When Bert started the WC2010 campaign he did so wanting to play attractive and attacking football. Like Holland did in the qualifications. He was happy to go with the Fab Four (Wes, Raf, Robben, Robin) but Robben’s injury changed those plans. The way we started at the WC (Denmark and Japan both parking numerous busses) determined how we proceeded.

Robin van Persie

“No, that is where the problem is, Louis….”

Louis van Gaal is also all about results but more so about execution and using the weapons you have at your disposal best. Van Gaal knows that results are the result of something. You focus on execution and the results will come.

The system we played in 2010 was not suited for any center striker. Our 4-2-3-1 was executed from a counter football perspective. You can play 4-2-3-1 in a forward pressing mode, which would definitely result in many opportunities for the center striker. But the way we played, sitting deep, allowing space behind the opponents back line, results immediately in a difficult role for the striker. In our case: Robin van Persie.

His tasks, in that set-up, are putting pressure on the opposing defender with the ball and making himself available once they lose the ball. The first pass would go to Sneijder or RVP, the most forward man, who holds the ball up and redistributes towards the midfielders coming forward who then pass to the fast wingers exploiting space. The Robbens, Narsinghs, Lenses and Elias…

It is no coincidence that Elia, Kuyt, Robben and Sneijder were the goal scorers, as rthe wingers would move inwards towards the center position. Robin hardly got a real chance at the World Cup.

Again, playing 4-2-3-1 in an attacking mode would change this significantly, but in 2010 we were not able to do so, unfortunately.

Now, LVG will not play 4-2-3-1.

His 4-3-3 is set up in a very strict, almost rigid way.

People execute 4-3-3 in several ways. With two sitting midfielders (Bayern) and one forward midfielder, or with two creative forwards and one holder ( Barcelona)…

Louis has distinct roles for his players. One holding mid (De Jong, Clasie, De Guzman, Strootman, Fer), one box-to-box runner (Strootman, Fer, Van Ginkel) and one creative forward, playing as a false striker close to the striker (RVP, Lens, Huntelaar). For this role Louis thinks Wesley, Rafael, Maher and Siem de Jong are his candidates.

As long as Robben and the right winger keep it wide, or allow the full backs to overlap, the field will be wide.

It will allow space for Robin and the playmaker to play off each other.

At the same time, we do need to realise that the time the oft scoring striker are over, in modern football.

robben rvp

“Trust me Robin, in the next game I will pass the ball to you…”

Adabayor at Spurs, Benzema at Real Madrid, Torres at Chelsea, Carrol when at Liverpool, the French dude at Arsenal (forgot his name)…. It is less and less their role to be the final stage of the attack. These lads are all key in allowing the runners around them to take position (the coming man vs the player who is already there) and become the most forward playmakers in the box.

Against lesser teams, sure, these guys will score their goals. But against tougher opponents, even in this 4-3-3 I do expect the Sneijder role, the Van Ginkel role and the wingers to be scoring more. Simply because the central striker already is in position (and easier to mark) while the others will jack-in-the-box into the box…

But whether RVP scores or not, I am convinced that (if he is fit etc etc) he will be of the utmost importance to us.

And I do hope Arjen Robben will finally with the Ballon D’Or this year, allowing Robin to snatch it up next year, after winning the EPL title again and the World Cup with Holland. ( He won’t win the CL, as Frank de Boer will claim it this time around….)

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