Month: May 2014

Definitive Squad: Jan's thoughts….

Ok peeps. Here we are. A tremendous milestone. The Definitive 23 are announced!

Zoet, Van Aanholt and the four young Oranje players (Rekik, Promes, Boetius and Vilhena) are exited.

The only surprise maybe van Aanholt, who played a decent second half against Ecuador.

But the Chelsea youngster is known to be difficult to coach and LVG wants players who can think and make decisions. So apparently, Van Gaal thinks Kongolo is further.

Feyenoord is the main supplier with 5 players (just like in the 1974 World Cup) and has a number of ex players in Vlaar, Wijnaldum, De Guzman, Fer, Kuyt and Van Persie.

Now, before we all start screaming and debating, it is a hard job to do and there will always be room for debate. Emanuelson, Promes, Van Dijk, Vlaar, Van Aanholt, Buttner, Pieters, Huntelaar….

pat aanholt

Patrick van Aanholt

Huntelaar Schwuntelaar. Van Gaal had to make the call and he has done so. And he was consistent within his own framework.

You can criticise the man for his personality traits (as I have) but he has done a good job considering the circumstances.

I think I would like to say the following, about

The System

I think I called it months ago already, like some of you here, that 4-3-3 would be suicide. Unless, Maher or Wijnaldum or Van Ginkel or Afellay and Strootman were available. But even then… Our defence is not good enough, both defensively as in build up and I thought Wesley would not have the legs anymore. And it still remains to be seen whether he can work hard enough.

So LVG went for 5-3-2. Instead of 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1. I think part of it is just Louis not wanting to go to a system he criticised before. 4-2-3-1 has “Bert van Marwijk” written all over it and 4-4-2 has Satan written on it (from Louis’ perspective). And since ManU, Man City, Feyenoord, Juve and many other teams have worked with 5-3-2, why not try it with Oranje.

It basically means: more bodies at the back and smaller spaces to defend, while offering more space to run into upfront. We have the full backs for it so why not?

With Sneijder being a bit more protected and not having to work as much (he’ll play from the left flank, with RVP up centrally and Robben hovering from the right but in a free role.

The idea is that Kongolo and Janmaat (or whoever plays the flank) will be able to overlap and become forwards. Depending on the set up of the opponent, even BMI could use these attacks to come up front with his heading capabilities as it does seem our midfield will be on the small side, in terms of height. Sneijder will have De Jong next to him for sure and Clasie or Blind or De Guzman. With Fer, the attacking power of the midfield increases.

handen LVG

This system can be turned int0 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 in the blink of an eye, which is what we hope to see. Obviously, fitness will be key. Most players do know how to play this and it is now all up to Louis to get the details right.

The Starting Line up

There are many things to consider.

For our goalkeeper, I believe LVG will start with Cillesen. I would start Krul.

The Five at the Back will most likely be: Janmaat de Vrij Vlaar BMI and Blind.

I haven’t seen the training sessions so I don’t know how Kongolo did, but I think I would pick him. He is tall, is a good header and very good defensively. With Kongolo playing, you have the total Feyenoord backline which could be a plus.

The three in midfield are most likely Blind  De Jong  Sneijder. I hope Fer does well in the sessions as I like to see him in Blind’s place in certain games.

The two upfront: Robben and Van Persie of course, although I can see a change with Depay in the books, where Robben could have the Sneijder role.

The Group Games

I believe we will got through as #1. And I think it’s either Chile or Spain as #2.

I think Spain is a little bit rusty. The players of Spain all had massive seasons and I believe some of them will lack the real desire. Holland will play as if they are replaying the 2010 finals and we will win this, with a masterful Sneijder and Robben.

In the second game, Spain will have to attack Chile, who will have beaten Australia. Chile will absorb the pressure and counter attack to a win. I can see Chile make it as number 2. We will beat Australia and get the full victory over Chile as these lads are already happy to be through and Oranje is on a roll.

Against Spain we play Clasie in midfield, against Australia we play Fer and against Chile it’s Blind.

We will avoid Brazil in the knock out stages. We get Mexico instead and do away with them too.

By then, the world is starting to pay attention. The streets in Holland already are going berserk.

Next up Italy, and it becomes scary. Penalties will bring joy to Holland.

Then it’s Germany, whom we beat severely only to play Brazil in the finals of the tournament.

Who have lost two key players by then as a result of suspensions. We have lost Nigel de Jong and Ron Vlaar. The pressure is on. The whole nation (and world) want to see Brazil play samba football and win it.

kongolo

Terence Kongolo

But it’s Holland that dominates against a tense and choking Brazil.

We play a 5-3-2:

Krul

Lens  De Vrij  Veltman   BMI    Depay

Clasie

Fer                                    Sneijder

Robben   Van Persie

We have more possession and dominate the game, and score a fine goal (Robben) in the 30st minute.

Brazil needs to start coming and get more and more freedom. Their attacks are slow and predictable. We use the passing of Clasie and Sneijder to reach Lens, Depay, Robben and RVP. The latter scores 2-0 in the second half, Battleworn Fer will be replaced by De Guzman and Sneijder makes way for Kongolo. Robben start to play in Sneijder’s role Depay joins RVP upfront and scores the third goal. A late penalty gets Brazil on the board but Holland has wiped out a dramatic World Cup history with a sensational win in Brazil against the record holding Cup winners….

Van Gaal gets crowned King of the World and is so happy that he loses his voice and can only pursue further coaching at Man United via a megaphone attached to his throat.

Hiddink resigns from team manager as he won’t be able to top Louis and Danny Blind gets the job.

After the win, everyone wants to become part of Dutch Total Football Mark II.

Krul > AC Milan

Vorm> Liverpool

Janmaat> Arsenal

BMI> Man U

De Vrij> Liverpool

Vlaar>Everton

Fer>Everton

Clasie> Man United

Nigel de Jong>Barcelona

Sneijder>Tottenham

Depay>ManUnited

Lens>AC Milan

(Danny BLind will coach the team to the European Trophy in 2016 but I will write about that one later….)

 

Bookmark and Share

More updates from the Oranje Camp

Van Gaal thought he had the whole squad together now in Portugal, with Verhaegh, Janmaat and Van der Vaart slowly returning to the training pitch. But the training camp was in slight shock when Van Gaal had to announce that poor ol’ Rafael is not going to make it to the World Cup. The tear in his calf will be such that his fitness cannot be guaranteed for the tournament.

It would have been massive for the 31 year old midfielder who played an important role in the qualifications but his 110th cap will have to wait.

raf dissa

Wesley Sneijder is his old confident (cocky) self. The little general did have some question marks about this World Cup earlier in the year but is quite comfortable now. “I did have my doubts in the past years. Mr Van Gaal was pretty intense in his judgements and I have to say, looking back, he was right. I was not 100%. I might have been 95%. Good enough for Galatasaray in the Turkish competition, but not good enough for CL glory or World Cup glory. I see that now. But over the last months, those doubts melted I was gaining fitness and form. And I walked into this training camp with a good feeling.”

So you are confident you’ll be on the plane? “Well no… actually, no one is apart from Robin and Arjen I guess… We’re all a bit tense with regards to this last cut off.”

Dirk Kuyt can be seen as a real veteran. The 33 year old believe he has much more years in his body. “The doctors at Fener always say I have the body of a 25 year old. It feels like that too. I will happily play more seasons in Turkey and maybe return to Holland one day. Who knows…”

Kuyt enjoys the process preparing towards the World Cup. “The actual tournament goes really quick. You’re in this haze, in this flow. But the prep phase is good fun. You grow towards each other, both on the pitch and off. Some of us know each other really well but most of the youngsters I don’t really know that well. And once you are in this pre-tournament process, it happens. You talk about other things than football, you play games, you socialise. It’s cool.”

What kind of games? “Well, we are all winners I guess. So we play games like cards, or table tennis or playstation games… There is a lot of rivalry happening and its always fun to try and beat certain lads. Arjen Robben has tremendous fits of anger when he loses, hahahaha. And there is nothing more fun than watching him…. But I’m the same, to be honest…”

Jordy Clasie is the table tennis king at the moment, as the lads have an internal competition. The little Feyenoord playmaker analyses his perfect pass on Van Persie below:

“I had a little bit of time, looked up and saw space behind their defence and Robin was already moving in that space. A pass like that needs to be firm and have enough speed. So you gotta put your laces through the ball, to keep it flat and to have the ball beat the defenders. And Robin is wonderful to play with, as you can do anything with him. He can have it in his feet, or in his stride, high, low, doesn’t matter with him.”

Here are some highlights of the training sessions:

Tomorrow, LVG will announce the final squad for Brazil.

Without Van der Vaart, it seems Wijnaldum has a real chance, although Louis might actually consider Depay or RObben for that role too or even Vilhena depending on how well the PSV midfielder is doing…. He is lacking rhythm too, so with a 5-3-2 LVG might decide to take an extra midfielder like Fer or an extra winger like Promes who impressed against Scotland….

We’ll find out soon!!

De Vrij LVG training

Bookmark and Share

Updates from Oranje camp in Portugal

Only 15 days to go!! And 5 days until we learn the final definitive selection!

The Netherlands has 15 mio team managers. People (fans, ex players, coaches, analysts, media people) and then there is the actual team manager of course…

And in the run up to the World Cup you will hear them all. And they all have their own ideas. Feyenoord assistant coach JP van Gastel repeats what his former head coach Ronald Koeman said earlier this week: “Van Gaal should have taken Mathijsen. It’s clear that the Oranje defence is young and inexperienced, albeit very talented. It would have helped if he would have picked at least one experienced trooper. Joris would have been perfect. He was in top form the last months, he has leadership on and off the pitch. I think this is a missed opportunity.” Pundits like Ronald Waterreus, Co Adriaanse and Ronald de Boer expressed a similar opinion. But, that is irrelevant now as Louis is not able to call him up even if he wanted to. The definitive group will have to come from the prelim squad.

lvg hoofd

The discussion centers more and more on “who will Louis select”? The future Man United coach said he has 20 names on paper already. Only 3 more to go. The practice sessions show a potential line up with Cillesen on goal and a back five of Janmaat, De Vrij, Veltman, BMI and Van Aanholt. In midfield Nigel de Jong has taken the role of Clasie (pretty useful against Spain and Chile of course) with Daley Blind on his side and the golden triangle of Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie upfront. Depay, Lens and Clasie will have to wait their chance on the bench.

Van Gaal also made some comments about a certain player who might not be top fit but whose yield  – for lack of a better word – has always been very high for Oranje. “The ability to deliver sometimes overrides match fitness. And we still have a couple of weeks to get players more fit.” It seemed like Louis was referring to Raf van der Vaart. The HSV player has not had a super season in Germany and struggled with fitness. At the Portugal camp he had the flu and he suffered a little calf injury which kept him off the pitch today. But the former Ajax, Real Madrid and Spur midfielder has the ability to turn games around with his ability to deliver in big games and Van Gaal knows he might need an experienced player like him to bring in difficult situations.

With Depay he has a young gun who will be able to surprise with his confident performance and trickery. According to former Oranje wingers Regi Blinker and Bryan Roy the PSV winger might well be the surprise of the World Cup. “He won’t start, we don’t think, but he’ll get playing time for sure. And he might be able to do something special. Against Ecuador you could see how Van Persie rated Depay as he allowed him a free kick which RVP would normally take himself.”

roy

Bryan Roy

Roy did say a bit more: “I would never go for 5-3-2 by the way. We have always impressed most with three strikers. We have the players to play like that and we can put more pressure on the opponents. But I do understand Van Gaal’s reasoning and you can’t ignore the fact he has proven himself as a world class coach, so maybe we should simply support his choices.”

Skipper Robin van Persie won’t say too many negative things about his coach. “We have special relationship. I never knew him too well before he took on Oranje and we had that first meeting in which he told he would go for Klaas Jan as his striker. That came out and people thought I would be disappointed. But I wasn’t. That comment was only one comment in a meeting that lasted hours. We talked about many things. Football and non football matters. And we still do. He might have said that to motivate me, but at the same time I wasn’t very impressive in Oranje till then and I know it. Anyway, we built up a good relationship, something you don’t have with just any coach.”

Van Persie grins when Van Gaal’s intensity is mentioned. “Well, he expects everyone to give 100% like he does. And that is tough at times. But I like it. It sort of lifts you up to do better. And he is very open and clear and direct. And that is good. He also wants you to talk to him about things you experience or believe. He welcomes debate. But if you didn’t perform, he will tell you.”

The Man United striker had a difficult season in England. No European football for him and he missed a number of games due to injuries. But in Portugal the former Feyenoord man is reaching his top level again. During the 5 against 5 games they played he dribbled past opponents as if they weren’t there and scored from all angles possible. He is expected to play a full game against Ghana and will be ready for the big job against Spain by then.

RVP Louis talk

“Do what I say, nose, otherwise I will take your new job away from you!”

About the new system: “It is not really new for some. Feyenoord played like this and we played like this with Man United as well. I am sure half of the squad has played this system, but with Van Gaal it is always about the perfect execution. It’s almost sacred geometry with him. The distance between players needs to be exactly right and it takes a lot of thinking, coaching and focus. But we have a couple of weeks to go and you can tell things are improving fast.”

Van Gaal was not happy with the way Oranje played vs Ecuador and took Kongolo and Clasie off at half time. Does the Oranje skipper do anything special towards these players to keep them motivated? “I don’t need to, believe me. And I don’t have to tell anyone they played great if they didn’t. But it was one game, a friendly, while the non Eredivisie players were still absent. So you can’t judge too much. It was Kongolo’s first game in Oranje. And I have had many great assists in my life, but the one Clasie played against Ecuador was probably one of the 5 best passes I have ever received. So he didn’t do too badly. And seriously, all players are making giant steps. Did you see how Martins Indi positions himself, how he handles the ball and is coaching others? He has made huge steps compared to two years ago.”

Van Persie continues: “The key thing for young players is to keep on watching and learning and taking it all in. We are on the verge of a World Cup in Brazil. It doesn’t get bigger. I was never a bright player. When I was young, I was a selfish player and wasn’t really too smart tactically. I can see that now. And if you see how disciplined youngsters like Martins Indi, Clasie, Fer and Depay can play, that is quite something.”

Van Persie and Robben were the two top dogs in Oranje, with Strootman before he got injured. Wesley Sneijder, the former skipper and leader, had to worry about his position in the squad. But not anymore, it seems. The Gala midfielder has surprised Van Gaal in a positive manner. The team manager: “The biggest gift I received is Wesley Sneijder. He is very fit. If he stays in this form, he will be a very important player for us and I am very very content.”

training oranje

“For Clasie we have a water bottle with a straw”

It seems the following players can count on a ticket to Brazil:

Cillesen, Janmaat, Verhaegh, De Vrij, Veltman, Martins Indi, Vlaar, Van Aanholt, De Jong, Blind, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Persie.

I do think Krul and Vorm are certain as well and I think we’ll see Clasie and Depay on the plane too. Huntelaar is the best stand in for RVP of course and if Lens is fit and in form he will be a certain squad member.

Three more field players needed. I suppose Van Gaal will consider Blind as left back if he believes Kongolo is too light for the big job. In which case we’ll see Fer and maybe De Guzman come along. As we will play with two forwards, having Depay and Lens as stand ins is probably enough and Boetius and Promes will be able to book his summer holiday, while Rekik suddenly might be needed to make up the numbers in defence…. Wijnaldum will lose out if LVG picks both Sneijder and Van der Vaart.

If Kongolo however impressed Van Gaal, he will be a perfect stand in for center back as well and Rekik might unlucky which might give Van Gaal the opportunity to bring another wild card in the form of Promes or Boetius or midfielder Vilhena…

The latter has been loaned out to Young Oranje (with Boetius, Rekik and Promes) while Kongolo was allowed to stay with the big boys. Tonny Vilhena: “It’s not a big deal for me. People tend to forget that even Young Oranje is already a step up for me, as I should normally play under 19s. And I have not given up on Brazil. It would be fantastic to go along. The coach told us he will make his mind up after seeing us play on Wednesday. So if we perform well, who knows?”

lvg wes

“I’m glad that my little media games with you worked out well, Sneijdertje!”

Karim Rekik adds: “The coach has told us specifically that we still have a good chance to be part of it. And why not. The other players will also have to prove themselves. I would love to go, and would love to see how Robben and Van Persie and those guys deal with the stress and the pressure and all that….”

We will give the Men in Blazers the last word in this post. The American comedians look at the chances we (and Belgium) have this time around. Funny. Not.

 

 

 

 

Bookmark and Share

Edgar Davids on Memory lane: World Cup 1998

The 1994 World Cup was a bit of a disappointment. Losing against the later winner sort of is a bandaid for the wound as the Dutch expression goes, but we didn’t have to lose that game as that particular Brazil was not that good. Or so we told ourselves…

After Advocaat, the nation wanted someone else and Guus Hiddink – of PSV Europa Cup fame – took the helm. His master class of learning was the EC1996 in England. A disastrous campaign, although it wasn’t so much an Oranje issue but an Ajax problem, Hiddink inherited.

But Hiddink learned fast. He took the right decision by sending Davids home and restoring order. More importantly he selected the right support team for the World Cup, inviting Rijkaard as assistant (who had a good feel of what the coloured Oranje players needed), Neeskens (all around good coach and Oranje legend) and Ronald Koeman.

The team Hiddink worked with in England showed quite some promise. Bergkamp, of course. Cocu. Seedorf. Davids. Players who developed and grew over the years and with the likes of Kluivert, Van Hooijdonk, Zenden and De Boer became quite a mature team.

Qualifying was easy. Hiddink finished first in a group with Belgium, Wales, San Marino and Turkey scoring 28 times in 8 games.

Holland was – as usual – seen as a potential winner of this World Cup. Although the usual suspects France (home country), Brazil and Germany were rated as high or higher.

The first game of the tournament for Holland was versus Belgium. The arch enemy of the Dutch. Hiddink started that game in a 4-4-2, the system he played with PSV and leaving Bergkamp on the bench. Goal machine Hasselbaink played next to Kluivert. We played them twice in the qualifications and we expected to beat them again in this first group game. But we didn’t. We lost. Not the game, as it ended in 0-0 but we lost Patrick Kluivert, who allowed himself to be provoked by Staelens and copped the red card.

The other opponents in the group seemed doable, with South Korea and Mexico as underdogs, but the latter was known to be a tough and pretty good opponent.

South Korea appeared an easy target and Hiddink must have made his name there, against Bum Kun Cha’s team. Holland won 5-0 in an impressive display with an outstanding Ronald de Boer and Phillip Cocu. Apart from them two on the score sheet, it was Overmars, Bergkamp – who started, and Pierre van Hooijdonk who relieved Dennis after 80 minutes.

With that performance, the world started to pay attention. A bit. As South Korea was not yet a force to reckon with. Next up Mexico. A fascinating albeit frsutrating game, with Oranje scoring twice very early in the game and seemed ready to take Mexico out altogether but the Mexicans fought back! They were no Mexican’ts… No gringo, they scored two late goals and secured a draw.

In the first knock out round, Oranje faced Yugoslavia. A dangerous opponent. Traditionally, a team full of highly skilled players and a football nation with an impressive pedigree. This Yugoslavia was getting a little bit older but was still impressive with names like Stojkovic, Savicevic, Mijatovic, Mihajovic and Stojkovic… All players employed by teams like Lazio Roma, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Sampdoria, to name a few. It was a tight match. Tough. A real battle. With even Dennis Bergkamp joining in the festivities… He scored the first for Holland but quickly in the second half the game was drawn. Yugoslavia gets to take a penalty and Oranje is lucky to escape when Mihjatovic rattles the woodwork. Oranje’s man of the tournament Edgar Davids scored the winner with a distance strike in the last minute of the game and that is when you know you have a chance to go all the way. Because that is having the luck of the champions…

In the quarter finals we met one of the favourites for the title, Argentina. And what a team it was: Batistuta, Veron, Ortega, Diego Simeone (yes him), Roberto Ayala, Zanetti (yes him) and coached by legend Danielle Passarella… In Marseille we took them on in a match that had it all. Great football, good goals, drama and red cards, balls on the post and a late winner. Probably one of the most amazing goals in the history of Dutch football.

Instead of my trying to explain what happened: watch this.

Only two games to go… Brazil in the semi finals and most likely France in the finals. Mario Zagalo’s team was having some problems. They didn’t play their usual creative game and gambled on Ronaldo’s brilliance. The young Inter and former PSV players almost succumbed under the pressure but scored the 1-0 against Oranje right after the break. Up to then, Holland (De Boer and Stam) were able to keep him from scoring but as per usual he found the net in his typical opportunistic style.

Holland outplayed Brazil in the second half and it seemed a matter of time for Oranje to score. Hiddink brought a midfielder for a defender in the 56th minute (Winter for Reiziger) and Van Hooijdonk replaced Bolo Zenden in the 75th minute (Zenden played for the injured Overmars). Van Hooijdonk deserved to get a penalty late in the extra time, after Kluivert had scored a massive header to equalise but referee Buljsaim ignored the push in the tall Forest player’s back and allowed the game to be played on.

1-1 after 120 minutes and a new penalty drama would ensue. After Zweden (1992) and England (1996), it would be Brazil (not known to be great penalty takers of stoppers for that matter) and goalie Taffarel would end up being the hero of the night. Frank de Boer and Bergkamp would score their penalties. But Phillip Cocu and Ronald de Boer would miss while all Brazilians scored theirs. With Kluivert and Van Hooijdonk on the pitch, one wonders what would have happened if these two would have taken the penalties, as one would expect….

Oranje played a last game, the little finals for the 3rd place, against Croatia, but in all honesty, I never even watched that game. I did see the Zenden goal, which was quite a special one. I also remember how his celebrations failed…

Despite not winning it (yet again) Hiddink did manage to garner a lot of credit for his work and Oranje is hailed as champions when they return. And Guus ends up signing a big deal with Real Madrid, while Cocu, the De Boer bros, Jaap Stam and Sar made nice transfers to other clubs.

Edgar Davids was the man of the tournament for many. He was the bad seed in 1996, sent home. But in 1998 he cuddled his coach in front of millions watching. The press-shy pitbull spoke once, recently, about the 1998 World Cup and what it meant to him.

Edgar Davids 2010

In 1996 Oranje failed. In 1998, Oranje impressed. With the same coach and practically the same players? How was that possible?

“It wasn’t expected I suppose. I played at Juve and people asked me “what are the Dutch going to do?”.. We were known as the imploding team. We had issues in 1990 and 1994 and then with me in 1996. But we made good agreements. We learned from that. We decided to check our egos at the door and go hard for the team and each other. We were all very proud. We wanted to show the world what we could do. And it was a tremendous tournament. The best time at Oranje ever, for me. The coaches had developed more, the players were more mature and lots of us played at European top clubs. The mix was ideal between shrewdness, youthful optimism, skills, experience and grit. We really wanted to wipe out the 1996 experience. What also helped, was that everything off pitch was really well organised. We had a lot of free time. The balance between work and play was good. And we had an amazing hotel just close to Monte Carlo, close to the Mediterranean. It was superb.”

A lot of improvements versus 1996?

“Well for me, yes…key things. The food options were better and we could use our own physios. For players, that is crucial. Hiddink was smart like that. And he didn’t want offend the KNVB so he rented rooms in a hotel next door, hahaha. That is where the so-called non-KNVB physios stayed. Also, Johan Neeskens was assistant coach and that was special for me. As a kid, he was my hero. And to train with him was just amazing.”

You insulted Hiddink in 1996 and told him he was unfair and biased. He banned you from representative football. Did that hurt?

“To be honest? At first, it didn’t. I had more time for myself. The qualification games can be horrific. Flying to Helsinki or Minsk or Malta… Playing on a bad pitch against players who are out to hurt you. But when the World Cup came on the horizon I started to feel the itch… Hans Jorritsma was instrumental. He arranged a meeting in Italy. I told him: “Beautiful words aren’t always true. And true words aren’t alway beautiful”. That struck a chord with him. Since then we were good.”

How do you look back on that incident now?

“We had a difference in culture and age groups in England. I think that this new generation deserved to play. We were better. And the better players need to play. I would have said something now again if I was in that situation. But I would have said it differently, hahahaha.”

edje zine

How was it to comeback into the group.

“Awkward. There was a lot of media and some players were a bit distant. But after half a day, all is normal. It depends how you perform, really. If you play well, you’re accepted. Easy as.”

You started on the bench against Belgium. But against South Korea we saw a very proud man listening to the anthem.

“I have always been super proud to be part of the Dutch national team.”

And then you ended up in the Team of the World Cup.

“When I arrived at Oranje I said: I am here for one reason only. To play top football and win that cup, hahahahaha.”

And in the knock out stages, you score the winner against Yugoslavia…

“Now that is a little boy’s dream eh? Scoring at the World Cup is superb but scoring the winner is super superb. And to score so late just after they missed a penalty. I was going nuts. We could have been sent home there and then you know?”

And then there was that touching embrace at the side line?

“Hahahaha, I never intended that. It just happened. But it’s good when two people get close again after such a clash.”

After the Argentina win, the semi finals clash with Brazil….

“I remember we traveled their per helicopter. I was annoyed with that. I thought that was over the top. We enjoyed traeling by bus. Having fun, singing along a CD of Dutch songs… And suddenly someone decided on that chopper to save time.”

“I was so intensely focused on winning against Brazil. I wanted to beat them the most. That is the ultimate football nation. We could have done it. We were never great in penalty kicks but I do think we would have beaten France in the finals. Brazil was weak.”

ed argent

How do you look back?

“Still gives me a headache. Because I wanted to win that Croatia game too. But most of the players had taken a beating by that loss vs Brazil so we were not there. We lost.”

How do you see Holland perform at this World Cup?

“I think Holland is an outsider. Everytime we did well, we were outsiders. Everytime we are favourites, we end up disappointing. But there are many contenders this time around. Our group is already tough with Spain and Chile although I don’t think Chile is as good as people say and Spain could be over the hill a bit. But it will be hard.”

Who is the Edgar Davids of this current team?

“If all goes well, they will all have some Edgar Davids in them. That is probably what the team needs: every player to have that mentality. Skills is not enough anymore.”

NL brazil 98

Bookmark and Share

Oranje Squad slowly coming together – Ego has landed

I love that expression: the Ego has landed. I’m pretty sure I used it here before – referring to Van Gaal of course – and the Daily Mail has used it as well. Amidst all the news (and work) re: Oranje, the big news finally broke… Van Gaal will be the first manager from the continent to take on the biggest club of the world (according to Louis himself…he probably never heard of Feyenoord???).

I don’t want to go into this too much. As Man United is not Oranje. And we don’t want Louis to be distracted, so why would we get distracted by all this? But it might still be interesting and entertaining to watch it all a bit. Louis is signed, to bring Man U back to the top in England and Europe and to develop the foundation of a good and solid youth development program.

He will take Wilfred Bout and Frans Hoek along to Manchester, but Kluivert will stay at home. The failed predecessor of Van Gaal – David Moyes – made the mistake of bringing his own staff without any ManU DNA in it and Louis was strongly advised to take Giggs as his assistant. Louis’ role will also be to prep the club legend for a future management role. Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville will also be part of the support team.

louis man u

I personally can’t wait to see how this will all go. Partly because they never dealt with someone like Van Gaal in England, partly because of his hilarious English with a Dutch accent and partly because it is a hell of a job but Louis might be the right guy to pull it of.

What one can expect is already happening. A whole list of players that the Dutch team manager will bring to Old Trafford. From Robben to Martins Indi, from Clasie to Strootman, from Kroos to Badstuber… We’ll see….

What annoyed me by the way, is that the first thing Louis had to say after his appointment was that his buddy Jose (Mourinho) immediately sent him an sms. To say he was jealous of Louis’ club list on his resume. And this is exactly what I don’t like about both Mourinho and Van Gaal: they are both narcissistic ego maniacs. It’s all about “look at my list!” “NO! Look at MY list!!”…..

Anyway, Oranje… More important (sorry Louis).

The 1-1 versus Ecuador brought some criticism down on Oranje. Is playing 5-3-2 smart? Didn’t Louis say himself months ago that getting a team to play a new system will take months to to perfect… With only a couple of weeks to go (and with key proponent Janmaat injured!), is it wise to push for this system?

Even Van Gaal seems to doubt it at times, as he let slip in a press interview that “he could always fall back on 4-3-3″… True of course, but why abandon it if you think that might work?

Van Gaal likes to use the Argentina 1986 team as an example. That team won the World Cup and it had only two big name players: one Diego Maradona and Jorge Valdano. Carlos Bilardo’s team did not have many more great players. Most of the others were simple waterbearers. Burruchaga was above average but Hector Enrique, Sergio Batista, Cucciuffo and Ruggeri were no world beaters. But the system worked. Maradona was in top form. And Arjen Robben could be our Maradona this time around, with Van Persie as Valdano.

The rest of the team should all play in service of these two. They will serve as a safety net behind the two top guns. Ronald Koeman thinks 5-3-2 is not necessarily more defensive. “It’s depends on how you execute it. If you keep 5 defenders back, then it is more defensive but with players like Janmaat, Kongolo and Van Aanholt, it will be easy to switch to 3-5-2 or even 3-4-3. Van Gaal is capable of making this system offensive as well.”

Van Gaal is not worried about the lack of experience. “I know some of the players lack experience, but it is also my first World Cup. And I think that will give them a lot of extra energy. It’s unique! And passion combined with discipline can do a lot. These young turks, they have done pretty good up to now.”

daley blind

One young lad that is high on Louis’ list is Daley Blind. The son of assistant coach Danny Blind who happens to be Louis’ best friend since the 1980s. Daley probably sat on Louis’ lap as a baby. But it’s not nepotism. Daley was spotted as a huge talent when he was little and it was well known within Ajax and scouting land that he would end up an Oranje player one day. Although his move from the youth team to Ajax 1 was a bit topsy turvy, the all rounder was Ajax’ best player last season.

Van Gaal said recently: “Daley is definitely not an ideal left back but he was the best of the rest in a 4-3-3. Now with Strootman absent for the left midfield spot, I am seriously considering Daley to play on Kevin’s position.” Van Gaal also said he scouted Emanuelson, Pieters and Buttner for the left back spot but felt Kongolo, Van Aanholt and Daley Blind offer more on that spot.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar seems happy with the 5-3-2 system. “Two strikers, this means Robin and I could play together!” Asked if he actually could play with Robin, he answered a bit annoyed: “Why not? Silly question! I can play with anyone and I have.”

Huntelaar is happy with the entrance of all the young lads. “It’s great to have a mix. We have players from the top clubs of Europe mixed with super talents from the Eredivisie. I believe this is a great way to manage the transition to a new Oranje. It’s going to be tought either way. We don’t like to play Spain so early but believe me: neither do they!”.

rvp hunter

Arjen Robben, the big man of Munich, will receive a couple of extra days off. He will remain longer in Germany with his family and will join the group on Thursday. Robben played the German Cup final on Saturday (and scored the key first goal).

And last but not least: the $ value of the national teams was announced. And Spain is the most valuable squad, with a value of close to 750 Mio euros. The list is quite predictable, with Brazil number 2, Argentina 3, Germany 4. The number 5 is less predictable but with players like Fellaini, Vertonghen, Hazard and Vermaelen it’s Belgium before France and England. Holland is number 14 (!) on the list and has nations like Portugal, Colombia and Italy before them.

 

Bookmark and Share

One down, nine to go: Oranje – Ecuador 1 -1

It is easy to be disappointed after a 1-1 but I personally think this is not bad news. Because IF Veltman would have blocked that through pass and if RVP scored on Van Aanholt’s pass and if Van Aanholt scored himself as well and maybe even Van Persie in the first half when Depay was through (and in an alternative parallel universe he would have passed it square to RVP) we would have won 4-0 and the whole country would be ecstatic. And not just the whole country: also Van Gaal would become very arrogant.

I want Oranje to draw and lose all their friendlies. That will put the pressure on Louis. And that will help :-).

Based on the highlights, I wasn’t too disappointed, personally. I mean sure: it’s not Spain or Chile. Or Brazil or Germany.

But we weren’t Oranje either, without Robben and Sneijder.

kongolo

I think we will improve. Kongolo and Van Aanholt will have dealt with their initial nerves. Veltman, De Vrij and BMI will be sharp. Clasie will feel good after his pass and both Blind and Clasie will be told in strong terms by the staff that sometimes you need to be tough and dirty in midfield and not try to fix everything in football solutions. Sometimes you need to block an opponent or tackle.

We didn’t see the best of Kongolo and Verhaegh but that will surely change.

We saw what kind of balls Depay is growing and we know RVP can still score super goals.

All in all, we didn’t do badly for a team that has been working hard for a week, almost consisted solely of Eredivisie players plus an RVP lacking some rhythm.

This team will surely improve! Lens might lose his spot now and depending on how Sneijder fairs, he might lose his spot too.
Memphis Depay is knocking on the door as the trump card and Robben could play on Sneijder’s / Wijnaldum’s spot.

Van Gaal felt we had the upper hand: “We could have won this. We didn’t play really bad but the key was that we didn’t manage to find the free man quick enough. But the opportunities to do so were there. Some players failed to see them. This needs to improve. But for a first 5-3-2 execution I am not unhappy. This is the way forward for me. I like winning. I think this system with these players will work best for us.”

He continued: “Do you realise that Janmaat had the most crosses for us in the qualifications? More than Robben and Lens? So I think the system using the full backs as attacking players has proven itself. Not just for us, but also many other teams.”

janmaat hurt

Kongolo after his debut: “I am not happy. I am very critical of myself always and I know I didn’t play great. It wasn’t bad either, but I had a number of sloppy passes and that is simply not on! When I was subbed during half time I was unhappy but Mr Van Gaal said something funny: “I subbed Janmaat on his debut too and he is now a firm solid player for Oranje”, hahaha. I was nervous in the beginning, I have to say. The first minutes I couldn’t hear anything but I settled down nicely after a while.”

Darryl Janmaat was subbed after a hit on his ankle. It looked like a sprain. “It was very painful. But I don’t think it will last, really. Nothing broken or torn. We’ll see how it mends but it was a dirty tackle and I am happy that it was merely painful.”

Overall, I think we didn’t do too badly. The team was still a bit under pressure from the intensive practice days. They played with only 7 days on the clock in terms of practice in the 5-3-2. Young Kongolo started a bit nervous and there is still some tweaking to do here and there and last but not least we do still miss some big guns from Turkey, Italy and Germany.

I hope we will play three lousy friendlies and have a cracker of a world cup campaign as opposed to three awesome friendlies and a shit World Cup.

I believe we need Nigel De Jong for Daley Blind and Robben for Wijnaldum and we might be on our way to something good.

I personally also hope Krul will get the nod over Cillesen (whom didn’t impress in the way he attacked the ball when we conceded) and I also hope Fer will get a chance on Clasie’s position.

Holland will need a player with a killer pass though and it it isn’t Sneijder or Van der Vaart, it will have to be Clasie. He has the goods and needs to launch our forwards. Nigel won’t be the man to do so, so all hinges on how Van Gaal plays the midfield. The forwards are fine (RVP, Hunter, Depay, Lens) and the defence will not improve tremendously anymore in the coming weeks. Midfield has the key. We might even consider a 5-4-1 for all I care….

Bookmark and Share

And today is game time: Ecuador! First blood….

We had to wait a long time for this. But today, it’s game on! Sure, it’s a friendly, and sure, we are still missing a lot of lads and sure, Ecuador is only….Ecuador, but still….

We are starting in a “match-format” after weeks of guessing, commenting, waiting, watching Louis at press conferences, watching Louis at training… The last bit of news I heard is that Louis himself is now overseeing the way the Oranje squad bus will be decked out!! GOOD! We love control freaks.

bus lvg

They demand a lot from themselves, their players and hopefully set their aim high.

Let the games begin!

We know that Louis will start with Depay and Van Persie. He said so. Robin because he needs the minutes. He has slowly returned from his knee injury but hasn’t played a full match for Man United. So Van Gaal wants to make sure he will be fighting fit for Spain. Van Persie: “I am fit. And very focused. I feel good about this World Cup, to be honest. But then again, I always am positive. On the other hand, we do have some work today to find the right formula and we are also in a very tough group, so… It can go either way.”

RVP arrow

It feels to me like Kongolo will start as well. He is the only other (with Depay) U21 Oranje player who was told to stay at the Oranje trainings camp. And as Nigel is still in Italy, I think Blind will start as defensive mid and Kongolo as left full back. Van Gaal basically said that he will field only Eredivisie players, except for Van Persie.

I believe we will see:

Cillesen

Janmaat De Vrij Veltman BMI Kongolo

Clasie Wijnaldum Blind

Van Persie Depay

Daley Blind, by the way: best player of the Eredivisie, has played the most minutes this season of all Oranje internationals.

cil velt bmi

Van Gaal had eight intense trainings days with his current group and will report tomorrow in a press conference on his plans for the World Cup. We’ll be there!

Arjen Robben responded as such on the “news” that LVG might abandon the 4-3-3: “Ah you know, the numbers and systems… it doesn’t speak to me. I need freedom to do my thing. And I really don’t care if it is left or right wing, or behind the striker or as a striker. At Bayern, I have played all these different positions. The bigger teams, like Bayern, Real Madrid and Chelsea, all know how to switch systems. I think the coach will need to look at the quality of the players and pick the system that works best. For me, any system is fine. What I do like, is that we are all very realistic about this World Cup. And it’s about time. Every World Cup or Euro Cup people think we’ll win it easily. We are a squad in progress and we happen to have one of the best coaches on the planet to help us do it.”

lvg robben

Frank de Boer said something interesting about Hiddink and Van Gaal. “I worked with both. I worked with Louis at Ajax and Oranje and with Hiddink in 1996 and 1998 with Oranje. And I tell you: I can’t remember one single thing that Hiddink taught me tactically about football. While Louis is like a tactical wizard. But Guus got us to the semi finals in 1998 and Louis didn’t qualify in 2002. What I am saying is, that it takes more than tactics. We would walk through fire for Hiddink. He is such a strong people manager and a smart motivator. He left the tactics to us! He would ask us (Cocu, Blind, Bergkamp, Ronald de Boer) “how so you wanna play?”. And he listened and observed and made his decisions. Van Gaal is totally the opposite. He will instruct you in detail what he wants. Both are very different and the point is that you need to find the right mix. What does a group need, how can you work with all the ingredients… In 2002, it simply didn’t work….”

On May 29, a documentary on the failed campaign of 2002 will be aired on Dutch tv. There have always been stories about wild party nights and sex orgies. The players always refuted this. But now the security officer of Oranje of 2002 has his say, for the first time in 12 years. “We had tight security in the hotel. Louis wanted lights out at 10 pm. I sat in the hotel hall way for hours and we had measures… we had cords with alarms on the exits and we had little matches on the door knobs so we would know who would leave or try to leave….” This stuff is even new to the players of those days…. More to come for sure.

lvg traint de guz

Here is the Oranje program for the coming weeks:

Trainings camp Portugal: May 20 till May 27, in Lagos Portugal. The players will work for three days. On Saturday 24 May, the players have a day off and will visit the CL finals in Lisbon. Then two more training days until May 27, when the players return to Amsterdam.

Trainings camp Rotterdam: 29 to 31 May. Two days of training for Ghana and 31 May the game is on in De Kuip.

Trainings camp Alkmaar: 1 to 5 June. Three training days and on June 2 the definitive squad will be announced. June 4 we have the last friendly vs Wales and on June 5 the group depart for Brazil.

Oranje arrives June 6 and has a full week to get accustomed until we play on June 13 against Spain in Salvador. We play 5 days later on June 18 vs Australia in Rio and again 5 days later on June 23 against Chile in Sao Paulo. Be there of be square!!

LVG players smile

Bookmark and Share

Musings about Prelim Oranje – 27 days to the WC

Back in 1974, the Dutch team manager Rinus Michels was asked to be “coordinator” for the 1974WC campaign. The Barcelona coach took the job, although the players didn’t think they would need a coach.

The public opinion was negative. Oranje was never important enough for the players and we qualified thanks to a referee mistake in the last qualification game. It was Belgium who deserved to go to the tournament.

Michels did his assessment and found out all his experienced top defenders were unavailable. Rinus Israel, Barry Hulshoff, Theo Laseroms, Epi Drost, Aad Mansveld… These guys were sensational central defenders. Tough as nails. Experienced. And great leaders. All injured.

The old gang (Swart, Keizer, Moulijn, Van Duyvenbode, Jan Mulder, Nico Rijnders, Dick van Dijk, Lex Schoenmaker) was not available anymore and there were some new players making their way into the team, such as Haan, Rijsbergen and Rensenbrink.

kluiv lvg

Only a week before the start of the tournament it was, when Cruyff/Michels decided to put Arie Haan as central defender and to push the opponent so far up the pitch that the pressure would be off the last line of defence. This move, plus semi-sweeper Jongbloed in goal, were the two tactical moves that solved Michels’ puzzle. It clicked and the team won silver and most importantly the hearts of many generations to come.

By the way, RVP/LVG is the new combi (like Cruyff/Michels) as they discussed the 5-3-2 when they met to watch PSV – Feyenoord a month ago….

I didn’t like Michels. Just as I am not a big fan of the person Louis van Gaal. But I respect his skills. And he does want to play attractive football. I probably prefer him over Hiddink, in that sense. As a coach that is.

So I will – for now – support him, the team and his choices. I also rate Blind and Kluivert, so in Oranje We Trust!

As for the choices…

Van Gaal would have taken Van der Wiel if he was fit, I believe. But without him, the 2010 defensive line up is gone. A necessary move.

I personally would have loved it if Van Gaal would have decided to bring either Van Ginkel or Afellay, but the fact that he doesn’t means they’re simply not match fit enough. Van Gaal will know best, on this topic.

The exclusion of Stekelenburg and Vermeer is logical and one can only assume Van Gaal has made very well though through decisions with regards of Narsingh, Klaassen and the others… We might one day hear his thoughts, but as Vilhena is in, as are Fer and De Guzman, one can only assume that these players bring more to the table – at the moment – than Klaassen.


Vlaar is not fast enough :-)? Thanks for posting this, Steen!!!

We will see him (and hopefully Narsingh, Van Ginkel and Propper) back into Oranje under Hiddink in the years to come.

The inclusion of Kongolo makes perfect sense. For starters, we need a left back. Blind might be LVG’s choice for holding mid (either as starter or as sub for De Jong). Buttner hasn’t played enough. And Blind doesn’t fit the bill for the 5-3-2 role description.

The choice of Van Aanhold AND Kongolo tells you Van Gaal is looking for legs, lungs and offensive power on the flanks. Verhaegh and Janmaat offer this on the right. I do think Van Aanholt will be among the final seven who will not make it.

Kongolo can also play center back and midfield, so a safe bet. There is not much this kid doesn’t have, apart from experience. But he could well be the sensation of the World Cup for us and on his way to bigger things fast.

The goalie question is quite straightforward for me: Cillesen had a top season and is a very good goalie for the Oranje style of play. I can only assume playing EPL for years will give you the upperhand over a talented goalie who played for PSV only one season. So Zoet goes home.

janmaat kongolo

In Defence, we’ll lose Van Aanholt and possibly De Vrij or Rekik. I think Veltman, BMI and Vlaar are certs for the CB role.

In midfield, I think we will not see de Vilhena go to Brazil and I don’t rate De Guzman too high at the moment either.

Lastly, Promes and Boetius will have to set their sights on 2016 for their first tournament.

This is what I think will happen.

I personally would prefer LVG to leave Kuyt home. I don’t see his role as a winger and as a central striker we have RVP and Klaas Jan (and even Rafael van der Vaart). I think Kuyt has a lot of everything, but not enough of one thing.

I prefer a young buck like Boetius in his place (he could be the Elia of 2014).

Rafael van der Vaart is the most experienced Oranje player with 109 caps to his name, although Dirk is the oldest player (33 years old) and currently has 98 caps to his name.

Van der Vaart hopes to commence his sixth (!) tournament and joins Aron Winter and Edwin van der Sar as record holders in number of tournaments. If he remains fit and valuable, he could easily reach seven in two years.

Sneijder and Robben can join Rafael in that exclusive club, by the way.

Oranje now has three debutants for the ball: Kongolo, Vilhena and Jeroen Zoet all have to collect their “hare”.

Van Gaal now only has 8 players who were present in 2010. Normally, Strootman, Afellay and Van der Wiel would have been part and parcel if fit and so could Stekelenburg have been, if if if….

dirkie

Wesley Sneijder commented in his own style from Istanbul. He still has no clarity re: his position and he has not heard from the team manager about the tactical changes we might see. “Apparently, the hierarchy has changed.”

But, Sneijder can’t wait to go to Brazil. “It’s quite exciting. I don’t know what to expect. If I’m in, I will be joining the group in Portugal. I still have one game to play with Gala, but I’m doing really well. I am in form and I will keep that form as I am super excited to play this World Cup. That is just the best.”

 

 

sneijder tong

Bookmark and Share

Prelim Squad announced

We are going to focus on the Prelim Squad!!

Yesterday evening LVG announced his prelim squad and poor little me in Oz is probably the last one to get it :-). What a breaking news story for the blog. Anyway…

Biggest surprise: no Gregory van der Wiel.

Biggest disappointments for Van Ginkel, Afellay, Vermeer and Pieters.

Van der Wiel is struggling with an injury and Paul Verhaegh takes his place. Van Ginkel and Afellay are in the “haven’t played a single minute” category and Vermeer – who is LVG’s fave goalie – could not be justified on the basis of one good cup semi finals.

So it’s Feyenoord being the so-called Royal Supplier with seven players, for now, incl the young Kongolo. PSV is second with four (Zoet and Wijnaldum are still in it) and champions Ajax brings three players to the mix.

The total prelim squad:
Goalies: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Michel Vorm (Swansea City) en Jeroen Zoet (PSV).
Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse), Daley Blind (Ajax), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Terence Kongolo (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Karim Rekik (PSV), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Joël Veltman (Ajax), Paul Verhaegh (FC Augsburg) en Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord).
Midfielders: Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Leroy Fer (Norwich City), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray), Tonny Trindade de Vilhena (Feyenoord), Rafael van der Vaart (HSV) en Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV).
Forwards: Jean-Paul Boëtius (Feyenoord), Memphis Depay (PSV), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04),  Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahçe), Jeremain Lens (Dinamo Kiev), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Quincy Promes (FC Twente),  Arjen Robben (Bayern München).

His next deadline is June 2. On June 5, the bus to Brazil is leaving….

Only 28 days to go and Louis van Gaal managed to get his mug on a little vine video viral on the next. “Zatsastoepit kwestiun!” he said to the BBC. This was not about Oranje, but about his – potentially – future employer Man United.

And we saw another little clash in the media. LVG had had a heart to heart with his defenders telling them he’d go for another defensive option (5-3-2) during practice. Joel Veltman decided to mention this to the media. And they turned it into a the sinking of the Titanic! No more Dutch Total Football????

Poor Veltman had to face the wrath of Louis in a private conversation and has learned his lesson: do not spill beans in the media!

As if playing 5-3-2 is a big deal…

We still have 30 days to go and it’s heating up nicely.

But, we are now in the zone where Louis van Gaal does his best work. In the run up to a big event. This is where he reigns supreme. This is where he hones his craft. This is where Louis shines. Chest out. Firm look. Ass in. Chin up. Loud booming voice on the grounds and in the press conference. ZIS IS A ZTUPIT KWESTIUN!!!

But, I am going to contradict myself now it seems… I think now is the time to stop ridiculing the man. Now it is time to stop watching him hoping for another stupid excessive burst of arrogance. AD column writer Sjoerd Mossou says it well.

This is the time to celebrate the fact that we have this colourful coach at the reigns before politically correct and somewhat boring and conservative Hiddink comes in.

I have always said I am not a big fan of Louis. Sure, he is a great coach but he also has a self destruct addiction.

But where we are now (30 days to go!!!), we see Louis in his greatness. This is where he starts to mould his young talents. And Louis knows we don’t have a lot of world beaters. We are not Brazil, Germany, Spain or Italy. Louis knows this.

He is a horrific diplomat, but he is a world class coach. A phenomenon, which keeps developing and re-inventing himself every day. I say, let’s enjoy him while he lasts. We have entered the most fascinating period EVER in Louis’ career.

And it only takes a couple of weeks. And it will be over with a bang. So strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. It will be on your telly every day now. And he will be annoying, cocky, arrogant, hard to follow and amusing. He will speak to you in his best English (the English tabloids are in on it!) and you will hear him speak about himself in the third person.

oranje LVG 2

In his column, Mossou suggests we celebrate this time. Instead of criticising him. Because whether we will be glorious or whether we crash like a weatherballoon, it will be a ride to enjoy. Unique. And we might miss Louis, once Guus has started….

And I have to say, of all the things Louis does and has done, making a wonderful team from a group of young and gifted players is his forte.

He did this with Ajax. He did lay the foundation for Frank and Pep’s Barca. He was successful with AZ and he laid the foundation for Jupp and Pep in Munich.

So, in this same line of thinking, Guus will win the Euro 2016 and Danny the World Cup 2018 thanks to grumpy ol’ Louis.

Anyway, not a lot of news yet. Or it must be that Turkish champ Dirk Kuyt has joined the camp ( Sneijder still has one important game to play with Gala to secure second spot and direct access to the CL).

Today is the last day for LVG and his 30 man prelim selection. The deadline is approaching. There will be no time for him to explain himself before he announces it as he wants to talk to all players individually first. He was being himself again on the pitch. Yelling, booming, being in Veltman’s ear (“More direct Joel, be more dominant”) and giving Martins Indi a pat on the back. It is expected that 10 out of the 20 players can stay. The rest can go on a summers holiday or joins Young Oranje.  The international playing internationals will join the camp in Portugal. There is more and more agreement in the followers’ camp that Sneijder will make the cut as he has been improving a lot in Turkey and he is an ideal player to have in a 5-3-2 system, behind the two strikers. Virgil van Dijk won’t make it as he would have been called up already if Van Gaal would actually consider him.

Memphis Depay is having a lot of fun at the camps. He enjoys working with the detail oriented Van Gaal. “I am a perfectionist and so is Mr Van Gaal. I learn a lot and enjoy it when he has an eye on me. There is a lot to improve, I am sure. It doesn’t bother me as I am pretty strong in the mental department.” Asked if the 5-3-2 change would be detrimental for his chances, the PSV trickster says: “Why? I can be one of the two forwards and I can be a midfielder. I am not worried.”

janmaat oranje wc

Another player who is happy under Van Gaal is Darryl Janmaat. The Feyenoord full back’s eyes lit up when the 5-3-2 change was debated. “But not because of the weather,” he laughs while Oranje is again working hard on a wet pitch. “I’m guessing Brazil will be different. But I’m not complaining. I’m with Oranje, and we’re kicking a ball around. How cool…” The popular player will see his family soon for a last extended time before he boards the plane to Portugal and then Brazil. Everyone seems to be convinced of that. “Well, thanks…but I am not yet convinced, hahaha. I need to show it first. I have some stiff competition.” About the 5-3-2 system: “I played it with success under Koeman. I’m the kind of player who revels in that system. I am strong, fit and I love to go up and down the flank and defend and attack. It’s my strength I believe, so bring it on.”

LVG 2

 

Bookmark and Share

First Oranje practice sessions – Van Ginkel called up

While I am laughing my arse off watching Louis van Gaal being interviewed by the English media, I am writing this. The first session of training for the PrePreLim squad and the reporters from Blighty gathered around the Oracle. The question: “So obviously you know about Man United, you played against them…” and Louis says “Now that is a stupid question”. Hahahaha, may the games begin! In all honesty, that clip alone would be enough for me – if I were the Man United decision maker – to pick another coach, hahahahaha.

Anyway, as Louis said “I am now Oranje manager and I will focus on my job here now” I will leave all that alone.

Now it’s 33 Days to Go to the World Cup and we are none the wiser!

LVG practice

“Don’t talk back to me or I will have you spend the afternoon in that corner facing the wall!!”

This week Louis started his first sessions with the players who 1) could make the cut, 2) are no longer involved in official games in their competion and 3) some filler players from Young Oranje to make the right numbers.

Remarkable names like Castaignos and Locadia are not that remarkable as they can be seen as the Young Oranje contingent. The same can be said for Terrence Kongolo but the in form Feyenoord defender played too well, has too much talent and too versatile to overlook. I wouldn’t be surprised if LVG used the tall defender as Strootman replacement in midfield….

Another potential replacement for midfield was on the list as well. Chelsea player Marco van Ginkel The first and only player coming in from another competition amongst the Eredivisie players. Without a doubt Louis has checked with the Annoying One what the status of our popular midfielder is and based on the response requested for Mourinho to release the former Vitesse man for Oranje.

Interesting… I am not surprised if Afellay gets a go as well.

luc zoet

“Castaignos, Zoet (l) and Martins Indi (r) didn’t want to play spin the bottle.”

So there are three practice sessions and on May 13, the future Man U coach will announce the preliminary 30 player squad. On June 2, he has to announce the definitive list and that list of 23 needs to come from the 30 in the prelim. Oranje has a training camp in Lagos Portugal for a week in May and will play two friendlies after that, versus Ghana and Wales. Oranje plays Equador on May 17 in Amsterdam by the way.

Terence Kongolo was nervous to meet Van Gaal and went to the first Oranje camp with team mate Jean Paul Boetius. His career goes really fast. “I noticed this in particular when I drove up to the hotel with all those media people waiting. It was intense. Feyenoord is big but this is humungous.” After the session the talented defender said “Mr Van Gaal is very direct but I don’t mind that. I really enjoyed myself and will do what I can to to stay with the group. I hope Mr Van Gaal is going to need me in Brazil and if he does, I will be ready.”

Before any World Cup, Johan Cruyff will be asked about Oranje. The Oracle this time wanted to spend some time on his relationship with Louis van Gaal. “People think we have this whole thing going on, as if I don’t like him or he doesn’t like me. That is not it. I do not have any issue with Van Gaal. He is a good coach. But, our football vision is totally different. That is all. Literally, totally different. People say “but you both play 4-3-3 and want to attack”. Yes, that is the only similarity. We need too much time for me to explain but I’m talking about specific roles and tasks, about positioning, about pace. In Van Gaal’s way of playing, the midfielder will open up to the build up from the defence with his back to the
opponent’s goal. That is 90% of what happens and then 90% of those times, the ball goes back to the goalie or to the full back. In my tactics, the central defender is a player who moves into midfield to become a midfielder with his face towards the opponent’s goal. I would use individual class to play fast paced pass and move football. Van Gaal is more a handbal type coach. With players wide, strictly on the byline and a more rigid approach.”

kolongo

“Kongolo demonstrating how Louis van Gaal dances in the clubs”

Joel Veltman (Ajax) and Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord) seem to be tight buddies already. In tv interview Veltman gave a hint re: the tactics Van Gaal will try out. “He will play with more defenders. The 5-3-2, but with the emphasis on attack. We want to see the ball the most and this is a way of creating dominance. The principles will remain the same.” Stefan de Vrij: “Mr Van Gaal wants us to think, to use our brain as a tool and make rational choices in the games. He is working on that on specific situations and makes us pick the right decisions and offer up solutions. He is very clear in his instructions and that is always wonderful to work with.”

Luc Castaignos is used to working with great players and coaches. He was part of the Feyenoord squad, worked with Sneijder and Milito at Inter Milan and is now the main man at Twente. But working with Van Gaal is a level higher even… “Everything needs to be perfect. That is something… Everything you do needs to be good. Van Gaal demands a lot. I never expected this and was quite surprised. This experience is wonderful. I noticed it immediately, we had this practice where I had to use my left foot and I was instinctively going to my right all the time… But there is no time for those sort of moves at this level.” Castaignos had a tough season. “I had some ups and downs. I played ok but missed a lot of sitters. But still I did well if you look at the stats. But I do realise I got lucky to be invited. Mr Van Gaal was cool. He said “Enjoy yourself and show me what you got” hahaha. I do know I have many names in front of me, potentially, such as Van Persie and Huntelaar… But I am allowed to dream, right?”

ginkel

Van Ginkel’s nightmare might be finally over now

Louis van Gaal is working behind closed doors for a spell but will open up the practice to the public on the last days of the trainings camp in Holland.

On June 3, Oranje trains in Alkmaar in the AZ stadium and on May 30 in De Kuip in Rotterdam.

 

Bookmark and Share