Month: July 2014

Oranje has 2 players in Top 3 of World Cup

Sorry guys, traveling for my work. Less time and opportunity to write. Back home again this weekend, so expect the ultimate WC2014 Oranje analysis and debrief :-)…. 

Thanks to all for your tremendous support. Still working on improving the site. I will get back to all of you soon with some specific questions on this….

This is like the afterplay with sex. We have had our peak experience but we don’t want to get out of bed yet. We want to cuddle a bit and maybe relive some of the good moments.

Best player this, best goal that.

Apparently, Messi is the best player of the tournament. Yeah right. Even Maradona, who normally talks a lot of crap, saw that his fellow countryman didn’t deserve it.

For me, biased as I may be, Robben was the most dangerous player of this whole tournament. He has had most fouls against him, he scored goals, he created goals (assists and penalties) and he was continiously leading and threatening. Hands down, best player of the tournament.

The Castrol rating system determines the best player based on the passing quality of the player, where forward passes in the final third are valued higher than passes back to the goalie (otherwise Martins Indi would be the be the best player of the World Cup….).

oranje penalties

The Castrol system says Toni Kroos is the best player, with Arjen Robben as the number 2 and Stefan de Vrij (!!) as the number 3.

This means, De Vrij is the Best Defender of the World Cup. Robben would be the best Forward of the Tournament. More like it.

According to the AD newspaper De Vrij is actually the best overall player.

 Obviously, Arjen Robben’s story is quite sensational. The usual story line. Prodigal son. 16 years old when he broke at Eredivisie level. 18 years at PSV and prolifically scoring. Transfer to Chelsea, but there injuries disrupted his career. Mourinho wanted to offload him (and get Malouda in…) and at Madrid Robben continued his injury stricken career. When offloaded there he found his home in Munich. And turned himself from choker (CL finals, WC 2010 finals) to winner. He won titles at Bayern and seemingly fixed his fitness problems. Seeing him play, run, fight, battle etc at this World Cup gives me the idea we will see a bit more of Robben, yet.

De Vrij Best

However, Stefan de Vrij’s story is a fairytale as well. Started in Feyenoord 1 in a time when the club didn’t have too much options. The club was technically insolvent and used young talents to cover the gaps in the team. De Vrij did really well until the start of this last season when he lost his mojo at Feyenoord. When he decided to work on his fitness without the club doctors aware of his training program, he lost the captain’s armband. The “experts” (also the ones here!) wrote him off. De Vrij should not be part of the squad, he was not good enough, he was not going to cut it, etc… But Van Gaal kept faith. Because Van Gaal analyses players well and is not carried away by emotions. De Vrij has too much quality, Van Gaal knew, and he was able to get the youngster to play his usual self.

And to me, while Vlaar is compared to a player like Jaap Stam, I personally liken De Vrij a bit to Pique or Laurent Blanc… Less confident and cocky in terms of personality, but similar in style.

De vrij boos

So, the 22 year old who was passed over in a friendly vs France for Joel Veltman. But he fought back and got the starting spot. And he played versus Torres, Alexis Sanchis, Lionel Messi, Vidal, Chicharito Hernandez…. none of them scored.

Feyenoord will do well financially this summer. It has bagged 20Mio euros already from the sale of Pelle, Janmaat (Newcastle) and Martins Indi (Porto). There is a fair chance De Vrij and Clasie will leave too.

Only eight years ago, Feyenoord had a negative equity position of 35 mio Euros. Today, they need to get rid of 6mio euros debt and then it’s all good. Tech Director Van Geel is allowed to use one third of the incomings on new players.

With Bayern Munich, Feyenoord had the most players active in this World Cup. If you would add the Feyenoord developed players to the mix or players with a Feyenoord background, the list is longer and Feyenoord is recognised as the current benchmark of Dutch youth development, surpassing Ajax.

Stef passing

With 11 former and current Feyenoord players in Netherlands’ squad for the World Cup, including nine Academy graduates, the club from Rotterdam had a massive influence on the surprisingly good performance of Oranje in Brazil.

Current Feyenoord Academy players: Bruno Martins Indi, Daryl Janmaat, Stefan de Vrij, Terence Kongolo and Jordy Clasie and former Feyenoord Academy players: Robin van Persie, Jonathan de Guzman, Leroy Fer and Georginio Wijnaldum, while Ron Vlaar might not have been developed in Rotterdam (AZ player), he has worn the skipper band in Rotterdam, as has Dirk Kuyt. Salomon Kalou of Nigeria is another player with a Feyenoord background.

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Oranje 3rd of the World after 3-0 Brazil win!

What an amazing end to an amazing campaign!

The Dutch National Team has knicked the 3rd spot of the 2014 World Cup, against all odds, in the process beating World Champions Spain and hosts Brazil! And brushing aside Mexico and Chile and beating minions Australia and Costa Rica. Without suffering defeat in open play.

What an achievement!

cill toilet

I think it is quite something…. In 1974 we finished second after a disappointing loss in the finals but also after teaching the world to play. In 1978 we got unlucky and we might even got screwed as Argentina might have paid their way to the finals back then… In 1998 we could have gone all the way but lost the consolation finals versus Croatia and in 2010 that frickin’ toe stopped us from winning.

In ’74 and ’78, expectations were low. In 1998 and 2010 we knew we had a chance. Now, in 2014, most experts felt we would be extremely lucky and successful if we made it out of the group!

A bunch of oldies (but goldies) and a bunch of youngster, led by an intense and highly strung coach.

And we were a split second decision by Robben away from a place in the finals…

That moment in the last minute of the Argentina game…. let’s not go there.

So, Holland vs Brazil. A classic poster! Played 11 times against each other. Holland winning 3, Brazil winning 3. The rest you can guess.

robben robin

Last time we lost, was with quite some drama (1994, 1998). Last time we won, we cruised to the WC finals in 2010.

The Canary Yellow agains the Orange.

There are many cool stories and angles to pick when talking about this match, but in this case it was all about: will Brazil be able to win the fans’ hearts back after the abysmal loss against Germany, 1-7?

Some said “expect a totally fueled up and foamin’ at the mouth Brazil”, while other said “Brazil is simply overrated and will be needing diapers when they come up on the pitch vs Holland”.

I think the truth was in the middle. But I also believe this is one of the worst Brazilian teams ever. The 1974 one was quite shabby, and this one, sans Neymar, is not much better.

sneijder brazil

Sneijder: “I was really annoyed I couldn’t play. I first was bummed out we missed the finals, and then my hamstring gave way during the warming up.”

Fred? Jo? Hulk? Seriously?? Willian and Oscar are very decent players and as a simple defender, Thiago Silva is pretty good too. But once David Luiz thinks he is Beckenbauer and Paulinho thinks he is Socrates you know you are in trouble.

Against Germany, the defence was absent. Against Holland, they weren’t much better.

In the first minute, Maxwell and Maicon and Luiz were a bit too lacklustre when Silva had to check a run by Robben after Van Persie launched the former Groningen man into space. Robben one v one the goalie is not a good idea in the first minute so Silva did what he thought was the best solution: pull him back outside of the box and pray he’d get away with it. Well, he did. He was allowed to stay on the pitch, but the ref did point at the spot.

robben penalty

With only 2 mins on the clock, captain Van Persie took the opportunity to do what Vlaar failed to do in his place versus Argentina (or did he…..). The Brazilian fans – to their shock – saw their team behind once more and when Oranje pounced again in the 17th minute via a beaut by Blind, the fans surely felt it was one of those days again!! Would their team again get trashed? The horror was visible on the faces of the onlookers.

RVP Brazil 1-0

And I have to say, being biased and all…. Holland was on top of the Canaries all the time. Sure, they had their chances and their spells… As they are surely no slouches going forward but in terms of team cohesion and discipline and tactics they played 1970 style football against a team that took a page from the Barcelona Dutch book of gameplay and the Atletico Madrid book of gameplay.

Holland had to deal with a setback when Sneijder grabbed his hamstring in the warm up and Jon De Guzman was told to prepare for the match, which saw us play with Robben an Robin upfront, De Guzman, Clasie and Wijnaldum in midfield and a five man back line with Blind and Kuyt out wide and De Vrij, Vlaar and Martins Indi as the three central defenders.

daley brazil

 

Blind hardly scores. And now he gets on in the consolation finals vs Brazil

That central block played tremendously well. De Vrij and Vlaar grew into the Men of the Match while Martins Indi, Wijnaldum, Clasie, Kuyt and Blind fought for what they were worth, with Blind regularly offering the team an outlet on the left and Clasie and Wijnaldum being crucial in midfield dominance, against players who play for European top teams ( Bayern, Spurs, Chelsea, Man City).

Sure, Brazil had some opportunities to get back into the game but for me it seemed more likely that we would get a third, as opposed to Brazil getting back into it.

Unlucky Daley Blind had to be subbed in the second half, which brought attacking full back Janmaat to the mix and Holland was the most likely to score the next goal. It seems like Brazil wanted it to end while Janmaat and Robben in particular seemed keen to get their names on the score sheet as well. Wijnaldum was also playing more adventurous, and even clashed with Robben at a certain point in the Brazilian box trying to dish out the final goal. And it would end up being the former Feyenoord man Wijnaldum who’d get his goal, finally, with Janmaat again delivering the assist (like with Gini’s buddy Leroy Fer vs Chile).

Georginio-Wijnaldum-Holland

By then, Joel Veltman was given his final minutes to replace a cramped up Jordy Clasie while Van Gaal allowed Michel Vorm, the only one without minutes, his claim to fame. The Swansea man was allowed the last 5 minutes and had two goal kicks to his name when finally the ref put Brazil out of its misery.

Van Gaal’s mission has been accomplished. He reached the semi finals with Oranje and was able to do so without having suffered a defeat and using all 23 players. The Dutch have scored prolifically and with the most different goal scorers while we only conceded two goals from open play (Australia and Mexico, both crackers of goals).

I actually believe that we would have beaten Germany in the finals but hey…. I’ll take this.

The best thing for me, is the vindication of the Eredivisie. Many people, national and international (and here too) believed the Eredivisie is a crap competition.

dutch youngsters

 

Some Eredivisie quality (and Villan Roncrete Vlaar)

I think the facts speak for themselves: the player development and talent development in Holland is still top notch, if not better than ever. We now clearly also develop defenders! With a good coaching staff and a clear football vision, these lads can get somewhere.

Where Dutch clubs get unstuck internationally is the sheer fact that clubs in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, England, Germany have more money to spend. So they can assemble more good players. That is why Dutch clubs suffer outside of the Eredivisie. But in terms of development, we clearly hold our own!

LVG Robben Brazil

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Holland cheers and Holland mourns…. Oranje out!

Dear friends, I am writing this a full 48 hours after the game. The reason, work had me traveling and I wasn’t able – in amongst my meetings – to sit and write a deserving post. I was happy I was able to watch the full game and read your comments here…

So, with that time in between I was able to give it all some good thought, and reflect on the game.

Which I will summarize as: 89 minutes of cagey play by two 5-3-2 playing teams giving nothing away until Robben in the 90st minute has a chance to score, takes one touch too much and gets thwarted. Extra time. Penalties. Bad luck (bad penalties). Loss.

Robben Arg

This post needs to start with a big thumbs up and a big thank you and shout out for the boys! What they have done this tournament, what they have achieved and brought us is sensational. It’s actually on par for me with 1978. It’s a better performance almost than 2010, if you compare it. Breathtaking, really. What a rollercoaster ride.

And therefor, we also need to congratulate the staff and Louis van Gaal in particular.

He has achieved what no one expected him to do. Apart from us, probably :-). I do know that I have been critical on LVG and his antics, but he did really really well. Who knows, we might start to actually like him, 3 years before he retires, hahahahaha.

He wasn’t perfect though, he made some mistakes. Just like Sneijder, Blind, Van Persie and Cillesen weren’t perfect. But man, did I love this team and what they achieved.

robben kuyt

We will celebrate the performance of the team in the days/weeks to come and I am sure the Dutch fans will give the lads a real heroes welcome once they return home. As number 3 or number 4, who cares…

In the words of Louis: “I wish they cancelled this consolation finals. What a bad idea. Who cares about that. You don’t want to lose twice in a row after having played such an amazing tournament. We should be going home now.”

And I agree: Third or Fourth. Who gives a samba? Poor Brazil was humiliated by Germany. What will they do? How will they cope? Will they be on the top of their game? Or foaming at the mouth of aggression and adrenaline? Or will they be stressed out to the max? Will be beat them too? Then what will happen over there? Will Louis allow the veterans their last WC game? Will he rest the top guns to allow them their much deserved break?

cillesen mourns

All these questions.

However, now…. with the game in less than 24 hours, Van Gaal has changed his tune: “I want to write football history for the Dutch. Never ever before did we finish a World Cup campaign without losing a match. In 1974, 78, 98 and 2010 we lost at least one game. This tournament, I want Oranje to be able to say: we went to the World Cup, played 7 big games and didn’t lose on single game in normal open play.”

I will watch the game and I will cheer for Holland but if Brazil beats us 5-0 I wouldn’t care. It’s a stupid thing. I do hope Louis will allow some of the benchwarmers to play. I think it’s time for Vorm, for Veltman, for Kongolo and Clasie for instance.

I will get back to the Argentina game for a bit here, still.

janmaat kopt

Brilliant defending header by Janmaat

I read Willem van Hanegem’s column before the game. And I was hoping to have time to put it here. Because I fully agreed with Willem. He basically said:

“Now we have reached the semis, we have formally reached our objective. We have also shown the world how good we can be. But we have not yet played our beloved Dutch style football, bar some periods in games where we had to. Lets take this game against Argentina and do it. Forget about 5-3-2. If you play that against Argentina who do the same, it’s almost as if you’re asking for penalties. Lets take the game to them. If we get past them, we’ll have a chance against Germany to put some pressure on them too. If we do not win against Argentina, we will at least leave the tournament with a good last hurrah! Dutch lose playing attacking football! Better than hearing “Dutch sneak into finals with negative play” again…. So play Clasie from the start. Make sure we have quick feet and quick passing. Put three forwards on and put pressure on their back five. Because there is nothing that can take the pride I feel for Oranje away anymore. You guys cannot lose anymore.”

Heartfelt message from De Kromme.

But Louis didn’t believe. For the first time in his life, Louis lost his bravado and wanted to squeeze out a win with another 5-3-2 “all balls on Robben” tactics. This is the drama for me, of this Tournament.

wijn arm

When I talked about Vlaar’s penalty yesterday ( a fluke as I have now seen footage from another angle, Vlaar touched the ball), I was in need of some drama. Losing games is ok, as long as there is drama attached to it.

1974 – The Swimming Pool Incident; Holland having 24 opportunities to score, German Dive got them penalty
1978 – Rensenbrink hits the post in dying seconds
1982 – Van Breukelen – Krol – Platini – nuff said
1984 – Spain – Malta 12-1
1986 – Grun scored in the last 5 minutes to launch Belgium to the Mexico WC
1990 – Beenhakker, Michels, Cruyff, Gullit
1992 – Van Basten misses penalty
1994 – Brazilian offside goals, winner scored from free-kick which was supposed to be an Oranje ball
1996 – Davids/Hiddink
1998 – Van Hooijdonk fouled in the box; no penalty but yellow for Pi-Air
2000 – Holland – Italy semi finals, Holland miss 12 penalties
2002 – Louis van Gaal
2004 – Robben substitution Advocaat
2006 – Battle of Nueremburg
2008 – Personal Tragedy Boulahrouz
2010 – Casillas’ toe
2012 – Zero points, Van Persie missing 34 chances to score
2014 – …….

I was hoping it was “Penalty goal Vlaar overseen by ref” but it most likely should be “Van Gaal sticks to defensive tactics too long”.

mesi blind

But of course, always easy to criticise in hindsight. In Dutch we say, “Hindsight is like looking a cow up her arse”… I do not know who made THAT up (not Cruyff!!) and why he / she made it up…. But if there is one thing I wish LVG hadn’t done, it was playing 5-3-2 against the masters of 5-3-2.

Also…. with what I saw of RVP and heard about him having stomach and bowel issues… I think LVG should have left Van Persie on the bench and only use him as a supersub (for instance, to score a penalty).

The signs were ignored. Van Persie’s body gave clear signs of exhaustion. The misses against Costa Rica. The stomach pain… Clearly an immune system response, saying “I am done”.

In hindsight, we should have gone Kuyt – Vlaar – De Vrij – Janmaat. Midfield: Sneijder – De Jong – Wijnaldum. And up front: Depay – Lens – Robben.

With Depay dropping back and Lens as deep striker.

During the game, we could bring Clasie for De Jong, as LVG did.

And bring Huntelaar AND Van Persie when / if the game needed it.

robben ballet

Btw, I just saw that a rumour has been going around saying that Sneijder, Kuyt and Robben asked Van Gaal to use Huntelaar instead of skipper Van Persie as Robin didn’t look too fresh. Van Gaal and Kuyt at the press conference said that was bullshite. Kuyt: “I have played on 5 major tournaments and never ever have seen so much team spirit and cohesion in the squad a snow. And Robin is our captain. There is no foundation to all of this.”

But….. Easy to say for the steering people standing on the shore. Another Dutch expression for you :-).

All of this is not to say, that I am proud, extremely proud of our team.

vlaar messi

If I already can give you a headsup of my upcoming rating for the Squad, I think Vlaar was sensational, I think De Vrij was great, Wijnaldum played a bland first half but ended the game on a high. Clasie had a good turn as a sub, and Janmaat was at his usual high level. Sneijder was not too shabby either, but Robben and Robin, the special ones, were not special enough for us against Argentina…

What actually is a fun statistic: Wesley Sneijder is the player who ran the most kilometers on this World Cup. Of all players. If you would have said this to Louis van Gaal last year, he would have done this:

Robben is short listed for the title Man of the Tournament and if he does well against Brazil and Muller / Messi do not well in the finals, who knows. Memphis Depay is mentioned as the Talent of the Tournament title. Maybe LVG will get coach of the World Cup, who knows…

Anyway, enough musings. We’ll have some Samba time tomorrow.

Lets finish with some fun. This is how the English viewed Holland-Argentia:

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Oranje-mania in Holland

Before the World Cup, many Dutch fans felt we shouldn’t even go… We didn’t have any defence to speak of, we missed Strootman, De Jong would be over the hill, Sneijder wouldn’t be fit, RVP and Robben wouldn’t be able to carry the team leading from the front and LVG would be too intense and too self obsessed to do the right thing.

Depay, Blind, Cillesen, Wijnaldum, De Vrij….nice players for the Eredivisie. Not good enough for world class level.

I was one of the ones who didn’t like Van Gaal in the job. I actually also didn’t see Koeman or Gullit or any other “normal” coach in the job either. For me, it was Co Adriaanse because of his courage and then as soon as possible Frank de Boer.

lio lion

I felt Van Gaal was too much about Van Gaal….

Whole tv programs (VI Oranje) were established with one goal only: to ridicule Van Gaal and criticize Oranje. But this particular program is now losing many viewers, as one can criticise anything and anyone in Holland, but you simply don’t touch the Dutch National Team. The ratings have dropped enormously and the icons in the program – Dutch football journo Derksen and ex PSV and Oranje winger Rene van der Gijp – are at each others throats.

pic oranje

But the unfathomable has happened. And the whole nation is going berserk as a result. The team that was expected to go home after three games and the coach who was expected to self destruct have performed beyond expectations and have made a huge leap from a talented group of outsiders to the favourite semi finalists of many international football fans.

Arjen Robben might become the Player of the Tournament. The Dutch youngsters have tripled their transfer value and could be on their way to bigger things (BMI, Janmaat, Fer, De Vrij, Blind, Depay) while Nigel de Jong, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder have re-established themselves as football royalty.

depay lens

And what about Tim Krul: the man of the moment? Or Klaas Jan Huntelaar? Deadly in the box. 8 minutes on the pitch, 7 touches, 1 assist, 1 goal.

But the real Man of the Tournament is not Robben or Kuyt or Krul for us. It’s none other than Louis himself.

He was responsible for the systems change, for the intense focus on match fitness, the emphasis on commitment and team spirit and the many substitutions that really worked out well.

He truly shines on this platform and it feels as if he is not ready yet.

Nigel fit

The Dutch supporters at home can’t get enough. The clips on Youtube of groups of Oranje fans watching on big screens or in cinemas and pubs show masses of orange clad people partying like its 1999. Oranje is getting crazy popular again and there are more and more spontaneous celebrations in fountains and parks and streets….

And the love-fest continues with Van Gaal declaring that this is the best and most professional group he ever worked. “Not because they are the best players individually. They’re not. But because of their commitment, spirit and mentality.” Van Gaal has worked on this on purpose. Two years ago he already said “we might not have the best players, but we can make sure we have the best team”.

robben training

Bar Jordy Clasie and Michel Vorm, everyone already had a chance to contribute. And not for sentimental reasons. Van Gaal changes players with a clear solution in mind. And as a result, they pay off. Depay needed versus Australia. Fer needed versus Chile. Huntelaar needed vs Mexico. Kuyt back into the frame. Krul needed versus Costa Rica, and who knows, Joel Veltman vs Messi.

When Kuyt started the preparations weeks ago with Oranje he secretly hoped LVG would allow him to make some minutes in the team as to reach his 100st international game for Oranje. Nope. Louis doesn’t do sentiment. But at the World Cup 2014, a thoroughly motivated Kuyt plays as a 25 year old. Wesley Sneijder was told, 12 months ago, that he needed to shape up or ship out. And a super fit Wesley Sneijder is currently assuming the role of field captain again. Or Klaas Jan Huntelaar? A negative noise generation is 2012, has already tweeted numerous positive little messages to his followers. After the 120 mins vs Costa Rica, Van Gaal walked on to the pitch to speak to his troops. He saw that Kuyt and Robben took the word and started to instruct the players. Van Gaal stepped aside. “Robben was saying the right words and Kuyt made a lot of sense too. I wasn’t needed. It is super when you see the players take care of things.”

lvg stef

And before you know it, Stefan de Vrij or Georginio Wijnaldum could be word champions in a week. And six other Eredivisie players as well. Quite an achievement. Or better: reaching the semis can already be regarded as a tremendous achievement.

Its interesting to note that second to Bayern Munich, Feyenoord is the the club with the most players at the World Cup. I will post soon more on that topic!

So we’re about to take on Argentina and if we or when we do, we get to beat the Germans!

Perfect revenge for the Dutch: we took Spain and now we will go for Argentina and then the Zjermans!

Bring it on!

As for fitness updates… Sadly, Robin van Persie didn’t look to fresh. Bowel and stomach issues. He didn’t train yesterday but LVG is quite positive: “He is my captain. He normally always plays. But it is too early to tell now.” Leroy Fer has trained with the team but is still not in the clear. Ron Vlaar is most likely fit in time to fill in his spot (although I wouldn’t have minded Veltman) and the biggest miracle of all is that Nigel de Jong might actually be fit for the semis!!

fans

There is a bit of a risk in that, of course. For Nigel and for the Oranje. Because it might happen again: Nigel only 8 minutes into the game, he gets another jolt, Messi runs away from him and scores while Nigel needs to be subbed….

Van Gaal didn’t say much about the options he has. But he did say he thinks he has a plan. “I think it will be a close game. A typical 50/50 game and we need to hope the dime falls our way. They are well organised, experienced, have a couple of extraordinary players and always a tough opponent.”

Argentina won all their games with only one goal difference while their opponents all seemed to approach Argentina with a open game. Belgium even used three forwards. The main question for us will be: will we see Depay or Lens upfront or will Van Gaal go back to the 5-3-2 we started the tournament with. Against Costa Rica, we used the 3-4-3 system, and were able to create a lot of opportunities but we simply didn’t score.

fans2

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Holland needs penalties to beat CR goalie!

What an epic thriller! Where to start… I predicted a 4-0 win the other day and by Golly, I could have gotten that one right. If only….our forwards did their job (Robin van Persie!), if only we knew what offside was and if only their goalie had an off day…

We had 14 corner kicks, four dangerous free kicks, three balls denied by the woodwork,forced 14 saves by their goalie and had more than 65% possession.

But we didn’t score. We outplayed Spain that allowed us to play and scored 5 in 90 minutes (4 in 45 minutes even). We weren’t capable of taking down a highly defensive Costa Rica and score one in 120 minutes. And sure, their goalie is good but we should have beaten him at least twice.

krul kuyt

Still, every game has a hero and it could have been Robben or De Vrij and it should have been Van Persie but it ended up being Tim Krul and Louis van Gaal… Who immediately shared a moment with keepers trainer Frans Hoek after the game. Hoek prepared the goalies for this and Hoek will have told Van Gaal: in case of penalties, use Tim.

The Newcastle man only stopped 2 out of 20 in recent times but upped his stats by stopping 2 out of 5 tonight. And he was so close with 2 other penalties. And while Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben and Kuyt scored their penalties impeccably and deserve the compliments, it was of course coach Van Gaal yet again claiming the kudos for this win.

For the first time this tournament, Van Gaal started with three up front. The back line consisted – as expected – of three (Vlaar, BMI, De Vrij) with Wijnaldum playing in the De Jong role and Kuyt and Blind outwide. Sneijder in a free central role with Depay, Robin and Robben upfront.

depay

It took some time for Holland to get into the game and to settle as CR was not planning on playing along. As the great ones all know and say “It takes two teams to play good football”. If one doesn’t want to play, the other team needs to either totally overwhelm the opponent with fast, flashy football….or be patient and grind out opportunities. Percentage football, one could say. Holland doesn’t have the flow to take the first option, so we played cautious, deliberate and wanting to wait for a good opportunity to play Depay or Robben in.

And it worked. Albeit that we simply forgot to score. Van Persie had a chance which resembled the Australia goal he scored. A good pull back from Kuyt, who again played an epic game, with a quick reverse pass by Depay but the ManU striker found his shot blocked. Depay had a chance later on from a similar position. He went for the near post but saw his attempt stopped as well. There were not many chances but Oranje dominated the game and it did seem that a goal could be scored any minute. Sneijder was already mentioned by Van Gaal as a potential goal scorer from a free kick and it took another great save from Navas to stop a Sneijder free kick going to the top corner.

In the second half, CR absorbed more and more pressure with Robben continiously threatening the opponents with his runs, fed by a strong playing Sneijder and supported by an outstanding Kuyt. The latter seems to have won the race for right full back now.

blind

In general, the team played well with the supporting actors all doing their job. Notable exceptions are De Vrij, who for me was one the best players on the pitch and Wijnaldum who I felt was very bland and almost invisible. He is a player who can bring a surprise, do something unpredictable but he did what he needed to go (I suppose) but really nothing more.

Of the players who needed to make a difference, Depay and Van Persie were a bit disappointing. Van Persie did get in good positions and worked like a beast but at the crucial moments, the ManU man looked a lot like the striker we saw fail versus Denmark in 2012, missing a complete sitter even on a Blind cross.

Tim Krul can lay claim on the Man of the Match title, but Robben and Sneijder for me are good contenders for that title. Sneijder used his energy and passes where he could and rattled the woodwork twice (one from a free kick and one from open play).

Robben

Van Gaal: “This is the best team I have ever worked with. Not per se the best set of players. But surely, the best team in terms of spirit and commitment. It’s a joy to work with these guys.” About the Krul Cillesen substitution. “This is all about details. I did feel that Krul is the better penalty killer. So I took the chance. If we would have lost, people would have crucified me for this decision. But these games, normally the team missing the chances in the game lose the penalty shoot outs. Happily for us, that didn’t happen now.”

Robben: “I think it was only justice that we won. We had so much more chances, and we wanted to play, whereas they wanted to get to penalties. Football has won, tonight. They were stalling and time wasting in the first half already. Our team spirit is amazing and with Krul we demonstrate yet again we do it with the whole squad. We can go far.”

sneijder

Bert van Marwijk in the tv studio: “I am envious that Van Gaal has this Arjen Robben. When we played 4 years ago, Robben wasn’t fit. The Robben of today would have scored that chance I am sure. What an amazing player. People talk about Messi being the best and all that, but for me it’s Robben!”

Captain van Persie: “What a rollercoaster this was. The ball simply didn’t want to go in. Post, cross bar, goalie…you name it. Crazy. This takes up so much energy. But we did it and we will now focus on the next game. We’re still in it to win it.”

Penalty killer Tim Krul: “I had the feeling I could get a shot at it with penalties. I was doing well on practice. It’s simply a matter of standing as long as possible and watching the ball. You always have a chance. But don’t forget Cillesen’s save right before the game was over. If he doesn’t stop that ball, there are no penalties needed. We are really doing this with the whole group! This is a dream come true for me!”

RVP

Its a bit too early after this big win to go and put salt on the snails (Dutch expression meaning that you are going to put your finger on all the little things that went wrong) but it is clear we are not capable of dominating and playing Total Football as yet. We do have the players (Lens, Depay, Wijnaldum, etc) but we lack the flow, the automatisms to make it work. Our game is probably at its best when playing stronger opponents. Well, in the semis, we can go back to absorbing the play a bit more and utilising the space behind the Argentinian full backs as Argentina will try and create more than a team like Costa Rica, playing anti-football.

So we won’t go into too much analysis now. We’ll enjoy the game and realise that the seemingly undoable objective of the KNVB, to get to the semi finals, has been achieved by Van Gaal.

Despite the role of Robben and Sneijder and Huntelaar and Kuyt, it does seem Van Gaal is the Man of the Tournament for Oranje.

I criticised him here as a person (I never doubted his coaching skills) and I doubted his motivations to go to the World Cup but Van Gaal shows that personal ambition and focus can result in people and teams to outdo themselves. Van Gaal is in top form and he is pushing the group to greater heights every day, supported by the incredibly in-form Arjen Robben.

Two more to go!

oranje juicht 2

oranje juicht

krul stop

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Preview Oranje – Costa Rica: the fairytale continues….

That is for sure. Because the fairytale that is Costa Rica might continue ( as the media calls it) but for me, the Oranje Story is a fairytale as well!

I mean: we struggled during the Euros 2012. We lost our complete defensive backline. Our goalie mocked up his career, and months before the World Cup our strongholder in midfield Kevin Strootman got injured. Kevin who???

Indeed! It almost feels like we didn’t need him…

The media in Holland, most supporters, the football experts and former players….no one saw this coming. The draw was a bitch and most people had Holland going home after the group stages! With our 2010 squad, we were unable to get a single point vs Denmark, Germany and Portugal in 2012. Now, we beat the World Champions and South American big guns Chile and Mexico and we can safely say we have a pretty good look in into the semi finals. The semi finals!!!!

What a rollercoaster ride. And we all believed in it, and we were there. Just like we have heard the stories about 1974 or some have heard the stories of 1988, this World Cup might well be a tournament that will be relived forever.

LVG coaching juich

Obviously, we can lose against Costa Rica. Italy did. Uruguay did. England couldn’t score against them. Their defence is solid and strong. Their goalie is more than decent. And upfront they have some special players. We know Bryan Ruiz pretty well, in Holland. He was a connaisseur’s player, when at Twente. He could only score beautiful goals. He was the golden boy of Twente and did inject some class into PSV this season.

But. He didn’t manage too well in England. He picked the wrong club, maybe. Playing relegation football in England is not for everyone. And he did score some scorchers for Fulham. Ruiz is a good player in possession but also worked hard this World Cup for his team. He will able to do special things in big games. Another big name player is Joel Campbell. On the books of Arsenal but on loan in Greece. A great dribbler. Opportunistic player, with a good shot. His biggest problem: he is hot or cold. All or nothing. Another good player to watch out for is Christian Bolanes, who plays in Denmark. Playing from the left, coming inside and has good vision. He is the man where Costa Rica regularly starts its attacks. Celso Borges, playing in Sweden, is also a strong player.

Oscar Duarte, playing in Brugge, is also a key player but he is suspended and will be sorely missed.

All in all, a fun opportunistic team, riding the wave, not unlike Denmark in the 1992 Euros. But it does feel that it will be over and done with vs Holland. With all due respect: if there is one game Holland should win, it’s this one.

robben juggle

On the other hand, this will be the first time that Holland is not the underdog. The players are really supposed to win this game and it remains to be seen how they will handle that.

Because when the World Cup was discussed before the event, anyone would have applauded Holland reaching the quarter finals. But now they’re in it, and versus Costa Rica, suddenly everyone will expect them to win it. That is how football works and opportunistic it all is.

What happens after that (Argentina or Belgium)…who knows. It can go any which way.

But enough about Costa Rica!!

The pale faces of the youngsters De Vrij, Blind, Janmaat, Cillesen – worrier – and others have made place for the stern look of the confident warrior. Watching the lads in the tunnel before the Spain game or watching them now. A huge difference. “We made huge steps,” said Van Persie recently, and he is right. The weak defence was exposed in several friendlies against big nations, but at the World Cup, it’s Italy, England, Portugal and Spain that had to go home early, while BMI, Vlaar, Janmaat, Clasie and Depay are still in Brazil.

Van Gaal: “We might not have a fantastic team with experienced, world class players. But we are unified. We are confident. And we are very hard to beat.” He is right. The numbers don’t lie. In 3 out of 4 games, we fought back from being behind. Against Spain with many goals and good football. Against Mexico, in tough conditions, with character, shrewdness and determination. Is there a chance for underestimating Costa Rica. “No. No chance at all. What the players have as their goal is so big, so immense, there is no place for underestimating anyone. This is the quarter finals of a World Cup. The next step is the semi finals. Everyone is very aware of what is at stake.”

lvg press

Van Gaal practices behind closed doors and for the first time was able to actually keep his starting line up  a secret. Although it does seem he has decided to use Blind as De Jong’s replacement. Meaning Martins Indi will play at the back, most likely with Kuyt next to him on the flank. The biggest question mark now is the right full back. Runner Janmaat, or positional back Verhaegh?

But will LVG play 5-3-2? In earlier matches, Holland was most impressive with the usual 4-3-3. Putting pressure on and forcing the opponent (Australia, Mexico) back. Costa Rica too, will play with one striker when they lose possession, so 3 at the back + a central defensive midfielder is a bit too much. The Costa Rica backs don’t like a direct opponent so it does make sense to go for 4-3-3. In which case, we might see a midfield with Kuyt, Blind and Wijnaldum and the golden triangle up front with the option to mix it up. Or will Van Gaal opt for Kuyt as winger up front? Like he plays in Turkey and used to play in Oranje? Will LVG keep Depay on the bench for a turn in the second half when he is needed? Questions questions, and only LVG has the answers for now.

Internationally, Oranje is being compared to the Brazil of 2002. The Italian media praise Van Gaal and Oranje up into the sky. “In Holland, Oranje is criticised by the media? We don’t get that. They won four in a row. We would be on the streets celebrating if Italy did this. Van Gaal created a winning system that allows the youngsters to grow and gives the older lads a role to shine and lead. The big names still make the difference, but players like Blind, De Vrij and Depay have made enormous impressions on the Italian clubs. Holland might not win it this time, but they are definitely amongst the top of the world.”

The Japanese media: “Holland can reach the finals and win it too. Holland could make it for the fourth time. For a small nation, that is amazing. You can win it, but you could also lose it. Which might become a huge trauma. Anyway, LVG has created the perfect system for Oranje and created it around Robben, just like he did with AZ when he built the team around El Hamdaoui. I loved that AZ and I love this Oranje.”

gio wijn

German media: “Louis van Gaal vs the romantics. Johan Cruyff, of course. But Van Gaal is winning so he should be above criticism. He is able to switch between systems, and this rhythm shift as we call it works really well. We can see you get to the finals and win it.”

Brazilian Media: “Arjen Robben is a benevolent maniac. He is on a mission. It failed in 2010 and it seems like he deadset on winning it now. Oranje reminds me of Brazil 2002, when romantics and adventure were replaced by aggression and effectiveness. We had Ronaldo and Ronaldinho to make the difference. You have Van Persie and Robben. In my view, the birth of this team came when Van Persie made that diving header against Spain. The team was losing. It didn’t have much say. But Van Persie believed in that goal. He dove, without knowing what would happen. And the whole team joined him in that big dive. And that leap was the launch of this new Oranje.”

Belgian media: “I do feel that Oranje is not Oranje, with 5 defenders. But I also believe the Dutch media are too harsh. When Van Basten played wonderful games in 2008 with counter football against Italy and France, the media loved it. Van Marwijk didn’t play too impressive in 2010 and was somewhat criticised. But now Van Gaal, playing with a new team mostly, is at the helm, everyone seems to want him to fail.”

The Dutch players are slowly starting to realise and talk about their dreams to win this World Cup. Vlaar was one of the first and now Wijnaldum as well.  The PSV midfielder, who missed half this season due to injuries, is the new marathon man in midfield, in Strootman’s spot. Ask the squad which player is the fittest and they’ll yell “Wijnaldum”. He was 16 years old when he made his debut. The man with the backheel, the stepover, the dribble and the trick. Criticised for being too creative. Now, 7 years later into his career but still only 23 years old, he is battling as the Marathon Man. Asked about his experiences before this quarter finals… Is he nervous? “Not at all. I don’t notice my nerves. All goes so quickly. Before you know it you are in the match, all focus. I haven’t played for a while and I am all enthusiasm. The pitch, the ball, the fans…I’m loving it.” Mexican star Guardado experienced how it was against hardworking midfielder Wijnaldum. Winger no more. Well, my  job was to contain him. Make sure he couldn’t create anything. It went well although I almost played right back!”. Wijnaldum’s story is a fairytale like Oranje’s or Costa Rica’s… “I didn’t believe this was going to happen. I wasn’t part of the plans of Van Gaal, I don’t think. And when I got my back injury I thought I was completely out of sight. But the last months I played well and clearly Mr Van Gaal was looking for a certain type of player. I was one of the lucky last in the squad and now I am a starter!”. Gini Wijnaldum knows Costa Rica well. “I watched them a lot to follow team mate Bryan Ruiz. He is a good mate and I think they’ve done really well. At this stage, everything is possible. Anyone of the remaining nations can make it all the way. Us too!”

 

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Dirk Kuyt: Soldier of Orange

Willem van Hanegem: “In all honesty. I am not a big Kuyt fan. I find him too artificially positive in his interviews. He seems to build an image of ideal son in law. The people’s player. His football style is also not mine… But man oh man, what was he good and what was he important again for Oranje. I tip my hat.”

Johan Cruyff: “This Dutch team does not play Total Football. They have forsaken the way we developed football and how internationally we got to be revered. But something has come in the place of that creativity and dominance. And by golly, it works. It is direct and effective and it is built on passion and team spirit. Robben might be the star, Sneijder might be the tragic hero who has sacrificed himself…but the symbol of this team is Dirk Kuyt.”

And I could easily add Tiju to this list of quotable people but in all honesty, to list Tiju with De Kromme and JC would be a bit much, even for me…

But even Tiju finally sees the light. Dirk Kuyt is a phenomenon.

dirk strong

I said it here a couple of times already in the past. Every good generation of talent will be accompanied by one or two players that were totally ignored by the talent scouts in the youth system. Typical examples are Jaap Stam (made it to PSV when he was 23 years old and finally got the eye of the expert) and Jerryl Hasselbaink. Dirk Kuyt is also a player who took a long time to find a club in pro football (FC Utrecht) to give him a chance. He was signed as a pinch hitter, as he was not really productive as a striker for amateur club Quick Boys. When he went to play for Utrecht, the people who knew him said “he’ll never make it there…just not talented enough”. He did well for Utrecht and caught the eye of Feyenoord after beating the Rotterdam club in the Cup Final and scoring. When he made the step to Feyenoord for 1 mio euros, people said “he’ll never make it there, he is simply not good enough”. With Salo Kalou as his striking partner, he became a fan favorite quickly and he became top scorer for Feyenoord in 2005 with 29 goals. A career high. When Liverpool came, a season later, Kuyt made the jump for an undisclosed fee. The experts: “He’ll never make it at Liverpool, he’s not good enough.” As a striker, he actually didn’t make it. He lacked the speed and the touch in the confined spaces but his coach Benitez loved his work ethics and drive and decided to use him outwide in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

He would receive cult hero status in Liverpool as well, partly due to his work ethics partly due to his relationship and respect for the fans. He’d be at Anfield for 5 years and when it was time for Dirk to move on, Feyenoord allegedly wanted him back, initially, but later reneged on their offer as “Kuyt was getting on in age and was maybe not as good anymore”. Dirk felt snubbed and signed for Fenerbahce in Turkey, where he would play practically all games and win the Turkish title.

Dirk mexico gal

 

Overall Nice Guy: talking with little girl before the Mexico game

Dirk was selected for Oranje by Marco van Basten when he took over in September 2004 from Advocaat. He played his first Oranje game vs Liechtenstein, which was San Marco’s first game as coach. Van Basten dropped Kluivert and Makaay and decided to bring fresh blood into the team. He played 11 of the 12 qualification games for the WC2006 but lost his spot to Robin van Persie at the World Cup. He did play as a sub in the first game and was given the nod in the knock out game against Portugal over Van Nistelrooy, as the latter had clashed with coach Van Basten. Kuyt played an unlucky game in the striker role, missing a major chance to equalise in a game that became infamous for the number of yellow and red cards.

Kuyt did play as a starter under Van Basten at the 2008 Euros assisting two goals and scoring one. Kuyt played wide on midfield with Rafa van der Vaart and Sneijder in 2008. Kuyt started in all games in 2010 under Van Marwijk at the World Cup scoring against Denmark and assisting against Brazil and Uruguay.

dirk kuyt

Kuyt lost his spot under Van Marwijk in the 2012 Euros, with Robben played wide right and Afellay preferred on the left of the pitch. Van Gaal took over and Kuyt was surprisingly made vice captain, although he hardly played any minutes in the qualification games. Despite his success in Turkey, many people wrote him off for the World Cup. Only Van Gaal seemed to be convinced he would need the battler in Brazil and as per usual, Van Gaal seems to be right.

Dirk’s wife Gertrude is a down-to-Earth person like her hubby and she famously kept on working as a nurse while Kuyt had his run of fame and fortune. They founded the Dirk Kuyt foundation and are actively involved in supporting disadvantaged children in the developing countries.

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Dirk with wife Gertrude (and kids)

Dirk has always been an underrated player, as my earlier comments attest. He is always seen as “the hard worker”. But Kuyt is more. He is a believer. He knows that with the right attitude you can perform magic. Not the magic of Robben or Van Persie. But Kuyt magic. Making things happen. Impacting the flow of the game. As Rene van der Gijp said recently: after the victory over Mexico and Oranje was back in Rio, Dirk grabbed a sponge and started to wash the players’ bus. That is Kuyt. Never complaining. If Van Gaal would say to Lens, Huntelaar or Van Persie “I want you to play right back!” they would probably repond with “Me? Why not him!”… Dirk says “Sure. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” He is very smart tactically. His positioning is pretty good. His match technique is pretty good too. He might not be able to do the Edgar Davids / Memphis Depay style trickery, or the flowing dribbles like Robben or sensational first time volleys like Van Persie, but his touch is solid. And his pass and move game above average. He can tackle, shoot, head a ball… He can do it all relatively well. And he will never let you down. So here is a guy who can play left back, left midfield, striker and right back all in the same 90 minutes.

lvg kuyt

 

Dirk with Mr BossMan

He earned his 100rd cap against Mexico and it meant a lot for him. Because it was exactly seven years ago on the day when his dad and biggest mate and fan died and Dirk became the 7th Dutch player to reach this milestone (behind Frank de Boer, Cocu, Van der Sar, Van der Vaart, Sneijder and Gio van Bronckhorst). He does have a record however. Because players like Sneijder and Van der Vaart reached the Oranje squad quite predictably before their 20st birthday. Dirk Kuyt was already 24 years old in 2004 when Van Basten invited him to the squad. He made his debut  with Romano Dennenboom and Dave van den Bergh. Who?? So he received the 100 caps within ten years and played for Oranje on 5 major tournaments. And right before the Mexico match he summed it up: “I always had to convince others of my qualities. But I never had to convince myself….”. Kuyt was again the motor of the team. During the last drink break he clenched his fist. Holland was 1-0 down and he screamed “Come on! We can still turn this around!!”. And they did.

dirk kids

 

Dirk with kids

Lots of people would love to know his secret. How can a 34 year old be so fit and strong. Well, most of it is simply genes. Kuyt is born in a family of fishermen. Generation after generation. A tough job for sure. And before he left for Utrecht, Dirkie was also working on the trawlers. But he also deployed a team of medical experts around him. Not unlike Ron Vlaar by the way. When Dirk joined Utrecht, he had a bit of a beergut, believe it or not. He met Leo Echteld at Utrecht, who also worked with Seedorf, Davids and Kluivert. Echteld would remain Dirk’s physio. He also met magnetist Henk de Gier at Feyenoord, who is specialised in stress management. And we mean literally, taking tension out of the body and muscles. De Gier assists top athletes and artists and was key in Dirk’s processing of his dad’s death in 2007. “I call him always, wherever I am, before a match. Just checking in. It works for me,” says Kuyt. Thirdly, Dirk works with haptonome Peter van den Beld, who works with Kuyt’s body and lastly there is Hammerman Jan Jan. This orthomanual therapist works in Rotterdam and Dirk sees him three times a year for a check up. “He uses a hammer, hence the name, and he does a check up to verify if all is still balanced in the body, and capable of pulling the weight. I’ve learned that all is connected. I get a lot of knocks and when you walk differently because your ankle hurts, you can easily disrupt a thigh muscle in your other leg…” Being experienced helps too. He played the most minutes for Fener this season and was the first player from outside of Holland to join the squad. “I learned that by making mistakes. Back in 2006, I just played the Champions League finals with Liverpool and decided to take a break before coming to the squad sessions. The result was: Robin van Persie was fitter than me and Van Basten picked him over me, while I had played all qualification games. That was a big learning experience for me. I need to always be busy and active.”

dirk robben

 

Dirk with girlfriend

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Van Gaal has puzzle to solve…

Louis van Gaal said it before the World Cup: we are going to need every single player if we want to have a chance to win it. 23 players will do it. Maybe the reserve goalies will not get a chance to play but most definitely we will see all field players get time.

With Nigel de Jong, the constable in midfield, gone the question arises, who will Van Gaal deploy.

Firstly, I suppose it is fair to assume that after 4 wins, Van Gaal will not alter his system. We will not suddenly play 4-3-3. We will most likely meet Argentina if we beat Costa Rica and a 4-3-3- against Argentina is probably not what LVG will choose.

So this means, a 5-3-2 against Costa Rica. And Van Gaal has to replace the man who is seen as the engine in midfield, the man who gave the signal when the team needed to step up and find some more fuel in the tank. The man with the Thou Shalt Not Pass voice in his studs. As Louis said: the man of the match(es).

Who can best be picked? After losing Strootman, Van Ginkel and Van der Vaart and now also Fer, it will be impossible for Van Gaal to literally replace De Jong.

The candidates (Clasie, Kuyt, Blind, De Guzman) all have different skills.

Clasie has a similar venom in his game, but lacks the pure strength of concrete Nigel. A plus with Clasie is his quality in build up. A minus is the fact that he hasn’t played at all yet and has a tendency to be homesick. Playing Clasie gives LVG the option to use Kuyt left or right if he wants.

Kuyt is an option because Kuyt can do anything his coach requires. He is tactically very intelligent and highly coachable. Like De Jong he will not step aside and he is a good enough football player to be able to build up. With Kuyt you know he gives everything. The downside is that he has never played there before and he might be more needed elsewhere.

clasie

Blind is the logical option for LVG, I believe. He has played most of the season with Ajax on that spot and became Ajax’ best player. He is the most all round player, tactically highly intelligent and with a good passing game. He tends to be a bit complacent at times and that will be punished at this level. This will most likely mean that LVG needs to use Martins Indi or Kongolo. Not sure how BMI’s fitness currently is.

De Guzman can play there too, and has played there for Oranje, but prior to the World Cup Van Gaal stated that he didn’t see De Guzman as a DM candidate but more as a Strootman replacement. However, De Guzman offers experience, is solid in the challenges and is overall a good player. Downside is that his first two games were not really a success and he might be lacking form.

Some analysts in Holland actually believe Holland is in big trouble. Jan van Halst, former Ajax midfielder: “I think it is over, red rover. I think De Jong kept the team together. He was the real captain. Robben and De Jong, assisted by Kuyt. And with De Jong gone, the team will lack the bite it really needs. Maybe not against Costa Rica, but the semis will be the end of it, I fear.”

Blind jr en sr

Van Halst goes on: “Take that goal Dos Santos scored against us…. With De Jong, that would not have happened. He would have used his whole body to block the shot and Dos Santos would be on the ground. Blind was doing what I call quasi-defending. Running alongside to act as if you defend, but is of no use. That goal could and would have been blocked.”

Willem van Hanegem uses a different argument. He praises De Jong too. “De Jong for me was the man of the group stages. He took the team by the hand when it became hard. He’s the type of player that makes players around him perform better while letting the opponent play worse. A great asset. I think Van Gaal will use Blind there, but I don’t get that. I honestly don’t think Blind is that great a midfielder. And why do you have to do so complicated. If the first choice is out, you pick the second player for that spot. Clasie in this case. Why not ? That’s why you have him. And Costa Rica… we are not talking Germany or France or Brazil. I don’t get why Van Persie is subbed and Van Gaal brings Lens instead of Huntelaar? I think it is time for Van Gaal to take the initiative. Every match, we started on the backfoot. We had less possession, we allowed them to create and mostly score first. And then we go to 4-3-3 and beat them… So, why not start with 4-3-3. If you play Depay – RVP – Robben, with Clasie and Sneijder in midfield, the opponent will keep 6 players back. They will not dare to put pressure on.”

training

Daley Blind is quite lacklustre about it. ” I will play where the coach needs me. I don’t have a preference. I know we have many players who can play there and I guess the coach will pick the one who will fit the team best. There has been some discussion about why he uses certain players for certain spots but with Van Gaal it is all about the team. So I will not make this about me.”

Blind finds it hard to enjoy the World Cup. “It’s weird, you look forward to this for a long time. But now we are here, it goes so quick. And we are so focused on our performance, you hardly notice you are actually in Brazil. Only at night, when I’m alone I think about it and think “Oh my God, we’re actually at the World Cup”, hahaha.” Blind went and visited a favela with some team mates and was impressed with what he saw and learned. “I enjoy learning about new cultures. It is quite enriching.” He realises that it goes really quick now for some Eredivisie players. “It’s interesting because people tend to look down on it, but I think we have now shown that the Eredivisie is a pretty good level and Dutch clubs are very good at youth development. And we have a good team dynamics going. Nigel de Jong, for instance, will remain with the group. He is very committed and will do what he can to support us.”

DJ

A player who will hopefully return is Daryl Janmaat. The popular Feyenoord right full back, with whom Oranje hasn’t lost a game and who is seen as the lucky charm of the team, lost his spot quite unforeseen to Paul Verhaegh. “I was quite shocked when I heard. Honestly, I didn’t see this coming. The coach told me and I took some time at my room to process it. It was a bit of a shock. The coach said I didn’t play that bad or anything. He did wanted to see better football in general, but he subbed me because I am more of a running full back and he wanted to use a more passing full back and felt Paul was better suited.” The Augsburg defender did not impress and the question arises whether Janmaat will regain his spot. ” I don’t know. But whatever the team requires, you know. Paul is a good player too and if it works with him than sure. It is harder for me to attack because we simply play a bit more deep but if the coach needs me I will be 100% ready. The goal is to win this and my personal agenda is not relevant.”

zico elf

Lastly this, Brazilian legend Zico picked his best eleven so far and two Dutch players made it in the Team Zico: Daley Blind and Arjen Robben. Zico: “I am highly impressed with Blind’s kicking techique. His passing helped Oranje on the horse against Spain. He made it possible. And Robben, because clearly Robben is unstoppable.”

 

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Tribute to Nigel de Jong

Oranje practised against France in March 2014. Van Gaal didn’t call up Nigel de Jong. He wanted to use Clasie in midfield. He knew what De Jong could and couldn’t do. The AC Milan destroyer seemed to smirk when confronted with this, as if to say “you wait and see, I will play at the World Cup”.

Holland got muscled off the pitch against France. Our complete midfield was too light against the Pogba’s of this world. In the meantime, Nigel was outstanding for AC Milan week in week out, even taking the key free kicks and scoring goals with his head. Nigel returned in the squad and into the team.

And became the Man of the Group Stages for Holland, along with Arjen Robben.

Sadly, it seems his World Cup is now over with a serious groin injury. It’s too early to call maybe, but it doesn’t look good.

Vilified in 2010, declared a hero in 2014. This is the opportunistic game that is football.

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Nigel as ball boy with future coach Clarence Seedorf

De Jong’s story is quite remarkable. Son of Jerry de Jong, former Oranje international, but hardly knew his dad. He came through the Ajax development system and was known as a creative, dynamic midfielder, scoring many goals, most notably the one in the European Cup competition against Thierry Henry’s Arsenal. He was Ajax’ Player of the Season in 2004 but lost his spot in the season following and was disgruntled with his treatment.

He made his international debut in 2004 but was overlooked for the 2004 Euro tournament. when Hamburg SV came for him, he gladly made the step to the Bundesliga. HSV paid 1million euros for the midfielder. Huub Stevens, his coach at HSV, turned the attacking midfielder into a defensive block in midfield. Stevens recognised De Jong’s tactical vision and physical strength and motivated De Jong to work and focus on this role. “He said to me: as an attacking midfielder, you will be sub top in Europe. As a defensive mid, you can become world class. I believed him. And he was right. I am no Messi or Ronaldo or Robben. I do not have that quality. But I can definitely hold my own in a competition of defensive mids. I think I would be among the best out there.” A knee injury kept De Jong out of the World Cup squad of 2006, although he was on standby in case any of the other midfielders had to bail out.

nigel memphis

Marco van Basten used De Jong next to Orlando Engelaar in the 2008 Euros where he played outstanding.

The metamorphosis was spotted by many European top clubs and in 2009, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes signed him on their quest to the European (and English) top. They paid 25 mio euros for the midfielder. He became a fan favorite in his first season and added grit and professionalism to the second Manchester club. He won the FA Cup and the EPL title with Man City, before he was sold on to AC Milan in 2012.

De Jong was also a starter for Oranje in the 2010 WC campaign and played every game bar the semi finals vs Uruguay due to suspension. Demy de Zeeuw played for him. In the finals, De Jong infamously hit Xabi Alonso in the chest with his studs, which got him criticised globally and he was the symbol of the “Ugly Dutch team of 2010”. In the same time, he had a couple of incidents on the pitch in England and with Holland against Australia in a friendly, which prompted coach Van Marwijk to not select him for a spell. De Jong never publically commented on this and would later say that “there will be no words that would convince people otherwise… being silent and playing your game is all you can do. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I don’t think I can change that or should try to change that. What counts is what my family thinks and what my coaches think. The rest is irrelevant.”

DeJongTraining

He suffered injuries in the first half of this season in Milan and Van Gaal ignored the blocked midfielder for a while to try out different players. But with the absence of Strootman, the loss of form and fitness of Sneijder and the lack of experience of our defence it became apparent that De Jong could and would play an important part in Brazil.

His tremendous concentration, leadership and commitment has earned him many compliments this tournament. Van Gaal, after the Australia game: “I don’t like singling out individual players but if I have to, I will name Nigel de Jong as the man of the match.”

In an interview, recently, with Helden Magazine (Hero Magazine, about football players and ex players): “I used to really get off on doing a cool trick with the ball. A little flick or a step over. But I came to realise that many players can do so. There are 100s of players in Europe who can do a cool trick or two with the ball. They practice this day in day out. But I also realised there are maybe only 10 players who can execute the perfect block tackle. And enjoy doing it. Seriously. There are not that many who can do this. I like to think I am one of them. The perfect block tackle to me is much more satisfying than a step over or a Cruyff turn. I get off on stopping an opponent. And in all honesty, I focus on getting the ball, but if I don’t get the ball, I will settle for the man. One of the two will be mine. I cannot allow both of them through.”

nige wes

De Jong is 29 years old and back in demand in the EPL. Arsenal is supposedly zooming in on the midfield block while Man United is being named as his new club as well, what with Van Gaal being their new coach. “I wouldn’t mind returning to the EPL. But I am at an age where I will need to make the right decision and it really needs to be a good deal for me.”

All was looking so good for him. He was revered by his mates and his coach, while the media and fans at home again realised what a power house and important player he is. That, plus the fact he realised this could well be his last World Cup gave him the extra energy to support the youngsters and to bring Holland closer and closer to the finals.

De Jong is very positive about the chances of Oranje: “This 5-3-2 is a perfect system for this group and the circumstances in Brazil. These tournaments are tough, physically, mentally. We play with lots of young, untested lads, who have played Eredivisie and some international games with Young Oranje. Hell, most of the Feyenoord players haven’t played any European games of note. So the way we are approaching this tournament might not be to everyone’s liking, but it does do what it needs to do for us.” De Jong doesn’t want to compare with the 2010 World Cup.

nige kaka

 

Nigel with a juicy tackle on Brazil’s Kaka

“Totally different. New group, new staff, new stage… We need to stop comparing with the past but simply deal with the present.”

And the present is, that De Jong is most likely out for the rest of the World Cup. I’m sure the interest in his services for next season will remain but Van Gaal will need to look for another option in midfield.

He does have a couple: Wijnaldum has played on the center mid spot but will be considered too light for the role. De Guzman has been tested there but Van Gaal declared that he doesn’t consider the Swansea man an option for the role. Clasie and Blind play in this role for their respective clubs, but might be considered too light against really tough opponents (France, Argentina), while Fer could be considered once he is fit again or even Dirk Kuyt. Even Cillesen commented that he is worried that Kuyt might take his role in the next game!

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