Month: August 2016

Dutch football debacles continue: Ajax out of CL!

It has been quite a disappointing week – again – for Dutch football. Not a good way to start a Dutch Football Blog. Our disappointing Euro summer was even compounded with disgraceful antics at the Olympics in Rio. Not so much athletes being drunk, or orgies at the Olympic village or coaches groping young boys… But the Dutch mission chief; first sending gymnastics gold medal candidate Yuri van Gelder home after he decided to spend a night on the town with his girlfriend and missing a training session…as if this athlete (world champion) doesn’t know what he’s doing… And then this moron sent all the “losing” athletes home prior to the closing event, on what he deemed “the loser flight”. Taking away their once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of the Olympics Closing Ceremony. People who train four years or more for their big event, who already were disappointed with missing any trophy. To put insult to injury, “our” Chief decided to punish them further by sending them home, like little kids! The Dutch sports fans are irate (as I am) and nothing is done about it of course.

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We also saw money grabbing Dick Advocaat leaving the Oranje camp, for some extra euros in Turkey and when the KNVB approached Ruud Gullit to take Dick’s place in the backroom staff, he happily said “he would love to be of support to the Oranje team”. But only a couple of days later, he returned the invite to the KNVB’s technical director Hans van Breukelen, saying he was insulted with the package offered to him.

Gullit wanted to be a full blown staff member and was keen to be able to scout the Dutch players in his preparation for his job. The KNVB felt it wasn’t needed. Gullit was not required at meetings, would not get a travel budget to see games. Might have been a way to simply let him decline the job, for PR reasons (the KNVB is under a lot of pressure) and as Gullit also demanded a clause in his contract allowing him to jump ship when a better deal would come by. Not a strong thing to demand, if Dick Advocaat just used this clause to find the exit. Gullit, allegedly, also demanded to be promoted when either Danny or Marco decided to leave… Another clause Van Breukelen wouldn’t agree to. So, two days after the news got out that the former AC Milan and Oranje legend would join the team, he did not…

Gulliman

All in all, frowns were visible on the foreheads of many analysts in The Netherlands. Danny Blind, team manager, simply does not have a lot of experience as a club coach. He coached Ajax in total for 14 months or so. Marco van Basten had one year at Ajax and some seasons at a lower level, only to conclude that “head coach wasn’t this thing”. As an Oranje team manager, he didn’t do so badly, by the way.

So the KNVB decided to pick a seasoned, experienced coach to support Blind and Bassie. And Advocaat fits that bill. With the Dick leaving again, suddenly Ruud Gullit was seen as the perfect replacement. Say what? The last time Gullit was club coach was 10 years ago, and his work at clubs like Newcastle, Feyenoord and LA Galaxy can not be summarized as “successful”. How on Earth does that KNVB work…. Anyway, Gullit is out and now Blind and co will get their second assistant after the Greek friendly.

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Hans Jorritsma, key in all organisational aspects of Oranje

On top of all that, the KNVB has decided that Hans Jorritsma will have to make way. The team manager and former hockey coach (winning gold and world titles) worked for the KNVB for 20 years. He reaches retirement age but was definitely not unwilling to stay on. Danny Blind was keen to have the man on board. “Jorritsma is one of the best organisers I know and with Russia 2018 on the horizon, his experience could be vital. I was not heard in this decision and I am not happy. I will let the federation know.”

Jorritsma has been hailed by former coaches (Van Gaal, Van Marwijk) but was allegedly “used” by the KNVB to help sack Guus Hiddink (technically, his boss), which helped Blind into the job, of course.

More to come I’m sure.

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The new technical director, Hans De Breuk Van Breukelen. Lost two assistants in the process already…

In the meantime, Danny Blind has to gel together a team to play the key first qualification game vs Sweden in a week and a bit. Robben still injured, Van Persie not really in great form, De Vrij not match fit, Memphis hardly used, Eljero Elia injured and many other regulars not in great shape (Janmaat, Martins Indi, Veltman). The transfer period is still open and the likes of Bas Dost and Jasper Cillesen are with their heads and hearts involved in relocation plans, finding homes, learning languages and other logistics.

We seem to do alright with goalies of course. Stekelenburg had two great games for the Toffees in the EPL while Jeroen Zoet is doing well after his quality progression last season. CF Barcelona’s new goalie Cillessen had a pretty shitty start this season but it still a good goalie of course. Blind might decide to start with Zoet or Stekelenburg to keep the new Barca keeper out of the wind a bit.

Cillessen barca

 

Defensively, Van Aanholt impresses again at Sunderland. Daryl Janmaat made his move back to the EPL (Watford) and might play himself into the limelight again. Daley Blind and Van Dijk perform well, as does Ron Vlaar but the Ajax defenders have been disappointing. Willems also hasn’t reached his level of before his injury and might also be trying to make a late transfer deal.

In midfield we see similar issues with the Ajax contingent playing below par. The PSV midfielders have impressed, and so much so that Tonny Vilhena is not part of the current squad. Jorrit Hendrix joins the squad after a good start with PSV, while Propper, Wijnaldum, Sneijder and Strootman seems to be mainstays by now for Oranje. I hope.

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PSV prospect Jorrit Hendrix

Up front, Huntelaar and Memphis have been dropped. New Spurs strong man Janssen will lead the line with Luuk de Jong and Bas Dost as pinch hitters and Promes, Berghuis and Narsingh vying for the winger roles.

Blind: “I spoke with Huntelaar and told him Vincent would lead the line and he agreed with me that he is not the ideal pinchhitter. I have Dost and De Jong for this and we decided to not work together at this stage. It was a pleasant conversation. Klaas-Jan was ok with it.”

The team manager also spoke with Van Persie: “He still is not in great shape. He is fit, but not match fit. Now Advocaat is his new coach he might well get more minutes. Last weekend he played 70 minutes as a starter, so who knows. I have not written him off.”

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Stefan de Vrij is also not yet part of Blind’s plans: “He was out of contention for a long time. He just made his return at Lazio. I told him I need him to focus on getting rhythm back and once he has established that at Lazio, it’s a new situation.”

Memphis Depay simply hasn’t played enough. “I spoke to Memphis too. He was disappointed of course, but he only played 1 minute, I believe. I think his main concern should be to get into the 18 player squad for Mourinho. Then he will get more minutes and once he is back in regular game time, we will assess him again.”

We are all nicely focused on Oranje of course, but you will all be aware of Ajax’ failure – again! – to reach the CL group stages by beating an opponent in the qualification stages… This time, Rostov seemed to strong. I can’t remember all the other teams that blocked Ajax in reaching the millionaire’s ball, but it was teams like Salzburg or Augsburg or Prague or something like that… Not Juventus, or Chelsea. Rostov… Don’t have words for it, really.

Blind presser

Ajax is not Ajax anymore. They got their asses handed to them and suffered their biggest European defeat since…. 1732?

I think Frank de Boer, heavily criticised for his conservative and boring game plans despite his titles, was aware of the lack of brilliance, class and leadership in his squad. This is why Ajax played un-Ajax football in the last seasons. He covered it well. They won 4 consecutive titles in the 6 seasons he was there. And in the earlier seasons at the helm, he even had Vertonghen, Eriksen and the likes at his disposal.

With Peter Bosz as coach, Ajax wanted to play like Ajax again. Bosz seems the right coach for this job. His teams always played adventurous, ballsy and at times almost suicidal… With Hendrie Kruzen (former 1988 Oranje squad member and Euros winner) as assistant, he made an impression at Heracles, Vitesse and recently at Tel Aviv. The former Feyenoord skipper failed as technical director at Feyenoord but seems to be more at home as coach. But Ajax’ Eredivisie start is horrendous, with Feyenoord already 5 points ahead of their rivals. The CL campaign could have fixed the early pressure but with the dressing down of the Sons of Gods, the pressure is on!

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Ajax assistant Hendrie Kruzen with head coach Peter Bosz

A quick analysis of Ajax tells you that 1) they lack leadership and build up qualities at the back (Viergever is not Blind, Sanchez is not De Boer, Riedewald is not (yet) Rijkaard, 2) too many similar players in midfield (Bazoer, Gudelj are not playmakers) and Klaassen is the man who needs to play the killer pass and be on the other receiving end of it, 3) forwards lack class (El Ghazi is not Finidi or Van ‘t Schip, Younes is no Overmars or Roy and the center forwards are no Van Basten or Kieft).

Ajax has close to 150 mio euros sitting in the bank account, after Milik’s and Cillessen’s departures (32 Mio + 14 Mio). That money is getting close to 3% interest without a doubt, but Berghuis is now at Feyenoord, Ziyech is still at Twente and Haps is still at AZ…

hakim ajax

Latest news of course, is now that Ajax got done by Rostov, Mark Overmars is frantically renegotiating with FC Twente and Ziyech’s manager to get the winger/playmaker to play for Ajax. A bit late. But very much needed…

We’ll see how things will develop…

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Oranje getting ready for World Cup 2018!

The first two games in the Eredivisie are behind us and the EPL has commenced while the more Southern nations will start their competitions shortly.

Too early to tell where we are, but that is international football these days. Some teams have been playing CL qualification games already and the national teams are gearing up to start their World Cup qualification games.

First, a friendly. And then Sweden awaits. Sans Zlatan of course.

Rafael van der Vaart of the Netherlands, center, is challenged by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ola Toivonen, and Pontus Wernbloom of Sweden during their Euro 2012 Group E qualifying soccer match at ArenA stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010. The Dutch won the match with a 4-1 score. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Rafael van der Vaart, center, is challenged by Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The transfer window is still open and as long as that’s the case, all is still in flux. What’s going to happen with Janmaat? Memphis? Siem de Jong? To name a few. And Sneijder? Van Persie, how are these guys doing?

It is very positive to see some moves made by the young and up & coming. Vincent Janssen impressing on his EPL debut, almost scoring even. If not for man of the match Stelelenburg. Wijnaldum had a good second half versus Arsenal and an assist. But at the same time, no minutes for Clasie and an annoying hamstring injury for De Roon…

The news from the Eredivisie is not too depressing though. Feyenoord started well, with Vilhena, Elia and Berghuis impressing, while young left back Woudenberg presents himself as a potential mainstay for the club from Rotterdam.

Davy Propper is still making steps and might well be too good for Holland very soon. The move of Ramselaar to PSV is a good one, of course just like Siem de Jong reuniting with brother Luuk will make the Dutch competition more interesting.

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De Roon injured in his first EPL match

At Ajax, Riedewald is back at full fitness and playing well, while Klaassen and Bazoer can be seen as surefire Dutch internationals. Even Daley Sinkgraven, hugely talented but underwhelming in his first period at Ajax made the headlines.

As it stands, against Sweden – not too difficult one might say – I think we should be able to get the result we need, even without Sneijder and Robben.

I won’t go into systems so much, but if we actually want to play to our strengths, I think we need to field Promes and Janssen up front. Elia might have been a sure bet but he’s out with a shoulder injury, while Memphis is most likely not match fit (and lacking form).

Both Janssen and Promes like to drift and Promes should play from the right, as you right back options (Tete, Veltman) are not the natural channel runners. Dijks is an option of course but he hasn’t really played a string of games at his new club so this game might be a tad too early for him.

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Elia, here with his broken finger, out with shoulder injury

In midfield, Strootman is a fixed starter on the left, with Bazoer sitting deep in the holding role. I’d play Propper on the right with Wijnaldum in the #10 position behind Janssen. Their link up play should be enough for us to transform the 4-4-2 into a 3-4-3.

As I would field Willems any day, he can use the open left flank for his rushes forward. Bruma, Bazoer (as holding mid) and Tete can cover defense while center back Blind can move into midfield Danny-style to support the build up play. Bruma and Tete and Willems have the speed to cover the space behind us and with players like Blind, Bazoer, Propper and Strootman our passing capabilities should be more than enough. I have faith in Janssen and Wijnaldum and Promes to be on the receiving end of those balls, to put a couple away. That’s how I would do it. 3-0 win over Sweden. Thank you. Next.

I do believe there will be a place for Sneijder and most certainly Robben in the team, given that they do become fit. Robben for Promes of course. Sneijder might have to get used to a bench role, with a more prominent part for him in games where we will have to sit a bit deeper and play more compact. His legs won’t allow him to play in our new modern style but versus France or strong opponents at the WC2018, he might still have a role to play.

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Impressive center back Riedewald

Huntelaar, for me, is a good option on the bench (if he can handle it).

Vilhena is a good understudy for Strootman. Good duellng power, great legs and magic in that left foot. Klaassen can play in the Wijnaldum role, Ramselaar can play in the Bazoer role (as can Clasie of course) and Berghuis can also sub Propper in midfield or Promes on the flank.

Not bad. De Vrij will make his comeback at some stage and even Vlaar will be in the picture with me. As is Van Dijk and even Feyenoord’s Van Beek and Ajax’ Riedewald.

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Propper, only scoring beauties

With players like Hendrix, Karsdorp, De Roon, El Ghazi, Sinkgraven, Kongolo, Toornstra, Van Ginkel in the mix, the future looks bright, even if we don’t seem to have world class players right now. But like I said before: many people didn’t see it in Strootman, in Nigel de Jong or even Robben when they were younger… Time will tell.

Leicester and Atletico Madrid have shown us that you don’t need a team full of big name players. Spain disappointed at the Euros and so did England. While Wales won hearts and they basically had three great players, with 8 mediocre ones. But they had a team! As did Leicester City. Vardy, Mahrez and Kante being top notch, the rest all decent but not special.

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Ramselaar off to PSV (with club legend Willy van der Kuylen)

I can see Robben, Propper, Strootman and Blind as our big name players, with the rest simply doing their job. And who knows, the likes of Memphis and Berghuis might still end up becoming world class. Stranger things have happened. Vardy demonstrated that one is never too old to make it to the big stage.

In terms of goal keepers, we’re still spoiled. Cillesen (on his way to Barca?), Stekelenburg, Vermeer (now injured), Zoet and Krul (still injured) are top goalies. Hahn of Feyenoord is on his way too.

There is no reason to get depressed.

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - JULY 30: Jan Olde Riekerink, head coach of Galatasaray and Wesley Sneijder of Galatasaray during the pre-season Friendly between Manchester United and Galatasaray at Ullevi on July 30, 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello via Getty Images)
Jan Olde Riekerink, head coach of Galatasaray and Wesley Sneijder of Galatasaray 

What did get me depressed though, was the treason of Dick Advocaat. Who now wants to be called Dirk (when abroad) as he realises Dick is not a nice name to have. But his recent actions prove to me he is actually DICK. What was he thinking? He has a habit of abandoning teams he’s committed to, for a bigger pay-check. Dick is all about the money. Ask the Australian federation, the Belgium Federation and Sunderland. And now Oranje.

Three months ago, he told Blind he was ready to serve Dutch football and he wanted to get out of the limelight. He was presented to the media, he did his thing, the players loved to have him on board and guess what: the first club from some second rate football nation – where human rights are even less valuable than Dick’s signature under a contract – wiggles a bag of euros and The Dick runs to the exit. Shame on DICK!

Danny Blind and Marco van Basten do need a third coach to complement them. Someone with energy, with passion, warmth and experience.

Dick dick

Rene Meulensteen would have been a top option, but he decided to sign for a club (he was available three months ago). I would not know any other option to be honest….

Danny Blind responded hurt and annoyed when asked about Advo’s antics and KNVB technical director Hans van Breukelen was gobsmacked.

Anyway, the team managers have picked a decent prelim squad. The names you’d expect.

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 14: Daley Blind of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on August 14, 2016 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Daley Blind of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United 

I just hope that prior to September 1, we’ll see some movement in the transfers still. I particularly would like to see Daryl Janmaat make a move, while Bruno Martins Indi has also been put into a blind alley at Porto. Not that I believe we’ll need BMI in the future.

Good to see we keep on producing talent. Up to Danny and Marco to make them all play nicely as a team.

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And we’re back: Dutch football and Oranje on the radar!

What a depressing summer we had… In hindsight (always the best sight), our top players disappointed (Sneijder, Robben injured, Van Persie), our top talents didn’t shine (Memphis, Berghuis), Van Gaal got the boot and ManU and our semi Dutch EPL team Newcastle ( Janmaat, De Jong, Wijnaldum, Krul, Anita) gort relegated while Oranje was disgracefully absent at the Euros.

In the meantime, Dutch website Kaassoldaat was taken off the air (they showed Eredivisie highlights, the immensely popular satirical football show Voetbal Inside and other fun sports docos) and in Australia Foxtel lost the EPL rights to mobile bully Optus.

I can’t stomach all that transfer bullshit too well and definitely don’t want to write about all that rumour stuff.

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Now, the dust is slowly settling and I’m starting to become a little bit more positive about it all again. Strootman is back!  Tonny Vilhena stays with Feyenoord! Quite a coupe by the Rotterdam club and although he’s technically not a new signing it is the biggest transfer of the summer for me, for the Dutch. The way the youngster is developing, he might well be one of our beacons into the future. Second big signing is the Berghuis return to the Eredivisie, a title he must share with Vincent Janssen going to Spurs. How happy was I to be in Melbourne while the Spurs were there for their pre-season games and I happen to bump into them on George Street, when they were just leaving their hotel.

janssen spurs

Blind and Memphis (for now) staying at Man United is also a good thing, while De Roon to the EPL and De Boer to Serie A are also interesting moves. I do know that the transfer window is still wide open and Propper, Bazoer or even Depay could still chance clubs but as it is, I’m quite happy. Wijnaldum at Liverpool might work out well for the midfielder, as much as Janssen will make big steps training day in day out with the likes of Eriksen and Dembele.

First signs from White Heart Lane about the former Feyenoord striker are very positive, with Dele Alli in particular developing a good partnership with him.

Ajax under Peter Bosz has promise. Every club he coached played offensive football and the likes of Klaassen and Sinkgraven will find it fun to play under him. Today, the news broke that Traore will return to Holland, from Chelsea on loan, to be reunited with Bosz, after having had a great season at Vitesse two seasons back.

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PSV hasn’t weakened either, with targets like Willems and Propper still in Eindoven – for now – but Marco van Ginkel is not returning, as it seems. The knee needs work and Chelsea has decided to allow the midfielder to go with it.

Feyenoord has done really well too, with only question mark Nelom leaving while Vilhena remained on board, Swedish striker Jorgensen joined and Steven Berghuis came from Watford on loan. But most importantly, Eljero Elia has had a decent warm up. Last season he came unfit and injured, late in the game and never seemed 100% in last season’s campaign. In the opening game of the Eredivisie last weekend, Elia showed what he’s capable of when fighting fit: one assist, three goals and a horrific sitter missed which would have been the cherry on the hattrick. He’s the one to watch for me!

frank inter

With Smalling injured, Blind has made a lot of minutes and is doing well. Wijnaldum played his games for Liverpool and now we need to wait and see how the Big Three will start. Rafa van der Vaart signed for Danish upstarts Middjeland (no idea how to spell that) as a result of his new relationship with a Danish handball player (female) and he does seem fit and hungry. I’m not writing anyone off. Even Nigel de Jong declared from LA that he’ll be ready should Danny Blind need him.

Wijnaldum pool

I want to use a piece from the AD newspaper now as a season starter on the blog. Henk ten Cate, former coach of Sparta, Go Ahead Eagles, Barcelona and Ajax – currently at Al Jazira – who shines his light on football development in Holland. The tough talking Amsterdam born – buddy buddy with Frank Rijkaard and co responsible for allowing a tiny lad from Argentina to make his debut in the Camp Nou.

Ten Cate is in Holland to work with his team in pleasant conditions, away from the desert, and has a thing or two to say: “I was a little shocked to be honest, returning to Holland. There is simply not enough intention to play the ball forward….”

Use the term “Sandpit” and Ten Cate sighs loudly. This term is used a lot to depict clubs from the Middle East. “We need to stop using that term,” says the 61 year old. “People look down on the Middle Eastern clubs, but the way it’s going, I think clubs in this region have started to become as technically adept as Dutch clubs.”

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His club beat Ten Cate’s old flame Go Ahead Eagles 1-3 last weekend. “I saw quite a number of games from the Eredivisie in the last months and I’m shocked with what I saw. The base technique, the speed of execution, the positioning play…these are all aspects that are going downhill fast!”

Ten Cate’s football soul was in a split, last Friday. He was happy with the victorie over the Eaglesm but on the inside he shed a tear or two. He’s still a shareholder of Go Ahead and very passionately involved. Two years ago, he wrote the football academy plan for the Eagles, driven by his football philosophy and that of Go Ahead: neat football, build up from the back, with a lot of technical skill. “I didn’t think we’d have such an easy game. Go Ahead has the same potential as PEC Zwollen and Heracles (both sub top in the Eredivisie) but if I have to base my judgments on the game we played, I’m not a happy man. And it’s overall in Holland. Most teams simply don’t have the intention to play the ball forward. This needs to the core instinct of a club and a player. Move the ball to the danger area. Not blind, but with a plan.”

Ten Cate is not blind for the difference in budget between the two clubs. Go Ahead works with a 3 mio euros budget, while Ten Cate gets to spend 25 mio euros. But he says “No matter what the money can buy, it’s still about the intent, the approach of the game.”

Henk-ten-Cate-Panathinaikos_3057917

When Hans van Breukelen was appointed as the new technical director of the KNVB, he came to the conclusion that Dutch players have short comings in the mental and physical aspect of the game. Ten Cate: “Listen, it’s a good thing that this role was created and it’s great that an ex player with his experience was selected”. But, Ten Cate continues: “I don’t think it’s the mental and physical aspect at all. It is the technical side of things. Football is being played in tighter spaces and most players are physically much better already. The perfect pitches we have today also screams for better technique. You need to control the ball. If you can control the ball better in a small space than the other guy, you are likely to keep possession. It’s about skills and handling speed. Keep the ball close. Sure, Messi has a great mentality, like Iniesta and Zlatan and Eriksen but their biggest asset is their ball control. And that is trainable. Repeat repeat repeat. The youth academies in Holland are much to generic in their approach.” Still, Ten Cate thinks we are on the right track. “I don’t see it on a weekly basis but with the limited resources, people like Harry Decheiver and Bart Voortman are doing a tremendous job. But, the clubs need to invest more into the youth academies.”

“I also think it is silly to say that youth teams and youth players need to win. Why? What does it matter. The only thing you’ll see is that coaches will base their tactical plan on not losing. You want the focus to be on the players and how they play. Give him enough technical skills so he can move up in the academy and get time playing in the first team. There, he’ll learn what it takes. Not in the Under16s. Those teams exist purely to allow a player to become the best player he can be. You don’t want a 15 year old player repeatedly kicking the ball in the stands, because “we needed to keep the 1-0″. Stupid. Develop their confidence and skills so they try to outplay the winger. And let him do it wrong many times. He’ll learn.”

 

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