Month: February 2017

Dutch company goes all Moneyball on Football!

Most of us will have seen the movie Moneyball, with Brad Pitt? Based on a true story, a baseball team in the US picking and signing players purely based on specific qualities, which together would form a winning team. The club would sign a miss match of cheap or even unknown players, causing frowns in foreheads of other managers, thinking: what are they smoking? But it worked. For a spell. We do need to add that the club actually never won the World Series, so it’s not like it’s a guaranteed recipe for success, but they did get attention.

A Dutch company seems to step into the shoes of Messrs Pitt and co. to revolutionise the way we look at new players and valuable players. In these past week, clubs, managers, scouts, players were busy trying to sort deals in the winter transfer window. Busy times for Giels Brouwer as well. Who? Giels Brouwer: the founder of SciSports, a Dutch company keen to make the difference: “I believe it with all my heart: math will be the foundation of football!”.

moneyball

So what do they do?

SciSports uses date to generate new insights into football. They have developed three products:

1. BallJames; allowing them to use real-time images into 3D data
2. SciSports Intelligence; develops algorythms to make this data visual
3. DataScouting is a virtual football consultant and talent scout

SciSports is located in Enschede (East of The Netherlands, where FC Twente is) and employs 45 people. Their database has stats of 300,000 players, up to the 2nd division.

He himself runs on Saturday afternoons along the sideline as left winger of Terschuurse Boys 4. “I can’t play, really”, the 27 year old says, when he joins Marcel Brands of PSV, or the Arsenal management or the technical committee of the Belgium football federation.  Or when he travels to Silicon Valley on the invite of the European Union.

His company SciSports is seen as a potential unicorn. A company potentially worth billions in the future. “It’s so surreal. On Saturday arvo, my coach benches me because I’m not good enough, the next day I’m in San Francisco with a self driving car next to me at the traffic lights, or I’m presenting my products before the board of Man United.

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Brouwer (left) with co-founder Babic

So please explain: Justin Kluivert is hot now. What do you know about him that I don’t?

“That’s too hard. He hasn’t played a handful of starting games. We need 15 to 20 games to make a good indication of a players’ potential. We don’t have a partnership with Ajax, so we don’t have his data from the youth academy. With PSV, we are at that point. Based on the youth data of PSV, I can tell you here and now that Kenneth Paal will be a top player for us.”

Who?

,,Haha. In our reporting, it appears that teams play better and get better results with him. He’s in our National Team of the Future. We help clubs identify players. A club can ask us: “We want a type of player like Memphis!”. Then we try to find players like Depay who are affordable. We have a database of 300,000 players and we can determine the impact of a player on a team. Not unlike Moneyball. Trying to find the new Kante or Vardy.”

Paal

SciSports offer more than data. “Clubs can also ask about negative aspects of a player. Was he drinking and driving? Has ie been suspended by his club? Did he injure a team mate. We have all these data. But it’s only a part of our service. Our core focus is the performance and statistics.”

In 2007, Brouwer commenced his studies at the Technical University in Enschede. Joop Munsterman, CEO of FC Twente opened his eyes during a guest lecture. “He told us about Twente’s technical management and how they did their transfer decision making. I was flabberhasted! I was a big player of Football Manager and I thought this was how it went in the real world. But Munsterman said it was all intuition! There are so many ways to scout a player, but FC Twente was doing it all in 1920 style. So I thought, I’ll build a Football Manager system, for the real world.”

In 2012, it all started for real. “I was in Ukraine for the Euros and I got a text message from a Twente scout. “Do you know a good player for us?”. And I thought, fuck it, I’m going to do this!”

Last year, SciSports assisted with 13 transfers, for Sparta, Vitesse, Twente, Heracles and Genk. At Heracles, they’ve installed 14 3D cameras which collate data for SciSports. “It’s all so basic still, but we’re moving fast. I hired 3 more people last month.”

Weghorst

What was the first big name player you found?

“Wout Weghorst. He was told FC Emmen didn’t want him anymore. But based on our data, he was excellent. Always scoring important goals, always on the right spot. The rest is history. SciSports brought him to Heracles and now he’s the new striker of AZ and no one misses Vincent Janssen. AZ is not his final station, I can alert you to that now.”

So the Dutch Eredivisie has a lot of potential still?

“Without any data to support this statement: Kasper Dolberg. But if you check the data results, Joey Groenbast of Go Ahead Eagles, the right back. And El Azzouzi of Sparta has potential. But the most influential player in the Eredivisie is Joel Veltman.”

Veltman??

“You wouldn’t think that, but yes, based on his stats. I would not have expected that either. But when he plays, Ajax doesn’t concede a lot and he’s always involved with the build up leading to goals. Our main question is always: what is the impact of a player on the team. That is key. Data will never replace the usual football processes of course, it doesn’t say anything about group dynamics. But it helps with generating insight to improve the game. It supports the coach. We help clubs by taking the noise out of the stats. It’s also confirming the ideas of scouts or giving them the devil’s advocate angle. I do believe that math can be the foundation of success in sports. It’s not perfect, but it’s less imperfect that the eye of the individual.”

Veltman

Any tips for clubs?

“If any club is looking for a winger, I’d go watch SV Eupen in Belgium and sign Henry Onyekuru. A top player!”

SciSports is going like a rocket. But only a couple of years ago, it looked bleak. Two co-founders decided to leave the company and go for a job while Giel realised his savings account was as good as empty. In 2015, the turnaround came when Rapid Wien came and needed help finding a player. That made the penny drop. “We were focusing on the Dutch market but now realised we could easily expand internationally.”

Today, SciSports works for 50 clubs, from Heracles to Valencia, from Besiktas to Lazio Roma. SciSports offers monthly subscription for data reports and analyses to more than a dozen clubs, and counting.

“The Big Clubs such as Man City have their own data teams. They don’t need us per se, but lots of clubs can’t afford that so they are our target market.”

The Dutch National Team of Tomorrow (according to SciSports)

NT future

Then there is the captain of Heracles, Mark Jan Fledderus. He visits SciSports regularly to analyse the qualities of his direct opponent of the up coming match. The BallJames service focuses on details. Like the first touch of a player, or the power of the player’s headers, or the running patterns of teams… Ball James is still an infant, and a loss making activity. “But that will change, I’m sure. The potential is amazing and we are getting so many requests. all football clubs I talk to want it.”

Brouwer is now a player in the world of football. He has lunch with Bryan Roy, has weekly phone calls with Mark Overmars, receives signed jersey from Robin van Persie and rubs shoulders with Silicon Valley based investors.

“I didn’t start this to become a millionaire. It’s nice if it happens, but my aim was and is to make the football sports more beautiful….”

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Gini Wijnaldum: I feel stronger than ever…

Next month Georginio Wijnaldum will celebrate 10 years on the highest level as pro football player. But the Liverpool midfielder is only 26 years old! He might have another 10 years ahead of him, who knows. The AD interviewed him on Mersey-side.

The interview is executed at the Hilton Liverpool. The waiter comes checking on him again. Every couple of minutes. “Is everything alright sir?”. Wijnaldum has a wry smile. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you…” It’s probably Wijnaldum’s life motto.

It’s almost 10 years since we saw Wijnaldum make his debut. The 2006/2007 season. Feyenoord vs FC Groningen. Coach Erwin Koeman allowed the youngster (16 years and 149 days old) his debut. Now, he’s active in the top of the EPL (like his former Feyenoord coach, who’s assistant coach at Everton). He looks at a photo from his debut, in De Kuip. “Hey look, it’s Karim Saidi! And there is Lindgren…wow time flies!”

gini debut

Making his debut for Feyenoord at 16

We’re 10 years further now. And between the first coach – Erwin Koeman – and current coach Klopp there were a number of other coaches of repute. Still, you feel Klopp is the best?

Wijnaldum: ,,Yes he is. He is so intense, so passionate. And he’s real. Authentic. He does make players and teams better. Not one or two. All of them. The way we play, with lots of movement, high press, creating space, the pace of the ball, you need to be top top fit! Our practice sessions are seriously tougher than the match. Literally, everything we do, we do at match-intensity.”

You worked under Louis van Gaal as well. But Klopp is better?

“Yes, but I didn’t work with Louis van Gaal at a club. It’s different. His practices were very good too. But I work with Klopp on a daily basis. They’re both real people, they both love their players. You can feel it. Van Gaal is simply amazing. When we started our WC campaign in 2014, he said: Gini, you might start in a controlling role in the team. Danny (Blind) says you are able to do it. I’m doubting it, but we will give it a go.”

Is that not a bit too honest?

“Why? I think it’s cool. He says what he thinks. And you could always debate him. I never saw him angry or pissed off. The WC in Brazil was special, unique. Before the match for the 3rd place against Brazil he called me out. He said “Shouldn’t you get on the score sheet now?”. And I did! I spoke about this with Leroy Fer. We grew up together. We’re very close. And we both scored at a World Cup. That is pretty special.”

fer gini oranje

With buddy Fer in Oranje U17

You say Klopp and Van Gaal are top coaches, and you immediately talk about their honesty?

“Well I have not worked with any coach that I couldn’t deal with, to be honest. And I am proud of the coaches I worked with: Erwin Koeman, Bert van Marwijk, Gertjan Verbeek, Leon Vlemmings, Mario Been, Dick Advocaat, Fred Rutten, Phillip Cocu, Louis van Gaal, Danny Blind, Steve McClaren, Rafa Benitez and Jürgen Klopp. Not bad eh? When Advocaat was coach at PSV, he once put Toivonen on my spot, the #10. I was pissed off then. I still am, hahaha. And I told him last summer at Oranje. But Advocaat followed his truth and was honest and open about it. I can accept that. Mario Been put me on the #10 role, that was special. Everyone in Holland said I didn’t have the vision, I was too individual but he saw it. And he took the risk with me and Leroy. Fred Rutten is like Klopp. The way he organises training sessions, patterns etc. But no one has the passion Klopp has. Wonderful.”

He’s German. Does this mean training really hard?

,,I think of all the players in Oranje, Vincent Janssen and I train the hardest of all. I spoke with Pochettino of Spurs before Liverpool came. It was a really good talk, lovely man.”

The Rotterdam-born midfielder chose Anfield over White Hart Lane in the summer, although strictly speaking there was no choice as Tottenham Hotspur did not meet Newcastle United’s £25m asking price, and has settled seamlessly into a team of increasing substance.

wijnald5
“I had great conversations with Pochettino and Klopp,” says the Dutch international. “But in the meeting with Jürgen we had a laugh and did not speak only about football. He was interested in my personal life and that was good for me. He was not only interested in Wijnaldum the footballer but Wijnaldum the person. When you’re not out on the football field you have to communicate as people and it is good if you know something about how the other person is. It makes things easier. So I didn’t really get an offer from Spurs, but I do speak with Vincent a lot. And he has had barely a day off at Spurs. I don’t think I had one day off from December 21 till end of January. I hardly give interviews, simply coz I don’t have time for it.”

So no comparison with Holland?

“No! In Holland we don’t really train. We simply maintain our condition. I didn’t realise this when I was in Holland. At PSV I sometimes complained but our physical coach Kiesouw said it always: you don’t train hard at all. If you go abroad, you’ll find out what training is.”

Could it be that some players will decide not to want to play for these types of coaches?

“Well, if you don’t want this, you should not want to be top. Then you need to play at a lower level. If you want to reach the ultimate, this is the way.”

Some people say: Liverpool and Tottenham will collapse in March/April. Injuries, fatigue. You guys didn’t start well in 2017 because you’re too tired?

“I don’t agree. I never felt this strong. Sometimes we have to run a kilometer in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Then directly we need to go and play a match on a small pitch and immediately after that, another kilometer in the same time. And that goes on for the whole session. Trust me, you’re dead after that. But you need to be able to find a way to remain tight in the passing, to play the right ball, to pass with precision. Klopp tells us we can manage to control the last stage of the game.”

wijnald2

Things are looking up for you at Liverpool. How’s the National Team going now?

“I didn’t watch the Euros, I only watched the final. I wanted to spend time with my family and friends instead but, to be honest, I was done with football for a few weeks because everything had gone wrong. Personally it was a great year but when you don’t achieve things with your team, and especially if you get relegated (with Newcastle), it is hard. I was a little bit done with football but Moussa [Sissoko, of France] is a good friend of mine so I thought I should watch him in the final. The Euros was a really big disappointment but relegation with Newcastle was for me even bigger. Before I went to Newcastle I spoke with the manager and the people there and they had big plans to bring good players in and play for titles. I was really disappointed because I wanted to achieve something with Newcastle. Even if it was not a title I wanted to help the club get back to fifth-to-10th place to start with, and maybe get the club back into Europe again. Unfortunately it didn’t go that way. It went totally wrong. That was the biggest disappointment for me last season.”

Wijnaldum talks more Oranje: “I am quite confident we can build our national team up to a good level. We might not longer be the dominant force, or a title candidate, but with players like Robben, Strootman, Van Dijk, Blind and other, I’m sure we can make it hard for any opponent. We just need to have our key players fit. There is so much young talent coming through. And I know what Memphis is capable of. He’ll get back to good form, I’m sure!”

gini messi
Four months into his Liverpool career and Wijnaldum has rediscovered the feeling he had during his final season at PSV Eindhoven when, as captain, he led Phillip Cocu’s team to their first league title since 2008. He will not say whether Liverpool can end a much longer wait for a league title this season. To do so would run contrary to everything Klopp demands of his players, indeed the entire club, in his quest for constant improvement, although the midfielder admits Liverpool have confidence they can win every game at present. “There is no chance of us getting carried away,” he says. “That comes from the manager. Even if we have played a good game he still wants to work on the things that didn’t go so well. Every time you have to give 100%. It’s the same every week and in every training session. Every exercise we do he asks us to do it at 100% and never less.”

Wijnaldum adds: “I feel like I did at PSV. The most important thing is to enjoy football because you don’t know how long your career is going to last, but it is difficult when things don’t go well. It was difficult to enjoy last season. You are losing games, everything is going bad, you don’t play well and in the end you get relegated. That was hard.

“This season I started to enjoy it as soon as I knew Liverpool really wanted to sign me, especially after the meeting with Jürgen. I came away from that with a really great feeling that I could train with a good manager, a really good team and make myself a better player. I’m probably enjoying it now more than I did before because I have seen the other side of football where I was losing a lot of games and got relegated with Newcastle and didn’t go to the Euros. These are better days.

debuut gini oranje

Scoring on his debut, for Oranje
“Every training session we do is to improve you as a player. That’s different to what I’ve experienced before and I’m really happy with it. The manager gives you confidence. He’s not a manager who yells at you or gets angry with you whenever you make a mistake. He will only get mad if you don’t do the things you are good at so, for example, [Sadio] Mané is a good player who can dribble, [Philippe] Coutinho is a good player who can dribble and if they stop doing that there’s a chance he might get mad and upset because you are not using your quality. Against Southampton last week he wanted me to make a run. I did it but it was too late and he said something about it. But sometimes, if I lose the ball easily, I expect him to be angry and he’s not. You can hear his voice easily enough – he’s quite loud. He is really passionate and not only in the game. People might see him during a game and think that’s an act. It’s not an act. He’s like that in training. For me that’s a good thing because it keeps you sharp and, from his side, he is doing everything he can to make the team ready to win games. That’s a good thing.”

The Holland international has a more defensive role at Liverpool than at Newcastle, where he operated out wide or as a No10, but Klopp did not outline a specific role when they met in the summer. “He explained his way of playing and said that I would fit in. From that moment I was very excited,” says Wijnaldum who, for his part, neglected to mention inspiring Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat of Liverpool at St James’ Park in December. “At the time he still had to make me an offer so I thought it is probably best to say nothing about that game, although it was a good one for me.”
Wijnaldum admits that “in different circumstances” he would have “loved to have worked longer” with Benítez. “But I had my plans in my head and we both went our own way. He said he wanted to keep me to get promoted and that the right offer had to be made before I could leave. Once everything was done he said Liverpool was a wonderful club and that he hoped I’d enjoy it here.”

gini psv new look

Big money move to PSV (to aid fledging Feyenoord) and with new look

A more formative influence currently resides across Stanley Park. Erwin Koeman, assistant to his brother, Ronald, at Everton, was the Feyenoord coach who gave Wijnaldum his debut in April 2007; the midfielder became the club’s youngest debutant, in a team featuring Pierre van Hooijdonk and Angelos Charisteas, Greece’s European Championship-winning striker, against a Groningen side featuring one Luis Suárez.

“The game was on the Sunday and he told me on the Wednesday that I would be playing,” he recalls of the elder Koeman. “That was a really special moment. I realised that not every trainer has the balls to let a 16-year-old play in the first team and things were not going so well for the team at that time so they didn’t want to take the risk with young players. I was 16 years and 148 days old. That is why I always respect him as a trainer, because he made a decision that other trainers would have been scared to make. He told me I could tell my grandma, who I was living with at the time, but asked me not to tell anyone in school. I was still at school and he wanted to keep it a secret. You know how it is with reporters. It was very difficult to concentrate on class.”

While Wijnaldum is effusive in his praise of past and present coaches, it is his grandmother Francina to whom he owes the greatest gratitude. As he explains: “I wanted to be a gymnast when I was young, I used to do backflips and all those things in the street and at home, but my grandma said it was dangerous and made me stop. Now my daughter is doing gymnastics and I’m a little bit jealous of her because she is doing all the things I wanted to do when I was young. I had to stop and concentrate on football but I’m happy about that now.”

First senior goal Wijnaldum

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Piet Keizer, genius enfant terrible, passed away

Ajax icon Piet Keizer died of lung cancer. He turned 73 years old. The legendary left winger from the Golden Ajax 1970s team, he would always stay loyal to his club.

Sjaak Swart as the right winger, Johan Cruyff as center forward and Keizer the left winger. This Ajax forward trio conquered the world. He won three European cups with Ajax, and the World Cup for clubs in 1972. He won six titles with his club and snatched the national cup up five times.

490 times he wore the Ajax jersey, 365 competition games. With this number of games, he’s the number 4 on the all time list of Ajax players, right behind Sjaak Swart, Wim Suurbier (the right back of that team) and Danny Blind. He played 34 times for the National Team and scored 11 times for Oranje.

Keizer was a genius but also an inconsistent and head strong left winger. Like most left wingers. He was one of the first to demonstrate the so-called scissor step over moves, to perfection, to take on opponents. This move will always be attributed to him. In 1974, after being benched by Michels at the World Cup 1974 in favour of Robbie Rensenbrink and after a conflict with Ajax coach Hans Kraay Sr, Piet Keizer retired abruptly. 31 years old. Much too early. But that who he was and it tells the story of this headstrong player. If he wasn’t good enough for the top anymore, he wouldn’t play at all.

Piet K 1

He would later join the club again as scout and consultant and was actively involved in football as players’ manager. In 2010 he was named honorary member of Ajax but he refused the title as a result of a conflict with the so-called members board.

Piet Keizer was one of the few ex Ajax players who openly doubted Cruyff’s Velvet Revolution at Ajax, in 2010. “What is Johan doing exactly? Is he keen to get the power in the club or is he actually trying to serve Ajax’ interests. It will have to be the latter!”, he said then.

When Johan came through the ranks at the club, it was Keizer who would mentor “Jopie”. But in the summer of 1973, a leadership clash was the final straw pushing Cruyff out of Ajax, to Barcelona. Both players are up for the captaincy. Cruyff expected to get the band, as the best player, but the Ajax players voted for Keizer. This resulted in Cruyff and Keizer almost getting into a fight during a friendly game. Not much later, Johan left.

In his final years, Keizer was football players’ manager, with his son Royce he formed PR Sportmanagement BV.

John piet

 

Piet Keizer lived as a hermit. Swart, Cruyff, Van Hanegem, they never shunned the limelight, guesting in sports shows on tv, doing analyses, giving interviews… Keizer was notoriously introverted and never used more words than necessary. He was not a sentimental man and never liked looking back. But he always has an opinion. This is from an earlier interview. Piet Keizer: “I sometimes say things from the sidelines. About Ajax. That is and will always be my club. There is all that stuff going on about Ajax needing to go back to its roots. I don’t think they’ve strayed at all.” Piet did stray. His desire for the ball seems gone. Sjaak Swart is almost 76 and still plays amateur football every week. Does Keizer ever produce a scissor step over? Or cross a ball? “Nah hahaha, when I quit, I still played a bit with my kids. But whenever I hit a ball, I cramped up. I think I was forcing my major muscles too much. I went to play tennis. Four to eight hours a week and I still do.” His birthdays were never an event for him. “Technically, every day is your birthday. I celebrate every day. In silence.”

Why Keizer never was keen to get his face on tv and discuss football. “Oh football, it’s of today. And a little bit about tomorrow. And if you’re bored, it’s also yesterday’s. But it is not of the day before yesterday. My turn has passed. I’m no longer relevant.”

It sounds cynical and it’s typical Keizer. Direct. Not interested in spotlights. He even didn’t like playing evening games. He doesn’t want to look back. He only sees the historical images of himself and his victories by accident. He does watch a lot of youth games. “I watched the Copa Amsterdam, the under 19s teams. These guys play in a pretty good pace, good movement and good interplay. Was nice.”

Piet K 2

Interplay. It’s important to him. “In the current philosophy of Ajax, the individual is key. But team work needs to be the foundation. The individual needs to work on his strengths to make the team better. Technique, power, mentality and vision. Marco van Basten said it so well: when a player is really good at something, develop that. Don’t go develop his weaker aspects. Why? Don’t teach an elephant how to dance! I see players making actions for the actions. Triple step overs, sur place. And then pulling the ball back and stumbling over their own feet. Useless.”

Cruyff also visited the Copa Amsterdam but the two didn’t meet there. “Sad, I really had a couple of questions for him”. The two know each other for 55 years. They sat next to each other for years in the dressing room and shared pleasure and pain for club, nation and trophies. Cruyff traveled the globe and played for several other clubs. Keizer was true to Ajax, his whole football life. “Amsterdam was the world for me. Didn’t need more. I did consider moving to another competition, but it never happened. And when I quit, I was offered different deals from all sorts of directions, but I quit. I didn’t feel like it anymore.”

Cruyff became coach. Keizer started the course and quit. “What a nightmare. Consider this: being a coach and have two players in your squad with half the attitude of Cruyff and Keizer. I wouldn’t want that. We had our own opinion and were difficult. We clashed with our coaches. And I’m not a screamer or loudmouth, but I speak my mind. I decided to guide and mentor players. That is quite normal now, but then it was all new.”

piet k 3

Keizer and Cruyff once did a double interview and in that interview, they both had a lot of criticism on Rinus Michels. Keizer hated Michels. “I don’t like dictatorial people, or coaches. Michels had that. I couldn’t cope with that. And he was a football nit wit. He was ok for the others, I guess, but Johan and I… We just looked at each other. Rolling our eyes. When we would leave the dressing room, Johan and I would quickly tell the players what we wanted them to do. And we took it from there.”

These quotes were never used by the media, at the request of Keizer and Cruyff. Both players would never openly criticise Michels.

The two seemed like twins. “When you spend so much time together playing, you know each other, you can say anything. There is a bond for life, not in sentimental way. What is, will always be.”

Keizer did agree that things needed to change at Ajax, when the legendary #14 suggested it. “Yes, the Academy needed to improve. And I agreed also that football people needed to be in charge, facilitated by an experienced board. Johan did that. He made it happen, but his means are not mine. They called it the velvet revolution but with Johan, there are always bloody victims. People got hurt and damaged. But I agree, we still need to make steps, the youth academy at Ajax makes me sad. We have the best Youth Academy, they say. But it’s not. It’s a marketing speech. Ajax signs all sorts of 15 and 16 year old players from all over. That means you are incompetent. The ultimate proof your academy is not the best.”

Piet Sjaak

Left winger Keizer: typically cantankerous and right winger Swart: typically charming

Keizer on how to deal with the younger players: “Don’t give them tasks and tactical directions. When they’re 11 or 12 years old, they need to get the freedom to find their own way. What works, what doesn’t. It needs to be playful. Coaches should not give them complicated practices. They need to make friends with the ball. For control. That is key. And yes, if they do make mistakes, you can correct them. Today, at the Academy, they train without resistance, they don’t strengthen their weaker foot and it’s all in a low pace. If that foundation isn’t there, it doesn’t matter what else you do.”

“Individual practices are good but you can only be a key player if you learn to play with others. If you have the ambition to win together, you will pull others with you. When they reach 15 and 16 it all is about team play. I was an individual player and was very intuitive. No coach made me better. But they made me more social. So use your individual qualities in the team.”

Keizer about coaches: “Most coaches have potential but you’ll need to pay to get good coaches. I mentioned Fons Groenendijk, Ron Jans, Alex Pastoor… but the investment will be repaid. Just focus on the basic techniques.”

coen piet

Two of the best left wingers Holland ever had: Coen Moulijn (Feyenoord) and Piet (Ajax)

“I watched many Ajax games live in Amsterdam but I left at half time a lot. I simply wasn’t entertained. Yes, they don’t lose the ball and don’t concede, but it’s a lot of back passing and square balls. If there is no risk, there is no glory. Most players use one foot, they play from a position of rest. Standing still. Or players needing a second touch always, to control the ball… And Frank de Boer did well, as coach. He did what he was paid to do. Win trophies, but he’s not a trainer. He’s a coach. He doesn’t make players better. There is no time for it, for him. But if you want to make a dent internationally, you need to step up. I was impressed with Dennis Bergkamp, I watched him work. He works individually, and offers players good advice, in word and deed. Dennis was a genius in the first touch. Just that, creating space with the first touch. Allowing yourself that space and time to finish composed. Little details.”

Piet was not too positive about Dutch football. “What Ajax has done in the last seasons was enough to win the title. That is the benchmark, apparently. That is a sad conclusion. It has to improve. The results of the National Team were always achieved in the last decades with players from the top leagues. With one or two Eredivisie players in it.”

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Young guns in Oranje: Nuninga, Cruyff, Wim Jansen and Piet Keizer

Keizer on kicking techniques: “There is hardly any practice going into kicking the ball. Players like Koeman, Van der Kuylen, myself…we practiced ourselves. At practice, it’s all the inside of the foot. Passing the ball. Some players are so clumsy, almost breaking their ankles to control the ball. A player like Justin Kluivert or Klaassen are two footed. Some players uses the front of the foot for their passing. More power, more pace and you keep the whole pace up. You can get to the opponents box in four of five moves. Like DeBruyne does it, Hazard, Sneijder and Van der Vaart. If you can see that unfold it’s like heaven.”

Ajax general manager Edwin van der Sar: “We were informed last week that Piet would not recover anymore. That in itself was a blow. We were updated daily. Piet and his wife asked us not to divulge anything to the media. He played almost 500 games for Ajax and won everything one can win. And he always remained involved in what we do here. We saw him at the youth games, we had numerous conversations with him as management. Last November we had a reunion with the 1971 EC finals team. Of all the living players, Piet was there as well of course. All those amazing anecdotes…”

Ex team mate Pim van Dord: “Piet was unique. Not only was he amazing in his technical skills, he also had incredible tactical understanding. He and Cruyff played in a good team, but it was also them that pushed that level up. They determined everything that happened. And it’s through their development and that of Van Hanegem and Jansen at Feyenoord that Dutch football was brought to a world class level.”

Former right winger and skipper John van ‘t Schip: “Piet Keizer, a super player and a phenomenal human being.”

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Together again, in the jersey

Former team mate and ex-skipper Ruud Krol: “He had tremendous vision, could read the game and was the artist, a true artist. He could do amazing things out of nowhere. I loved his goal vs Celtic in the quarter finals in 1971. He tricked his opponent and scored and he just stood there, arms up. He just looked around him and you could see the wonder and joy in his face. He never loved the attention off the pitch, but n the pitch, he loved it when 40,000 people looked at him and cheered. He enjoyed it immensely. Don’t forget, he broke his skull in 1964, and his career could have been over. His life even. I was part of that famous Ajax squad and came as a youngster. I am right footed but I had to play on the left back spot. Johan, Gerrie Muhren and Piet Keizer allowed me to develop into a full back on the left flank and taught me to use my left. I was six years younger than them and Piet in particular was crucial for my career. He would sometimes scream at me out of frustration, but that was needed. You do become a better player when your mates keep you sharp. He was a genius. As a player and as a man.”

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Piet in Oranje

Dutch national team coach Danny Blind expressed his sadness. “His death hurts. He was a wonderful player but also an innovative thinker, re: football. I knew him well and will miss him. We didn’t always agree on things, but the discussions always made you wiser and better. Very authentic as a human being. He didn’t care which way the wind was blowing. I loved his strength of character. Piet was all about the love of the game. Entertaining the masses. Winning was important, but it was all about the beauty.”

Keizer’s buddy on the right flank, Mr Ajax Sjaak Swart: “I played with him for years. He’s a real Ajax man. Never played for another club, just like me. We had a sensational time, with Johan as striker. I cherish all these moments. Piet didn’t like the attention and he was difficult. He wouldn’t answer stupid questions. Typically for him, he just quit when he was 31 years old. He was his own man, always.”

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2016, the Oranje year in review

Oops, I should have posted this already in January… It’s one of those things. The Oranje Year 2016 in review. Well, always nice to have an Oranje debate (broader than just Memphis, Daley and St Juste). I’ll add my own 2cents and after this I have some amazing posts coming up…  Good interview with Peter Bosz, Ronald Koeman, Rafael van der Vaart, Stefan de Vrij and much much more….

I: Vincent Janssen, Oranje’s striker for the next decade?
‘So cool, really amazing, I’m going nutso on the inside!”. Janssen can’t really fathom what’s happening when NT manager Danny Blind takes Janssen up in the prelim selection for Oranje. When the AZ striker hears that he made it to the final squad, he “was definitely on Cloud #9 for an hour!”. He doesn’t even dream of his actual debut, but a month later, Janssen is allowed to make his first appearance in the friendly against France (2-3) which is mainly played in the memory of Johan Cruyff, who passed on before the game. A couple of days later, Janssen is a starter vs England at Wembley. And he impresses. He’s fierce in the challenges, works and hussles, keeping the English defenders busy. And when the ref gives Oranje a spot kick in the 50st minutes, it’s Janssen who collects the ball. Janssen, becoming the Dutch topscorer for AZ that season, scores a beauty. Half an hour later, the striker has the assist for the winning goal by Luciano Narsingh and the whole of the nation is sold. This man went from Almere City to Wembley within 12 months. Oranje has a new goal scoring hero.

Vincent Janssen maakt zijn debuut voor Oranje in de verloren oefenwedstrijd tegen Frankrijk (2-3). Dat duel staat in het teken van het overlijden van Johan Cruijff. Zo wordt in de veertiende minuut een indrukwekkend eerbetoon gehouden voor de legendarische Nummer 14.

Note Jan: As of a couple of months, Vince is struggling at Spurs while Dost and Van Persie seem in great form. I think Janssen will struggle in the NT to keep his spot. Between you and me: Wout Weghorst is NOT a candidate for the NT. Yes, he scores goals, but that is in the Eredivisie against weaker teams. I don’t see it in him.

II: The End of a Golden Generation?

The rise of Vincent Janssen in Oranje has had an impact on the Oranje career of Klaas Jan Huntelaar. The Schalke striker was convinced that when Robin van Persie would be thanked for his services, he finally would get his chance as leader of the line. But Blind wants to test younger players: Luuk de Jong against France and Janssen vs England. When Huntelaar refuses to come onto the pitch at Wembley, a row is born. The striker: “It’s not exactly like that. I didn’t say I wouldn’t come off the bench. I’m happy to start on the bench and come on to make a difference. But not in the last two minutes!”

The friendly vs England is remarkable, as it is for the first time since August 2010 that The Fab Four are missing. Sneijder and Robben are injured, Van Persie and Van der Vaart not needed. The absence of the Fener striker causes a national discussion. Blind makes a clear statement that “a fit and in form Van Persie will have a place in the squad” but at this stage, it’s a little bit “too hot and too cold” with the former Feyenoord man. Throughout 2016, Huntelaar and Van Persie are not in the picture.

Robin van Persie kiest er eind oktober zelf voor om de gouden schaal voor zijn honderdste interland naar Istanbul te laten opsturen. De KNVB wilde de spits van Fenerbahçe niet huldigen in een vol stadion. 'Dat zou de schijn kunnen wekken dat zijn loopbaan als international erop zou zitten.'Van Persie is awarded the rare Golden Shield for 100 caps for Oranje. The KNVB does not want to honour him in a full stadium “as to not give the impression that we are organising a farewell for him”… Instead, the European post collects the shield and cap and medal in Zeist and transports it impersonally to Istanbul.

Note Jan: The NT is over for Van der Vaart. But Sneijder, Robben and potentially Van Persie are still valuable. The latter is making a difference for Fener and seems fit. Huntelaar is still struggling with fitness. At this stage, I don’t see the Hunter making a return.

III: Oranje impresses as sparring partner

In May, Blind states that in his view the NT has not given the farewell to Van Persie and Huntelaar. But a Robben and Sneijder need to let the end of season trip pass, Oranje will go to Lagos for their trainings camp without the big guns. Dick Advocaat, moonlighting a bit with Feyenoord, is added to the technical staff of Oranje, at the request of Danny Blind. Like with Feyenoord, there is an Advocaat effect with Oranje. As sparring partner for three Euro nations, the NT shows an ascending form. A draw vs Ireland results in biting criticism, but winning vs Poland and Austria results in the question what Oranje might have been able to do at the Euros if only… Kevin Strootman: “I can see a good trend developing. We can see a team forming and a winning mentality.” Virgil van Dijk: “We might not be world class but if we are prepared to work our socks off, we can make it hard for any opponent.”

Steven Berghuis wordt tot verbazing van velen opgeroepen voor de oefentrip aan het einde van vorig seizoen. De tribuneklant van Watford wordt gebeld door de bondscoach als hij in New York loopt. Eenmaal terug van vakantie bereidt Berghuis tegen Polen de 0-1 van Vincent Janssen voor.

And to the surprise of most, Danny Blind selects benchwarmer Steven Berghuis for the friendlies. He’s on a holiday in New York when he receives the call from Blind. On the pitch, he creates the Janssen goal for Oranje vs Poland.

Blind: “We had Steven in our group earlier and he impressed with his vision and delivery. I know he hasn’t played a lot at Watford, but whenever he came on as a sub, he created something. A through ball, a distance shot, a cross. He has a rare talent and we lack good wingers, so the options are few and far between.”

Note Jan: It’s all about team. Not the individuals. Messi never won a big trophy with Argentina. And even C Ronaldo was not present in the finals of the Euro vs France. It’s the team. If the mentality and tactics work, and we can add the special qualities of Sneijder and/or Robben, we can play a role at any stage.
IV: chaos at the Dutch football Federation

Advocaat’s return to the KNVB has a good effect. We see it more often: a seasoned assistant supporting an inexperienced coach (Spijkerman > De Boer; Brood > Cocu; Wouters > Van Bronckhorst). But suddenly, in August the serial club hopper says goodbye to the NT. The “challenge” (paycheck?) in Istanbul can’t be ignored. Blind and the new TD Hans van Breukelen are dumbfounded and unpleasantly surprised when Advocaat books a ticket to Turkey.

What develops in Zeist in the weeks after seems to be written by the Monty Python team. New director Van Breukelen fights a public bitch fight with Ruud Gullit, who doesn’t want to work with Van Breukelen as he is “untrustworthy”. General Manager Van Oostveen also takes a hike and the chaos is complete. Popular team manager Hans Jorritsma is forced to retire, without the consent of Danny Blind. When Marco van Basten is lured away by FIFA, the chaos is complete. To Van Basten’s credit: he stays with Blind until he has found a new assistant in former Ajax goalie Fred Grim.

Blind is eind september maar al te blij dat hij met Frans Hoek (opvolger van Arno van Zwam) en Fred Grim twee assistenten heeft die hem wel trouw blijven. Dat zij allebei keepers zijn, vindt de bondscoach geen probleem. 'Met Grim en Hoek moeten we de nul wel kunnen houden.'

Blind adds Van der Hoek to the staff as well, two assistants who will remain loyal, Blind expects. The criticism that he now has two ex goalies as assistants and an ex goalie as his boss is laughed off by the legendary Ajax skipper: “at least we won’t be conceding too many goals!”

Note Jan: Since this debacle, the consultancy team brought in by Hans van Breukelen has been exposed as a bunch of frauds and the KNVB chair has acted on that by cancelling all their contributions to the Dutch Federation. The very media focused Van Breukelen has been quiet and the next discussion centered around the football development approach, with Van Breukelen’s “mental angle” directly opposing Wim Jansen’s (and others) “skill angle”.

V: Pressure on position Danny Blind

At the press conference prior to the Greece friendly and the key WC qualification game vs Sweden, Blind has to respond profusely on the KNVB chaos. The exit of Van Oostveen, he calls “bad timing” and he hopes the run to the exit doors of his staff will end soon. He also tells the media he received a lucrative offer from Asia. The only man who is loyal to Oranje feels the noose around his neck when a sloppy Oranje loses the friendly vs Greece. If Oranje loses vs Sweden, Blind will be out, the media claim.

The results aren’t too good and after Blind took over from Hiddink it also doesn’t seem that the football is improving. After a failed experiment with 5-3-2 vs France, Blind falls back on the traditional 4-3-3 but dictating a match is not on the cards. Eyebrows are frowned also when he picks a young talent from the Eredivisie over a big name abroad or when he decides to fall back on a benchwarmer. Blind refuses to resign should Oranje lose vs Sweden.
Danny Blind kreeg een belletje uit het Verre Oosten. De bondscoach ziet er de humor wel van in. 'Daar zijn clubs nog weleens geïnteresseerd in Europese trainers. De Nederlandse trainers liggen blijkbaar goed in de markt, dus er is nog hoop voor mij.'

Note Jan: Blind is still being criticised by the consensus in Holland is, that with the material we currently have for the NT, any coach would be in trouble. Yes Blind is inexperienced, and yes he may have made mistakes, but is there a guarantee someone else would have done better?
VI: No Justice in Sweden 

Oranje returns home from Sweden, chin up and chest out. It played a decent game, got a draw and should have had the three points. In the second half, Oranje played it’s best half of 2016. Sneijder corrected a rare mistake by Strootman but Klaassen and Dost fail to bring Oranje the full loot. Blind: “We should have won 1-3 or 1-4. We created enough but lacked the sharpness.” And when Dost does find the net late in the game, it’s the referee who spoils the fun, believing Dost fouled his opponent.
Oranje feels aggrieved with this decision but has luck that France draws 0-0 vs Belarus. But Blind isn’t sure what it means for his future. “What will this mean for me? I have no clue”, he quips. The team manager has reasons to complain about his lack of fortune. He inherited a team lacking confidence, and lacking results. He also had to deal with a continuous flow of injuries amongst key players.

Bas Dost lijkt Oranje tijdens de WK-kwalificatiestart in een rol als stormram aan een verdiende zege te helpen, maar hij zou tegenstander Victor Lindelöf hebben geduwd. 'Daar zat de scheidsrechter ons inderdaad in de weg', zegt Blind na afloop. 'Dat was een ongelooflijke fout van hem.'

Bas Dost scores the winner as the pinchhitter vs Sweden, but the ref claims he pushed Lindelof in the process. Blind: “Here it was the referee stopping us from scoring. This was a bad mistake.”
VII: Arjen Robben, eternal problem child

Of all the injured absentees, Arjen Robben is missed most. Every time Blind announces his squad, prelim or otherwise, Robben is the topic for the media. And when he returns to the fold in Munich, in October, Robben even becomes a hot topic. The team manager puts his trust in Bayern coach Ancelotti (“A good guy, he’ll do the right thing”) but he only sees his skipper return a month later, vs Luxembourg. The world class player scores immediately but leaves the pitch after one half.

There is no criticism on the KNVB coming from Munich anymore. This was different in the past, when Robben forced himself for Oranje, but Bayern had to deal with an injured winger. In 2016, it’s Roma that is aggrieved. AS Roma coach Spalletti claims that Strootman was butchered by the NT. A day later, Blind hits back. “We are conscientious with our conduct. We are responsible people.” Spalletti confirms later, grudgingly, that Blind is correct.

Arjen Robben verschijnt op 13 november voor het eerst sinds een jaar aan de aftrap bij Oranje. Waar de 32-jarige aanvaller zijn rentree in november 2015 nog opluistert met twee goals tegen Wales, scoort de sterspeler nu één keer. Na rust keert Robben door een lichte blessure niet terug.

Note Jan: Robben, when fit, will play for Bayern as Ancelotti adores the winger. And he’s still super good.

VIII: new stars shine

Blind is correct more often. In the run up to the Belarus and France qualifiers, the NT manager has to explain again why he keeps on selecting Quincy Promes, who seems to be struggling in Oranje. The coach: “I see him play every week for the full 90 minutes and he is one of the key players every week. Clearly you don’t watch him. The lad is really good.” Days later, Promes repays the trust by scoring two international goals vs Belarus.

It’s the new generation that pull their weight in 2016 in Oranje. Van Dijk is a rock at the back. Janssen is important with four goals in 10 games and is Rick Karsdorp with his strong performances vs Belarus and France the best candidate for the right back position. Blind allows eight debutants to wear the orange and when he recalls Memphis in November as a result of more injuries, it is the former PSV winger who decides the Luxembourg game.

Quincy Promes steelt de show als Oranje voor het eerst in tweeënhalf jaar weer eens in De Kuip speelt. In zijn vijftiende interland vindt de aanvaller van Spartak Moskou eindelijk het net. Oranje boekt daardoor de eerste zege richting het WK in Rusland.Quiny Promes is the man when Oranje plays in De Kuip . In his 15th international game, the Spartak Moscow forward finally scores twice. The first victory for Oranje on the road to Russia.

Note Jan: Promes is returning to full fitness. De Vrij is returning to full fitness. Berghuis is playing better and better, Wijnaldum is improving, Ake is back at Chelsea… With a more 3-4-3 approach (with Karsdorp on the right and Willems/Van Aanholt on the left), we might be able to utilise the special qualities of Robben/Promes/Memphis up front, Chelsea style…

IX: Goal keeper musical chairs

One spot in the team which symbolises the changes in Oranje 2016: the goalie. Cillesen starts the year as the regular starter but after his transfer to Barcelona, he currently is third choice. He loses his place in September vs Greece to Jeroen Zoet, who also was between the sticks vs England and Austria. Blind: “This doesn’t mean that Zoet is my first choice for the WC campaign.”

And so it is. A month later vs Belarus is Maarten Stekelenburg the number one in goal. The 34 year old Everton goalie “makes a better impression”. But Blind also confirms it was a tough choice to make. Naturally, Blind cops criticism for this choice. What if Stekelenburg screws up? And that is exactly what happens. The experienced goalie misjudges a stoppable attempt from Paul Pogba, from distance. “Maarten should stop that shot, and he knows it,” says Blind. Who also says he doesn’t regret making the choice.

Maarten Stekelenburg ligt verslagen op de grond als Paul Pogba hem na een half uur verrast met een poeier van de afstand. Oranje komt die klap niet meer te boven tegen de Fransen, die eigenlijk oppermachtig zijn in De Arena en maar zelden het idee geven dat er iets te halen valt.Stekelenburg defeated by Pogba. Oranje wouldn’t be able to turn it around, although Memphis does try late in the game with an audacious turn in the box.

Note JR: Cillesen is not making a big impression, Stekelenburg is back on the bench, Krul just started playing, Vermeer is not 100% match fit…as it stands now, Jeroen Zoet is the only logical candidate for Oranje.

X: Arena cursed for Oranje
Stekelenburg’s mistake causes Oranje’s defeat vs France. The mighty French are the fifth to win in the Arena on the trot. The stadium seems cursed for Oranje. A month later, Belgium is the guest in a friendly and could make the series six in a row. The Red Devils are better than Holland and get close to a win, after Klaassen’s opening goal and Carrasco’s late equalizer.The debate re: Oranje’s safe haven and home is further fueled when Oranje for the first time in 860 days plays in Rotterdam. The atmospheric football temple is the ground where Oranje has an emphatic win over Belarus. The first home win in 1,5 years. This says as much about Oranje as it does about the Arena. In 2017, Oranje starts as the number 22 on the FIFA ranking, just behind Iceland (!) and just in front of Ireland (!). There is much more going on than a mere stadium curse and the WC is definitely not in reach yet.

Davy Klaassen zet Nederland in de Derby der Lage Landen op 1-0 uit een strafschop, maar België is in het restant van de wedstrijd de baas. Het oefenduel in De Arena maakt ondanks de uitslag eens te meer duidelijk dat Oranje niet langer tot de mondiale top behoort.

Note JR: Like all the international players and football experts, I believe the vibe in a venue and the quality of the pitch should be leading. If the players feel most at home in De Kuip, play there. Screw the sponsors.

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Ricky Testa: the one that got away….

In the early 1980s, Utrecht was a hotbed for football talent. The likes of Vanenburg, Van Loen, Godee and Marco van Basten all hailed from the same area, where they played numerous games with and against each other on amateur level, before the big clubs came to swoop them up.

In Amsterdam, talents like Rijkaard, Van ’t Schip, Kieft, Bosman and Gullit made name, while Rotterdam followed with the likes of Mario Been, Danny Blind, Rene Eijer and Rene van der Gijp.

Most if not all of them reached the top. Playmaker John van Loen had to endure a growth spurt and was converted into a striker. Playmaker Edwin Godee did play for Ajax and several rep teams but lacked the quality to reach the senior Oranje team.

One player got away, as they say. Ricky Testa La Muta, best buds with Marco van Basten, made different choices. And disappeared in obscurity. This is his story.

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Ricky now, coaching Elinkwijk

Testa la Muta is considered a phenomenon in Utrecht. In the 1990s, the striker was the main man in the top amateur team Holland, of Utrecht. Coached by none other than Willem van Hanegem, the amateur team won the Dutch amateur title twice in a row, with attractive football. While elsewhere in The Netherlands, his friend Marco van Basten was feverishly working on regaining fitness from a long time lingering ankle issue. Marco was not even 30 years old and faced having to go into retirement. After years of suffering and pain, he decided to call it a day. San Marco would relocate from Milan into the anonymity of Monte Carlo and struggled through a dark period of his life. His friend Ricky was by his side whenever Marco needed him. The flamboyant striker with Italian roots never made it to the big stage, to the surprise of many football experts.

Their lives seemed to run along a synchrone thread. Van Basten became the best in the world, Testa La Muta disappeared from the spotlights. The striker with Italian roots: “We played in the A junior team of Elinkwijk. What a fantastic team we had. Edwin Godee was our captain. Ajax scouts came and picked Marco and Edwin. They overlooked me. I was struggling with a knee injury, an injury which back then took a year to deal with. Today’s it’s different. But, Ajax wanted the best and fittest, and I was not part of that group. I would have played for FC Utrecht, but they did not have a youth academy, so that didn’t work. Feyenoord was an option but it was too far away for me to consider. And guess what, a couple of years ago I met Aad de Mos. I politely introduced myself and he looked at me with a question in his eyes. He told me that Ajax was ready to sign me as well. They were following me. So I wondered what happened? Why didn’t they? And by Golly, De Mos simply couldn’t remember why it never happened… Such is life.”

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In the Elinkwijk youth, Marco is standing next to the goalie, Ricky sits front row far right

Testa La Muta remembers it all well and was actually counting on a logical move to Amsterdam. “We had such amazing players. I played for a small amateur club when I was younger. We won everything. Until we faced Sterrenwijk. A certain Gerald Vanenburg was their key player. We lost 6-1. Vanenburg scored all six goals, I scored for our team, hahahaha. I remember my dad telling everyone: I thought my son was a good player with promise, but that little Vanenburg… that is a boy wonder!”

I then made a move to Elinkwijk. Gerald played there as well that season, as did Edwin Godee. They were so incredibly good, in midfield. I was the striker and life was relatively easy for me there. We were all part of the Utrecht youth plan. They dd not have a youth academy at the local FC, but this youth plan made sure they kept track of talents. It didn’t work though. The best talents were swooped up by other clubs before FC Utrecht could offer them a deal.”

“Our main competitor in the city was UVV. Marco was their striker and John van Loen was the playmaker, behind Marco. John had a growth spurt later in his youth and had difficulties maintaining his quality. He did become a very good striker of course. The matches between Elinkwijk – UVV were like Feyenoord-Ajax. They really mattered. Half the city thought Marco was the best, the other half thought Vanenburg was the best. By then, we all played rep football for Oranje and we knew each other well.”

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Gerald “Vaantje” Vanenburg: magician

The youngster would all develop a strong bond. But Ricky and Marco became really close. “We were all a bit macho in these days. It was cool to hang out with the best. We were good, I tell you, but Gerald Vanenburg was extra ordinary. When he was 8 years old, you could already see that. His touch, his skills, his passing, vision, his dribbles… Unbelievable. He was the Maradona of Holland, really. We all thought Gerald would be the world class super star, and with Marco you felt, he’ll make it to the Eredivisie.”

Van Basten himself thought differently. “That is the weird thing. Marco always said he would be the best of the world. And he wasn’t kidding! He had so much confidence. He also told me numerous times he would become rich. Hell, he even had a statement written on his wall in his bedroom: “I am the Best!”. Funny, coz I thought I was the best, actually, hahahaha.”

Ricky keeps on talking: “We were competitive and the same in many ways. We were both very good ping pong players too, we both played competition. We also both did diving from the high tower, you know? Saltos and that sort of thing. The difference was with school though. Marco was good at learning and his parents really motivated him to do well. I was different. I was a street urchin. But once Marco was on the streets, he was a little prick too, hahaha.”

Marco was introduced to Italy by his own parents, as the Van Bastens would go to Italy for holidays every year. But at the Testa La Muta family, his passion for Italy was further developed. “Marco came from a typical Dutch background. 6 pm dinner was served. At our house, dinner was all the time. Always people around, food aplenty, Marco loved hanging out with us.”

Ricky’s dad was one of the first “guest workers” in Holland. From Sicily. He worked in a factory in Holland and met Ricky’s would be mum there.

In the year that Van Basten, Vanenburg and Godee went to Ajax, a friend of Ricky’s dad decided to help Ricky with his career. The infamous football agent Apollonius Konijnenburg was at a friendly between Helmond Sport- Genoa. Ricky’s family friend was at the game, with Ricky, Marco, Gerald and Godee. That made an impression on Konijnenburg, who obviously knew the Ajax talents.

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Edwin Godee

And as Ricky was part Italian, it meant that he could play in Italy as an Italian. In those days, Italian clubs could only play two non-Italian players. This is what they all thought…

Konijnenburg had some players in Italy already. Jan Peters at Genoa, Michel van de Korput at Torino… He told Ricky “I’ll get you a practice game or two.” Konijnenburg was quite the charismatic wheeler and dealer. Swagger, spoke Italian. Ricky: “He was a fun guy, within 2 weeks I was in Italy. He arranged games at Genoa and Napoli. I was 17 years old and still a kid. Konijnenburg picked me up in his flash Mercedes and we drove to the airport. And I realised: I’m going to Italy with an old guy I don’t even know, hahaha. But he was a fun guy at least.”

“Don’t forget, it’s 1982. Italy just won the World Cup and spirits were high. They put me up in a 5 star hotel on the coast. I was there with Trevor Francis, who lived their as well. He played for Torino. Anyway, I was still suffering a bit from a knee operation I had had… But I played some friendlies and I did pretty good. The coach said: yep, I want him. So they offered me a so-called B contract. When I was back in Holland, in Utrecht, I got cold feet. I had to live in some camp for youth players. I was going out in Utrecht that weekend with my mates, the girls started to notice me and all that and I decided not to go. Also, I ended up not being an Italian for the foreigners rule. I had to be there and play for two seasons before they would see me as an Italian. That was it. I didn’t sign.”

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Ricky playing for Pro Patria

“I played for Elinkwijk one season and was signed by FC Utrecht, and played in their C-team. At the same time, my girlfriend got pregnant… It all happened at the same time. I also worked part time in Amsterdam and it all became too much. I was losing interest in football, the fun disappeared and I never broke into the first team of FC Utrecht. I left to play for Volendam, also not a a success and returned to the amateurs of Elinkwijk.”

When Marco van Basten was writing history with Ajax and the Dutch NT, Ricky was in a football hole. He thought his dream was done. Until Konijnenburg called, out of the blue. If he was still interested in playing in Italy. This would be for a club in the Serie C. Pro Patria. He was 22 years old and he realised this would be his last chance. The deal was quite good. “It was a big step, I was a dad and all that, but the club was keen: they got me a home, a car and 50k annual salary. Not bad for those times. The coach wanted me also because of my friendship with Marco and Gerald Vanenburg. The coach invited me to come to this little chateau on the Lake Maggiore, it was paradise. I thought: yep, I’m doing it. Next thing I know, I’m in a trainings camp for four weeks. Four weeks! I thought I went crazy, hahaha.”

Konijnenburg was also instrumental in bringing Gullit and Van Basten to Italy. AC Milan of course. Testa La Muta: “I didn’t even know where Pro Patria played hahaha, but I learned it was close to Milan. And I thought, wow… I need to let Marco know!”

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Pro Patria playing a friendly pre-season game vs AC Milan: Marco far right, Ricky next to him

Ricky got a message through to Van Basten and he appeared to live close to him. “When I told him my apartment wasn’t finished, he immediately said: come and live with us! I have a huge home! So I lived with my girlfriend and our little one with Marco and Liesbeth for a spell. Man, did we laugh a lot, we didn’t know what was happening. Marco was a millionaire in one hit, in this Hollywood home. He drove a Lancia Turbo…so here we were, two street kids from Utrecht. Marco also had his Dutch car still, so he threw me the keys to the Lancia. Good times… I’d take the Lancia to the club and found that the owner of Pro Patria drove the same car, haha. Marco and Ruud would come look me up at Pro Patria and I’d hang with them at Milanello. They were like Gods these two. And at one point, Ruud’s mate Rene van der Gijp came to visit as well. We all had lunch at Milanello. All the Italian players drank water, but Ruud and Marco were allowed to drink Coca Cola. Rene asked me where I played: I said Pro Patria. And he said: What is that? The local music band?… Everyone in stitches of course…”

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Van der Gijp and Gullit: buddies…

“But it was good. We won games and we lost. When we won, I was the hero. I was quite popular and ate for free whenever we did well, but boy, if we lost… if we lost two in a row, people would throw tomatoes at us, or rocks even!”

Playing in the Serie C was not what Ricky imagined. “Marco got injured and spent a year back in Holland. I was playing in Serie C and even though these guys were all full pro and Pro Patria used to be a Serie A club, the level was terrible. It was rough and violent. They kicked at everything that moved. Not my cup of tea. I played there one season and was able to move to clubs in the Serie A or B but I still had one year to go in the Serie C for my football status as an Italian. I couldn’t do it.”

Ricky does not look back in anger. “I was there with my girl and my little child, it was not the right life for us. If I had been alone, maybe… But the stress when they played at home. They all had white faces and were really stressed if they lost at home. The whole town would be in mourning. So they had pills and doping and injections and shit in the dressing room, the coach didn’t sleep, the chairman was sweating like a pig, it was not healthy.”

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Ricky and Marco off the pitch

Marco van Basten had the right personality to survive that jungle. “If I would have stayed another season, I might have made it to a good big club as well. Why not. Wim Kieft scored one goal in his Pisa season and got a transfer to Torino. I know I was good enough, but it simply didn’t work out. And I’m not sorry about my decisions. I played at the amateurs in The Netherlands until I was 33 years old. I won everything you can win, at amateur level.  I am now coaching in Holland at Elinkwijk and I can walk the streets and go to a cafe. Marco will always have those spotlights on him and he’s cool with that. I prefer it this way. He hasn’t changed though. He doesn’t like the attention but he can live with it. He’s still as pigheaded as ever, hahaha, always wants to debate everything and he knows exactly what he wants and doesn’t want… With Marco, there is no middle of the road…”

Marco van Basten: “We were close mates when we played together. Competitive, but mates. We had Cruyff as our idol, and Ricky had this amazing poster in his room of Johan. I wanted it, so I would always try and use that as the prize in any game we played. Table tennis, cards, football, hahaha. I always said I was the best, but he did too! We both believed it. When we both ended up in Italy, we became close again. When I left Utrecht for Ajax, we didn’t have much time together, but Liesbeth and I had this big mansion in Italy and Ricky was basically our permanent house guest. We’d eat together and we’d watch each other games. He was a very good player, but forced to make his way to the top via lower levels. Sad, it didn’t happen, that he couldn’t execute what his brain saw…”

Marco is now Chief Innovation Officer at FIFA.

Ricky is head coach at his youth amateur club Elinkwijk

Edwin Godee has gone into business

Gerald Vanenburg was football coach but is currently manager of his talented daughter (tennis)

John van Loen is assistant coach at FC Utrecht

Source: This article was taken from the VI Special Edition “Italy” which was co-edited by Marco van Basten. Expect more cool Italy-related stories (Sneijder, Ruud Krol, San Marco, Stefan de Vrij)

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