Month: September 2017

Dutch School? Old school….

Dutch football in crisis. How often have we heard this? A lot. We’ve always been highly critical of our top players. Cruyff was not that revered when he still played. The man has achieved deity status after his career as player and coach. When he was a player, the Dutch public opinion called him a “money wolf” and as a coach Rinus Michels (!) called him a psychopath!

The generation Witschge, Rijkaard, Van Basten was called the “patat generatie” (chips generation). The group Davids-Kluivert-Seedorf-Bogarde-Reiziger was seen as controversial with their complaints about racism. And even our Silver Team in 2010 received heavy criticism for their lack of defensive skills.

We haven’t been winning regular European trophies since the 1970s so this crisis is basically the standard situation for Oranje.

Earlier, Ajax and PSV failed to qualify for the EL. Feyenoord met its match at CL level already at home vs Man City. Internationally, we do not register. And our National Team always had ups and downs. But last week, the crisis increased.

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Beenhakker trying to “get” the patat frites situation….

Cup winner Vitesse was ousted from the first round of this season’s cup competition by a lowly amateur team. Ajax draws vs Ajax and loses against the same Vitesse (implying that Swift, the amateurs, would beat Ajax even worse than they did Vitesse).

NAC Breda also got kicked out of the cup by amateurs and they ( in Holland seen as Manchester City’s C-team) were able to beat Feyenoord at home (!) for the first time ever!

At the same time, the PSV that was in crisis some weeks ago, with Cocu under heavy pressure, beat contenders FC Utrecht 1-7 in their own home!

So the finalist of last year’s Europa League, Ajax, is currently in crisis. They dropped eight points in six games. Too much.

PSV was in crisis but seems to be the top dog for now.

Last season’s champions have lost three of their last four games.

Ajax’ problems aren’t to be ignored. They lost key players (Sanchez, Klaassen, Traore) and had to deal with the loss of the biggest talent and highly popular Nouri. They allowed Peter Bosz to leave (who isn’t doing too shabby at the moment) and replaced him with inexperienced Marcel Keizer.

2017-08-02 22:19:11 AMSTERDAM - Coach Marcel Keizer van Ajax. Ajax speelt 2-2 tegen OGC Nice in de derde voorronde van de Champions League en is uitgeschakeld. ANP OLAF KRAAK

The balance sheet shows a capital of 160 million euros but some of that capital should be wearing football boots. But the Technical Heart (Overmars, Bergkamp, vd Sar and the head of development) failed to replace these key players with players of a similar level. They did spend money on new players, but these have merely warmed the bench.

New coach Marcel Keizer has clear “Ajax” ideas of playing but does he have the players? The midfield of Van de Beek, De Jong and Ziyech is attractive but also inexperienced. The wingers are hold-cold and striker Dolberg is lacking form. Huntelaar has had a good spell (and will always deliver) but with the current back four (lacking pace, and leadership) it will be hard to win big games, using the “5 seconds rule”. Ajax played the EL finals and was aware that Klaassen, Sanchez, Onana, Veltman, Kluivert, Youness, Ziyech and Dolberg were on many a radar. Tete and Riedenwald were already given up by Ajax’ management. But despite the interest in half the team, Ajax didn’t act. Sanchez and Klaassen were key in the team and Ajax should consider themselves lucky that Dolberg and Ziyech are still in Amsterdam. The Technical Heart has not managed the issue too well and Marcel Keizer is now lost in different systems, doubtful about the Dolberg-Huntelaar situation and most likely unhappy with the options he has available.

seizoen 2006 / 2007 , amsterdam 12-09-2006 ajax training alfons groenendijk , frank de boer en henk ten cate

ADO Coach Alfons Groenendijk as Ajax assistant coach with Henk ten Cate and Frank de Boer

Gio van Bronckhorst seemed the winner in the summer, with Martin van Geel bringing good young prospects to the team. But while Feyenoord has to play 7 games in 23 days, they have to miss their line leader Nicolai Jorgensen. And immediately, the weakness of the squad comes to the surface. There is no decent second striker in red and white. Poor Michiel Kramer appears clowneske in this Feyenoord team and stumbles and bumbles through games. The fans applaud and cheer any successful square pass he gives. And with Nelom and Diks replacing the talented Kongolo and Karsdorp (Nelom plays for the injured Haps, while rightback Woudenberg was let go so Diks could come in), Feyenoord did not improve. Haps has the potential to become Oranje’s next left back, but Diks is clearly out of his league.

Dirk Kuyt is sorely missed as well of course and when 5 first team players are absent and the rest makes a hash of it (Jones and Kramer the two clowns vs NAC), Feyenoord looks very average.

The new kids at Feyenoord are all getting the benefit of the doubt, but when key players are missing, they come short. For now.

Elsewhere, PSV plays good games and not so good games. Not that consistent, with Marco van Ginkel still having to get used to his leadership/playmaker role and Ramselaar proving to be potentially nothing more than an average utility player. Lozano op front, the new Mexican winger, alongside Locadia might well do PSV a lot of good, but the weak defence might become PSV’s downfall. Rumor has it, that Bert van Marwijk and Mark van Bommel will take the coaching roles next season.

Pep Ten Hag

Mentor Pep with protege Erik ten Hag

FC Utrecht is still a club hitting above their weight. They have the 11th budget or so of the competition but continuously perform at sub top level. Erik ten Hag consistently overachieves and makes players better individually. Utrecht also lost a couple of key lads (Haller, Barazite, Amrabat) but the new kids gelled in nicely and despite some big defeats, they will most likely do well. Same as AZ, the first team plays attractive football and the Academy churns out some great talents. Heerenveen is one of the most attractive teams at the moment. Norwegian Martin Odegaard impresses every week and with a fit Stijn Schaars as the general in midfield, they keep on getting the points with attractive football.

Vitesse is the last of the contenders, Henk Fraser has forged an attractive team, playing free flowing football. Their cup defeat being a big blemish, I’m sure they’ll rebound and give it their all this season.

Apart from them PEC Zwolle (John van ‘t Schip) and VVV Venlo are doing surprisingly well.

But all these domestic battles full fun and games are not so impressive in the perspective of Dutch football internationally.

If we analyse the way they most dominating teams play, we come to a highly concerning conclusion. I’m talking Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund… They do the exact opposite of what Dutch coaches (and coach’ coaches) preach about. In Holland, we say “without possession, keep the field compact, but when in possession, stretch the pitch and make the field big”. This is not what Lazio does, or what Dortmund does…

pep JC

Mentor Cruyff with protege Peo

Their coaches say: “When without possession, keep the pitch small. When in possession, keep the pitch small”.

How does this work? These teams all play in “triangles”. Every thing they do, is done in triangles, meaning that when a player has the ball, anywhere on the pitch, at least two team mates are close for the bounce. The player with the ball needs to play the ball vertically, never square, even if the team mate is marked. A precise ball can be bound back to the third – moving player. And so on. So the team moves across the pitch like an organism. In triangles. Example, the left midfielder has the ball, so the left winger, left back, the striker and the mid midfielder should all be somehow offering themselves as options. If the left winger is the target, the striker will make a move so he becomes the third player receiving the ball. In that case, again the mid midfielder and the left winger (and maybe the right winger) will make themselves available.

This involves total fitness! Lots of movement. And lots and lots of practice. A typical practice is: 11 v 11 on half a pitch and you can only have one touch before releasing the ball.

Napoli's head coach Maurizio Sarri gives instructions during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Napoli at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 4 October 2015. ANSA/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

This is total football New Style. And it’s not how Oranje plays. It is how Peter Bosz let Ajax play last season, but two key players (Klaassen and Sanchez) are missing from that team.

There are key advantages to play this way. 1) as you’re constantly moving around, it’s hard for the opponent to win the ball back. 2) you have several options always available to you to unleash the killer pass. 3) once you lose the ball, you don’t need to track back 20 to 40 meters to get back in position. You can immediately go for the wolf pack 5-seconds approach, get the ball back and you’re still not far from the position where you were.

These eight principles are the foundation of Napoli’s positioning game.

Coach Sarri doesn’t play ” a system” or formation. He even says: “If people talk about systems, they don’t get football”. His players will adapt their position to what is happening on the pitch. And Sarri uses specific key points to instruct players what to do and how to respond. These key points are the basis, but there is a lot of freedom for creativity as well. “What they have to do is firm, how they do it is up to them.”

  1. Most players in the centre of the pitch
    – The flanks of the pitch are only taken up by the full backs and sometimes Callejon plays a bit more wide. Most players will be found in the ax of the team. See the image on the left, above
  2. Using the passing lines to become free in space – The oppoosing midfielders will try to block the passing lines to the key midfielders of Napoli, Hamsik and Jorginho. These two will gladly “hide” behind their markers until the right moment pops up to move a litle bit wide or away and that timing is drilled into the team, so the pass will come right on time. And it takes them just two or three steps to get the ball between the lines.
  3. Anticipate, not re-act – The Napoli players are constantly moving. Whenever a player is played in, the others move around, finding space or making dummy runs. This is incredibly hard to defend.
  4. Movement in conjunction – Sarri tells his players to constantly watch each other, constantly check the movements of the others and to offer options all the time. The distances between the players will be maintained this way and there are triangles everywhere.
  5. Ignore second man, play in third – In Napoli’s positioning game, the players like to ignore the closest player but play the ball one line further up. This allows the “ignored player” to turn and move towards the goal and receive the ball as the third runner. This player is already positioned right, doesn’t need to turn and can find the next solution.
  6. High paced circulation – Napoli plays a lot of short, fast paced passes from feet to feet. The opponent is forced to think on their feet and constantly confronted with new situations. Napoli tends to be a step ahead all the time.
  7. More players around the ball  – Wherever the ball is, the players are. They create a man more situation all the time and it is harder for the opponent to keep possession. See the situation in the image, below right. It is a 4 v 2 situation. The goal is not necessarily to get the ball then and there, but to push the opponent back.
  8. Tempt the opponent – Once the opponent is organised and behind the ball, Napoli will slow down. The opponent will at some state try and find something and once one or two players “bite” and are out of position, the accelerations starts.

Final third play

Positioning play is nice, but useless if it doesn’t lead to chances. And Napoli has a clear plan. As they really are capable of that dazzling positioning play, the defenders of the opponent are dragged higher up the pitch. The midfielders try to put pressure on Napoli, so the defenders need to push up too. This will make it easer for them, but it also offers Napoli space behind the backline. And that is what Napoli wants. Napoli uses this situation in two different ways.

The first one is by running deep in behind the backline. The three forwards are masters in this. Mertens, Callejon and Insigne scored 60 goals together last season. Most of these goals came from a deep run in behind. They actually first come into the ball, and then turn to sprint in behind. They create their own space, but they also have a head start as a result of this “in the ball, turn, go deep” move.  Which means that they can run at full speed without being off side. And their team mates get a sort of red flag sign: once Mertens comes into the ball, they know he’s going to make the dart towards goal and the midfielders can loop the ball into space for him.

The second way they create chances is by suddenly using the player on the flank, who usually moves up unnoticed (the action is all in the axes of the game, remember?). So if the opponent’s backline has moved up, the space behind can be attacked. By playing in the left back, for instance, he can swing the ball into the space – mostly low if Milik doesn’t play – and the forward runners can score an easy tap in, when the ball is played between goalie and backline in no man’s land. Left back Ghoulam does this all the time and creates easy tap ins. See below.

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Oranje: The Final Countdown….

It seems like I simply can’t take a little break. A lot happening in football, alright. Frank de Boer and Bert van Marwijk sacked, media campaigning for the inclusion in Oranje of Frenkie de Jong and Sophyan Amrabat. Ronald Koeman under pressure. Dutch champions given football lessons by England’s #3…

And in a couple of weeks time, it’s game time! With Dick and Ruud announcing their pre-lim squad.

Frank de Boer became the first victim in the Premier League but most likely not the last one. The Palace board wanted to radically change the way the club has been playing for more than a century. They did their homework, they made the plans and signed Frank de Boer for 3 years. The owners were ecstatic. And after 4 matches (!) the club panics, the board suddenly doesn’t want to change anymore, the long term vision get torn up and Frank de Boer (and Orlando Trustfull) can pack their bags.

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What a disgrace!

Frank de Boer, former world-class libero and NT captain, won 4 titles with Ajax and is now suddenly incapable of turning a mediocre club around? It simply takes time. Disappointing decision by Crystal Palace who have dug up old-hand Woy Hodgson.

Bert van Marwijk’s exit was different. Now the Saudis have qualified, everyone wants a piece of the pie. Bert did the work but several yesmen are now putting their hands up to finish the job. Bert was offered a new deal with non-negotiable terms that Bert didn’t like. For instance, Bert had to live in Saudi Arabia and ask for permission to leave the country. Bert didn’t think that was a good plan and as a result he is now out.

Of all Dutch coaches working in top football at the moment, Van Marwijk’s achievement is most likely the most impressive.

Feyenoord lost 0-4 vs Man City. And deservedly so, even though Feyenoord helped City in the first 10 minutes with their woeful defending. Three goals from set pieces. Boys vs Men.

But the media slashed Feyenoord with terms as “shameful” and “Appalling”. But was it? Sure, the first goal was a shocker. Not enough pressure on the ball with the cross, Botteghin not attacking the cross and Vilhena allowing the ball to roll through his legs. But no matter how silly it looked, a player can be wrongfooted. Vilhena switched his weight to the other leg, just when the ball ricocheted through his legs. It can happen.

tony mancity

But Man City scoring four is not a disgrace. It would have been a disgrace (for Man City) if they didn’t. They brought in two subs during the second half, two players valued more than the whole of the Eredivisie!

And despite Feyenoord’s loss vs PSV Eindhoven, they outplayed PSV in the second half, with only 10 men. I think we needn’t worry about Feyenoord.

Oranje is a different matter. Dick and Ruud have two games left to win, score a lot of goals and pray that we won’t end up as the worst #2.

For this, we need to play in a system that makes sense to the players (4-3-3) and with players in form and capable of doing what we need to do: win and score.

Dick called up Ryan Babel and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Babel is in top form. He’s fit, physical, opportunistic, can play on several positions and has his mojo back. Huntelaar still lives for goals and he played himself into the Ajax 1 starting line up. Good decisions. Daryl Janmaat is back too. Got his fitness and starting berth back. Scored a goal and is his ever dynamic self, bringing experience to the squad.

ryan-640

Kenny Tete will most likely be the best choice for the RB spot. Cillesen should be the goalie, for me. Dick could use Blind with De Vrij in the centre of defence with Fosu Mensah on the LB spot. Blind’s build up from the centre is needed and Tim Fosu Mensah will use his power to dominate the channel.

Up front, Babel, Huntelaar and Robben will do nicely, with the biggest question marks left open for the midfield. Wijnaldum and Strootman disappointed. Sneijder doesn’t seem fit enough. But it’s not the right time to experiment with Toornstra or Van Ginkel, while Klaassen simply doesn’t play enough. Frenkie de Jong could be an option as playmaker – albeit it an experiment as well – but the 20 year old is not selected.

Dick has to make some decisions here. Maybe Robben in the Sneijder role? With Babel on the right and Memphis on the left? We do need goals.

More good news: Vincent Janssen scored a goal from open play in Turkey and Virgil van Dijk has rejuvenated his career at Southampton, making his first minutes again.

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Lastly, the KNVB has started to turn things around.

New chair of the board of directors is no-nonsense man Jan Smit. This entrepreneur (debt-collector) has led Heracles Almelo for decades before. Never got into trouble financially, knows a lot of people in football, is highly respected and an experience football manager.

Eric Gudde is the new general manager. Gudde was in this role for Feyenoord for 10 years. He started in the dark days, when there was no money at the club, lots of losses, and no success whatsoever for the once biggest club in the world. With Martin van Geel as his technical director, Gudde turned the club from a struggling behemoth into a financially healthy and highly successful and popular side. Plans for a new stadium are in a final stage, the youth academy is rocking and Feyenoord boasts to have the finest pitch in Europe. He was the man, last season, who decided to support the young coach (Van Bronckhorst) who failed to win in a series of 7 matches. And he left, after the same coach won three trophies in 15 months.

 

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Oranje: our future prospects….

Another attempt to make sense of where we are and what we can expect moving forward and how we got into this mess…

As the loyal blog followers will know, a post with this title has popped up every two years or so… We had the dramatic 2006 Portugal game. The 2008 Russia defeat. The 201o Casillas toe. The 2012 Ukraine debacle. The 2014 magic. The 2016 absence.

And that’s only in the period I’ve been blogging. We had the 1974 qualification issues. The 1976 red cards. The 1978 departure of Cruyff and Van Hanegem. The 1980 debacle. Absent in 1982, 1984, 1986. The victory in 1988 (playing 4-4-2!!!). The drama of 1990. The revival in 1992. More drama (Gullit/Advocaat !!!) in 1994. Hiddink’s clash with Davids in 1996 and the cup in reach in both 1998 and 2000. Only for Master Louis to screw it up in 2002… Oh boy. All this to find a new depth in Portugal 2004 with Advocaat (him again???) subbing Robben at the wrong time in the wrong match…

Does this sum it up nicely?

Ok, here’s my analysis:

Player Quality

This word “quality” doesn’t cover it. What does “quality” mean? Do we mean technical ability? Do we mean dribbling skills? It really is too broad a term. If we’re talking about talent, I can say for sure that we still develop great talents. That is never going to go away. We have young players now knocking on the door (Frenkie de Jong, Van de Beek, Kongolo, Vilhena, Hendrikx, Kluivert) and many more in the youth teams below. And not just with the Big Three. AZ is developing amazing players (Stengs!) as is Heerenveen (Pieri!) and even VVV has a player (forgot his name) which is touted to be the next big thing for Oranje and Dutch football.

However, we do lack certain qualities. At this has to do with the level of refereeing in Holland (among other things) and the lack of resistance in the youth competitions. So when the Bazoers and Stengs and Haps’s of this world have to face Sevilla or Hoffenheim or Stoke City (let alone Barca, Juve or Arsenal), they simply can’t step up that easily. We need more power in the duels, we probably need more physical endurance and we need to have our players play with much more resistance.

Our development at youth level seems outdated. We still play 2 vs 2 at youth level. Or 6 vs 6. That is nice, but not enough. In order to understand “space”, players need to get an understanding of the canvass they’re working with. When the time is right, use a big field, play 11 v 11.

It’s no surprise that one of the world’s best free-stylers is Dutch. A Dutch player won the World Championship Free Kicks in 2005, beating Zidane in the finals. We had many Best of the World Indoor football players (Grunholtz, John de Bever). Our trickery is unsurpassed. But match technique… You’ll see it in the French squad. Daley Blind has it. Some other Dutchies have it too. But it’s a functional technique, that you use in the flow of the game. And it needs vision and fast thinking too. Kuyt wouldn’t be able to do a trick to save his life, but oozed match technique in his latter career-stage.

So, yes…we develop quality players, but rough diamonds. Allowing 15 year olds to play in a competition against other top talents is key. Our scouting parameters need to change too.

Tactics

The Dutch “invented” total football. But we are the only big nation that doesn’t play it anymore. In Holland, it’s now somehow synonimous with 4-3-3. That’s nonsense. Napoli plays total football. Chelsea attempts it. Man City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich. Ajax got their EL finals playing a fluent style of football. But it has nothing to do with 4-3-3 or the manner in which we execute it. Tactially, we dried up. We got sloppy, complacent and don’t realise France, Germany, Denmark and Italy have surpassed us. Today’s system of choice, is playing with a striker up top (Lukaku, Costa, Aguero, Lewandowski, Dolberg, Jorgensen), two wingers who play on the inside or even behind the striker (Hazard/Willian for instance) and the width of the park is offered up by the wingbacks. Then 3 midfielders, of which one sits deep, to support the centre backs. And two box to box midfielders, who can pass, run, tackle, defend, score etc. The centre backs need to be tall, need to be able to build up, play the long ball and have speed.

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An attempt to mix it up. Here Robben on the right hugs the line, with Tete potentially moving up on the inside. And Promes playing inside more, with Blind on the line.

The static 4-3-3 – even attempted by Dick Advocaat vs France! – is out. Sneijder, with his lack of dynamics, running and tackling can’t be carried anymore against top opponents. Look at Ziyech at Ajax: working hard, running, dropping deep, penetrating, left to right. Dick got it wrong vs France. Our three man midfield was actually a two man midfield (Sneijder was not pulling his weight) and Robben and Promes were forced to play wingback. No wonder Janssen was isolated.

The other nations came to check out what Holland was doing tactically in the last 30 years and all have surpassed us by developing it further. We should go to Napels, to Turin, to Manchester, to London, to Paris and to Munich and see what they do to be where they are. Money is not the key driver here! It’s focus and vision.

The Dutch Football Federation – KNVB

It’s no surprise that the NT’s demise is happening at the same time the KNVB is a complete and utter mess. There is no board of directors, no general manager, no technical director. No vision, no strategic plan. Just a couple of velvet hugging nobodies “taking care of business”. With the latest disgrace: the chairman/CEO of the Oranje Supporters Club – an outside agency! – defrauding the club of 100,000s of euros while having the exclusivity of distribution match tickets to the supporters. And none of the Club members wanting to put in a formal complaint, as the CEO would simply not sell tickets to Oranje games to renegade/complaining members! The several strategic plans (one from 2001 by Louis van Gaal and Andries Jonker and one from 2016 written by a committee of smart people and to be executed by Hans van Breukelen) ended up collecting dust in the filing cabinet. Louis laid it out, back in 2001. All talent development and scouting to be overseen by the KNVB and endorsed by the clubs. Like the Deutsche FB had initiated in 2000, led by Mathias Sammer.

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The Germans failed miserably in the Euros 2000 and immediately, the Easter Neighbours did what they had to do: plan visits to Holland, Spain and France. They checked out our tactical and technical training and scouting protocols. They checked technical development in Spain and the Academy organisations in France. They changed it all. Instead of scouting for 2 meter tall Triathlon guys, the Germans switched to smaller and more agile technical players. Think Ozil. Reus. Gotze. And look where they are now. Top talents in Germany were collated and put in a strong competition. In Holland, it’s all still regional. So the top talents of PSV only play against Helmond Sport, Eindhoven and Venlo. But hardly ever against Ajax or Feyenoord. Or Sparta or AZ. This has nothing to do with TV money, or artificial pitches. This is about football development and scouting.

Van Drongelen left for HSV but preferred to go to Ajax or PSV. And boy, could they use him!

The KNVB has failed to develop a football vision, a development apparatus and continuity. The NT manager is focused on the short term results, the technical director was supposed to manage the long term. But there was no technical director. Hell, there IS no technical director. We do have a performance manager, but even he failed to inform Dick Advocaat that goal difference was going to be key, so Dick never instructed his lads to park two buses vs France, when they scored their second! And honestly, Dick shouldn’t have needed another executive to tell him this of course. The mess at KNVB level has been covered here at length. You know the story. The NT coach just had to pick the 22 best players and see what happens.

drongelen

The story is, that Sparta played a friendly vs HSV. In the break, the HSV management had seen enough and offered a deal to Rick van Drongelen and Sparta. In the second half, he basically was a HSV player.

Tactically, Jurgen Klopp is a master. This is why Wijnaldum plays so well there. He’s part of a machine. A cog. Executing what the coach tells him to, and boy does he do it well at Anfield. But in Oranje, Wijnaldum is lost. Drowning. Like Strootman, Hoedt and many others. In today’s football, pressing, dropping deep, pacing up…it’s all decided from the team perspective. We saw Strootman as a lone wolf pressing Pogba, but no one would go up to Griezmann or Coman to take charge of the second ball. So Pogba outsmarted Strootman and played in to a totally free and unmarked Griezmann. It would result in Strootman’s first yellow and France’ goal. The Bulgaria goal came from a square ball from hell by Hoedt. Van Hanegem’s mantra: the centre back’s first option to play the ball, is vertically. To the forwards. Who can then lay it off in the path of the upcoming midfielders. This is how Spain plays, France plays, Germany plays. Even England! But no, in Oranje, the centre backs play the ball around at the back. Even Belarus will stop us from scoring like this…

The Coach

The coach should simply be a cog in the system. A passer-by. He should use the templates of the KNVB to select the best players. Who can then play in the system the KNVB/clubs decided on for future development. And they would all fit in. At club level, most players know how to play this 4-3-3 version (see above). Wijnaldum at Liverpool, Strootman at Roma, Vilhena, Karsdorp, Toornstra, Boetius, Elia and Kongolo all did this at Feyenoord. Ake at Chelsea. The list goes on. But in Oranje, they need to play traditional 4-3-3 because what more can a coach do in three days of match practice? I know most of you blame Blind for everything. But Hiddink before him, and Dick now…surely they are not suddenly crap coaches? If Blind was the exception to the rule, I’d buy the criticism.  But Louis had problems and could only fix them by changing the system and using the three weeks prior to the World Cup to gel it in. Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat aren’t doing that much better than Blind. Dick made some major errors vs France. And against Bulgaria, we were 2-0 up, with 30 minutes to play and with Sweden running riot in Belarus. Where was Dost? A fear-based tactics, yet again. Somehow, he allowed Gullit to film in the dressing room and post on Twitter. He allowed the players to forego a gratitude round for the fans. Resulting in Arjen Robben being the sole Oranje player exhaustively thanking the Oranje supporters. A disgrace!

DICK

Artificial pitches

The Eredivisie is currently the only “serious” competition in Europe with artificial pitches. Seven clubs play on the rubber/cork anomaly. With a lot of negative results. Shit games, lack of ball speed, strange bounces, and injuries. Oh, and did I mention the injuries? And for what? For monetary reasons only. Most if not all club managers using artificial pitches abhor them off the record. But, they can’t afford decent practice grounds, so artificial it is. We need to re-rout some funds (TV funds, European income) and distribute them more fairly. Ajax is getting top euros from the TV deal, as if they need the extra cash. They’ve got 150mio euros in the bank, Overmars doesn’t want to spend. Surely, a couple of millions could be put into a KNVB fund, allowing clubs in financial distress to invest in grass!

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This is not the reason we perform badly, but it’s another example that we don’t seem to take the sports seriously. Like Arjen Robben having to do the gratitude round all by himself. Or earlier, the KNVB mailing (!) the medal for a century of international games to Robin van Persie in Istanbul. No regards or respect for the sports!

In all aspects of the game, we’re the laughing stock of Europe. We can’t qualify for big tournaments, our clubs can’t qualify for Europa League group games. Our main striker is third striker at Spurs. Our main goalie is second goalie at Barca. Memphis has to hope for regular playing time… Only two of our midfielders play for strong teams and they’re utility players there. Well liked and deemed important, but in Oranje they look like they sent their silly twin brothers to the match. Organisationally and strategically we’re a joke. And financially, we are a minion nation.

Everything looks really dour. But there is one thing that will keep us afloat and will allow us back to the top.

We still develop amazing talents and we have the most loyal and outrageous fan base. And that includes you!

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Oranje better, but not good enough….

It’s a weird game, that football! France played us off the pitch with dazzling football and got 4 past us. Next, versus minions Luxembourg they can’t score any of their chances.

It probably won’t matter. As our statisticians on the blog have demonstrated: it will be a huge challenge to do what Oranje needs to do: win and win big!

But there were two typical off-pitch issues that are illustrative for the state we are in.

First of: Goal Difference:

After the France game, the highly popular (but very populist) football program Voetbal Inside broke the news that the players of Oranje were not aware of the importance of goal-difference when losing in Paris to France. With 10 mins on the clock, it was 2-0. We should have been able to keep it at 2-o. Instead we conceded two more counter goals and our goal difference difference (is this English) deteriorated, while Sweden pumped theirs up last night.

staff oranje

If this is true (the players not aware), you can see immediately what our problem is. You’d expect the ample staff at the KNVB to whisper this into Advocaat’s ear. You’d expect Advocaat to respond with: “I know!”. And you’d expect Dick to inform the players before the match: “If we can win it, we will try and win it. But if we are losing, we need to make sure the margin stays limited. Because goal difference…” and then the full Oranje squad yelling at him: “Stop talking. We KNOW!”

But apparently they didn’t. Sums up the KNVB/Oranje situation in one hit.

Secondly: assistant coach filming in dressing room and posting it online:

Right after the game, Twitter shows a video clip of the Oranje squad post-match in the dressing room. The TV journalist shows the clip to Dick, who explodes. “This shouldn’t be online! We shouldn’t have anyone with cameras in the dressing room! How is this possible?” The tv guy said: “Eh, your assistant Ruud Gullit filmed it and posted it on Twitter!”. Dick: “Really? Wow… That is not what I need. I will have a stern conversation with Gullit about this!”

Pretty silly eh?

Against Bulgaria, we should have scored 5, based on the game. And not concede one single goal.

With all the positives we can rant about here (Blind, Vilhena, Propper, De Vrij), this really puts us further back. We now have to make up for 6 goals, while Sweden has to face Luxembourg still.

We’re in a dire situation people and it’s fricking sad!

Janssen Bul

Our line up against Bulgaria was a reasonable logical one. Sneijder is deemed not fit enough. Propper has exquisite technique, is a dynamic runner with the ball, all intelligence and can score. He doesn’t / didn’t show it enough last season at PSV and with Brighton, he might never be able to. But he played a perfect game vs Bulgaria. Vilhena showed himself vs France and deserved to be in the team.

But with Janssen and Robben and Hoedt lacking rhythm, we still were vulnerable, going into the game.

Scoring in the first five minutes was exactly what the doctor ordered. And should have pushed the team for more and increased the confidence. But we didn’t create enough in the remainder of the first half.

Even worse, we seemed to be lacking in ideas. Propper had some attempts to create an attack and Blind was industrious on the left, but players like Tete, Wijnaldum, Janssen and even Robben were not able to bring any flow to their game.

I think Wijnaldum had 5 stray passes/touches in the first 20 minutes alone. Tete seemed out of sorts. His tackle timing was off, his passing was sloppy and his forward runs started properly late in the first half.wijnald bul

Part of what Janssen did was good. He works hard. Check. He is a nuisance. Check. He fights for every yard and wants to be important. Check. But he also demonstrated a total lack of rhythm. He miscued his shots on goal (with his solid left). He needed many fouls to stay in the game. He complained and whined to the ref constantly. And off-side needs to be explained properly to him. At times it felt like every time he’d get the ball, he would find a way to strike at goal, even with options around him and even if it’s from 35 meters out. A typical striker who lacks confidence and rhythm and feels he needs to prove to the world he can still play.

Oranje won, but played sluggish. Stray passes, square passes, lack of movement (again) and lack of team understanding. All logical, if you consider the selection issues Danny Blind and now Advocaat have had. But it doesn’t bode well for flowing football and the creation of opportunities.

In the second half, Arjen Robben joined the Vincent Janssen-Lets-Try-and-Score-From-Every-Angle club and he was keen to force the issues personally. He got his goal and would give a sour post match interview, criticizing the team for not working harder to create more opportunities.

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The goal Bulgaria scored from the set piece… Really?

Some positives… Promes was lively. Worked hard. Tried again and again on the flank. Seemed to have arguments with the ball at times, but probably due to trying too hard. His interplay with Janssen and Blind was pretty good though. Davy Propper impressed me again. His runs into space (two goals as a result), his first touch, this lad can really play and deserves a better team around him. Vilhena was industrious as ever. Without the ball, a key player. Lung, legs and drive. And make no mistake: he can play too. But he’s a bit young still and maybe a bit too hurried at times. But he has good technique and a thunderous long distance strike. He could well be our Kante moving forward.

Man of the Match, hands down for me, was Daley Blind. And despite his shortcomings, he will be a key player for Oranje moving forward for me. He made two goals. Like he did vs Spain at the WC2014.

The Ajax prodigal son has had a difficult start to his career. He was touted as the next big thing from an early age, coming through the Ajax Academy. Expectations were such, that when he made it into Ajax 1, the fans turned against him, as he does tend to play without any Ajax flair. No dribbles, no speed, no goals, no trickery. Just solid passing and positioning. He almost lost his spot at Ajax and was booed when Van Gaal selected him for the National Team. Up until the Spain opener in Brazil, people doubted him. After that match, he was a household name globally.

Robben Bulg

He went from strength to strength. At Man United, for 3 seasons he was one of the key players Van Gaal and Mourinho relied upon. This season, despite the question marks, he started every EPL game for the Mancunians.

At left back, the allrounder actually turned out to be Oranje’s playmaker. At. Left. Back!

His passing is forward whenever he can. Under pressure, without any time, he finds the right pass. His technique is exquisite but functional. No frills. And his left foot keeps on developing really well. Crosses, corner kicks. Mr Reliable.

What Blind does at the left, you’d want someone to do on the right (Tete? Veltman? Karsdorp?) and someone to do in the centre of the pitch. In the good old days, we have players who could pick the pass. Jansen, Van Hanegem, Cruyff, Krol, Rensenbrink, Haan in 1974. Muhren, Koeman, Vanenburg, Rijkaard, Wouters, Erwin Koeman in 1988. Davids, Seedorf, Ronald de Boer, Cocu, Frank de Boer in 1998. Sneijder, Gio van Bronckhorst, Van der Vaart, Van Bommel, Van Persie in 2010.

Going forward, whether it matters for this coming World Cup or not, I believe we need to work with a 4-1-4-1 system.

tonny bul

And I would consider Robben as the striker in some cases.

And in that system, I’d like to see a solid left back playing left back. Patrick van Aanholt, Jetro Willems or Erik Pieters. Players with body, defensive strength and good forward runs and crosses. Beats me why Pieters is constantly overlooked.

And I’d play Daley Blind in the Pirlo role. The 1 before defense. Not because of his defensive prowess, but because we need his vision and passing to come from the central position. With 4 midfielders like Klaassen/Vilhena/Wijnaldum/Fer/Van de Beek/Van Ginkel/Promes/Memphis we should have enough cocktails of running, passing, dribbling and speed.

The line up would change based on the availability and form of the players and the upcoming opponent.

But at this stage, the best build up player / playmaker we have today, is Daley Blind.

Advocaat (or his successor) will have to find a way to use the key strengths of his players to gel a system together which works best.

A last point: people seem to think that we need to play Total Football and attack like we used to “because the supporters demand this”. This is nonsense. Ask the supporters with match of the last 10 years is their favorite one and they will probably (80%+) will say: “Spain – Holland, WC 2014”. Case closed.

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Oranje and final #1

The key thing for the Oranje team after the dressing down vs France is to quickly get the egg and mud of the faces and straighten their backs! It’s a tough one. Egos were hurt, reputations damaged. We’re the laughing stock in Europe after the biggest Orange defeat since 1969!!

And the players will have felt it. The media (French, Dutch, English) were tough on our performance and with all reasons and right to do so. But, it is not a knock-out competition. We’re still in it. So analysis should wait. Blame game should wait. Dick needs to pull the lads together and get them uplifted. Sneijder said after the game, that due to the Bulgaria result vs Sweden, the mood lifted in the dressing room. A little angel helped us to stay alive.

And may I bring into memory the WC1974? No, not Cruyff’s goals. Not Van Hanegem’s playmaker’s role, Neeskens runs or Krol’s crosses. Yes, we dazzeled the world but do you remember the qualification games before the tournament? We were shite. We should not have gone! Belgium was the nation deserving to go, as Oranje scored the decider vs East Germany in clear offside position. Otherwise, we were out!

And even then, with JC, with De Kromme, the fans and media back in 1973 wondered why on Earth Oranje was even traveling to West Germany?

Same in 2014 with Van Gaal’s squad. The media was ruthless. “We were going to be humiliated and on a plane back after the three group matches!” And it took penalties vs Argentina to keep us from playing another finals.LVG

Which we would have won by the way. So you know.

So yes, it was dramatic, but surely we can beat Bulgaria and Sweden at home? The good thing is, both nations have something to play for and both will have to come to take something from the game. Belarus away might be the toughest game. Winter, bad pitch, tough opponent.

The issues we have – as analysed by all of you after the France game – are apparent. And are multi-faceted. It’s many things and we can work on some of them.

There are also aspects we simply can’t work on. When Rene van der Gijp was asked what he hoped for, he answered: “I hope a guy and girl are making love right now somewhere in Veenendaal or Tiel or Zaandam and are making a Lionel Messi for us!”

Robben Advo

The criticism on the midfield players was justified. But the reason why Strootman and Wijnaldum are so good at club level and not at NT level has nothing to do with mentality or motivation or quality. It’s about a club coach, having a firm tactical plan and gelling the team in such a way that every player’s strength is used and every weakness is balanced out.

I personally believe Dick Advocaat got the tactics wrong. I did say it before the game, I’d never go in with 4-3-3.

Janssen had no role to play in this match and he doesn’t even deserve any criticism for it. He didn’t get one playable ball.

He had no business vs France and we should have started with 2 or even 1 forward. I would always have played four midfielders vs the agile and powerful French.

But, it’s a competition and we’re still in it. Bulgaria will probably play defensively against us, so now we do need the attacking prowess of Sneijder or Robben as creator and the presence of Janssen in the box, maybe even with Dost coming in as well at some stage.

Robben dans

It seems Vilhena will take Strootman’s role and I can imagine Veltman or Tete to come on for Fosu-Mensah. The Man United loanie did ever so well vs France but had a couple of cramp attacks during the game. Veltman is better in possession and overall, Tete the better all-round player.

Wesley Hoedt didn’t have a top game either so I could even imagine more changes. An attack minded coach could use Daley Blind as centre back alongside De Vrij, but Dick Advocaat is a lot of things….not an attack minded coach.

I believe our lads will show the fans in the Johan Cruyff Arena that they are 100% focused and motivated and I can see us beat Bulgaria 3-0, with Janssen on the score-sheet alongside Robben and Sneijder.

robben 2010

Here is a To Do list of considerations for Dick Advocaat:

Try not to use players without match rhythm

Wesley Hoedt played some promising football for us against Morocco and Ivory Coast. Good passing, speed in his handling, good vision. But against France, it was clear that he simply lacks rhythm. Lacking confidence and not as light on his feet as per usual. Blind as centre back is an option but I don’t see Dick call up Erik Pieters. Martins Indi doesn’t play that often either and De Ligt, who will have rhythm, is not playing his best football at the moment. Vilhena for Strootman is a no-brainer.

Don’t let Robben get isolated on the right wing

Against France, Robben was supposed to be the go-to man, but the Bayern star got double marking and was not easily found. He was relegated to making 30 yards defensive runs and was even seen heading balls away in his own box! Pep Guardiola saw Robben as a potential playmaker and used him centrally behind the strikers. Wesley lacks rhythm, so why not use Promes and Memphis upfront with Robben as playmaker.

If we can’t break them down with football, lets use the airforce!

Pierre van Hooijdonk always says it. If you can’t break them down, pepper them with crosses. Why not? Two strikers vs Bulgaria. It seems Ajax will go forward with Dolberg and Huntelaar. Spicey detail: during the last practice session pre-France, it appeared the A team (the starters) were also beaten by the B-team who emulated France…

 

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Advocaat: We humiliated the French!

Dick Advocaat’s post-match press talk: “I am so proud of the team! We did exactly what we wanted and I think we really humiliated them in their own home. It was our aim to show that we are able not to concede 10 goals or more and they only managed 4 of which one was offside. I even made it harder for them to have Strootman red-carded. This would force my lads to play even more defensively and with less initiative even and still the French couldn’t get 10 past us. Great day for Holland! I also believe Robben deserves extra compliments for being able to head that ball way past the goal, if the defender wouldn’t have interfered. It is much harder to totally mishit that ball than it is to score. So yeah. Happy, proud. I think we can probably limit our defeats to Sweden and Bulgaria to 0-2. So finally, we can focus on putting artificial pitches in every Dutch stadium during the 2018 summer and get the whole country to enjoy futsal.”

RVP FRance

But seriously… I wrote the piece below while watching in disgust:

START OF RANT:

Writing this while watching the first half France – Oranje and I am in deep mourning, serious football depression and ready to make some drastic decisions.

We’re playing as if we won the first leg 5-0 and we can accept a 3-0 defeat here, and we’ll still go through.

But it’s not. And we re not. And we shouldn’t go through. We have nothing to do at that World Cup.

The options we lack to replace Robben, Sneijder and co, the lack of quality of the new generation, the lack of intensity and speed… It was a shambolic performance. Losing every second ball, every challenge, hardly any movement off the ball.

Shocking, really.

And yes, France has a top generation and strong and powerful players. Sure. But if you want to get something from them, you need to play at 110%. Intensity, desire, movement.

Robben France

There were no positives to be found. Tim Fosu-Mensah made his debut. That’s probably the only thing.

It starts with coach Advocaat of course. Why play Janssen up top? He has no rhythm or confidence, no speed and not enough dribbling skills to make a dent on his own. Janssen is good in and around the box. In the final third. Knowing France had to go for a win too, why not use Promes as the striker and Memphis in the Promes role? Or Vilhena in midfield to stop Pogba?

But apart from that, the team looked good on paper but really offered nothing on the ball. Sluggish, indecisive, clumsy. The number of stray passes by Wijnaldum, Strootman, Hoedt… A disgrace.

After seeing this game for 45 minutes, I wonder if an “Ireland away” scenario is possibe. In that game, coach Rijvers was down 2-0 and brought Van Basten in the second half to play with Gullit up front and the two got three goals to secure the win.

Maybe Ruud should put on his boots ?

Late in the first half, we had an intervention, Wijnaldum finds Sneijder, who finds Fosu-Mensah and his run and pass is misunderstood by Robben and the ball is passed to a defender of France. Typical!

Stroot rood

The only good thing is that France should have scored three goals by now and seem to be going for gallery play.

Total dominance by France. Great goal by Griezmann. 

Second half, Dick made one change, with the lethargic Sneijder out and Vilhena in. A bit more penache and tenacity from him?

I am disappointed we don’t see Memphis for Janssen.

The decision after Danny Blind’s sacking was to either build a team for post WC 2016 or give it all to go for short term result. The latter was decided, with old hand Advocaat as coach – short term focus – and Sneijder, Robben and now Van Persie as the key men to make the difference.

I think the universe decided that we’ll need to rebuild and rebuild significantly. Vilhena, Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek, Haps… 

Add Promes, Memphis, Karsdorp, Kongolo and Tete and we might be able to build up again.

Dutch fans celebrate their victory against Uruguay following the 2010 World Cup semi-final soccer match at Green Point stadium in Cape Town July 6, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)
Dutch fans celebrate their victory against Uruguay following the 2010 World Cup semi-final soccer match at Green Point stadium in Cape Town July 6, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings (SOUTH AFRICA – Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)

Now, with Bulgaria currently leading vs Sweden, there is still a slight chance, but if we play like this vs Sweden, we won’t even get a look in.

So, with Holland on the 36th spot in the Fifa ranking and Ajax and PSV not even qualifying for the Europea League, we need to face the music.

Dick and Ruud have to. The players, the clubs and most importantly, us….the fans.

And…me….the blogger. Is this still something that makes my heart sing?

I was able to witness and comment on our World Cup finals in 2010, our attempt to reprise this in 2014.

But dealing with the Eredivisie, the demise of clubs in Europe, artificial pitches in Holland and disappointment with every national rep team, the seniors and the youngsters for that matter.

Decisions to be made….

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And to make things worse, I just saw Arjen Robben trying to dribble his way out of our box after a France corner…. Why not indeed?

Second half, Oranje has more energy, more movement, but sadly lacking of quality. The players constantly need an extra touch, an extra look up.

And here, another good spell of possession for Oranje, France dropping of  a bit. Strootman had the ball in midfield, no pressure on the ball and what does he do: a long high ball to Robben  who is marked. Ball gone.

But France, despite their movement and flow their final pass in the final third was poor. It should have been 4-0 by now but Holland is actually still in it.

Not really sure what annoyed me more, the game of Holland or the commentary on Sky. Constantly discussing the poor level of Holland, the in-fighting from the past, the fact that Robben and Sneijder are still in it….

And now, 60 minutes in, Kevin Strootman is screwed by Griezmann. Gets his second card for a dive by over-acting Griezmann. Red card and Oranje with 10. Nice! Why not?

So here is the symbolism: young striker Janssen replaced by 34 year old Robin van Persie. Not a good sign.

crazy fans2

Finally a decent attack by Holland, with Robin on #9, Fosu-Mensah gets two attempts to cross the ball in and twice he fails to make the right decision….

Great players make the right decision at the right time. Instinctively. We don’t see a lot of that in our team.

68th minute, first chance for Robben. Good cross from the left, Robben is free at the far post and messes it up. Wants to head it back to Robin, but should have gone for the near post (for him). Good ball Promes.

Cillesen sadly is the best man in the team, denying Pogba from 2 yards out.

But, new star Lemar gets the second goal and it was a cracker. Control, technique, just perfect goal.

Another great chance for Fosu-Mensah, on a break in the 78th minute but he mishits the ball completely…

And after an undeserved red card, why not an off side goal as well? 3-0 for France now. Sure.

And wonder boy Mbappe scores a goal as well. It’s four… – END OF RANT

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The best thing that happened on the night was Bulgaria’s win over Sweden. That didn’t take any help from any Dutchman, so no chance of it getting F-ed up. We are still in it. So the drama might actually be even bigger when we lose vs Bulgaria at home, due to own goals of Memphis, Van Persie and Ruud Gullit who actually will play in that match.

But fair is fair: France is outstanding. They have everything in spades. Everything we are lacking. Speed, strength, flow, technique, team work, movement, confidence, intelligence. They weren’t that good, because we were ripe for the slaughter in the first 45 minutes, but hey…

We need to simply now get past this match quickly. Get the confidence back up to beat the next three opponents and pray that we’re not the worst #2. (Which we actually are!).

For the Bulgaria match, Strootman will be out (despite the ridiculous card). I think Sneijder will play and we might see Donny van de Beek in midfield. Good mover, good passer, can score goals and tackle. Bulgaria will park a couple of yoghurt cans in the box, so we do need a player with skills in the small spaces. Janssen will get the nod again too.

A Netherlands fans waits for the begin of the Group B Euro 2012 soccer match against Portugal at Metalist stadium in Kharkiv, June 17, 2012. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (UKRAINE - Tags: SPORT SOCCER) ORG XMIT: HPB01

Some positives, I think the back four did ok. Cillesen was outstanding. Fosu-Mensah will reach the top, Blind was pretty decent and Hoedt and De Vrij do have potential to become the duo of choice at the back.

Some negatives, I think our midfield was atrocious. Wijnaldum, Strootman… what is the matter with these cats? Sneijder shouldn’t have been used in this match or at least as false striker instead of Janssen. But even Promes, the rock star from Moscow, is not even the shadow of Lemar or Coman or Mbappe…

But! We can beat Bulgaria, Sweden and the other guys. And we might just make it to the World Cup. And we might get lucky there even! But after the WC2018, Sneijer, Robben and Van Persie will need to make way.

And we need to build a new team around the Frenkie de Jongs, the Van de Beeks, the Kluiverts, the Tete, Karsdorps, Akes, De Roons, Fosu-Mensahs and Depays of this world.

The highlights….


Watch Netherlands 4-1 France Euro Highlights 2008 13.06.2008 in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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