Month: January 2018

by Jan

Jetro Willems: I promise I’ll improve…

With the KNVB team almost up to speed (surely Koeman will be the man) it’s interesting to focus on the top quality players we thought we had… Jetro Willems came like a comet and disappeared into mediocrity last season. He’s picking up the pieces in the Bundesliga now.

“What is good arrives quick” is a typical Dutch saying. We saw it with JC, with Seedorf, Van Basten, Messi, Rooney… Age is not a concern, it’s all about quality. Giggs could play well into his 30s, so what? Jetro Willems appeared to be another top player who presented himself at top level in Holland at 17 years. And through a stroke of luck, ended up in the – disappointing – Oranje eleven for the EC2012.

Developed at Sparta Rotterdam, he made name real quick. Fast, strong, great technique and a wonderful left foot. PSV didn’t wait for the other clubs to wake up and immediately snatched him up. When Oranje and PSV left back Erik Pieters got seriously injured, Willems took his spot in Eindhoven, and not much later, the youngster was selected by Bert van Marwijk for the Euros2012. In his first 5 minutes in the match vs Denmark, he almost became a legend by hitting the ball like a rocket on goal, only for it to splash onto the bar. In that highly disappointing campaign, Willems was one of the high lights.

His coach Advocaat at PSV called him complacent. His Young Oranje coach Cor Pot called him naive. Willems always listened to the criticism and with his involved parents as advisers, he would improve himself.

After making a name as the youngest player at a Euros tournament ever, he also saw the other side of being a pro. Willems was a little bit too soft on himself. And in the year after the Euros, he even lost his spot in Young Oranje.

He also had to cope with a series of injuries at PSV Eindhoven but the season before last, he shone again. With the highest number of assists, he won the title with PSV, helping Luuk de Jong score and riding the wave with other marquee players like Memphis and Wijnaldum. And while Depay left for Man U and Wijnaldum went to Newcastle United, Willems decided to stay at PSV.

The season following was a dreadful one for the youngster. Hardly any assists, Luuk de Jong forgot how to score, more injuries and as a result, ridicule from the tv pundits for his weight problem. It was time for Willems to move on. But the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich weren’t interested…

The 23 year old was still keen to reach the European top, but he has to make a detour. AS Roma and AS Monaco were in the running for his signature, but Willems decided on the Bundesliga. Eintracht Frankfurt. An unlikely decision.

Willems: “And credit to my dad. Because of him, I’m here. Really, I was happy to go with the other clubs, and I never thought about the Bundesliga. I mean, the Bundesliga…that is a lot of running and working, right? I am not a great runner, I’m good on the ball. But my dad convinced me and I think him for it. Frankfurt came late in the game, we basically had decided for another club, we had negotiated the deal etc. It was almost done. But dad started to google Eintracht. Their games, their practices, he investigated the coach and he said to me: “I think Eintracht is ideal for you.”. I didn’t get it… He never ever pushed me to do anything, so when he said this… I took it seriously. And I thought. Ok. Bundesliga it is.”

Willems would discuss this with his dad later on. And his dad was quite harsh. “He never told me off he was always positive. But now, he basically said: let’s face it. You’re good on the ball, you’re a good passer, but in the turn-around you’re hopeless. You let your man go, you jog back, you’re too easy on your self! Now, look at the big full backs in Europe. Alaba. Marcelo. Alvez. They run their guts out. They work like crazy. Yes, all good players, but all hard workers. You won’t make it to the top if you don’t get that part of the game down.” Willems had to concede and went for it at Eintracht.

Willems: “Man, how I found out about that running. The first weeks of pre-season was so harsh. The first session I did was a 3 hour training, and after 2,5 hours I cramped up. So they said, don’t worry, we’ll do some easy running later today, to run it off. Guess what, that was an hour forest run! And I had done the first part of the pre-season with PSV and thus the second part with Eintracht. Incomparable. Seriously. At PSV, you work with the ball. At Eintracht, the ball doesn’t even come along to trainingscamp. We would run 14 kilometers per training day. Every day. Here, you need to be able to play full throttle every match, for 90 minutes. It’s that simple.”

Willems currently is top fit and starts to enjoy the hard work. “I never minded hard work, if I can see it aims towards something, sure. It’s not that I like it, but it’s a matter of just doing it, right? But my body mass index is still the same, don’t get wrong. Some people thought I was fat at PSV? But that is all muscle man. I’m a big boy, but I have a six pack and always had that. The only thing, my neck started to become a bit big, due to the muscle work I did in the gym, when I was injured. I looked fat, but I am fit as ever.”

Playing in Germany is a bit different. “Here, you play a good game, they will say: good game! In Holland, it’s always: good game, but…. this and that was not good. There is always that “but” in Holland. Look at PSV this season. Last season: criticism because they couldn’t get the results. This season, PSV is leader but still people whine and whinge that it’s not good enough… Typical. And my view of football has changed. I loved to do the cool and fancy things, but now, I realise it’s only about winning! I know Mourinho and Conte…they don’t care how they win, as long as they win. It’s time I start focusing on trophies rather than a cool trick or a good shot.”

Willems keeps on going: “In Germany, if you can’t win, the new aim is to not lose. In Holland, if you can’t win, you will try even harder to win. With the result, potentially, that you lose! I grew up with the Dutch school of football and attacking football is my thing, but here I have learned to play for the result. The Bundesliga enriched me like that.”

Eintracht Frankfurt is doing well this season and Willems plays a key part in it. “We are sub top now and we can look up instead of down. But, we’re not Bayern Munich, which can win games at 75% commitment. We really need to work our asses off for a win. The big thing here, like in the Premier League, is that any team can beat any team. In Holland, we only had two real rivals, Ajax and Feyenoord. We were expected to win the other matches. In Germany, it’s a bit more close. But tactically, the Dutch are better. Here, if the build up fails, they just hit a long ball forward. Boom! But in the last phase of the attack, everything goes much quicker here. Zip zip, some passing, first touch and before you know it it’s a goal, or a chance. And it’s constant. In Holland, we had moments in the game, where I knew I wouldn’t be involved. It was predictable, the patterns. I sometimes lost some focus. Here that is impossible. You need to be on your toes constantly.”

Willems is the fourth on the list of players with the most crosses, but he is number 1 in term of accuracy. He is no. 6 on the list of players creating chances. “Wijnaldum always pointed stats out to me, he’d always say: numbers don’t lie!”.

Willems about his position: “I am confident in the 3-5-2 system, which means I play 20 yards more forward and my defensive tasks are less important than in a 4-3-3. But I do need to track back of course, the coach expects me to take care of the whole left wing. So I need to be top fit.”

Life is good in Germany. Willems lives with his 29 year old cousin, who cooks for him and does odds and sodds for Jetro. “We have 17 nationalities in the team, it’s quite a cosmopolitan team. We speak English mainly but I’m learning German too, I can understand it. In Holland, it was all becoming “normal”. Here, both professionally and personally, it’s a new world for me. I’m out of my control zone now. It’s good.”

Willems enjoys being more anonymous. “Somehow I managed to get the attention of some tv pundits. It’s probably my own fault. I remember being interviewed when we were trailing behind Ajax two seasons ago, and I jokingly said – with a straight face – that we would win it, and we did! Hahaha, and I had some more funny interviews but somehow people don’t always get that humour. Football humour. And when I seemed to have gained weight, they were all over me. It’s good to be in a country where I am not important. They still call me a talent here in Germany. At PSV, I was one of the veterans, hahaha. I did play six seasons for PSV, won titles, played the Euros, I was one of the players in the dressing room who’d talk and be present. Here it’s different, with players like De Guzman and Boateng… I know my part here.”

Looking back at the criticism: “I understand the criticism. I simply wasn’t good enough, not consistent enough. I try to be honest with myself. I had this reputation of “he doesn’t care” but that is not correct. I do care. I am highly critical towards myself. I’m not arrogant, but I do speak my mind. In Holland, that is not always appreciated. I am not the ideal son-in-law, true, but I’m always speaking my truth.”

17 year old Jetro signing for PSV, with mum…

He had to make the switch in his head. “When I was young, I played on talent and instinct. I kept on doing this and maybe wasn’t always to responsible with my body. I had to learn this. You can reach the top with talent, but you can’t stay there just with talent. You need to work hard, learn, improve, push the boundaries. I didn’t do that for a while.”

In Germany, the benchmark is higher yet again. “The coach pushes me. He always says, if you train at a certain level, you need to push that level up, otherwise you won’t improve. In Holland, this is lacking. We train exactly how we did 4 years ago. The coach here tells me: “You’re good Jetro. But not as good as you think you are. That helps me, he triggers and pushes me. At practice, I get a lot of kicks. I tend to play a bit, trick the guys, well…they’ll have a go at you here. And the coach allows it. At one stage I was on the ground and said “coach, surely a free kick?” and he waved play on and yelled at me “will you cry and run to your mum!”… That took care of that, hahaha.”

Willems still has his eye on moving up. “Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot to prove here, but things are going well, so who knows. Gini went to Newcastle, he didn’t wait for a big name club. He played a good season and made a move. I think I could do a similar thing. After two years Eintracht, I’ll still be 25 years old. But key is to be happy and healthy. And I’m both here. I enjoy my football again and that is so important. Particularly after what happened to Nouri, I can say I’m blessed to be healthy and playing.”

Willems played his last international game for Oranje in October 2016, in the 1-0 loss against France. He watched Oranje’s exit from the sofa, at home. “So what can I say? I wasn’t there. I don’t have a right to say anything. My Eintracht coach tells me we are too complacent, we talk tactics but we don’t work hard enough. I get what he’s saying… I will do what I can to get back into it. But I am not the type to ask or to whinge about it. I have to show it week in week out on the pitch. It’s as simple as that. I hope the new NT coach will make a fresh new start now the older key players are slowly drifting out and a new group needs to step up. I hope to be part of it. And believe me, we still have top quality players. I think we’ll be fine.”

 

 

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by Jan

The Dutch Talents for 2022

We like looking towards the future. Because the present isn’t so hot for us. No tournament for us this year (again). No club performances in Europe. No real big stars in the high lights in Europe. Our best “Big League Players” are defenders (Van Dijk, De Vrij, Blind) or water-carriers in midfield (Wijnaldum and Strootman), with arguably Memphis and Dost the exceptions (are France and Portugal considered Big League?).

And The Dutch Classic wasn’t really worth watching either. Ajax better on the ball, but too slow and without real creative impulses, Feyenoord better without the ball. Two moments of sleeping resulted in the goals, Berghuis miss left Ajax off the hook and Jorgensen red mist resulted in a limp 10 men Feyenoord longing to the end. And bloody PSV got the 3 points in the dying seconds again…

While the KNVB is still considering how to move forward with the new team manager and technical director (apparently, Bosz, De Boer and Koeman risk losing their massive pay-checks from Dortmund, Palace and Everton if they sign for the KNVB), there are too many unknowns moving forward.

Still, the future is bright. It always is. Until you realise the light at the end of the tunnel is actually the headlight of the oncoming train…. But seriously, we can safely assume that Van Dijk, De Vrij, Memphis, Tete, Willems, Fosu-Mensah, Berghuis, Van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong, Van Beek, Karsdorp, Wijnaldum and more (Ake? Van Aanholt?) will be able to forge a team together that can win us a ticket to the next tournament.

The question is, is there more? What players can we expect to see coming through for the WC2022.

Voetbal International made a nice list for us. Players, 18 years old or younger.

AZ – Calvin Stengs…

…deserves to be on the top of the list. The AZ playmaker is sadly out of commission at the moment as a result of a terrible injury (self inflicted, as a result of eagerness). He played against PSV, the game was only 5 minutes old or so, and it was clear Stengs was already AZ’s big man. He lost control over the ball, Marco van Ginkel was ready to take control and Stengs should have conceded the ball. Instead, he lunged in to regain possession and overdid it. Stengs hunger was fueled by his excellent pre-season where he played as a false right winger (Ziyech style) coming inside inbetween the lines to get the ball and do something creative with it. He’s one of those players that has complete control over the ball and thinks quicker than others and sees solutions no one else sees. Whenever Stengs has the ball, his team mates will make a move, start a run, because they know he’ll see it. Max Huiberts, AZ’s Technical Director: “He is our crown jewel. Ten years ago, a guy like him would have played in the Ajax Academy. This tells you a lot about AZ’s strengths today.”

PSV – Jayden Braaf…

…was sent away by Ajax when he was 11. Too light, too weak. But he didn’t just capitulate and left for the rivals from Eindhoven. The left -winger had a tremendous development trajectory there and was the key player for the Oranje Under 15s in the win over Germany in 2017. Ajax immediately went back to Braaf and pleaded for him to return, offering him a spot in the Under 17s. But Jayden stayed loyal to the club that did believe in him. His Youtube channel gives you a nice insight in the skills of the right-footer on the left wing.

Ajax – Justin Kluivert…

…isn’t the only Kluivert of course. Yes, there is dad Patrick, but little bro Shane is also getting massive views on Youtube as he plays in the Barcelona Academy. Kluivert’s current level is nicely symbolised by the fact that the junior keeps an A international of Germany (Youness) out of Ajax’ starting eleven. He’s fast, explosive, has a low centre of gravity, is perfectly two-footed and like Arjen Robben (and unlike Youness) he has the ability to come inside from the flank and find the killer pass or score with an almost signature curler in the top corner. There is a huge scarcity of players who can make the difference and it seems Justin is surely one of those. Ajax does have a problem with the little Kluivert, as he’s called: his contract ends in the summer of 2019. He has not yet agreed to renewing it, so to keep him from walking out for zilch, Ajax might have to sell the winger this coming summer already, to at least make some money. Several top clubs have shown their interest and it will not be hard for Justin to find a nice step up, this coming summer.

Chelsea – Daishawn Redan…

…was eleven years old when he was invited to entertain the crowd before an Ajax-PSV, with a game of keepy-up. The youngster started before the fans entered the stadium. When the game was about to begin, he was politely asked to please stop doing it and get off the pitch… Eleven years old! His talent was such that even Ajax wasn’t able to keep the striker in Holland. When he turned 16, he accepted invitations to visit Man United, West Ham United and Chelsea. “Man United was quite impressive but when I saw the training facilities and the stadium at Stanford Bridge, I was sold.” The youngster has a contract in West London until 2019 and is currently the skipper of Oranje Under 19. He scored 4 times in 3 qualification games for the EC 2018 in England.

Ajax – Matthijs De Ligt…

… is on his way to Barcelona in the summer of 2018, according to the Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo. And why not? He’s just 18 years old and has already demonstrated his quality at top level. He’s number 8 on the list of most talented teenagers according to the English 4-4-2 magazine. When Ronald de Boer was asked which current Ajax player would easily fit into the 1995 wonder team, he responded immediately: De Ligt! When Man United played Ajax in the EL finals, Mourinho allowed Sanchez – n0w Spurs! – the ball for the build up. That is telling indeed. He’s the youngest Dutch player to ever play a European finals. It’s not hard to see Ajax won’t be his ceiling in football.

AZ – Kenzo Goudmijn…

…was 15 years old when AZ coach John van de Brom allowed him his debut against KV Mechelen. The youngster didn’t have any nerves. He thought the coach was pulling his leg and never believed he was actually going to play. Kenzo is the son of former AZ winger Kenneth Goudmijn, currently AZ youth coach. He’s considered to be one of the top talents but the midfield playmaker does need to make some steps physically to actually rumble with the seniors.

SC Heerenveen – Kik Pierie…

…has the name of a football comics football hero. Made his debut last year at 17 and hasn’t given up his starting birth since. It’s remarkable how he’s able to stop the strikers in the Eredivisie and demonstrates his build up qualities with his left. Both his parents were pro hockey players and both his brothers are also talents in the Heerenveen Academy. They might all three once play for the first team, although it’s fair to believe that Kik won’t be at Heerenveen for long. “My parents know what it takes to make it to the top so they’re wonderful in guiding me in my choices and patterns.”

Ajax – Ryan Gravenberch…

…is only 15 year old but is a key player in Ajax Under 17, which will claim the title easily this season. He’s will be moved up to the key Ajax youth team, the Under 19s and calls himself a midfielder. “I’m like Pogba. Tall, lean and quick. Like him, I’m a snake, I can glide past players but I also love watching Iniesta and Frenkie de Jong play.” He was the youngest goal scorer ever in the UEFA Youth League. At Ajax, they’re convinced of his future and have agreed on a 3 year deal, which he is only allowed to sign at the summer of 2018, when he turns 16 years old.

Feyenoord – Cheick Toure…

…left his country Guinee as a refugee with his older brother when 4 years old. He ended up playing for FC Dordrecht when he was 10 and got signed by Feyenoord when he was 12. Martin van Geel: “Cheick is a very mature guy, already. He has personality, has leadership qualities and has learned to speak up for himself. This season he’ll play for the Under 19s and he has a pre-contract motivating him more to develop himself.” When he was 16 years old, he made his debut for Feyenoord 1. He suffered some injuries and disappeared from the spotlight for a bit, but the explosive rightfooted left winger is top fit again and waiting for his second game in the first team.

AZ – Myron Boadu…

…was sent away after a test run at Ajax. He went to AZ and the rejection by Ajax resulted in him playing even better when faced with the Sons of Gods. He won nines times already vs Ajax. Last year, large clubs from all over Europe wanted to sign him but the young forward decided to stay at AZ. He’s regarded as their biggest talent – with Stengs – and according to his youth coach, he’ll go for two seasons in AZ 1, then maybe a step in Holland (Ajax?) and then…who knows? “Dutch football will really benefit from this lad. He is Bergkampesque.”

Hamburger SV – Rick van Drongelen…

…is like Virgil van Dijk. Recognised as a top defending talent, but swooped up by a rich mid-tier club instead of one of the top 3 Dutch clubs. HSV paid 3 mio euros for the defender, apparently in the half time break, during a friendly between the two clubs. And he has no trouble whatsoever keeping up with the Bundesliga level. Sparta Rotterdam scouted him in Zeeland when he was 13 year old. PSV also offered him a place, like Twente and Willem II. At his 17th, he made his debut in Sparta 1, and he became Sparta’s youngest goal scorer ever. His strenght? An un-Dutch match mentality. “I don’t play for fun or for the beauty of the game. I just want to win.” His idol? Not Messi, Pirlo or Redondo, but Italian beast Chielini. In Germany, they call Van Drongelen “The Machine”, because of his training mentality. “You can’t become a better player by doing less than the other guys.”

Fortuna Sittard – Perr Schuurs…

…will be an Ajax player soon. The 18 year old already is the figure head of the Jupiler League and will show his leadership in Amsterdam. Liverpool and Tottenham were after his signature too, but the young defender will remain in Holland for a spell. He’s a top quality passer, has length and is fast. Perfect characteristics for a modern defender. His main strength is the perfectly timed tackle.

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by Jan

Mourinho and Excelsior

The football city of Holland is obviously Rotterdam. The port city has three Eredivisie clubs and a tremendous history. The best stadium of the country, the best pitch of Europe, the most popular club of the country, and with Sparta a club that plays its home games in a castle.

Excelsior is the ugly duckling in Rotterdam. The grounds look like a mediocre amateur club venue. The club is situated in the posh area of Rotterdam, next to the Erasmus University where football competes with cricket, rugby and golf. Their biggest claim to fame is and will always be the fact that their budget used to be made “whole” by collecting old papers from households in the area, which would then be sold to a paper-disposal plant for mere cents… An urban legend, I’m sure.

But, it’s also the most decent club in the country and has and probably always will have the lowest budget in the Eredivisie.

Despite their relative poor stature, Excelsior plays very decent football, pass  & move, technically skilled and they even were 7th (!!) in the Eredivisie for a spell. Currently the lowly club is 12th in the league and actually the second club in Rotterdam (with Sparta in relegation land for now).

Excelsior always had a knack of finding good coaches, who would bring something extra to the club. The likes of Mario Been, Fons Groenendijk and Alex Pastoor all did wonderful things here and currently it’s Mitchell van der Gaag who impresses.

Van der Gaag was a promising central defender when he came through the ranks at PSV Eindhoven. He found it tough to compete with PSV peers in the heydays and was out on loan to NEC and Sparta, before he left for Scotland. After Motherwell he returned to play for FC Utrecht and then made his move to Portugal where he became a cult hero for Maritimo. A short spell with Al Nassr followed and after his career (stopped short by injuries) he went on to coach in Portugal before returning to Holland, where he coached FC Eindhoven for one season and is now writing headlines with Excelsior.

Jose Mourinho: “There are many poets in football, but poets don’t win trophies!”.  It’s how they think in Portugal. That’s all.

Most Dutch people will remember the way his team Man United won the EL finals against the young Ajax of Peter Bosz. I’m sure Bosz is considered one of the poets, by the Special One and he had his fair share of shenanigans with Dutch coaches before. Like when he was able to run a coaching session for his boss, Louis van Gaal, at Barcelona. And how his boss Van Gaal inspired Mourinho to become a head coach himself. Or how he beat Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona after he won the CL a season earlier with FC Porto. And how Mourinho inspired Ajax’ and Cruyff’s Velvet Revolution, after Real Madrid simply brushed Martin Jol’s Ajax aside in two matches in the CL. How he played the Ajax of Frank de Boer and had his players get a yellow card to avoid a suspension in the knock-out stages. And mostly, how he beat his old master Van Gaal in the CL finals of 2010.

All this was symbolic for the changes in international football and the changes in the coaching hierarchy. Since the spring of 2015, it were the Portuguese coaches who won trophies, in England (Mourinho himself), Greece (Pereira), Russia (Villas-Boas), Ukraine (Fonseca) and France (Jardim). And it was Santos who won the EC with the Selecao das Quinas in 2016.

The Dutch coaches? Well, Ten Cate won the title in the United Arab Emirates and Van Gaal won the FA Cup with Man United. That’s it, really.

When Van der Gaag arrives in Portugal in 2001, the roles are reversed still. His coaches ask him constantly about the Dutch School. Whenever Mitchell flies to his family in Holland, his coaches would ask him to bring home video tapes of Ajax coaching sessions. “Typical for the Portuguese,” Van der Gaag smiles. “They are followers, it’s in their culture.”

His family resides in Portugal for 16 years now. His oldest son just won a first pro contract with Benfica, where another son also plays in the youth system. He won the title on the second level with Belensenses and had to quit his job due to heart issues. He resumed work on Cyprus and came to Excelsior at the Eredivisie level via FC Eindhoven.

Van der Gaag witnessed how the Portuguese changed their football culture. All thanks to a headstrong student physiology, who went from being Bobby Robson’s translator to one of the most successful coaches of the 21st century. “Mourinho has a different mentality than most Portuguese people. When he won the CL with FC Porto, he made some wholesale changes in the country. The coaches now are more self confident and simply are viewed differently now.”

Van der Gaag at Motherwell

Van der Gaag mentions Leonardo Jardim, who led AS Monaco to the title and the semi finals of the CL. “He is from Madeira, where I worked for nine years at Maritimo. He did not have a huge playing career, and neither did Mourinho. These guys are all university students, physiology, or sports-science, mostly in Lisbon. And they start their coaching careers early. Jardim was 27 years old when he started as assistant coach. And they move their way up the ladder step by step.”

Van der Gaag is still a player when Porto wins the CL. Around that time, the coaching virus grasps him and he finishes his initial Dutch studies in Portugal. “The course in Portugal is so different. In Holland, it’s all about the Verheijen method of not putting too much physical pressure on the players. You need to work with match situations and see how you can find a problem and make it trainable. In Portugal, you go into an intern for 3 weeks and you are being fed all this know-how, from 9 am till 9 pm. You get a fist thick book with all sorts of practices. After that you need to work on a thesis using 75 of these practices and on the exam day you pick a number and use this practice on the training pitch.

Mourinho in his Porto days

Van der Gaag doesn’t believe this is good enough and starts to invest in himself. He saves an amount per month which he uses to buy all sorts of football training books. He studies the Danish physical condition coach Bangsbo’s work, he delves into the work of Professor Castelo and Jose Oliveira teaches Mitchell about tactical period-planning.

“In Portugal, universities play a major role in football development, both in Porto and Lisbon. All the methodologies are being taught. In Lisbon, it’s Castelo and in the North they use the Vitor Frade method, who works for FC Porto and for the university. He is seen as the mentor of Mourinho.”

The quintesses of this tactical period training is that it ignores systems and tasks and roles and running lines, but works with principles. “Tactics is extremely important in Portugal, but systems aren’t. The difference between certain systems is only a few yards, right. The systems actually only exist on paper. And more and more teams seem to be positioned compact, defensively. The Portuguese work more on principles, concepts that assist the players in decision making in particular in the turn-around situations.”

And this is exactly the thing where the Dutch can learn from the Portuguese! “After Ajax’ finals against Man United, I heard a lot of criticism about how Man United played anti-football. I heard the same criticism when Portugal won the EC2016. We want to entertain the crowd, in Portugal, only a victory counts. The word “counter” has a negative connotation in Holland, but a well executed counter is the result of practice and perfectioning moments. In Portugal, all we did was train the turn around moment. (Current Ajax assistant coach) Alfred Schreuder told me that Nagelsmann does the exact same thing at Hoffenheim.”

Alfred Schreuder at Hoffenheim

Van der Gaag uses this at Excelsior. “I basically see four key moments in a match and for each, we use one key principle. They are attack, defense and the two turn-around moments between these two moments. This always comes back in training. Defensively, we have a compact positioning model in the zone. In the turn around, we go for depth as fast as we can. We focus on movement and overlap. All forms of practices are focused on the turn around moments. We practice 3 v 2 and 2 v 1 moments, because this is exactly what happens in a game.”

The ultimate confirmation comes in what Feyenoord thought would be their title-winning match, last season. Feyenoord centre back Botteghin collects the ball, when Feyenoord is 1-0 behind. He dribbles into midfield. And now, the many hours of practice pay off. Excelsior repossesses the ball in the midfield area, and as a result, three attacking minded midfield runners and the striker are in perfect position to counter-attack. They find depth fast, the running patterns are diagonal to confuse the defenders. An overlapping run on the wing and the low early cross across the goal mouth. “That was a wonderful explosion of joy, this is what we train on the whole year,” Van der Gaal smiles.

Physical condition is the most important thing in the turn around, more so than tactics. “The ability and willingness to run 60 meters at full speed, that is the difference. We worked on that with our wingers all season. I showed him videos of Eden Hazard, who constantly makes those runs at Chelsea.”

Apart from book study, Van der Gaag also does his work in Youtube. “I sometimes take a full day to watch videos of top coaches. I love watching Marcelo Bielsa. He’s fantastic. Sometimes I have to rewatch his stuff three times to see what he actually is doing. I learned defensive practices from him. He lets defenders head balls away all the time. Diego Simeone does that too. Players are constantly jumping, tumbling, tackling. We have tend to not to the dirty work at training in Holland. I watch those clips and it inspires me to do similar things here at Excelsior.”

Bielsa

Other coaches I follow are Sampaoli, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho. This summer, Maurizio Sarri of Napoli is also on my watchlist. The way Napoli builds up and attacks is incredibly interesting. Sarri is a special guy. He basically watches with a cigaret and every 10 minutes an assistant brings him another espresso. Amazing. And I think, how would people respond to this if I would do that at Excelsior, hahaha.”

Dutch players tend to “get” the turnaround practices quickly, but zonal defending tends to be a problem. “In Portugal, no team playes one on one at the back. If a defenders presses forward and steps out of defense, he’ll get the death penalty. In Portugal, defending is all about guarding the zone. In Holland, in particular in the Jupiler League, it’s all about one v one defending. When my defenders get nervous at Excelsior, they tend to push up. They want to “feel” a direct opponent. This is how we conceded too many goals. And due to my Portuguese DNA now, it’s not what I like to see.”

Van der Gaag wants to put the Excelsior results in perspective. “I can be the smart-ass now, but I can not explain everything. We had a bad spell last season and suddenly, we win four games in a row. And we didn’t do anything different. We just kept the focus on what we did and were doing. I can talk with a deep voice about systems, or methods or principles, but sometimes it just falls into place. And it’s mostly a psychological thing. And I’m focusing on the mental side too. We added a mental coach to the backroom staff this season.”

Tactical periodisation is a key idea in getting teams to perform well. “Books, anyone can read them. But how do you process the info, how do you make it workable in practice and how do you communicate with the players… Guilherme wrote the bible on tactical periodisation but as a coach he simply failed. I’m sure this was not due to the quality of his practices.”

Sarri

“I can see these ideas being used now in Holland by many coaches. Ten Hag, Van Bronckhorst, Groenendijk, Van ‘t Schip, but it’s more than a fad, a hype. Slowly, we see changes coming in Holland.”

So what does Van der Gaag think Dutch football needs to do. “I do follow the discussion of course. We are a bit set in our ways. But it’s not all that bad. I mean, Ajax did reach the EL finals! And the new coaching course is much better and the KNVB has definitely looked at the German way of doing things. Now it’s almost as if the ex footballer can not be the ideal coach. I think we’re now going too far in the other direction.”

Last season Excelsior played seven games in which it had more possession than the opponent. And in all those games, Excelsior ended up losing. “I think consistency is the key to our success but it can also be a reason for failure. I would love to use a Plan B to surprise opponents. But I usually start the pre-season with only 13 players. How am I ever going to get a Plan B in the team?”

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by Jan

Big Four are history now…

Arjen Robben, after the last WC qualification game vs Sweden: “The man of glass went on the longest….”

The Big Four are no more. Sneijder might play a fringe part for us in the future, but Van der Vaart, most likely Van Persie and Robben are no longer going to wear the orange.

We didn’t just lose a couple of world class players, the Big Four, we lost our self-esteem.

It’s 2010, Oranje up for the semi-finals vs Uruguay. Sneijder is being interviewed, but the cocky Utrechter turns the tables. He asks the question: “Do you believe we can win it?” The sports reporter hesitates… Sneijder: “Ok, you doubt me? I will convince you. Not with words.” And he pointed at Robin van Persie. Then he pointed at Van der Vaart. Then at Robben. He looked the reporter in the eye and pointed at himself. “Tell your wife you’ll be coming home after the finals.”

Sneijder got up and walked away. And raised both arms in triumph, with two fingers up on both hands. Four.

Two days later, Oranje made it to the finals.

Earlier that year, he did the same. He asked the question of the sports reporter: “Is there a name for it when you win the treble AND the World Cup?”. He just won the title, the national cup in Italy and the Champions League. He played against Robben and Van Bommel. These three would get to the national team training camp late, but brimming with confidence. Robben and Sneijder talked at the trainings camp, about their mutual debuts for Oranje against Portugal. “We never made it far in 2006 and 2008 because our aim was to survive these groups of death. Getting through was the key thing. This time, it’s different. This time we want to go all the way. We told each other constantly: we are not leaving until we played the finals. We will go to South Africa to win it!”

Those were the days. Not just because we had these four Top Guns. But because we had personalities in the team. Think Nigel de Jong, Mark van Bommel, Dirk Kuyt. Players with a voice and an opinion. In 2010, the players wanted to win it. In 2014, Louis van Gaal squeezed it out of them.

The development process of the Big Four was fascinating. And also because of their temperaments. When self consciousness and top quality meet, ego is lurking. And in particular, when certain players are going for the same position. It was never a thing, for Sneijder and Van der Vaart. Best mates since their youth. And they still are close. Bert van Marwijk demanded it: mutual respect and acceptance. Trust each others qualities and skills and cover for the weaker aspects. A collective consciousness. And all this got processed and came to the fore in 2010. If it wasn’t for Casillas toe, Holland would have had the cup.

They shared their talent and confidence, but the Big Four also never forgot their roots. When Van Persie scored that phenomenal header vs Spain, in 2014, he credited his old youth coach Aad Putters, at Excelsior, as the man who taught him to head the ball. And every year, Robin participates in the youth tournament carrying his name. Just like Rafael van der Vaart visits his own youth tournament in Beverwijk, with his dad behind the bar counter and his mum selling entry tickets. Arjen Robben recently produced a video tape to ask the fans of FC Groningen to support his old club, even in these dire times. And Sneijder financially supports an entourage of family and friends, to make them part of his success. They’re multi millionaires but in their hearts they’re still street players.

Robben, the dribble king from Bedum, Sneijder the focused leader, Van der Vaart the old-fashioned virtuoso and Van Persie the elegant artist, who’d do the grocery shopping in Kralingen with a ball glued to his left foot. They love the game, from their youth right to the highest level.

But after that failed tournament of 2012, in the run up to the World Cup Brazil, the rust started to show. Van der Vaart was already out. He played his last international game in 2013. Van Gaal harassed Sneijder about his fitness. Van Persie admitted he played with constant pain. Only Robben, with him was it the opposite. The injury prone winger was in the form of his life and carried Oranje through the World Cup 2014. Sneijder and Van Persie just made it. When Wesley Sneijder had himself tested by the Dutch squad medical team, Van Gaal thought the equipment was faulty and ordered a re-test. That is how fit Sneijder was. Van Persie withstood the knee complaints and had his most productive tournament ever: 4 goals. In that sensational 1-5 win over Spain, all three players were involved: two goals Van Persie, two goals Robben and Sneijder with two assists. Robben: “Whenever Sneijder gets played in, I’m on my bike. Even if he still has work to do. Because I know he’ll find the gap to pass the ball exactly where I need it.” It’s how it went in Salvador, with Sergio Ramos crawling on all fours, watching how Robben scored. And in Johannesburg, when Robben was thwarted by Casillas’ toe.

In the years post-Brazil, the rust took over. Robben remained the Oranje leader. But his body didn’t agree and in 2015 and 2016 he only played 166 minutes in Oranje. The exact same period in which we failed to qualify for France 2016. Van der Vaart got sidelined by Betis Sevilla and later at Mitdtjylland. Van Persie and Sneijder had the support of Danny Blind and Advocaat after Blind betted one more time, heavily, on the two mavericks. To no avail. Sneijder got subbed for Vilhena and Van Persie ended up with a bad knee injury. Not much after, the WC Russia disintegrated for us and with that, a proper send-off for our Top World Class players. Only Robben was there, when we clutched at straws vs Belarus and Sweden. Robben had an assist on Propper against Belarus but fired a free kick into row Z later on. He had a wry smile on his face… Against Sweden, Robben was man of the match. With two goals, a lucky pen and a smashing strike from outside of the 16. His swan song.

The demasque of Oranje is a fact now. Sneijder: “At Galatasaray, some players asked who were in the Dutch national team. I named them and all I could see were question marks in their faces…”

Sneijder wasn’t present for the last qualification games. Robben was the only one left. When asked about it: “I’m not going to lie. I find it tough to be here without him. I think he could have had value for us, he’s very important. But, it’s the coach who decides, not me. But yes, it’s a wake-up call for me.”

What rests us, are the memories. Two years ago, this sentimental journey got it’s prologue. Three of the Big Four are in the bar of the Amsterdam Hilton. The Dutch team stayed the night there. Clarence Seedorf, ex-international, came by to say hi. Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben sat down with Seedorf and shared memories of the times that Oranje was a shoe in for the semi finals at big tournaments. Life was good, jokes all around, sipping drinks in front of the fire place. Sneijder grabbed his phone and said: “Let me call Raffie, ask him to come down. We’d be complete again.” They laughed and toasted. Proud and melancholic.

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