Memories of Sir Alex, the Dutch angle

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by Jan

On the pic, ManU icons Solksjaer, Cantona, York, Cole, Van the Man, Van der Sar

Sir Alex’ retirement can be scrutinised in detail in all international media. There is not much we can cover here that you haven’t already read about the 71 year old. Still, I believe it is fitting for us to acknowledge the man who can be seen as one of the Best Managers of the World Ever.

There is a number of extraordinary aspects to mention about Sir Alex. The fact that he was in charge of the same club for 26 years is definitely unique. At the same time, this says a lot about the actual board of Man United and their long term (football) vision.

There are already many analyses done on his long reign and I’m sure more will follow in the months or even years to come. Louis van Gaal and Co Adriaanse have both ordered their copy :-). In a world where the average football manager is in charge not much longer than two seasons (Man United is pushing the average up, as does Arsenal, while Chelsea keeps it nice and low) at the same club, Sir Alex can be seen as a unique role model. Such, that Frank de Boer already talks about himself potentially, as the SAF of Ajax…

Our little write up will be from the Dutch angle. To start with former goalie legend, Peter Schmeichel: “How can Sir Alex time his retirement now? Only one season with Robin van Persie???”.

Jordie Cruyff was the first Dutch player to work with Sir Alex (Arnold Muhren left the season before the Scotsman got the job). The young Cruyff was used to working with brilliant, yet dominant coaches (he played for Barcelona, where on Johan Cruyff was his coach….). “Ferguson has something special in his personality. He is definitely the boss. You don’t want to cross him, or be on the wrong side of his temper. But at the same time, he is very warm. Really like a father figure for most if not all of us.”

Raymond van der Gouw was the sub goalie at Man United for 6 seasons. His impact at Man United was seen as huge, as some people (incl Sir Alex) commented on his “binding” skills in the dressing room. The former Vitesse goalie even coached the goalies in the youth system for a year. Van der Gouw: “Ferguson is not known to be the analyst coach, like Wenger or Van Gaal but he definitely knew everything he had to know about opponents. I don’t think he actually studied them consciously, like others do. He would simply see it really fast and was always able to make small changes in the team make-up and he would win games like that. A sixth sense….”

Jaap Stam would be the third Dutchie under Alex Ferguson and despite having played only 3 seasons at Old Trafford, the former Zwolle defender became a club icon. Stam was pushed out of the club by Sir Alex after some indiscrete comments about his coach in his biography. Something both men regretted. When the ManU coach was asked which decision he wished he could turn around, he said he wished he didn’t let Stam go that easily. While Stam (who would go on to play for AC Milan and Ajax) later admitted he would never disclose what he did if he had the chance to do it again.”

But Stam doesn’t believe his book was the real reason to leave. “It will have been a part of it, but at the time, Man United needed the cash too. Lazio made a big offer (20 mio pounds) and I believe Sir Alex needed that money to rebuild the team. At a certain point, we had a big clash again. I left the club, angry, and Ferguson’s PA called me to check where I was. I was at a petrol station and she asked me to wait. Sir Alex showed up and asked me to take the Lazio offer. I decided to go then and there. At the petrol station. I look back at it and believe I shouldn’t have been so pleasing to go. I left a huge club after an emotional spat at a petrol station, hahaha. But I don’t look back in anger. I love the club, love the fans and hope to be able to coach in England sometime soon myself.”

Sir Alex has the name of being able to spot huge talents where others are slumbering and signing them for a low fee. Stam is definitely seen as one of them, as were Schmeichel, Solksjear, even Van der Sar and Cantona. Van Nistelrooy definitely was not a cheap signing. And it took Ferguson two seasons to finally land him, due to Ruud’s injury dramas.

The Dutch striker scored 150 goals for the Red Devils in 219 games ( 5 seasons). “Working with Sir Alex as a huge and unique privilege.”

Van Nistelrooy saw his manager as a second father. Their relationship has always been very warm. Not unlike Beckham and C Ronaldo, the former Den Bosch striker had intense contact with his coach for all sorts of topics. Until the magic was suddenly gone and the ruthless Scottish coach decided to offload the goal machine.

Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his own brutal departure from Manchester United underlines why Sir Alex Ferguson has spent so long at the top.

Ruud’s staggering return counted for nothing when Ferguson decided Van Nistelrooy had outlived his usefulness.
As the summer of 2006 approached, Ferguson decided to pick Giuseppe Rossi ahead of Van Nistelrooy for the final game of the season against Charlton. The Dutchman drove away from Old Trafford in disgust and – until Friday’s unveiling of a Ferguson statue – had not been back since. ‘When he is building new teams he is willing to do things like that,’ said Van Nistelrooy. ‘That is all credit to him. In his mind, the club is the most important thing. That is what he always said. It is his most-repeated sentence.’

At the time, Van Nistelrooy was incredulous, as were many fans.
Yet United came back to win three successive Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph in 2008, in a period when they never did worse than a semi-final.
‘What he did was fair enough,’ said Van Nistelrooy. ‘I didn’t find it hard to deal with. I accepted it.I moved on to Madrid and had four great years there. He moved the club further onwards. Of course, we had our things with the way it ended but he is man who gets the best out of people. He did that with me as well.’

Edwin van der Sar was seen by many (incl Sir Alex himself) as the ideal candidate to replace Peter Schmeichel. It still took a long time for the Ajax goalie to find his way to Old Trafford via Juventus and Fulham. Like Van Nistelrooy, he developed a very strong relationship with his coach and speaks very highly of the man. Sar was at Man U from
2005 and 2011 and believe no one will be able to replicate what the great man did.
“It didn’t surprise me. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago by chance and I remember thinking that this would be his last season, based on what he told me. And lets face it, he is way past normal retirement age, haha. We were kidding about this years ago already. But he is more than just a manager right? He is the club ambassador and he moulded and created the club as it is now, with Rene Meulensteen as a very important pawn in the game. Rene does all the field coaching. Can you imagine, someone like Ryan Giggs, never worked with another manager at this club. Unreal.”

Van der Sar can’t say enough. “I have gotten to know him as a warm man. You could discuss everything with him. He once went on to me about his grandson who goes to the same school as my son. They both were in this play together. It was at practice. Whenever I had to perform a save, he would stop talking. And once the ball was on the other side of the pitch, he would talk about that acting performance of these kids. He would always protect you too. Unless you did something really foolish. He was always very busy with all sorts of things. He has many interests. I think he doesn’t sleep at night… And yes, he had his clashes with big name players (Beckham, Keane, Stam, Van Nistelrooy) but only if these lads damaged the club. And all these players still have a warm bond with Sir Alex.”

Rene Meulensteen knew it had to happen one day. But the announcement that it would be this season was a surprise. “It’s probably the right time for him. He will not make decisions like this lightly, of course. And he announced it in his own special way. Typical for him. He asked us all to visit him in his office. We came in, we sat down, and he told us. Just like that. No frills, no emotion. Just another message to relay.”

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  4. Pity for PSV, he would have usefull for CL games.

    Don’t know who will replace him, but I’d be surprised that Strootman also leaves this year, they can’t lose too many players.

  5. Potential Champions League Starting XI next season

    Zoet vs Vermeer

    Jorgensen vs van Rijn
    Bouma vs Moisander
    Pieters vs Alderweireld
    Willems vs Boilesen

    Strootman vs Eriksen
    Engelaar vs De Jong

    Narsingh vs Andersen
    Depay vs Hoesen
    Mertens vs Fischer

    Locadia vs Sigthorsson

    2. They’ll sell Toivonen and Lens, I also expect Pieters/Matavz to leave, maybe Tyton…Get rid of salaries of Engelaar, Van Bommel, Hutchinson.

  7. I expect all of Strootman, Mertens, Toivonen and maybe Pieters to be gone by next season. They should retain Lens at all cost.

    For the money they’d make selling the above, if they can get Van Ginkel, and an enforcer, as well a proper RB, and two new CBs, they should be fine.
    Theyre attack is still good. I would recommend also getting Bas Dost on loan, since he’s been warming the bench for Wolfsburg lately.

  8. Most importantly, the Dutch National Team cannot afford to lose Lens to some average/big club in some big League and have him warm the bench there. We need him to fire at all cylinders again this year.
    After the world cup, he can go.

  9. NT cannot afford to lose lens and strootman before WC, I’m afraid that strootman may also strugle outside eredivisie, it would be better for them to stay until end of 2014. Strootman may even increase his value after WC (off couse we expect him to shine) and PSV can get more profit from it. Pieters would be worthless at this moment, better to develop him 1-2 seasons before selling.

    They should sell Mertens, Toivonen, Matavz and Hutchinson (maybe worth clsoe to 28M alltogether). Imagine what PSV can do with that money. As replacement buy duarte, la parra, Virgil van Dijk etc.

  10. also good news.
    Van Nistelrooy, Ooijer + Van Bommel youth coaches at PSV next ssn. Cocu (mgr), PSV will announce press conference tomorrow.

  11. Cool!
    Agree with you on everything.
    Although Strootman should be able to shine in a bigger club.
    He has only been looking like a decent player recently, but should look fantastic with equally good or better players around him. I think he just outgrew PSV.

  12. Im hoping Man utd sell Rooney, Evra and Anderson; and in return buy L.Baines, Fellaini, and Strootman.
    Then we’d be looking at a group of Carrick, Cleverly, Kagawa, Strootman and Fellaini to occupy the three positions in midfield.
    Plenty of opportunities for him to shine and even develop further before the WC.

    Obviously if man utd don’t come asking, and the offers are clubs like ac milan or man city. then he probably shouldn’t bother.

    1. Manu really lack a playmaker.last year it was done by persie and rooney by 9.5 method…Manu need another striker,playmaker,a better LB as Evra is ageing.so is Vidic and ferdinand.
      Out…Rooney,Anderson,scholes,Giggs(both retirement),Nani,Evra.

  13. Well done SAF, all those years and so much success for one club, think about how many players he has given a career to, in the biggest league in the world it’s amazing. I am disappointed that RVP will only get one year with him, but hey , what a year!

  14. What happened to Pieters? He struggled since coming back after the injury. Was it the coach or was it the injury? I was hoping he can get back to his form before the injury.

  15. Mertens will stay and Lens will leave. There is a doubt about Strootman but I think he’ll stay one year more.

    —————–Tyton/Waterman/Zoet———————

    –?————–Marcelo/Zanka———?———–Willems

    ——————?————–Strootman—————-

    –Narsingh(Wijnaldum)—–?————-Mertens(Depay)—-

    ————————-?(Locadia)———————-

    They have Bouma, Hijlemark, Van Ooijen as substitutes also. I hope they’ll sell Matavz and Pieters to get few millions more, if Tyton isn’t number 1 next year, he’ll probably leave also.

    There are many eredivisie good players with an ending contract this year : Kali (Utrecht), Asare (Utrecht), Everton (Heracles), Veijnovic (Heracles), Van Peppen (RKC)…

    Would be good to keep them in the league, Kali and Asare can be two good turnover players for PSV.

      1. Why ? It’s the contrary, I would say Mertens is more regular than Lens with PSV, but I see more Lens performing in the PL than the belgian with his little physical.

        Lens got speed, power, a ability to be crucial in the good moment,he would shine in clubs like Tottenham or Schalke without any problem.

  16. Goldstone, I do lots of research with Philips so I can tell you the company is not doing well. They have decided to abandon consumer electronics and focus on lighting. They will need a lot of it frankly to rebuild this team. I am extremely underwhelmed by the coaching staff. Cocu is not a leader (never was), Faber is insipid and the others totally inexperienced. But yes they alwasy manage to find a way to buy players and lots of them. That is why they are called the “lightbulbs”.

    1. “Lightbulbs,” indeed. 😉

      Please urge your Ajax to move quickly with Maher and Van Ginkel, Jeff. I’m ready to buy that new away kit. (Will buy two, and pose with picture as proof for this site, if Ajax signs them both!) Congrats again….

      1. Lightbulbs = Lightweight !

        Spoke to someone relatively “in the know” with whats happening at Ajax and he said both Maher n v Ginkel will be at Ajax next season.

  18. Goldstone, I hope you know I am only joking. Ajax needs a good PSV team and PSV is by far my second favorite team. We love the Philips company and all that they do in healthcare. Great guys!! Truly innovative and very receptive to suggestions, including the fact our project is called the “AJAX Protocol”. How funny is that?

    Carlos, I really hope you are right. My sources tell me the same things about Maher and VG.

  19. With the potential sale of Eriksen and Alderweireld, Ajax can raise additional fund maybe close to 25M £. Van Ginkel or Maher may only costs 1/3 of an Eriksen.

    IMO, Siem would stay for another year, he sees his brother doing not so well in his first season bundesliga. Staying with Ajax, he has more chance playing CL and WC next year.

  20. In England they talk about a transfer of 20 million euros for the extremmo
    Votes (12)
    Comments (18)

    Robben may return to the Premier | Photo: Agencies

    LL.M. | 12.05.2013 | 19:36 h
    Arjen Robben could leave Bayern Munich at end of season. The Dutch winger would not go into Pep Guardiola’s plans for next season and the German club could make box with a player who finishes his contract in 2015. Manchester City is very attentive to the situation for a few months and put 20 million on the table to sign him. The player would be the work of a change.

    Bayern Munich have signed Götze, a player must hold for the next season. They have declared transferable to Ribery, a player who could re-sign this summer. Robben will not have minutes assumes that the interest of the City and attracts him. A few weeks ago, Robben also had an offer from Galarasaray, but rejected. Juventus is also very interested in his move but can not compete with the City.

  23. Neymar to bayern is a done deal,as per rumour,i really do nt like neymar,also i want to see him in EPL,was eager to see that what he could do against ruthless physical defenders of EPL.Clearly an overatted guy co he he brazilian and latin.and well popular coz of the population of hispanos,i know that this guy oozess skills but way to less intelligent than Gotze,shewni,muller,lahm of bayern….lets see how he cops with some wise bayern players..
    As long as Mancity hav a good medical team,i hav no problem Roben goin there,there are rumors that Pellagrini is goin to take charge of MANcity,which is not a good sign for Roben,Pellagrini is basically fond of Latin american and spanish players,i was thinking that what he was doing with madrid some years ago…

    1. facepalm….pellegrini was the one under who robben had that stellar season for real madrid…he did his best to keep him at the club against the managements will…and later publicly regretted that madrid sold sneijder n robben…and u just pop in here with a random fact saying…pellegrini is not a good sign for robben as he is basically fond of latin american n spanish players…kill meeee …. X(

      1. I am not saying pellagrini is not a good coach,did i say like that??why he signed kaka when he had wesly????Why failed to keep Roben?would you please explain that????.You look at malaga squad then u will understand that..Kill meeeeeeee..if SAF liked wesly or roben he would not sell both,thats kind of coach i admire…May be pellagrini fits your bill……

      2. Hey Srinjoy, ignore the idiot and it will eventually go away. There’s no point spelling out where it went wrong. It’s an idiot. It cannot understand its own errors.
        Just look in and laugh like the rest of us.

        1. sigh…tiju…the coach doesnt always have the final say…do some research…u will find out that it was not his choice that robben and sneijder left and that ehy bought kaka ronaldo benzema…the incoming president calderon wanted his own galacticos part 2..and just to rub it in..he sold all the players that the previous president had bought…out of pure hatred..he didn’t even care who the players were…pellegrini has always regretted the sale of robben…plz open ur mind and knowledge beyond online score bro….

          1. @Srinjoy then pellegrini should have resigned from madrid before they sell Roben and Wesly..thats is called grit and leadership of a coach,it shows spineless thats why evn after scoring 96 points he couldnt win league or anything.Just look at why SAF is sucessfull and other doesnt come close to him??.So is mourinho.How many latin players malaga had?Villareal had? and at his time Real had???.Coach should be given authority of selecting and purchasing players,coz he is the number one leader and tactician..If i dont get that from a shit club i would not work for them,unfortunatly very few coaches have that confidence and work ethics.My question is why pellagrini continued with madrid if they selling players with out consulting him???????????he could have resgined in the very next day after his sigining…i am hugly blessed guy,my father JESUS owns this world,but its true that i dont behave according to HIS standard.so plz dont remind me about the knowledge of the world and openness of the world..Pellagrini is from chile and he is pretty fond of latin/spanish players,thats a fact..i beleive pellagrini has the right for that.so i have no argument over there..

        2. Why are u coming in other name u idiot?????I know that you are a hopeless person…..i laugh at u idiot coz u think u r genius and others are fools.thats the prime symbol of an idiot……..Get @### out of here……..

          3. Tiju, seriously, take a long look at yourself.
            Another argument? Really??
            When you invent ‘facts’ to support your moronic theories it’s bad enough. When you argue with the people who point that out, it’s unreadable.
            Go support Spain or something.
            Thank you.

          4. Paul…whats ur problem??what u want????first u get the facts right..i am not an idiot who live in fools pradise to belive that Pellagrini is greatre than Special one or Alex ferguson.ur opinions are pretty moronic and blind…u better give advise ur parents and kids..not to me..who are completly in elligible to advise me…

          5. tiju why are u saying random shit like..pelligrini is better than ferguson n making an ass outta urself…who the hell said that he is..not a single person commented on that comparison…ur dellusional mate…seek help

          6. tiju why are u saying random shit like..pelligrini is not better than ferguson n making an ass outta urself…who the hell said that he is..not a single person commented on that comparison…ur dellusional mate…seek help

  24. I think Man City is a good choice for Robben – he plays under Pelligrini, a guy who didn’t want Robben out of Real Madrid, a man who can get the best out of his players.

  25. Robben denied ManCity. He is focusing on CL final which is a good thing to do. Playing well and winning it will increase his chance to land with a good team as more teams may compete for his signature. I would not like to see Robben in Mancity. Regarding Bayern, they play Ribbery, Kroos and Muller behind their striker. If they sell Robben (which they will), I wonder who Goetze will replace and my opinion is Ribbery. They may sell Ribbery to Real or Mancity or PSG or whoever club that I do not care. I care about where Robben goes so I hope for MU although this is unlikely, perhaps Juventus? SerieA games is a bit slow, Robben can inject some speed to the whole Serie A.

    1. I do like Robben to join RvP, he could link up well with him. They are letting Nani go too… problem is, he’s 29 and seems like he lost a step. I really don’t like Serie A and I don’t think he’s fit into Juventus.

      Who knows, maybe Barcelona (after seeing what he did to them) could come calling?! Robben – Messi combination would devastate any defence. Number 1 & 2 players in the world (1- Robben 2- Messi ofcourse!)

  26. Robben’s only problem is that he’s seen as the “cristal man” but I don’t think his age is a problem and with his recent form I believe it won’t be hard for him to find a top club 😉

    Man City would be good or Chelsea and who knows maybe Barcelona as you said will come asking for him.

    Messi-Robben would be lethal!!!.

  28. According to Voetbal International PSV want to sign two central defenders, with Mike van der Hoorn, and Virgil van Dijk on the list.

    Werder Bremen want to sing Marcelo (there are rumours that Barcelona want to, I don´t believe it)

    Another players will leave the team are Lens, Strootman, Van Bommel, Engelaar, Hutchinson and maybe Toivonen.

    So, PSV have to rebuild this team.

    IMO will be nice to see if PSV sing Viergiver and Van Dijk, and give a chance to Van Ooijen.

    They have to rebuild the middle!

  30. I doubt gurdiola will let robben or ribbery go given the target he has to achieve better result than this season. From bayern’s squad he is going to manage, robben (to lesser extent ribbery) are more similar to messi’s style of play which give more explosiveness from Barcelona’s boring-dominant-possesion play. Especially when he saw how barcelona defeated by bayern’s world best wingers. Unless he think he can find better players than those two which not many are available this moment, neymar?

    About Moyes, what is the chance he bring his best defender (Heitinga) from everton to his new club, united? 🙂

  32. if Hutchinson and marcelo can go with good money, PSV can buy
    RCB-RB:
    Jeffrey Bruma
    Virgil van Dijk

    OR
    Douglas
    Nick Viergever
    Jan-Arie van der Heijden
    Jeffrey Gouweleeuw
    Mike van der Hoorn

    eventhough I prefer Ajax to get Gouweleeuw and van der Hoorn

    1. The Hutch is leaving on a Bosman this summer, and no one is going to pay anything significant for Marcelo. Only thing he has going for him is that he’s Brazilian and that sometimes causes dumb clubs to overpay.

      Although I’m sure they’ll drum up some magical money somehow to buy some more defenders

  38. ola john did nothing against fc porto nor did he have any impact against chelsea..thinking back to his only netherlands cap…the poor lad really doesnt seem to be a big game player and definitely not an impact sub…then again he is only 20…so we shudn’t be too harsh on him…just hope after all that wait…robben is not in for another heartache next saturday!! 🙁 🙁 really really tensed!

    1. He lost almost no ball, he plays quite clever every time, even against Porto, defended quite well.

      But I expect from him to bring more speed, more crazyness on the field etc. and he seems to be unable to.

      1. @its true,Ola is a clever down to earth guy..he needs a mental boost.He doesnt do useless dribbles thats a great thing,always looks for team mates.thats a great character

  39. @Srinjoy: Well Ola didn’t play too much time tonight. And I am also very tensed for Robben I really want him to do well and win!!!.

    1. For me, steen, it’s hard to argue for a team other than Ajax.

      For a while, it looked as if Feyenoord was bringing it all together… but they folded in the heat of things, as did PSV. Maybe AZ for winning the Cup? Don’t get to see enough eredivisie to really have the goods…

      Ajax is still top dog. And if our Maher and Van Ginkel dreams come true, they’ll be grooming some of our top talent in CL.

        1. Oops. Sorry to be off-point.

          To start off, I’d nominate Blind and Janmaat for left and right back, with apologies to Van Rhijn. 😉

    1. I feel the same with you
      It is ok to loan 1 or 2 for emergency use but not train them for barca.
      Anyway, I hope and believe FDB can handle this well.

  43. Yes I really don’t like that.

    If Ajax sells players to Barca and Barcelona treats them well and gives them playing time to settle in it’s OK but I doubt that will happen.

    Barca will use Ajax to train their players.

    Ajax needs to develop more players and buy more Dutch players even if they are expensive like Maher or Van Ginkel. With them Ajax will do better in the UCL and then they can sell Maher, Siem, Van Ginkel at a higher price and in the process they can develop more and more youngsters and keep buying Dutch players.

  44. It has been reported that Guardiola has already deemed Bayern winger Arjen Robben surplus to requirements, but Rummenigge insists that there is no chance of the Dutchman being offloaded this summer.

    “Arjen has a contract with us so the prospect of a farewell at the end of the season is not an issue,” he declared.

    This is Rumminge speaking…. What a prick!

    1. Don’t worry. Pep will learn soon enough that Ribery is the real jelous cancer in that team, and is inferior to Robben on the field as well. Robben will work his way into the team, even if he doesn’t start there

  45. Like the article says Mike Hoorn is tough nut…we need tough boys in front/mid and back….
    Front-lenz
    Mid -stroot
    Defense–Horrn?/De vrij?

  46. 6 June: Jong Oranje – Germany
    9 June: Jong Oranje – Russia
    12 June: Jong Oranje – Spain

    The squad in full

    Goalkeepers: Marco Bizot (FC Groningen), Nick Marsman (Go Ahead Eagles), Jeroen Zoet (RKC Waalwijk, on loan from PSV).

    Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse, on loan from Chelsea), Daley Blind (Ajax), Mike van der Hoorn (FC Utrecht), Kelvin Leerdam (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Bram Nuytinck (Anderlecht, Bel), Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord).

    Midfielders: Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Leroy Fer (FC Twente), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse), Adam Maher (AZ), Kevin Strootman (PSV) ,Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord).

    Attackers: Memphis Depay (PSV), Ola John (Benfica), Luuk de Jong (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dui), Florian Jozefzoon (RKC Waalwijk), Jürgen Locadia (PSV) Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV).

    (Source: VI.nl)

  47. Goalkeeper: Jeroen Zoet (RKC Waalwijk)

    Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse)
    Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord)
    Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax)
    Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord)

    Midfielders: Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord)
    Adam Maher (AZ)
    Kevin Strootman (PSV)

    Attackers: Memphis Depay (PSV)
    Florian Jozefzoon (RKC Waalwijk)
    Jürgen Locadia (PSV)

  48. If this team does not impress then we definitely have a problem!! it is almost 80 % the senior team with some fairly experienced players already on senior level (strootman, blind, de vrij and bruno martins). so I am hoping to be impressed and not shocked! this is a better test to play against spain u21 and germany u21 than to play against senior teams like andorra!!

  49. Well , that’s a pretty strong squad ! really .
    I mean it’s far stronger the the past two u-21 squads and considering that the lesser two past squads were able to win the tournament with Foppe de Haan , Cor pot must win this tournament .

    The midfeild is just incredible . I think it will be hard to put one of them on the bench . I would use 3-4-3 strategy to get the best out of this fantastic midfeild .

    ________________ Zoet _________________

    De vrij _______ V d Hoorn ____ Indi ___

    __________ Clasie ____________________

    van ginkel ___________________ strootman
    ____________ Maher ____________________

    ola john ____ Lucadia ________ Depay _

  50. Alex Buttner playing brilliantly yet again for united and with a sublime finish for his 2nd goal in only his 4th start…what a sweet left foot!

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