Ajax appoints Edwin van der Sar. Smart? Or…

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by Jan

It might seem that this Oranje blog is on its way to become an Ajax blog, with all the Ajax focus of the last weeks. But not to worry. It’s not so. Ajax has done pretty good though, to be still “in it” in Europe and taking 4 points against the England champs, right?

But Holland – Germany is on its way and I will be publishing a cool article on PSV soon too.

But, with Edwin van der Sar in the lead to land the Ajax general manager’s job, it’s probably timely to look at this piece of news. Because it begs the question: Does the former goalie have what it takes to lead Ajax? What if Ajax cops a 15 mio euro loss and hooded fans assemble with rocks in the main building to ask for an explanation?

Former Ajax goalie Piet Schrijvers: “Sar’s candidacy fits with Johan Cruyff’s plans. Ex-players in the club management. I like it. Edwin has always remained cool and collected. Never had much bravado. He always analysed situations before he acted. He has most likely learned a lot about club management in England, with Man United and Alex Ferguson. He might have exactly what it takes.”

Former IBM manager and ex Ajax general manager Frank Kales. “It’s very original to make Sar general manager so quickly. Very original and remarkable. But not a good idea. He is a well balanced guy but you will only find out if he’s strong enough in a crisis. And that is quite a risk. What if Ajax ends number 8 and Frank de Boer’s position is at stake?”

Arie van Eijden served his club in that role for 6 years and was board member for 10 years. “There is no education where you can learn to be Ajax general manager. There is only the real thing. It’s not a bad plan to give Edwin the job but the practice will have to teach us if he’s ready for it. One of the hardest things in this role is to deal with all the different blood-types within Ajax. That is a tough job. It’s not something you can do from one day to another. It takes time. Some groups in Ajax have a more “hidden” agenda or are not that easy to approach. I know the man Edwin van der Sar. As a goalie, he was the best but as a man he’s quite a good bloke too.”

Joost de Wit is general manager at RKC and was Van der Sar’s teacher at the Cruyff University. “Edwin was a very good student. He saw the links. And he’s got all the experience in football as a player of course. That is a good foundation. The past has shown us that a long experience in business or an academic background does not serve as a guarantee for success. I do hope Edwin will appoint experts in specific fields to support him. In Cruyff’s philosophy, it all starts with passion. That is more important that a certificate or diploma. Edwin has that passion and he understands football. On top of that, he’s a very nice and open guy. I think he’ll make it.”

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0 comments

  1. I wish Sar all the best in the job, it looks like they are empire building but so far it seems to be working. Sar will work well with De Boer and Bergkamp they all know each other for a long time which will help keep things going smooth around the place, geluk to them!

  3. Cruyff’s building a culture as much as a club, based on the players themselves. Van der Sar fits that well enough. Hasn’t he been everyone’s hero at some moment? A mountain of NT caps…

    He’s well-trained, of course, to do what Cruyff says.

    LVG seems to be working in parallel at the NT, by bringing in youth so fluidly. Van Ginkel? Excellent! Working out with Kuyt? Wow. That looks like a fine way to build team culture.

    Beyond that, to debut against Germany would be a tremendous gift of tradition for Van Ginkel. OZO! 😉

    It’s great to see the young star from Vitesse get a call when he’s on such a streak. Repeated moves like this tell every young Dutch baller to get their game on: LVG might call them next.

  5. Douglas is not doing good by any means at Twente this season. He missed two sitters for Twente last night. In fact Twente’s misery in the EL can be attributed to Douglas alone.

  6. really? douglas always seemed like a defensive force to be reckoned with… i care more about a defender’s defensive ability than his ability to score goals. i am also disappointed we haven’t allowed him a minute of international play. he might still opt for Brazil if we wait too long… this friendly would be perfect for him… why mathijsen against a young german squad beats the hell out of me!!! happy friday!

      1. I concur. That clearly seems to be the case. He is not good enough for Brazil otherwise he would have jumped. I personally do not like what I hear about him. He seems to be nothing special.

    2. Douglas is not a Dutch football product and should not represent Dutch NT. His football myelin wraps are not formed by Dutch education. If you move away from “what country is responsible for what player’s development”, then what is international football about? Is it a naturalization game? What country is the best in naturalization? What is the FIFA country vs country setup about?

    1. I am very skeptical about the Dutch future. What we have done in the past is not enough to maintain our status in the future. Japan and Mexico are making the right moves to become world class and the same can be said for USA (though will take some time). The new Japanese players in Bundesliga are nice to watch as is Kagawa at United. Name me 1 Dutch player at Kagawa’s age that is as skillful.

      I was raised with Tennis and the USA dominating the Tour. Agassi, Sampras, Courier etc. Where is USA today? After the Serena sisters retire even the women competition is dominated by other parts of the world. That is a big country.

      Football is evolving too. Netherlands is a small country and the talent output of these days is not of the caliber it used be. We can’t be happy with what we do, but must improve IMO.

    2. I have seen him a lot. I have written in a past article of Jan about him in the comment section:

      “Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse): aka Justin Bieber. A player that is a walking contradiction. What is the contradiction? He has the most silky touch of all player (including Maher) and also the most joyful laugh, but also makes a ton of fouls. So he combines being a true footballer with being quite physical. Last season in Eredivisie he was in the top 5 of players making most fouls. However, he only gets every 20 or 25 fouls a yellow card. He is also able to get away with penalty’s that should be given against him. Very weird phenomena going on there with van Ginkel. As a player as I said a very silky touch and a true footballer. He is a box to box player that is with ball almost as fast as without ball. Some dare to say he is faster with ball than without ball. That is a great quality to have. I am following him now for quite a while and I am positive about him. He will be an addition for Dutch senior NT. The only things that would catapult him into a top player are becoming more dominant (I often ask myself where he has been in a match) and scoring 30% more of his chances. As he often comes into scoring situations he gets many chances through a season. I don’t think he is very effective with those. Fer is more effective, but less good as a footballer. Wijnaldum does not have the overview of van Ginkel (on top of being a defensive liability and also ineffective). Seems like all these 3 players miss a dimension. Van Gin“kel has to work on being effective with his chances and then we have a hell of a player. However I do think as of now he is a little bit underrated. maybe because he does not play for the classic big Dutch clubs or the new big club (FC Twente). However Vitesse is doing pretty damn well in Eredivisie this season and van Ginkel is a carrying player over there.”

      I would add to that: Strootman and van Ginkel are like opposite’s. Where Strootman can play bad, he can still be “commanding”. Even when van Ginkel plays’s bad, he does not command the play. Van Ginkel is a vertical player with excellent technique. I think that he will develop an excellent chemistry with RVP. Along the same lines I think that Ola John will develop one with Huntelaar if he get’s the chance.

  12. I’m with you futbol. I clearly do not understand why Mathijsen is more important than Douglas for this friendly and for the future of Oranje. Is Mathijsen still important to Oranje in 2014? Why LVG? Why?
    On another note, perhaps we should consider make the 4-3-3 system that focus on our striker. Arsenal’s and MU’s success more or less contributes to their style “feeding” to Van Persie (or in other words, making him the focus of attack). Even Rooney has to play behind Van Persie. Just a thought?

    1. Douglas is not competing with Mathijsen. He is competing with Heitinga and Vlaar. After that with de Vrij who is also not with the team. Douglas in last EL game almost kicked a ball in own goal. Made the miss of the week in that game. Hit the ball with the inside of the his foot in a last minute shot on goal against Levante, instead hitting it full. I thought that last kick was borderline suspicious. Maybe somebody can link the video. Last game against that team he also made a fool out of himself defensively.

      Happy he is not with the team. Not good enough.

  13. I still do not understand why we have veterans for friendly. No Clasie, Strootman, Siem De Jong, Douglas, and other youngsters. Is it injury/fitness/form? Is it that important to win this game or is it important to build a team winning WC? This is a good test but I would like to see the youngsters tested, not VDV, NDJ, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Robben, Van Persie,Vlaar. We know what they can do. Perhaps it is just me but I still do not understand LVG.

    Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle), Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax)

    Defenders: John Heitinga (Everton), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Joris Mathijsen (Feyenoord), Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven)

    Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (Schalke), Urby Emanuelson (AC Milan), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse Arnhem), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

    Forwards: Eljero Elia (Werder Bremen), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich).

    1. It has to be either not available or not willing to risk injury/getting an injury worse.

      But you can see he has the right defenders (for the most part), so I guess LVG still wants to give the main defense line more time to glue.

      Perhaps we don’t care about the result that much this time?

  14. I agree that we do not care about the result much this time and defense need to gel/tested with stronger team like Germany, but I’d include Blind, Clasie, Dost, Douglas, Siem De Jong baring injury. A phone call to the veterans informing them that he would like to try youngster for friendly. I’m sure they understand.

    The above lineup from fifa.com. Goal.com apparently has Strootman, Stek in the lineup.
    Goalkeepers:
    Kenneth Vermeer
    Maarten Stekelenburg*
    Tim Krul
    Defenders:
    John Heitinga
    Ricardo van Rhijn
    Ron Vlaar
    Jetro Willems
    Bruno Martins Indi
    Daryl Janmaat
    Joris Mathijsen
    Midfielders
    Ibrahim Afellay
    Urby Emanuelson
    Marco van Ginkel
    Kevin Strootman*
    Rafael van der Vaart
    Nigel de Jong
    Attackers:
    Luciano Narsingh*
    Eljero Elia
    Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
    Dirk Kuyt
    Jeremain Lens*
    Robin van Persie
    Arjen Robben

  16. @ TFC Ajax : Just because he didn’t get a call-up for Brazil doesn’t mean he is not good enough my friend .

    Well , how about Pepe and Deco for instance ? they never got a call-up for Brazil and they played for portugal , are they not good enough for Brazil ?

    I don’t like Mathijsen at all . he is old and slow , will get older and slower by 2014 , and is not even playing that great for feyenoord .
    If van gaal is looking for Experience in the back-line , he can take Boulahrouz . He plays great for Sporting lisbon .
    Schaars also is literally one of the best players in superliga atm , can’t get why he is not included even in the pre-selection .
    i have no idea why Clasie is not included . It was a great chance to test him against a strong opponent . so is Maher .
    Stek out of the squad , well , he doesn’t deserve this .

    1. I didn’t mean it as a slight to Douglas, and my point still stands. Douglas didn’t choose Holland because he sees it as a higher level than Brazil. He chose to play for Holland because Brazil didn’t call him up. So it wouldn’t make sense for him to opt back for Brazil.

      I’d really like to see Boulahrouz play CB. I never understood why he got converted to RB since he doesn’t have the attacking capabilities to play there

    2. Sporting Lisbon are nr. 13 in the league. Boulah can’t play football. He does not have a cross or anything that looks like a first touch. His speed has declined and was never able to read a game.

      Pepe can’t play football and in Dutch football we want to see build up. Deco is best used in nr. 10. We have always had world class nr. 10’s, so Deco would never have made it. You know that Juninho has Dutch decent in his blood? Would also not have really made it. Dutch NT>Selecao

      Schaars handling speed sucked against England friendly under Capello in the 2-2. Showed he was not able to follow. His move to Portugal only underscores this, for otherwise on his age he would have moved to a serious upgrade. I loved his mental strength and leadership, but is just good enough.

      Clasie has not reached the level of last season. That is a result of the Feyenoord midfield. KEA and Bakkal are gone. As a result of that Clasie has a harder job to rule midfield. Football is not only about being able to spot the free standing fellow players and execute the pass. It’s also about those fellow players being available. Leerdam and Immers are not 1, but 2 level below from last season. On top of that, Clasie is dipping. Doing some things that are below par and playing games where he is average. I am a Clasie fan and he will come back from this episode. He has great intrinsic quality’s.

      Stek was injured I believe.

      Cheers

  17. i hate to say this but i think we need to get our asses kicked by Germany to open our eyes and force the manager to make wholesale changes for the next friendlies

      1. It’s highlights from Twente/Feyenoord.

        First clip shows Jordy Clasie picking off a lazy Douglas pass, and all but scoring. Douglas looked naive.

        Last clip shows the penalty kick that went right by Clasie’s hip. LVG just might have judged that Jordy should have sacrificed his huevos to stop it. 😉

  22. I read this in a Goal.Com piece. Thought it was interesting:

    The trainer’s first match in charge of Netherlands ended in a 4-2 defeat to Belgium, but he insists a repeat performance will not be given against Germany as he believes he has found the nucleus of his squad.

    “Back then, I had to get to know the players a little bit. Now that I know them, I don’t intend to make a lot of changes to the team,” Van Gaal concluded.

    1. its what i expected. No we won’t get beaten by germany. And no, they will not totally outclass us or dominate us. I think it will be a tie or a win for us. Either way, LVG isnt one to be swayed easily even by good results..he demands performance by all his players. Still a long way to go…but this is a quarterly midterm exam for many of the players. here’s to hoping they pass it.

    1. 1. Sneijder
      2. Kuyt
      3. Strootman

      VDV is also in the squad. Kuyt/VDV = Captain. Also if Strootman plays in the weekend he will be selected. Good chances he will.

      Besides. Dutch football culture is about raising self guided players. Players that ask questions to coaches why they make a certain choice. It’s not like it will be a problem if we play without a captain. Sometimes I think we will play better without a captain. Dutch (football) culture is more about egalitarianism then hierarchy. We rather need a good “discussion manager” than a man who tell’s what to do. 🙂

  24. its my view and my opinion
    Van Gaal Doesnt want to throw the youngsters infront of german lions…Germany is going to be handy for the dutch if they field,if they dont we will get a draw..
    ————-close————-
    Reus———-Ozil—–Muller—–
    ———Shurrle–schweni———
    ?Badstuber?—–Howdes–Hummels—Lahm
    ———Neuyer——————
    i hope joachim doesnt feild this line up,they will tear our defence…This dutch will not stand against a quality teams like Brazil,Arjentina,Spain,Portugal and Germany…but this team is enough against all other teams.Also current team is not balanced.but LVG can build a balanced team but at first he has to start drop following players.
    if They do not omit
    Stekelenburg—Out of form
    Joris—too old and slow
    Kuyt–Apart from being fit,no threat from wings
    Afaleey–Seems idotic???beleive me he is not a missing puzzle for a balanced team
    Lenz–belive it or not.fluke scorer
    Nijel dejong -Warrior and protector but less football
    Ron Vlaar-slow
    Eljero elia-Playing crap for bremen.

    1. errr, Schurrle beside Schweini? are you sure?
      I don’t follow Leverkusen games, but as far as I know, Schurrle is a striker/winger. well, I can be mistaken.

      Badstuber in the middle, Lahm left, Hoewedes right, I suppose.

      just a bit opinion from my recent review on their games:

      – Kuyt scores quite often, but a certain no for wide spot. – Afellay scores some important goals, but can’t seem to be the right man.
      – Elia playing high and low, still inconsistent.

      currently watching Hamburg. playing with 10-man (Scharner sent off, Bruma replaced his spot). let’s see what Bruma and Van der vaart can do. still 0-0, start of 2nd half.

      1. Reus/shurrle normally switch their postions both are deadly too.they play in mid and wings..Badstuber is the weakest link they have.not sure about boetang playing tiem.just injured

        1. Tiju,Reus or Schurrle do not play in CMF. They never played there. They play on the wings or just behind the striker. Schurrle is not in good form now.
          Low called Neustadter so maybe he will try him besides Schweini. If not him it will be Bender or Gundogan. Or use both Ozil and Gotze with one DMF.
          Low has many options,many players in good form for big clubs.
          They are the favourites,on paper no doubt.

  25. Why do some of you insist on bringing in Douglas? Have you seen Douglas play lately?

    And Van Gaal picking Jetro Willems instead of Daley Blind, what a joke.

    I would like to see this line-up:

    Krul
    Van Rhijn – Heitinga – Vlaar – Indi
    Van Ginkel – De Jong – VdVaart
    Afellay – Van Persie – Robben

    1. That’s why i think it was a bit harsh to ask LVG to drop Elia because of one bad game with Bremen , Tiju .
      Robben who’s one of our best players had a bad game . it’s not the end of the world , my friend 🙂 . they are humans so they must have ups & downs .

      How good was Elia vs Huntelaar and Afellay ?

      2. Elia is playing crap for a while…thats why.i realy liked elia in 2010..now he often loosing his balls.seems like a ghost.nothing special.i always look in to the way of playing rather their fluke scoring…scoring will follow u if u play well..mate
        b/w Roben is on decline

  28. It’s almost the same team that faced Germany during the Euro 2012 but let’s see if LVG can change some things in order to kick Germany’s ass!. I know it’s just a friendly but it’s important for LVG to see how our boys do against top teams like Germany and Italy.

    ———————Krul——————-

    —-V.Rhijn—Heitinga—Vlaar—Indi——-

    ————-Vaart—Nigel—Emanuelson—–

    ———Afellay—-Persie—-Robben——–

    *LVG has to find a way for Van Persie to shine as much as he does at Man U!.

    1. Yes, Vlaar stop all United’s ball going into Villa’s penalty box. Van Persie is not playing good in the lone forward position. How about trying to use RVP the way he was playing at MU recently and put Hunterlaar in Chicharito position?

      1. aaaand Chicharito scored 3 goals. I doubt that the 2nd one belongs to him, though. suddenly Vlaar presence disappeared.

        about Huntelaar in Chicharito’s position, a bit impossible I think. Chicharito is much faster than Huntelaar. Huntelaar wins on finishing department, but is losing his composure in front of goal for some current times. I remember him not being able to finish in a logically easy situation (with his ability). Most notably a few point-blank chances.

        So, no, in his current ability, it’s no good to play him Chicharito’s way. Of course that’s only in my opinion.

        1. I agree with your analysis about speed and finishing skills of Huntelaar and Chicharito. In my opinion, it is waste of talent to put RVP in striker position, he is one of the players who has short pass, ball control, long shooting. We may try to play Huntelaar upfront because his positioning is as good as Chicarito and let Siem de Jong work hard in Rooney’s position. Of course, it is my theory. The only way to know if it works is to test it.

      2. goal.com twitter said that it’s Chicharito’s, while their livescore stated that it’s Vlaar’s own goal. Whatever. Before the turnaround, Vlaar was having good game.

  36. guys, i am pretty disappointed we didn’t use the upcoming friendly to test some of our younger players and give them an opportunity to shine. i am pleased with our qualifying results so far but i still expect more from LVG. JAN, i hope you read this post. i would appreciate it if one of you guys could write about players that deserve to play for the NT…… BAS DOST, VAN WOLFSWINKEL, CLASIE ETC.

    1. ‘guys, i am pretty disappointed we didn’t use the upcoming friendly to test some of our younger players and give them an opportunity to shine.’

      this ground was covered already. move on.

    1. is it possible if Elia and Robben start simultaneously?
      I can’t see Kuyt or Emanuelson being on starting XI.

      Krul; Van Rhijn, Heitinga, Martins Indi, Willems; De Jong, Van Ginkel, Van Der Vaart; Robben, Van Persie, Elia

      just my hunch. 🙂

  38. @Bitterballen: I’m with you on your last comment. I don’t care if we throw youngsters in front of a team like Germany. I think differently. I think this is a good chance to test young players. I think they will get good experiences/tests. We do not need to win a friendly.
    Van Der Sar fits Cruyff’s criteria, ex player, smart. How would he perform? Time will tell. That’s what Cruyff said about the current Barca coach. A person will be tested when the going gets tough.

    1. i guess the problem is that LVG is trying to build a championship team NOW rather than a competitive team for the FUTURE. the problem is that many of the veterans will be on the wrong side of 30 in the next 4 years and we will have to start all over again.

      1. ‘i guess the problem’

        what problem?
        the only problem is the one you have manufactured inside your tiny little mind to fit your backwards theories.

        If a player is good enough, he is good enough. Age is no factor whatsoever. Thank goodness LVG is coach and not some clownshoe like yourself.

        The kids will get their chance when they earn and deserve it. Mercifully not before.

  39. I continue to read negative comments about Douglas. And while I do find that he is sometimes “awkward” in his passing and I will admit that in the past he has been carded rather often for rough play – but aside from all of that – it needs to be noted that he plays for Twente which are currently second in the Eredivisie after twelve games with only 6 goals against – best in the league.

    (Just a comment…)

    OJF

    1. @OranjeFan: Good comment actually 😉

      Guys chill out! LVG has already called many many youngsters (Jaanmat, Indi, Clasie, Fer, Narsingh, Van Ginkel, Willems, Van Rhijn, Viergever, Schaken, etc…)

      1. Schaken is actually on the wrong side of 30. Other than that, I agree with you. But some people wont be happy until the entire u21 quad is called up to the senior team

        1. ‘But some people wont be happy until the entire u21 quad is called up to the senior team’
          Totally agree. It’s ridiculous. Half the clowns here seem to want the entire Euro 2012 team thrown to the wolves and replaced with kids.
          Worse still, they moan when LVG persists with an aging player – as if a) he has suddenly become shit in the space of 3 months, and b) these replacement kids are actually any better.

          Hilarious …if it wasn’t repeated ad nauseum in the comments section of every single article.

          *sigh*

          1. ridiculous comment, we don’t want the team thrown to the wolves. we want a great Orange team for the next 10 years and to do that the youngsters need to get a shot now. when sneijder, robben, and the like were integrated into the squad they were 19-20 years old. players need to be seasoned. Van Wolf is 24. Douglas ins 24. Bas Dost is 23. Friendlies are the perfect opportunity to get fresh legs into the squad.

  41. @hien thanks. Regarding Texeira Franco Douglas of course LVG has the right to call him or not. But LVG should keep scouting him because as OranjeFan said “he plays for Twente which is currently second in the Eredivisie after twelve games with only 6 goals against – best in the league.”

    As for midfielders of the starting eleven. If Strootman fits, I suppose it will be the same as the last WCQ with Romania – Nigel de Jong, Kevin Strootman, and Rafael van der Vaart.

  42. http://www.goal.com/en/news/462/netherlands/2012/11/12/3522146/breaking-news-van-persie-withdraws-from-netherlands-squad?source=breakingnews

    Oh no, Van Persie ruled out of Germany game.

    another info:
    “Jordy Clasie, Ruben Schaken, Stefan de Vrij, Bas Dost and Jeroen Zoet have been added to the Oranje squad for the clash with Joachim Low’s side, as the more experienced options of Martin Stekelenburg, Luciano Narsingh, Kevin Strootman and Jeremain Lens have already been ruled out through injury.”

      2. the provisional squad are released prior to PSV vs Heerenveen.
        the NT were waiting to recheck their fitness until weekend/next week.
        but then they (Narsingh Strootman Lens) suddenly became fit and played against Heerenveen.
        the NT felt that the club/players were lying with their fitness test results.
        so NT decided to leave them.

        that’s a silly and a maybe theory of mine. 🙂

        or they’re just simply injured themselves on weekend fixture.

  44. It is good that Jordy Clasie, Stefan de Vrij, Bas Dost and Jeroen Zoet are added although I would like to see 4 more, Douglas, Blind, Siem De Jong and perhaps Maher. There is no point to test/prove Nigel De Jong, VDV, Mathijsen or even Robben and RVP. I guess with RVP injured I will see Huntelaar/Afellay up front with Robben. Clasie may start in Strootman’s place. Ginkel may get some playing time. Not sure aobut deVrij and Dost. Zoet for sure will watch from the bench the whole game.
    If the player is over 32 and still in national squad, he must be really good.

    1. ‘There is no point to test/prove Nigel De Jong, VDV, Mathijsen or even Robben and RVP.’
      This must win some sort of prize for the dumbest thing I have read all day.

      Oh no wait.
      THIS wins:
      ‘If the player is over 32 and still in national squad, he must be really good.’

      Any player in the National squad must be really good. Muppet.

      Age is no factor.
      Bring in the kids, sure, but do it bit by bit so they can find their feet. It’s done that way for a very good reason. I’ll let you work out why while you breathe through your mouth some more.

    2. Blind and Siem de Jong are in form, but aren’t future Ornaje stars. Their potential is as serviceable squad players. Who would you drop for them? This isn’t a friendly vs some random minnow. Germany are our arch rivals and we’ve lost twice in the last year. Germany can afford to play their reserves and lose because they have nothing to prove against us. Right now our team has everything to prove, and there’s no player who has more to prove than Robben.
      Also, what kind of experience are the young players, that you would love to flood the camp with, supposed to get from an international call up if there are no veterans there to learn from??

  45. Well our experienced players haven’t been tested enough under LVG’s system. I think that’s why LVG keeps playing these players.

    Good to know Clasie is back and I want to see Bas Dost he has been doing well in not an easy league as the Bundesliga. Who is Jeroen Zoet? it’s the 1st time I know about him.

    @TFC Ajax: thanks I thought Schaken was younger 😛

    1. Jeroen Zoet, a 21-year-old 191cm goalkeeper, currently plays for RKC Waalwijk in Eredivisie. He is also the GK of U-21. He belongs to PSV system and has been loaning to RKC since 2011.

    2. ‘Well our experienced players haven’t been tested enough under LVG’s system. I think that’s why LVG keeps playing these players.’

      At last, someone with a clue.

      LVG also keeps playing these players because, believe it or not, they are the best we have available.
      LVG is not a complete idiot.

  46. It seems like Germany will be mostly playing their reserves. This is a useless friendly for both countries. However I’d prefer to kick Germany’s butt with our strongest team than play a young team and lose again 3-0 or worse. This would do much more harm than good and I am glad LVG recognizes this.

  48. I think the friendly vs Italy on 06/02/13 is the better opportunity for the team core players to gel/get playing time together because qualification begins again on 22/03/13 vs Estonia. I think Demi is right that LVG focus more on the defenders. It looks like he determined to make Janmaat, Willems and BMI to be starters. BMI’s play is solid so far. Janmaat and Willems are still in play and learn mode. Up front he does not tinker much after what he use for the last 4 qualifications so he only brings in 1 or 2 players at most (those at least get quality playing time, not bench warmers). I still think this friendly vs the reserve Germany will be a better opportunity to test younger players. I hope that Emanuelson, van Ginkel and Dost get more playing time (30-45 min) to see what they can contribute rather than the last 10 min of the game.

    1. I think BMI is very solid and that Janmaat and Willems are prepared either for prime time or for good reserves. We need depth to win the world cup…

      We see … Does not look like a strong test though. at least not anymore 🙁

  49. I can’t get excited about these games. Germany Schwermany.

    We’ll beat them in Brazil.

    The lads are in a fully booked season now. Should focus on club games. There’s European games on, cup, competition… leave them be.

    Kudos to RVP for pulling out.

    Why doesn’t LVG use the time to get the guys together to bond and practice?

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