The next international game vs Peru has Sneijder’s farewell as the main theme. The new qualification series for the Euros is starting too, but all eyes and focus are on the little captain first. 34 year old and with 133 caps to his name, the former skipper looks back and looks forward from Qatar, his current home.
“I decided to go to Qatar also because of the World Cup coming here. Football is alive here and I enjoy exploring these types of countries. We loved living in Turkey, and we love it here. And when the World Cup comes, who knows, I hope to play some part. Maybe for Qatar, for the FIFA or maybe for Oranje. And until that time, I want to be an active player. Playing football is the best thing there is.”
Sneijder lives like a prince in Qatar. He describes his day. “In the morning, I am busy with my non football activities. I have a building company in Turkey, and we’re building apartments in Istanbul. In China I have SPort8, a youth academy company and I also have SportChain which is a crypto company. On Ibiza I own a restaurant and since this week I’m also ambassador for the Johan Cruyff Foundation. So, busy enough. Then it’s time for lunch and an afternoon nap and in the evening we have training. And when Yolanthe is here with our son we do fun things as a family. And hey, I know the stories, the big paychecks and what not, but I could have made more, much more, in China. But quality of life is important too. I don’t think I would have been happy in China. Life here is comfortable, hardly any crime, and I met a lot of cool new friends, locals and Dutch expats, all sorts. And Nigel de Jong and family lives here too of course.”
Last weekend, they played against each other, again. “We had our derbies in Milan and now here, hahaha. We beat him 4-0 but I decided to float a bit on the pitch as I didn’t want to get to near to him. I still have an Oranje match to play, hahaha.”
The matches in Doha are played before 100s of people, instead of 1000s. “It took some time to get used to, but like anything, you do get used to it. Playing before a full Bernabeu becomes normal and this becomes normal too. I think I prepared well mentally for this step and I enjoy myself. Just the training sessions alone and making fun with my team mates. I’m now at an age where I can support the coaching staff and I enjoy that.”
Wesley’s Favorite Coaches. “You won’t find Louis van Gaal in my top 3. Yes, he’s a great coach, just not my great coach, hahaha.”
#3 Danny Blind
“I worked with him at Ajax and Oranje, and I think the success we had in 2014 was partly his work. Van Gaal got the credits, but Danny was important with analysis, training sessions and he was a wonderful guy to work with. A special coach.”
#2 Henk ten Cate
“He’s also a friend. But objectively, he is a very tough task master. He’s tough, he’s disciplined, he sees the game. I had my best season under him at Ajax. I scored 18 goals. And I was a bit complacent but he got me really going. And when I was unfit in 2013, he came to Ibiza to work with me to get me fit. Henk was also the one to motivate me to work on my fitness. He called me Billy Bigmans (Big = Pig). Told me I was too fat for the top. He challenged me and I needed that.”
#1 Jose Mourinho
“We didn’t work together that long. My most successful period. He is the special one, but you need to work with him to understand this. He has skills no one else has. His management skills, with 23 egos, that process. He can manage that so well. To get everyone focused for the big objective. Tactically, he is also super strong.”
After his failed Nice adventure, Ajax or FC Utrecht could have been Wes’ new club. But it didn’t happen. “I get that. Utrecht was actually more interested than Ajax but I decided to stay longer abroad. I enjoy this life. I do follow the Eredivisie by the way. Every match. And Nigel and I were cheering last week when we watched Ajax play Dynamo Kiev. We’re on the coach, and cheering Ajax on. That was fun. And I think Ajax will be doing so well, with the likes of De Ligt and De Jong. These two will be key for Dutch football. Everything they do has a forward focus and purpose. This is a natural thing for them. And I love that, which Is why I love watching Man City and Barcelona too. And with Memphis in good form and Van Dijk and Wijnaldum at Liverpool I really think Oranje has turned a corner. And particularly with Ronald Koeman as coach. He’s pragmatic, he demands a lot but he also has that Barca / Cruyff DNA. He’s good in his communication too.”
Talking about Oranje, the high point of his career needs to mentioned. “I have had many. I personally think our football at the 2008 Euros, in the group stages, was the best we played. Van Basten and Van’t Schip just said: go out there and play! We didn’t do much in a tactical sense. And we played ever so well, until that terrible thing with Boulahrouz. My first match vs Scotland was special too of course. I scored my first goal in the first 15 minutes or so. But the real high point was the Brazil quarter finals in 2010. When we were 1-0 down. And it wasn’t so much my two goals in the second half. It was what happened in the dressing room. I surprised myself. I came in latest and the whole team was staring at the floor. And I was like: Hey! We can go home a bunch of losers, or we go back out there and play. And take the game to them. And hurt them. And that did something. The heads came up, other players chimed in and we went out and turned the game around.”
In 2014, Sneijder again plays a main part in the World Cup story but differently, with his love-hate relationship with Van Gaal. “I frequently thought, is this guy a genius or is he insane?”. I think he’s both now. Hahaha. When Van Gaal first started I told him: you’ll need me there. And he did. But he decided to push me and pester me to get me to react. One example. During the tournament, we were on our day off and some of us went to this lounge bar for some drinks. Nothing spectacular. We returned, precisely at 10pm as instructed. Who is in the hotel lobby? Van Gaal. And we walk past him and he starts barking at me. Only at me: “So, why did Sneijder have to go to that lounge bar?” And I was like: “We all went, why are you not asking them?”. And he said: “Because I want to know from you!!”. And I just said “goodnight” and walked off. The next day, I was really pissed off and I played another good game. And I think now he did it to get me worked up. We did well with him, but I won’t pick him as my favorite coach. My top 3: Jose Mourinho, Henk ten Cate and Danny Blind.”
“After the WC in Brazil I realised we were not fully focused. We lost away vs Iceland, 2-0 and I knew we were in trouble. Not because we lost. But the manner in which we lost. We were without a chance. I even considered quitting but that’s not me. I wanted to fight back. But we were going downhill. My biggest low point was the 4-0 loss vs France under Advocaat. He put me in a 3 man’s midfield as the playmaker vs Kante. And I thought… oh… that is not smart… But what do you do? I should have said “Dick, please put me on the bench, that is not ending well” but I didn’t. The coach needed me and I wanted to deliver. But I don’t blame Guus Hiddink and Danny Blind. I blame the many players who decided to skip qualification games, only to play for their club 3 days later! No I won’t mention names, the players know exactly who they are. They let the team down. Fuck off. Should I ever become part of the Oranje staff, those types will have a problem with me, that is not on. You need to be proud to play for your country! Danny Blind’s sacking really hurt me. He was a perfect coach. As assistant to Van Gaal he was so important and his influence was huge. A real expert and he didn’t deserve that mentality.”
“The last years, it felt like some internationals needed to be pushed to play for Oranje. I think now these changes, the new Zeist centre instead of the players’ hotel in Noordwijk…all good measures. When players can’t deal with the freedom you need to create a situation where the focus is fully on the game. And it’s really a big trap, players thinking they are the Man because they are big at their club… You have to demonstrate that in the national team!”
“Another key concept is sacrifice. In 2010, we all were focusing on getting the best out of it. And the benchwarmers did their job. Huntelaar, Elia, Van der Vaart, no one was negative. How this changed in 2012. We had more players with big reputations and they couldn’t accept that bench role anymore. And I realised vs Denmark, if we lose this match, it will be all over. And it is such a shame. Players simply don’t realise how special it is to play one great tournament. Just one already is amazing…”
“My future, well… I can say this: I would not be able to think of anything better to do than be involved with the national team. I would love to be an assistant coach for Oranje. Being with the lads, parting my knowledge, setting up training, just sharing my experiences, you know? I spoke about it with Koeman. We’ll see. For now, I’m still playing and I will most likely keep on playing for a while still. But I love that whole group process of having a goal and working towards it. Preparing for a World Cup for instance. It’s amazing. And I paid attention with all the coaches I had. And I realised, you can be the best tactician but if you can’t communicate, if you can’t motivate your players to do something, it doesn’t matter. Mourinho was the maestro. He was able to let you do things you thought you couldn’t. He had the backroom staff for the practices, and the physiological stuff and tactical analysis. He simply asked you to do things for him and you did. Eto’o, a super striker, he was a flank player under Mourinho, running up and down and defending and attacking… Incredible. But now, my future is the Peru game. One more time part of the group. Having fun, kicking a ball, goosebumps with the national anthem. And then I will be watching Oranje on the coach, with a Heineken! Enjoying myself.
Below, Wesley’s favorite team of players he once played with:
Ok guys: tell me your best Wesley Sneijder memory below!
He was also asked about his favorite Nederlands 11…
Stekelenburg
Gio-De Boer-Heitinga(he was repeatedly asked not Stam? and he said yes not Stam_) – Boula
De Jong – Van der Vaart
Robben – Kuyt –
and onemore that I forgot.
True.
He said he would pick players he played with. He hardly played with Stam and he played the WC2010 finals with Heitinga, hence Heitinga.
He also picked Ruud van Nistelrooy as striker, but Kluivert was his second pick.
and he played with the 1 sitting mid midfielder so he didn’t have to select himself hahaha.
“If I can’t be the #10, then no one can!”
good catch it was Ruud. I was watching the interview while doing other things 🙂
Sneijder also said that Steks saved the game with Brazil in the first half when they looked up too much at Brazil… In the second half they actually figured it out that they can win it but without the save on Kaka that would have never (??) happened.
Im still thinking who was better him or van Der Vaart?
@Wilson, that is a good question.
Don’t get this wrong. I loved Van Der Vaart as a player, the things he could do with the ball; the fact that he would score both amazing goals, and scramblers’ goal by sticking his nose in and just keeping at it; his flicks and his passes; I watched him play in qualifying matches for the NT in difficult circumstances—bad pitches, cold nights smaller eastern Europe countries, where the other team played hard and physical–and leading by grit and determination when others seemed disinterested; that he often ceded his ideal position to Sneijder. I am just a huge admirer of his…but…
…if I had to choose between the two, it would be Sneijder.
Sneijder of 2010 was one of the best ever. Too bad he didn’t win the big one. He deserved it more than anyone else in that team. That would be the best moment ever for him and the NT. Pure bad luck/circumstance. Even at the very end of the second overtime, his last free kick should be called a corner … tried to the very last minute. Sometimes it was just not meant to be.
I think that was the closest ever that we came to the WK. And 78 was awfully close too.
I don’t think it is a good question at all.
What is nicer, pork belly or ice cream?
What is more beautiful, a rose or a van gogh.
Different players. Sneijder was world class, so was Raf.
Both had the typical Ajax skill level.
Sneijder added grit, two-footedness, and winner mentality.
Raf added grace, extreme skills, and vision.
I loved them both.
I again thinking if this was the case then why the coaches didnt accommodate both of them in the team especially in 2010 final. kyut brought nothing in that final and vaart was used sparingly through out the tournament.
Vaart on bench cost us WC 2010..
the 2010 team was creativity/attacking heavy and defensively light. if you take out Kuyt and add VdV then you further tilt it out of balance (I don’t disagree Kuyt didn’t offer much in the final but the substitution of VdV didn’t offer anything more plus it took off some of the defensive runs). VdV played the last 20 mins of the final with fresh lungs when everyone else was supposedly tired. Offered nada IMO.
It seems we have a problem after U17 within our youth development like I mentioned before. We always perform well at U17 stage (multiple championships and finals) but for U18 U19 U20 U21 we were very poor in last couple years. Our U18 just lost to England U18 bty 0:3 and U19 lost to England U19 by 1:4 and that U19 has a lot of our supposedly top talent like Zirkee, Pherai, Gravenberch etc
It also seems a lot of players do not care about playing for Dutch Youth Team. Joel Drommel quit U21 saying he want to focus on his club. Fosu-Mensah and Bergwijn both quit due to injury but when they were selected for the national team they did not say anything. Go figure.
The english conveyor belt is producing more quality players.no suprises there as after a so many years the english are flourishing with quality talents at youth level which intend has faciltated a smooth transition to their senior squad. Im wont be surprised if the u21s also loose.the english have named a powerful squad with most of the players playing regularly in PL in their respective teams.
Goalkeepers: Angus Gunn (Southampton), Dean Henderson (Sheffield United, on loan from Manchester United), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United).
Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Jake Clarke-Salter (Vitesse Arnhem, on loan from Chelsea), Dael Fry (Middlesbrough), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), Ezri Konsa (Brentford), Fikayo Tomori (Derby County, on loan from Chelsea), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace), Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Lewis Cook (AFC Bournemouth), Tom Davies (Everton), Kieran Dowell (Everton), Mason Mount (Derby County, on loan from Chelsea), Josh Onomah (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham).
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Demarai Gray (Leicester City), Ademola Lookman (Everton), James Maddison (Leicester City), Dominic Solanke (Liverpool).
Our youth development used to be far better than them and our U17 has always been looking better than them, but once it gets to U18 U19 U20 U21, we are worse than them, so there must be some problem within the system for developing kids after they are 17.
Does anyone think Gus Til can be a good central midfielder rather than a attacking. He is jus a plain guy with nothing special but yet he makes it up with his tremendous lungs. He is a very similar player to that of Adrien Rabiot of PSG who also started as a attacking mid but is thriving better after being shifted to central mid.
I think Til is a good player for Eredivisie, but nothing more. Great lungs but not sure about his tactical smarts and his skills in tight spaces. He’s a bit like Klaasen, Van Ginkel. Good player. Nothing special.
@ lucas
Bijlow overshadows and will get the nod over Drommel and he pretty much must be knowing he wont be able to bench him now that bijlow is starting for feyenoord.
Groeneveld and Zivkovic, Malen are capable enough to cover up for bergwijn . Mensah- St Juste, Diks and Dumfries, big line. The midfield is the only area of concern for them.
Sneijder was better than Van der Vaart. I actually think a lot better. He was more successful with his clubs and with the national team, Sneijder had a big mentality.
How can someone still defend Blind? It’s incredible how much he sucks!
the whole team is terrible. Blind the worst but Van Dijk was screaming at Strootman as well. He lost his player several times. At some point these two need to stop getting chances.
Koeman’s interest in Vormer is a mystery to me.
Super move from Frenkie. Goal belongs to him. Team greatly improved without Strootman. I have to say you can’t go wrong voting Strootman or Blind for #1 idiot of the village. I vote for Kevin but you just can’t go wrong with these two idiots.
At every set piece Peru is dangerous because 3-4 of our guys lose their mark. And Peru has seen that and they go for it, usually Blinds mark.
The only football idiot is you, going on about Blind like that. Yes he’s not having a great game but that’s it. If there’s anything he has is football intelligence.
Koeman has the wrong starting 11, and on top of that, most players are having a horrible game.
What is Vormer doing in that line up is a complete mystery.
hahaha what a daft little idiot you are.
Tune in to Jerry Springer or something, it will be more your thing.
Blind didn’t have 55 great games! Football intelligence is nothing when you are an idiot with no grit and no personality.
What a bunch of useless nonesense…
A complete waste of time.
Blind is a good player full stop. you agree or dont agree, nobody cares. And like any other good player, he’s had outstanding games, fair games, and poor games.
You’ve kept your conversation civil so let’s leave it at that, unlike that degenerate friend of yours, giving us some of his past experience advice.
lol “Blind is a good player full stop”. Are you God? Are your sentences taken from the bible? He is a poor player and has always had 1 decent game every 10. If you are not able to see that, football is not your game.
Blind is a good player when everybody in the world already says it. It’s general consensus. Hes not great, but he’s not poor. He’s somewhere in the middle, and definitely deserves to be in the national team. that’s not even a debate. I’m not god. I just agree with the majority.
Mr. Degenerate and Mago can disagree as they please, as long as they can bring themselves to maintain respect for the player.
You can go through the games one by one, and see it’s a much better rate than 1/10.
De Vrij, Ake, Janmaat, Promes, Frenkie, Vilhena should have been playing from the beginning.
What a trash can. i pity your low life upbringing of zero morals and no respect.
You can weary yourself to death, rest assured I can’t care less about what you say.
It’s just a real shame the Dutch national team has some pretender fans like you, who can’t even bring themselves to respect one of their greatest current football servants. tragic.
You can keep this slowly dying non-moderated blog for yourself, and die with it.
I dont think you get my sense of humor man… I was messing with you… LOL being on the Internet before the word “internet” was invented I can tell a keyboard bully right away.
I was messing with your head that’s all. LOL you sounded too insulted for a simple comment. Be more tactful next time and I will leave your mom out of this 🙂
Good fighting spirit to come back from 1-0 down. hopefully, they can hold on to secure the win
hard work and tenacity by memphis in midfield and finishing the goal.
vormer missed a one on one with the goalkeeper. quality pass from sneijder.
blind almost cost a goal from clissen’s diving clearance
We will miss you Snijder, Thank you for every thing
WE LOVE YOU
and now that we got the keyboard trash out of the way, what a nice comeback in the second half
Frenkie amazing steal and pass for the equalizer. The whole team was better in the 2nd but I would give special kudos to Cillessen, Frenkie, Babel and Memphis for the finishes.
Fix the middlefield and we are definitely contenders.
Cillessen (7)- could do nothing on the goal.made some good saves to keep peru at bay.
Tete (7)- defensively and offensively did a good job and dealt with what ever that was thrown at him.
Van Dijk (7)- commanding as ever, the peru forwards did cause him some head aches but dealt it composingly.
De Ligt(7)- like van Dijk dealt with what ever was thrown at him.
Daley Blind (4)- football intellegenc my ass. One good shot on the goal and as usually was the biggest leak in defense and his flank was the raided constantly.
Wijnaldum (5)- ghost
Strootman (4)- is he done.
Sneijder(6)- farewell game.was in the mix of things, did is usual stuff. Goodby to the little general.
Vormer(4)- not the start he would have wanted. Missed one on one after set up by sneijder and and was played out of position.he improved when janmaat came on and promes shifted to RW.
Depay (8)- best player on the field. Worked tirelessly especially in the first half when there was very little service. Two well taken goals
Babel (6)- made good runs but his first touch and ball controlling was lacking.
Janmaat (7) put in a good shift after replacing Tete and was as if he was playing as a winger.
Promes (6)- came on and moved to the right wing pushing vormer back to midfield which looked more better. Full of speed and energy and depay pounced on his rebound late to score his second goal.
Frenkie (7)- again a good shift in the midfield when he came on. Linked up well with vormer to assist Depays first goal
Propper (5)- was better than strootman but as usual looked slow in build up.
Kluivert- didnt have much time to make any impact
Vilhnea- same as kluivert
What lacking?
The left flank is dead. What janmaat was doing after coming on of tete is whats missing on that left flank. They need that left footed winger especially when you know depays tendency to drift to the left.Perhaps Vilhnea would be intresting to start on that LW.
Im jus hoping koeman doesnt start Blind at LB vs france especially in 4-3-3.
Babel- Promes
Depay
Vilhnea-Frenkie- vormer-Janmaat
Ake-Van Dijk- De Ligt
Cillessen
not to beat a dead horse but Blind with that speed of France would be suicidal. But I don’t think Vormer is a good option either for the game vs France.
For sure we will need lots of speed to defend on their counters.
It is going to be a tough one …
The only way to stand a chance vs france is to take the game to them like what the germans did.dont give them space or free balls. The midfield was lock and the battle was on the flanks.
I hate to be a pessimist but I don’t think we are capable of that at the moment. We lack confidence and that means our possession will result in a wrong pass, and a fast counter. With Strootman that is absolutely guaranteed. And with Gini too….
I don’t know man what is wrong with these two at the NT level. But is seems unfixable. I mean how many more chances we should give to this same old recipe that doesn’t work.
Also a further comment on line ups. Not sure if Ake is up to the task on the left. Agree on Vilhena there but maybe Van Anholt on the flank and Vilhena next to De Jong? We need more speed and a little more experience.
Tough choice on the right with Janmaat and Tete. Tete has the speed but not the experience. I think Koeman knows better.
I would probably go for :
Cillessen
De Ligt – Van Dijk – Ake
Janmaat(Tete) – De Jong – Vilhena – Van Anholt
Propper
Promes Memphis
No Babel … Memphis and Promes instructed to track back big time. I would clearly go for the draw, very compact lines ala Costa Rica 2014…
I cannot see how we can win … but at the same time France likes to counter and give up possession so I would give it to them… just my $.02
your thoughts?
Blind vs Mbhappe would be a fun to watch…i hope Blind plays and Mbhappe expose him once more,so that every one realise the truth..
The hard amazing work of Babel,Depay,Deligt,Dijk will be spoiled by Strootman,Blind….
Jesus save us from these two…
Both are goo player BUT WE DONT NEED THEM.
We wnat players who can get us to EC,WC and perhaps wins a cup…
LOL … Let’s hope not. But Dutch coaches have a tendency to stick to playing style and even try for improvements during crucial games (instead of playing for pure result IMO) so I will not be totally surprised to see Blind as left back. Hope not of course 🙂
https://www.ngolos.com/videos/2018-09-06-englandu21-netherlandsu21
Only on word. Bijlow.
This is pathetic. A blog filled with people with a memory as acute as that of a fish.
Let’s beat that dead horse some more.
Nobody is saying Blind is a fantastic player. But he is a good player, whether you lot want to admit it or not.
Like any player he’s played many great matches and some bad matches.
What is wrong is this assumption that Blind can play in many positions, in any formation, every time. This is stupid, and the main reason he ends up playing some of his worst games.
Yes, he has great football intelligence, never cracks under pressure, knows how to play a great pass/cross, always knows to move the play up the field, controls the ball and dictates the play well from the back, is a great marker, great off the ball, and more importantly is the most professional of professionals.
No, he’s not the fastest or the strongest.
The trick is not to play him to his weaknesses but to his strengths. Definitely not a left back. Every time he plays there he gets exposed, especially when he doesn’t also play there for his club week in week out, and has to re-learn and adjust his playing during the game.
He can be a good left wing back, a good centre back, and sometimes a good defensive midfielder. But the team needs to cover for him in order to allow him to do his thing.
Does he deserve to be in the first eleven?
As it is now with the abundance of defenders we have, and Frenkie de Jong starting to shine in midfield, I’d say definitely no.
He’s no Ake/Van Dijk in Centre Back, no Frenkie in midfield, and no matter what our other choices are at left back, he just can’t play there unless he also does it for his club every week.
But still doesn’t mean he is shit, or deserves to be destroyed on this blog.
He deserves to be in the national team, and still has plenty to offer, given the right situation or who is injured.
Believe me: if he weren’t Danny’s son, he would have spent his whole career in Almelo, Breda or Zwolle. He has simply too many weaknesses to play at high levels. Ask Manchester fans about that 🙂
Funny you should mention this.
This is barely a week old:
https://www.givemesport.com/1381188-highlights-of-daley-blind-playing-at-centreback-ajax-has-caught-the-attention-of-man-utd-fans
Ramy, it looks like you have just woken up and trying to figure out whether today is tomorrow or tommorrow is today. Let me break it down for you.daley blind mathmatically is a plus and a minus giving you big zero.
There is so many games where it had been proven that his weaknesses has nothing to do with his intelligence but yet has being at the fore front of things and still he continues to be exposed at any position he plays.
Koeman once himself said daley Blind is the weakest link in Man United but unfortunately for him in NT now is he has not much option but to go with him.
4 years has lapsed and he still showing the same symptoms, whats makes you think he will improve in another 4 years.
@Remy, I think you’ve slightly missed the point. Yes Blind is intelligent with great technique…. but he seems like a player from yester year.
He does not have all the right skills or mental temperament to dominate and hold down one position at the top level…
For example…
LB… too slow, will get ripped for pace by a speedy wide player
CB…. not strong enough physically, needs to play alongside a quicker and stronger defender to compensate
DM…. not aggressive enough or strong enough in the tackle or harrying the opposition
He reminds me of a sweeper in years gone by. OK, I’d probably have him in my 23 man squad for versatility, but he would not start for me.
Strootman, waste of space. Period.
Luuk de Jong, not good enough at this level.
To be honest, I know it’s tough but if it were I, I would have already started building my team around Frenkie, de Ligt, van Beek, Kluivert, Bergwijn, Vilhena etc.
Then I’d be readying my myself to give opportunities to the likes of Stengs, Malen, Eiting etc as the season progresses. Age is of no importance to me.
I look at the old guard (or should I say generation after Robben, Sneijder and co.) and the only players I’d take…
Van Dijk, Memphis, Cillessen, de Vrij, van Anaholt, Janmaat (I know some of these guys are still young, but they’ve been around the team for a while now). Maybe I’ve missed 2/3 others.
On Wijnaldum…. I really do shake my head. I want him to succeed. At Liverpool he does great work, for the NT he goes missing. I would really have to sit down and think long and hard about whether I’d want to offer him further chances. Perhaps I’d speak to him first to try work out were things aren’t clicking for him.
Finally…. 3-5-2. I’m a man who loves to dare. I don’t mind a bit of defensive frailties, as long as attacking wise we take the game to the them… 3-5-2 to me has always been a cowards formation (ok there are some teams with the right equipment who’ve played it well… Juve). I would go back to 4-3-3 or use an adaption of 4-4-2. I feel these formations are more natural to the young players we have coming through… and even Gini and Dijk.
Dont think you’re saying anything different to what im saying.
He definitely should be in the final 23, because if used correctly Blind can bring a lot to any team.
He is not a LB, because of his lack of speed.
He can be a very effective CB if he has good cover from a Bailly, Smalling or De Ligt type player.
He can also play DM if there’s 2 other other running type midfielders around him, and he can focus on dictating tempo and spraying passes around.
He can also play as a left wing back, because he can cross the ball very well, and the timing of his forward movements are usually spot on.
Let’s stop hating on the guy. If anything, he should have your full admiration. Yes he comes from good stock being Danny’s son, but given his physical shortcomings, you can’t go everywhere he went and do and play and win, without being as determined as he’s been. It’s an every day reminder that the underdog can also make it in this world 🙂
In this case there is a whole lot of other players who could get into contension.
Our line up against France should be:
Cillesen
De Ligt / De Vrij – Van Dijk – Ake
Janmaat – Propper – De Jong – Vilhena/Blind
Promes – Depay – Babel
Now about Koeman. Do you think, guys, he knows what he is doing? I thought after four friendly games, he will not start with Strootman and Wijnaldum, but he still did….It was so obvious that the midfield with those two guys was incapable to do anything but he still named them in the base. Not speaking of Blind. It has been said enough about his uselessness in this forum. I really hope, that Koeman knows what he is doing. To me, I did not see “The new Oranje”, it was the same gray, unmotivated and slow performance with some spark in the second half. May be I am to demanding….
I believe the article from vi.nl partially answers my question about Koeman.
The Orange is becoming more and more clear, except for the power
Apart from the farewell of record international Wesley Sneijder, the game of the Dutch national team against Peru (2-1 victory) was also dominated by France. Sunday, in the Stade de France, the first test of the Orange by Ronald Koeman starts, which has already changed a lot. VI PRO puts five observations in a row.
Normally practice matches are only interesting for rest, after that the big change of the often experimental coaches starts. Although Ronald Koeman did indeed – Orange in the second half changed to six positions – the full encounter with Peru remained one where the trainer can pull out enough.
I: 5-3-2 VS 4-3-3
Ronald Koeman is out now, after five practice interns under his leadership: the Dutch national team has to play with four defenders. Against Peru, he let his team play for the first time, 4-3-3, with hanging outsiders and a fortified midfield. In practice it looked like the Bert van Marwijk system: 4-2-3-1, with two inspectors (Georginio Wijnaldum and Kevin Strootman) for the four-man defense consisting of Kenny Tete, Matthijs de Ligt, Virgil van Dijk and Daley Blind . Ruud Vormer, Wesley Sneijder and Ryan Babel formed a trio behind the deep striker Memphis Depay.
The intention was that the Dutch would find the free players between the lines. There lay a role for Ryan Babel and Ruud Vormer, but that plan did not work because Peru played so well the spaces, that the Dutch team certainly did not play football for the first half hour. Gradually the first half went slightly better, but it did not yield big chances. The South Americans got them, because they quickly switched, were firm and goal-oriented. Ronald Koeman was not satisfied with how Orange played for rest. The chances were there, the execution was not good. ‘Putting pressure on, the changeover moments, not enough’, Koeman stated, ‘even if you have to give the credits to Peru for that.’
The national coach solved the problem with two points: Frenkie de Jong and Davy Pröpper for Strootman and Wijnaldum. With that, the pace immediately went up and the build-up improved. In fact, Koeman switched to the Ajax system, where De Jong, as midfielders, always sagged up to his left-center defender to take care of the build-up. With his rapid passing and dribbles he forces opponents to make choices and the spaces that were released as a result could be played a little easier. Thus Orange became more dangerous. Striker Memphis suddenly got support, Babel came in the ball more often and on the right Ruud Vormer came into a promising position twice. Koeman was satisfied with it, but remained critical. “It was up to us, that for sure,Nevertheless, he was satisfied across the board. As Orange played against Peru, the starting point for the coming international matches. ‘If we were pressurized in 5-3-2 we had problems, because we always had a shortage somewhere,’ the national coach analyzed. ‘With four defenders, of which three builders and a more dynamic midfield, things went better. Certainly after resting you saw that more and more football was coming into the team. This is the way we want to continue. ”
II: STROOTMAN & WIJNALDUM VS DE JONG AND PRÖPPER
Of course it went better with De Jong and Pröpper, but Ronald Koeman refused to finish a line by the couple Strootman / Wijnaldum. The national coach was mild. Strootman had a busy week after his transfer from AS Roma to Olympique Marseille, while Wijnaldum felt slight complaints about his hamstring.
That Koeman protected his most experienced midfielders was also logical. Strootman and Wijnaldum got a lot of criticism afterwards. It had been too slow, too sterile, not dynamic enough, but the question is: can you blame them? Strootman did not play any differently than he did at AS Roma and he works for Marseille: he checks and delivers. Wijnaldum in turn also does little different from how he plays in the Premier League. Under Jürgen Klopp, he transformed from an attacking midfielder to someone who guards the balance at the hyperactive Liverpool. The fact that both midfielders play like this with the Dutch team is not surprising, as it is not surprising that Frenkie de Jong and, to a lesser extent, Davy Pröpper bring something different to those positions. Especially De Jong is a player who naturally thinks ahead and plays. He was flawless against Peru. All his passes arrived, he won all the duels, he had three interceptions and an assist. Of course Koeman had enjoyed it. ‘Frenkie plays as if he is fifteen, he knows no fear, always plays ahead and dares to take risks.’ Yet he tempered the euphoria. ‘There were more factors that made us look better after a break.’
Dee national coach realizes that he can no longer get around De Jong, but also knows that a different challenge awaits in Paris: the world champion with his physically strong and dynamic midfield, where the master of movement between lines runs: Antoine Griezmann. Koeman wants to make a ‘full’ and ‘resilient’ midfield opposite. He thinks he needs Strootman or Wijnaldum. ‘It’s simple’, he says, ‘I did not change those two positions for nothing after a break. We have four players for those spots. We will analyze well what we need against France, but I do not intend to change too much. ”
III: THE BACKS
That Koeman opted for Kenny Tete from Peru had everything to do with France. Tete is not a basic player at Olympique Lyon, but a real defender. That turned out again during the training week in Zeist. In addition, he is also fast, in addition to being physically strong. He can compensate and repair a lot with his game. The national coach thinks he needs such a type against France, even if he delivers football . That turned out when Tete was exchanged for Daryl Janmaat. The back of Watford is more aggressive and was immediately involved in many dangerous situations. Koeman knows that he can at least vary in that position.
This is somewhat more difficult on the left. There, Daley Blind played, perhaps the most multifunctional player of the last years. Blind was unhappy against Peru, to put it mildly. He suffered a lot of unnecessary ball loss a few times, seemed unwell and forgot to enter into a duel with Aquino, who was able to take the lead from free Peru. Blind is in a difficult position, literally. In the back, Koeman has three players with Van Dijk, De Ligt and Stefan de Vrij, now, two positions. The midfield is also full with Strootman, Wijnaldum, De Jong, Pröpper and Van de Beek and Vilhena. And so Blind found himself back as a left wing defender.
Despite his lesser performance, Koeman does not seem to want to drop him too quickly. He prefers to look at what Blind does, such as experience, calm in possession of the ball, position play and tactically he is well-grounded. The question is whether that is enough against France, because in that game Blind will be able to meet Kylian Mbappé, one of the best and fastest attackers in the world. It seems that Patrick van Aanholt is a more logical match in terms of speed. He was missing from Peru because he witnessed his sister who married. Koeman looks at the total picture, because Van Aanholt is sometimes also on the way back. ‘Patrick is an option’, says the national coach, ‘but if Jan Vertonghen can play against Mbappé, Daley Blind can do that too.’
IV: THE KEEPERS
Jasper Cillessen played excellent against Peru and that without the rhythm of a weekly game. The second goalkeeper from Barcelona smothered with his performance the discussion whether it would be wise to draw a goalkeeper who hardly gets into action. The training at the highest level that Cillessen finishes daily in Spain appears to be sufficient. With this, Koeman shows himself a pragmatic national coach. Playtime and rhythm are important, but quality is always the deciding factor.
V: CORE
Peru was the fifth (practice) match under national coach Ronald Koeman. The balance: two wins (Portugal and Peru), two draws (Slovakia and Italy) and a defeat (England). In terms of results, there is an upward trend, although it was already deployed under Dick Advocaat who only lost to France, on Sunday again Orange’s opponent in Paris.
Apart from the results, Koeman has become wiser in five international matches and has prepared his plan for the Nations League, the first matches under his leadership with points and money at stake. In any case, he has found his core players, as the selection for the international matches against Peru and France will be almost the same for the cycle in October if duels with Belgium (practice) and Germany (Nations League) are on the program. The system is now also clear: at least four defenders and depending on the opponent 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. His base team is also largely fixed. Cillessen is the undisputed number 1, the center Van Dijk / De Ligt is fixed, Memphis, who scored twice against Peru,
Ronald Koeman promised change and clarity in his appointment as national coach. That has also happened, but everything falls or stands with results. Sunday follows France. It will be the first game under Koeman that is about something. In August last year, the Dutch team lost no chance in the Stade de France 4-0. Compared to then, a lot has changed, but it is only when the Orange of Koeman exceeds that performance in result and execution that there really is a new start.
“He can be a very effective CB if he has good cover from a Bailly, Smalling or De Ligt type player.
He can also play DM if there’s 2 other other running type midfielders around him, and he can focus on dictating tempo and spraying passes around.”
Check the game with Mexico for WK 2014, how Dos Santos scores, who marks him and if he has a great CB next to him to cover (Vlaar).
Check the game with Peru how many times he loses his mark during corners (nothing to do with LB position).
Check how Van Dijk SCREAMS at Strootman during the first ten minutes for loosing his mark one more time. I guess he can’t scream at two idiots at the same time.
Strootman, Gini and Blind have been tried too many times at the NT level. We have harvested an Amazonian forest to write all the factual moments they have failed.
please put the nail in the coffin for them and let’s move on with other options. 0 X 0 equals 0
I agree. These 3 can’t play for NT any longer. Strootman has never convinced me and has always been running on hype, Wijnaldum is only a good club utility player, Blind seems to have lost most of his intelligence that was his best asset.
I only saw the game highlights. Glad we won but it could have easily been 2-4 to Peru.
here is an example of what I like and what I don’t like. Ability/skill/intelligence/lungs are not involved.
Contrast how Dos Santos moves in front of Blind in the Mexico game with how De Jong in his first appearance ever challenges the Peruvian, steals the ball and delivers a ready goal to Depay.
At some point we need to write them off.
Enough said?
Ex-national team player Marcellis suddenly retired, another dutch player ruined by injury. Also at this point Maher and Nelom two of our ex-national team players are still without a club…
I still do not think Koeman has a plan, he is still trying things that already been proved not working. Like Blind in starting line up and Strootman Wijnaldum combination in midfield. He is still testing CB positions when it was clear from earlier matches the combination of De ligt Van Dijk De Vrij/Ake is the best option. And it seems he is still trying to find the right formation, he is still not so sure about 5-3-2.And our biggest question mark Midfield problem is still not solved.
Against France I hope we start with
Cillisen (X)
De Ligt(X) Van Dijk(X) Ake
Janmaat Van De Beek De Jong Vilhena Van Aanholt
Depay(X) Promes
We need a young energetic midfield to play against France. I am tire of seeing Wijnaldum and Strootman fail in National Team. Propper’s work rate might not be good enough against France so I would hope he come in as a sub for Van De Beek if our offense stalled.
for the village idiot … a typical writing in Dutch papers
“Maar wat opviel was hoe simpel Daley Blind zich een paar keer liet aftroeven. Meteen na rust had een verloren duel in zijn eigen zestien-meter eigenlijk tot 0-2 moeten leiden.”
Its still too early for koeman to bring the team to the peak.simply the quality is not there and there is a need for more positional players. By end of next year towatds the half way mark of the euro qualifers is when you can expect him to running on all cylinders and by then he will have enough time to gauage players especially those who will be playing in CL and others who have joined new clubs.
How long did it take danny blind to get come with a descent starting.he used up to 40 players some of which jus were not any different to spectators.
the insistence on Strootman and Gini is worrisome though. Don’t you think?
To be honest Im not a big fan of either from day 1.they individually cant bring anything for shit. wijnaldum with some exception as he looks decisive when in the box.being said this and I have also mentioned this before Tjaronn chery is the type of player that is need to be in NT. its a big shame that he was overlooked by danny Blind for klaassen and others who simply lack the cutting edge. strootman and wijnaldum are simply playing in the shadows of players at club level where they dont feel the heat and everybody is covering for each other. you see this is whats not happening in NT n gain it comes back to to the calibre of players that are around them when they are playing in NT. This is the exact same scenario for van der weil at PSG
he looked like god playing with gods but in fact it was the gods who were making him look like gods. come NT, he would fall to the earth. what NT needs is two or three frenkies, more time and defintely some top level football which is in store for dutch players playing in CL teams
Frenkie is nothing short of amazing. Ten minutes in the game and boom he turns it around !!
I am in complete agreement on all the above. But Koeman seems to insist on these two. And that worries me A LOT. I thought we will have some changes. Anyhow, Sunday is the day after tomorrow.
Thanks AZ, I actually wanted to use that VI article as the next post.
I think its a wonderful analysis.
Demi: your inappropriate comments will be deleted. We don’t accept that sort of behaviour here. No bullying, no disrespectful stuff, no insults, no sexism or racism.
If you can’t abide to that, you’ll be banned. Period.
Jan, will all due respect. I am watching one more bad game, and in the middle of it some imbecile pretty much tells me “you can’t say your opinion” Come one man, I mean I have been waiting 32 years from 1978 to 2010 to see one more final. And I endured one more WK without the Oranje. And in the middle of all some newbie Ramy pops up like a prick. Sorry, If I had him in front of me I would have decked him on the spot. Not sure if you feel me here… I don’t like how it played out but come on…What’s next? opinion censorship?
No Demi, I won’t censor opinions, but I will censor abuse and name calling and insults aimed at mothers etc.
I just don’t want to moderate a forum with people yelling abuse and racist/sexist drivel. Sorry.
I do understand your anger/frustration with some commenters here, trust me. But just keep it civil and yes, please share your opinion.