Oranje ends season with 2-0 win over China

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by Jan

And thus ends Oranje post-season trip to Asia. With 5 goals, two disappointing performances, a couple of new hares (Cillisen, Tiendalli, Toornstra, Nelom), a new skipper, a warned playmaker and lots and lots of happy Chinese and Indonesian fans.

And 1 million euros for the KNVB.

Louis van Gaal was not unhappy. “The game vs China was actually quite agricultural. I expected a better game as the climate and the pitch were so much better, but it didn’t happen. We missed a lot of chances and somehow couldn’t get our rhythm.”

The Dutch team manager clearly didn’t mind too much. This was partly a holiday trip. Bonding.

The main thing was his ability to deal with Wesley. “This is the last time we meet before we play next season against Portugal and I don’t want to deal with this captaincy issue right before a serious match. Now, I had the chance to explain to Wes.”

sneijder rvp china

Wes wants to attack LVG for taking his band. RVP and Robben spur him on…

Sneijder took it hard, the message that not only the band would go to RVP but also that LVG would not take Maher AND Sneijder both to the World Cup…. Sneijder apparently left the meeting emotionally to go back to his room… Later that evening he came out and joined the group and accepted LVG’s decision.

 

I have to say, the statement that Maher and Sneijder can’t both go to the World Cup is silly. I think LVG says it to motivate Sneijder to the max. But why wouldn’t you to take them both if both are in glorious form?? Maher can play on all midfield positions, so it would be foolish to not take him anyway.

Van Persie basked in the sun with his captain band. “As a kid I watched Krol and Koeman as skipper of Oranje and Johan wore the band too of course… I am extremely proud.”

And he remembered his first training under Van Gaal. He came home totally enthusiastic. His wive asked him… How was it? Robin said he was extremely happy. Mr van Gaal has very exciting practice forms. A joy to work under him. But… “You won’t start” is what she said. Correct, was Robin’s answer. He picked Klaas Jan over me. But my chance will come.

And one glorious season for ManU (and a title) later, and Robin is Oranje’s main man.

Van Gaal commented that some players really pleased him and some other disappointed him but he didn’t want to go into which player was in which category.

RVP scored China

RVP is level with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Faas Wilkes on the top scorers list

Holland played without too much inspiration against a very agressive China. I asked our Asia Football expert Carlos and he believes that this is a matter of “not wanting to lose face” for the Chinese. They approach this as a serious game and the Chinese players also know there are Western scouts watching, so they did all they could to stop Holland. When one of them was red carded for a charge on De Guzman, already in the first 20 minutes, the game sort of died out.

By then RVP had already scored from the spot as a result of a foul on Robben. Sneijder came onto the pitch to replace Toornstra in the second half and scored a beauty after a nice build up involving RVP and Robben too. The commentator quiped “why do it easy, when you can do something like that”….


 

We see RVP and Robben hit the woodwork and Lens, RVP, Robben and co all misses glorious chances.

During the trip, the Dutch players acted as real tourists too of course, visiting some touristy spots and taking photo opps. Ron Vlaar was amazed “It’s quite remarkable, they actually know who I am here…”

And thus ends the Oranje season. With all players told to watch their fitness. With a new Main Man in charge in the dressing room. And with a number of wannabees having had a taste of the Orange…

vlaar en chinezen

Vlaar, Cillisen and De Jong photo-bomb at a Chinese wedding

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0 comments

  2. This year is goin to be relevation year for MVH and Bruma.I have lost faith in BMI and Devrij as WC champion materials CBs.i hope BRuma signs PSV and MVH signs with Ajax…they dont get enough protection from strootman.May be things might be different with fit Nijel or De guzman..

    1. I don’t know why you like sooo much Bruma. He isn’t that good and his first game with the senior teams were quite not successfull. I don’t think he is better than Nuytinck.

      The one I like and want to see again is Viergever. Though he didn’t have a great with AZ, which is understandable when you have to play next to Reijnen. But he really formed a good pair last year next to Moisander. Apparently PSV wants to take him and use as DM.

      1. @Laurent…i understood he was a flop at HSV and chelsea..But He is strong,tall.can play football with feet,can hold ball in feet,Way to stronger than Devrij and Indi on 1 to 1 situation.I have a feeling that he been miscoached and all he needs coach with father like approach,i see his problems are mental not physical,while Devirj problems are physical that cannt improve.Bruma is kind of lost son of dutch..basicly its hard to see talents getting spoiled,its painful to watch..the emotional support for bruma..

        1. with rumors that Douglas is been eyed by Newcastle and Liverpool, it will be interesting how he performs in EPL. I personally think if Van der Wiel is able to make the cut, then will have another intresting option in defense.

          Van der wiel – jammant-BMI- Blind/pieters.

          If van gaal is thinking of taking hetinga and Vlaar to WC, then he is in to another disaster like in 2002. I feel he should at least giv douglas a chance.I also agree with Laurent, about Viergever, He also anothet talented CB

  3. by the by how the predictions are goin on in uefa???
    i did see srinjoy,agragami,DRB300,Jan ,Goldstone,laurent there and enter the name as Rebelmonster with dutch flag.England really fucked me up,i didnt had any idea about England and israel team,that cost me a lot but still i stand 205 the position out of morethan 1600players.i think some have given up in between.,

  5. So it’s the reserve lineup. This should be quite a fun game. Too bad we won’t get to see Hoesen and Maher though. Excited to see Clasie – Vilhena – Fer in midfield.

  6. Is it me or does it also seem to the rest that Robben really enjoys his time with the NT?

    With Bayern he celebrates his goals by himself and doesn’t really put any effort into congratulating other players, while with Oranje, he is passionately there.

    Interesting question is what would LvG do if Wes, Maher and VdV are all healthy and performing? As much as I like VdV’s talent, I think he’s no more than a substitute with Oranje, I can’t see him play more than 30 minutes. He’s an impact sub that can change the game. But he’s also constantly inconsistent over 90 minutes.

  13. Is there something wrong with the gravity over there? It seems that an awful lot of Spanish players spend an awful lot of time on the ground.
    Vile country. Vile people. Vile tactics.

    1. Oh just f*ck off.
      If you have nothing at all positive to say, don’t bother.
      Go support Norway or Denmark or whoever the hell else takes your fancy. We don’t need your negative spam. Thank you.

        1. ‘Cooper fart go away’
          What does that even mean?
          Are you 6 years old?

          Yeah, you can disappear too, dumbass. Quickly please.

          Oh look, your big tips for the future – Fer, Depay, Vilhena, Van Aanholt – are getting a right kicking from Spain’s U21 B Team. Proof AGAIN. You know NOTHING about football. NOTHING.
          Go back to your youtube clips, idiot.

          We are all still waiting for you to tell us how ‘GENIUS’ alex ferguson was so smart that ‘slow useless Kuyt’ scored a hat-trick against his Man United team… (one of ONLY 3 players ever to have achieved this in the premier league in OVER 20 years!)
          You never did have an answer for that, did you?
          Moron.
          Life must be very hard for you.

          1. Shit, u come back Cooper :((. go away. we all now Faraz and Tiju. so just help all of us and go away forever asshole.

  26. This was an important game because if we top the group we’d miss Italy in the semis. By missing Italy in the semis we’d leave the top dogs (italy and spain) to kill each other in the semis demanding them a lot of physical damages, maybe some red cardeds, injuries, etc. but OK now we’ve to beat Italy in the semis and Spain must likely in the final 😉 I think we can do it.

  27. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a tournament. An ENTIRE starting lineup change from one game to the next. Seems a bit odd to me.

  29. I think this may turn out to be a brilliant move by Pot. It is a very warm day in Israel and he is resting all of his starting lineup for the semis. At the same time he wants fresh legs to tire out the Spaniards. If we lose, the Spanish will play an entirely different team, assuming that both make it to the finals.

    Yes, it was a calculated risk. We only need a tie. Unfortunately the game is pulling away from us, but we can still score two in the second half. Even so, both Norway and Italy have decent teams. Italy is better, but they are beatable.

  30. Cor Pot is totally unprofessional. You can’t just change the whole team like that! You have to play the ball in tight situations against spain and you bench two wingbacks like Van Rhijn and Blind? I can live with Depay, Clasie (bad first half for Jordy) and even Tonny Trindade de Vilhena playing, but so many changes to me seem like the coach is telling “we don’t want to put our full lineup, because in this way we can lose and still have an excuse”.

    1. It’s a ballsy tactic: gives rest to starters, and experience to bench-warmers, all but taking the match for granted.

      If rest is the key, it’s a winning play.

      But this one’s all on Cor Pot. He’ll be either genius or goat.

  31. Its kind of a poker move, Cor Pot is betting we play Spain in the final which is a bit disrespectful to Italy and Norway.

    A lot of our players on the pitch are not rightly 1st teamers.

  34. Well, most of Tiju’s highly touted prospect have proven here that they suck, Classie, Nuynick, Vilhena all sub par with one exception Tiju made one good prediction: Depay is not bad – at least he can take a good free kick

    1. Jason did i rooted for jozefoon?,leerdam?Nuytick?I justed said chance should be given to MVH,Annaholt and depay and hoesen only.Fer,clasie was already there so i didnt..Dissapointment was MVH.i did nt expected a superfootball from him but expected him to be rock like he played for utecht…Player like fer is not a sucker..he saved from Germany.

    3. Your statement eredivisie vs la liga does not make any sense here,sorry.
      The dutch also beat Germany in the groups,does that mean Eredivisie is better than Bundesliga? Of course not! And Premier League is top 3 in the world,but their young players finished last in the group with 3 losses against Norway, Israel(!) and Italy!
      It is not about the strentght of the league,it is about developing young players and giving them chance in the league.

  40. Our subs lack an accurate long pass and proper weight. Most of their passes were horrible. Our midfield positioning was scary, think that every time we play a backpass (which is alot) is a time when one of our midfielders are in a bad or wrong position.

  41. Spain is the better team but that’s just our reserve so why bothered?
    Still with just a bit more luck we could have beaten them.(Van der hoorn put that in; depay’s super freekick and his rebounce on maher’s shot)
    I really dont see a reason to cry about.

    1. that rebound bit was Hoesen’s. De Gea got really lucky there. but his saves were superhuman.

      all the back 4 were terrible.

      midfield were awful. they just seemed to forget each role. maybe it’s just me, but Clasie wasn’t that bad.

      Depay, like most of you have said, was most impressive upfront.

      Jozefzoon’s dribbles were joy to watch, but if you look someone dribbling in same area for up to 15 seconds, it’s boring. when he finally decided to pass, it’s terrible.

      Hoesen? maybe wasn’t his day. I like him better than De Jong, but I’d start De Jong over hum.

      Maher’s impact was great. He should try to shot from corner of the box, though. He’s great at opening space with his run.

  43. To be honest the whole xi changed, and i doubt any of them have ever played a whole game together. This is the level of team that got us qualified but just made us look like england.

    It’s annoying to see this because, really do any title winning teams get rolled over 3-0 in the group stages. Even though it doesnt really matter there is psychological damage done, that is if we have to play spain again.

    I also find it very annoying that an idiot like cor pot is managing the team which does in all honesty have no reason not to win.

    I do think it is still feasible to benefit us as all the games are played in very quick succession in very sapping conditions.

    But when we look at the actual performances of the players we see what they are all really worth (I only managed to see the second half)

    Pros:
    -Depay = C.Ronaldo 🙂

    -Clasie did show some moments where he instantly sped up the game …only for it to go to waste. (I put this as a pro because maybe when he is alongside better midfielders it will work to better effect.

    -Bizot : partly suspect but made a very good late save. Is Zoet justifiably better?

    -In the next games we will have our almost unnoticed weapons of huge aerial abilty back (Gink, LDJ, BMI…)which makes it hard for the attackers and defenders, where this is a tournament primarily where the technical midfielders are standing out.

    -Final one : I have no doubt that this will spur on the first teamers to forcefeed the Dutch footballing dick down the Spanish throats IF we get to play them again. Quite frankly i think the current spanish setup makes football so much worse (Boring, prone to diving, unlikable..)

    Cons

    Jozefzoon: I honestly think he is dire, i dont want to be a boo-boy because it isnt really anyones fault, he gives his all, but he isnt particularly quick, skillful and has a dire touch. There were however, many injuries to players in the rw position. I truly think he is someone who can just be a good eredvisie winger and no more.

    Leerdam: Doesnt really deserve to be here, didnt have very good chemistry with hoorn or jozef

    Vilhena- poor guy , he is a month younger than me, and i think its very unfair to dump him in this deep and expect him to excel, I do think he will be very good in the future just a bad choice of midfield

    I still think we can win as this game was only representative of cor pot’s tactical ineptitude. Resting players = smart, but in the way he has done it is a bit naive, although im sure it did run down the spanish battery a bit. I think he may be the only factor to stop us from winning because he can be tactically outdone.

    This team is awesome , we shall win.

  44. We passed the first round and our A team looked quite good. Spain is a powerhouse now and resting the whole squad was not a good choice but what matters now is to,beat Italy and we are very capable to do that.

    Would be nice to meet Spain in the final and get some kind of revenge although Italy will,be very very tough.

  45. I couldn’t watch the game, but I think we shouldn’t care about the result. And it’s maybe even good that Pot changed all the team. First, I was more scared to play Norway than Italy in semis, though Italy seems a bit stronger, Norway is really having “luck” and “effictivness” since the qualifiers, they beat France though France had won all games in qualifiers.

    So yeah, we can worry to see the result and what our substitutes did, but we just should consider that we have two games yet to win, and it will be with the players who won the two first games. + don’t forget that teams play every three days, it’s hot, maybe we can hope our players will be in a better physical conditions than some italian ones ?

  46. I only caught the last 15 mins and I saw a team in disarray with whom Spain was simply toying. Jozefson caught my eye as particularly terrible.
    There are benefits of resting players but changing the whole 1st team:
    – Takes them out of synch and makes them cold
    – A lot of psychological damage done with a 0-3 score
    Will 1st team take this as “if we were in the field we would have beaten Spain?” or “why bother, we would have lost anyway albeit with a narrower score”.
    After watching Spain live last night and how similar their under 21 plays I feel like we won’t be able to beat them for another generation. The way they keep the ball and move it around is unbelievable even though boring but still successful. Reaching the final would still be a success. Cor Pot will prove to be either a genius or a complete idiot.

    1. It’s a controversial strategy on Pot’s part, to be sure. But consider the alternative. Spain could well have beaten our “A” team and that psychological damage would be worse. Now we’ll get a chance perhaps for revenge with them ground down a bit more, although I think that the strategy failed when Spain scored the second goal, bringing the pace of the game to a crawl. At 1-0 Spain would still have to fight hard because we’d be in reach of a tie.
      Another benefit is that we got to get a decent look at all of the options who have played so far. A few promising performances. Depay had flashes of real talent and we may see him feature as an early sub against Italy (I don’t think any changes are being made to the starting lineup facing Germany & Russie). Defense not there yet, however.

  47. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. They were unlucky in this game and were punished for it. 2 of the goals came after Oranje missed two very easy chances… at a minimum, the game should have ended as a 3-2 loss. It was unfortunate, the lads couldn’t finish. The regular team should be better and it can be an easy tie or even an Oranje win if we play them again in the final.

    1. Actually come to think about it we really did create a load of chances for a ‘Second team’ and that raises a good point how many other teams could use no starters and do that well

  48. This is my report from Israel. I was at the game in Petah Tikva and will be there on Saturday for the semi-finals. The first thing that impressed me was the enormous support for Oranje from the neutral Israeli public, easily 90-10. I was surprised and asked. The answer for those of us who witnessed it is actually not that strange. It dates back to 1974 and the defeat of Holland by Germany. Many Israelis embraced the Dutch in that WC and the support has not abated at all. So Holland will have the crowd on Saturday and Tuesday if we make the final.
    Second, my general impression is that there is a huge difference in quality between the first and second choice players. We can go through the list of today’s players but nobody impressed. Hoesen is a bit of an exception because he did not get any service but still he did not score any points. The major weakness was the defense. Absolutely atrocious especially VD Horn. He misses a sitter and concedes practically all 3 goals. His passing was slow and inaccurate. The backs were not much better. Key difference between Spain and Holland is that their defenders can actually play football, at least today. Next week it will be a different story. But I noticed Tiago coming back time and time again to get the ball from his defenders. Nobody did that for us.
    Clasie was invisible. He is not fast, his passing was nothing special and physically he can’t really compete. The wingers were totally isolated, left to fend for themselves without any support from midfield or the back.
    As for the strategy, it may not have been a bad idea for Pot to concede defeat (after all he had nothing to lose today by playing a B team) and surprise an over confident Spain. Also I think it is better for us to play Italy. We would have been too complacent against Norway.
    That’s all for now.

    1. @Jeff, Thanks for the on-the-scene insights. Very interesting. One thing that disappointed with VDHorn was that he was always looking sideways or back, rarely up the field. I think he unnecessarily slowed our game down and limited our attacking channels. But hopefully he’ll improve in that department and this game gives him valuable experience.

  49. I see some posters are considering Van der Wiel for the squad again. Never, Never, again for Gregory in my mind. What clinched it for me was Ronaldo’s goal last year in Euro 2012 when Gregory just laid down and took it up the rear end, allowing Ronaldo to score…..gutless and a coward. He should never play for Holland again.

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