Oranje first European team to qualify for WC Brazil

blog
by Jan

Because Brazil didn’t qualify of course. They “bought” their ticket :-).

And despite all the negativity of the last days, we need to be proud of our team and our coaching staf.

I can list a number of reasons why we should be very distressed, by the way (and I am sure I will).

But I can also list a number of reasons why we should compliment LVG and Co.

For starters: Oranje started under Van Gaal in bad shape. The Euro 2012 was a disaster. Cult hero Van Marwijk was tarred and feathered and players like Van der Wiel, Huntelaar, Sneijder, Robben and Van der Vaart had difficulties hiding their frustrations.

Van Gaal was appointed amidst controversy following his unsuccessful run in 2002 and his JC backstabbing at Ajax. His comments that “his career deserves a go at a World Cup” didn’t sit well with me (and others). As it should NOT be about mr Van Gaal’s career, but about the Dutch National Team. I do like him as a coach (I think he is a very good coach), but I think he is a horrible human being.

Anyway…

hol qual

On top of that, LVG had to deal with some player issues as well. Stekelenburg in trouble, Van der Wiel in trouble, Heitinga in trouble, Van Bommel retired, De Jong injured, etcetc.

LVG had to bring young blood and was somewhat forced to change Oranje’s playing style back to Total Football (he is doing this not just because he’s forced to, as he is a big believer himself of course).

And despite all of this, he has managed to only drop 2 points in a freak game away (Estonia, 4 days back) and managed to qualify as the first nation from Europe.

To quote LVG: “It simply wasn’t possible to qualify quicker, unless when you organise the tournament…..”

The expectations for Oranje’s chances are now being assessed. The KNVB management is only happy when Oranje finishes Top 4. This is what they gave LVG as a target when they signed him last year. Louis himself believes this is too ambitious and he will talk to the management about this. “There are at least 8 teams equal to us or better.” Louis goes for top 8. Johan Cruyff however believes Oranje should be happy if they progress from the group stages. “This Oranje lacks experience in key positions. Players like Martins Indi and De Vrij do have the future but simply lack experience. They can’t help that. They will be much stronger after the World Cup.”

Obviously, the position on the FIFA ranking will be key for Oranje’s chances. If Holland is Group Leader, we should be able to progress without too much drama. If we loste that spot and are part of a group with – say – Brazil or Spain, it might be less likely. However, I do think we play better against teams that play open (England, Germany) than against negative bus parking teams.

Robin van Persie: “We should have won this game 0-4 or 0-5. This was a bit…thin. Against Andorra, you should be able to turn and go deep 8 out of 10 times you get the ball, but we simply failed to do so. I think bringing Maher in the second half was a good move. We got some more creativity.” Van Persie almost has Kluivert’s record. “Patrick is awesome. He really wants me to get that record. He works with me a lot. In particular my timing. When to come to the near post, when to go to the far post. I take it on and think about it. It helps me a lot.”

Skipper Van Persie offered his jersey to a fan. “I am so happy. I think we did well this qualifications series. Sure, we need to improve, but at least we have a goal to work towards….”

hol and

Let’s look at the negatives now, for a bit.

Most people will say “how is it possible that Holland played so weak against Andorra???”….

Some reasons:

– It’s always hard to break down 100% defensive/destructive teams

– Oranje does not have the “automatisms” and flow you expect from the Dutch, which makes the former even harder

– We play with some new chaps who need to find their footing ( Willems, Schaars, Schaken, Lens on the left)

– Some of our players are missing (Robben, Vaart) or simply not in best form (Sneijder)

– Somehow LVG didn’t want to experiment too much, hence we played with 4 defenders and two relatively defensive midfielders

– We failed to score early, which further increased Andorra’s resolve

– Once it was 0-2 for Oranje, the team thought well enough was good enough as Andorra played a rough game and the players didn’t want to risk injuries

All these, are good reasons… Although I personally don’t get why Louis didn’t experiment a little bit more.

Why not use Schaars or Strootman as CB instead of Martins Indi? Using three defenders instead of four? Why not have the lightfooted Maher close to RVP and the man with the golden pass (Sneijder) sitting a bit deeper? Why not using the more offensive De Guzman instead of Schaars?

I can imagine Van Gaal’s response: “If the team does not flow as it is, changing the make up will only confuse more. We need stability and consistency. My aim was NOT to dazzle and to score nine times against Andorra. My aim was simply to win.”

Most of the other criticism is fair enough, but also not that relevant now. This month is NOT when the prizes are handed out.

We qualified. Which is more than LVG could say in 2002. We have 10 months to get our act together.

I believe we have two massive strikers with RVP and Hunter. I don’t buy the criticism on Klaasjan. He is an awesome killer in the box. Simply check his records.

We have 4 pretty good goalies.

We have a young and inexperienced defence. True. But in the words of JC: “If your defence is weak, make sure you attack!”.

Our midfield is potentially strong: Vaart, Sneijder, Clasie, Maher, Wijnaldum, Strootman, De Guzman, Van Ginkel, Afellay, Siem de Jong… What is not to like?

And we might have at least two or three awesome wingers…. Robben for sure. And at least two of the following list: Narsingh, Lens, Elia, Ola John, Boetius, Depay, Boerrigter. Surely, two of these lads should have some form come summer 2014?

I am not pessimistic. I never am.

 

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0 comments

  1. I am also not pessimistic about chance of dutch,but i amm pessimistic about some players.I cannt think about
    Vlaar-Devrij-williams,Peiters,Blind Vs balotelli,Demaria,Roanldo,Navas,alexis ,suarez etc. i am done with some of the dutch players who frequently gets call.We are done boys
    “””Our midfield is potentially strong: Vaart, Sneijder, Clasie, Maher, Wijnaldum, Strootman, De Guzman, Van Ginkel, Afellay, Siem de Jong… What is not to like?”””””””
    yes offcourse our best ones are in midfeild.
    Vaart=No stamina
    Wesly=Old wesly is long gone
    clasie=when was his last game for orange?
    Maher=some what ok
    strootman=ok
    Deguzman=ok
    Vanginkel=Not getting chance
    wijnaldum=Ok but should play as winger much better than Lenz,kuyt,schaken,Elia and afellay on wings.
    Seim Dejong=Very good moving and playing.should play as stiker and persie should move to left/shadow striker and Seim should the main striker.
    Fer=good but when he is getting call?
    schhars=ok ,it would be better he play as LB,coz he is reliable there and our mid is already crowded.

    1. Why do you make the same comments every day, buddy?

      ‘yes offcourse our best ones are in midfeild.’
      No. Our best player, in fact our only ‘world class’ player, is Van Persie. We just don’t play to his strengths, due to arrogance and poor team work.

      ‘Vaart=No stamina’
      Still the best ‘footballer’ we have produced in many, many years.

      ‘Vanginkel=Not getting chance’
      Why are you surprised? He’s like 12 years old.

      ‘wijnaldum=Ok but should play as winger much better than Lenz,kuyt,schaken,Elia and afellay on wings.’
      Are you insane? Do you watch any football matches? Kuyt is way more experienced and far more level headed. He also crosses the ball, you know, that thing which wingers are SUPPOSED to do….

      ‘Seim Dejong=Very good moving and playing.should play as stiker and persie should move to left/shadow striker and Seim should the main striker.’
      So, your masterplan is to move our best player further away from the opposition goal? Seriously? That’s your tactical masterstroke? Wow!!

      ‘schhars=ok ,it would be better he play as LB,coz he is reliable there and our mid is already crowded.’
      I don’t even know where to start with what’s wrong with this.

      ‘Fer=good but when he is getting call?’
      This we can agree on.

      I would like to see Douglas given a chance.

      I want Van Gaal, Blind and Kluivert as far away from this Dutch team as possible. They are the Three Stooges – Larry, Curly and Moe.
      Embarrassing. They haven’t got a brain cell to rub together between them.

      Anyway, we qualified.
      Let’s party.
      🙂

        1. ‘Don’t even start.’

          or what?
          you’ll provide further evidence of your stupidity??

          Who said I ‘hate Robben’? Not me. I didn’t.
          I do not rate him as highly as you do. Get over it.

          I am high, though. That’s correct.

      2. “No. Our best player, in fact our only ‘world class’ player, is Van Persie. We just don’t play to his strengths, due to arrogance and poor team work.”

        “Are you insane? Do you watch any football matches? Kuyt is way more experienced and far more level headed. He also crosses the ball, you know, that thing which wingers are SUPPOSED to do….”

        Lol, so playing with Van Persie’s strenghts would be to put Kuyt and send crosses…LOL. Do you know that VP said before WC 2010 that he wanted to play with VDV, Robben and Sneijder ? not putting Kuyt on purpose who was the titular at this time…It made a little media clash.

        Yeah sending crosses to VP is really the solution, especially Kuyt’s ones, so accurate lol, Ola John and Narsingh cross better than Kuyt if you want crosses. Sending air crosses into the box was the most useless thing Kuyt was doing during all the WC 2010, as VP is a striker who moves a lot, comes often out of the box to play, playing with his stenghts isn’t sending him air crosses, he wasn’t going to score with a header between Piqué and Puyol.

  2. —————Krul—————–
    ———Bruma—–Reikik———–
    Janmaat————————-BMI
    ————–Nijel—————-
    ——-Vanginkel—–Strootman——
    Roben———————–Persie–
    ———–Seim de Jong————-
    this is the best 11 we could have now
    ======================================
    2nd eleven
    ======================================
    ————-Stekelnburg/Vermeer———-
    ———–Heitinga—-Leoryfer———–
    Van Rhijn————————Schaars
    —————Deguzman——————-
    ——Clasie————-Duarte———-
    Wijnaldum————————-Urby—
    —————-Vaart/Hunter—————-
    ==============================================
    Vlaar and Devrij are turtles.its betetr to have Fer or stroot as center bcak like De Rossi does for Italy at times.
    stand bye
    Depay
    Ola
    Luuk
    Veirgiver
    Willams

          1. I’m not your ‘friend’.

            And it’s not ‘borderline’.

            However, I DO hope it’s the last that I’ll hear from you, yes.

          2. And pretty much everybody else, in case you haven’t noticed the lack of enthusiasm for your contributions. Goodbye my friend.

          3. You silly, silly Boss… it’s dated TODAY. And it’s his very first one.

            You didn’t even know who he was before today. Ha!

          4. guys just ignore Boss. i’m gona do that going forward. Hopefully then he won’t find much enjoyment out of this and run along.

          5. @ Goldstone,

            Boss is right. This is column for Webb, and he is writing for Daily Mail for many years.
            I have reading column since 2010 WC Final.

          6. Hi, “Hangar42.” Google and Bing both believe you to be mistaken, but it could be that all those columns simply aren’t indexed or accessible on the web.

            But for some reason The Daily Mail believes you to be mistaken, too:

            http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?pageOffset=&pageSize=50&sel=site&searchPhrase=+howard+webb+&orderBy=relevDesc&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_channelshortname=on&_contenttype=on&_contenttype=on&dateupdated=&dateFrom=&dateTo=&_authornamef=on&_personnames=on&_personnames=on&_personnames=on&_personnames=on&_personnames=on

            Please don’t feed the trolls, “Hangar42”. 😉

          7. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, Mr. Goldstone sir, but (and I truly hate to have to admit this) my family reads the Daily Fail, and Webb has written for it frequently, dating back to way before the 2010 World Cup.
            As much as I hate to say it, I do think you owe Boss an apology. You bluffed. He called.
            He has you bent over the proverbial barrel with your shorts around your ankles 🙁 the b’stard.

  5. Cryuff on NT
    http://www.goal.com/en/news/3790/world-cup-2014/2013/09/11/4253723/brazil-will-crush-netherlands-fears-cruyff?ICID=HP_BN_11
    But my words for cryuff.Great JC you are so true.We have no hope with turtles in back and unfit players and headlesschickens unpfront.Brazil will crush us if we play
    Vlaar,Devrij,Schaken,unfit wesly,Elia,Afellay,huntlaar,Williams,Blind,We need to drop all these players with out of form Wesly and Lenz.May be vaart too.
    Thne call up young and fast Bruma,Reikik,Urby(winger),Wijnaldum,Ginkel,clasie,Fer and stick with these better quality players.then Brazil will not crush you.

  7. Boss has called for me to apologize, so here goes:

    I apologize to the faithful readers and participants at Jan’s Mighty Blog for aggravating a troll. You all deserve far better. It won’t happen again.

    Hup, Holland!

  8. We qualified so we passed the first test. Now we need to prepare the team the best way possible to have success at the WC, beginning with advance passing the first group phase. I saw that he sub Maher for Willems and switch to 3-4-3 which is a positive for me. There are players selection, tactic, fitness (including weather adaptiblity) and so many other factors. We are not in a position to say we are a contender like many times in the past. We have 2 world class strikers, RVP and Hunter, but they are very different type and only one of them starts. We have 2 game changers in RVP and Robben (in fact we are the only one that has 2 why many only have one, Brazil/Neymar, Argentine/Messi, France/Ribery, Portugal/Ronaldo, England/Rooney…). The midfields and defense are weak (veterans like VDV/Sneijder are unfit or prone to injury; younger players lack experience/tangibles/mentality). Up front I say leave it to Robben and RVP, they know what to do. What we need is a couple of players who step up and take leadership/control of the midfield and defense. When we fall behind, it seems that we lack the confidence that we can come back and win this game. We also need better mental toughness, Estonia or not, (let’s use Japan or South Korea for example if they are in our WC group) we need to show the desire to win right at the beginning of the game and the whole 90+ minutes. I do not know if we are better yet, just younger, more lung but lack experience/leadership. Bert was able to bring the best out of the “German like” team who wins at all cost and all the way to final. Let’s hope LVG can bring the best out of this team and go as far as possible. Being qualified early has the advantage of having more time for preparations. I hope we take advantage of this. Just focus on winning the rest of the games including friendlies and hope for a better draw (we have no control over how other team like Portugal or Croatia and Belgium will play or count on other teams to help us; if it happens then it is bonus, but should not count on it).

    1. I don’t think that we switched to 3-4-3 after halftime vs Andorra. It looked to me like Schaars was moved back to left fullback, giving Maher a slot in midfield. But that could have also been a tactical move after we took the lead.

  9. we qualified but I don’t have a good feeling about this. I had a bad feeling about Euro 2012 as well.

    The team does not tick! With all the quality in midfield – the build up is super slow. During the U21 Euros against Germany, there was a 20 minute Spell where Oranje just worked like clock work. Fast passing, in between runs, overlapping positions.

    This Oranje looks static, confused and un-inspired. To be honest, I think the entire U21 team should be called up and have RvP lead upfront… not because I like him more than Robben and Sneijder… but because the U21 had no qualified number 9.

    As much as I liked Robben, he completely marginalized Janmaat during the Estonia game. Not a single pass to him. The trade mark goal he scored.. well he wouldn’t dream about scoring that during the WC.

    Sneijder’s fitness seemed much better… He was quicker than recent memory (or maybe Andorra players were just too slow and he looked faster comparatively). Anyway, he seemed to forget that his job is to pass first… He kept taking his shots as if he’s trying to prove a point.

    Vorm should be 4th string goalie.. I prefer Vermeer over him. He has no leadership skills and he almost conceded against ANDORRA!

    4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 3-4-3…. choose any formation… this team does not have the talent pool to compete at the highest level.period.

  10. Guys:

    I have read that Van Gaal will be satisfied if Holland progress the first round.

    I have followed Van Gaal´s career since his first days at Ajax and I simply think he is sending a message to the media and the world to reduce pressure and expectations for the team saying he has an unexperienced side and that he is building the fundamentals for the future. But every team Van Gaal has coached has had success except his first spell at Oranje.

    When he was at Ajax he had a very young side with some experienced players and he managed to win the Champions League and dominate in Hollanad and Europe. At Barcelona with more resources he had some good and bad times. Then we all know what happened with Oranje in 2000-2001. With AZ Alkmaar and without many expectations he won the Eredivisie…then went to Munich and had very good impact at Bayern almost winning the CL.

    I just think he wants to lower expectations from the young lads with his speech inside the camp and with closed doors will be: Let´s win every game in Brazil and go all the way. A winner like Van Gaal will not be happy to stand in 16th place at a World Cup…I think that we the current squad we are not candidates like in the past but in a short tournament anything can happen. LVG has to find the best eleven now, has to find the right blend. Some players are not in their best form and that has forced Van Gaal to make many changes but still WE ARE HEADING TO THE WORLD CUP WITH TWO GAMES STILL TO PLAY.

    By the way, Oranje plays vs. Hungary and Turkey and both teams will play at their very best because they are fighting for the play off spot so it would be a good chance to field a strong team and start defining the best eleven.

    1. It’s a great point about Hungary and Turkey matches- playing against teams that need to win is obviously better preparation for a tournament than friendlies would be. Of our boys can’t muster the mentality to win those games despite not needing to, I’ll likely be joining the more pessimistic contingent on this board.

      1. On the one hand, having qualified already, some established players may not be motivated. On the other hand, there are only 3 players (Robben, Van Persie, Strootman) who are more or less guaranteed starters. Everybody else still has to prove they belong. Hopefully the latter aspect will provide the impetus for a good performance.

  11. Talking about the next two games for Oranje…

    It´s time to start working in the best eleven as I have said before. Hungary and Turkey will play with all their hearts.

    Hopefully Van Gaal will not relax the team because the players need to be focused and show from now on who will claim their spot. Only four places are very much owned: Martins Indi, Strootman, Van Persie and Robben.

    I will tell you which players are better ranked to claim a starting place in Brazil, that´s my opinion of course.

    1- Goalie: Uncertainty…The coach needs to define now who is his goalie. Steks and Krul´s injuries and some up and downs have left Van Gaal using Vermeer and Vorm. I think STEKELENBURG should be first choice since he is very experienced and can help a lot to organize a young defence.

    2- RB: Janmaat. Verhaegh and V. Rhijn fighting for a place as understudy. Expect Van der Wiel to bounce back and raise his hand.

    3- CB: de Vrij. The coach has inmense faith in this guy and he has the talent but will need to be more concentrated and have a great season. Back ups: Bruma, Vlaar and Heitinga (if he plays).

    4- CB: M. Indi. He has almost secured his position unless he drops his level. Performs better at Oranje that at Feyenoord. His subsitutes can be Pieters, Vlaar and Rekik. Even Nuytinck is an option.

    5- Blind. Right now he is the starter but will find tough competition from Pieters who can play as CB too and Willems and PVA from Vitesse will have something to say.

    6- Controller. This position is up for grabs. De Guzman seemed the preferred one. Now Schaars who I don´t think will retain that place after two quiet and very average games. Clasie and de Jong are stronger for me and even Strootman can play there and has done it very well by the way like in the Portugal game. In the World Cup I would like to see a Clasie, Strootman or de Jong as the controller rather than Schaars and de Guzman.

    7- RW: Lens. He had won his place but his move to Ukraine is not helping him…his level have dropped. Narsingh,Elia, Ola John, Boetius, Depay, Boerrigter will fight for that spot if Lens doesn´t step up to the plate.

    8- Box to box: Strootman. If Kevin is used as controller other options are Wijnaldum, Fer, Afellay (if he at least plays), Van Ginkel (the same as Afellay), Siem de Jong…

    9- Striker: Van Persie. His place is not to be questioned for Van Gaal. Huntelaar will be the his substitute and Ricky the Wolf can have a shot too. I don´t think Luuk de Jong or Dost will be selected but they can prove me wrong.

    10- Creative mid: Sneijder. Is regaining his form. The 4 or 5 months he did not play at Inter damaged him a lot and when he got to Galatasaray could not peak but now he is playing from the beginning of the season and seems comitted to earn his place and return to his best in top fitness. Maher, Van der Vaart, Siem de Jong will provide tough competition for Wesley.

    11- LW: Robben. Depay, Ola Jonh and even Elia can be used if Arjen has a problem. Robben can play as we all know as right wing or left wing…I´d say he should switch places in the game freely because a player of his calibre needs freedom to explode his game.

    Many unclear things that while the season progress will have and answer. There is a strong group of players to select.It just finding the right balance in the team and then the World can be surprised. I expect Oranje to play nice at Brazil…if we win, even better.

    1. Agree: I think LVG needs to settle on his lineup soon, especially the midfield, so that the players can develop some chemistry–or do I overvalue that team dynamic?

    1. all I know is that he’s been given a squad number at Juventus. everything’s possible, but I hope that he’ll take any loan-out opportunity, at least for this season.

  14. It seems we may have a trouble in FIFA ranking , i have made some calculations with help of FIFA official website , and the ranking would be probably be like this :

    Spain 1514 1
    Argentina 1263 2
    Germany 1261 3
    Italy 1199 4
    Columbia 1180 5
    Belgium 1159 6
    Uruguay 1126 7
    Brazil 1067 8
    Netherlands 1058 9
    Croatia 1051 10
    Portugal 1029 11

    Croatia will face Belguim in qualifications , i hope they can win this game. They have a chance as the game will be played in Croatia.
    We must win the next two games against Hungary and Turkey.

    1. Sad to read. Hate to say this, but MvG only has himself and his agent to blame.

      In a critical year like this he should have stayed at the Eredivisie – why he chose to go to a team like Chelsea which already had Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Hazard, Obi-Mikel, AND Oscar at MF is beyond me.

  17. Bert van oostveen says they will announce who will succeed LVG before the WC. Ronald Koeman is the biggest candidate.

    Please no Koeman ! Please !

    Hiddink , Verbeek , Ron Jans , co Adrianne , Rijkard , FdB , Even Bert van Marwijk or van basten are all better options.

    1. What about Dick Advocaat? He recently coached PSV so he’s already familiar with quite a few players on the team like Pieters, Lens, Narsingh, Strootman, and Gio.

      My only concern about Dick is by looking at who he picked for the Russia squad at Euro 2012, it looks like he relies more on the “old guard” than the younger crop of stars so we might see guys like Mathijsen, Heitinga, etc. instead of some of the youngsters.

      2. No Sam.
        The man had a team with sar , stam , fdb , reiziger , gio , bouma , cocu , davids , zenden , overmars , vam der meyde , sneijder , vaart , makaay , seedorf , kluivert , van hoijdonk and Robben and did shit in EC 2004 !
        The team did lack hunger and mentality although he had top experienced players + top talents.
        How do you think he will perform with the new generation !

      3. NOOOOO NOT ADVOCAAT PLEASEEEE

        He was shit in 1994. He is old and passe. He didn’t do well at PSV. He screwed Australia and Belgium for money. He is BAD NEWS.

        We need a young coach from the category Van den Brom, Blind/Kluivert, Cocu, De Boer, Jans or an independent spirit like Hiddink, Meulensteen, Adriaanse.

        1. Yes Jan. René Meulensteen would be very interesting I think. A man who worked with two legendary coaches like Fergusson and Hiddink is definitely an interesting option , but I doubt KNVB will think about him.
          W

      4. Advocaat?

        Some people just want to see the world burn.

        http://i.imgur.com/Pmm1Nzg.gif

        Advocaat would be a cataclysmic mistake. That man redefined cowardness. Cost PSV the title with his coward tactics, subs and personnel choices. The older a player is, the more excited he gets about the player.

        His 2004 side is the only time I flirted with the idea of wanting the Netherlands to crash out of the tournament. Just so he would go and we could start fresh. I never want that feeling back again. No Advocaat.

  19. Emanuelson seems to have good chance to be a starter LB for Milan. Reports say that Constant will probably play on the right side.

    I hope so , he will be a very good addition to the back line , aside with n.de jong

    1. I think he is benefitting from the fact that de Sciglio is injured.

      But I am concerned by the fact that while Emanuelson had trouble containing Park and securing Milan’s left side when PSV played Milan, de Sciglio seemed to do much better. Could this reflect a big quality gap between the two?

      Also, I wonder why Abate wouldn’t be starting on the right side, if reports are true that Constant will be the right back.

    2. We dont have a decent hardworking winger other than roben and Wijnaldum.So urby shoudl play as LW and this will help our weak link(LB whover it is Blind,Peiters or williams).so Urby the third winger behinf wijnaldum and Roben

        1. @Laurent i was annoyed with many wingers we tried there.Even roben doesnt pass much,its makes me annoyed.
          I and we have seen Afellay,Ola,kuyt,Lenz,schaken and elia there.i was not impresed with any one.still i like whom i feel better on wings than others.Elia was a one time magic and become crap now.Afellay u know he dribbles a lot takes so much time decison making so is Narsingh.Afetr seeing mediocirty of these players i want to see something new or different.thats why,if urby is not good we will drop him too.

  20. I think LvG was conservative in this match in part because coaches can become gunshy about past experiences. Remember in 2002 when the wheels fell off Oranje’s wagon, LvG attempted to be aggressive and go, go, go, right up to the time that the team completely imploded. He’s a little more cautious now. Given how committed van Gaal is to attacking football, I think some caution will be a good thing in Brazil.

  22. I do not think Blind/Kuivert or Cocu is ready yet. I like FDB as my 1st choice but not sure if Ajax and KNVB can agree on something. I do not mind Hiddink or Rijkaard for the second stint. Meulensteen is great as assistant at MU but has not showed enough as a head coach. MVB has not showed much either after his stint. No Koeman or Advocaat or Gullit PLEASE!

    1. ah damn, Uruguay? Where did they come from? Didn’t even notice them creeping up on us. That’s BS, they’re 5th in South American qualifying, they should have not gotten so many ranking points, damn. Look at how far ahead they are of Chili, while Chili has clearly been doing better than them lately. Damn 2010-2011 results must be the difference.

      At least they still have 2 tough matches ahead of them, Ecuador and Argentina (only Argentina is already qualified).

  26. U17 played Germany U17 today ending in 2-2.

    http://i.imgur.com/meOhti1.png

    from the screenshot you can see the goal scorers, subs and the team formation.

    Netherlands was stronger first half, Germans pushed back after they chased the game with 1-2, like good Germans do. Coaches could live with the end result though Netherlands might have had a bit more chances.

    This game was part of 4 country tournament. Unfortunately Paal has a broken leg and Nouri was not meant to play in this game I presume. I have seen his name with the selection. I think they spread game time among many as it’s a tournament with multiple games quickly behind each other. This was the first game under a new coach and with a new group so everybody is getting a fair chance to show their skill.

    Not a bad result like the U19 and I am happy to see Verdonk having scored a goal. Getting some positive rep lately. Nouri, Paal, Slabbekoorn and also Dekker are seen as interesting prospects. Hope they don’t lose their head between now and the first team. Much can go wrong.

  27. Maybe Meulensteen with Hiddink as next coaches for the Dutch NT? Both free and were also together at Anzhi. Almost a 1,2,3.

    We need steady hands as the magic 4 will fade away and that generation behind them has failed so hard. It’s mediocrity behind them and the guys with high ceilings are still kids or just pretty young.

    The player from the M4 not fading away that quickly is maybe RvP and Meulensteen might be able to get most out of him.

    I understand the KNVB maybe wants to bring in new blood from younger generations, but I don’t think the Dutch NT is a job to give lads experience. We saw how van Basten was outcoached by Hiddink on Euro 2008. Hiddink won a CL at a club and after that became NT coach. I would go for Hiddink and then after him hand it over to a talent like de Boer and then maybe a Cocu if he has done multiple years well at PSV like de Boer.

    Koeman is an option as well, maybe together with his brother who has already been coach of Hungary. Not sure on Koeman and his method of long balling on Pelle. I want a coach that lets Netherlands play real football.

  29. Just watched the game Armenia vs Denmark. Aras Ozbiliz played great, it’s amazing see how has improved. With this level, he should have been our second winger. Sadly, at the time he could have chosen to play for the Netherlands we had an incompetent coach in the U21. Same happened with Assaidi. Cor Pot was a disgrace for Oranje.

    1. I also watched, yes he was great. De Boer was saying that Ozbiliz reminds him Messi sometimes, he has a bit of his technical indeed, same vista with the ball.

  30. @DRB300: the 97’s generation can be the best we have since the 83-84′ generation. Of course it’s too early to be 100% sure, but the names you write are making impact in the youth ranks. There is also a winger in that group who plays at Twente; he’s making a great impact there.

    1. Maybe Meulensteen with Hiddink as next coaches for the Dutch NT? Both free and were also together at Anzhi. Almost a 1,2,3.

      We need steady hands as the magic 4 will fade away and that generation behind them has failed so hard. It’s mediocrity behind them and the guys with high ceilings are still kids or just pretty young.

      The player from the M4 not fading away that quickly is maybe RvP and Meulensteen might be able to get most out of him.

      I understand the KNVB maybe wants to bring in new blood from younger generations, but I don’t think the Dutch NT is a job to give lads experience. We saw how van Basten was outcoached by Hiddink on Euro 2008. Hiddink won a CL at a club and after that became NT coach. I would go for Hiddink and then after him hand it over to a talent like de Boer and then maybe a Cocu if he has done multiple years well at PSV like de Boer.

      Koeman is an option as well, maybe together with his brother who has already been coach of Hungary. Not sure on Koeman and his method of long balling on Pelle. I want a coach that lets Netherlands play real football.

    2. At the FC Twente site they have him as a 10-ish player.
      Bilal Ould-Chikh is his name. Has already been around, going from one club to the other. Looks like settling down at FC Twente just signed a contract at the club. Ajax was in for him and so were other clubs.

      However he is from Moroccan descent and that means we have to play the waiting game.

      If the following 10-ish players choose for Morocco:

      * Nouri
      * Bilal Ould-Chikh

      We still have:

      * Paal
      * Slabbekoorn

      If the first 2 choose for Netherlands we have 4 very interesting prospects on the way. Bilal (as you said) can also play right wing or as striker. Slabbekoorn plays striker at times. Paal and Nouri play more from the left side of the field I think (not sure about Paal).

      It’s wonderful that this generation is so rich with talented attacking (midfield) options. I have not even named Dekker.

      The previous generations not that far ahead of this one who won the Euro U17 back to back is more defensively oriented. Rekik, Ake, Bazoer, Hendrix and Willems being the big ones. Add these folks soon, while also having solid options in midfield like van Ginkel and Strootman and things look a bit better again.

      The big question remains though. Who of this generation is able to develop into that complete striker we are lacking over multiple generations now. We have box wonders running around starting with Huntelaar all the way to van der Moot. Who is going to be the next RvP?

      1. I would also add one amazing talent at Ajax that goes by the name of Nunnely Che. Now he is born on 1999(VERY young),and I have only seen him once but he was great. A right winger,he could develop fast like Bakkali,who knows…

        But i guess there is no point in following a player that young and hoping for big things from him.
        There are older players to watch,like that U17 generation.
        They look very good,Nouri is impressive.

        1. Yeah you are spot on. I try to stay away from mentioning players not in the regular Dutch youth teams yet. Or they must be involved in some kind of Barca deal that have a way of wrapping up 11 year old kids in the Netherlands.

          That being said, he could be our joker card exactly when Robben stops playing football. Overmars-Robben-Nunnely. No pressure he? It’s vital to have players that can really get past players on their own though. Looks like we have defenders currently on the way (from the double win of the Euro U17), 10-ish players from 1997, world class wingers and striker should be next.

  32. 3 coaches I would never like to see with Oranje :
    Advocaat , Koeman and Martin Jol !

    Hiddink is the best option , Meulensteen comes 2nd imo.
    If KNVB can sign them both as DRB said it would be just perfect. I’d like to see them with 4 years contract lol 😀 .

    1. Things have changed . They have a very good team now with an excellent coach in Peckerman who plays very good football , a good defender in zapata who plays for Milan , excellent striker in Falcao , not to forget Luis muriel , and james rodriguez . I have watched them twice and I think they will be a very hard team to beat .
      they can be a surprise in the WC .

        1. yeah sure . It’s sad he wasn’t the u21 coach in the last tournament. could have done wonders with those kids.

          I can’t really beieve he was able to win the trophy with players like calvin jong-a-pin , bakkal , rigters , beerens , julian jenner ..

          You can imagine how he would have done with willems , Indi , Blind , clasie , de vilhena , MVG , strootman , bruma , rekik , depay , fer , ake .. etc. who are really far better in my opinion than the 2007 generation .

          1. That’s my reasoning as well. His manco has been that he never coached a big Dutch club. Same reason Verbeek has little chance. Though he did coach Feyenoord, he was not able to stay very long and do something that could be considered as a success by the KNVB.

  35. One comment: being team manager is NOT the same as being club manager. Different job. Different profile. Different skill set.

    A good club coach like Van Gaal or Verbeek could be a less effective team manager. I think BVM at least got that right. I would definitely go for Rijkaard, myself. (not Koeman)

        2. I don’t like Koeman. I was struck by the same sentiment on this blog and feel like asking questions why exactly people have something against him. I guess to see if the objections people put forward have more to do with the club nature side of things or something that definitely would transcend towards the NT and is not something you want.

          For example an objection I have is his hoofing method towards Pelle. Would he still do that if he had an RvP and intersting 10-ish kind of players at his disposal?

          My questions do not stem from favouritism towards Koeman, but more so from general curiosity and surprise about the unity people show in their rejection of this coach. I have reservations about the coach myself, however I have a feeling he could be the next coach and so it could make sense to discuss him a little bit more.

          Cheers

    1. Some interesting matches coming up that could break our way (helpful result):

      Uruguay – Argentina (Uruguay loss/draw), best bet.

      Uruguay – Ecuador (Uruguay loss/draw) both teams are more or less qualified but want to avoid 5th place playoffs. Venezuela is in 6th but has a -6 goal differential with one remaining game, whereas Uruguay is break even and Ecuador is +4. Theoretically Uruguay could drop both remaining games (-2 aggregate)and Venezuela runs up the score v Paraguay (+4), but that seems highly unlikely.

      It’s complicated in South America.

      Belgium – Croatia (draw), we’re sandwiched closely between these two so a win by either would hurt us.

      Brazil – Korea (draw) – maybe the Brazilians drink one too many caipirinhas the night before. They are guaranteed top pool so there is less motivation to win in Seoul.

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