Sorry guys, traveling for my work. Less time and opportunity to write. Back home again this weekend, so expect the ultimate WC2014 Oranje analysis and debrief :-)….
Thanks to all for your tremendous support. Still working on improving the site. I will get back to all of you soon with some specific questions on this….
This is like the afterplay with sex. We have had our peak experience but we don’t want to get out of bed yet. We want to cuddle a bit and maybe relive some of the good moments.
Best player this, best goal that.
Apparently, Messi is the best player of the tournament. Yeah right. Even Maradona, who normally talks a lot of crap, saw that his fellow countryman didn’t deserve it.
For me, biased as I may be, Robben was the most dangerous player of this whole tournament. He has had most fouls against him, he scored goals, he created goals (assists and penalties) and he was continiously leading and threatening. Hands down, best player of the tournament.
The Castrol rating system determines the best player based on the passing quality of the player, where forward passes in the final third are valued higher than passes back to the goalie (otherwise Martins Indi would be the be the best player of the World Cup….).
The Castrol system says Toni Kroos is the best player, with Arjen Robben as the number 2 and Stefan de Vrij (!!) as the number 3.
This means, De Vrij is the Best Defender of the World Cup. Robben would be the best Forward of the Tournament. More like it.
According to the AD newspaper De Vrij is actually the best overall player.
Obviously, Arjen Robben’s story is quite sensational. The usual story line. Prodigal son. 16 years old when he broke at Eredivisie level. 18 years at PSV and prolifically scoring. Transfer to Chelsea, but there injuries disrupted his career. Mourinho wanted to offload him (and get Malouda in…) and at Madrid Robben continued his injury stricken career. When offloaded there he found his home in Munich. And turned himself from choker (CL finals, WC 2010 finals) to winner. He won titles at Bayern and seemingly fixed his fitness problems. Seeing him play, run, fight, battle etc at this World Cup gives me the idea we will see a bit more of Robben, yet.
However, Stefan de Vrij’s story is a fairytale as well. Started in Feyenoord 1 in a time when the club didn’t have too much options. The club was technically insolvent and used young talents to cover the gaps in the team. De Vrij did really well until the start of this last season when he lost his mojo at Feyenoord. When he decided to work on his fitness without the club doctors aware of his training program, he lost the captain’s armband. The “experts” (also the ones here!) wrote him off. De Vrij should not be part of the squad, he was not good enough, he was not going to cut it, etc… But Van Gaal kept faith. Because Van Gaal analyses players well and is not carried away by emotions. De Vrij has too much quality, Van Gaal knew, and he was able to get the youngster to play his usual self.
And to me, while Vlaar is compared to a player like Jaap Stam, I personally liken De Vrij a bit to Pique or Laurent Blanc… Less confident and cocky in terms of personality, but similar in style.
So, the 22 year old who was passed over in a friendly vs France for Joel Veltman. But he fought back and got the starting spot. And he played versus Torres, Alexis Sanchis, Lionel Messi, Vidal, Chicharito Hernandez…. none of them scored.
Feyenoord will do well financially this summer. It has bagged 20Mio euros already from the sale of Pelle, Janmaat (Newcastle) and Martins Indi (Porto). There is a fair chance De Vrij and Clasie will leave too.
Only eight years ago, Feyenoord had a negative equity position of 35 mio Euros. Today, they need to get rid of 6mio euros debt and then it’s all good. Tech Director Van Geel is allowed to use one third of the incomings on new players.
With Bayern Munich, Feyenoord had the most players active in this World Cup. If you would add the Feyenoord developed players to the mix or players with a Feyenoord background, the list is longer and Feyenoord is recognised as the current benchmark of Dutch youth development, surpassing Ajax.
With 11 former and current Feyenoord players in Netherlands’ squad for the World Cup, including nine Academy graduates, the club from Rotterdam had a massive influence on the surprisingly good performance of Oranje in Brazil.
Current Feyenoord Academy players: Bruno Martins Indi, Daryl Janmaat, Stefan de Vrij, Terence Kongolo and Jordy Clasie and former Feyenoord Academy players: Robin van Persie, Jonathan de Guzman, Leroy Fer and Georginio Wijnaldum, while Ron Vlaar might not have been developed in Rotterdam (AZ player), he has worn the skipper band in Rotterdam, as has Dirk Kuyt. Salomon Kalou of Nigeria is another player with a Feyenoord background.
Thanks Jan. Yes De Vrij was great but I would put Vlaar on the same level, at least for this WC. Obviously De Vrij has more potential because of his very young age.
Now following on the comments from the previous article, it seems many are doubting striker position. First of all let’s not forget that for the next tournament (Euro 2016) we will definitely have available RVP and Robben unless they suffer some bad injury. So we have some time to explore and monitor the young players. Luckily both Feyenoord and Ajax seem to be focusing again on local Dutch talent. For example at Ajax, it seems that De Boer will be giving big space to Kishna and Zivkovic this year (not to mention other exciting prospects like El Ghazi who is being given a lot of attention during the friendlies). This means that within a matter of months we will be seeing a lot of Kishna and Zivkovic in the League and for at least 6 Champions League matches. Same with Feyenoord – hopefully they qualify for the CL group stage.
Feyenoord?? If they lose janmaat BMI de vrij clasie pelle how do we expect them to compete in champions league??
It would’ve been nice to see all the experience these guys got in the World Cup being translated to success with feyenoord in champions league!!!
But the same story happens year after year!!
Jan’s Readers:
Stefan has done very well and I am proud of him.
I would also like to point out that Oranje has one coach in the top one of the World Cup. Just to be clear, that is of course me.
I’m not sure of the snuggling parallel you make above Jan, but Truus and I always sleep spooning.
Anyway, today is my first day at Manchester United. I thought I’d get off to a good start by wearing a blue suit and tie just to let them know that no one is bigger than the club but me.
Also, do not tell anyone this, but I am in discussions with Adidas to gradually make the United kits less red and more orange during the time while I am here.
I hope you will enjoy the show!
Yours in victory,
Aloysius
Nice article Jan.
I remember back in Oct 2010, I think it was, the humiliation of Feyenoord at Eindhoven. For most of the game the central defence duo was Stefan and Bruno. I kept on thinking, what a bad manager Been is to risk traumatizing his two best defensive prospects by exposing them to such a defining for their club humiliation so early in their career.
I still believe that was Been’s mistake but the two guys proved me wrong, instead of being negatively affected by that defeat, it must have worked to the benefit of the development of their character making them more stubborn and strong.
The sh…y thing about Feyenoord offloading their best palyers is that they now have next to zero hope for progressing in the CL, which had they succeeded they would have bagged even more from UEFA bonus.
feyenoord have a change to get thru if they get a kind draw!
in other news siem de jong with a cracker in his first pre season game for the magpies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSL8qbnJZqY
That is the problem with all Dutch club football. As soon as you get good players developed, they are ready to move on. As a result, clubs are getting weaker and weaker. Look at the UEFA coefficient table, in 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons we collected ~ 5 and 6 points, which is ridiculous. Even Feyenoord with the same players that participated in the last WC, could not win average eastern European teams in the preliminary stage of Europa League last two years: four games- four losses….
De Vrij, Vlaar and Robben deserved to be in WC2014 TEam of the tournament. My 11: Neuer – Zabaleta, Vlaar, De Vrij, Hummels-Kroos, Mascherano, James Rodriguez-Robben, Mueller,Messi. After this little successful WC, we will see many players leaving Eredivise. It is difficult to see if they can become successful or not and it will affect our chance at Euro 2016.
I’m not sure if Adidas has any influence but Kahn (adidas) won over Ronaldo (nike) in 2002, Zidane (adidas) over Buffon or Canavarro (Puma) in 2006. I read that Fifa was not happy with WC2010 Golden Ball. There was a campaign lobbying for Forlan to win Golden Ball over Sneijder or Iniesta. They changed the voting format for 2014, leaving to FIFA technical group, a group 13 to select Golden Ball(Gerard Houllier (France), Gabriel Calderon (Argentina), Ion Lupescu (Romania), Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria), Miyamoto Tsuyenasu (Japan), Kwok Ka-ming (Hong Kong), Raul Arias (Mexico), Ricki Herbert (New Zealand), Raul Arias (Mexico), Mixu Paatalainen (Finland), Abdel Hussein (Sudan), Jaime Rodriguez (El Salvador) and Gines Meléndez (Spain). These people probably vote on their preference rather than a good unbiased analysis and perhaps to make sure the winner wearing Adidas. I wonder if Netherlands need to sign up with Adidas in order to have a real chance to win WC? Blatter was surprised and he is thinking of changing the voting format again.
Last, I do not think Hiddink’s football has changed much, perhaps he is a bit wiser. Here is his old interview:
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/guus-hiddink-q
Guys lets not be naive. It is obvious that Feyenoord or any Dutch club will find it very difficult to advance in CL. This is the reality of todays football world. It is difficult for everyone except the usual 6 or 8 rich clubs who are always fighting for the trophy year after year. However it doesnt mean that our clubs cant progress. Ajax almost qualified from the most difficult group last year. Feyenoord should make it to group stage at least. Their youngsters can then get 6 matches experience in CL. Thats all they need for now. We definitely cannot expect Feyenoord or Ajax to win CL. Even though surprises like Atletico Madrid will continue to happen from time to time.
No one here ever asked for Ajax or Feyenoord to win the CL. A reasonnable goal would be to reach the CL 2nd round or the EL semi final. And no dutch club has done it for 8 years now.
It’s not about money or rich clubs. Olympiacos and Basel just proved recently that you can build a good team and have good results in europe without having 200millions. Ajax is richer than those clubs.
The problem is that the Eredivisie is clearly a league of exportation and financial interest. Look at what Olympiacos did last year, they brought Dominguez from Vallecano who was one of the best liga striker of the year, got Campbell on loan etc.
Ajax can also do it. The dutch league isn’t less attractive than the greek one. And Ajax had 9mo to give to Vallecano for Dominguez. But is that what they want ? To pay as “expensive” a player of 32 years old that they will not sell after ? Of course not. No matter how good he is. When you can have Zivkovic for 2mo and who can bring you about 20millions three years after if he keeps developping, the choice is made.
The problem is that we all know that you won’t get any concrete result in europe with young eredivisie players. Experience is proving it year after year. Sometimes Ajax brings old guys like Poulsen, Pantelic, Ooijer etc. but only when they are free or really cheap, they will never pay anything for a good player who is > 25 years old.
And I’m scared that the Ajax team will be even younger next year than previous one. I don’t think Ajax is gonna buy anything, maybe Ziyech…I’d not be surprised if Ajax starts the season with an attack Fischer-Zivkovic-Kishna, which is about 18,5 years old of average.
Probably Ajax will count on Bazoer, Tete, Riedewald, El Ghazi….Which is good for the developpement of young dutch players, but not for the dutch coefficient.
Those players, at the current level, wouldn’t even play in sub ukrainian or romanian clubs. There they have many good brazilian and african players of 25-30 years old who are definitly better than the dutch -17 players. That’s simply the reason why dutch clubs lose to sub eastern european clubs, no other explaination.
You’re right, but I think this will benefit the national team in the long run. One of the biggest issues with the England national team is that the EPL is too rich and strong to farm and develop local talent!
nice play from ake
https://33.media.tumblr.com/00400fb61f6215f86f819605df7eeb96/tumblr_n8tkkc47pO1shaydvo3_500.gif
https://33.media.tumblr.com/e69185dece764dde98f8d14c05a3e215/tumblr_n8tkkc47pO1shaydvo2_250.gif
comments from Chelsea fans on Ginkel
-Van Ginkel is looking great!
-Impressed with Marco Van Ginkel so far. He’s made good composed passes and long balls, as well as winning possession back well. Having said that, it’s not hard to look good against this opposition (without being arrogant) after a couple of nice passes or a one-two the player finds themselves in acres of space.
-Good half for Chelsea, impressed with Van Ginkel
– I have been very impressed with van Ginkel, who looks like he’s on another level to everyone else on the pitch.
no point getting hyped over pre season like last season.. will struggle for a single minute in the league
I’m still hoping he’ll surprise and start, but you are right mate. They have Matic, Cesc and Ramires who are ahead of him. Plus their fans are talking about Chelsea getting Pogba or Khedira-if Arsenal doesn’t
I will bow away from talking about Van Ginkel on this blog. I Can’t consider him a serious contender on Oranje until he starts playing first team futbol somewhere.
If van Ginkle is good and not getting any playing time, I can totally see LvG getting him from Chelsea.
He has coached him with Oranje and knows him.
De Vrij at Schalke. It’s a done deal. Schalke has a taste for Dutch, since they’re looking at other players as well.
Perfect move for De Vrij. If he keeps developing he will end up at Bayern in a couple years.
I liked Vlaar better than De Vrij, but the 2nd is one pretty effective defender. Funny thing I didn’t pick Robben for my ideal 11 either. As for the best goal, most people pointed out James Rodriguez’s goal against Uruguay, but I chose Van Persie’s winning header against the worldchampions. I’m beside myself that wasn’t pointed out the best goal of the tournament!
Anyway, here’s my 11 ideal from the 2014WK:
http://i.imgur.com/HOfds7i.jpg
Was reading an article on the daily mail and it mentioned that fifa would be interested in Holland/Belgium hosting a world cup of course that would way way in the future sometime after 2030 when we are all old and grey =)
How did Van ginkel and Ake play today??
Didn’t watch the game , but it seems Ake played as a LB which is pretty annoying to me , despite giving an assist in the 1st half.
De Vrij to Schalke is a false news. No confirmation yet.
Schalke still have got Jan Kirchhoff who yet to play after getting injured after being loaned from Bayern Munich and also papadopoulos who has returned back from a long injury break of almost 1 year. I think they will be a team to watch in bundasliga this year. They have signed sidney sam from Leverkusen who is a good winger which as means Draxler will most probably move to no 10
Sam- hunter- faran
Draxler- Neustadter- Meyer
Kolasanic- Howedes- kirchhoff- Uchida
Fahrmann
Howedes- kirc
Van Rhijn signs contract extension till 2018..
Awful news regarding the Malaysian Air flight out of Amsterdam.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the passengers and crew.
Hopefully no one here has friends or relatives directly affected
its devestating to hear that it was shot down!?!
does anyone happen to have links to aberdeen vs fc groningen
listening to aberdeen vs fc groningen on BBC Radio Scotland like the old days!
No Afellay for Feyenoord….Too expensive
Clasie staying put at Feyenoord
afellay is actually very close to a switch to Valencia…watch this space.
Yeah, the rumor is Barca will bid €15m + Afellay in a swap for Valencia’s Jeremy Mathieu. Hopefully this goes through.
Jul 2014
Rnk Team Pts +/- Pos
1 Germany 1724 1
2 Argentina 1606 3
3 Netherlands 1496 12
4 Colombia 1492 4
5 Belgium 1401 6
6 Uruguay 1330 1
7 Brazil 1241 -4
8 Spain 1229 -7
9 Switzerland 1216 -3
10 France 1202 7
11 Portugal 1148 -7
12 Chile 1098 2
13 Greece 1091 -1
14 Italy 1056 -5
15 USA 989 -2
16 Costa Rica 986 12
17 Croatia 955 1
18 Mexico 930 2
19 Bosnia and Herzegovina 917 2
20 England 911 -10
Above is the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, published on 17 July 2014. This month Netherlands up 12 big notches to No.3 with 1496 points.
What has Switzerland done to *still* be ranked that high?
http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/
Points Last Month
M * I * T * C = P
ARG-SUI 1:0 0 4 195 1 0
HON-SUI 0:3 3 4 167 0.94 1883.76
SUI-FRA 2:5 0 4 183 1 0
SUI-ECU 2:1 3 4 174 1 2088
Points outside Ranking calculation
Points in the past 4 years
Average Weight Avg. Weight
2011 281.27 20% 56.25
2012 411.83 30% 123.55
2013 593.52 50% 296.76
2014 739.37 100% 739.37
Total 1216
Calculation of points for a single match
P = M x I x T x C
M: points for Match result
Teams gain 3 points for a victory, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat. In a penalty shoot-out, the winning team gains 2 points and the losing team gains 1 point.
I: Importance of match
Friendly match (including small competitions): I = 1.0
FIFA World Cup™ qualifier or confederation-level qualifier: I = 2.5
Confederation-level final competition or FIFA Confederations Cup: I = 3.0
FIFA World Cup™ final competition: I = 4.0
T: strength of opposing Team
The strength of the opponents is based on the formula: 200 – the ranking position of the opponents.As an exception to this formula, the team at the top of the ranking is always assigned the value 200 and the teams ranked 150th and below are assigned a minimum value of 50. The ranking position is taken from the opponents’ ranking in the most recently published FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
C: strength of Confederation
When calculating matches between teams from different confederations, the mean value of the confederations to which the two competing teams belong is used. The strength of a confederation is calculated on the basis of the number of victories by that confederation at the last three FIFA World Cup™ competitions (see following page). Their values are as follows:
UEFA/CONMEBOL 1.00
CONCACAF 0.88
AFC/CAF 0.86
OFC 0.85
Groningen able to draw against Aberdeen…not bad
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/323621.html
this is what I was talking under Van Gaal how players were overlooked. In 3-5-2 he would have been more lethal than Blind. His defense was question mark but again Blind was also average in defending.
Dynamo Moscow are in Europa League. Jus watch out for this guy come 2016
Milan is also in the market for a Left Back….I hope Van Annholt can land a deal there.
I love Kuyt–always a big fan and he was very solid as usual in the WC. But he could not create much offensively and was not threat at all down the left wing against the argies. We just did not have enough threatening players to free up or combine with rvp and robben.
Under Hiddink he definitely should get a look, as should Urby and Pieters. He makes a good point with Hiddink knowing Russian teams, so that works for him.
The LB position is still up for grabs on this team for EC16, especially if we revert back to a 4-3-3. I know Blind had a solid tournament, but that was largely because he had the luxury of having another defender in the back-line.
If we go 4-3-3, I would not feel safe with Blind being there; I just can’t shake the memory of him getting overran on that flank vs. France.
Kuyt is much better as RB than LB though, especially when it comes to attacking. As LB he was just doing what he did the whole Wc2010 as LW : sending random crosses in direction of the box with his right foot. Boring.
He can be the RB for 2016, especially as I was globally disappointed with Janmaat performance during the WC, and his choice to go to N’castle isn’t that smart neither.
In case Buttner actually has the talent, he need to work hard to prove his worth. His time at MU was horrible. You come to every MU forum and you will see jokes about Buttner’s defending.
Any news on Luc Castaignos to Swansea deal.is it still happening. I think Swansea move will be lackluster one especially with Bony, Michu and Davies all like to depart.I hope if it eventuates it will not be same story as Fer Move to Norwich last year.
Swansea bought Gomis from Lyon and Michu is moving to Napoli
http://www.sportinastorm.com/Premier-League/Manchester-City/Rekik-set-for-chance/X1Y47Z1780168?
this will be perfect for him…
It now seems as if defense will be the strength of the Dutch NT for a few years!
It is probably a good time to rebuild offense. I think our defense is probably good for another 2-4 years considering the average ages now. I hope KNVB and Hiddink has a plan to replace RVP, Huntelaar, Robben, Sneijder, VDV, Kuyt. Some should retire from international while some may last another 2 years. I do not see these 6 win WC 2018. I think the time is
@Miguel: I’m still not convinced with Buttner. See Khoi’s comments above. Unless I see some change in Afellay, I almost 99% give up on him. I’m counting on Klassen, Maher or Ziyech for now to replace Sneijder/VDV.
It is probably a good time to rebuild offense. I think our defense is probably good for another 2-4 years considering the average ages now. I hope KNVB and Hiddink has a plan to replace RVP, Huntelaar, Robben, Sneijder, VDV, Kuyt. Some should retire from international while some may last another 2 years. I do not see these 6 win WC 2018. I think the time now is perfect to bring in younger players for offense after LVG had done so for defense.
@Miguel: I’m still not convinced with Buttner. See Khoi’s comments above. Unless I see some change in Afellay, I almost 99% give up on him. I’m counting on Klassen, Maher or Ziyech for now to replace Sneijder/VDV.
Very nice articles about Feyenoord’s current situation and also Memphis Depay. In general very nice site. I recommend to read.
http://www.football-oranje.com/
Feyenoord will play Besiktas in CL qualification. I really doubt Feyenoord will be competitive after selling so many players….
Khedira to Chelsea will send van ginkle down the ladder in pecking order.
For those of us yearning to recall the days of our youth, this looks like it might be good:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2696446/Pele-Franz-Beckenbauer-Johan-Cruyff-George-Best-star-new-book-looking-1970s-footballs-Age-Innocence.html
Real signed Kroos, may also sign James Rodriguez while Feyenoord starts selling all our young stars from WC…
Dutch clubs need a new model to have success. I think it is time for Dutch/Belgian joint league.
A joint league sounds like a good idea.
I don’t understand Bayern either. They went after Thiago and now let Kroos transfer. Perhaps the WC win has some affects as it is a business decision (make money?). I agree with JC that Barca is wrong to buy Suarez. Barca is like Real now (Messi-Suarez-Neymar vs Ronaldo-Benzema/?-Bale), and Afellay still has not showed a desire to start in the main 11 somewhere else, not even publicly saying something…All hope is lost for this talent.
Is any of these new kids of Feyenoord having good potential? Stef Gronsveld, Jari Schuurman, Gustavo Hamer, Bart Nieuwkoop, Shurendo Janga, Rashaan Fernandes?
As an Ajax fan I don’t like PSV moving up (too much).
But the comment below from the linked article is spot on.
Eredivisie clubs have an opportunity to appeal to a global market if they keep their young talents – and market them correctly!
http://www.football-oranje.com/by-keeping-depay-psv-could-be-great-again/
“Such is the nature of modern football consumption, fans from all over the world watch games via internet streams and satellite television. Accordingly, top European clubs vie for the attention (and money) of a truly global community. In keeping Depay, PSV would have a major weapon in this race; new waves of people eager to watch him, and thus PSV matches, following a revelatory World Cup. Perhaps some new viewers will fall in love with the club, like myself ten years ago, opening new revenue streams from ticket and merchandise sales; revenue streams which would further aid PSV in closing the gap to Ajax.”
OJF
Selling Depay now is a bit early. If PSV can keep him until after Euro 2016 his price will be very good and he is still only 22. I was hoping Feyenoord can keep the current core for 2 more years.
I don’t know if selling players two years later is a solution.
First because dutch clubs and contracts are always a big problem, remember that Afellay was sold only 3mo to Barcelona because only six months contract left, Sulejmani went free to Benfica,and there are plenty other cases…So better not to wait the last moment before to sell players. Only Holland has such a problem with selling, Benfica or Porto would definitly have got >20mo for Afellay. Vertonghen was sold only 12mo also (1 year contract left), while Benfica could sell Coentrao 30mo.
Secondly because Eredivisie isn’t competitive anymore, and after 2-3 years playing in it, you don’t progress anymore. Look at Wijnaldum for example, honestly I don’t think that he is much better now than he was 3 years ago. Probably he would be if he had left before. Eriksen was just walking on the field his last season with Ajax, seemed to be bored, he could also be sold earlier.
And when you see that PSV is losing to sub eastern european clubs even with Depay etc. I think it’s even better that they leave as soon as possible to progress out of the country. Seems like they just waiste their time.
Eredivise players played excellent games for orange with help of Roben,Vlaar and Nijel.Eredivise is good for development for players.most of the eredivise players has better vision and skills than some overhyped british midjet players..
Ajax not even looking to sign any established player.
17 year old attacker Nikola Vujnovic has been training with Ajax Amsterdam for the past week and the club could offer him a contract should the trial be successful.The Montenegrin currently is under contract at FK Radnicki Obrenovac who ply their trade in the third division in the Serbian league.
Vujnovic made his first appearance at age 16 and till last year had played 16 games for the first team at Obrenovac.
The midfielder is also a youth international for Montenegro having represented his country at both the U-21 and the U-19 levels having made his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Croatia.
How can Luke Shaw cost like 27 mil pounds and Janmaat only 5. What kind of perversity is this? Man U got screwed and LVG will have a tough task at hand. It won’t be easy for him. He has a sack of shitty players except for a couple of proven veterans + Herrera.
Groningen will play against Real Sociedad if they qualify…Hard
PSV against Batev Plovdiv (Bulgaria)/ Saint Polten (Austria)
Manchester United and Barcelona will battle it out to sign Dutch international Daley Blind this summer.
Reports in Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo suggest new Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is keen on bringing the utility man to the Nou Camp ahead of the new season.
Wanted man: Daley Blind (left) is a summer target for both Manchester United and Barcelona
+3
Wanted man: Daley Blind (left) is a summer target for both Manchester United and Barcelona
Big fee: Barcelona are willing to pay 22m euros to land Manchester United target Blind
+3
Big fee: Barcelona are willing to pay 22m euros to land Manchester United target Blind
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, the La Liga giants will face competition from Manchester United as Louis van Gaal has identified Ajax’s Blind – who is valued at 22million euros (£17.4million) – as a player he would like to bring to Old Trafford.
Blind’s ability to play at left-back or as a defensive midfielder would make the 24-year-old a good addition to Manchester United’s squad.
Former Barcelona boss Van Gaal will be looking to sign a new left-back to provide cover for summer signing Luke Shaw as veteran defender Patrice Evra looks set to join Juventus.
News of Michael Carrick’s injury may also lead to Van Gaal stepping up his interest and beating Barcelona to a player he worked with during his time with the Dutch national team.
Kishna looking good, Millik looks a brill signing and el Ghazi scores again…ajax beats Achilles 2-1 and Real Sociedad 3-1! This cud be the season?!
if Anyone is close to Roben and RVP then its kishna and Zivkovic,i am glad that both are in Ajax with a ballsy manager.
and in even better news to keep the squad depth..
Sigthorrson has rejected personal terms with QPR!
Afellay played 45 min with his club in a friendly game.
The coach said that he is an interesting player and that he doesn’t know yet if he will leave or not. Which probably means that he wants to sell him and make clubs to remember that he is on the market.
Was just about to post this. Were you able to catch the friendly, Laurent?
I remember Tata had some complimentary things to say about Afellay as well. I hope you’re right regarding your second point, and that he’s just using it to pique the interest of other clubs.
No I couldn’t find anything. Maybe some mororccan fans will put his highlights on youtube today
Man Utd expected to make formal bid for De Vrij. QPR for Van der Vaart and Tottenham for Depay!
De Vrij to Man U would be great!.
Blind to Barcelona I don’t like it so much he will be a benchwarmer.
Afellay is a great player if he stays I hope Luis Enrique plays him.
I hope Enrique offloads him as soon as possible.
I’ve had enough frankly!
Afellay himself doesn’t want to play anymore..He’s just happy sitting on his ass the whole day and admiring the likes of Messi, Xavi and Suarez with unprecedented adulation ..Just look at his official FB account and you’ll get the story..has ZERO desire to return to top flight football.I know I probably sound a bit too harsh/rude but its just that I’m extremely frustrated with his incompetence..I used to rate him quite highly..was such a versatile player and could have easily played at a top club(except Barca of course).Injuries didn’t help him either..
I want to believe in Afellay but he’s not giving me a reason to do so.. 🙁 At 28 he’s supposed to be at the acme of his playing career..a world class midfielder who’s equally valuable to the Dutch NT and the club he plays for..Sadly, that is not the case and I think he’s the only one to blame for this..Why didn’t he choose to go to Schalke when he had the chance..?? I’m very disappointed!
VDV back in the premier league wud be fun!
Done deals
Mathieu Debuchy to Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal
Diego Costa to Chelsea
Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea
Filipe Luis to Chelsea
Luke Shaw to Manchester United
Ander Herrera to Manchester United
Willy Caballero to Manchester City
Fernando to Manchester City
Bacary Sagna to Manchester City
Juan Bernat to Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich
Adrian Ramos to Borussia Dortmund
Ciro Immobile to Borussia Dortmund
Matthias Ginter to Borussia Dortmund
Toni Kroos to Real Madrid
Luis Suarez to Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen to Barcelona
Ivan Rakitic to Barcelona
Mario Mandzukic to Atletico Madrid
Jeremy Menez to AC Milan
Alex to AC Milan
Alvaro Morata to Juventus
David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/football-buttner-vows-to/1271396.html
I hope he does keep his promise..! Time to walk the talk Buttner!
seems like PSV has struck a deal for Defour
this is super news! although this means bakkali is off…shame cud have been a potential star in the europa league this season!
yep….apparently he had some attitude problem
Siem De Jongs stunner in the preseason.
http://www.nufcblog.com/2014/07/16/siem-de-jongr-great-goal-last-night-video/
Chelsea loanees Wallace and Bertrand Traore will feature for Vitesse in 2014-2015 campagin.
After what I heard about Vitesse not winning games on purpose, I hope all dutch players will leave, let it be a club for chelsea players and foreigners.
PVA should go out of the country
Leerdam, V Der Heijden and Propper can be good material for PSV, Feyenoord, Twente.
@Laurent, I’ve not heard anything about the Vitesse situation can you elaborate on what you said?
Good to see some movement of players although it seems that Buttner has a bee in his bonnet with Van Gaal, for his sake I hope his move to Moscow proves to be career defining not career deflating.
Depay to Tottenham would be just wonderful, they need a replacement for Defoe and Lenin who is on old legs, Pottecctino will be a good mentor for him also.
http://www.firstpost.com/sports/chelsea-accused-of-fixing-dutch-league-by-asking-feeder-club-vitesse-to-lose-1468023.html
Season 2013/2014 :
first half : Vitesse leader with 36pts
End of the season : Vitesse finishs 6th with 55 pts…Only 19 points taken in 17 games.
Thanks, very interesting!
Yes at first I thought Depay should stay, but Tottenham might be a great next step. Better league, all eyes on him, but pressure still manageable. I hope the deal goes through … sorry my PSV friends 🙂
Vorm signs for Tottenham despite the presence of Lloris and Friedel…bad move for him! 🙁
I agree with you Vorm will warm the bench behind Lloris, strange decision IMO. Maybe he thought Lloris was going elsewhere like was reported.
Rodriguez goal against Uruguay is named goal of the WC 2014. RVP header is second.
Blind to Barcelona would be another heartbreaking career derailment story for a talented dutch. I hope Danny Blind knows what’s best for his son. Afellay is a headcase and always has been. I would be shocked if he did something right. No one except for a few people in this blog still know his name nowadays.
I expected LVG to be more active with signing dutch players for MU but perhaps his hands are tied.
I disagreed because I voted for RVP’s goal. It’d be nice if Fifa also listed the distribution of the votes as I suspect most of the 4 million votes come from South American fans. I don’t disagree Rodriguez’s goal is one of the top 3, but RVP’s goal is still a head above.
I read an article which has LVG’s current wife comments. She said there was 2 times that were considered the worst time for LVG. One is 2002 (after he failed to qualify for WC) and second is 2008 (leaving Ajax Technical Director after conflict with Ronald Koeman/head coach).
Totally agree that Dutch players should not go to Barca/Real now. Very disapponted with Afellay. What a waste talent. He could have been in WC and making a name for himself. Only 28 so he still has a chance to turn around.
Yea, Blind doesn’t seem like a good fit with Barcelona, IMO. We shall see…
Marco van ginkel was the most intelligetnt talent among our u21 talents,but i feel terribly bad for him to belive Jose and he went to the worst club he could ever move.Sorry for the lad.
Luuk De Jong is at PSV. Nice move, Luuk is wise guy and he is not of going back to Eredivisie, in contrast to Bas Dost.
I am getting increasingly worried each day about if anyone we know on this blog was on that malaysian airlines flight from holland….guys (drb, jan and all the usual posters) can you plz confirm with a one line post that everyone is alright?!
🙁
Nope, live in US and have never traveled by Malaysian Airlines. Thanks for checking on us.
thanks mate for the confirmation…any news about all the others…there seems to be a real slow down of posts since the incident?! or is it just me?
I hope I’m not wrong but I guess this is more like people weaning from the WC mania 😉
@guillame…great to see a familiar name mate! 🙂
i was hoping for the same…hoping its just withdrawal symptoms or lingering depression from the world cup…i guess this was my first proper world cup on this blog so getting used to it…
I saw jan’s fb post so he’s alright…hoping for more good news and and seeing all the familiar names appearing again!
Looks like Monaco is interested in Wesley….
but Gala will not let him go
Hey guys do you know anything about the Dutch under-19 player Ouasim Bouy ?? I know that Juventus signed him 3 years ago from Ajax’s youth team and that he was supposed to be one of the brightest talents of Dutch football. Has anyone seen him play?? If yes….what do you think about him??
he is at Harmburg after Bert Van Marwijk brought hm from Juventus while he was in charge. Didnt make any impact.
Dick Advocaat to take over as Serbia Coach.
Bas Dot wants Feyenoord move
this is not true.. he says he doesn’t want a step backward back to the Eredivisie and wants a premier league move! shame because he is an identical twin to Graziano boy!
Robert Muric has now officially become a Ajax Player after months of speculation.
super news!…he seems to be a star player!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMoBFY94mB4
In other news…siem cant stop scoring for newcastle..scored another brill goal in down under today..and was really good for the magpies along with our v own anita!
Lukoki in a swap deal for Mokotjo and Boer (to replace Vermeer)
nothing has prolly made me rub my hands in delight as much as this piece of news!! Ricca and Zivko have a click!
http://www.ajaxshowtime.com/bijzaken-en-geruchten/80317/ricca-en-zivko-hebben-een-klik-.html
Ajax Departures Ajax Arrivals
Kenneth Vermeer Diedrick Boer
Mickey van der Hart Peter Leeuwenburgh
Nicklas Moisander Nick Viergever
Daley Blind Mitchell Dijks
Eyong Enoh ??????????
Christopher Poulsen Kameholo Mokotjo
Jody Lukoki Robert Muric
Bojan Krkic Dejan Meleg
Siem de Jong Arkadiusz Milik
Danny Hoesen Richairo Zivkovic
Kolbein Sigthorsson Gerard Deulofeu
Gerard Deulofeu is still at Barcelona.
Frank has hinted that ajax will loan a barcelona forward as per the usual annual contract with barca (cuenca, bojan etc.)
vigil Van Dijik scores twice for Celtic to win the CL 2 nd qualifying round. (5-0 agg)
According to Frank de Boer, each position in his first choice XI will be fought out between 2 main players!
Position – Favourite | Underdog | Outsider | Emergency
GK – Cillesen | Boer | Leeuwenburgh
RB – Ligeon | Tete | Rijn
RCB – Veltman | Hoorn | Gravenberch
LCB – Viergever | Denswil | Kuipers
LB – Boilesen | Dijks | Riedewald
DM – Mokotjo | Bazoer | Bocara
RAM – Klassen | Schone | Andersen
LAM – Duarte | Serero | Bakker
RW – Sana | de Sa | el Ghazi | Muric | Becker
LW – Kishna | Deulofeu | Fischer
CF – Milik | Zivkovic | Guidetti | Menig
What kind of crap is that ? You write that De Boer said that each spot will be fought between two players, and you put 3/4 players per line with a total nonsense order (favorite, emergency…)
So according to Srinjoy, Ligeon will be the starter and Van Rhijn the emergency LOL, Mokotjo the first DM while he isn’t even at Ajax, and a guy like Blind suddenly disapparead while De Boer just said that Ajax would normally keep him. Sana starter ? haha. Delofeu and Guidetti are just rumours.
Be clear, is this list what you want or what Ajax will do ?
Why you always write shit that we don’t care about ? Danish players, your fear about the plane crash because people post less…Seriously, there are maybe 10 regular dutch posters here, how many chances for one of them to go to MALAYSIA and to be in that plane ? As much as Sana getting the RW spot next year.
You should take your glasses off before to write a post, you always sound like a strange geek.
@Laurent,
No need to go so hard on our friend … although I share your thoughts on the Ajax line ups!
From what I can feel from pre season friendlies I think Ajax will play like this:
CILLESEN
VAN RIJN——VELTMAN——-VIERGIVER——–BOILESEN
SCHONE——-KLAASEN——-BLIND
FISCHER——-MILIK/ZIVKO——–KISHNA
@laurent,i think he is acting like genius,.so let him.He always sees things with glasses.b/w Blind wont be there in next season.
Alistair : Three years that I’m here and three years that Srinjoy is boring.
While most of us are concerned about “important” things such as the future of dutch football, Arjen Robben, dutch clubs in europe etc. Srinjoy comes to tell us that a young danish player will move from Aalborg to Roda.
Never saw him writing anything important, the few times he talks about NT, it’s to say that Daniel De Ridder and Drenthe deserve a call…
Don’t know in what world or century he is living
Laurent
June 13, 2014 at 8:58 pm
“I swear I’ll stop writing if Holland go to quarter, copy this text and save it on your computer.”
Darryl Lachman has joined Twente (Free)
Feyenoord is desparate to to sign a striker before the Cl Qualification vs Beşiktaş. Feyenoord have already approached Bas Dot who fits the role for Pelle successor,but the forward was quoted by German magazine sayingmoving back to the Eredivisie would be a step back.
however the player’s agent Henk Nienhuis has told AD that the quotes in that article were nonsense, and that Dost is very interested in joining Feyenoord and is even willing to take a pay cut for a move to Rotterdam, but any move hinges on Wolfsburg finding a new forward.
Feyenoord are also tracking John Guidetti should the deal with Wolfburg collapse as the ideal alternative for Bas Dot
It will be a all out battle between Van der weil and serge Aurier as the Ivorian undergo medical at PSG.
Highlights of Afellay from last week’s game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDfF8tJzFIY
Great. He still has that easy penetration.
There was a video on youtube before called “Afellay vs Sampdoria” which was really impressive but they blocked it because of author rights. That video was really highlighting how he can cut the opponent midfield just with an acceleration. There are really few players that can do it as good as him nowadays. I think Afellay has been used too much as LW with NT and Barcelona but it’s not his best position, just like Di Maria , when you have a player that got speed, dribbles and passes, you’d better put him in the center. On the side he was often forcing himself to run and cross randomly.
Really hope that he will come back with NT, to see the tempo going a bit high, cause 8 years of Sneijder were seriously boring, and last world cup was the ultime proof.
I have feeling he might end up at PSV should Memphis Depay get transfered to EPL (Tothenham/ Man United)
I think Adam Maher has to play a big role at PSV this season.he can be the successor to Sneijder and Vaart given his talents and the fact that he has already had experience at international level which mind you was a outstanding outings when they played Italy to name a few.
Hakim Ziyech , not sure about this guy given his game time at Heerenveen or unless he moves to a top 3 club. Talent wise looks good jus has to prove at the top level.
I think the three position in NT thats overhauling is CF,AM,DM. asap. I hope Hiddnik will address this from Day 1.
Also bit suprised that nobody has come forward for Alfreð Finnbogason. this time around last year Bony was hot property in the market
Total Ignorance is one thing and is actually harmless. Ignorance is therefore considered bliss. But the real harmful elements of society are those with little knowledge who are lie under the false impression that they know a lot! Those are the real problems! Without mentioning any names we all know who the 2 main culprits of this above phenomenon are..whether it be making incessant racial slurs or posting all possible permutations and combinations of lineups, whether it be in shameless ignorance to previous promises or illiterate jibes and insults thrown at our heroes!
In this vein, I will like to thank you Laurent, for the wonderful compliments you have paid me. I appreciate your sentiment and will welcome further praise from you with open arms!
I would like to humbly point out that I would like to believe that I follow Dutch Football in a bit more depth than you attempt to make out (i.e. in light-hearted jokes about Danish players or in mournful wonderings about what gems de ridder and drenthe could have been.
I would also like to humbly point out, that van Rijn is currently injured so Ligeon will indeed start the season at Right back and it is my belief that v Rijn will find it hard to steal his sport given ligeon’s pre-season performances! In the same vein, it should be quite clear that Frank (who is someone I actually happen to know personally… Mr. Bonaparte) is not foolish enough to let a 20 million bid for Blind go by to waste given the capacities and limits his potential, given someone like Janmaat was sold for a mere 4 million!
Also for your kind information, Mokotjo will most definitely be signed as defensive cover for the departure of 3 key DMs, Blind, Poulsen and Enoh, and will be involved in a swap deal along with Boer and Lukoki. I also believe Vermeer and Sigthorsson will be leaving soon.
@Alistair, Thank you for the support but you will see why Blind was not in my line up. The only other difference, between the official line up (that Ajax will start on Aug 3 vs PEC and the one I posted) and the one you posted, is that of Fischer, who is actually injured for quite a while and who is someone who will def not feature initially, and is someone who will struggle to be first choice given the array of 4 other wingers on Right at the club. The reason that Sana will start, is because Frank will give him one last chance to show the initial shine he knows Sana is capable of, before replacing him with either el Ghazi or Beecker (in that order). de Sa might also get a look in as a sub on the right (unless Schone gets the go ahead on the wing, which mgiht still happen).
Wilson, I would also gently like to point out that Finnbossan has already signed for Real Sociedad and even scored the opening goal against Ajax.
Anyway Laurent, you really are a ray of sunshine! The way you mocked my genuine concern for the much loved bloggers and host of this website, in regard to the heart-wrenching plane crash, (especially given Jan lives in Australia, a flight which usually many people from Amsterdam to Malaysia may take) reflects your true class and transformation into a grown and mature human being. I actually understand why people like Goldstone, Jeff and many others have refused to write on this blog in protest to your insufferable, persistent, shameless existence but I do commend you for the audacity you show in defying and outstaying your welcome. I also honored for the heart-warming title you have bestowed upon me, and am glad you have such a loyal romantic who supports you in your every expert comment (tiju). I would very much like to keep on my nerd glasses on so won’t make the mistake of torturing this blog with my BORING comments from here on in, will leave it to you to enlighten us all with your IMPORTANT insights on this blog. As you so pertinently point out, who the hell cares about shit like 300 deaths and plane crashes and that nonsense after all 🙂 Live long and prosper, and may the force of Oranje always be with you, child.
had no idea of that transfer…..
seems like a bad move with Bravo Departure and Griezmann on the brink of transfer.
@Srinjoy,
Seems that you are a huge follower of Ajax after all!
Yes you’re right about Fischer and Van Rijn – they will obviously not start. My line up was intended as the best for the season rather than the real starting eleven from day 1 considering the injuries. I agree on Ligeon – considering this performances, it might be difficult for Van Rijn to catch up later. There is also Denswil who will challenge the defenders for a position. It will be a very young Ajax side which reminds me of the 1990s team with the big difference that in the 1990s there were 2 very experienced players supporting the young ones – Blind and Rijkaard. Today’s team is full of inexperienced youngsters.
life is too short to waste time arguing with idiots. you choose wha you read, wh to respond to and how to spend your time.
its my belief if we just ignore them that eventually they will take a hint and stop the stupidity or leave.
for instance when i saw your lineup it looked off instead of asking your reasoning or why, they go straight for insults, responding to their provacation only means they will continue
Well said Srinjoy. Just ignore him. As you know, I have made countless attempts to reason with him but I am afraid it is impossible. So hang tight and don’t let his insults ruin your day. I am an eternal optimist and hopefully Laurent will see the light soon enough and mature.
Your explainations about players being injured etc. are ridiculous, we all know that the season isn’t starting yet, and the form you chosed with your favorite, emergency etc. was just a way to show us your strange tastes again. Assume them.
About the plane, Holland is about 16,5mo of people, there were 283 people in that flight, and 192 of them were dutch. that give us about 0,001% of probablity to find Jan or DRB there…But of course that deserved 3 posts on this blog from our friend Srinjoy. The guy never wrote anything during the world cup, didn’t write any analysis after, but he came after to tell us again about danish players, Ajax U16 ones and malaysian crash plane.
Do you enjoy posting that at least ? Do you get something doing it ?
Laurent
June 13, 2014 at 8:58 pm
“I swear I’ll stop writing if Holland go to quarter, copy this text and save it on your computer.”
like the PSV home kit. Back to Red and white stripes . The new white and blue away kit not bad either.
Amazing first official match for Van Gaal. Man Utd beat LA Galaxy 7-0 in pre season friendly in the US. Van Gaal adopted a 3-4-1-2 formation (similar in essence to the 5-3-2 adopted with Holland).
@Alistair, wow 7-0’for ManU, the Red Devils faithful will be over the moon with that result!
@Srinjoy, keep the posts coming mate the information is always welcome, and as for MH17 , my family in Holland did know a couple of people on board who were heading down under, no relations or anything just people they knew.
Big up Srinjoy well said son…
Laurent straight jab to your nose chump f*#k off
Wilson…. Alfreð Finnbogason has been transferred to Real Sociedad
It will be great if FdB can give Oranje a brand new trio upfront who can all play togeher and understand each other since that young age , not to forget that all of them are great technically : Ghazi – Zivcovic – Kishna .
so in transfer news stefan de vrij has no contact from clubs after lazio bid failed.
southhampton desires him, and hes being considered by man utd. but has to be after 4 weeks from now when van gaal is finished evaluating his roster
clasie is wanted to stay one more year but plenty of interest from italian teams
most realistic dutch players to man utd is nigel de jong or daley blind in the 7-0 friendly thrashing of la galaxy van gaal played same system
monaco man utd and chelsea interested in wesely sneijder
tottenham want vlaar (realistic) and depay (noooo)
virgil van dijk price is 8 million pounds wanted by 1.hamburg, 2. southhampton, swansea and sevilla
my hope is he picks sevilla first hamburg second
arsenal chelsea and tottenham plot strrotman signing these seem to be baseless british rumoous
Here we go again, Groningen is out of Europa League…European Cups have not entered into group stage yet, we have already lost one team. Zwolle will be next. I have a lot of doubts about Feyenoord’s ability to beat Besiktash…
Honestly that is incredible. Losing at home to Aberdeen. This is really bad for the UEFA coefficient.
If Feyenoord continues to sell all players, not only will they lose to Besiktas but also have trouble this year in Eredivisie. I understand that at Eredivisie making money is the most important thing, but everything has its own limits. You can not sell entire team. This is a disaster. Management of all Dutch teams is very greedy…
Sunderland are intrested in making a double swoop for dutch duo Virgil Van Dijik for massive 10million pounds and Patrick Van Annholt .
Milan are set to start talks with Feyenoord for Tony Vilhena. Im not sure whether they will tolerate this but it seems like it will raid of the seasaon for feyenoord with De Vrij, Kongolo, Clasie rumoured to be departing and with Janmaat,Pelle, BMI being already departed.
Van annholt has no chance with chelsea,i think Van ginkel is making the same mistake like Bruma and annholt did.
Common vanginkel come out of that shit club.
News that even Man Utd are considering a move for Depay with aim to loan him out again for the season.
Good for Van Aanholt if he joins Sunderland.
Also seems that Strootman will be the main target of the big clubs for the January transfer market. Real Madrid, Barcellona, Man Utd, Man City all considering bids!
Apart from mourihno no one is a match for Luis van gaal in EPL.Poor other coaches they are far inferior to van gaal when it comes to intelligence and vision..i dont see any one stopping him other than Jose.
Are they clever enough to put a keeper that never caught any penalty in a world cup semi final ?
Don’t forget that Van Gaal won’t have Robben to save his ass with MU like he did with Bayern and Holland.
Season 2009/2010 : Robben injured the six first months = Bayern beaten by Bordeaux and struggling to qualify for CL 2nd round.
Return of Robben = Bayern reaching CL finale
Season 2010/2011 : Robben injured three first months = Bayern 9th in the bundesliga = Van Gaal fired…
Hey guys ..lets all go to Vanginkel’s twitter post and say that leave chelsea the plastic club,which buys player after player for every position..poor kid needs some advice,All plastic money clubs are grave yard for younger players
Maybe he is really hoping to cut a place at Chelsea. I think he has some chances. Van Ginkel is smart – he will know whats right for his future. Lets see.
If anyone knows a good stream for Benfica Ajax tonight, please share.
Try Wiziwig a little before the match begins:
http://www.wiziwig.tv/competition.php?discipline=football&part=sports
Van Ginkel has only been in Chelsea for 1 season. He was injured for most of the time so how can we blame Mourinho? how can we blame Van Ginkel?.
He has a chance to play. Mourinho will use him if he sees Van Ginkel is doing well and with Lampard out he’ll have more opportunities to play.
Also I have to say I like people who don’t give up so fast so therefore it’s good Van Ginkel wants to prove himself with Chelsea. Maybe when he starts playing you’ll all say he was right to stay.
Miguel its an another ankle of point of veiw,Ginkel had to prove to maurihno so badly that he had to play in second rate pithes in unimportant matches or less important matches,Marco van ginkel is best when he is at box to box runner.ie we will see a suprme Ginkel when he playes up on the feild who is ready to help the defense like kuyt did in early games,since he is more talented than kuyt,we can expect more goals from this intelligent player.
Under maurihno as per Chelski team needs a good holding mid like Nijel.Jose is making him like a pure holding mid ,i think this guy has lost 1 very very important year in his life due to needs of chelsea and Jose ‘s selfishness.
Jose is all about winning ganes and he never develops a player individually and technically.thats why i say he must leave Chelsea and shuld join with LVG if possible,he will be a relevation for Manu under LVG.
Kishna and Andersen were absolute stars! 😀
Did you see the match ? I didn’t manage 🙁
How did the others play ? El Ghazi played ?
watched every mintue.
First half all ajax possesion and many goal chances.
The line up they started with was
Vermeer in goal
Ligeon at RB
van der Hoorn & Moisander at CB
Boilesen at LB
Viergever as DM
Andersen + Klassen in the AM roles
Kishna on the left
Schone on the right
Milik up front.
Milik started up with real confidence, took a long range blast outta nowhere that nearly ended as wonder goal. In another instance, he was at the corner of the box at an impossible angle, and went for a delicious chip to which the gk somehow held on. Was licking my lips at some of his build up play, holding up, and linking especially with Kishna, however he let me down horribly with a miss of the season when Kishna beat 2 players for fun down the left and put a ground cross for him on a plate with the gk beaten, and an open goal….somehow he completly fluffed his lines (van persie style)
Kishna was brilliant in the first half, down the left, beating players with trickery, with pace, and scored the goal with his uncanny persistence. Even when a dribble doesn’t quite come off, just like Messi, the ball always seems to rebound into his path even after a defenders tackle, from which he can continue his run, this seems to be a legit skill/knack as he did it on more than once occasion. The run in which he scored his goal was evident of this pattern, and the shot itself was at a 180 degree angle from the goal.
Andersen what a gem!!! He is prolly as good a player as Messi at his peak, I KID YOU NOT! No idea what his original position was assigned to be, because he was gliding all over the field, wings, defence, midfield, upfront, controlling the ball from the air Bergkampesque, beating 4-5 benfica players surrounding him for fun, before playing wesley sneijder like through balls for the wing backs (like ligeon and boilesen)!
Ligeon looks like an unpolished diamond, kind of like brenet, but a better dribbler (has to be, considering he dribbled more succesfuly than boilesen, who is himself at times like the robben of young down the left). However he has major lapses of concentration that let him down, and he often absurdly gifted the ball to benfica players near his own box!
Boilesen is a super talent but played within himself yesterday and especially didn’t take too many risks making offensive runs but linked up well with the midfield. Defensively he isnt a great tackler so always a question mark, but his pace allows him to stay with the winger on most occasions. Just hope he doesnt suffer another major hamstring injury coz that might really end his career, atleast with ajax, and sadly he already looks like he has lost a yard of pace.
Vermeer was an absolute star, and my prediction is that he will start the Cruyff Shield next week and maybe even be first choice after this performance. Absolute beast, stoppping every shot that came his way (and believe me there were about 20 shots at him in the second half). Furthermore he is brilliant at ball distribution (if that was the only arguement in favor of Cillesen). If that wasn’t enough, he even dived to his right and held on to a penalty (lol cillesen?!) and then smiled at van der Hoorn, as if to say, …as easy as that 😛
van der Hoorn might have improved but will never be a top player tbh. He messed up the offside trap on multiple occasions yesterday and was never convincing in stopping the fast interplay of the little argentinian forwards of benfica! Will be replaced by Veltman so not a problem.
Moisander did slightly better, and unless he is sold before the summer ends, he will be a starter as the captain (although Viergever is better in every attribute).
Viergever himself seems to be employed over and over as a DM by frank, and this might be in preparation for the loss of Blind to other clubs. In the small possiblity that Blind stays, Viergever will prolly start as CB with either Moisander (likely) or Veltman (I hope!). He seems to have great awareness about him, knowing exactly when there is danger around him, and therefore never got caught on the ball. Also seems to have very very good footwork for a supposed CB!!!
Thanks for the detailed update mate! I saw the highlights and yes, seems Kishna and Andersen had a great game. Vermeer was amazing!
I also saw the highlights of Benfica U19 vs Ajax U19. Benfica won 4-3 after Ajax led for 3-1. El Ghazi had a great game again scoring 2 goals and Vizkovic looked good as well. Unfortunately we were quite weak in defense and Benfica were able to make a comeback.
Schone > well i am not a fan of him, seems to be wasting a spot on the Eleven just like Poulsen did last season! However he is dependable and can do a steady job a la Kuyt and Frank seems to balance one adventerous winger with a more conservative winger on the other wing. I dont understand this, as cleary a 2 pronged attack with Kishna and el Ghazi wud be devestating! However it is understandable to not throw el Ghazi in the deep end so soon!
To answer your question el Ghazi featured in an earlier game against Jong Benfica, as a 2nd half substitute, scored 2 goals, showed some dazzling wingplay down the right and outshone Becker’s brilliant first half performance. He is currently unstoppable! However Ajax managed to somehow lose in the earlier game to Benfica by 4 goals to 3!
You like danish football but you don’t like Schone who is currently among the best danish players in the world.
Schone has never been any right winger, don’t mix De Boer mediocre choices with Schone talent. As CM or OM, Schone is definitly better than Klaassen and all the other options, he is a player like Van der Vaart, same style. He is a very good passer, clean player on the technical aspect, got a very good long shot, and is very useful for free kicks/corner kicks. Just like VDV.
A midfield with Viergever-Schone-Duarte can be quite interesting, but of course De Boer will go for something completly different.
@Laurent : I understand your point. I actually like Schone. I think he was one of the best Ajax players last season.
I think FdB will evantually use him aside with Klassen and Viergever or Blind if he doesn’t leave in the midfeild , which is good for Eredevisie but I’m not sure if it will be enough to compete at CL level , especially with viergefer. I prefer to use Blind as a LB and let Bazoer start this season in the midfeild. He is almost 18 years old , but what a talent he is.
I also prefer a skillful winger like El Ghazi rather than Schone on the wing.
Klaassen was good in my opinion. He is very smart tactically. Shall I say a new Kuyt in the midfield ?
Very good tactical awareness , Great lungs , nice scoring abilities , … etc.
I have to say that not reaching CL quarter-finals , no matter how difficult is the group , will be considered as a big failure imo.
one more thing , Vermeer is simply the best Dutch keeper at the moment , just as LvG said. It’s sad he was in a bad form prior to the WC. We could simply have gone 2 games further in the WC with him playing instead of Cillessen. Actually letting him go out of Ajax will be more stupid than letting Blind or Moisander go.
Problem with Klaassen is that he is taking a spot that isn’t for him. I wouldn’t really compare to Kuyt cause we all agreed that Kuyt was doing good defensivly even when he was playing winger. No other winger could have done as good as him on that aspect. It’s his dribbles and attacking productivity which were mediocre.
But Klaassen as midfielder, what special can he bring ? He has lungs ok, but he doesn’t defend as good as Blind, Viergever or even Duarte. What about passes ? Schone is much much better. Klaassen can’t give a through pass. What about penetration ? Serrero and Duarte are much better, Klassen can’t run 20 meters with the ball in his feet.
And even if he has some stamina, he doesn’t have the physical strenght and determination of Kuyt.
For me he is a more a new Immers or S.De Jong. Kind of false 9 that plays directly on his first touch and finishs chances in the box. Nothing more.
Klassen> liked his contributions, although he was not the star. He will keep the midfield engine working and has matured a lot as a player! nothing to flashy but a dependable mature head!
Becker came on again at the end for Kishna, but didn’t have enough time to make an impression. However it doesn’t matter as the squad numbers have been released and he didn’t make the senior squad, atleast for now!
1 Netherlands GK Kenneth Vermeer
2 Netherlands DF Ricardo van Rhijn
3 Netherlands DF Joël Veltman
4 Finland DF Niklas Moisander (captain)
5 Denmark DF Nicolai Boilesen (vice-captain)
6 Netherlands DF Mike van der Hoorn
7 Denmark FW Viktor Fischer
8 Netherlands MF Lerin Duarte
9 Iceland FW Kolbeinn Sigþórsson
10 Netherlands MF Davy Klaassen
11 Netherlands FW Ricardo Kishna
12 Netherlands DF Jaïro Riedewald
15 Netherlands DF Mitchell Dijks
16 Denmark MF Lucas Andersen
17 Netherlands MF Daley Blind (vice-captain)
No. Position Player
18 Croatia FW Robert Murić
19 Sweden MF Tobias Sana
20 Denmark FW Lasse Schöne
21 Netherlands FW Anwar El-Ghazi
22 Netherlands GK Jasper Cillessen
23 Netherlands DF Kenny Tete
24 Netherlands DF Stefano Denswil
25 South Africa MF Thulani Serero
26 Netherlands MF Nick Viergever
27 Netherlands MF Riechedly Bazoer
29 Netherlands DF Ruben Ligeon
30 Netherlands FW Richairo Živković
31 Netherlands GK Peter Leeuwenburgh
32 Poland FW Arkadiusz Milik (on loan from Bayer Leverkusen)
My prediction for Ajax’s team
vs Zwolle
Vermeer (chance to impress)
Ligeon (v Rijn injured)
Veltman (v d Hoorn flopped)
Moisander (captain)
Boilesen (vice captain)
Viergiver (Blind unfit/unsettled)
Klassen (Duarte with slim chance)
Andersen (Serero injured anyway)
el Ghazi (no schone plz frank!!!)
Kishna (Fischer injured)
Milik (faith despite miss)
I think Feyenoord will find themselves in the same boat as PSV when their top players like Strootman,Lens,Mertens,Pieters left for other clubs last summer . with this I think Ajax were more cautious given the timing of their new signing.
I think a lot of regular posters haven’t still said anything since the downing of MH17, can we be absolutely sure that everyone is all right and that it’s just a quiet period, weaning off from the World Cup euphoria?
that really was my main fear, and the idiot mocked it!
0,001 %…
According to De Telegraaf, De Vrij has signed for Lazio for 8.5 million Euros transfer fee. He will travel to Rome for medical this week.
Spot on! I guess its a decent transfer given that no one actually wants to go to Man United without any European Football this season! Another Transfer window drought, but LVG will work wonders with the squad at his disposal 😀
El Hamdaoui is also too expensive for Feyenoord apparently, so Feyenoord is ensuring they can field the weakest possible team against Beskitas day after…lol
Jelle Vossen left out of Genk squad and reportedly attracting interest from Feyenoord!
Great Transfer!!
No devrij case is different,MANU doesnt pay his value thats why,when did Devirj play CL?he has yet to prove in forgin land despite of his excellent from in Brazil.but its true that players like Vidal who plays for juve and Co rejected MAnu for CL.who ever rejected MANU under vangaal are fools….utter fools they made bad decision thats what i feel.
i don’t think it has to do with european for everyone, manchester united just signed the biggest deal with adidas, so the money is there, it’s just a matter of worrying about playing time, and a player risking his future career by possibly doing bad. Van gaal has a reputation of benching players for youth if they aren’t performing, and most veterans want a guarantee or assurance that they will be playing, if not their whole career will be derailed. So the majority of players who will sign either already were coached under van gaal, or are youth that want a chance to shine. too much risk for not enough reward.
right now van gaal has stated over and over, that he needs 4 weeks to evaluate his squad before making moves, he has a certain amount of people he wants, but it’s not all possible, hummels is still possible if the price is right
strootman 79 million pound price tag if someone pays that much hes an elite player then
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2707214/Roma-slap-79m-price-tag-Manchester-United-target-Kevin-Strootman.html
De Vrij signed for Lazio. I’m not sure about this move. I hope he’ll get to be a tougher player!
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calciomercato/29-07-2014/lazio-de-vrij-che-folla-1-notte-8-gia-clinica-le-visite-801380380268.shtml
@OhYeah and others: Can anyone recall 2 full weeks without a post by Jan, our host? I’ve been reading this site and the prior one since 2010 in my never ending search for the news on Oranje. I hope Jan is just taking a well-deserved break. Otherwise the coincidence of joy over WC against grief over MH17 is just well…terrible. BBC just put up the list of deceased: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-28482176
guys I think you are exaggerating a little bit this MH17 thing … Laurent is right on this one. Do you know what are the odds of a Dutch man writing on this blog who happens to be on that flight ? very very small!
Anyway, Jan is fine as he’s friend to me on Facebook. It’s just that he is probably very busy!
I guess there might have been a period like that, but not immediately after a major event. There is so much to talk about now with all the transfers, new coach coming, Van Gaal taking over ManU and so on. I don’t mind saying, I’m worried. It’s not only Jan who is absent but a couple of other posters as well.
Yes, there is lots of voetbal nieuws happening now. But it is perfectly normal to take a pause after a traumatic disaster. I was in NYC on 9/11/01 and we are still dealing with that. I am with OhYeah in hoping all the folks who share this blog are ok. That is all.
PS de Vrij had a great WC, a real revelation to me at least, and deserves every penny of his new transfer.
you know your team is in trouble when a kobenhavn sub player dominates your midfield and plays like riquelme! poor mathijsen
poor feyenoord! 🙁
Anyone noticed how Long Jan didn’t show up himself on this board?
um so who r u? 😛
BTW, he is right, Jan has not been here forever. I hope everything is OK with him….
What a terrible performance by Feyenoord in CL qualifiers. Within last three years Feyenoord played five games in Europe and lost all of them, including today game with Besiktas. What an achievement!!!!!
I do not think this surprises anybody: Feyenoord sold almost half of the team….
It is no surprise given what happened to PSV last summer It is also not irony that Koeman to resigned as coach . they should prioritize in their youth this year and with the next three years they should invest slowly by bringing in some experienced players and with the players in youth ranks.
Feyenoord linning up Bilal Basacikoglu
Atletico move in for Bakkali
for only fucking €3! Should have demanded atleast 19 million or made him rot in the reserves!
Jan…we all miss you man, let us all know what plans you have for the blog in the coming weeks.
Not looking good for Van Ginkel. He was in starting eleven against his old team Vitesse, had a quite game, was substituted in the 2nd half and while leaving the pitch he refused to shake hands with Mourinho – seems that Mou made it obvious that he didn’t like this behaviour. I read this in a report and didn’t see it with me eyes – but this can have repercussions. Ake played part of the 2nd half.
not that it matters after the pathetic showing, but feyenoord signs bilal and wilshere
The 2nd best dutch club drawing nil nil at half time, at HOME! against the 14th placed team in Austria?! some things never change 🙁
Wilshere plays with Arsenal loser, it’s Wilkshire who signed
Or are you going to say that Wilshere transfert is not realistic so people should understand that you mean Wilkshire ?
I’m just trying to get your strange geek jokes.
and a warm hug to u 😀
jozefzoon gets a red for 2 dives..first time i have ever seen such a thing happen! ridiculous!
relieved that de jong gives psv a home win though 😛
PSV labored hard win. At least we got two points…I think it will be easier for PSV when they visit St Pollen.
I am sorry for being rude, but Jozefzoon is an idiot.
that is what I was saying about Afellay.He is not making any effort to find a new club. he jus wants to rot on Bacrelona Bench. he jus want to have that stardom status of being a bacre player. he should learm from Tello. with surez induction he will simply be bench warmer if he stays at Bacrelona. goodness me I dont know whats wrong with him. self pride…..this sucks man.
Chelsea looks set to loan Ake to Derby County
wolfswinkle set for medical at St etienne
Braafheid signed with Lazio
Very strange
Also Juventus are interested in Vlaar.
I don’t know about you guys but I’m not having a good vibe about Jan’s absence. It has been a long strange calmness. Is there any Aussie/Dutchman that knows him personally?
Jan is just fine… maybe he’s busy with other stuffs.. 🙂
He’s quite active on FB..he’s doing just great! Don’t worry!