Oranje’s Future

blog Euro 2020 WC2018
by Jan

CIRCUS XAVI SIMONS

Oranje U17 – Kosovo U17. Final score: 1-1

The last two squads of Oranje U17 won the European championship and Wednesday, a new campaign will start. Team coach Mischa Visser, taking over from Peter van der Veen temporarily, started the qualification with a match vs Kosovo, and they do so with 20 new names. These talents practiced twice against France and won both matches. This Kosovo also seemed to be prey for the Dutch talents, in particular when PSV midfielder Jimenez scored within 10 minutes with a shot from distance.

After that quick goal, Oranje has extreme possession, close to 90%, but they can’t create more chances. Kosovo plays terribly defensive. When Oranje fails to clear a ball, it’s a freak goal by a Kosovarian: 1-1. The home team can’t believe it. Visser immediately brings Xavi Simons on to the pitch.

Circus Xavi can start, although it already started when the midfielder exits the players bus. It’s unreal to see how popular the 16 year old is. This squad is full of talented young lads, but we don’t know any of their names. With Simons, it’s different. In the 100 meters from players bus to the dressing room, dozens of fans raced to Xavi for an autograph and when he starts his warming up, the excitement can be sensed on the stands.

Once Simons is on the pitch, Simons demands the ball continuously and is close to scoring, twice. First with a tremendous free kick and later with a shot that flies over the bar. After the game is over, no one talks about the strange stats. Possession 90-10. Attempts on goal: 21-1. Goals 1-1. The fans who are present all chase Simons as if he’s a Beatle. He patiently joins in on the selfies and joins his family once he can. After this Circus Xavi performance, one has to feel for the 16 year old who probably feels the pressure from the extreme hype to perform conform to expectations in the coming years.

WORLD CUP FAVORITE

Oranje U18 – Belgium U18. Final score: 3-2

In two weeks, the Dutch NT U18 will participate in the World Cup in Brazil. This might well be a historical tournament for us, as this group oozes talent! Peter van de Veen won the European title twice with one hand tied to their back. And against Belgium, in this friendly, at times it’s just sumptuous to watch these lads play. In particular, the combinations between  Naci Ünüvar and Mohamed Taabouni (see main photo) are of exceptional quality. Taabouni scores early after a trademark outside foot pass by Ünüvar, who repeats that feat once more later on. This team has so much football in it, that at times it all goes a tad too easily.

Belgium, with Wesley Sonck as the team manager, benefit from the this complacency and score twice from a counter. Jayden Braaf comes on as a sub and rectifies it all with two identical goals. Coming inside and placing the ball with his right into the far corner. The left winger started his season at Man City strong and it says a lot about the strength of this team that he started on the bench. Braaf gets the spotlight with his two goals, but man of the match is Taabouni. The 17 year old playmaker constantly draws the game towards him and always finds the right solution. AZ has another gem in their midst.

 

HOPE FOR FEYENOORD (AND ADO)

Oranje U19 – Lithuania U19. Final score: 8-2

NT manager Maarten Stekelenburg’s team is a week in Lithuania for the Euro qualification tournament and plays top drawer football. First, it’s Moldavia with 5-0 and last Friday they won 8-2 vs Lithuania. It’s the role of the Feyenoord players in particular that catches the eye. Seven of the eight goals were scored by players who are signed with Feyenoord. Cry Summerville, on loan with ADO Den Haag, scored four goals, while Azarkan and Burger also scored.

It offers hope for Feyenoord, whose youth academy has had some lean times recently. Five years in a row, the Feyenoord Academy was considered the best of the country, but the last seasons, AZ and Ajax is topping the bill. Of all the youth teams’ players, 55 in total, 13 are from Ajax and 13 from AZ. Feyenoord offers 5 players and PSV a mere 2.

A talented generation is coming through for Feyenoord, and it’s exciting to watch Cry Summerville play for ADO Den Haag, who can use some goalscoring capabilities.

 

THE INBETWEENERS

Oranje U20 – Portugal U20. Final Score: 1-1.

In theory, Bert Konterman could well be the most fortunate coach at Oranje U20, with the ability to play Mathijs de Ligt and Donyell Malen, but both players have moved to the big Oranje and most likely foregood. Young Oranje has players who could also play for this team. Tahith Chong and Mitchell van Bergen are two more experienced players of repute but both players were not able to play due to slight injuries.

Konterman had to change his team on three spots and the lack of flow was noticeable. The Portuguese do all they can to stop Oranje playing and to suck the oxygen out of the game. The Dutch goal is the result of a dead ball set play. Ekkelenkamp is first to react when the Portuguese goalie spills the free kick of Obispo.

This Under20 team is a sort of inbetween-team. Players who can’t play for Young Oranje anymore can still play here and make minutes. The interest in the matches of this team is much less than with other teams. The time this team plays, for instance, is at the same time as the big Oranje, vs Northern Ireland.

 

ORANJE’S SHOWROOM

Young Oranje closes the international week with a strong 4-2- win over Portugal and a 0-4 win over Norway. The matches resulted in one big AZ show. Five AZ players are in the starting line up and three claimed a key role. Koopmeiners, Stengs and Boadu showed what was clearly visible in other rep teams: AZ has gold in their hands.

 

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68 comments

  1. @Jan

    Going further back on what you said:

    “Wilson, we will have to accept that we wil never see eye to eye about this.find it scary that we both support and love Oranje, but we don’t see eye to eye on anything….”

    Again two comments merged together.I follow football in general,whats happening in most of the top leagues, whats cooking where,gossips and so forth.the main difference between us is that you prefer to see things typically from dutch point of perspective which again is fine, but for me I prefer to see things from modern day football pespective. what is achievable from what and whats unfolding present day.

    Breaking it down. If you think of modern day fullbacks then this names immediately comes to mind. Tripper,Hernandez,Pavard,Robertson,alexender arnold,alex sandro,Alaba, chilwell,Mendys,Rose. These players are highly instrumently in shift change of the tempo of the game at any time and it is this impact that defines the course of the game. Tell me something? Can you seriously see or add Blind to this list. You simply cant because he doesnt have the ability to make that difference, like they can.
    He has deficiencies which he is forced to compensate for and this overall affects the team. How else you can see this and Yet he has been undisputed for nerthlands. How?you have already answered that. Again that is from dutch point of pespective and like you said, the dutch coaches see it in that way but its not co existent come modern day football and this is well justified.
    Liverpool CL, france WC and Portugal NL. The full backs played key role and were instrumental leading them to the triumph. Not only them but they still were constant threat from the flanks.

    Dumfries has been coping alot criticism lately but what if he also did exactly the same like what Blind does. Sit back and play a safe line only to come up against oponents when its suits him. Both flanks would be dead.I cant see any RB at the moment who can play a high line without making mistakes or losing his marker. Not even Dest,Karsdorp,anyone. The problem is that right midfield is simply incompetent compared to the left where frenkie is constantly providing efficient cover up. When tete gets the nod at RB, it opposite, he is deemed to be more defensive and less offensive. This jigsaw puzzle is something they need to solve them selves.

    “I don’t think that is how you do it. A coach will use training sessions to determine who is sharpest, best or combines best with others (this is a strong indicator or Koeman actually, the “coupling” as he calls it) and then he tries to build a strong team. A core of 6 to 8 players who he can rely on”

    Which present team have you seen do what koeman is doing? Coupling, relying on core players, same starting 11? Its only koeman and nerthlands.other teams are still calling up players who are performing exceptionally well at club level.o my bad forgot about Iceland. They are pretty much the same team from euros.

    the game vs NI was just a knock. It utimately exposed how supressing the midfield can pin them back and alot of coaches must have noted it down.it up to koeman now, how seriously he takes that knock into consideration.

    The one thing I agree with is the coupling part,provided if it actual influences the team which there has been no indication thus far. If anybody has seen this,pliz fill me in with the facts. Depay,Frenkie and van dijks absence could shift the balance of the team.Depays was evident vs Belarus. Wijaldum is replacable- van der beek.Blind, dont think his absence will be noticed at all. Again well justified when NT beat portgual 3-0 and draw Italy 1-1 with him not selected

  2. Thanks Wilson, for your explanation.

    I do think you are not looking behind the veil.

    You’re being very literal and black and white about it all.

    In certain teams, the full backs are indeed incredible athletes and players.

    But they’re not all Mendy or Walker.

    Trippier is – like Blind – not fast. He’s a great crosser / passer, like Blind.

    Alexander Arnold is top notch moving forward, but allows his man to slip behind him a lot. This is a pattern with him.

    Robertson is a dynamo of energy, but like Dumfries, hard feet.

    Alaba is world class. But Rose and Chillwell are mediocre players in my book.

    Koeman opts for two different full backs. He wants Blind to play more controlling due to Blind’s strength. This allows Oranje to “kantel” (Dutch word for pivoting). With the RB playing high, as we don’t have an out and out right winger.

    Usually Koeman uses a player on the left wing (Babel, Promes, Malen, Memphis) so the space for someone like Van Aanholt would be very limited.

    This is tactics.

    Dumfries would not do the same as Blind does. That is a silly comment to make. They’re different in style and this is why and how Koeman selects them.

    If Koeman plays V Aanholt on the left, he has to make a number of changes. He needs to allow for space on the left, and then will use a right winger and a player like Veltman on the right (who is not unlike Blind – not as slow, but also not as good a passer).

    Otherwise, I don’t know what you mean with the fact that I watch football “from the Dutch perspective”. I watch Spanish and English football (more than Dutch). But I analyse the NT when I write about them and I won’t mention Mendy or Rose in those stories. Not relevant.

    Every coach works with couples :-). You ask me where I have seen this apart from Holland?

    EVERYWHERE :-). I don’t get you man!

    Don’t you think Sarri, Klopp and Pep consider this? hahahahaha…..

  3. I mean, seriously… playing player A or Player B might have serious implications!!

    For instance, when playing Luuk de Jong, it makes sense to consider Berghuis, who has a tremendous cross in his left foot.

    When playing De Roon you will need a creative passer next to him. You would couple Strootman and De Roon, would you?

    You can bet your last dollar that Pep will definitely consider who to play in midfield when he decides to play B Silva and D Silva in midfield. Probably not De Bruyne, but Fernandinho.

    Etc etc.

  4. @Jan, wonderful article. Future appears very bright indeed.

    What are people saying is the reason the conveyor belt appears full again after a little bit of a dry spell? I assume that different theories are being put forth, but is there any particular one that makes the most sense to you? Or do you think it is just a cyclical thing?

    Re: the comment about the Feyenoord players. I’ve only seen Burger in last year’s UEFA U17 finals. (Watched all of the games.) Really liked him. Big gangly kid, doesn’t seem to be the most athletic (though kids often grow into their bodies) or technical of players, but he just oozed leadership and mental toughness. When they went to penalties, he went first, grabbing the ball, marching down the field, dispatching it with such confidence. I’ve seen that he has gotten some time with the first team now. What is being said about him, if you know?

    1. Hi andrew, thanks for your kind words…

      The conveyor belt… I think the youth academies have recognised the downturn in talent development years ago already and started to change the way they worked (despite the KNVB, more than because of them). Wim Jonk was quite important for this at Ajax and AZ and Feyenoord have also been able to improve while PSV really improved dramatically!

      PSV started with getting players in from other academies ( Memphis > Sparta, Malen > Arsenal, Bergwijn and Rosario > Ajax) but Gakpo in particular is a real homegrown talent.

      The cyclical effect will always be there though. After the Cruyff/Neeskens/Van Hanegem generation we also had a bit of a dry spell, although players like Jan Peters and Pier Tol, to name a few, should have been able to do better.

      The Foppe de Haan coached youth team in 2005 for instance… only two players made it big: Huntelaar and Babel. That is not really a good yield. But in the bigger picture, it’s just a blip.

      I don’t think we didn’t qualify for the Euros 2016 and WC2018 because we didn’t have the talent.

      I mean, Iceland qualified. Were we that much worse than them? I don’t think we were.

      I think the post WC2014 blues, the tactical / coach change (Van Gaal > Hiddink) and other aspects played a much bigger role. Not the lack of talent.

      I’ll post a piece on Memphis soon which also discusses the dynamics in that Oranje, where Hiddink/Blind were in charge of slowly transforming the Sneijder/Robben group to the Memphis/Wijnaldum group, if you like…

      As for Burger, he is rated really high by the Feyenoord watchers. He has grit, he is physically strong, has good legs and like you said, a good personality.

      But compared to the hot new talents coming through like Stengs, Boadu, Ihattaren, Gakpo and Eijting and Noa Lang he is less spectacular. Probably more a Strootman than a Frenkie de Jong to be honest.

      A very solid prospect for Feyenoord but probably not more than that. I don’t see him in Oranje, not with the competition of Propper, De Roon, Ihattaren, Koopmeiners, Eijting, Ekkelenkamp, Rosario etc etc.

      1. @Jan,

        Appreciate the reply, very informative. Thank you

        In looking back at 2016/2018, my thinking is that while they had sufficient first team talent to have qualified, there was a depth issue. A number of injuries especially along the back line and with Robben, VVD’s contract dispute, some players in bad form. I think this present group and the pool that will be available for 2022-2024 will hbe able to absorb absences better.

        Thank you for the thoughts about Burger. “more a Strootman than a Frenkie De Jong” sums it up well. Was just curious; I was impressed so much with his spirit and leadership.

        1. Even Hungary played at EC..No its coaches who spoiled it…We had other players who can take us to EC or WC but..Blind and Hiddink blew it away…We had to be on 4 th place to loose the spot for play off ,thats too tough for even a crap orange side…Blind wa s playing Ringa ringa Rose..
          Then Strooman gave draw to sweden,Blind played crap BMI with 17 year old defender deligt vs Bulgaria..Finally Hugo loris fu@@ked us from back,Also Why the hell stekelnburg played vs france just to concede that crap goal from pogba???Apart from LLoris mistake and strootman crap..it was all stupid coaching mistakes…Forget it…We were not great team,but we could have made it..WITTH a CLEVER COACH..
          if You want to see the coahc effect
          Look at lierpool under klopp
          Mancity under PEP
          and Manu under SAF and after him they had crap coaches except LVG..
          JUST sack TEN HAG and see how Ajax does it..
          “”””An army of sheep led by a lion are more to be feared than an army of lions led by a sheep.””””””””””””

  5. ”I don’t think we didn’t qualify for the Euros 2016 and WC2018 because we didn’t have the talent.

    I mean, Iceland qualified. Were we that much worse than them? I don’t think we were.

    I think the post WC2014 blues, the tactical / coach change (Van Gaal > Hiddink) and other aspects played a much bigger role. Not the lack of talent.'””””””””””””
    Agree 100 percent,thats how important the coach is…you can even win a EC with average team when you have top coach with little luck(luck is required for any team)..
    Eg Greece 2004,Portugal 2016,italy 2006..(italy didnt had to face Dutch,Mexico and Brazil,lucky stolen game vs Australia,Buffon got zidane out an Buffon won it for them,Bizot can do that for us in 2020 and 2022)

  6. @ Jan

    I wont disagree with your analysis of what koeman thinks or wants to do.its within the context of what koeman made clear regarding the time that he has already spent with the current contingent.some places we are just going around and around in circles and I could use the arguement over and over again.

    slight misunderstanding though on the coupling part as I was more refering to national teams and not club teams. Agree that coaches like sarri,Pep and klopp are devoted to this but at the same time its has taken them some duration to make them effective . With respect to national coaches this is not the case though. other big guns are still making string of changes with new players being drafted in the continuing squad on the back of their club performance. This for me is something that defies what koeman said,” we dont have a lot of time before matches to fit in new players” I can go on writing which team called up which new players but at the end of the day it becomes more critical to evaluate whats transpiring compared to that of NT under koeman.

    More later as it unfolds.

  7. Another great article Jan! There’s a lot of talent coming through in the next few years.

    I hope these young players take the time to learn how to navigate their careers as we have seen a lot of promising players stunt their growth and rise by leaving early to big clubs and being relegated to the bench. It is key that they prioritize regular playing time over money and glamour, but it is not an easy thing to do.

    As far as the Blind issue, my take is that Koeman just doesn’t see the competition leaps and bounds above Blind therefore justifying his decision in picking him. Personally, I would like to see some rotation at the LB position. I just don’t see Blind as untouchable in that team. However, Blind is approaching his 30s and Koeman has to find and develop his eventual replacement no matter how much he likes Blind.

  9. Another thing to note on the talents that are coming up is they are scattered all over in all departments compared to what what we are seeing now and are is in patches like Depay,Frenkie and De Ligt. I believe we are witnessing the birth of the next dutch golden generation. Im not sure about Depay and van Dijk but either De Ligt or frenkie could lead this pack.

    I think AZ Acedemy needs a special mention here because they have being working behind the scenes and now have locked horns with the likes of Ajax,Feyenoord and PSV. They still have some good talents coming in the ranks which could reinforce them up to next 3-4 seasons. Not to mention the other players from top 3 who cant break through into the starting 11 will now be motivated to join them given their current platform.

    The last thing you dont wanna see is them making those immature decisions and later on regretting. Leandro Fernandes is the latest one who is now back in ereivisie after a injury ridden season at juventus. U18s to be exact. Chong also appears to be the next one in the line On the brighter side they are some players who are flourishing abroad and could make a break through and incite competition to their eredivisie counterparts. Redan,Dilrosun,Adekanye,Sandler,Kluivert,Van Drongelen whom I said long time is a long term project like van dijk. Forgot about Ake who could be in the same boat as frenkie and De ligt. I really cant understand what koemans plan is for him but he will a big hit in epl in next season or so.

    Goods days coming ahead. Should be fun.

        1. Holland won’t have 2 CL spots for a long time. The club coefficients are on a 5 year spread. 2015-16 was poor, 2016-17 was a good year, 2017-18 was abysmal, with almost no results, 2018-19 was great, and this year looks good as well. But until those 2018-19 points are off the table we won’t be able to get Top 6.

    2. Chong and Adekanye looks like headless chikens,some waht like Anwar elgahzi..i dont think both will make the cut to top level..Football is not just skill ,its all about intelligence too..

    3. Speaking about talent abroad, Zirkzee should leave Bayern Munich. He has Lewadonski and Gnabry in front of him and I don’t see him getting game time soon.

      1. He’s 18, by the time he’s 20 Lewandowski will be declining. It’s actually a very good timeline for him.

        2019-20: Play for the U23s with some cup games
        2020-21: Move back and forth between the U23’s and first team
        2021-22: Regularly in the first team, maybe not starting
        2022-23: Starter at Bayern by 21.

  10. I’m not as critical of Blind as a lot of people on here, but I do think his spot should be in contention. Watching van Aanholt play week-in, week-out for Crystal Palace, he looks really strong, a good modern day wingback.

    I think maybe Blind beats him out on short passes, but van Aanholt’s crosses and shots are great, and I think he’s better defensively.

    1. Annholt,Kongolo and williams are pretty good at their clubs as LB…They are undisputed starteres of L spot in their clubs..Blind plays as LCB and he plays LB for NT..BIASED …
      Williams is deadly on going forward most thereatening LB of the 3..Kongolo is defensivly safe bet.
      why cannot we conisder Blind as LCB back up for Vrigil????

  11. PSV – Utrecht game is a snooze fest. Utrecht has a very strong midfield, psv not so much. Real battle out there.

    Ajax struggles against RKC big time, the big teams look tired

      1. The Guy is top notch,good at small spaces,long range shots,visionary passes,may stamina is little low,Wonderfu team player..Why the F#$$k he did nt get selection when we struggled for Wc2018 and EC2016…
        i think we missed Babel,Virgil,Maher for EC2016 and WC2018 qualifiers..Thats why got punished..Ramseelar was pretty good as well..

        1. Individually he will need to do more if he has to make a come back and it has to be vs top 3 or 4 just like when he burst onto te scene at alkmaar.I still think he should have stayed at AZ somehow. As discussed early van den brom is not the type of coach who can bring the best out of him.

  12. Vitesse back on track. any of guys here see anything in their players?? i think they have somethint to say.
    also as i said before maher play wonderfull for utrecht. any hope on him???

    1. Bazoer is undisputed starter of vitsee he controls their midefeild,Scores goals as well,His ball handling speed is so high..if He do this we HAVE KILLER partner for frenkie De jong..

      1. He was another big hype when coming through ajax ranks. If anything was to happen as proclaimed it would have happened by now. Fits in the system well at vitesse though. They play 4-4-2 which suits him other wise wolfburg was disaster for him and thats where his chapter officially closed.

        1. He had a bad attitude,that spoiled him may be Maher too had that..
          Bazoer is good at timely tackle,Execellent vision,Good speed of thoughts,Good visionary passese,He is near pefect DM…i think Just like Depay,Babel etc He will come back…
          He is not davy klassen type hyped guy..

      2. Bazoer is a thug. He was kicked out of the Vitesse squad again! He tried to pick a fight with Grot. Told him “I will fuck you up after practice” and when Slutski said something about it, Bazoer said: “Fuck you, I dont want to play for your stupid team anyway!”.

        Bazoer is an arrogant bastard, sent away at Ajax, his next club in Germany (forgot which actually), Porto, Utrecht ddn’t want him and now at Vitesse. He’s toxic.

    1. People should stop doing that..Werghorst is not a saviour,He could be another Basdot like flop in NT,i mean 1 goal after 18 games..Even Davy Propper scored more goals than him,,
      Luuk De jong connective game with other players on ground is really good..koeman is right Luuk brings more threat to goal than Werghost…
      Times are long gone for staic,non capable dribbling chance wasting tall strikers..
      It was Depay and Babel who lead us,they are potent than any other static crap..When you add Malen,Stengs,Danjuma,Dilrousn you will have luxuray…
      Our proble is full backs
      its the time for Dest,karsdorp and Annholt,Williams.

        2. Defensive Midfeild is a concern as well,strootman i dont trust,de roon slows down the game…Wijnladum as DM is good but he laos slows down the movement..Propper doesnt slows down the movement but he is lesser ball winner…
          So i feel we should promote Ake the perfect DM there and koopmeiners as back up..Bazoer is coming back i have hope in bazoer he wins tackles and he has exemplary vision..
          2 Dms–Ake and Koopmeiners withBazoer back up
          4-Midfeilders
          Frenkie,Donny,Gini wijnaldum,Propper Vs Ihatteren would be perfect.

          1. Bazoer was dismissed from Vitesse training today, telling Slutsky “I don’t want to play for your team”

  17. It looks belgium teams r not in good shape. Clube bruge get another loss and genk had to play against liverpool. Surely if ajax win today netherland can pass belgium and get 8 place.

    1. Not only Ajax couldn’t win today but based on what I saw in the last 20 mins of the game with Chelsea the team is not even half the quality of last season. Tired, out of ideas, impotent in attack, misplaced passes etc. Last 4 added mins Chelsea kept running rings around them and they couldn’t mount an attack. Huntelaar and Siem deJong didn’t even touch the ball when entered with 3 mins left in the game. Passing the group stage is not a lock, far from it if Valencia beats Lille today.

      1. Agree. But somewhat to be expected given the players lost. We’ll see if ten Hag can work another miracle.

        The less of Huntelaar and Siem de Jong at this point, the better I’d say…

  18. Van de beek was not good. It is obviously and dont need to talk. He is invisible. It looks he dont like ball and not try hard like before. Tadic was another one. I think his physical potential decrease than last year. He really dont show any treat. Chelsea tactic was play with too many player in defence and they know how to defence against ziych. Also i think alvatez and martinez really not goo partner. They cannot do anything when they have ball.

  19. Ajax had a game in london with chelsea. If u like beat chelsea u have to play faster with littlw touch ball. I think van de beek maybe lose his position to neres if he will not try hard like last year. Also i dont see anything in tadic in thus game. They can beat chelsea if they play faster. Chelsea want to play slow with thinking.

  20. Also i have to say. Chelsea is in good shape. Dont seduce me. They r in top 4 in epl again. They play very good game against liverpool three week ago and also they play better against valencia.
    If ajax want to go to top 16 they have leave london with at least 1 point.

  21. Ajax hit the jackpot with the sale of deLigt and deJong. And what did they do with all that $? They go out and buy a couple of mexican/south americans who seem to be more concerned with their hair shape and do not seem to fit at all. And Siem deJong is their go to guy when game is on the line? I didn’t understand the substitutions when we needed speed we put in 2 towers who could no way penetrate the sturdy and tall Chelsea defense.

    1. Agree. They have youngsters who are really hungry and wanna prove themselves before the ban lifts. Lampard has done a good job with these youngest and in time I reckone they will be no 1 team in epl.

      1. Agree with Wilson and Faraz; no one should take anything away from Chelsea’s performance. They had a plan, were organized, the players were athletic and aggressive, and they looked dangerous. Full compliments to Lampard. For the return, I wonder if Ten Haag would consider dropping Van De Beek back a line to give more creativity and touch to the mf. He’d still have Promes, Neres, Tadic and Ziyech up front.

        1. Chelsea had a plan,They got it with little luck as well..May be little dark scene behind curtain..VAR refree/Technician Just finished sex with his mother and showed false angle of promes score…comlete false angle to refree..
          If ajax was allowed that goal,it would have opened the game and chelsea would have condeded 2/3 golas more..Result would have been 3-2 or 4-2 for ajax..
          Ajax robbed of points…
          i doubt plastic money clubs…

          1. I already said this before. Van De Beek is more threatening when he is in and around the box like klaassen. otherwise he doesn’t have the cutting edge of a true attacking mid. eg Mount,zainolo, Havertz etc.. Ihattarren and Lang have that potentialand its just a wait and see game.

  22. Ajax had trouble at final third from very beginning,They struggled against so physically imposing 2 center backs of Chelsea..Promes scored goal but that was offside for an inch…
    Chelsea defended very well against Ajax..Siem de jong and Hunter SHOULD NOT BE there at all under any circumstances..Ten haag is quick realist.so i think he understood that yesterday..

  23. Second half looked a little like the 2nd half against Tottenham…the size, physicality and speed of Chelsea kept Ajax pretty well hemmed in except for the occasional break out.

    Ajax’d biggest problem was that the holding mf’s couldn’t get the ball to the offensive players in advantageous positions. I’m not going to blame Alvarez and Martinez; they were brought in as defenders, and they are the players they are. As someone noted above, they had a lot of money, but didn’t spend wisely. Perhaps they have someone in their youth program they are grooming, but in the game today this particular team looked limited by the mf.

    Ten Haag has to earn his money now. he has to come with a different approach to get the ball to the offensive players with room to do what they do best. Game might be different at Stamford Bridge because as the home team Chelsea will likely come out a little more open. Lets see what happens.

    1. I am afraid Ten Haag is past his peak with Ajax. His climax stopped when he couldn’t make his team defend a 3 goal lead with 45 mins to go. With major talent gone and substituted with some mediocre players he won’t be able to do much this year.

  27. 3 of 4 belgium teams lose their game and only the fourth team get a draw against woflsburg. Belgium team r in bad form. So dutch can easily get back 8 place from them.

    1. This is where the dutch coaches always end up biting the dust. When starting players drop form and they have no back up options postively proven. Its during these type scenarios that rotation comes in handy.

      Im sure koeman will not be moved until and unless de ligt performance leads to a disastering outcome for NT. Something like vs bulguria.

      1. De ligt is better utilized in NT that stupid saari the AS###….Deligt plays with best defender Virgil in the world ,De ligt is RCB at NT..De ligt will be given more free role to attack at NT..So dont doubt him..Having said that i should agree that De vrij,and kae are top notch…But De ligt is more safe bet than De vrij…

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