Tag: Babel

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 by Jan

UPDATED: Oranje impresses vs Euro champs

My dear friends, I will again start this post with pointing out that a win in a friendly normally doesn’t mean that much. Coaches will usually look at the progress, the style of play and whether it becomes 1-0 or 0-1, well… But not in this case!

Ronald Koeman lost his first game in charge. The Oranje squad has been on a losing streak basically since 2014. The media have been all over the Dutch. Even last Saturday the English media called us a disgrace. And our loyal fans all need a win too.

So this game did matter. Against the reigning Euro champs. Against our angstgegner. Against the culprit of the Battle of Neuremberg.

I personally believe the criticism on Oranje after the England game was uncalled for. Yes, we weren’t too good going forward, but we played compact and didn’t give a lot away. England didn’t create much either, did they?

But when Koeman announced to make 7 or so changes, I was worried a bit for this game. We know Portugal does have quality, they have confidence, they all play for big clubs, etc etc.

Sure, Portugal didn’t play as disciplined as England. And Portugal didn’t play as if their lives depended on it. All true.

But no team wants to lose 0-3 in the prep run for a World Cup. Don’t forget, some Portuguese players will need to demonstrate to their coach that they’re deserving of a spot on the plane, in summer.

So Oranje impressed me. Given the changes, given the lack of Robben/Sneijder/Blind, given the loss on Friday… They impressed really muchly.

Our midfield was a completely unrecognisable. Van de Beek impressed with his composure, his runs, his smarts (he’s still a young kid!) and Propper has grown a lot in England. He used to be a bit lacklustre, complacent. Not any more. Turning into a beautiful playmaker. Elegant on the ball and with that visor aimed forward. Always looking for the opening.

Even Wijnaldum, much maligned in Oranje, did well. Mr Risk-free, in his position, tends to square the ball a lot and take a lot of touches- and I do hope he’ll improve in that area – but he was strong on the ball and worked well with the rest of the midfield.

Babel also showed why Koeman selected him. He’s gotten some criticism on this blog, from me as well, but he demonstrated his value with his runs. Weghorst and Dost can’t play like this. In what was a 3-5-2 set up, Memphis and Babel did what they had to do. They were a threat, they worked the space and held up play well.

Tete was decent, Vilhena could well be the right wing back on the left for us, and the three central defenders were excellent yet again.

For me, Cillesen also demonstrated to be the number one. He oozes composure. Has great reflexes and stopped some good attempts while his footwork is just much better than Zoet’s…

The goals were great, in particular Babel’s header on right winger for the occasion De Ligt’s firm cross, and Van Dijk’s goal was a tremendous training ground goal. Deep cross by Memphis, cushioned header De Ligt and composed movement and finish by our skipper.

There is hope, people. With the likes of Blind and Frenkie de Jong coming in and some time as well, we should be able to compete. To qualify. And once we qualified, to be that dark horse again.

UPDATED:

A bit more in detail now. Oranje changed some details in the way they executed the tactics.

England was too smart for our midfield on Friday, with the deeplying Henderson dropping back and Sterling coming into midfield. Our 2 men midfield didn’t cope with that. Koeman basically tried three different systems vs England. The starting 3-4-3, the change to 5-3-2 to deal with aforementioned midfield issues and later in the game, chasing it with 4-3-3.

For this Portugal game, he went with a mix of 5-3-2 and 3-5-2, tilting the team based on where the ball was. If the Portuguese left back had the ball, Tete would push forward which would mean De Ligt would drop to the RB spot and Van Dijk would tuck in too, with Propper dropping deeper (and vice versa).

The three in midfield meant we always had a spare man and the two forwards had more space to operate, not as bound to the wing as per usual. In particular Memphis had space he could work in. When he’s a real winger, he’s confronted with double markers and lack of movement in front of him. Now he could find the gaps and drive forward.

It seems Strootman has to worry about his spot. The Brighton midfielder Propper played an almost perfect game, finding space and finding the forward pass when he could. His controlling play before our centre backs was excellent.

Ronald Koeman was pleased: “We worked hard on this in the past days. We knew these were the accents we had to change and we practised it well. It’s great to see this result. But, one game, it doesn’t mean we’re there. I wanted to use the four friendlies for our new system and we might find it sooner of course. Portugal did come back strong in the second half though. I think we were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t take advantage of the man-over situation in the second half.”

Justin Kluivert and Guus Til broke their duck for Oranje, as debutants. Kluivert had one good run to goal in which he wanted to offer Til the chance to score. If this had happened in an Ajax game, he would have cut inside and curl the ball in the top corner, no doubt.

Kluivert: “This is the happiest day of my life. I’m really proud, but I know I have a way to go if I want to be as good and important for Oranje as my dad. I’m on the way though and it tastes like more.”

The international media were highly positive about Oranje: “This Holland team looks like it is in good World Cup form.” The Portuguese media: “The only positive about the game is that we will go to the World Cup and Holland won’t.” The English media realised that two so-called EPL flops (Memphis and Babel) secured the win for Holland. The Belgium media: “What a demonstration! At times, Oranje dazzled like in days past and beats European Champs Portugal 0-3. C Ronaldo’s only contribution of the game was diving, crying to the ref and taking selfies with fans who came onto the pitch.”

The Italian press focused on Dutch defending: “C Ronaldo destroyed. He didn’t do anything and eventually got subbed. That tells the story.” The Spanish AS focused on the battle between Barca goalie Cillesen and Real forward Ronaldo: “The Dutch goalie kept his goal clean and was the man of the match for Oranje.”

The Dutch “experts” about the game.

1974 and 1978 phenomenon Arie Haan: “We have enough quality but we need to stay grounded. There is enough positives, like Van Dijk, a European top player. And De Ligt is probably the biggest defensive talent in Europe currently. And Donny van de Beek is going to be important for the team. Dynamic, great passer and dribbler and he can score as well.”

Denny Landzaat (ex Ajax and AZ): “The backline deserves the credits and kudos, but I want to mention Ryan Babel, with his speed and his ball control and hold up play. I’m sure the whole team will play better with a guy like him up top. And Jesper Cillesen is a strongholder too. Great feet and tremendous reflexes.”

Aad de Mos (ex Ajax, Mechelen and Anderlecht coach): “This win is not coincidental. Koeman is a shrewd tactician. And there’s enough quality in the squad. The back four is strong. I would definitely use Daley Blind as left back when he’s fit, but Davy Propper deserves the spot in midfield. Perfect two-footed. The only thing we lack is a good striker, but Steven Bergwijn could fill that role. I want to see him too.”

It seems Mathijs de Ligt missed out on C Ronaldo’s jersey. “I think seven others beat me to it. Not sure who has it.” In 5 years C Ronaldo will lament the fact he missed the chance to get De Ligt’s jersey….

You can watch the full game here. Download links in the comments on that link.

December 5, 2017 by Jan

Memphis, most scoring left winger in Europe

It took less than a year in the Ligue 1 for Memphis Depay to become one of the key players in France. Although his image might not always be too positive in the Netherlands. It’s time to analyse how he managed to resurrect his career with Olympique Lyon.

If one hears something repeated often enough, it will become the perceived reality. This applies to all these Dutch football fans and pundits claiming that Arjen Robben can never be replaced in Oranje and we – Holland – currently do not have any top quality players anymore.

Strangely enough, the most threatening left winger in the five Top Leagues in Europe (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1) is actually a Dutch player. It’s also the most critiqued player of Oranje of the past years: Memphis Depay.

Usually, the news items are about the hats he wears, the messages he puts on Instagram, the car he drives, the tattoos on his body or the rap songs he produces. This all doesn’t take into acount the amazing comeback he made to the top as OL player. In Lyon, Depay seems to have recovered from his failed adventure at Man United. The playing style of Lyon could well be the blue print for the plan Oranje needs to execute. The effectiveness of Depay in that system of Les Gones seems to be a worthy aim, as Oranje is looking for new leaders of the line.

Memphis Depay’s stats versus all left wingers in the Top 5 European Leagues, 2017/18:

	Number
Goals:	8	1st
Directly involved in goals (goals + assists):	11	3rd
Shots per match:	2,1	26st
Scorings percentage shots:	29.6%	1st*

* Only taking into account players with more than one shot on goal per match

The year and a half Memphis played for Manchester United, in hindsight, can be seen as the perfect storm of what could go wrong for a young lad at a big club. He came in with a huge weight of expectations on his back, not helped by the Jersey #7. Van Gaal immediately gave Depay a starting berth in a team that the coach couldn’t get to dazzle. In the first season of energy-less games, Memphis was instructed to put more energy in his defensive game, while the slow ball circulation meant he was usually facing two opponents. Having to stick to the byline, Depay usually was one of the last players in the tedious build-up to receive the ball, not having any space or time for the creative element of surprise. All things he never had to cope with at PSV. And to put insult to injury, on the last transfer day, Man United signed French super talent Martial for 60 mio euros, a direct rival for the left wing. In two years, the coach who signed him was told to leave and Jose Mourinho came in. He demands more physical and tactical discipline of his players and more defensive duties of his wingers. Not a game plan Memphis would thrive in.

He gave his football management the instruction to find him a team inwhich he could excel. They went to SciSports and asked the statisticians to do the work. Olympique Lyon was on the top of their advisory list and Lyon signed him for 16 mio euros. Lyon was a club where the two wingers are free to roam, free to express themselves and are relatively free of defensive duties. After one year, it’s clear to see why this club suits Memphis.

Coach Genesio uses the 4-2-3-1. And Depay gets the space to do what he does well, explosive runs from outside to inside, preparing his killer right foot for a hammer blow. In the final third of the pitch, Memphis hardly ever plays close to the by-line. The left channel is the territory of a forward thundering left wing back or shadow striker Nabil Fekir drifts to the left to use that space.

Defensively, Depay does not have a tough job. Lyon will drop in, back to 4-4-2 and Depay does need to track back to his defensive position, but apart from forward pressurising when Lyon lost possession, there aren’t a lot of other defensive tasks for him. Last weekend, against Nice, Lyon scored 5 goals. As Fekir was not available, Lyon went back to 4-3-3 in possession and 4-5-1 when they lost possession. Four of the five goals (two by Memphis) were made out of quick turnaround moments, from defence to offence. Whenever Nice had the ball on their left flank, it was clear what Memphis’ job was. Being ready to break once Lyon took possession back.

Memphis, positionally defending but ready to pounce

This season, coach Genesio has four explosive forwards. And with destroyer Gonalons off to AS Roma, Lyon plays a little bit mor passive this season. Happy to give the ball to the opponent at times. Lyon had 59% and 57% possession on average, in the last two seasons. This season, the average is closer to 50%. This shift to a more counter-attacking style fits the team and in particular the explosive Depay. Combine this with the fact when Lyon does have the ball, the left winger is able to show up in time in the danger areas, and it is clear to see how he reaches the level again where he left off at PSV.

It also helps that Memphis is playing next to one of the best false strikers of Europe: Nabil Fekir. The French international is in the form of his life and scored eleven goals in as much matches and had 4 assists. Fekir’s qualities are well-known: great dribbler and a devastating shot.

But with Depay being overly right-footed, Fekir is a southpaw and as a result likes to drift to the left flank, enabling him to cross the ball in with his left. Depay uses this with glee, using the space vacated by Fekir to play in the #10 role.

Memphis coming inside, with Fekir drifting to the left

Fekir also likes to move up to become the central striker, which is possible because striker Diaz has the speed and control to play on the flanks as well. This dynamic triangle – with Fekir as #9, Depay as #10 and Diaz on the left – can be seen often in Lyon games.

The positional freedom Depay has in the Lyon system is the exact opposite of the straightjacket tactics of ManU’s Van Gaal, who instructed his players to remain in certain areas of the pitch and never to cross over. This style can easily be adopted by Oranje, as we also have quite multi-functional attackers in Promes, Babel and Berghuis.

Another positive aspect to Depay’s game is that he has tremendously improved in the two areas where he spoke of in an interview in 2014. The 20 year old back then said his initial pre-action needs to improve and his running in behind without the ball needs to get better. Two aspects he clearly worked on.

Memphis playing the #10 role

“Guus Hiddink and Phillip Cocu think I need to be more alternating in my pre-actions. I need to be more focused. For instance, I should be able to spot the ball coming to me, 10 seconds earlier. The ball comes in my direction, my team mate opens up his body, I can read that he’ll play me in. I need to move before this happens and make my opponent nervous. I used to be static on the byline. Receiving the ball into my feet and then I’d make the action. By making the right initial move, I should be able to stretch the defence.”

	Goals	Assists	Shots	Dribbles	Chances created
PSV
2013/14:	0,4	0,23	5,4	3,4	2,9	7,4%
2014/15:	0,77	0,18	5,7	2,8	2,1	13,6%
Manchester United
2015/16:	0,12	0,12	3,5	1,3	0,5	3,4%
Olympique Lyon
2016/17:	0,41	0,57	3,8	3,3	2,6	10,8%
2017/18:	0,75	0,28	2,5	1,9	1,9	29,6%

In Lyon, Memphis demonstrates to have this down pat. In the match vs St Etienne he scores a goal with the exact same pre-action as his first goal vs Troyes, only two weeks earlier. Depay starts on the right flank when Lyon’s counter starts, but makes his way diagonally to the left. When Fekir playes the ball to the right, to Aouar, Depay will pass a defender’s back and move to the left. He knows the defender will be startled and will turn towards his own goal to sprint back to cover Memphis. When the defender takes his eye off him, in that turn, Memphis takes the opportunity to move away and create space for the shot on goal with his right, whenever the ball gets to him.

He also said in the 2014 interview that national team manager Van Gaal insisted on more depth in his runs. Today, Depay seems to be aware of the damage his speed can do to an opponent’s defence. Diaz and Depay were up against 6 opponents at the half way line, but when he gets the ball and full speed the four Troyes defenders are helpless against the finishing of the left winger.

Memphis moving from central to the left flank away from the defender in behind

Some players make huge steps when they get to a bigger club. Leroy Sane at Man City, Mo Salah now at Liverpool… This usually happens when they realise they can be threatening and useful without the ball as well. It seems Depay reached this point now as well. And he’s only 23 years old, which means he has the 5 or 7 best years of his career ahead of him. So we best get used again, to the moniker “Memphis Depay, world class player” soon. And watching him play for Lyon is a joy, indeed.

Enjoy some snippets of an interview from last month, from Simon Zwartkruis, October 2017.

Memphis: “So tell me honestly, do you write 24 hours per day? No, right? Well, I have a life besides my work as well. I enjoy fashion, I like posting on Instagram, I love nice cars. What’s wrong with that? But people see that and don’t seem to see how honoured and priviliged and blessed I feel to play for my country.”

“As a boy, I fell in love with football and that will never go away. That passion is the core for me. Practice, laughing with the lads, prepping for a game, getting the best out of yourself, nothing is more beautiful than that. And I do know that at pro level, other aspects count. Of course. Football is number 1 for me and will always be. But the judgements people have about me, are about more than football. Some people don’t get me. But what is so wrong what I do? I’m 23 years old, I’m growing as a human. We all do right?”

“I’m a positive guy. And I believe I can influence my life in a positive way. But the things I do outside of football aren’t regarded as positive. I don’t really care, but it surprises me. I am focused on football and my career, no one needs to doubt that. But there’s other things that make my happy. I’m not a pro player 24 hours per day. And it’s different for every one. But when I’m happy, I perform better. I go full throttle at practice.”

“And when I’m free in my head, my game is freed up. It’s actually good for my career, all these things I do. If I would live like a hermit, I’d be unhappy. And that is also top sports: to find the modus that works for you. I treat my body as my temple, I rest a lot. But I still have time for other stuff. Like a musician isn’t always making music, right?”

“It will also have to do with my background. I’m a street kid. My family was always in survival mode. I love nice things now, as I wasn’t used to it. And in the neighbourhood I grew up in, all lads were little “bosses”. We needed to find our way. And some kids came out wrong. Some went the criminal path. Others worked with their talents. And when you do this, whether its sports or music, you need to invest in yourself first. Some kids from the street opt for the quick and easy money. But I never walk alone. God is with me. That is how I am raised. My trust in my faith is huge. And I’m blessed. I grew up in the jungle, and that is a huge contrast to where I am now and where I want to go to.”

After a failed stint at Man United, Memphis found his happiness with Olympique Lyon. “It was a conscious decision to go there. It wasn’t happening for me at Man United. I was more involved in defensive actions that in the attack. Now, I am free to perform my actions, which is my strength. I play on intuition, I can’t perform well with a list of chores on my back. But I do look for the balance and it’s getting better and better.”

When he’s confronted with his excellent stats this year, he frowns. “It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. I demand more. People say I’m too critical and I might be, but I know what I am able to do. I want to be the best. And I’m not, at the moment. But stats don’t tell the full story. I could play a disastrous match but still score twice. It doesn’t tell me too much. Look at our campaign to qualify for the World Cup: I scored three goals and had an assist in four matches. Decent stats. But I wanted to have more contribution than that. And I look in the mirror. It’s up to me to prove my worth also in Oranje.”

With Oranje, most people hope and expect that the mid 20 year old and older players will take the reigns: Blind, Wijnaldum, Strootman, De Vrij, Van dijk and – the only forward in the list- Memphis Depay. “I want to be important in this new stage. We need to create a more positive vibe around Oranje. We are in a tough spot now and we don’t have the quality we had – say – 7 or 4 years ago. We have lots of young players and we need the support. But I see glory for Oranje again. We will need to build a strong team and with the support of the nation, we can build something beautiful again.”

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 by Jan

Oranje back to winning ways….

I wanted to have a positive title. After all the negative shenanigans of the past ~~days weeks months~~ years.

There definitely are positives. So lets list those:

Oranje remembers how to win

Winning matches is something you can program, you can make it a habit. We had a terrible period under Hiddink, towards the EC2016. It was less bad under Blind, as the draw in Sweden was a fluke and the loss vs France acceptable. The Bulgaria away loss was not, of course. That game cost us the World Cup.

Under Advocaat, we lost again vs France (away) but were able to win all the other matches. That gives hope.

Dick Advocaat moves on

I’m simply not a fan. I think he’s a nice guy, he’s funny in interviews and probably a real football maniac, yes. But he’s also not a builder (like Van Gaal), he’s not a tactical wizard and in recent ~~weeks months years~~ decades he demonstrated that Dick comes first. And then there is nothing, for a long time. And then the rest follows. And Dick first, means: paycheck! In the last weeks after Holland failed to qualify, it was suddenly all about him. About his future. About his statistics. About his announcement to the press after Romania. What a load of bull! There was no announcement of any importance to make, as Dick’s contract with the KNVB ended. Full stop.

Dick became a huge ego-maniac. Now, most successful “result” coaches are. Think Van Gaal, Mourinho, Conte, probably also Klopp. But Klopp packages it better than the rest. Dick behaves and is allowed to behave like this is normal. After Holland not qualifying, I didn’t see any remorse, any sympathy, any accountability or any vision coming from Advocaat. Wouldn’t he be a good man – with his experience – to shed his light on the Dutch football crisis? But he only talks about me me me. And now after the Romania game, he immediately puts his job advertisement out: “Oh, a World Cup? Yes, I’d love to coach at the World Cup!”. Dick! If you wanted this, you could have done better with Oranje, you Dick! But no, no contemplation or soul searching, just blatantly applying for a job!

New brooms

Advocaat, Van Breukelen, Van Oostveen, Hiddink, Blind, Jorritsma, Gullit and Grim. All moving on. A new board (Jan Smit chair), a new general manager (Gudde) and hopefully soon a solid Technical Director, NT coach, and supporting staff in place. With hopefully a solid vision, a new coaching/player development program, a new competition set up (allowing the all youth teams to compete) and a ban on artificial pitches.

Talent

Don’t let anyone tell you that the Dutch don’t have talent. We will always have enough talent to at least qualify. Full stop. Yet again. Maybe not always good enough to win the big tournaments (News Flash: even with Cruyff, Van Hanegem, Neeskens, Krol, Moulijn, Wilkes, Lenstra, Van Basten, Gullit, Bergkamp, Sneijder, Robben we never won a World Cup, so….) but good enough to compete. Stengs, Frenkie de Jong, Patrick Kluivert, Karsdorp, Kongolo, Vilhena, Memphis, Van Dijk, De Ligt, Pieri, Til, Van de Beek, Bergwijn… the list will grow. And with more experienced players like Wijnaldum, Blind, Strootman, De Vrij, surely we should be able to qualify?

Amazing young talent

This Blog

The best news of all, we have this blog. With awesome editors and contributing writers (all called Jan, somehow….). Awesome pics, news, stories. And most importantly, we have AWE – wait for it!- SOME members here with amazing insights, good humor, passion for the Orange Lions and also some much needed insanity and stupidity.

Watch this space for analysis of the modern game, introductions to new coaches like Erik ten Hag and Mitchell Van der Gaag, a farewell to the Big Four and a cool story on Johan Neeskens (introducing his new book!).

So, we might not grace the pitch for another 4 months or so, but this Blog keeps Rocking. The Gift that never stops Giving.

Speaking of which, try out that donate button every one and a while, will’ya?

November 14, 2017November 14, 2017 by Jan

Oranje: Romania ends an era….

The picture above tells the story of Dick’s last tenure for Oranje.

Here are the key news items for the Romania game.

No one cares

It’s away, versus Romania

We will field 11 players

Rekik went home, sick.

Mathijs de Ligt plays.

Propper is fit.

Berghuis probably starts.

So does Veltman.

Let’s get it over with.

Sweden beat Italy

November 10, 2017 by Jan

Oranje steals the win in Scotland

If FIFA would have organised a losers Cup to be played parallel with the World Cup, for instance in Andorra or on Malta, with nations like…eh…Andorra, Malta, Finland, Luxembourg, Greece and Narnia, surely Holland would have an outside chance of winning that.

We stole the win in Scotland. Against a willing but mostly unable young Scottish team, also under care-taker manager, the Dutch got one real opportunity and took it. On the counter. Typically.

Well worked, I have to say, but also two hints of offside. The turn around moment came, Memphis set the attack up, willing runner Wijnaldum was on his bike, he found Babel on the right in an offside position and he crossed the ball hard onto the hardworking Depay who cushioned the ball into the net.

That is basically all there was to say about Oranje’s attacking prowess in this friendly.

Otherwise, it was brave Scotland. And a 90 minute explanation of all that is wrong with this Oranje.

A coach who now only cares about statistics. No Van de Beek, no Berghuis, no Frenkie de Jong, just the usual suspects with too many missing players, not enough confidence and no consistency or patterns… Just making sure we fulfilled our obligation to play this friendly.

The players worked hard for it, they were probably motivated enough, but the lack of system, confidence, automatisms…it resulted in another poor display.

All Oranje’s shortcomings were clear in this game.

We should forget about this one (and the Romania one most likely, as I don’t see Dick coming up with anything other than this) and pray for the Dutch Lion turning into a Phoenix (ashes etc etc).

Even the post match comments of the players and coach made it clear that they too, want to see this vacuum period end quickly, so we can move on to better things.

I won’t go into the individual performances too much. Cillesen was uncertain at times. Blind – who played central mid vs Sweden and did so splendidly – was forced back into defence too often. Memphis worked hard. The forwards weren’t found. Our defenders (Ake, Rekik) threw everything at it and Wijnaldum showed glimpses of his Liverpool class.

Let’s move on.

October 6, 2017 by Jan

The moment of truth for Oranje….

In 5 days we’ll know. Whether we’re out of the World Cup or whether we are still hanging in.

It’s been a while, since Oranje missed both an EC and a WC. Tension is rising and the Dutch media (and people) are edgy.

Dick Advocaat has not made the ironclad impression we are used of him. At PSV, his earlier stints at Oranje, the Sunderland escape, the Zenit successes… The headstrong and confident sly fox has been slipping up since taking over from the much maligned Blind and his current choices also result in frowns all around.

Against France, he failed to make defensive changes when we were 2-0 down and without a hope in the world. The search for a late goal resulted in two more goals conceded with the known impact on goal difference. After the match, it appeared as if Dick was unaware of the goal difference importance. His gamble to hope for a Van Persie moment of brilliance also didn’t work out, with the Fener striker out with a knee injury.

Against Bulgaria, with 25 minutes to go, again, Dick failed to make changes. This time, offensive changes were needed as every goal counted and we could have gone for a 5-1 win, for sure.

Surely, Dick is now fully aware that every goal scored counts, but after a courtship of Klaas Jan Huntelaar, the Ajax striker saw his name omitted from the squad. Dick didn’t believe in too many central striker and he opted for Janssen and Dost, with either Babel or Locadia as the pinch hitter. Babel deserves his call up for me, but Locadia only impressed once this season with his four goals vs an unlucky FC Utrecht.

And now Dost is sidelined thanks to a practice injury to the knee, Huntelaar would have been a great option B for the striker position. Too late.

I personally believe we have one defender too many (Veltman?) and we are one forward/midfielder short. Locadia won’t be the Oranje saviour. I would personally always selected Sneijder, if he’s fit. The fact that he hasn’t played for weeks… Against France, I would not have used Sneijder (but would have opted for a 4 man dynamic midfield of Vilhena/Van Ginkel/Klaassen type players. But against Belarus, surely, Sneijder could be of use for the last 25 minutes? The opponent getting tired, bring in Sneijder and let him play his passing game. His corner kicks and free-kicks will always be threatening. I’m convinced he doesn’t need weeks of match-play to hit a dead ball.

His leadership off the pitch will be missed too. He’s been our talisman for so long and Oranje’s true skipper.

Another player I’d like to see asap, is Frenkie de Jong. Maybe not as a starter, but this kid has something unique (like Sneijder). His first pass is always vertical and he has the balls to play with risk and pizzazz.

According to the media, Cillesen will start. Janmaat and Blind will be full backs and Hertha’s Karim Rekik and Virgil van Dijk are the central defenders. The midfield will consist of Vilhena, Propper and Wijnaldum, with Robben/Janssen/Babel up top. As you know, Strootman is out.

I can see this work. Robben and Babel will keep the central defenders busy allowing Janssen to roam. The full backs will provide the wide option, like Blind demonstrated versus Bulgaria and like Janmaat does where ever he plays.

Wijnaldum will play in a controlling way, like Vilhena, with timed runs into the box. Propper again, will play the false striker behind Janssen.

I believe a 0-4 win will be possible, but the circumstances aren’t great. The team lacks cohesion, confidence is brittle and we lack options (Dost, no Huntelaar, no Sneijder). And it’s cold in Belarus. Very cold.

If we score in the first 20 minutes, we can get to a 0-4 or better score, but if it remains 0-0 for a long time, we might have to keep the fingers crossed for a 0-1 win.

It’s tempting to believe that Luxembourg will contain Sweden (in Sweden) but it’s wishful thinking. Normally, Sweden will win this game with at least 3 goals difference. And don’t think France will slip up again. Won’t happen.

There is one thing I’m uncertain about. The rules are not that clear. Once the group games have been played, the results against the worst nation will be scrapped. Including the goals. If that is Belarus – which makes sense if Holland beats them with good numbers – the goals will be taken out of the equation. Sweden scored 8 goals vs Belarus. Which means we will have a better goal difference than Sweden, provided we beat Sweden coming Tuesday. Which is also not a cert, by the way.

But this does mean that we need to look at the different scenarios, because Luxembourg could also be the last in the group. We took 6 points from them, while Sweden drew against them. We will lose more points in this case.

I am not sure if this is all correct, so I’m open to your comments.

But even if we end up second in the group, we could well be the worst second of all. In which case, we won’t get a chance to go to the World Cup. Otherwise, we do get this play-off game and we’ll most likely get an opponent of strength (Italy for instance, or Portugal). Qualification is still a long way out.

October 3, 2017 by Jan

Oranje: Russian Roulette

While Abba plays in the background, Dick Advocaat is enjoying a smorgasbord of questions at the press conference. All the country’s mathematicians and statisticians joined in to calculate Oranje’s chances and the different scenarios, but the 70 year old still doesn’t seem to realise it’s about goals. “I don’t get that fuss about scoring. As if we can simply decide how much we’ll score. The criticism after the Bulgaria game also went over my head! A 3-1 win is a good result. You can’t expect to score x times. I also don’t believe Sweden will score a lot versus Luxembourg. Nonsense. We will focus on winning our games. And during the game, we’ll find out what is possible in terms of number of goals.”

The nation is baffled. Surely, Dick will understand he simply needs to instruct his players to go out and get as much as possible? We won’t settle for 3-0 vs Belarus with – say – 25 minutes to go? And surely, Dick will field a team with goals in them? Janssen. Dost. Robben. Memphis. Klaassen. Wijnaldum. Propper. Van Dijk. Or…?

The main punters out there are not too positive. Willem van Hanegem is adamant. “We won’t get to Russia. I’m sorry. I do hope I’m wrong, but we simply aren’t good enough. Let’s rebuild after this World Cup.”

Most of the players tend to excel in wishful thinking. They all come to the camp with bravado and bold statements. Except for Arjen Robben. He happens to be experienced, world-class and the skipper of the team. “It will be very very hard. I will not say “never” but it will be a tough job. The odds aren’t great. But, we are in it still, so we will need to do what we can. But winning three games in a row has proven to be hard for us, so I don’t share all that optimism.”

Robben made his debut for Oranje in 2003 (with Sneijder) and has had mainly good times in the orange jersey. Should Oranje not qualify in the coming two matches, it’s highly likely that Robben will retire from the NT. “This is not a topic for now. I want to focus fully on the matches.”

Robben did have a certain “oh geez” moment. “I’ve been coming here for 14 years. And I thoroughly enjoyed it and still do. Man, I get goosebumps when the national anthem plays. But it’s strange. I made my debut with Wesley and we sort of went on this journey together all this time. The high points and in retrospect, we didn’t have that many lows… But now Sneijder isn’t here. And that hit me. Because if we can’t qualify for Russia… is my career in Oranje over? His as well? That sort of hit me. And I’ve seen the downturn, and felt it. We used to win all our qualification games. Like routine. Now, we struggle… Things have changed.”

The first training session was a bit of a jolly event. Dick Advocaat let his two assistants (Fred Grim and the physio) deal with the group, jostling with tennis balls, a game of handball and a silly mini match with the small goals facing the wrong way. Some light entertainment, while Ruud Gullit was in deep conversation with Karik Rekik and Dick Advocaat spent time with skipper Robben.

Virgil van Dijk was called up as a late replacement for Stefan de Vrij. “I’m so happy to be back. Seriously, I needed this. It was a tough six months but I’m 100% fit and motivated. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy playing for Southampton, but like any athlete: if you can better yourself and play at world top level, you want to make that step. I don’t regret my actions and I also don’t blame Southampton for their stance. My aim is to be important for the club again and for Oranje and my next chances will surely come. I’m ready to play, although I’m not sure what the coach wants to do. I may lack rhythm but I’m top fit.”

Stefan de Vrij’s absence was frowned upon. The central defender played an hour for Lazio vs Sassuolo and scored even. “But it’s not good. I can’t play without pain. The groin is not good. I left the pitch after an hour and the groin stiffened up and it’s now impossible to play. I probably need a week of rest and treatment and then after the international break, I might be able to train with the ball. Every pass I gave hurt. It’s not good.”

People in Holland now doubt whether you’re motivated to play for Oranje?

“Nonsense! People who know me know better. It’s quite simple. I got the call from the KNVB re: my fitness, last week. I told them I wasn’t 100% but that my coach was keen to use me in the Sassuolo game. If that would go well, I would be ready for Oranje. But I was subbed due to the injury and I don’t think I would be able to train until Friday. So the coach decided not to use me and I can totally understand. You don’t want a player who can’t practice all week for these key games.”

You didn’t even want to talk about the whole thing?

“Because it shouldn’t be about me or my injury. It should be about the players who are fit and available and it should be about the Belarus and Sweden matches. That’s why I avoided the questions, but it became such a thing that I simply had to come out and explain it all.”

Kevin Strootman will join the group on Wednesday, if all goes well. Strootman got injured too after a collision and is in Rome for observation. He might have a concussion or other ailments which might stop him from joining Oranje.

A player who is fit and in form and eager to play is Ryan Babel. He hasn’t been with Oranje since 2011. Introduced to the world stage in 2006 by Marco van Basten and a benchwarmer in 2010 under Van Marwijk, Ryan Babel is now in the autumn of his career. “Boy, I still knew the way to Noordwijk (where Oranje usually has its trainings camp, but I had to introduce myself to most of the players! I know some lads, the Ajax lads like Cillesen and Blind of course and I replaced Arjen Robben in my debut, but the other players I only know from television. But I’m proud and humbled to be back. In all honesty, I came home to play for Ajax partly to get back on the radar with then coach Van Gaal. He gave Eredivisie players a chance and I felt it would do my career good. I did have a good season and won the title with Ajax, but I never made it back in Oranje.”

Babel had a spell in Spain before moving back to Turkey, where he’s been a key man for more than a season, even scoring in the Champions League. “I’m in form, yes and fit. I’m not saying I will save Oranje and all that, but I can play my part. I’m also now one of the older players, so maybe I can even help some of the younger lads. It’s an honour to be back.”

Babel played in the Middle East (sand pit) for a while but devised a plan with his dad to return to the European (sub) top. “That move to the Middle East was really purely for the money. I’ll be honest. That paycheck, I couldn’t resist. But when Spain came a-calling, I did want to move back into a serious competition. And now back in Turkey. I’m loving it.”

Babel credits Advocaat for his judgement of the Turkish league. “I think I’m lucky with the fact that Advocaat worked at Fener. He knows that the Turkish league is tough. And he’s seen me play a lot. Any other coach might have overlooked me.”

The players who are fit and available all have some sort of baggage to deal with. Jesper Cillesen is definitely one of the best Dutch goalies, but warms the bench in the Camp Nou. Surely, he will have improved just by practicing with Messi, Neymar, Iniesta and Suarez and a goalie doesn’t need the rhythm of match play like an outfield player. I hope.

Kenny Tete does will with Lyon but doesn’t play every match. The same applies to Janmaat. Yes, he has experience in Oranje and lungs and legs of a horse, but he hasn’t played more than – say – Frenkie de Jong at Ajax.

Welsey Hoedt and Virgil van Dijk both lack rhythm and might be rivals for the same spot at Southampton.

Daley Blind does play his regular matches and always reaches a high level at Man United but he will never be beyond criticism.

Gini Wijnaldum is a favorite of Jurgen Klopp but Liverpool only won 1 match in 8 games in all comps and the criticism is coming. Wijnaldum’s effectiveness will be judged seriously.

Kevin Strootman is not without criticism either and we all have witnessed his lack of form in Oranje recently.

Davy Propper went from a dominating team, playing possession football on the front foot (PSV) to a weak team that doesn’t have the ball often and when they do, play the long ball over Propper’s head. The gifted technician is a holding midfielder at Brighton and has yet to make his mark.

Davey Klaassen is seen as a huge mistake in England. The agile midfielder hasn’t made any impact for Everton yet and wasn’t even among the used subs in the last match in the EPL (which Everton couldn’t win).

The good news is: Vince Janssen is playing and scoring for Fener, Babel is on fire (for a while already) and Memphis Depay shows his class when he plays. The latter also made an impact in Oranje’s first training on Tuesday.

Bas Dost, lastly, is still a goal scoring machine in Portugal but his coach doesn’t use him in big games. Dost has never impressed wearing the orange, although he did score a 100% legal goal versus Sweden, which was disallowed.

There might be one player key for Oranje in the coming matches. And he won’t be wearing orange, by the way. Gerson Rodrigues, he plays for Telstar in the Jupiler League in Holland and he’s a forward of Luxembourg. The quick attacker is keen to help Oranje qualify for the World Cup and he is eager to prove his worth by intending to hurt Sweden. Against France, he was close scoring a late winner, but his attempt hit the post. “I’ll try and get a least a point for Holland. And I’ll return here to join in with the festivities!”

In the coming days, we’ll learn more about the shenanigans of Oranje on their mission to qualify.

Until then, we finish with a nice news flash re: Louis van Gaal. The former NT coach’ name is mentioned as one of the candidates to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich. Yep, you read it properly: the arrogant Dutchman who was axed at Bayern by his nemesis Uli Hoeness might be asked to come back to the club.

May 31, 2017 by Jan

Oranje gets Big Dick

And it needs it! In order to really have a go and reach the World Cup, we need good potency. I always felt Advocaat is a big of a dick, with his greed-oriented behaviour. He disappointed so many clubs and nations (PSV, Australia, Belgium, Sunderland, KNVB) and all for a bigger pay-check.

But, he does get things done and we do not have many highly experienced and willing coaches left in Dick’s age-category. Van Gaal isn’t interested, Van Marwijk is happy in the sandbag, Van Hanegem and Jansen not willing, Stevens not willing, Michels is dead… Time for a new generation (Ten Hag, Bosz, Cocu, Gio, De Boer) but all these guys are happy to work with players on a day by day basis.

Big Dick will join the squad later, with assistant Ruud Gullit. Until he does, Fred Grim and Frans Hoek will keep the reigns and manage Oranje past the two upcoming friendlies… Morocco first. Ivory Coast on Sunday.

The Dutch squad is becoming complete today. Wesley Sneijder traveled late from Turkey, directly to Agadir. Grim already stated that he’ll give the 32 year old captain playing time. Wes only needs two more games to topple Van der Sar as the most capped Dutch player ever. He’ll get that record, with two friendlies on the roster. The Ivory Coast game is actually on his 33rd birthday. What an accomplishment for the little playmaker!

Jesper Cillesen came late to the camp too, as he had to play (and win) the Spanish Copa Del Rey with Barca. A look at three players who had an exciting but not necessarily good first season at greener pastures…

Nathan Ake – Chelsea:

“It’s fun to be part of the Dutch team for the first time. I’ve played in all Oranje rep teams as off under-15 and now it’s an honour to be part of the big Oranje. Marc Wilmots is the team manager of Ivory Coast, who called me as well. He wanted to know if I was happy to think about playing for the country where my dad is born. And I said, yes I will. But Holland is my first choice and I think Wilmots understood. I still have family in Ivory Coast, by the way, but I’ve never visited. My mum is Dutch, we’d go to Ivory Coast when I was 18 years old but I’m 22 years old now and it hasn’t happened. Should I get official playing time versus Luxembourg, the decision will be made. My parents support me fully.

This was a good and interesting year. I was loaned out to Bournemouth. I didn’t play a minute in the first months but I got my chance and took it. Coach Conte called me personally to say he wanted to get me back in the winter. I think I can now determine myself, what will happen. Next season, I will get my chance and I want to play as much as possible. I can play on several positions but my favorite spot is the left central position. But we’ll see whether Chelsea will offer me playing time… Time will tell.”

Vincent Janssen – Spurs

“My first season at Tottenham is behind me now. I don’t think it was what I hoped for, in terms of playing time. That is quite clear I suppose. But I do notice I have grown as a player. Last year around this time we had an Oranje camp in Portugal as well, and I can feel I’m much stronger and quicker in my handling the ball. The last few months I was much more settled at Spurs but hey, we won 12 out of 13 games in the EPL and were in good form, so the coach didn’t have much reasons to give me more time. The team was doing so well. What will happen the next season? I am not sure. It’s not just me who determines this of course. The coach didn’t do a personal assessment with all the players, he basically just thanked the group. Individual talks is more a Dutch thing I suppose.

I hoped the KNVB would have gone on with Danny Blind. This is the first time in career I deal with the sacking of a coach. And I still owe a lot of gratitude to Danny Blind for his confidence. He allowed me my debut and he let me play ten international games. I spoke to him after he was let go. I haven’t spoken to Mr Advocaat yet, but i worked with him earlier, when he was assistant and he’s very present, dominant and had numerous tips for me.”

Jesper Cillesen – Barcelona

“I’m happy that I could finish the season with Barca winning a prize I actually contributed to. The cup tournament became my tournament. And I do like some more of that taste. It will be an interesting summer, you never know what to expect in the summer. Anything can happen now, with Valverde coming in as the new coach. It’s been really intense. The step from Ajax to Barcelona is quite big. On the pitch, but also off the pitch. In terms of tactics, mentally… I had times where I hit a wall.

But I have become a better goalie. I’m dealing with the best forwards on the planet. When I first started in practice, Messi would hit the target with a venom and precision I didn’t get at Ajax. In those first weeks I felt like I was in 2011, when I became part of the Dutch squad while still at NEC! But, I do stop shots by Neymar, Messi, Suarez on training. I am used to the pace now. I’m ambitious though, I want to become the #1 goalie here. Even though Ter Stegen has just renewed his contract, I’ll will go head to had with him. I feel good about it.”

Frans Hoek (right) amazed by Martins Indi’s haircut
Daley Blind, Davy Klaassen, Jeremain Lens, Arjen Robben, Kevin Strootman, Stefan de Vrij and Gini Wijnaldum also made it later to the squad due to obligations elsewhere.

In total, Oranje has 28 in the group to prepare for the friendlies. Dick Advocaat: “We decided on a bigger group as some players will come to the training camp later due to obligations. We don’t know how fit they will be. We need to prepare for the worst and at this stage it won’t be harmful to have a bigger group with some younger, fresher players as Oranje is in transition.”

By the way, Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) will not be part of the Moroccan squad. The playmaker who could be so potent for Oranje decided to go for Morocco but the relationship between him and the French coach of Morocco is troubled. Renard first ignored the former Heerenveen talent for the Africa Cup, now Ziyech decided to sit the NT out until Renard is removed…

New boys Jens Toornstra and Sergio Padt (goalie Groningen)

Other “Dutchies” in the Moroccan squad: King Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Nordin Amrabat (Watford), Mimoun Mahi (FC Groningen), Sofyan Amrabat and Yassin Ayoub (both with FC Utrecht).

There is one player not selected who did make some headlines. Ryan Babel (ex-Ajax, ex-Liverpool) is now 30 years old and found his second wind, winning the title in Turkey (under Big Dick’s nose!) with Besiktas. The former Oranje winger tweeted: “Disappointed that Oranje doesn’t seem to need my services”. He said later: “Somehow in Holland people think my career is over. I’ve been under the radar too much probably, but I’m back at my best now. I think I am able to support Oranje in these crucial times.”

Ryan Babel screams “Whyyyy Dick???”

October 28, 2012 by Jan

Wonderful week for Ajax with balls! ( Pt 1?)

On the day before the biggest Classic in the country (Feyenoord-Ajax), we can look back at a great week for Ajax.

And typically for Ajax, it has everything to do with balls. Big balls.

The difference between Ajax and Feyenoord, PSV, Twente and all the other teams in Holland is basically that. Bravado. Balls. Arrogance. Self-consciousness. This is what made/makes Ajax extraordinary.

Yes, good football. Yes, results. Yes, a good venue. Yes a good jersey. Yes, a strong supporters following. All of that. But it’s Ajax gogme ( jiddish word for street smartness) that sets them apart.

And it was demonstrated by Frank de Boer ( and his staff) in the tactics against Manchester City.

The Oranje1974/Barca style of playing with a loose striker ( ™ Carlos) worked wonders. Roberto Mancini didn’t get it. Lescot and Kompany didn’t have a clue. Ajax ruled the game.

And it was demonstrated by Cristian Eriksen, Siem de Jong, Ricardo van Rhijn, Daley Blind and even Paulsen. On the pitch. In amongst big name players like Toure, Nasri, Aguero, Barry, Milner.

Ajax deserved the lead in the first half already, but over enthusiasm by the team (and Van Rhijn) allowed Nasri to score (was Vermeer indeed pulling his hand?). But Man of the Match Siem de Jong set up the equaliser in brilliant style, after a one-two combination with Van Rhijn.

In the second half, Ajax put the foot firmer on the pedal and won the game highly justified with 3-1.

Dennis having a good time while Roberto is not happy….

And sadly, one wonders…what would have happened if the lot would have found their cojones earlier on in the competition? Sure, they played well against Dortmund in Germany, but forgot to kill the game. The home game against Real Madrid (with yours truly in the stands) gave us another Ajax, however. Frank de Boer said “It was as if I was watching Martin Jol’s Ajax…”…

But he got them to play exciting, adventurous and ballsy again. According to the Dutch school, but arguably in a 4-4-2 formation. So what?

So, there are many different scenarios out there, but in my book, Ajax needs to win away against City (Boerrigter and Babel up front, no Sana and 4 men in midfield) and at home against Dortmund and Real will do the rest :-). If Ajax goes up to the second spot, Dortmund and Man City will go after spot 3 and Man City will definitely win a game (after they get their arse whooped by Ajax again 🙂 ).

Former Ajax chair and FFP advocate Michael van Praag

So, there you go people: Ajax to go through.

Also, on another level, in the board room, former Ajax executives Michael van Praag and Maarten Fonteijn have pushed for (and received) agreements on Financial Fair Play. To be introduced next season ( 2013-2014)!

Like Frank de Boer on the bench, Michael van Praag does not take prisoners. Asked if he would have the cojones to have a go at Manchester City and Real Madrid, he said (with a smile): “You betcha!”.

So clubs like Ajax will have a real chance to win the CL again.

Van Praag: “If Real Madrid doesn’t want to play according to the new rules, they are out. Simple as that.”

Any club competing in a European competition will have to have his financial household in order by running the operation break even. Making a loss is not on.

“The revenue streams will have to come from ticket sale, sponsoring, tv rights and merchandising. It is not longer an option for the owner of Man City to say “what do we need to balance the books? 100 million? Here you go…”.”

Debt needs to be repaid in three years. In the first year, 45 mio is allowed, but in year three only 5 mio. After that, it is zero! The only investments that are allowed is the youth academy. The only option left for them is to sell shares in the clubs. But they won’t…”

Fascinating developments in Amsterdam.

Sadly for them, they’re now on their way to Rotterdam where Feyenoord will put their feet firmly back onto the ground :-).

Man of the Match