Tag: Bale

by Jan

Oranje finishes campaign on a high!

Another match played in the “old rubbish stadium” of De Kuip. The final match of these series, after two wins and one draw. Oranje had to play in Rotterdam, much to LVG’s chagrin, as the Stones were supposed to play in the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, but due to a positive Covid test, Jagger had to cancel. How Rock & Roll is that? They performed for years in a state of drugged up drunkenness but Covid positive? No rock, no roll.

Van Gaal re-iterated before the game, that yes the pitch is amazing and yes, the fans and the vibe in De Kuip are brilliant, but he has no place to put his 50 odd staff members. WHAT?

Van Gaal fielded a team with players who 1) hadn’t played much yet and 2) players he wanted to test (in partnership and by themselves).

Cillesen was back from a slight knee injury (hit his knee to the post at practice) and De Ligt got the nod to play skipper and centrally in defence. Jordan Teze got a chance on the right hand side with right back Hateboer next to him. Martins Indi was our left centre back.

More importantly, Vincent Janssen got the chance to show himself. An “exam” is how Van Gaal put it.

Sadly, no Schouten next to Frenkie, I would have liked to see that combination.

The away game versus Wales was slow and boring to watch, at times. This time around, the pace was way better and the intent was clearly there. As was Wales’, who didn’t park the bus like the Polish, but who wanted to be adventurous.

This resulted in a fun match.

Vincent Janssen needed some time to settle and his hard feet did indeed show themselves early in the game. But as the game went on, the former Feyenoord prospect did better and better, resulting the assist for the first goal, by Noa Lang. Lang is a player who will always try something. Playing “normal” is not good enough for the cheeky fan favorite. He too needed some time to settle but demonstrated his talent at numerous times. None more so with the goal. A swivel, a chop, a turn and a shot: 1-0. In that move, Jordan Teze needs to be mentioned too. His forward press resulted in turnover of possession and got the ball to Janssen for his assist.

Not much later, Vincent also won two headers in a row, getting the ball into the feet of our #10 Cody Gakpo who scored the second time of asking: 2-0. Earlier versus Wales, it seemed the orange jersey was too heavy for the PSV star but this time around he played a great game. Demanding the ball, finding spaces and basically hardly losing possession. He’d end the game with a 90% pass accuracy rate!

We expected Oranje to push through and we did get chances. Vincent Janssen was close too after stealing the ball after another good pressing moment but the shot sailed wide.

It took a series of Oranje mistakes to gift Wales their goal. Teze, playing in Timber’s place, did exactly what Van Gaal didn’t like about Timber! He dribbled into midfield, without knowing what the plan was. He didn’t see an option, he doodled a bit and lost possession against Dan James. Still, there were 5 players (!) in the rest defence and a goalie. And they all failed to help Teze out: Hateboer could have squeezed, De Ligt should have stepped in, instead of dropping back and Martins Indi made a strange diagonal run which didn’t help. Last but not least, our goalie Cillesen made a little jump up right at the moment the shot came in. As a result, he was not able to be in time with his dive sideways and block the shot: 2-1.

Cillesen and his little “hop” right when the ball is shot on goal… costing him seconds…

Van Gaal would have been pretty peeved with these series of mistakes.

For the second half, Van Gaal made some statements. De Ligt was punished for his lack of leadership with the Wales goal and was moved to the right, in place of Teze. De Vrij came in to take care of the leader role centrally in defence. Hateboer was also subbed, for him came Dumfries, who’d play a key role in Oranje’s final minutes.

Both Hateboer and Teze couldn’t impress. Hateboer is not Oranje material. No idea in possession, wild and reckless in defence, positioning is awkward. He seems out of place and he seems to know it. Teze will be Oranje material in the future, but the Oranje right hand side was so impotent, even the Oranje players in midfield and on the left seemed to hesitate to pass the ball wide to the right.

Oranje got more control, with an outstanding Frenkie de Jong in midfield and a very busy Vincent Janssen up top. We’re waiting for that third goal, really and after a bit more than an hour, Van Gaal brings fresh legs for Noa Lang and Vincent Janssen, who both leave the pitch with an ovation from the fans. Both these lads are popular amongst the fans. Despite his arrogance and obvious skills, Lang also works very hard, something the fans appreciate.

Memphis and Bergwijn, the dynamic duo, came on and Van Gaal wanted to make sure we’d win the game. Memphis in particular had something to set straight with the fans, after his penalty miss versus Poland.

But the next goal was a Welsh one. With Bale and Aaron Ramsey on the pitch, Wales went for a late thrust. The cross came in and Roberts jumped backwards to head the ball on to Bale, while Tyrell Malacia jumped a bit towards the ball. No clash of heads, but a clash of elbow and head, with the Welshman coming off worst. Not a foul, in my book. A mere collision. Stopping the play for the physios to come onto the pitch, yes, but a foul? Not for me, and thus not a penalty either.

But the ref gave it, the VAR supported it and Bale converted the penalty.

Cillesen again demonstrated he’s not the penalty killer we need. His reach is limited and when you wait that long to react, you can only stop a penalty which is through the middle or chipped Panenka style. But we won’t be too harsh on Cillesen.

It seemed Wales did it again: a late equaliser.

And surely, Oranje would never again manage to score a winner in the next seconds.

The players thought differently. They huddled together quickly, and without interference or help from the coach, they came up with a plan. First ball back to Martins Indi, four players chasing forward to the right hand corner (Gakpo, Memphis, Bergwijn and Dumfries). The Inter man is strong in the air and he headed the Martins Indi hail Mary into the box, where Memphis was right on time to slot the ball under goalie Henderson: 3-2.

De Kuip exploded!

After the game, Van Gaal was – again – proud of his team and the spirit they showed. “Never give up!”.  Van Gaal explained his subs (see above) and he confirmed that Vincent Janssen did everything he hoped for (“Except score, but he was very close and we know he can score”).

Ratings

Jasper Cillesen – 6

Did most things right. Took his time when played in by the defenders, resulting in some nervy moments. He doesn’t look very confident, but that can be deceiving of course. Didn’t do too well with the first Wales goal (the hop) and was powerless against Bale’s spot kick.

Hans Hateboer – 4

Doesn’t add much to the game. No comparison to Dumfries, really. Good club footballer but not Oranje material.

Jordan Teze – 6

Teze did well with his forward press this time and was key for the first goal. He did loose the ball clumsily which got Wales on the board, but he wasn’t the only one at fault. Subbed to make way for De Ligt.

Mathijs de Ligt – 6

Another player for whom the band might be a tad heavy. De Ligt wins most of his duels and is ruthless and strong. Good on the ball too, confident and collected. But still making some errors. LVG moved him to his preferred position in the second half.

Bruno Martins Indi – 6,5

Started weak and off the beat. Handling speed needed improving, and he did. The game went on and Martins Indi grew into his role. The elbow attack which gave him a yellow was a high risk. Could have been a red. Played a solid second half and played the long ball to Dumfries, resulting in the winner.

Tyrell Malacia – 6,5

Show much promise. Confident on the ball, Davids-like mentality, had some good defensive tackles and plays along well in possession. His final pass needs work but he will make it hard for Daley Blind, I think.

Frenkie de Jong – 7,5

Strong on the ball, always on the move, always prowling and scouting for options. Some nice interplay with Janssen, Lang, Koopmeiners and Gakpo. I think he can still do better.

Teun Koopmeiners – 6

Didn’t do much wrong but isn’t playing to his usual strengths. Plays at one pace, square passes and dwindles a bit on the ball. Quite anonymous and he should fear for his spot, when the likes of Gravenberch or Van de Beek return.

Cody Gakpo – 8

Played a smashing match. Confident, demanding the ball, finding space and mixing up his passes, from short play to long passes. Great stats, high pass accuracy and creating good opportunities. Gakpo is close to a starting role.

Noa Lang – 7

Hardworking, always “on”, always trying to create. Showing some nifty touches and highly unpredictable. The type of player you want in the squad, to bring on to the pitch when things don’t flow.

Vincent Janssen – 7

Janssen needed some time to find his feet, but was key in the two goals and was close to scoring himself. Worked hard as per usual but could have played a bit higher up the pitch, in the #9 role. He did have some good sliding tackles to regain possession. Popular amongst the fans.

Denzel Dumfries – 7

We all know his weaknesses in the pass and move game, but compensating this with his great energy, work rate and explosive runs on the flank. Always keeping two opponents busy. Was instrumental in the 3-2.

Stefan de Vrij – 7

Came in to organise and lead the defence. Did a good job in replacing De Ligt who failed for his test in the first half. De Vrij is never “remarkable” but does everything business like and solid.

Steven Bergwijn – 6.5

Demonstrated his skills and speed. Always a threat. Clearly enjoying his time with Oranje and based on his recent games, he’ll be in the team.

Memphis Depay – 7

Needed to fix the miss versus Poland and was immediately in the thick of things, trying to make a difference. Typical strikers’ goal in the dying minutes, with a sense of timing and place. Oranje’s talisman.

Van Gaal – 7,5

Solid coaching at half time, taking Hateboer and Teze off and injecting some experience and quality later in the half by subbing Lang and Janssen for Memphis and Bergwijn.

Next up, the LVG’s Oranje Squad and an analysis of Louis van Gaal The Coach…

Watch this space….

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by Jan

Sloppy Oranje does just enough

“I want to see how these guys do under pressure. When they’re playing a match for real. To see how they cope with the Oranje Stress”. The words of Louis van Gaal when he announced to play 11 new lads for the Wales game.

The so-called “Black Team” as he calls them. This is the team of subs, dressed in black jerseys during practice, who won against the A Team twice at training. “This never happened to me before. The Black Team was better at the high press than the so-called A-Team. Although, I don’t call them A or B Team. They’re all Oranje internationals.”

Van Gaal had decided weeks ago already, with an eye on the schedule (4 games in 8 days) that he was going to use a completely different team versus Wales. What worked in Louis’ favour, was the win over Ukraine by Wales, getting them their first World Cup ticket in centuries (…). The Welsh coach also played a lot of new names and their super star Gareth Bale started on the bench.

The result? A sluggish game. Two teams well versed in tactics and the Wales coach copied the system LVG played, which resulted in a bit of a stalemate first half, from a tactical perspective.

Add to that the sluggish start by Oranje and the sloppiness on the ball and we were looking at a below-par first half.

Van Gaal started with De Ligt on the left hand side of the central defenders. Very much against his own philosophy. And it showed. The build up from the left was slow and with his right, De Ligt constantly “forgot” to play in Malacia.

The Dutch Tactical Maestro and next to him, Louis van Gaal

De Vrij wasn’t able to shine in this department either, as Gakpo and Weghorst were not able to find any space. Lang drifted in true Memphis style, but the tactical set up of Wales blocked any potential move through their ranks, also because the ball circulation pace was too slow.

After 25 minutes or so, Van Gaal instructed Blind to make some changes. Van Gaal had started with a 3-4-2-1 system, but as Gakpo and Lang were struggling, he decided to get Lang back to midfield proper, and push Gakpo next to Weghorst.

Slowly, Holland got more grip on the midfield and controlled the game, without creating serious chances in the first half.

Koopmeiners played a poor first half, not able to accelerate the game with his passing, as he tends to play in one pace, when he’s in Oranje. Schouten, on the other hand, impressed more. He showed some typical Frenkie-turns and is keen to find the forward pass. He takes risks, and is constantly available for a give and go. His only “weakness” is that he seems to refuse to use his left foot.

Jordan Teze impressed Van Gaal as a PSV player, but the youngster got a yellow card early in the game – the Swedish ref needs to find a nice music band to join so he can whistle all day long – and that seemed to be a heavy burden. Teze played insecure, his forward press was at times too slow and his passing was sub-par. He will get more chances in Oranje but he will have to deal with De Vrij, De Ligt, Timber and maybe even Veltman or Schuurs before he gets the nod again, me thinks. We’ll see him again now, I think, but moving forward, he will need to improve.

Another player who will struggle to wear the orange again is Hans Hateboer. The sympatico Atalanta players is simply lacking speed in handling. He dwells on the ball, his positioning at times is poor and without his killer sliding tackle he would have had egg on his face a couple of times. Time for Karsdorp!

Oranje got some half chances, but late in the first half, Cody Gakpo should a bit of his magic when he wriggled his way past a defender in the box and almost slotted the ball home. A late block had the ball richoche’d behind the goal.

Noa Lang would end up being the key player in the second half to turn things Oranje’s way. Van Gaal wanted more pace, more intensity and more simple one/two touch football. Enter Noa Lang.

Started as a forward but pushed back into midfield, where the roaming AC Milan target was strong in possession and was constantly looking to create something. His heat map will be interesting.

The Koopmeiners 0-1 came from the movement of Lang. Picking up the ball around the middle line, a couple of give and goes, then a move to the left and when Malacia played in Schouten, Lang made a forward run which gave Koopmeiners the space to take on the ball with his right (he’s a natural southpaw) and place the ball perfectly for his right (again). A dry, low shot was too much for the Wales shot stopper.

Koopmeiners’ first Oranje goal. Assist Schouten.

Despite being up, Holland still played sloppy and was not that good in retaining possession. For this reason, LVG brought Frenkie and Bergwijn, two players who can hold the ball well. Schouten came off, with a big high five and Gakpo, disappointing, made way for the Spurs man.

Still, Wales was able to play va banque and pushed hard to create something. Gareth Bale joined in and with some crosses and attempts from distance, Wales got closer to scoring.

In the first minute of the extra time, a cross from the right was defended poorly by Hateboer (again) and the Welsh dragons made it 1-1.

The Dutch decided to not give up and it was a masterful move by Barca man De Jong which resulted in a glorious winning goal. Under pressure, Frenkie chipped the ball out of harms way. Steven Bergwijn read the situation and played Frenkie in, who made a dart across the length of the pitch. Two Wales players tried to hack him down, to no avail and left back Malacia was on hand as left winger for the out ball. He didn’t dilly-dally and crossed the ball towards the penalty spot where a wounded Wout Weghorst warrior headed the ball in the top corner: 1-2.

Late goal for Oranje, Frenkie can’t stop running…

By then, Martins Indi was in the team for a tired De Ligt who got a case of the cramps.

LVG was quite realistic after the game. He praised the team for keeping on fighting. Schouten got the praise he deserved but LVG did make a point about him needing to use his left foot more. When asked about the Oranje team with or without Frenkie de Jong, he quipped: “He is valued at 110 million euros. Not for nothing.”

In my view, Cody Gakpo is a nice prospect for the future. He’s clearly dealing with his transfer. He seems out of sorts and a bit too timid.

Weghorst is useful as a super sub. But Luuk de Jong might be better suited. Luuk is a better header of the ball (sounds odd right after Wout’s winner).

Noa Lang is a type of player you need in the squad. Confidence, ballsy, difficult and unpredictable. His work rate in this game was amazing. He clearly wanted to be important for the team.

Teun Koopmeiners needs to step up in Oranje. Show leadership and accelerate the game more. Playing too safe too often and too much in one pace. We all know how good he can be.

Jerdy Schouten is a stayer. He will make the cut, I think. He’s a quick thinker, he’s aware and tactically smart. Overall good skills.

Hans Hateboer is too lightweight for Oranje I feel. Malacia on the other side was fine. Wasn’t used too well in the first half, but was key in the second half with a role in both goals.

De Ligt is world class. But not on the left. De Vrij was fine, no drama. Jordan Teze is also too lightweight for me, at this stage. I rather see De Vrij there, if Van Dijk is available, than Teze. Good prospect though.

Mark Flekken was a bit insecure. Couldn’t help the goal, but flapped a number of times. I also believe that Wilson free kick, he could have and should have held on to the ball. I don’t like all these keepers stomping the ball away. I think Bijlow will be #1, Cillesen #2 and Flekken #3.

Next up, Poland in Rotterdam. I expect a mix up of the teams.

Cillesen

Dumfries – Timber – De Vrij – Ake – Malacia

Schouten – Frenkie

Memphis

Lang – Berghuis

Something like this….

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by Jan

Past stars: Rafael van der Vaart’s new life

For a long time, we lamented the retirement of the likes of Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt, Van Bommel and Nigel de Jong, fearing the good old times would never return. But with players back at top level at Liverpool, Olympique Lyon and Barca and a series of great talents coming through, we almost forget about them now. Even though De Ligt’s and Frenkie’s values would have plummeted after some heavy naive defending vs Bayern Munich (What was Frenkie thinking??), Oranje’s future looks bright. So despite the new series we started – Future Stars – we also applaude the giants on whose shoulders these stars will stand…

Rafa van der Vaart retired from football some weeks ago. A look at his new life and a look back on his career. Thanks to VI Pro, and Simon Zwartkruis.

As we all know on this blog, Rafa is a very warm and open and approachable guy. He gladly took time to be interviewed by your favorite blogger (yes, me) before and when Zwartkruis visits Rafael at home, the first thing the former Ajax playmaker says is: “Hey, you will stay for dinner, right?”

While dad Ramon is fixing dinner, son Damian is facetiming his dad from Hamburg and would later on skype with his daughter who spends time with grandma in Nijmegen and the NOS editors are trying to contact Van der Vaart for his role in Studio Voetbal, the #23 gets a call from a German tv team who need directions to get to Van der Vaart’s home in Beverwijk. Van der Vaart has accepted a role in the German tv show Darts with Stars… Van der Vaart laughs: “Don’t think I have heaps of time, now I am retired. I am more busy than ever.”

He decided a couple of weeks ago, to make that big decision. “I was at practice at Esbjerg. And believe me, with the ball I was still the best player. And I really enjoyed playing there, I did. But these fricking little injuries kept on coming back. I would train all week, prepare for finally another real match and on Saturday: bam! Another muscle issue. I told my girlfriend: this is it! One more injury and I’m out. And it happened. The calf. During practice. I stood up, walked to the dressing room. Grabbed my bag and I went home. I didn’t need to tell Estavana. She saw it in my face. And I also felt relief by the way. It was done.”

Before this season, I actually considered moving to Holland. I could sign with Telstar, which is just around the corner of course. But I have a girlfriend in Denmark, a son in Germany… I didn’t think it would work. I actually worked with John van ‘t Schip at PEC Zwolle in the pre-season to stay fit. And that was tremendous. It felt like I was 18 again, you know. Because John was my most influential youth coach at Ajax, I worked well with him. And of course he was our assistant coach at Oranje, in 2006 and 2008 and I think he is a top notch coach and guy. PEC offered me a deal and it looked really good. But it was too complicated due to my shattered family, so I decided no. Damian is the son of divorced parents. I wanted to be there for him. From Esbjerg to Hamburg is only 3 hours by car, so I choose family over career now. Finally.”

And I can see that he, like me, is all about football. He started off a as a shy kid, but is getting more self aware. I was raised with a “belief in yourself attitude” and that was also augmented at Ajax. We have that “We are the Best!” mentality there and sure, others will see it as arrogant. And it is. But bluf and self confidence are important for a sportsman. You need to walk onto the pitch with the attitude of “this is my home!”. I always wanted the ball, I always wanted to organise everything and be the dominant guy. Even when I made my debut at Oranje, in midfield. I played with giant, like Seedorf and Davids but I wanted to take all the free kicks, you know? I was convinced of my skills, but I wasn’t a dominant guy off the pitch. Don’t get me wrong. I felt uneasy at the start, with Oranje. The first years, I was quiet. I had a lot of respect for these experienced guys, I mean… Van der Sar, Stam, Phillip Cocu… God… I was totally different on the pitch, I played with flair and was cheeky but off the pitch, I couldn’t eat at lunch. So nervous. And I watched how the others would eat their meals or what they would do, and I would copy that, hahaha. I didn’t want to be told off. We had training camps of 10 days and I would count the hours you know. But on the pitch, I was able to make the difference. That Oranje was strong, by the way. I was a starter for Ajax for a considerable time before I was called up. Today, if you play 3 good games for your club you can expect a call from Koeman, hahaha. I was one one of the few from the Eredivisie, the rest all played at top level in Europe. When Sneijder, Heitinga and Nigel de Jong joined me, it became a bit easier. We had our own little group to hang out. And of course, when you can make the difference in the match, you will be easily accepted by the regulars.”

I was a kid of the club, at Ajax. And it felt like home. How different it was, when I moved to Hamburg. Unbelievable. My first practice session at HSV, I will never forget. I was a big money signing and I felt the pressure showing my team mates how good I was. I did it all, took on opponents, played slide rule passes, shoot balls in the top corner, the whole thing. And that makes for an easy entrance. The pre season friendlies went well and before you know it the mania started. Every day, articles in the media, there was a run on shirts with my name and number…. I was used to some attention at Ajax, but this in Germany was just out of this world.”

“When I left for Real Madrid I noticed my status was different. Of course, I need to add. The rotation system they used at Real was not for me. I had to get used to it. I scored a hattrick vs Sporting Gijon and the next weekend I was on the bench. I didn’t get that. It made me a bit uncertain and antsy. But, Real Madrid is not a club where you knock on the door of the coach, to ask if he’s seeing it properly, hahaha. And after my first season, Real decided to go shopping. C Ronaldo came. Kaka came. So you know it will get harder. And when the new president said all Dutch players needed to go, it was almost undoable. The technical director Valdano and coach Pellegrini told me I was their 6th choice for the number 10 role. Behind Raul, Guti, Kaka, Granero and talent Canales. But, I didn’t want to leave and I told them. I also told them they made a mistake as I was the best option for that role. And I would show them. I started to train like an animal and in the fourth playing round, I got my chance.  Away at Villareal I got a turn. I worked my ass off and had an assist. And from that game on, I was playing again. And that was just fantastic. After the winter break, I was a starter. For Pellegrini I was first choice for the #10 role. And I flew over the pitch, I was fit, scored goals and gave assists and we kept on winning. We played a Champions League game vs Olympique Lyon and Cristiano Ronaldo was angry with the coach for now playing me. They had this heated debate in the dressing room. That was a real compliment. I fought myself back into the game, I’m proud of that. They actually took my shirt number away, before the season and I fought myself back into the fold. At any other club, I might have said: fuck ‘m all, I’m out. But this was Real Madrid. Doesn’t get bigger.”

The Dutch contingent at Madrid, sans Huntelaar actually…

“After Madrid, it was Tottenham. I really enjoyed that time. We only played top matches in a crazy pace. My goodness. That is probably my best period in my career. I scored, I had assists and we had a sensational team, I think better than that Madrid team, actually. My partnership with Modric, with Bale, with Crouch. Special. The World Cup in South Africa was the high point and low point of my career. I went to Spurs right after it and I was in top shape and enjoyed my football. By the way, the lost WC finals vs Spain still hurts you know. I worked with Bert van Marwijk in Hamburg later on and we spoke about that finals a lot. Glass of wine and a conversation and the more wine we drank, the more emotional we got, hahaha.”

“Man, I enjoyed my career. I played for amazing clubs and lived in sensational cities… I have had great times with Oranje, more than 100 caps. And now I am free. I watch Damian play in Hamburg, I follow Estavana with her matches (she is a pro handball player in Denmark) and I like doing the tv work (Raf is co-host and analyticus).

Rafa being important for Spurs in the derby

I am doing this with Pierre van Hooijdonk and it feels like we have a click on tv just like we had on the pitch. Pierre loves football humor, like me and would always lead on the pitch.”

“And I am positive about Dutch football. Koeman is the ideal coach for Oranje. I worked with him at Ajax and obviously had my share of issues and clashes with him. He is quite pragmatic and can be direct and tough. And I was not really mature in those days. My position was simple: a coach that puts me in the team is a world class coach. A coach who benches me is a dickhead. But back then, at the start of his coaching career, he already was top notch. And I judge a coach now, on what he can make his players do.”

“Now I see Memphis working his butt off, I can Babel playing a wing back and defending all the way to his own corner flag, I can see the aggression in the defenders, wonderful! Just wonderful. And the home game vs France was a highpoint. A top team performance. The panenka penalty by Memphis as the absolute cherry on the cake. And if you see how Frenkie is making his mark already on the performances, and how Bergwijn is developing and also Wijnaldum, who finally gets to his level of Liverpool at Oranje. I’m very positive about the future.”

“But I have huge weak spot for Frenkie de Jong, which is probably quite natural. He is the one who can make the difference. And the trend is now that midfielders need to be like triathlon athletes, strong and tall and muscular. But some of them have really terrible ball skills. It starts with technique. The rest can be developed. And I love it how Ajax is now impressing in Europe with skilled, technical players. Frenkie, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres, Van de Beek, all great players. They’re great on the ball but also very agile and fit. Most fans of attractive football will adore this team.”

“I’m not sure of becoming a coach is for me. I have had an invite from Heitinga to assist him at Ajax, under 19. That will be fun. But for now, I want to enjoy life. And I am a romantic. When I see Isco on the bench at Madrid, I want to cry. Casemiro plays and Isco doesn’t not… I don’t get that. Although I have learned to see how certain types of players are important for the balance in the team. It sounds like coach-talk, but it’s true. You won’t win anything with eleven Iscos or eleven Rafael van der Vaarts.”

“But, I do think clubs are starting to over-analyse. At Midtjylland, I suddenly had half a computer around my neck. In a little bag. Could I please put this around my neck? Well, no. Sorry. I threw the thing in the bin. Come on man, you have eyes in your head? They could see how many sprints I made and in which direction. Bullshit. They could even see to which supermarket I went and what vegetables I bought, hahaha. I told them: why don’t we focus on playing the ball to a player with the same colour shirt. My goodness. For me, it all starts with the ball.”

When asked what Rafael’s Best Line Up would be, with players he played with, this is what he came up with…

“I had sleepless nights man, coming up with this line up. I had 109 caps for Oranje, played pro football for 12 years and was at a number of clubs, so I had sooo many options. But here it comes…

On goal, Edwin van der Sar. He was un-be-lievable. And I worked with some great goalies, like Casillas, but Sar was just unbeatable and a top notch skipper too.

At the back, Marcello on left back. He is a bit like me. A real football lover. Passionate about having fun and playing with flair. He is so good on the ball, so fit and such a nice guy. I tell you what, Royston Drenthe was the other left back and Marcelo and Roy were competing for the spot. They would play in turn. I remember Roy playing great in the Champions League and scoring against Barcelona. The coach wanted Drenthe to be the left back, but Drenthe wanted to be left winger! Can you imagine. And he ended up leaving. Otherwise he could still have been Real Madrid’s left full back, hahaha.

Ledley King is the surprise choice for centre back. I played with some great ones, but this guy… He never trained. He was not fit enough. He only trained for himself and maybe on the day before the match with Spurs he would sit in for the tactical training. He simply was not fit enough. Always playing with pain. But when he played during the match, he was like a rock. He was tremendous. I have soo much respect for that guy. And it didn’t matter that he never trained or even wasn’t at tactical sessions, he could perform anyway.

Rafa with captain Chivu winning the title in Holland

I have Christian Chivu as left centre back. Such a cool dude, a leader and super good on the ball. Header of the ball, long pass, didn’t matter. He could do everything. He could have had a much bigger career if his body supported that.

For right back, Sergio Ramos. He was right back when I played with him. A true leader and a very good bloke. And of course, a super defender. When Wes and I played at Madrid, he was still a rookie, but with a lot of bravado. For free kicks, he would come to the ball and make attempts to take it. Wes and I would say “Go away Ramos! You are merely the right back here!” hahahaha… And off he went. Now he’s a Madrid legend.

Midfield wasn’t hard for me. I played with Modric behind me and man man what an intelligent player he is. So smart, sees everything, great touch. We hardly spoke about football and didn’t need to. We had this telepathic thing. Same with Guti. Of all the #10s I played with or against, he was by far the most gifted. If only he was as serious as he was gifted. Boy, he loved to party and he was such a gregarious guy. Loved life too much. But his vision and his passing skills. I remember a match, I was 30 or 40 yards away from him, he was with his back to me, I made a dash into space, he turns and passes the ball blind into space, right on my left foot. Impossible! He couldn’t have seen me! But he did. Gareth Bale is my left midfielder. Because even though he was playing left full back at Spurs, I would use him as my left midfielder, because he can cover that whole left flank.

Up front, Arjen Robben as right winger is a no brainer. I loved playing with him. An amazing player, his mentality, personality, his speed… He is by far one of the best players ever. Of all time! As left winger, C Ronaldo of course. What an incredible talent and what a work ethic! So focused, so motivated and so good. And you know what, he’s a really nice guy as well. One of the blokes in the dressing room, a really good guy. I saw how his life is, from up close and I am glad I am not like him. He’s a rock star, he can’t leave the house to have a kick with his son or have a coffee with his partner. Whereas I can. In Amsterdam, people say hi, but leave me alone. I am the utmost respect for this guy.

Central striker, well… I played with Benzema, with Zlatan, Kluivert and with Ruud van Nistelrooy to name a few. But Peter Crouch is my man! We had a great partnership. I scored 6 goals in my first 5 Spurs matches I think, all thanks to him. He was a really underrated player too. The Messi of tall dudes, I called him. He really is and was a great player and also a very funny and nice guy. After his 6 assists on me, he came over to me and said:”Hey Raf, how about next time you find me and give me an assist for a change?” And I said “Nah, I think its going fine as it is”, hahahaha.

 

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by Jan

Why Virgil and Gini will win the CL!

Finally, an English team will break the reign of the Spanish CL rulers. It is possible to break the combination and possession play that dominated European football for so long. In the 2005/06 season, the CL became a chess game on grass. In the four semi final matches, only 2 goals were scored. The average that season, was 2,3 goals per game which is the lowest since 1992/393.  The success of the Italian clubs and conservative coaches like Benitez and Mourinho led a new trend. The best way to win something in Europe, was the thought, is to build a strong defensive organisational unit and hope for a counter attack.

Twelve years later and offensive football is victorious. A trend that started with Barcelona. Between 2006 and 2015 they win the most important prize in club football four times! And with dazzling attacking play. And now, this style is being followed, obviously by Pep Guardiola himself, as he brings Bayern Munich and now Man City to the level of his Barca teams. When Barca wins the trophy in 2011, they are one of the few teams to pass 500+ times per match. In this season’s CL tournament, there are 10 clubs that manage this.

To stop the Barcelonas and Bayern Munichs of dominating, the “park the bus” tactics were used, and with success too! Mourinho with Inter Milan, Chelsea under Di Matteo. Atletico’s Diego Simeone turns it into an art form, by playing a solid 4-4-2  with very tight space between the players in a zonal defensive system.

But it’s a German coach who plants the seed in 2013 as a response to the Spanish combinationdomination. And that seed will result and has already resulted in the spectacle in the Champions League we saw this season…

It’s Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich. Both teams have a football approach that starts with possession of the opponent, but with a thrust of pressure forward. A way of thinking reminiscent of the famous AC Milan team of the late 80s, early 90s under Arrigo Sacchi. Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp: “My teams are modelled on the AC Milan team of Sacchi. He was my mentor. I actually never met him but my former assistant coach Wolfgang Frank, who did work with him.”


Exactly like Milan, Klopp’s teams are trained to re-possess the ball in areas and in moments where losing the ball will bring the opponent immediately into trouble. The opponent is unorganised and Klopp’s team will pounce. In 2013, Dortmund beats Malaga and Real Madrid, while Bayern humiliates Barca by winning 7-0 on aggregate!

It doesn’t result in a new German era of success, but it does bring about the new trend of zonal marking, aggressive forward pressure and immediate pressing when the ball is lost. This is how AS Monaco beats Man City in the CL season last year. And this is how PSG beat Barca 4-0 at home. Sadly, the Parisians lose their cool in the Camp Nou and resort back to their defensive, park-the-bus tactics and actually lose on aggregate…

The UEFA’s annual technical report is quite clear, in the 2016/17 season. More than 20% of all goals are scored from a fast transition in open play from defence to attack. And this is even without all the free kicks and penalty kicks that derive from this. The number of passes to create a goal is decreasing as well. As is the average time it takes to win the ball back and score. And almost half of the goals are the result of possession turnaround high on the pitch, in the final third.

That season, Liverpool isn’t in the CL otherwise the stats would have been even more prolific. In the EPL, Klopp is still faced with teams that are happy to use the long ball and by pass the whole build up. And in the EPL, Liverpool does lose too many points against those opponents. In the CL however, teams like to build up, to pass the ball, have possession and break down an opponent.  In the CL, it helps if you can play out from the back with incisive and risky passing, and it helps if you can re-possess the ball swiftly and set up a lethal attack at the same time. Liverpool can do both.

This Liverpool is not the best organised lot. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Man City and Tottenham come to mind as being much better. But Liverpool is the King of Chaos. With the Reds, it is all about the turn around. When the opponent is just off the pace for seconds. When half the team of the opponent is still in forward motion and the other half breaks down to move back. Whenever Liverpool have the ball, they are prepared for when they lose the ball. When Liverpool are without the ball, they are preparing for the counter attack that will come, when they re-claim the ball. And, when Liverpool does start their turn-around move, they’re sheer unstoppable.

Ready for the press!

Klopp summarized it once as such, when asked what the difference was between Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and his Liverpool. “Wenger loves to have the ball and loves to play from foot to foot. They’re well structured and balanced. Like an orchestra. They play lovely harmonies. I prefer heavy metal. I like noise. I like chaos.”

The Liverpool Stats on their way to the CL finals are stunning. Out of the 33 goals they scored, 28 goals were set up with less than four passes. No other team has scored or shot on target as often from the turnaround as Liverpool have…

Klopp organises his teams in such a way that winning the ball back equates becoming a threat immediately. This is how it’s done. The Liverpool team will veer with the opponents movement. The pace goes down a bit, every player protecting his zone. The team on the ball will actually believe they get a moment to breath and build up nicely. But Liverpool players are taught to recognise when the opponent gets into trouble. For instance, a pass on a midfielder with his face towards his own goal. Or a square pass to a back who is with his back to the line and has less options. Or a pass lacking the pace. A stray pass. Anything. And when that happens, it’s like Liverpool turns from kittens into leopards. They suddenly increase the intensity and hunt for the ball. Klopp’s team is like a predator, allowing the pray to think they’re safe. Until they’re not anymore.

The moment Nangolain made the wrong pass…

With Mane and Salah up top, Liverpool has the speed. And they work well together with false #9 Firminho, the first station in the counter attack, he will find the pass towards the two speedy forwards. Firminho is also the man to join in and his bursts usually create space for the upcoming midfielders, like Can or Wijnaldum or Oxlade Chamberlain. The Liverpool midfielders are all built for this chaotic style of play. They can all come up with creative solutions under pressure. Klopp: “How I coach the counters? That is not hard. I start with signing players who are willing to work hard every match and who are happy to run constantly, even if they won’t get the ball.”

And Liverpool is away….

And the entertainment value of Liverpool matches is the result of all this, as Liverpool also makes mistakes in their execution. They score 5 against Roma, using their strengths and concede 2 against Roma in situations where the cohesion is gone. When the field becomes too stretched or when a defender misses the challenge, Liverpool can become really open and vulnerable. Klopp doesn’t seem to care. “As long as we score more on the other end…”

These are the 6 principles of Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy:

  1. Lure the Opponent in

Liverpool doesn’t need the ball. Liverpool wants to control space. They determine where the opponent can go and where they can’t. By pressing early and high, opponents can either play the long ball, and there is a fair chance The Reds will win that (Virgil van Dijk) or they play out of the back, which is a high risk game. Because if they lose the leather, the likes of Salah, Mane and Firminho will tear you apart. Liverpool will drop back a bit, giving the opponent the idea it’s safe to start building up and then – as explained above – when a certain risky situation appears, they will pounce. They will all move towards the side where the ball is and suddenly block off the next pass.

2.  Direct the ball towards one side

Liverpool doesn’t mind it when the opponent has the ball as long as they have it where Liverpool wants them to have it. And they do this by not being totally in balance. It’s the smart body language and smart runs that will slowly force the opponent into a certain area. Roberto Firmino is the king of this game. He’s got the intelligence and the energy to repeatedly do this in a match. Klopp will find the weakest link in the opponents team and seemingly leave that player unmarked. Once he is played in (usually a full back) Firminho will move towards the player in such a way that the next pass is predictable. And pray for the next Liverpool player. Another element that is key is the ability of the Liverpool players to “mark” two players. Basically, the midfielders and the defenders of Liverpool are capable of putting pressure on the man with the ball but also by blocking a pass to a team mate of the opponent.

Liverpool forcing the goalie to make the risky pass into one of the central backs

3.  Prepare the trap

When Liverpool is at the point where the opponent is forced to the side where Liverpool wants them, the trap will be set. Liverpool will block every pass, except the one that Liverpool likes to see used. Liverpool keeps one option open and the player under pressure will usually use that option. In some situations, four Liverpool players will be ready to immediately put pressure on the ball with intensity and pace. Once the ball is won, Liverpool can immediately attack.

4. Set the trap

Liverpool, as a result of the number of players used in the trap, will always have players available to release the ball to. There is usually always a man more situation created as a result. Obviously, Liverpool will be understaffed on other areas of the pitch and sometimes a really special player will be able to play the ball in one time in that area, but Klopp is happy to have that risk. Because when Liverpool do win the ball, they have a man more situation (at least one man more) and most of Liverpool’s goals are scored from this situation.

5.   Do get the ball!

Apparently, this is the past where Klopp needed most work. Because putting pressure on the ball or actually getting the ball are different things. Klopp wants his players to go for the kill. Not complacent pseudo challenges. But go for the ball 100%. The result in the 2016/17 season: Liverpool players re-possessed the ball most out of all EPL players, and that includes creative players like Philippe Coutinho.

6.  Attack!

The last ingredient of the Klopp recipe is to actually attack. Don’t repossess the ball and recycle it with a square pass or a back pass. No. Attack! Immediately. The opponent usually is badly organised in these situations and Klopp wants to use that situation. But it does mean his players have to work ever so hard and cover so much ground. With Mane and Salah he has speed and with the likes of Firminho, Wijnaldum, Milner and Can he has the work horses to support.

With this style of play, it is easy to see why the top teams don’t like to play against Liverpool. But it also shows why it ‘s hard for Liverpool to win the EPL title. Most of the teams in the bottom half of the league will not try and dominate, or play possession and walk into the Liverpool trap. Against these teams, the long ball will be used by the opponent and Liverpool will have to find a Plan B to break these clubs down.

Winning the Champions League seems easier for Liverpool than winning the EPL title…

Thanks to VI Pro for the insights…

 

 

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