Tag: Fer

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Jan

Dutch football cameo for Euro 2016

It is quite annoying to take too long to write posts. Before you know it, things change and Louis van Gaal is out. Propper is staying with his pregnant girlfriend and Steven Berghuis is in…. Read on… This is the time when Oranje fans dust off their orange gear… Wigs, hats, trumpets, jerseys, sun glasses, flags… But not this time around. Most Oranje fans are still debating whether to support Belgium, England or even forfeit the whole bloody thing and focus on Max Verstappen! With the EPL and the Eredivisie coming to an end (almost done… FA Cup Final just behind us, relegation / promotion play offs and EL play offs finishing soon, Copa del Rey in Spain (not that we have any players in that)) and of course… the Euro 2016 warm up games! Sadly, we are the sparring partner. Nothing more. Playing nations that do go. With players keen to prove something to their coaches. So it will at least be competitive.

Louis through the exit

Let’s look at the finish of the season, here and in England (and Italy and Germany, but otherwise there are not a lot of Dutch world beaters active). So Ajax lost it in the last game. No Bazoer in the starting line up. Something is up between him and Frank de Boer. The team choked, it was playing lethargic and nervous. The 1-0 seemed to calm everyone down, but when De Graafschap equalised (horrible back tracking by Ajax), the team choked. Young Czech talent Cerny did have a sensational open chance at 1-0 and if he scored that, Ajax probably would have snapped up the title. Frank de Boer had some erratic subs at 1-1 and took of top scorer Milik, resulting in El Ghazi playing striker, who made a mess of it. PSV played like we’ve seen them before. In the CL for instance, and mostly in the competition as well. Cocu said it weeks ago already: “If we win every game, we’ll get the title” and he was right. Good stuff, as PSV can now look forward to millions from the CL and maybe try sign Ziyech and Vilhena….

Peter Bosz back in Holland Things at Ajax aren’t looking great at the moment. Frank de Boer will go. Peter Bosz (ex-Feyenoord, ex-Vitesse, now at Maccabi Tel Aviv) will come in. Dennis Bergkamp will probably never leave and Hennie Spijkerman will stay on as well. Both assistant coaches clashed seriously with Orlando Trustful, the former Ajax and Feyenoord playmaker who was added to the staff by Frank de Boer. The former international worked at the KNVB for a spell and brought his modern vision of coaching to the mix. Frank de Boer adores Trustful and already said he’ll take him with him to his next adventure. This will probably ease the pressure. Ajax might miss out on millions if they don’t qualify for the CL and the team needs a shot in the arm, as Younes, El Ghazi, Van der Hoorn, Gudelj and Fisher seemed to have peaked. Youngsters like Bazoer, Tete and Riedewald will be definite future stars but the team misses leaders and creative players. Klaassen, who took the leadership role in the beginning of the season, also faded away at the end of the season. Milik might have a good Euros and Ajax might sell him with a profit, to get Huntelaar back in as the striker. PSV will most likely see Narsingh leave, while Willems could be on his way out to, if PSV wants to make some money before he leaves transfer free. Marco van Ginkel’s future is still in the hands of Chelsea and apparently there is a lot of interest in Jeffrey Bruma. Feyenoord had an ok season. Great for them to win the National Cup but their Eredivisie campaign was disappointing with then dropping points in 7 games in a row. Next season, Gio and his lads will get European League group football which is excellent. With players like Kuyt, Elia, El Ahmadi, Karsdorp and Kongolo in the mix, the frame of the team is solid. Vilhena even stated that he actually might be convinced to stay. Ziyech and Vincent Janssen might be good additions for Feyenoord in order to go for the title, but does Feyenoord have the 15mio or more to spend? Probably not. I can see Ziyech play a bit longer in the Eredivisie, with PSV or Ajax, but Janssen will most likely move to the Bundesliga. FC Utrecht and AZ impressed with their run this season and good things might come in the future. Ramselaar, Letschert and Barazite caught the eye, as did AZ’s Joris van Overeem. Ron Vlaar will sign on for two more seasons with AZ and small clubs like Heracles and NEC impressed with Bel Hassani the key man for Heracles (potential target for Feyenoord) and Foor and Santos (sadly not Dutch) impressing for NEC. In England, Van Gaal missed out on CL football with Man United, which is quite a disappointment after a weird season altogether. Small time Leicester snatching the title and Spurs almost finishing second put pressure on Arsenal and City, while United and Chelsea took the brunt. Daley Blind can look back on a very decent season, while Memphis underperformed. Good news of course, is the arrival of Timothy Tofu-Mensah. He was dropped from the Oranje squad by Blind, however, due to fitness issues.

Memphis and Timothy Fosu Mensah

Man U did win the FA Cup after many years. A good performance by Man United. Winning the FA Cup didn’t keep Louis in his job though. Missing the CL qualifications and the disgruntled fans made the board decide to release Van Gaal, with Mourinho coming in. Van Gaal is now holidaying in Portugal but has already said he won’t go for the KNVB job. The Technical director job is too boring for him. He doesn’t want to coach a club per se, but might. But taking a national team to the World Cup, that is definitely on his radar… Two notable Red Devil legends opposed. Ryan Giggs doesn’t see it in The Annoying One and will most likely turn his back on the club. Louis wanted Giggs to take over and I think Ryan one day will. Eric Cantona also doesn’t believe in Mourinho: “I think Mourinho is an excellent coach, but not for Man United. His playing philosophy is even worse than Van Gaal’s. The big mistake of Man United is that they didn’t go for Pep Guardiola. The football son of Cruyff, who is the architect of Modern Football. And now, Pep is going to manage the rivals. Bad situation. Maybe Man United should sign me to take Guardiola on!”

Other notable EPL Dutchies, are Pat van Aanholt who was impressive all season, while Leroy Fer seems to have found his way out of the quagmire. Steven Berghuis had to be happy with a role in Watford 2 but whenever the winger did play for Watford he had something to offer. Nathan Ake developed into a solid EPL player, while some Dutch Toons were highlights in Newcastle’s season, despite their relegation. 11 goals for Wijnaldum, a good run for Anita but a disappointing one for Siem de Jong, while Janmaat missed the games in the business end of the season due to a groin injury. I can imagine these players might wanna stay in Newcastle should Benitez decide to take on the project long term. Jeremain Lens had a couple of highlights this campaign, but was overall disappointing for Sunderland. The Southampton contingent did very well, as did the whole club. Koeman is a sought after coach and Virgil van Dijk made it into the European Team of the Year! Clasie struggled with injuries and is again not with Oranje as a result. But when he played, he did his job thoroughly. Stekelenburg took over from the injured Forster and held himself well. Huntelaar had a hot-cold spell at Schalke and will most likely leave. The Augsburg lads also did a decent job and in Turkey, it was pleasing to note that Robin van Persie is playing close to his usual level, scoring, moving well and enjoying his game. Both Sneijder and Van Persie play the Turkish Cup Final this weekend and as a result, among other reasons, are not with Oranje. Then some more on Oranje. Danny Blind was the guest of Kees Jansma in De Tafel van Kees (Kees’ table). On Oranje’s disastrous campaign “It is devastating not to be there. But we need to move on. Look forward. We can work towards a new team that will get us to the World Cup. In 2014, people thought we were weak and shouldn’t go, but we went and finished 3rd. We finished 2nd in 2010 and had a disastrous Euros in 2012. This is not uncommon for a small football nation. Too many things went wrong in this campaign, but we also have some bad luck. Players like Robben, Vlaar and Strootman are key players for us and we lose quality when those kind of players are not there.” On Blind’s decision to add Dick Advocaat to the Technical Staff: “Ruud van Nistelrooy wants to work regularly with players on the training ground. Where he’s at in his coaching career, that makes sense. Usually the KNVB opts for young up coming coaches to assist the head coach, but as I am myself not overly experienced, I actually wanted to go for a man who has seen it all before. Dick has been at 5 major tournaments and has done so much as club coach as well. Funny, now I am team manager with two former team managers as my assistants. That is pretty unique, I believe.” Whether the KNVB pushed an experienced coach onto him: “No, it was my decision. Bert van Oostveen (KNVB general manager) even had to get used to the idea. I met Dick weeks ago by chance in Manchester and we had a chat and I left with a good feeling about him. There was a click. I gave it some thought and we talked some more. He wouldn’t want the final responsibility anymore but he is a football animal and he wants to work with talent and players still. I think with his passion and focus he can surely add something to the fold. I don’t think ego clashes will be an issue. If I had any ego in this, I wouldn’t have made this decision, would I? And Dick is all about the game, he is like he always was.” On the decision to not select Sneijder, Huntelaar and Van Persie? “Both Wes and Robin play the cup final this weekend. I think it’s not that handy to get them to come in for friendlies after that. And to be honest, I know what both players can bring. I am keen to see some others perform on those spots now. Sneijder wasn’t fit in the last weeks, but Robin played very well in the last months and I won’t look at age or anything like that. Whether you’re 35 years old or 18 years old, when you’re good enough, you’re old enough… Huntelaar, similar story. We know what Klaas Jan can do. This time, I won’t use him but want to see the younger lads play. So I rather have him take a nice break and prepare for next season. In September we play a serious qualification match, so I might well need him then.” On Ziyech and the role Blind and the KNVB played in that… “Why do we have to talk about that yet again?? This is now 10 months old. I won’t go into it. He was selected for Oranje. Due to an injury he never made his debut. We didn’t select him for the next game coz he played central striker for Twente, and we had Luuk and Klaas Jan and Dost for that role. I told him this. The next thing I know, he decides to play for Morocco. That is his decision. If he wanted to play for Oranje, he could have made contact and ask us about our plans with him. I would have gladly told him. But he made his decision. After playing for Young Oranje and after accepting our first invitation.” On Strootman: “He is a key player for us. I have been in touch with him a lot in the last months. Whenever he feels it’s good to come back, he’s welcome. I have also spoken to the club. As long as we stick to his program for his recovery, he can come and join us and make minutes. I am very keen to bring him in again.” On the Eredivisie level vs Championship in England: “The Championship is a serious competition. Probably on par with Eredivisie. Different in tactics and physical impact but none the less a serious league and we do follow the players at that level as well. Kieftenbelt (Birmingham), Chery (QPR), Ola John (Reading)… we follow them all and for some players, a stint at that level could be really good. Some EPL clubs rather sign players with Championship experience over Eredivisie experience.” It does seem Strootman can look forward to a starting position in Oranje against Ireland. Memphis, Janssen and Promes play upfront, Wijnaldum and Bazoer alongside Stroot and Willems, Blind, Bruma and Veltman in defense with Cillesen on goal. Most likely. Just to remind you: Ireland is on 27 May, Poland 1 June and Austria on 4th of June. Klaas Jan Huntelaar said in an interview recently that he asked Blind not to be called up. “I will never give up on Oranje. I am not bigger than the national team and if they need me, I’ll come. But it felt like the best thing for now. The young lads can have a go. And asked Blind for some time off and some time to think about my future. But playing for Oranje is always a big honour for me so I hope to be part of the future, still.” Steven Berghuis back in a New York minute Steven Berghuis only played 222 minutes for Watford this season, but while on holidays in Manhattan he got the call from team manager Hans Jorritsma. “I never counted on anything anymore. I mean, this season was a disappointment and I thought I was off the radar. Holiday is nice, but playing for Oranje is super. I caught the first plane back and love to be part of it. It’s great to be with the group and to be able to show the coach I’m still here.” Blind called Berghuis after Locadia had to retract injured. “Steven hasn’t played a lot but we followed him and he two impressive turns as a sub. He is fast, has vision and he is a threat. With the fact we are not equiped with many wingers, I’d love to see him up close and personal for a spell.” The little general, Dick Advocaat. Got his nickname as assistant of the General Michels. And now, the experienced former team manager is back in that spot. Assisting Blind… He was not as present for Oranje at practice as he was at Feyenoord. But he will still be the same. “It’s new for me, now. I have to observe a bit and take it all in. But I am always going to be me. And Danny is cool with me expressing me. I think it will be a good trio, Marco, Danny and me… I look forward to helping Oranje going to the World Cup, but after that, I will call it quits.”

November 7, 2015 by Jan

And here we go again: Oranje assemble!

There was a storm of protest, disgust, confusion and all out mayhem after Oranje failed to qualify for the Euros but a month later, it seems it all died out.

We are back to talking about Ajax’ abysmal performance in Europe, Cocu’s tactics, Memphis disappearance act and Dirk Kuyt returning to Oranje, maybe this time as a goalie.

Bert van Oostveen lacks support in the football world and will be assessed this month. The loser said with straight face to the cameras that “not qualifying is bad but we are obviously in a build up phase”… WHAT? You finish third at the WC2014 and you are in a building up phase?
More like a tearing down phase…

But….I doubt that he will go.

Like I doubt Blind will be sacked, but to be honest he is not our biggest problem.

We have lame strategic management at the KNVB, which needs to be addressed and the new management should question Blind whether he is capable of playing effective modern football with the talent at hand. Forget BS like “4-3-3” and “Total Football”. Like we have many other obsolete cool stuff in our world that we need to leave behind such as capitalism, the fact that Bill Cosby is cool, coca cola and MacDonalds and the belief that eggs are bad for you.

Ruud van Nistelrooy said in an interview recently that the Dutch mentality is not the issue here. “I see a team like PSV beat Man United and Wolfsburg. I see Feyenoord battle Ajax. I think we have desire. But sometimes it simply doesn’t go your way. I had that too in my career. I have had moments galore where I doubted myself. It’s human. It is ebb and flow I suppose.”

We used to eat steak for sports lunch, prior to matches. We don’t do that shit anymore. We need Blind to tell us he can construct a 5-3-2 / 3-4-4 from this squad and win games with it .

If he says “no” then he needs to go. Otherwise, leave the lad.

Blind has given a stern warning to Memphis Depay, before including him into the Dutch final selection. Who else do we have with Elia for the left flank? But Blind said: “Memphis needs to be more important for the team. He needs to work harder. This is his process. I trust that he can and will.” He was left out of the prelim squad but is back.

Louis van Gaal covered the Memphis issue in his Man United press conference prior to the Moscow game. “There is no problem with Memphis. He is exactly what I said he was: a tremendous young talent with exceptional qualities but who needs to learn a lot still. His move to Man United was a big step and he needs time. I am convinced he will return and he will return even better.”

Another recurring name is Dirk Kuyt’s. The team manager asked Kuyt, who retired from international duties, to see if he was keen to come and help the team out in the final two matches of the campaign. Blind: “Dirk has additional value. Both on and off the pitch. He is doing exceptionally well still at Feyenoord now, and I checked if he was keen to come and help. But he wanted to know if he would start and I cannot give players a certain starting berth, so I said no, and Dirk declined.”

Kuyt confirms the story: “Well I didn’t demand a starting spot but I did say that I wanted to help the team on the pitch. Not in the dressing room. He knows and I told Guus Hiddink this as well, earlier on.”

Another remarkable move is removing Jeroen Zoet from the keepers list. Ken Vermeer is now part of the squad and rightfully so. The Feyenoord goalie is playing really well while Zoet is having trouble. Talent enough, but needs to work on personality. Also Stekelenburg, playing regularly in the EPL is part of the squad what with Krul out.

Obviously, Robben is back – with a CL goal to celebrate the occasion but Robin is out. “He is not looking sharp, not fresh… He doesn’t play enough and needs time. I have certainly not written him off. A good Van Persie is still the best striking option we have.”

Arjen Robben is part of the squad but he himself isn’t sure about playing. “I just returned from injury and have yet to get match fitness. I came on vs Arsenal and scored and all that, but I am not sure if it is wise for me to start against Wales and Germany. We’ll see. My focus is to get a good series of games before the winter stop and we need to see if playing now for Oranje is a good thing. But don’t worry: I will discuss this with Danny Blind and the Munich medical team and I’m sure we’ll sort it out. We usually do.”

Kongolo is picked over Pieters, an enigma for me. Pieters plays week in week out well against top opponents while Kongolo is not convincing in the Eredivisie. Van Dijk is given another chance as a result of strong performances in England. Veltman had some good performances for Ajax while Kenny Tete is probably the biggest defensive talent at Ajax. Still strange to miss the name of Sven van Beek.

Marko Vejinovic

The big surprise in midfield to me is Marko Vejinovic. Good player, for sure, but slow. He is impressive on the ball and in games where Feyenoord dominates. But against strong teams, it seems like his coach prefers Vilhena over the Amsterdam born Serb. But with potential rivals like Leroy Fer, Marco van Ginkel, Ibi Afellay not playing good enough or not playing at all, it makes sense for Blind to look at options. Davey Propper for me would be more logical to pick. Blind however, sees Vejinovic as the center mid defensive man, as alternative for Clasie, while the other spots will be for Sneijder/Klaassen and Wijnaldum/Bazoer.

Upfront no big surprises, bar Van Persie. Quincy Promes impressed recently at Moscow and will be back in the squad.

Van Persie said recently in an interview that he will work to get back into the squad. “What is there to say. Danny called to say what he had to say. I didn’t have a lot to add. I took notice of it and that’s it. I have a special feeling for Oranje and love playing for my country. So I will do what I can to come back. I am not ready with Oranje.” Rumours about his relationship with Danny Blind were waved away. “No, my relationship with Blind is fine. You have different coaches and different relationships and all that, but we are fine. We have no issues.”

I do hope Blind will take the opportunity vs Wales and Germany to test a 5-3-2. We have the players for it:

Janmaat – Bruma – Blind – Van Dijk – Riedewald

Wijnaldum – Clasie – Sneijder

Robben – Memphis

So here we go again… Let’s call this the new start.

As for the blog, I am contemplating some changes. I have asked a couple of people to maybe share the load with me and add some contributions to the blog in the form of posts. You can put your hand up to send me articles you’d like to contribute and I can increase the frequency of new posts this way. Obviously, I will edit as I see fit ;-).

Also, I am considering producing an e-book. I am in need of ways that helps me to fund what I am doing a bit more. Donations only go so far, of course.

The e-book I am contemplating is cool stories that are not so well-known, spanning from 1988 to now, the period from the last drought to the current one :-).

I would be happy to know who would be interesting in this and how much you would be willing to pay for it…

For all of you losing confidence in our skills and abilities, check out this video of Arjen Robben doing a keepy uppy with Rafinha 🙂

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015 by Jan

Oranje Euro Campaign: do or die!

The Dutch Oranje fans are still partly in shock after the two dreadful losses in September vs Iceland and Turkey. And while the Dutch top talents from the Eredivisie are experiencing that life abroad is a bit more difficult than expected (Wijnaldum, Memphis, Van Ginkel, Afellay), the usual suspects in Holland are debating how to clean up the Oranje Act. And Pronto too!

With only two more games to go and without the steering wheel tightly in our grasp, the analysts seem to agree on two things. Firstly, it doesn’t make sense to replace Danny Blind now. The poor coach surely made some mistakes in his first two games (overrating our quality, mainly) but can’t be blamed for the sorry state the team was and is in, after the dramatic campaign post-World Cup 2014.

Changing the coach now will not have a lot of impact. We simply have to deal with the facts at hand: our current ‘Dutch School” tactics won’t work and we do not have the quality we need.

With the two key games at hand now, the debate whether we will still be able to make it to the top or not can wait till after the games! For now, the focus is on the games vs Kazachstan and the Czech and our voodoo powers to block Turkey from winning two games. Although…it has to be said…. Turkey drawing one and winning one won’t cut it either… Turkey will actually have to lose one at least… While we win two.

Anyway…. Danny Blind is trying to change the tyres of the vehicle while driving it… He has Marco van Basten as his super critical assistant and Ruud van Nistelrooy in support to work with him on the training ground.

Blind has made some errors in selecting the right squad for his first games and probably also some tactictal mistakes but that is all in hindsight of course. At least he had an idea. Sadly, it failed… (I’m talking about using Promes instead of Huntelaar in the last match, for instance).

JC usually wants his teams to play well and attractive. For the coming Oranje games, the old master doesn’t care. He wants results.

But anyway. Blind will have to work with what we have. The key is to use the best players we have and use them in a system that gives us the best options to win.

I don’t need to see “Total Football” or creativity in the coming matches. I want to see a team that will give 100% to win the game.

In the Arsenal – Man United game, we all saw what it means if players really have the desire. True, Arsenal oozes quality as well but Leicester City is playing like this with 9 average players and two top forwards and they’re in the top 5 in the EPL.

Blind will need to find the right words to get him team to give it all!

Selecting the right players is one thing, but prepping them to go out and win is something else.

One of the big talking points in Holland is Ziyech’s decision to play for Morocco instead of Oranje. The Twente playmaker played for every Oranje rep team in the youth system and was even invited in the prelim squad earlier this campaign by Hiddink but as he never got a minute in the Orange, he is still able to switch loyalties. And his heart made him decide to go for Morocco. According to many (Johan Derksen, Willem van Hanegem) he could have been saved for Oranje if we simply went out and talked to him to explain his future in the Dutch team. Ziyech being the ideal replacement for Wes Sneijder….

El Ghazi, the prolific Ajax winger, decided to go for the Dutch. The youngster is on the hitlist of many EPL clubs now, as he is the top scorer in the Eredivisie and he actually went to speak to Cristiano Ronaldo for advice. The Portuguese super star suggested that with Oranje he’d have more growth and more chance on silverware. The Moroccan player was immediately picked for the Oranje squad by Blind.

Rick Karsdorp, playmaker made right full back at Feyenoord, missed the cut after being selected in the prelim squad and quite remarkably (not for us!) Narsingh was dropped as well. The experienced PSV winger admitted in an interview, quite maturely, that he indeed played shocking in his recent Oranje games and understood Blind’s decision.

Arjen Robben and Luuk de Jong won’t be present either, due to injuries and Joel Veltman lost his spot to Virgil van Dijk, who impresses at Southampton.

Bruno Martins Indi and Greg van der Wiel both took the grunt for the bad results of the last two Oranje games but aren’t in the squad due to suspensions. It’s anyone’s guess whether Blind would have picked them if they weren’t. Janmaat makes his way back into the squad, as does Karim Rekik.

With Quincy Promes out due to injury, Eljero Elia who has revigourated his career at Feyenoord, is back in the squad to fill in. The sensational talent-who-once-was missed a couple of years in his development due to some bad career choices and lifestyle choices and after failing at Bremen and Juventus and Southampton seems to have the right motivation and quality to impress in the Eredivisie. Elia played his last Oranje game in 2012.

Elia is back!

Another setback for Oranje came in after the Ajax – PSV game. Davey Klaassen, usually a starter, suffered a light concussion against PSV and can’t make it for Kazachstan. He might join the squad for the last match, but Blind called up another Ajaz midfielder, Riechedly Bazoer, in my view one of our biggest talents.

As per usual, there was a little media rift created in the run up to the Oranje games. In a press conference, Phillip Cocu was asked if Danny Blind ever spoke to Cocu about his players, for instance about Narsingh. Cocu responded prickly with: “Blind never calls me. I haven’t spoken to him at all.” The media quickly moved out to Ajax in Amsterdam to quote Frank de Boer saying this: “Danny calls me a lot. We discuss his choices, he asks me about certain players. He asked me if I thought if El Ghazi was ready for Oranje and I said: yes, pick him!” Asked what he thought Blind would do if De Boer would have said “No, he is not ready yet”, De Boer said: “Well…usually Blind listens well to what I say…”

Danny Blind responded to this favouritism by explaining that he has rung Cocu three times and three times the PSV coach didn’t pick up. “I guess my number is not in his address book so he might have ignored the calls.” Gio van Bronckhorst was called once by Blind, when the prelim squad was made public. “Danny can always call me to discuss players.” the relaxed Feyenoord coach quipped.

At this point, Blind and Cocu have spoken and in between Cocu’s words you can make out what went on. “I spoke to Danny now. He left a message for me and I called back. That is what I do. If I don’t recognise a number, but they leave a clear message, I will return the call. So lets not make this into a big thing. The players need to focus on the game. Whether Blind does or doesn’t call me is all the same to me. But it was good that we cleared the air.”

Last news from the Oranje camp: Daryl Janmaat didn’t return to Holland without a blemish. The Newcastle right back had a knock on his knee in the Man City game and might not be 100% fit for the Kazachstan game. Kenneth Tete is a potential replacement for him.

Yesterday Blind and Gio discussed Elia who was called up to replace Promes.

Elia, normally always quite eloquent and extraverted, was in shock when his coach told him he was to go to Noordwijk to join the Oranje squad. “I don’t know what to say. I have almost squandered my career and I know I can only blame myself. I want to atone and play well and work hard. I know I am on the way back and I know I have the quality still to make a difference. But this is unexpected. I didn’t think it would go this fast. I still have a lot of growth in me.”

All in all, Blind comes across positive and buoyant but he is a coach in distress of course. Arjen Robben, Strootman, Willems, Vlaar, Clasie, De Vrij injured, Van Persie warming the bench more than he’d like to, Klaassen and Promes injured, Luuk de Jong injured, Ziyech decided to play for Morocco and now Janmaat not 100% fit either…

Virgil van Dijk finally gets recognition…

We could play a strong team of injured players, utilising Vermeer or Stekelenburg in goal, playing Willems, Vlaar, Martins Indi and Van der Wiel at the back. Strootman, Klaassen and Clasie in the middle of the park and Robben, De Jong and Promes upfront. Not bad…

Danny Blind: “We can find all sorts of excuses for sure, but we won’t. We simply need to play two good teams and win. With the players we have. Period. We are playing on astro in Kazachstan and we will travel a couple of days early to get used to the pitch. But from what I know, the ball will roll nicely, it is flat and evened out so we will be able to play our football. No excuses. Winning two games and then simply wait for the Czechs to do their job….”

Btw, wanted to share this with you:

September 13, 2015 by Jan

Do the Dutch still have Clockwork Orange material?

All sorts of things race through my mind and many new posts are being formed in my head while we still process those dreadful two games.

A question I got on the blog is “What do I think of the players we have coming through the system…”…. Well let me go into that a bit.

Lets start with some key comments:

In my view, having to have great world class players is not everything. Greece 2004 did not have world class players. Yet they won the Euros. In 1990, Holland had amazing individual players and the end result was horrific. The key is, to have a strong team. Probably with a number of world class players, but we don’t need eleven or sixteen world beaters.

Another comment I need to make is: what do we want? Do we want to play Total Football. Dutch School? If yes, what is that exactly? And if that is our objective, is qualifying or winning trophies important as well? If so, what is more important? Or…do we want to be say “forget Dutch School” and let’s just play to win. Like Van Gaal did in 2014. Realistic football, based on the quality at hand.

Van Oostveen is not looking too confident here…

I believe Bert van Oostveen made a mistake in giving Hiddink/Blind the charter to “return to Total Football”. Return to 4-3-3. We don’t have the players for this and most teams these days do not play 4-3-3. They play 5-3-2 (which makes 3-5-2 or 3-4-3) or 4-2-3-1… Somehow, Hiddink and co. wanted to move away from Van Gaal’s “anti-football”. It was the purists complaining (Cruyff, Van Hanegem) but maybe it is important to be realists. I didn’t complain when LVG went 5-3-2. I didn’t complain when we almost made it to the World Cup finals.

If we want to play at top level, competing for trophies, we need to create a system that fits our players. Louis did this…

As for talent, I also want to point out the typical categories we have seen in the past (and present) and what we can expect in the future…. And let’s not forget: we don’t need eleven super world class players to win trophies. We need a healthy mix….

1. Super talents and became real consistent quality players

2. Super talents who never really converted their talent at the top level

3. Overlooked players who became world beaters

So lets look at some players we know today and see what can happen…

1. Super talents who became real consistent quality players

In my book, players like Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank & Ronald de Boer, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben spring to mind. Players who were spotted as young talents, both by their coaches, the media, the public and the KNVB. Usually, these kids have the spotlights on them at a young age and manage to work and develop their way to greatness. At this stage, we are looking at lads like Vilhena, Bazoer, Stef van Beek, Jairo Riedewald, Jetro Willems, Memphis Depay, Nathan Ake and Davy Klaassen… I think Daley Blind, Willems, Memphis and Bazoer will make it. From what I have seen…

The jury is still out of course. Memphis played approx 6 serious games for Man United and only impressed against Brugge, which is sort of the level Memphis was used to at PSV… I haven’t seen him dazzle against the EPL opposition as yet. Willems had his little setback season already but from what I have seen since, I think he is the real deal. Bazoer impresses me every week but with all these talents it is a matter of 1) will their bodies be able to withstand the pressure, 2) will their mentality be strong enough, 3) will their management do what is best for them and 4) will they make the right choices in stepping up from their current level… Royston Drenthe comes to mind… A huge prospect, who left too early, to the wrong club and Royston probably also did not have the mental strength to deal with all that stuff.

When all worked….

In the past, Rijkaard was almost led astray (PSV, Sporting Lisbon) and Dennis Bergkamp had trouble at Inter…. Robben suffered physically and Wes also got lost in the desert for a spell.

Ricardo Kishna and El Ghazi are also seen as “sensational talents” but Kishna didn’t really prove to be one at Ajax while El Ghazi is just starting to deliver on the promise.

2. Super talents who never really converted their talent at the top level

Here we get to the level of Cedric van der Gun, Frans van Rooij, Mario Been, Jantje Peters, Marcel Peeper, John van ‘t Schip, Gerald Vanenburg, Edwin Gorter, Ryan Babel, Hedwiges Maduro, Royston Drenthe, Kyle Ebicilio, Quincy, Peter Hoekstra, Bryan Roy, Ibi Afellay, Richard Witschge. All these guys had super reputations when they were playing for the youth teams. Most of them played rep football for the Dutch from a young age and most were compared with the great Johan Cruyff, the great Willem van Hanegem or the great Ruud Krol (depending on their role in the team). They were all brought carefully into the first teams at their clubs and most of them made their way into the Dutch team… But somehow, they never delivered on their promise. Some had the bad luck of physical problems (Van der Gun, Pepper, Peter Hoekstra, Afellay), others made the decision to leave their club too soon or go to the wrong club (Royston Drenthe, Richard Witschge) while others simply lacked the mentality to make it big…

Johnny Rep, Ruud Krol and Jantje Peters

They seemed uncoachable ( Quincy) or lacked discipline or simply couldn’t be bothered to be team players. Some players excelled at youth level but couldn’t make it work for them at senior level (Vanenburg, Babel, Gorter, Been). At this stage, Holland has a number of these lads. I think Adam Maher currently is in this category. I think Boetius might be the same and players like Fer, Wijnaldum, Davy Klaassen, Siem de Jong, Luuk de Jong and Martins Indi might end up in this basket. Exciting players when they’re young. Highly impressive in the Dutch league when they first make their appearance. But when the surprise factor wears off, they appear to be mediocre… Not that there is anything wrong here… Players like Vanenburg, Van ‘t Schip, Roy and Afellay have had good runs at their clubs and country but they simply never made it to the level that was expected of them when they were young… At this stage, Bruma, Klaassen, Wijnaldum, Narsingh, Promes, Lens could all end up in this category.

3. Overlooked players who became world beaters

This is an exciting category. Philip Cocu, Arthur Numan, Jaap Stam, Jan Wouters, Dirk Kuyt, Roy Makaay come to mind. This is the category of players that suddenly catch your eye. I saw Jaap Stam coming. I remember him at Cambuur and Willem II. And after a couple of weeks, you hear this name more often in highlight reels and you realise that this unknown lad is a powerhouse. Cocu, similar story. Brought as flegmatic talent at AZ. Went to Vitesse as a left winger and mixed good games with invisible games. PSV took a gamble, he ended up playing in midfield and became one of Holland’s best midfielders ever. And the somewhat complacent left winger became a mentally strong leader, who captained Barcelona! Jan Wouters is another example. Overlooked by many clubs and brought to Ajax by Cruyff when he was already a tad older… Marco van Basten highly criticized this signing until he realised that with Wouters behind him, his job was easier… And in West Germany, in 1988, it was Wouter’s pass in the semi finals that led to Bassie’s winner… Arthur Numan was a big fish in a little club (Haarlem) until he became a smaller fish in a big team (Oranje!). Dirk Kuyt made steps from Katwijk, to Utrecht, to Feyenoord, to Oranje, to Liverpool. And with every step, people said “he’s not going to survive that level” and everytime he did! Kevin Strootman is in this category as well, as is Jordy Clasie. The latter was told time and time again by his youth coaches at Feyenoord: “laddie, give it up. It won’t work for you. You’re too small for top football.” In the past, the Dutch team saw players like Winston Bogarde, Michael Reiziger, Peter van Vossen, Adrie van Tiggelen, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Nigel de Jong become important, on the basis of their mentality, grit and personality. In today’s team, I rate Strootman and Clasie of this level but also Dost and Ron Vlaar.

Jan Wouters, FC Utrecht, vs Lerby Ajax. Both would become midfield captains at Bayern Munich

My point with all of this, is that in every successful team in the past, we had players that were known to be bright stars and we had players that came from nowhere. We had players that were essential to the team but they weren’t considered great talents.

The 1974 team won silver in West Germany and had usual suspects such as Cruyff, Van Hanegem and Rensenbrink, but Wim Rijsbergen was a nobody. Slow and definitely an ugly player. But tough as nails. Young upstart Arie Haan played as center back. And Johan Neeskens was quite an unknown playing for HFC before someone tipped Ajax to sign him.

Top dogs Piet Keizer and Sjaak Swart didn’t get a look in. And Michels only found the winning line up days before the Tournament started. Oh, and did I mention that Oranje actually had a terrible qualification series? And actually shouldn’t have qualified as they scored an offside goal against Belgium, which when disallowed would have meant the exit for The Netherlands? Freaky, no?

The 1978 team got silver in Argentina. Big name players like Cruyff and Van Hanegem were not present. Young upstarts Brands, Poortvliet and Wildschut impressed, with Haan and Krol as the leading players. The three PSV youngsters were not rated as hot talents but they fitted perfectly in the team.

In 1988, in West Germany, Holland won it’s first and only trophy. Playing 4-4-2. With under rated Erwin Koeman in the team to cover for Arnold Muhren. Limited players like Berry van Aerle and Adri van Tiggelen completed the team, while wonderboy Gerald Vanenburg was working his ass off for Gullit and Van Basten.

The 1998 Oranje was very close to playing the finals. Looking back on that performance, players like Bergkamp and Cocu admitted that they never really considered themselves good enough for the finals. They didn’t play like they had a chance to win it. In hindsight, they can kick themselves.

My point being…the whole debate about 4-3-3 being the “Dutch School” is silly. The whole point about talent and skill and experience is silly. It is about Team. With capital T.

Team. Tactics. Tenacity. Skill and talent and experience are very handy. But without team, without desire and without a clear idea as to how to play, we will never win anything. This is what made the Greeks win 2004. And what fuels the Germans always!

So sure, our lads can all play. Outside foot passing, pannas, dribbles, cool step overs… all nice and dandy. But the Mark van Bommel / Edgar Davids / Johan Neeskens will to win, is essential. Because at a Euros or at a World Cup, every player can play football.

Piet Wildschut in 1978

With the players we have, I think we should be able to 1) qualify and 2) win trophies.

As the past has demonstrated: a team full of super players doesn’t necessarily mean you win trophies. And vice versa, many mediocre teams have won trophies over the years. From Greece to Germany (1996) to Atletico Madrid and FC Porto.

If we, for the sake of discussion, simply accept that all the Dutch players are capable in handling the ball. And we accept that they all are fit enough to play top football, then the aspects we need to focus on are: 1. tactical strength, 2. mental strength and 3. desire.

If I have to judge our current players on this, then for me the jury is not too positive on the following players: Klaassen, Promes, Narsingh, Martins Indi, Lens, Van der Wiel, Afellay, Boetius, Maher.

Players that get the benefit of the doubt are: Wijnaldum, Van Ginkel, Fer, Bruma, Riedewald, Tete, Berghuis, De Guzman, Bacuna, Van Dijk, Van Beek, Vilhena.

Players that I believe have what it takes in this particular department are Daley Blind, Luuk de Jong, Clasie, Bas Dost, Pieters, Janmaat, Willems, De Vrij,

The good thing is, that the question marks are all playing in the EPL or at top level in Holland (so we can spot them well). Playing in Holland is not necessarily a good thing. I am certain Bruma developed well with Terry and Lampard and Drogba as training buddies while at PSV it is all bit more laissez-fair. The ones that make it in the EPL will most likely have what it takes in the work rate department…

The ones that demonstrate the right development path – such as Blind, De Jong and Willems – will definitely be the backbone of future Oranje squads. I just wish some of them would lose that “lets play some nice football” attitude and develop a “over my dead body” mentality…

All in all, I am not negative about our potential futute. We certainly have the quality. We now need to pair the quality with the grit and pick a coach who will use what he have in a tactical system that works…

Danny Blind can still be that guy, if he leans more to Van Gaal and less to Cruyff. If not him, the likes of Ronald Koeman, Frank de Boer, John van den Brom or Ron Jans come to mind as future national team coaches.

Danny Blind with son Daley Blind

September 6, 2015 by Jan

Turkish Delight or Drama for Oranje….

My dear friends, let me start this blog post by showing you something that will fuel your hope for the future. Dutch football is not dead. When you have players like Vincent Janssen, Nathan Ake, Bazoer and Tannane there is a future. Let’s see how far these guys can go. And I know, it was only against Young Cyprus and all that, but you can see what kind of talent we do have.

The seniors were on a mission to win four games. They lost the first, as you probably will have noticed, and now a draw against Turkey is enough to finish third… Well, I don’t believe in “a draw is enough”. There are more games to play and who tells me that Holland will win the last two? Therefore, we need to play to win!

I have watched the press conference and some of the interviews and it really is not that inspiring. “Yes we will try and win.” “Yes we want to silence the crowd”. “Yes we are full of confidence.”

Whatever. We need to see it tomorrow I suppose. The Turks aren’t that good but they definitely aren’t shabby either. They play with intent, with a sense of urgency and they can play. They might be erratic at times, or undisciplined but hey…so do we.

We need to realise that we are not that great team (at the moment). And I am not referring to 1974 per se. We are also not that great team of 2014. Even if we almost have the same players. The team simply isn’t there.

I watched the first 30 minutes of the game again and despite what some say, Van der Wiel wasn’t the problem. Sure, he created the penalty and that was absolutely ridiculous, but the first 30 minutes, when we played 11vs11 and it was 0-0, the problem we had was created by the lack of movement by Klaassen and Wijnaldum. Our defence did not have an outlet. And when Sneijder got the ball the movement around him was absent.

Not, with Robben out, we have a mediocre team. Which is ok. We have four outstanding players. Two used to be World Class (Sneijder and Van Persie), one will be (Memphis) and one is a goal scoring machine (Huntelaar). The rest are all ok but need to play in function of these four.

With RVP not 100% match fit, it is only predictable that Hunter will start. When Oranje is in front, expect a like for like change with RVP. If Oranje is trailing, Blind will bring RVP to play next to Hunter…

I have my personal ideas who Oranje should play but I don’t think Blind shares my ideas. I do believe he will start Van der Wiel again. He has no options. If he’d play Tete he would basically have to send Wiel home and get Janmaat in his place. Lots of loss of face.

So Van der Wiel will start, alongside De Vrij and Bruma and Blind, most likely. I imagine Blind will keep the midfield intact but add Lens on the right as a false winger. He’ll play Depay left and Hunter centrally.

I think.

I would have made many different choices. I would have had Janmaat with De Vrij and Blind as left center back (like he plays for Man United) and Pieters as left back. Blind can build up well from behind and speed up the game.

Virgil van Dijk

I would have Sneijder, Anita and Wijnaldum in midfield with Memphis and Hunter upfront and Lens as false right winger (allowing Janmaat his runs in the channel).

You’d have Blind and Memphis on the left hand side, who know each other. You’d have Janmaat, De Vrij, Wijnaldum and Anita who sort of know each other.

Klaassen for me is a left midfield player. Not a defensive mid.

Should you need more fire power you can always sub Pieters for Van Persie.

Anyway…we’ll see. It will be a nail biter.

I hope we get a sensational win but it could well be a chess game ending with 0-0 or something like that…

We played Turkey eleven times before and won five times. We lost twice. Last game in Amsterdam was a draw with Huntelaar’s last minute equaliser. We lost our last game against them in 1997. The infamous Seedorf penalty miss game…. The Turks have a scoring issue at the moment. They haven’t scored more than once every game for a while. Yilmaz, team mate of Wesley, is the man in form in terms of goals. With Turan their bearded leader and playmaker.

RVP is our top goalscorer with 49 goals. Huntelaar is behind him with 41 but the Schalke man is prolific in qualification games, so who knows. For superstitious people, Promes shouldn’t play today. The former Twente winger never won a game with Oranje. He lost five.

The best number 3 is qualified directly, by the way. If we have to play play offs we are most likely the best ranked “number 3” and we will have some protection and probably will get an opponent like Norway, Slovenia, Israel or Ireland.

July 17, 2015 by Jan

Dutch football, where do we stand….?

Well, time for reflection. The football-less summer is here. The one in which we can marvel at the South Americans or smirk at the women…

I had a serious bout of bloggers curse! I wrote a long piece on Hiddink and the future of Oranje and then two things happened: a computer crash wiped out half of the text and at the same time it appeared Hiddink was out and San Marco in so my whole rant was outdated and needed reworking. This put me off for a spell. Apologies. I will rehash the old post and add all the new items in it.

The odd summers are always a bore :-). I love the big tournaments and the excitement of it all. I’m sorry I couldn’t feel it for the Lionesses. Not that I don’t like Women’s football. I think its cool that the girls get a lot of attention and all that. But I can’t watch it like I watch men’s. I see so many silly mistakes. Bad touches, bad vision, defensive errors… I don’t enjoy it. I would support our women all the way to the gold obviously but watching it is frustrating. I saw highlights of most and the full match vs Japan and we are still a bit behind them, the Ozzies, the Germans and the US. Our speed in handling the ball and movement in particular. And decision making. We also allowed several dangerous headers by the little Japanese girls while we do have some tall mofos at the back. Anyway… there is always the Olympics :-).

Lots of movement on the transfer front but not a lot of real action. Maarten Stekelenburg to Southampton is good news. For him. Not sure if we need Maarten for Oranje. But Koeman will have more patience with him I suppose. He still has 5 good years in him, I think. Karim Rekik will leave PSV. The youngster is keen to move to France or Italy. I was surprised by his move as City was not unhappy with him at PSV and the new champs are playing CL next season but Rekik wants more apparently. Otherwise, no real interest as yet in Clasie, Wijnaldum or Willems.

It appeared that the Zeist management has had question marks around Hiddink for a while now. His lack of passion, his alleged laziness, his lack of clarity and direction and the relationship between him and the technical staff and the key players apparently is fragile.

Hiddink was a great servant to Dutch football but the time came for him to leave. Danny will take over asap in the role of team manager and none other than Marco van Basten will take the role of assistant manager in the staff. San Marco and Danny have worked together in different roles (players, coach and manager) and appreciate each other’s contributions. “Marco is one of the best analists I have come across and dares to speak his mind. He is an independent thinker and very creative tactically. He is also a great and loyal guy,” said Danny Blind.

Marco could have stayed with AZ to work under Van den Brom and was doubting whether he should take the step, but working towards a Euro and World Cup tournament with the best players of the country really appealed to him. Ruud van Nistelrooy will stay on as assistant as well.

In the meantime, some exciting transfers happened…. For starters, Skipper Van Persie leaves Man United to play in Fenerbahce’s colours. The former Feyenoord man will follow in Kuyt’s footsteps, who made his way back to Feyenoord. Van Persie signed on for three years. Louis van Gaal: “I wish him well. I sent him a text message already. Robin knew what he could expect with Man United. I was clear to him about his future here. I would have loved for him to stay, but I was not giving him a starter spot, without question. He wanted to play and keep himself on the radar for Oranje. That is his choice. I wish him well.” The crowd in Turkey greeted RVP already and Dirk tweeted a nice message to his mate. “It is not hard to fall in love with this club. I am sure Robin will love playing there and I am sure the fans will love him back.”

Jordy Clasie is reunited with Ronald Koeman, with whom he built up a deep relationship. Clasie cried on the pitch when Koeman said his farewell one season ago and will join Southampton on a 5 year deal. Clasie knew he wanted to work with Koeman again, but in the last week before his decision suddenly Lazio Roma other clubs started to zoom in. Feyenoord signed Swede Gustavson as another midfielder replacement for the little playmaker. “A dream come true. In my 15 years in the Feyenoord jersey I was always told I might not reach the top. Under Koeman I made my big step up and even made it to Oranje. To go and play in the Premier League is a dream come true. But I will always remain a Feyenoord man at heart.”

Another reunion in the EPL is the move of Jeremain Lens to Advocaat’s Sunderland.

And if you need another reason to cast your eye on the EPL: Georghinio Wijnaldum signed for Newcastle United where he will join Janmaat, Siem de Jong, Anita and Krul under Steve McLaren.

Leaves us with the question “What to do to improve our Dutch football?”. The analysis needed to answer this needs to focus on the question “What is wrong with it?”. And obviously, as with anything, money is a key factor. I believe Sunderland in the EPL has more money to spend per season than all the Eredivisie clubs put together. Or something like that. There is one major issue. Which will not be resolved just like that.

But money doesn’t buy trophies. So we need to find the solution in our coach prowess, among other things. We might not have the funds to buy the same players as Sunderland or Monaco or Basel or Benfica. But we should be able to use the players we have to create a better team. This has been done many times by the Germans (1990, 1996, 1974), in 2004 by the Greek, Louis van Gaal did it in 2014 with Oranje and at club level Atletico Madrid comes to mind.

Oranje will always be able to shine, in my opinion. We do create enough talents to fill at least 22 seats with good players. If we can have a good coach who can instil a playing style that fits the players we should be able to remain amongst the best 8 teams in Europe. I think that the new bunch of players (Depay, Willems, Clasie, Klaassen, Bazoer, Chery, Zyiech, Van Beek, Vilhena, Rekik, Berghuis) have more than enough talent to rise to the occassion. Add to this a Strootman, a Janmaat, a De Vrij and a Robben and you have a decent team.

At club level I think it will be very hard to compete. But not totally undoable. Although it will take a very strong coach with an entrepreneurial club management to come up with the goods. And every 5 years I think it should be possible for an Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV to do well in the CL.

PSV had its chance this coming season. If they’d be able to cling on to Depay and Wijnaldum for one more year. The option is always there. You promise the top players you need a free exit from the club, or something like that. In return for another year to perform in the CL. The price money you can collect might be worth it… Although… Depay 35 Mio. Wijnaldum 19 Mio. It’s a lot of money…. Is it thinkable that PSV and the players would have said no to their chance to take a next step up?

Or will it be a small team like AZ with a talented young coach like Van den Brom and players like Berghuis and Muhren maybe? To perform with excellence in the Europa League?

Who knows… Your opinion please?

June 16, 2015 by Jan

Oranje secures crucial points but will change coach….

The Dutch overly cricital analysts said it before the game: “If we really need to lose sleep over an away game against Latvia, than we have sunk really deep…”. And obviously they are correct… Holland needs to play all finals now, to secure enough points to reach the Euros. For the current #3 in the World, that is actually quite disappointing.

But, at least we are still in it. Guus could breath relaxed after the game, as I am 100% convinced he would have been fired with any other result.

The team did what it had to do. Put pressure on. Create opportunities. Win. The Latvians played pretty solid actually. Their positioning was excellent and their will and desire was present too. Paired with a Dutch team as opponent which wasn’t able to fire on all cylinders. Depay on the left was very active and involved in the first half, as was Wesley Sneijder. But Luciano Narsingh and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, in contrast, were sub par. Huntelaar did not get an inch in the box and didn’t get good service while Narsingh simply seems to lack form (or quality). He is particularly strong when he can explore space and against Latvia away, obviously there is not a lot of space to be found. This is where Promes or even Berghuis would have been a better option.

The pairing of Sneijder and Blind in a 4-2-4 set up worked fairly well although Clasie with his fast passing and vision would have added a dimension to the game, I’m sure. Depay could have scored a couple in the first half (should have even?) and that would have opened the door to a strong victory for sure. But lack of sharpness, and a good goalie prevented a bigger loss for Latvia.

It was one moment of briliance from sub Wijnaldum that sealed the fate of the Latvians. A good turn, a Kluivert style toe poke and Oranje was 0-1 up. Another good moment of Blind finding space (!) for Narsingh and the winger did the only thing right in his game. Hopefully the goal will help him shrug off his burden. Interestingly enough, Narsingh jumped into the arms of his rival Promes while Wijnaldum sought assistant coach Van Nistelrooy who had instructed Wijnaldum where to look for space and how to time his run. Van Nistelrooy had told the PSV midfielder that he would be the one scoring the crucial goal. Four minutes later, he did.

And so Oranje did what it had to do.

Having said that, the 67 year ol sly fox will probably make way for Danny Blind, this summer already.

Lucky Gus seems to have lost his touch. There are grave concerns within the KNVB while the players also shared their confusions in small circles about some of his decisions and communications.

Now, I think Guus deserves a respectful farewell as I don’t think there is more work for him after this. And he has had a sensational career. Quite good as a playmaker but not good enough for the big guns. He played for PSV for 1 season but preferred to be a big fish in a little pond. He coaches PSV to the European top and since that feat he has done really well for himself, coaching all over the world, with a mixed bag of success.

The team manager’s stint for Oranje from 1994 to 1998 was a highlight for sure. Rising like a Phoenix to the semi finals in France after the 1996 ashes with Davids as co-star.

But this time around, Guus thought he could do it half-arsed. He figured that with 1) the top 3 progressing to the Euros and 2) a mix of talent and experience he would be able to bring the Dutch School back into existence while winging it a bit. Well, he made a mistake. For starters: the World Cup as per usual left a negative inheritance for Oranje’s Euro qualifications’ start. This seems to happen always. Players are either tired (the young ones), overly extended (the older ones) or maybe a bit complacent (the rest).

So a series of mistakes, lack of desire and absence of big star names resulted in a horrific start of the series and all through this first year, Hiddink was vague and somewhat mentally absent during press conferences. Deer in the headlights comes to mind. He wasn’t consistent and his communication was questionable. After the second loss against Iceland, the KNVB general manager immediately pulled the power card which probably didn’t help in the relationship department with Guus who normally would refuse to deal with minions like Oostveen.

And if you are in a rut, things don’t go your way. The many missed opportunities against the Czechs and Iceland, the Janmaat mistake, the defensive uncertainties, the Robben injury, it all seemed to be a logical result of the Law of Attraction.

He is not longer the fearless leader. Her accepted too much and was too weak in his communications and directions. He has been changing and shifting players. De Jong in center midfield… Two months ago, he called him “my captain in midfield” and now De Jong wasn’t even needed. Clasie gets the nod. But suddenly Clasie is sacrificed for Blind. Van Persie and Huntelaar cannot play together against strong opponents. Fine. But which of the two will need to go? I think Huntelaar will know that it will most likely be him. So the Schalke striker is playing less for the team but more for himself. Janmaat in, Van der Wiel out. Van der Wiel in, Janmaat out. When the US came to play a friendly, Hiddink said quite resolutely he wouldn’t play Sneijder (who just arrived from Turkey) but the little playmaker wants to break van der Sar’s record and convinced Hiddink to allow him to come on as a sub. Or the game against Mexico. Hiddink had said Robben would be used only for half the game. But Robben enjoyed himself and decided to stay on the pitch. These are all not too smart things to do for a coach.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that Danny Blind will fix this all. But at least the players highly respect him for his craftmanship. And it seemed in the run up to the Latvia game that this decision was already made. The 53 year old ex Ajax coach was coaching dominantly at the practice sessions while Hiddink kept his distance. During the game, Blind also made a passionate and driven impression, coaching actively, while during the first matches, he sat next to Hiddink, somewhat apathically. But it is his big ambition to coach this team, and he decided to not join Van Gaal at Man United after the World Cup for this reason.

Despite the lack of satisfaction concerning Hiddink’s performance, the KNVB will most likely not sack the seasoned coach. The former Real Madrid coach will probably step into a mentoring role or advising role which will lead to Blind taking the reigns and most likely a new assistant coach being added to the mix at Oranje.

And while Hiddink immediately went on holidays, Blind and the KNVB will get together to find a modus to give the former success coach the ending he deserves. It will be a busy summer in Zeist, but also for a lot of the Oranje internationals. Some of whom are not yet certain where their next home will be. Depay is home and hosed at Man United. Huntelaar will remain at Schalke 04. Usually, Janmaat, De Vrij, Martins Indi and Blind will not move away (although De Vrij might be snatched up as he had a tremendous year with Lazio). But Jetro Willems has signalled he is ready for a next step. “If a good club in a big competition comes, I might be tempted.” There is rumour that Paris St Germain might be that club.

Van der Wiel is most likely on his way to AC Milan. The Italian behemoth is looking at re-establishing themselves and hope to get Zlatan back to the fashion capital. Jordy Clasie is ready to move away from Feyenoord and both AS Roma and Southampton seem to be the most likely candidates for him. Sneijder has a solid contract in Istanbul, where he makes 6 Mio euros per season and lives like a movie star in a penthouse overlooking the Bosporus. He will play CL next season and any board member at Galatasaray suggesting to sell the midfielder might want to hire some bodyguards. But… it’s football. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is tempted to play in the EPL for once. Liverpool could be a candidate. Wijnaldum is another player whose name is on many scouting lists. He had a good World Cup and this last goal will definitely help his status. I think Narsingh will be happy to stay at PSV, but Promes and Lens are both in demand. Lens would love to join Advocaat at Sunderland while Promes might have different clubs to choose from. Robin van Persie is a question mark. The 31 year old is probably too old to make a big transfer although AC Milan and Juventus are mentioned through the grapevine as well. In an interview recently he said that his family’s needs will be very important in his next step. And from more recent quips it seems that the Man United striker might stay at Old Trafford and battle for his position.

Steven Berghuis is almost certainly on his way from AZ to PSV which might bring more pressure on Narsingh, as Jozefzoon is also an option for Phillip Cocu on the right flank. Leroy Fer got relegated with QPR but is too expensive for the Championship and might be on his way, finally, to Everton. Karim Rekik might either be loaned by Man City to a club in France or Italy or he will be sold to PSV. Ron Vlaar is at the point in his career that any offer from a big club will be appreciated… The veteran defender is injury prone and will not yield a return from an onsell, so it is questionable whether a big name club will actually come for him. This is different for Virgil van Dijk at Celtic who actually has the clubs to pick from. Sunderland, Arsenal, Southampton… which ever it will be, it seems Van Dijk will play EPL football next season and will aim for a spot in the orange jersey.

Lastly, it seems the keepers carrousel will commence soon too, with De Gea moving to Real Madrid and Cillesen being touted as a potential successor. Interestingly enough, people close to Van Gaal say it is a nonsense story.

Sorry guys I could not find a decent video of highlights….

November 6, 2014 by Jan

JC: “Give Guus a Chance”

What is the problem? Hiddink? Is it that easy?

The whole nation was in shock after the 2-0 defeat vs Iceland.

And all those people who rejoiced when Hiddink was signed up are now screaming for his head.

As if this wonderful squad ( no. 3 at the World Cup) under Van Gaal suddenly is impotent under Hiddink. As if a coach has that much impact during a couple of EC qualifiers.

Ronald de Boer really gave it to Guus. “He is too old. He doesn’t have a connection with his players, his tactics are non existent and his analyses are pathetic. They should sign Ronald Koeman!”

Ronald Koeman, doing really well with Southampton. “Oranje is totally not on the radar for me. Not now. That opportunity passed. They picked Hiddink. Their prerogative. But I have to admit, I did have a chuckle when I was watching them play Iceland. But I do want them to perform well of course, I am Dutch, so…. And they will. Hiddink will get it together.”

I personally believe the shift from Van Gaal to Hiddink was a big one. They’re very different. It’s like going from the Navy Seals to the local community gardens. Van Gaal is intense, dominating and very critical. Hiddink is loose, wants players to take responsibility and very supportive. Van Gaal is like a pitbull in interviews and press conferences, Hiddink is like your nice old granddad.

Or your nice old dad…because amidst of all this, there is also an issue of this guy coming out in the media claiming that Guus is his dad and he demands a dna test…. More headaches for Guus.

Anyway, Van Gaal didn’t perform too well with Oranje in the qualification times. Sure, he got the points alright against the minions. Something Guus has failed to do twice now. But Van Gaal’s friendlies were not that great and in the run up to Brazil we all thought our mediocre players would be ridiculed by Spain, Chile and the likes…. But look what Louis did only in 3 or 4 weeks of preparation… This is a time frame Hiddink hasn’t had yet and once can only assume that the former CL winner (PSV) and Real Madrid and South Korea/Australia coach can do too.

It’s all a bit early to determine that Guus is to blame. Guus didn’t tell Janmaat to take that risk in the last minute against the Cechs. And Guus didn’t instruct his forwards to be so sloppy against Czechie, Kazachstand and Iceland.

According to the Maestro (one Johan Cruyff) it is ridiculous to blame Hiddink. “The problem is hardly ever the coach. And when the coach is Hiddink, it most certainly isn’t the coach. Do you really think he has forgotten how to work his magic? There are a few problems here. Firstly, our individual qualities are not as great as we think they are. Sure, Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder…. have exceptional qualities, but players like Janmaat, Martins Indi and Wijnaldum are not there yet. Secondly, our players didn’t seem to be present, mentally. Now, this might be a coaching problem, but any team representing their country should need to rely on a coach to make them ready mentally. Thirdly, our midfield play doesn’t work, internationally. There is a reason Van Gaal used 5-3-2. He stacked the midfield with enough bodies to stop the opponent from exploring the space and he played counter attacking football. If we want to play dominant we need to rule in midfield. We simply cannot do this if we play with three midfielders: one sitting deep before the defence, one playing close to the striker and one filling the gaps. Our midfield will get bitch slapped every time. We need to play with three defenders and four midfielders in order to control the opponent. Kazachstan, Iceland and even Czech Republic…did we really need 4 defenders? Our midfield set up, at club level to start with, is wrong. And internationally we will be punished again and again. This is where we need to make changes.”

It does seem that we made a step back in time.

Van Gaal put himself and Oranje clearly on the map. But individually, we are slipping.

Van Persie doesn’t dominate. Afellay plays in a second tier competition. Sneijder is losing grip. Van der Vaart has fitness issues. Only Robben is firing on all cylinders, while De Jong is still going strong.

Van Ginkel, Maher, Clasie, Janmaat, Anita, Siem de Jong, Fer… I have yet to see it.

We have a bunch of older veterans, a number of would-be mid-tier players and a number of young talents who yet need to be tested consistently.

I think we should be fine once we get to the Euros, in 2016. So lets support Hiddink and make sure we do get there…..

In the meantime, there are some wrinkles visible. The KNVB did an evaluation with Hiddink after the dramatic results and a press release was sent out saying that “Hiddink would prepare an action plan” to get Oranje back in winning mode. Questioned by the media, Hiddink responded by saying “I would never use a word like “action plan”. That is not my style. I know what to do to get the team winning again, don’t worry.” And the KNVB had to quickly comment on that again. “The words we use don’t matter. What matters is that we know what we need to do.”

One first step Hiddink took, was to fly to Manchester to talk to his captain. Van Persie: “It was a critical evaluation, for sure. It was good and open but also direct and critical. We all know things need to change and the coach will go and talk to some of the other lads too.”

Van Persie will remain skipper, despite criticism on his behaviour, in particular after his clash with Huntelaar. “The coach was clear in what he wants to see differently. He has a tremendous drive. He is sharp, tough, also towards me. That is good. I came away with a good feeling. It was stern, but he has confidence.” The clash between Hunter and RVP has been resolved. “Oh yes, we have had our talk. I do realise that these images don’t help. We are both winners, we despise losing and want to be important for the team. I respect him tremendously as a player and he respects me too, I think. We do need to be a bit smarter in those situations but it does happen in the heat of the moment.”

On November 12, Oranje plays Mexico in a friendly and on 16 November Lithuania awaits. RVP: “The pressure is big but that is ok. We have failed. We, the players. It’s easy to give the blame to the coach, but we are doing it on the pitch. The coach creates the circumstances for us to excel in but we have to do it. Against Iceland, we let him down. And I spoke to most of the lads over the last weeks and we all realise that this is the case.”

Van Gaal is currently Robin’s club coach. A different style of coach. “Yes, they are not really similar, that is true, but so what? I have had that many times. As a player you need to deal with this. Hiddink gives the players a lot of responsibility but he is definitely the boss. He determines the tactics, although we all get to speak our minds.”

October 15, 2014 by Jan

Crisis Time Again! Is Lucky Gus capable of fixing it?

And here we are again. We finished really well at the World Cup, only to totally screw up our Euro campaign. We saw it in 1974, in 1978, in 2010 and God help us we are not really doing too well now.

Iceland 2. Holland 0.

That says it all. When I read the headline, I didn’t even wanna see the highlights. Or lowlights.

Something is not right in Oranje. And it’s easy to say “It’s Hiddink” and obviously it is not Hiddink, but sadly he is end-responsible and will have to come up with solutions.

There are many things wrong. Tactics, line up, approach/management, team dynamics, individual performance….

We are merely fans, looking in from the outside. But people closer to the squad believe Hiddink has an approach which is the total opposite of Van Gaal.

Where Louis realised this team lacked real quality and he had to bring a lot of additional elements to the team, Hiddink seems to be very loose and managing at arms length. Not just towards the lads, also towards the staff. The KNVB seems to be a bit surprised with his loose and unfocused press conferences and analyses and starts to fear that they might have made a big mistake.

This team did so well at the iron hand of Mr Control Freak Van Gaal. And his successor is the most relaxed and laid back cat the KNVB could find. The contrast is too big.

And as Frank de Boer famously quipped “I never learned anything about football from Hiddink”, his tactics leave a lot to be desired…

You play against Kazachstan. Why field 4 defenders and Nigel de Jong? Why add a static Wesley Sneijder to the midfield?

We could have done with 3 defenders and a more footballing central midfielder. Such as Sneijder. Or Blind. Or Clasie. A 3-3-4 with Huntelaar up top and Van Persie circling him.

Now, we can’t blame Hiddink for the mistake Janmaat made vs the Cechs. Or the mistakes Martins Indi makes. Or the penalty De Vrij conceded vs Iceland.

But we can blame Hiddink for not making sure we didn’t score 3 or 4 already in their goal before Janmaat made that error…

This team needs a leader with vision. Someone who keeps the big guns in check (Hunter, Van Persie, Sneijder) and who is capable of letting the youngster reach their potential by being on their case all the time. Van Gaal is not available. Frank de Boer isn’t available either.

But Co Adriaanse is. He works not unlike Van Gaal. Allow him to coach Oranje to the Euros. Let Blind do the World Cup after that and have Frank de Boer enjoy some time as club coach before he takes over. Maybe Ronald Koeman is the right man to follow up from Blind first, with bro Erwin. Who knows.

But it is time for clarity and a firm hand (again):

1. This is how we play (4-3-3 or 3-4-3)

2. This is the standard, these are the roles

3. If you don’t qualify (Van Persie, Sneijder, De Jong, Martins Indi) you are on the bench!

4. Everyone is fully focused and knows what to do. Anyone not in line can pack his bag.

The KNVB is going to assess the situation in the short term. Hiddink has been tight lipped about his future. But the media have already made up their minds: Hiddink is not the right man for the job. He seems to looking at the Oranje stint as a cool last job before he retires, while it is actually a pressure cooker job that needs 120% of the coach’s focus.

October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 by Jan

Call for help – Internal Strife averted….

Hi all, with my recent dropping out of publishing I received a kind suggestion to open up the editor role for this blog.

Maybe create a team of 3 or more people that can add posts and keep our beloved blog going. I have played with the idea for a while already and this recent upsurge in non blog-activities of your truly and the downsurge of motivation to post makes it all very current again.

So, here is the official request. Do you want to commit to write a number of posts every month? Do you believe you have the gift of the gab? Do you want to share your valuable opinion on anything Dutch Soccer? Step up.

Send your “application” to jroskott@gmail.com with subject line “Blog Demi God” and I’ll see what comes up. I will be a bit authoritarian. As I will determine the time/date of posting and I will reserve the right to edit. But other than that: please bring it on!

There is always enough to write about and I can really do with some new bright ideas.

As for Oranje, we have had what could have been another rift in the making. Van Persie not passing to Hunter. Hunter telling Robin off. Robin responding with a condenscending gesture. And when the skipper scored his goal against Kazachstan, he blatantly ignored Klaas Jan’s hi-five attempt and simply walked past him as if he was air.

The media jumped on it and Hiddink basically chose the side of Huntelaar ( “Robin should have passed the ball”). The coach took the two players and sat them down at a table with Arjen Robben – vice skipper – and assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. 15 minutes later, the two strikers were on speaking terms again and Hiddink didn’t want to spend any more time or words on the incident.

Other than that, all seems rosy in the Oranje camp. Daley Blind is enjoying his new status. His twitter account exploded recently to 400,000+ followers. “Exploded? It’s really nothing compared to Rooney and Van Persie hahahaha. But yes, Man United is huge and I can sense that in everything. Ajax is a development club and there is nothing wrong with that. But Man United is definitely a couple of steps up. I am pleased my acclimatisation went well. It helps that we have that Amsterdam bluff a bit in our game. That will have helped. I do what I do at Ajax and I think it’s going alright.” Blind has been praised in England for the seamless way he seems to slot in to the defensive mid role for the Mancunians and his crisp passing has pleased many pundits. “That is always nice to hear. I think it is not hard for someone like me to play here, because the lads I play with are so good. It is almost easier at times. The pace is killing though and the competitiveness in the challenges took me by surprise at times, but I am adjusting well.”

Blind drives around Manchester in a Chevrolet Corvette, like his teammates. He smirks. “I didn’t need that car. I would never buy that myself. But the club gave it to me so I use it from the hotel to the club. Other than that, I prefer to use a bike or simply walk. Manchester is a bit like Amsterdam in that sense. Can do most by bike.”

Stefan de Vrij is also settling in nicely in Italy. “Feyenoord will always be my club but I was ready for a bigger competition and for a defender, Italy is like paradise. I learn every day as the level is high and the intensity immense. I think I was a pretty good defender in Dutch terms, but I lack the ruthlessness of Italian defenders. I am learning that now every day. I didn’t find it hard to accustom myself to the Italian lifestyle. It’s all very European. The language is totally new but it’s not that hard and football language is universal. Life her is very pleasant and I am not a very high profile guy, I can still walk through the city and most people don’t recognize me.”

Arjen Robben missed the first movements of Oranje post World Cup but it is totally back. “It is really weird. I struggled physically when I was 24 to 28 years old. Now I’m 30 and I feel like I’m 25. I am still explosive and my mental desire is huge still. I feel good!” Bert van Marwijk recently gave Robben the biggest compliment, telling the media he felt Robben is better than Messi and C Ronaldo. Van Marwijk: “Messi and C Ronaldo are individually extremely good. But so is Arjen. On top of that, Robben is a team player. He is tactically smart and very important in the team dynamics. Not sure if Messi and C Ronaldo are as instrumental without the ball as Robben is.” Robben looked back at September and his absence. “I think September is always tough, after a big tournament. Your body is not ready yet, as you are prepping for the new season. I think we were allowed that excuse in September. But it’s October now, so no more excuses. We are all in top shape and playing for weeks already. We need to be 100% on our game. Because Iceland will be ready for us too!”

Willem van Hanegem gave his typical straight forward analysis of the Kazachstan game. “Why do we give so much respect to an opponent like Kazachstan? I really don’t get that. We had 4 defenders plus Nigel de Jong! Don’t get me wrong, De Jong is a world class player, but do you need him in this game? I would have started with a 3-3-4 system! Van der Wiel, De Vrij and Martins Indi. Then Sneijder centrally in midfield with Wijnaldum and Afellay on his side. And Robben left, Lens right and Van Persie and Huntelaar centrally. And I would penalise any player who would square the ball. The only way to kill of an opponent like Kazachstan or Iceland is by playing deep.”

Hiddink is not comfortable wit minion opponent Iceland. “Listen, it is easy to say they are a small football nation. They are. But at the same time, they have tremendous character and mentality, which is key in these games. And their midfield is very creative while they have a couple of lethal strikers. They are fresh, highly motivated and….they have six points. We only have 3 points. So for now, we are the minions.”

Lastly, Wes Sneijder is able to catch up with Rafa Van der Vaart if he starts or plays against Iceland. Vaart has 109 caps for Holland and Sneijder will join him on position no. 3. Only Frank de Boer (112) and Edwin van der Sar ( 130) have played more games. Van der Vaart is not part of the squad due to his recent injury.

Latest team news. Tim Krul is out and is replaced by Ken Vermeer. The Feyenoord goalie was part of the Oranje squad under Van Gaal for a spell but missed the World Cup. The Newcastle United ball stopper has an elbow injury. Ginio Wijnaldum is also not longer part of the squad due to a knee injury.