Tag: Feyenoord

by Jan

Remko Pasveer: 38 years young

Signed as reserve goalie for Ajax, by Erik ten Hag. And as a result of injuries and suspensions (Onana, Stekelenburg) he became Ajax’ first goalie and even with Jay Gorter breating into his neck, the veteran goalie has snatched that role up at Ajax and potentially also in the Dutch National Team. As Wesley Sneijder commented the other day: “Pasveer is currently Holland’s best goalie and deserves to start”.

We’ll see if Van Gaal agrees. The coach is known to be headstrong and contrarian that it’s hard to know. An interview with young Remko Pasveer.

Isn’t it great to see rival goalies getting injured?

“No not really. I mean, we work as a team. And it’s just shitty for Maarten as he was doing so well and even got to the Euros with Oranje. Of course, I got my spot thanks to the issues Maarten and Andre had, but I prefer to win the spot on merit. I just hope Maarten will be well soon.”

You do seem to get along well?

“We do, we’re good together. I see Maarten as my older brother. I mean, the clubs and competitions he played in, he has a World Cup in his locker, got silver in 2010, he is a big name in goal keeper land man. And he shares his experiences and Jay and I love those stories and anecdotes. He had a terrific career, something to be proud of. And Jay is our young brother. There is quite a generation gap, hahaha and we do have fun with that. Jay is very talented but also a bit erratic and he does shoot his mouth off every now and then. The coach will say something and he will be a smart-ass back to the coach. Maarten and I just look at each other and chuckle. We were like that when we were young. He’ll learn. He’s a good kid. And you do need that passion, that will to win. I think it won’t be much longer until he pushes me out of the team.”

But now you are the first goalie!

“I don’t know, it looks like that, but I don’t worry too much about that. I just go from game to game. Do what I can for the team. The coach will pick me if I’m the best option.”

Is it much easier to be a goalie at Ajax compared to say, Vitesse?

“The pressure at Ajax is way bigger. We want a clean sheet every match. At Ajax, they’re quite serious about not conceding. At Vitesse, it was ok to lose every now and then. At Vitesse, you’d also get more work to do and that always makes you stronger. At Ajax, there are matches I don’t see a ball for minutes on end and then suddenly you need to act when the opponent is through. That takes a certain mentality. At Ajax, when we played Sporting away, I was the hero for a while when I had that massive assist on Antony. And 10 minutes later, I make an error and we concede a goal. You will be judged as a mixed bag in that case and I also felt unsatisfied after that match, even when we won. You basically don’t want to be too much in the spot light as the Ajax goalie. That means all is well.”

How do you process a conceded goal like that, the Sporting goal?

“It sucks, and I am really pissed off. I made an error in judgement. I think it was my partnership with Martinez at that point, which resulted in the error. We couldn’t communicate well enough, we were doubting. It taught me again that it’s key for us to communicate well together and to be able to know what the other guys do. We weren’t there yet at the time, I suppose. We won 1-5 luckily. You do need to pick yourself up really quickly because 30 seconds later, the ball rolls again.”

How do you deal with criticism?

“I don’t hahaha. I try not to read it or watch it. I didn’t deal well with it and as everything is so black and white these days, I decided to ignore it. A striker can miss 6 chances and people will say “he should have scored!” and that’s it. When a goalie makes 1 mistake, it’s been analysed and debated for hours on end. One week, I need to be in Oranje, the next week I’m too old.”

Interesting, how you almost signed for Vitesse and now you’re playing Champions League football and you’re part of Oranje.

“It’s amazing and I’m blessed. This is so cool, everything is bigger. The games, the stadiums, the media attention, the quality of everything… I was in contact with Vitesse about my new contract for months and suddenly Overmars called. I said: “You gotta be quick, I was about to sign for a new term.” Within a week it was all settled and I was in Amsterdam.

How is it different?

“Everything is bigger, quicker and better. The players think quicker. The players are very intelligent here, they think and talk football, they constantly scan their surroundings, knowing where the space is… At lower levels, the defenders usually think “let the goalie deal with it”, at Ajax the players want to deal with it. Guys like Daley Blind and Mazraoui or Taylor, you can always play them in. And I need to always be available to them for a back pass if need be. I also need to coach and instruct players on what is happening behind them or something and it’s not always easy. Try coaching your backline versus Besiktas away, or in De Kuip.”

You’re 38 years old. Shouldn’t you kick back a bit and just enjoy?

“Oh but I do enjoy this! Massively. My age is just a number man. I enjoy everyday, on training, with the other goalies, with the lads. I enjoy seeing Timber play, the kid is only what, 20 years old and so in control, so focused. Most people enjoy strikers and goal scorers, I can really enjoy watching Martinez or Blind play. I can enjoy it more now, when I was 28 years old I was focused on my own game, now I can take in more, my vision has expanded in a way. Van der Sar was 40 when he quit and I like that, I don’t feel 38. I am one of the lads in the dressing room and can have fun with the youngsters as well. As long as I feel good, I’ll be doing this.”

Your dad Eddie was an Eredivisie goalie for FC Twente and your daughters also play. Three generations Pasveer, that is cool.

“Yes my dad will come and watch me always, when we play at home. He’s so involved, we always analyse the matches. He’s a real mentor like that. He had heart issues and had to close his physio practice but he still works with older guys now, doing gym and keeping them fit. He used to be my goalkeeper coach you know and before his heart problems, he’d always talk to me as my coach, hahaha. Now he’s mellowed a bit and he just gives me some tips here and there. Both my daughters are football mad. They play, but not goalie. One is left back, the other left winger. They play tennis too. They really enjoy the life, and are very committed supporters hahaha.”

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by Jan

The Dream of Andries Noppert

While the likes of Messi, Neymar, Van Dijk, Thiago, Benzema and Lewandowski will get the headlines this midweek, with the CL in full force, this time a story about a guy who will most likely never play a Champions League match in his career.

But he might play a game at the World Cup!

Andries Noppert. Sent away from FC Dordrecht in the second tier only two years ago. In two weeks, he might make his debut in Oranje.

Coach Kees van Wonderen took the gamble and signed Noppert as reserve goalie for Go Ahead Eagles. Today, Van Wonderen is head coach at Heerenveen and Noppert followed him there. Asked whether he could see the potential in the tall goalie, he said: “No. No one did. Not even Noppert himself. But it was as if he exploded!”

Van Wonderen: “He is a quaint goalie. I saw him at training, where he stopped unbelievable balls only to fumble tremendously in matches. It seemed like he accepted the fact he was not top.”

And yes, everywhere he played Noppert was told he was not good enough. He started at Heerenveen in the youth. They didn’t think he’d make it. He went to NAC in Breda, and was the reserve goalie there. He took a trip to Foggia, in the Serie B in Italy and he warmed the bench there too. Even in the bottom of the Dutch 2nd tier, he didn’t get a game. FC Dordrecht thanked him and sent him home. He was without a club for 6 months until Eagles in Deventer needed a reserve goalie. He spent 12 months on the bench, until he got his chance. The rest is history.

Most of his career, he looked like this… This is at Dordrecht

Ever since, there is a fun chant in the Go Ahead Eagles stadium: “Noppert in Oranje!” and it sounded like a joke. Not something you’ll hear in the Ajax or Feyenoord stadiums, as it is quite logical that the key players of these teams end up in the orange jersey.

These are the anti-heroes, or cult heroes. The players who could have ended up as postman instead, or truckdriver. Noppert is popular, because the average football fan might think: this could have been me!

The friendly giant in the Heerenveen goal, 27 years old now, is suddenly a fan favorite, with chants to his name and fans whereever he goes.

The football world seems addicted to stats, these days, but sometimes something happens that is not easy to explain. Suddenly, Leicester City wins the Premier League, or Iceland goes to the Euros or Greece wins it. And now, this lanky clumsy goalie has the chance to present himself at a World Cup!

Today, coach Van Wonderen sends his goalie into the match with the words: “Show them why Van Gaal loves you!”

Or he looked like this…

His invitation to Oranje seems a surprise, but based on stats, it’s actually logical. Take this stat:

xG on target tegen = Expected goals against

Goals Tegen = Actual Goals against

Verschil = Difference

The savings percentage of Noppert is way above the percentages of the other goalies. He stopped eleven attempts of Feyenoord in the second match this season and won a point for his club.

There is no reason whatsoever for Van Gaal not to select this goalie. We know Van Gaal also looks at the football capabilities of the keepers. Their kicking abilities, their coaching and their eye for tactics and organisation. Bijlow, Cillesen and Pasveer are all three quite comfortable on the ball, this is not Noppert’s strength. Only Twente goalie Unnerstall is worse in his kicking than the tall Heerenveen lad. Only 58% of his passes actually end up at the target.

Noppert will not become the next Manuel Neuer anytime soon. Van Gaal will have picked Noppert for that other reason: his amazing reach and reflexes on the line. Louis wants a penalty killer, to help the team in situations where penalty kicks need to bring the decision. This used to be Tim Krul’s role but Noppert is potentially surpassing the Norwich goalie. Every centimeter counts.

When asking that question, the press chief of Heerenveen comes up with an old video of Heerenveen A1 versus Ajax A1. A penalty series needs to bring the final decision and a lanky Heerenveen goalie can demonstrate his skills by stopping two spotkicks: Heerenveen A1 goes to the finals.

Does Van Wonderen see Noppert as that potential penalty killer? “He did stop one in the pre-season and he also was close to stopping Yilmaz penalty but that just taken with too much power for Andries.” Van Wonderen can understand Van Gaal’s thinking: “Yes, he has everything to be a penalty killer. The length, the reflexes, the mental calmness. But I think Van Gaal will want to test that in more details at the trainings camp.”

Van Wonderen stresses Nopperts mental powers. “He had to deal with so many setbacks and rejections. And he has been booed a lot and now people are cheering him. Either way, he will shrug his shoulders. I hope he’ll reach the final squad and that he has a chance to show himself. What a journey this lad has been through.”

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by Jan

Slot’s new Feyenoord

The price of success. When you do well, as a Dutch top club with money needs (AZ, Feyenoord, PSV), bigger clubs will come and rob you of your top players.

Feyenoord is slowly climbing out of a deep abyss. Financially that is. In the past season, Feyenoord was able to perform well thanks to two loan players (Dessers and Til), among other things. Sure, Slot is a top notch coach, we know this, and Aursnes and Trauner were great signings while Sinistera, Malacia and Kokcu played the season of their lives.

But Dessers and Til left. Sinistera and Malacia made big money moves and now Marco Senesi has joined Bournemouth (…). I think Wim Jansen will turn around in his grave knowing that the Argentine CB thinks a move to newly promoted Bournemouth is a step up. No international tournaments for him and potentially a relegation. And before we know it, Aursnes is off to Benfica.

Sad to see this top class player go. Bought for 450k, leaving for 15M

Nice for the Feyenoord CFO, to see the millions come in, partly to cover the debt and partly will the money be spent on new signings.

Arne Slot can be seen as the man who created all this value. Kokcu was a question mark for long. Malacia was considered to wild and not good enough on the ball. Sinistera was struggling with fitness. But Slot brought confidence, joy and a positive playing style to Rotterdam and the players embraced it.

Can he do it again. Because with more than half the Feyenoord team from last season towards the exit (Linssen is now at Japan, while Raymond Hendriks is seriously injured… Jorit Hendrix never convinced Slot), the Rotterdam behemoth is on the look out for new blood.

New blood

Santiago Gimenez is only 21 years old but the Mexican has already 4 years as a pro under his belt in Mexico. The sports reporters in Mexico compare the tall striker with Graziano Pelle, the Italian striker who mesmerized the Feyenoord legion. He is a left footer, tall and strong. A good target man, but he also has depth in his game and he’s quite skilled too. The madness in Mexico around him is such that ESPN will broadcast every Feyenoord game live in Mexico.

23 year old Danilo Pereira already made an impression. The 11th player in history to go from Ajax straight to Feyenoord. Feyenoord lost 39 goals from last season and needs players who know what scoring is. Danilo is that player. He is effective, threatening and direct. He scored 17 goals in one season for FC Twente and the Brazilian was also on a free, so hardly any risk involved with him. Danilo scored twice in the first game versus Vitesse, last weekend.

Oussama Idrissi is back at the club where he started his career. The Moroccan international worked with Slot at AZ where he had a tremendous time. He’s a right footed Robben, once could say. Threatening to go on the outside, cutting inside with his light-footedness and then curling the ball in to the far corner. He is on loan from Sevilla (which paid 12 million for him but he never played the full 90 for the Spanish club).

Maybe the biggest signing for Feyenoord, Quinten Timber. Also a player who is returning to his old home. He played 6 seasons in the youth academy but moved to Ajax where his twin brother was (and still is). He impressed at Utrecht last season and was on many a scouting list. The youngster finds 21 years too young to make the move abroad. He will definitely make that jump one day – like his brother – but will hopefully spend two good seasons in De Kuip. He would be the natural successor to Fredrik Aurnses. Timber is really multfunctional and reminds me of Edgar Davids. He has grit, he can tackle but he’s also very skillful and has the ability to ghost past opponents Frenkie-style.

Mats Wieffer caught my eye when I saw him play with Excelsior against ADO Den Haag for the promotion game from the lower division to the Eredivisie. A game Excelsior – and Wieffer – won. The 22 year old playmaker was developed at Twente but never broke there. Via Excelsior he’s now a Feyenoord midfielder. As a creative player, he did have the most ball winning actions in the second division. Another multi functional midfielder. He can play the 6 and the 8 role and his former coach used him as a central defender at times as well.

24 year old Javairo Dilrosun has a promising CV: Ajax, Man City, Hertha BSC, Girondins Bordeaux… But he never really settled anywhere. In three seasons in Germany, he only played 29 matches. He will probably do well in Rotterdam, where his speed, his guile and his skills will be too much for most of his opponents. He is a one time capped international and will have the ambition to show himself to the NT manager as well. He scored a tremendous goal versus Vitesse for Feyenoord.

Sebastian Szymanski would normally never play for Feyenoord. The 23 year old is one of the biggest Polish talents and he seemed in the right place at Dynamo Moscow, with 6 goals and 8 assists in 27 games. But the Ukraine situation helped Feyenoord, as Seb is able to play elsewhere on loan as a result of the war. Szymanski is a real left footed #10 but can also play on the 8 position or even as a false right winger, Steven Berghuis style.

The last signing and least exciting one, is 25 year old Jacob Rasmussen, who came in on loan from Fiorentina. The Dane went to the Italian club for 7 million euros and never played a single game there. He played for Empoli, Vitesse and Erzgebrige. His key assets: passionate defending and taking-no-prisoner defending. Rasmussen impressed at Vitesse alongside Bazoer but might lack the speed needed to play in Slot’s system.

Tactical differences

How will Slot’s preferred eleven play? No one knows. Not even Arne Slot. After the last pre-season game versus Osasuna, he muttered he needed to study mathematics, to sort it out. Too many moving parts still, with players still leaving (Senesi, Aursnes) and players still coming in.

Arne did sign a new deal this summer yet again and has commitment towards the club and the process. In the last season with Til as #10, he played with two controlling midfielders behind the current PSV player. With Slot, it’s the players who determine the shape. With Toornstra and Kokcu, Slot plays them side by side. With Aursnes in the team, Kokcu is pushed further up, as the Norwegian midfielder has the legs to control the space in front of the defenders. Til’s exit has a big impact on the Feyenoord structure as the former AZ player was the first player to press. The wingers usually benefitted from Til’s press. There were no other Eredivisie players last season with the many touches Sinistera and Nelson had in the final third. Now, it seems Slot wants his wingers to be the first to press, allowing the midfielders to take control of the ball. It’s basically the same principle Slot used previously. Control the axis of the field and create a man-more situation on the wings. The execution is different, though.

This is already outdates, with Aursnes going to Benfica and Senesi off to Bournemouth. There is also interest in Kokcu and Pedersen…

This season, Slot expects to have more variation in his game. He wants to be able to make subtle changes per match, if the opponent “asks” for it. For this, Slot will need more width in his squad. For the coming weeks, it’s all still wishful thinking. Slot does not have that much to choose from, due to late signings, visas not yet done and injuries.

Still, their first Eredivisie game versus Vitesse tells you they will yet again be a force this season. That is also the expectation the legion has, as they hold Arne Slot in high esteem in Rotterdam.

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by Jan

Alfred Schreuder’s Ajax plans

Alfred Schreuder impressed in his early coaching days, at FC Twente and PSV and made his way from assistant coach (Ten Hag, Nagelsmann, Koeman) to title winning head coach, at Club Brugge.

He was seen as instrumental in the 2019 success campaign with Ajax and is now back at the club, in the head coach role. His plans and ideas for the new season…

“I can see the team getting sharper and the chemistry is growing really well amongst the new lads. The mainstay players are back and hitting their usual levels and we have some new blood now as well. Last season, we had a couple of set backs to deal with her. The CL loss versus Benfica was a shock to the system, but so was Antony’s injury. Despite the weaker second half last season, I can see the patterns of the first season’s half emerging again. That is our platform.”

Mohammed Kudus

“We have some much attacking talent. Let me mention Kudus. He came as a midfielder, a number 8 or 10. We didn’t see much of him due to his injury woes, but I love playing him higher up the pitch. He is such an intuitive player, to play him in midfield means I have to restrict him. He needs to play more tactical. Not his strength. If I play him in a free flowing false 9 role, call it the Tadic role, he shows some real quality. He is unpredictable. I love that in a player. He’s strong, he’s quick and he doesn’t stick to one particular thing. He is one of the players that exceeded my expectations.”

Multi-functional

“I love players like Kudus, who can play in different roles. I mean, Tadic…he can play in the 10 role, as a striker and as a left winger. Same with Steven Bergwijn. Berghuis can play the 10 or the right wing or even in a midfield role as an double pivot holding mid. Daley Blind can play in 3 roles, Timber can play in different spots, I can keep on going like this. This way, I don’t have to have a “core eleven”. I can switch it up anywhich way. Depending on the opponent, the form of the day, the specific circumstances of the day. It’s abundance for me as a coach, as if I have 44 first squad players. You don’t win trophies with eleven players…”

Competition

“Yes there is competition of course, but also collaboration. We are doing this as a team. We have several players for only a limited number of positions. I can only field 3 midfielders, but I have 6 top options. It’s not a problem for me. It’s just my job. If a player doesn’t play for 6 matches in a row, yes, he’ll get frustrated, I get that. But we will play a match every 4 days so rotation is the name of the game. My job is to make sure all players feel seen and are happy. Playing or not playing.”

Patterns

“Some people say you can only get these automations and patterns when you play the same eleven. Not true of course. You can work on these with all players so it becomes even easier to rotate and use different players. There will be subtle changes, but the time that a player could only play with one particular team mate or something is over. We have 3 or 4 possible left backs, in Blind, Wijndal, Bassey and Rensch. Tadic will have to be able to play with all of them and knowing what the particular strengths are of the different players.”

Fitness levels

“Remko Pasveer, Jurrien Timber and Antony are recovering really well. They’ll be making their first minutes soon. With Antony, we get more options as he is amazing on the wide side, but he can also play in the half spaces, close to Berghuis. We’ll experiment more with those options. Timber might not be ready for the Johan Cruyff Shield. We’ll be careful with him, we envision a long season.”

Level of play

“We are focusing on the way we played in the first half of last season. The level was really high and we know we can touch on that again, as our benchmark. We need to see the positive energy again, the joy of playing. If we can muster that in combination with the quality we have, we should be doing really well again. We will build on what Erik ten Hag did here. Our way of pressing will need to adapt a bit. We need to get more different options. Feyenoord also presses high but they do it differently to us. We used to use our wingers to put pressure on the half spaces and the centre back. Feyenoord uses their #10 to put pressure on the centre back. An interesting option for us to check as well. A lot is also depending on how much space the opponent has between their centre backs. If the space is too wide, our #10 pressing will mean our other midfielders are facing a man more. Which might not be ideal. And all these choices have flow on effects for the wingers and the other players. It’s like conducting a symphony, isn’t it?”

Pressing

“I studied Bayern Munich’s pressing under Hansi Flick. They were able to press anywhere and in any combination. It looked like chaos but they all joined in and it was glorious to see how they all participated. It requires trust and team work because if one player doesn’t participate, you’re gone. I am working hard with the lads to make sure they can recognise the patterns. What to do when the opponent plays with the centre backs close together, or… when they are more wide. I need players to come up with solutions. I don’t want to pre-chew their food.  Take the Red Bull Salzburg game, who started playing long balls. I am keen to see how our team deals with that, without me jumping up from the bench to yell instructions.”

The Key Players

“I spend a lot of time with the players whom I expect to be able to take charge on the pitch. Tadic, Blind, Klaassen, Timber and Berghuis are those guys. I need to them to recognise situations and patterns. These lads are all tactically astute and need to be more pro-active in their football thinking. Yes, it’s called football but it could have been named brainball…”

Schreuder’s talks

“I talk a lot with the players. I need to know how they feel about things, what their beliefs are and how they process certain things. I also need to get to know them personally. What motivates or triggers them. Take Mohammed Kudus, I spent time with him also to explain that my choices do not mean I don’t see him as a midfielder. I don’t want players to become anxious when I do something unpredictable. I need them to see my point, just like I want to see their points.”

Build up

“I like to build up with three players from the back. And I need them to be higher up, so we can create more effective triangles. When we play against a 5-4-1 it won’t really work, there will not be enough space, but I need to make sure we can use our players’ strengths. Antony is very good with his back to the touch line. But Tadic is better in the half spaces. Bergwijn can do both very well. Last week, I trained with three at the back: Blind, Rensch and Timber. And Rensch has got some development to make, to realise his positioning. When we’re in possession, it goes well. He really understands where to be, but when we lose possession, he’s drifting too much. A bit like Mazraoui in the beginning. He had that too. It takes time. We’re also working hard on different options in midfield. When Alvarez is marked, what does Berghuis do and vice versa. I now want to try out Ken Taylor in the Frenkie role. I think he can play that role but I need to work it still. That is for next week. We’re also trying to get some variance in the build up. At times, I want to pivot the full backs. Keeping the right back deep and move Timber into midfield. Or vice versa. Against Salzburg, we were faced with a diamond in midfield. Interesting. Rensch forgot to follow the left midfielder, who at times came into the left winger role. These are the details we are working on now.”

Target man

“We almost have a well-balanced squad but I miss a target man. We don’t have one of these and you can really use them in certain situations. Take Luuk de Jong at Barca. Haller can be dangerous from crosses from the wings and he’s not longer here. Brobbey is not that type and I think it will be hard to find a 25 year old to play that role. You’re more looking at a Luuk de Jong or a Klaas Jan Huntelaar in his last phase here at Ajax. We are still looking for a strong header to take that role.”

Players leaving

“I can be brief about this topic: as far as I am concerned, no one leaves now. Tagliafico is the last to go. Antony will stay at Ajax. Not for sale. Martinez went to Man United and we signed Calvin Bassey in his place. A strong player, who can also play left back. Giving us an extra option. Blind and Bassey can both play centrally too. I haven’t used Daley as midfielder yet, and I think I will. I know he’s capable in that role. He is so good tactically. He is one of those players who can easily slot into a new position.”

Francisco Conceicao

“What a player! He is young, he has a tremendous dribble one v one. He has a lot of potential. He is leaving Porto and his dad because he can see Ajax is the ideal next step for him. He has a great mentality. We had some good talks with his dad, who used to be a top top player too. He finds it hard that his son is leaving but he also knows Ajax is a great club for his development and next steps. He knows his son will be in good hands. We signed him as a stand in for Antony, and we’ll give him time to get used to the game and our squad.”

Goal keepers

“The battle of the goalies is still open. Stekelenburg started so well too, but he got injured. I do think he’ll be back soon. But all three are top. Pasveer has that calm and cool, while Gorter is very lively, a mega talent. Gorter is ready to go but I think we will wait with our decision until all goalies are fit. I am also focusing on the partnership with the central defenders. I think they’re quite equal in their qualities, they all three are great with their feet too.”

Mo Ihattaren

“The club is in contact with him. That is all I can say. I focus on the players I have at my disposal and at this stage, Mo is not ready. He’s dealing with some nasty personal business. We have a trainings program for him and I hope we’ll see him soon again.”

The title battle

“I will be between the top 3 again. PSV has done amazing business, and they had to too, due to their CL ambitions. Feyenoord is a bit slow again but they did good business late in the window last season and Slot has demonstrated he doesn’t need a lot of time to gel a good team. But we’ll focus on ourselves. We have a top squad again and we will keep on building on our own strengths.”

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by Jan

Focus on Oranje

After a string of disappointing finals (for the Dutch), we can now safely leave the competitions behind us and focus on the Oranje Nations League campaign.

Disappointing how so little of the Dutchies found glory, this final stage in the season. Gio didn’t make it with Rangers, Feyenoord wasn’t themselves in the Conference League finals (but Rick Karsdorp got his first big trophy) and Virgil missed out on his second CL trophy. Asensio is carrying that torch for us now, being half Dutch.

In the background, Van Gaal is stirring up matters again, with his left of centre selections for the Oranje Nations League matches.

There were some positive and some negative surprises.

On the positive, the selection of Karsdorp made all the sense in the world and he could not longer be ignored. Sadly for all, he got injured (groin) in the Conference League finals and had to pass on the invite.

On the questionable side, Vincent Janssen is called up again. The once prolific AZ top scorer disappeared in relative anonymity (for us Dutchies) in the Mexican competition but Van Gaal believes – in typical Van Gaal style – that he can make it work for Janssen in his tactical set up. We will see.

The return of Bruno Martins Indi is a surprise as well. Although, it has to be said, his stats are quite good and his build up pass has demonstrated to be around the best in the bizz, in the second tier of Dutch central defenders. Obviously, when Van Dijk, De Vrij, De Ligt, Ake, Blind and Timber are available, BMI will not get a look in. There’s also Struijk, Schuurs and Sven Botman, so I can’t see BMI making it to the World Cup.

Van Gaal does need 22 players at least for his practice stages and it’s always good to add some experience to the squad, for practice purposes. BMI will not be phased to work with Van Gaal, while a newcomer like Struijk might be.

Bologna’s Jerdy Schouten has finally been called up. The controlling midfielder made an impression in the Eredivisie playing for Excelsior and that got him his transfer to the Serie A where he impresses whenever he plays. The first half of this past season was one with injuries and frustration but since February, Schouten is one of the first names on the team sheet. His performances have also triggered interest from bigger Serie A clubs but the youngster believes in a step by step development of his career and will most likely focus on this coming season with Bologna (and the World Cup), with a move in the summer of 2023, no doubt.

Gini Wijnaldum also dropped out of the squad, in what people in Holland call “a Sneijdertje”. Which means, that it’s likely that Van Gaal is trying to motivate Wijnaldum to change clubs this summer if he wants a shot at the World Cup.

Jordy Clasie is also dropped, which is a surprise, as the AZ midfielder is in top form, key in every successful AZ attack. Owen Wijndal and Arnaut Danjuma are not part of the squad as they’re recovering from injury. Luuk de Jong and Marten de Roon are not needed as Van Gaal probably knows what to expect from them.

The Oranje coach is keen to see some new faces/names at work.

Van Gaal: “We do not have a lot of time to see new players at work, so I want to use these Nations League gatherings for this. I know what I need to know from most, but it will help me to see if and how I can use some of the new lads. I want to use my time in an optimum way. We have now and we have September and that is it.”

The look on BMI’s face when he heard he was selected again…. Priceless.

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by Jan

Feyenoord’s European Campaign

Who could have guessed. After Gio van Bronckhorst’s rein at the club and the string of trophies won, Feyenoord seemed to drift back to a dreary sub top role. Jaap Stam started in a chaotic situation: no money, no technical management, no academy and half a squad. He decided to move on.

Dick Advocaat was called in to mend the club and he did, with typical Advocaat style, compact defensive football. Not winning any prizes but not getting egg on face either.

Feyenoord needed their own renaissance man. Their own Pep, or Klopp or Gasperini. Arne Slot was the man.

And after having won Holland’s first trophy in 1970 and winning the last one for Holland in 2002, Feyenoord is now close to showing Ajax and Oranje how it is done.

Qualifiying: Drita – Feyenoord 0-0

Feyenoord started their campaign in Kosovo in July (!) 2021. The official debut of the former AZ coach, with Leroy Fer as central defender and Bannis as the striker. Feyenoord lacked creativity and Bannis missed the only big chance they got. Orkun Kökçu: “I had the ball a lot but didn’t make the right choices. We simply weren’t good enough, in playing through them. We lack creativity. We are not good enough.”

Qualifying: Feyenoord – Drita – 3-2

Arne Slot has a new name in the squad: Alireza Jahanbaksh is the successor to Berghuis, the creative playmaker who starts on the right of the pitch. Fer is again the central defender who makes mistake after mistake. Guus Til scores the 1-0 but due to Fer’s errors, it’s soon 1-2 for Drita. Late in the game, it’s cult hero and loanee Guus Til who would shoot Feyenoord past Drita: 3-2. A new fan fave is born. Slot: “I expected us to deal with the opponent in an easier way. The positive side of this is the team’s mentality. They fought back from a difficult position, I have to give them that.”

Qualifying: Luzern – Feyenoord. 0-3

Guus Til is important again, with two goals in the first half. Sinistera scores Feyenoord’s third. Slot: “We looked fresh and positive. We had more depth in our game and we made less errors.” The key news was the addition of Gernot Trauner to the team. The debutant central defender immediately impressed. Kökçu started the campaign with criticism but is growing into his holding defender role.

Qualifying: Feyenoord – Luzern 3-0

New addition Fredrik Aursnes watches from the stands as Jahanbaksh gives off his name card with two goals. The match is unique for Antoni Milambo, who makes his debut as 16 year old and has relieved Wijnaldum as the youngest Feyenoord player ever. Slot: “Without the ball, we were still a bit nervous and stressed, but with the ball, we played fantastic.”

Qualifying: Feyenoord – Elsborg 5-0

Feyenoord is hungry. Jahanbaksh and Sinistera with early goals and in total a hattrick for the Columbian while Linssen tops it off with his usual goal. The Swedish media is impressed and speak of the destruction of Elsborg. Jahanbaksh: “We decided to push on as they play on an artificial pitch. We wanted to have some daylight between us.”

Qualifying: Elsborg – Feyenoord 3-1

Without Senesi and Bijlow, it is not the same for Feyenoord. The trail 2-0 against the Swedes but once Til scores (again) for the Red and White, the game is played. Slot: “I am standing here with a smile, but during the match I was not smiling. The difference between winning and losing is small. And the players will have noticed this. The good thing is, we are in the group. The rest is all learning.”

Group: Maccabi Haifa – Feyenoord 0-0

The first match in the group stage is a disappointing one. Bryan Linssen gets three major chances and misses them all. Ausners makes his debut. Cyriel Dessers, another debutant, makes a cameo but can’t convince the Dutch criticasters. “They might think I am the Dessers of Heracles, but I am a better version now. I will show them, I can’t wait.”

Group: Feyenoord – Slavia Prague

Feyenoord plays Prague drunk in the first half. Kökçu and Linssen score the 2-0 but then it’s over for Feyenoord. Instead of going to 3 or even 4-0, they allow Prague back into the game. The Slavia coach: “This must have felt like a training match for Feyenoord. They did what they wanted and we couldn’t stop them.” Slot is less enthusiastic: “We played with flair in the first half, but in the second half it seems the battery was empty. We need to work hard on that.”

Group: Feyenoord – Union Berlin 3-1

Feyenoord is warned for the team from Berlin but scores an early goal after an explosive start. Bryan Linssen uses his body to force the second goal and is questioned about the foul after the game. “Did you think it was a foul? Aren’t you Dutch??”. Feyenoord wins 3-1 and Linssen praises the mentality in the team: “We want to fight for one another, the noses are all pointing in the right direction. It’s early days and we don’t have anything yet, but we are in really good shape.”

Group: Union Berlin – Feyenoord 1-2

Sinistera is again on the score sheet early in the game but Berlin gets themselves back into it. Feyenoord is leading the group and when Dessers benefits from a slip from a defender, Feyenoord will end the evening as group leaders even more firmly. The main topic of the night, apart from Dessers, is new midfielder Aursners who is growing into one of Feyenoord’s key players.

Group: Slavia Prague – Feyenoord

Prague hosts the Rotterdam club with the knives sharpened. Feyenoord needs 1 point to progress but Marciano’s mistake means Prague leads early. Dessers comes on for a sick Linssen and when Til is sent off in the second half it appears to go pear shaped for the Stadium club. Prague scored the 2-1 but it’s another late Dessers goal that puts Feyenoord through to the knock out stages. Slot: “The ultimate strength of this team is their will power”.

Group: Feyenoord – Maccabi Haifa  2 – 1

Dessers and Reiss Nelson get the nod for the first time and both pay their coach back with a goal. Remarkably, Feyenoord ends the match with 8 self developed players in the line up. Quite a feat. Slot: “This is a big feather in the cap of the Academy. This club is very much alive!”.

First Knock-Out: Partizan Belgrado – Feyenoord 2 – 5

The Serbs start with a vengeance and open the score via former Ajax winger Queency Menig. Dessers and Nelson start again, with Geetruida back in the line up as well. In the second half, Feyenoord bulldozes Partizan with an impressive away win: 2-5. Slot is satisfied but also critical: “They create 2,5 chance and score twice. That happens too often. I find it frustrating to be the better side on the pitch but still not being able to express this into goals. We will work on this.”

First Knock-Out: Feyenoord- Partizan Belgrado 3 – 1

Feyenoord is hit with Covid and Arne Slot, Marino Pusic (assistant)  and players Trauner, Pedersen, Bijlow and Malacia are absent. John de Wolf and Robin van Persie coach the team to a relatively easy win. Dessers claims an Inzaghi goal, when Toornstra’s free kick hits the player on the back. Toornstra: “I am happy with that, he can have it!”. De Wolf is happy to play any other team in the next stage, “as long as it isn’t Slavia Prague. We already had them and they’re not a nice opponent.”

Quarter Finals: Feyenoord – Slavia Prague 3 – 3

John de Wolf jinxed it: Slavia Prague is the next opponent. It would be a roller coaster of a match, with both goalies playing sub par. It’s 1-0 first, then 1-2, then back to 3-2 but in the dying seconds, Prague gets the equaliser. Assistant Pusic loses it in the break, as he believes the equaliser should have been chalked off. The former AZ assistant gets the red card. Analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk calls it a disgrace. Slot: “Marino is an emotional man. It comes with the package. We will have a tough match in Prague, I fear. They’re a tough team to play against. The differences are minimal.”

Quarter Finals: Slavia Prague – Feyenoord 1 – 3

Dessers was disappointed he didn’t start at home, but he is in the line up in the away game. Within 2 minutes, the Belgian/Nigerian scores. Kökçu blunder brings Prague back into it (too short a back pass) but Dessers benefits again from a defensive error and Sinistera’s goal means Feyenoord reaches the semi finals. The team celebrates, except for Kökçu: “I am still annoyed with myself and I know I will have to say thanks to all of these guys. Once I have, I might be able to celebrate.”

Semi Finals: Feyenoord – Olympique Marseille 3 – 2

Marseille is an opponent with European pedigree. Slot is full of praise of Olympique and their coach Sampaoli. Slot is a fan and expects a football fiesta. And he is right. Feyenoord gets to 2-0 relatively quickly but a magical Payet helps his team back to 2-2. In the first minute of the second half, it’s that man Dessers again, who pushes up and forces the mistake to the 3-2. Goalie Marciano has a number of key saves in the dying minutes and Slot speaks of their best match so far. The French media are impressed and call Feyenoord the Kings of the Press.

Semi Finals: Olympique Marseille – Feyenood 0 – 0

Peter Bosz has just besten Marseille at the Velodrome 0-3 with Lyon and calls Slot with some last tips. The passionate French fans do what they can to rattle Feyenoord, including throwing bricks through the players’ bus windows. Marseille attacks but can’t find a way through. Feyenoord’s attacking play is wanting, but they do enough. Slot: “Amazing how we stood firm here. This is a tough place to go to. We didn’t create much, but we also didn’t give much away. I’m proud. This match showed us all how strong we are physically.” Feyenoord will prep for it’s first European finals in 20 years. Malacia: “Yes it is great, but we have nothing until we win that finals.”

It seems Bijlow will start again for Feyenoord who can play in their strongest line up: with Malacia, with Kökçu and with Dessers up front.

I predict a 3-0 win for the Rotterdam club. Goals: Dessers, Sinistera and Kökçu.

 

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by Jan

Cruyff: no striker in the box!

H all, a personal note before I start this JC article… I will be traveling in the coming month as one of my dear family members in Europe will need support :-(. I will be posting less regularly, but will do my best to keep the good stuff coming.

May I ask you to have a look at the donation options on the site? Traveling to Europe is pretty expensive these days ;-).

JC: “You can only rotate when one position is not taken. That position needs to be the central striker.”

It was the time of Denis Law, the agile Scot who scored 237 goals for Man United. The times of the golden left of Gigi Riva, scoring one goal per match for the Italians or Der Bomber, Gerd Muller, scoring 500 goals for Bayern Munich! It was the early 70s, a great time for goal scorers. Strikers who only needed one or two touches to tap a ball in. The Dutch had a number of them: Dick van Dijk, Ruud Geels, Willy van der Kuylen, Dick Nanninga…

There were three types of strikers: the mercurial fast ones (Rene van de Kerkhof), the player with the thunder in the thighs (Willy van der Kuylen) and the tall lighthouse target man (Dick Nanninga). Ideally, you had one striker who had this all (Haaland).

And, a striker was always your most advanced man and he was judged on goals.

Cruyff came onto the field as a strange #9. He was never in the point. And he still scored goal after goal after goal. Between 1966 and 1972 he would never score less than 33 goals per season. But the real impact of JC was not as a goal getter of course. His biggest impact was the fact that as a #9, he was hardly ever to be found in that most advanced position.

Johan Cruyff led the line in a way that other players could flourish in the areas vacated by him. The two-footed dribble king was to be found everywhere else. As the playmaker, or as libero, or coming from the left. He called himself, the “playing central striker”. Cruyff’s ability to be that wandering striker made him crucial for the execution of Oranje’s Total Football. Oranje would play people off the pitch with any player able to play on any position. Right wingers became strikers, right full backs ended up as left winger and the central striker became the deep lying playmaker. It was all being done.

Finding the space was sacred. No one was playing on the position as laid out on the line up board in the dressing room! Cruyff would start in the #9 role but would immediately drift away. He went wherever he felt like it. “A little wander here, a little movement there, playing along a bit and then explode into action.”

Watching Feyenoord, Ajax and Oranje play in the early 70s is really fun. Opponents have no idea how to deal with it. Man markers would follow JC across the pitch and ended up leaving huge holes in their defence. Or they simply allowed JC the freedom of the pitch, which is never a good idea against someone with his dribbling skills.

Cruyff’s teams always dominated the ball. There were always ample players around the ball. Ajax and Oranje dominated in that middle zone, which is still sacred in football tactics. The maestro’s partnership with Rep, Rensenbrink and Neeskens in 1974 was phenomenal. These three could score at will helped by the open spaces left by Cruyff.

The legendary #14 explains it in 1977: “There are people who believe I should play in midfield. They don’t get it. The remarkable thing about our football is: everyone is on the move, always. And it starts with me. I start as a striker but leave that space, which starts the big rondo. The defenders of the opponent are now in trouble. Because we come at them from various angles. If they mark me, others will get more space. If they don’t mark me, well… bring it on. They end up always having one defender too few.”

The traditional #9 got replaced by the False 9. The traditional 9 was told: stay high up the pitch, hold on to the ball, go deep and mainly: score. The False 9 is a high playing playmaker, who is focused on the team rotation and performance.

When Cruyff quit his active career, it seemed the false 9 disappeared too. Strikers like Nanninga, of Kees Kist or Peter Houtman and later Wim Kieft brought Oranje back to the traditional 9. Only when Cruyff returned to Barcelona in 1988 was the False 9 back. The Dream Team.

In 1989, Michael Laudrup was seen as one of the most elegant players in football but it wouldn’t happen for him in Italy. He used to play left winger or #10. Stoichkov was Barca’s #9 but Cruyff put the explosive Romanian on the wing and placed Laudrup in the striker role.

Cruyff was obsessed with creating triangles, and we’re not talking about the musical version of it. With Ronald Koeman as libero, Guardiola as defensive mid, attacking midfielder Bakero and striker Laudrup he had a spine in his team which could pass themselves out of danger. Barca’s dream team resembles the Tiqui-Taca team of Guardiola decennia later.

It was Guardiola who used the best player ever ™ as the false striker in his team. The birth day of the Star of Superstar was May 9, 2009. In Pep’s first season, Barca was four points adrift from Real Madrid. On day 34, El Classico was on the program and the pressure on Guardiola was immense. Barca missed the title two seasons in a row now and the 2-2 at Valencia on the 33rd playing day added to the pressure. And so, Guardiola called Messi, the night before the game. Could Leo maybe drop in for a bit?

At 10.30 pm, the 21 year old Lionel Messi enters Pep’s office. Marti Perarnau, the author of “Pep Confidential” explains the situation as such: “The 21 year old enters and Pep shows him a video. He freezes the video and shows Messi the space on the pitch. He wants Messi to work in these spaces. He calls it “the Messi Zone”. And he tells Messi: “I want you to start from the wing, as per normal. But when I signal you, I want you to dart through the middle. And when Xavi or Iniesta have the ball, you go. Straight ahead, and you’ll be face to face with Casillas.”

Pep didn’t tell anyone about this. He only told his assistant Vilanova the day before the match. Xavi and Iniesta were told during the warming up. What followed was a master class of football, with a 2-6 win at the Bernabeu for Barca. Samuel Eto’o suddenly played on the right wing and Messi would drift in and out of the zone where the older and massive Madrid defence would be. Xavi would later comment: “Pep changed the whole plan. With Messi as false 9, with Henry and Eto’o in the half spaces, forcing the defenders to decide. Leo, Andres and I could dominate in this way. It was one of the best games in my career.”

Barca would win the the triple that year. In the CL finals v Man United, he used the same trick. Eto’o started centrally but after 10 minutes he switched with Messi, who would win the finals for Barca with a header!

For quite some time, the false 9 was ignored or even forgotten by the rest of the football world. Through the decennia we have seen amazing #9s, from Papin to Zlatan, from Van Nistelrooy to Benzema, from Lewandowski to Peter Crouch, from Raul to Shearer and from Berbatov to Henke Larsson… But in 2022, we do see shifts. The “playing central striker” would be a good moniker maybe? At Liverpool, their #9 ( Firmino) usually plays in service of the danger men on the wings (Salah and Mane). At Cheslea, Lukaku warms the bench often while wandering Havartz is often preferred. At City we see different false 9s all the time, from Phil Foden to Sterling to De Bruyne.

Cruyff was ahead of his time, as we all know. Every modern team these days, is looking for a type of Cruyff striker. A player who can let the team play better by being absent.

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by Jan

Feyenoord close to Conf League finals

It has been a while since I was able to write about my favorite club Feyenoord. Oranje is our first topic always and the exploits in the top by our lads is what will be the next priority. Usually, Feyenoord is not very prolific in that domain.

After a successful spell under Gio van Bronckhorst (now semi finalist in the Europa League), Feyenoord slipped again with the likes of Jaap Stam and Dick Advocaat not able to restore more glory. Yes, Dickie didn’t do too badly, but the quality of the football wasn’t there. Dick is an old-school coach and Feyenoord played old-school football.

The arrival of Arne Slot (and Frank Arnesen) changed matters in Rotterdam. One of the first things Slot said to the Feyenoord board: “Do not sell Geertruida!”. The young right back is essential in Slot’s plans. He loves multi functional players and with Geertruida as right back and Malacia as left back, Feyenoord restored it’s identity and has two local boys as full backs (and a local boy in Bijlow as the goalie).

Slot introduced his style of football (and coaching) to the club and it has paid off big time. The friendly win over Atletico was seen as a fluke victory (Atleti took that game very serious) and an almost stumble against lowly Dritta almost ended Feyenoord’s campaign in Europe, but since that game (Til scoring the essential goal late in the second match) Feyenoord thunders through the Conference League with gusto.

An example of red-market Guendouzi who slots into right back while the right back is slightly visible in the bottom of the pic.

The first leg versus Olympique Marseille ended up an epic battle between two former European behemoths. So many similarities. The cities, both port cities. Both clubs have highly passionate and infamous “legions” of supporters and in both stadiums the atmosphere can be daunting on the best of days. Both clubs won European trophies in the past and both clubs have to make do with a 2nd, 3rd or even 4th spot in the domestic tables.

There are also differences. Olympique can be considered a somewhat older team with a seasoned coach in Sampoli, while Feyenoord can be seen as a young team, with an up and coming coach (in European terms) in Arne Slot.

The first leg ended in a 3-2 win for Feyenoord. How did they get so many opportunities? And how did they allow Marseille back into the game?

Arne Slot analysis. A tactical master class in four chapters.

Marseille Build Up was exactly how Feyenoord liked it

Olympique used right back Rongier and right mid Guendouzi as a tactical trick in the build up. They changed roles to confuse Feyenoord. The right back would push up to mid field and Guendouzi would drop into the defenders space to start the build up with dribbles or passes. This type of positional change makes it harder for the opponent to develop pressure. But as their midfield became quite wide, with Rongier hugging the line, it became easier for Feyenoord to block the passing lines and the intelligence of Kökçu and Malacia resulted in forceful forward press. Slot: “I pushed Kökçu further up field and in this way we were able to control Guendouzi.”

Smart interruption of the usual build-up passing lines of Olympique

This is a good example, in the 5th minute as Feyenoord’s press stops the OM build up. The only way out for the visitors was to play loopy balls to the wide areas, where Tyrell Malacia in particular was ready to be super tight on the receiving player, not giving the opponent time to think. In this example below, Guendouzi loses possession due to a bad take under pressure.

Slot: “In the second half, they changed it and played a more traditional way, with midfielders staying in midfield. We had more issues in pressuring them as a result.”

Geertruida didn’t do what Malacia did….

Geetruida played a fine match but in one instance he didn’t do what Malacia did so well on the left. The 2-2 was the result. Slot: “Here Geertruida decides not to press. And everything we have done so well before, we simply didn’t do in this situation and you see, immediately the opponent gets a chance. Geertruida should have pressed the player on the ball. Not give him time. Now he could dribble forward, look around, look around again and then find Payet free in midfield who had slipped away from Aursnes. When they find the pass towards Payet, anything can happen.”

Where is Geertruida?

This is the moment. Nelson, Dessers and Til are developing their forward press, but Geertruida is not present on the right, offering Gerson time and space.

Ah, there he is ….

What started as a slight omission in the execution of the tactics, ended up a goal for Olympique. This does speak to the tremendous qualities Marseille does have when offered the chance.

The Speedy Wingers of Marseille

The 2-1 was less a thorn in Slot’s side. “The 2-2 really was avoidable. The 2-1, well… A long ball, the second ball was theirs and then there was the explosive sprint in behind. Very hard to defend if it is executed well. We also got chances and goals in this exact manner. Sampoli used Payet as false striker and he was able to launch one of the runners. A good decision by the coach.”

Senesi has to make a snap fire decision. Press up and take the ball or drop back. The Argentinian skipper decide to push up and he missed the chance to intercept the ball. Dieng still had a lot to do and his powerful shot faded away from goalie Marciano, who may have been standing to much in the centre of the goal.

Dieng did get more chances, earlier in the game. Both situation should have been a warning sign for Feyenoord. In the 7th minute he escaped on a Payet through ball as he did in the 13th minute.

Marciano was able to stop the first attempt and Dieng missed the target on the second. Two warning shots at 0-0. Anytime Payet has the ball and the ability to look, the forwards bomb forward and Payet will usually deliver. Not unlike the Robben-Sneijder combination in 2014 Brazil.

Slot: “It was hard to play him, he was their #9 on paper but he goes where he wants and he is not easy to stop. I think we did really well in most situations in the first half, even though he had three great passes, one of which ended up a goal. I think he was even more dangerous in the second half.”

This is a good example, in the 74th minute, when Dieng again is able to escape Senesi. Payet spots it and passes the ball but this time it’s Marciano who is paying attention.

The 85th minute was a nice move from both teams. Marseille did what Feyenoord has done so well. The “running in behind” move (see next point). The forward, in this case Milik, drops to midfield, luring the defender (Senesi) with him. Only to suddenly turn and run in behind, expecting the ball to come.

In this situation, sub Hendrix is able to push OM sub Harit to the side. Harit’s pass is intercepted by Senesi, who immediately finds the pass to start a Feyenoord counter attack. And the open end-to-end game kept on going in this way, with a big chance for Jahanbaksh even, in the 91st minute to make it 4-2. His shot missed power.

The Running In Behind Trick

Slot: “We work hard on our depth. We want the forwards to use their speed and timing to get in behind. Both goals were the result of this. Marseille’s last line of defence always pushes up. Like ours does too. As a forward, you can easily be off side as a result. You need to drop back as forward, maybe even making a run diagonally back to your own half, only to turn and explosively launch yourself when that pass is coming. Today, we had a couple of really good moves this way, resulting in two goals.”

This below is Sinistera’s move for the first goal. He will start his run way on-side to garner speed and bamboozle the defence. When Senesi passes the ball, Sinistera is already on his bike while the defenders seem locked into place.

With the second goal, Arsenal loanie Reiss Nelson demonstrates it even better. Every move deep would have meant off side. So Nelson makes the run back, diagonally, and turns when he knows/feels/sees that Trauner is going to play that pass deep. When the ball reached Nelson, there was no opponent even close. He kept his calm and found Sinistera who scored with a touch of fortune. Slot: “Our movements surprised them, we were able to get through to them a couple of times in the first half before they could fix their problem. The timing of these moves is really important and the boys did really well.

Out of the pic, all the way up is the OM right back playing Nelson on

And he is off… the same recipe we will see next week in Marseille…

As said before, Jahanbaksh got himself into a similar situation late in the dying minutes but his attempt failed. Linssen wins the header, the second ball is pushed in behind by Sinistera and the Iran winger is already on the move to leave the defenders in suspended animation.

Jahanbaksh makes his run from an onside position

This last missed chance means Feyenoord will go to Marseille with a 3-2 win. What can Slot expect there?

Slot: “I need to analyse the game as I haven’t watched it back yet. I don’t know what will happen next week. Both Feyenoord and Marseille have several weapons, so to speak. With Sampoli, you never know what you get. But next week, we’ll know.”

What do you guys think? Will Feyenoord reach the finals?

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by Jan

Malacia – Feyenoord’s little cash calf

In this updated post, below a cool inside into the Oranje camp.

It goes too far to call him a cash cow.. The 22 year old Tyrell Malacia still looks like a kid. He was 9 years old when he joined Feyenoord, having grown up at a stones throw from De Kuip. “My first match on the stands was back in 2007 or something like that. Kuyt was still at Liverpool. I was amazing so many people wanted to watch a game of football…”

Now he plays there, for crowds of 30,000 people and he can call himself an international too, after his first start in Oranje. After the Germany game, Louis van Gaal praised him as one of the few players who were good on the ball, in the first half. Not a surprise for Feyenoord coach Arne Slot.

But, great versus Germany, and mediocre against Willem II. How good is Malacia? A number of formal left backs and ex-coaches have an opinion about the young defender, who struggled in his first years at the club. “Not so much the football was a problem, it was more the discipline, the rules. I just wanted to play football. I threatened to quit a number of times, but my dad was always able to make me see the right path. I’m grateful I never quit.”

We asked Arne Slot (his coach), Ruud Heus (former left back), Dick Advocaat (ex coach), Gio van Bronckhorst (ex coach and former left back and the coach who offered Tyrell his debut) to analyse the Malacia’s qualities.

Power

Arne Slot: “Tyrell is a fan of Marcelo and Alaba of Real Madrid, backs who can defend and attack. He is and has always been strong as a defender, but now you can see him make progress on the ball as well.”

Ruud Heus: “The Malacia you see against Antony is the total package. Antony is fast, so is Malacia. Antony is agile, so is Malacia. This is a Brazilian winger, playing in their NT, who has trouble with this Feyenoord left back. That means Malacia is a force to be reckoned with. He has everything: speed, dynamic, agile and has a very decent technique.”

Dick Advocaat: “when we lost 1-0 v Ajax last season, Antony was invisible. Tyrell completely neutralised him. When he has the focus, he is one of the best in the country. I can understand Van Gaal’s excitement.”

Gio van Bronckhorst: “I remember Tyrell from the youth teams. I had seen him play and I realised he did ever so well at that young age. He was able to be tight on players who needed that, but he could also defend zonal. That is hard for young players. I thought he was very complete at a young age. I remember saying to Van Gastel: there is our future left back. When Haps was injured for the Napoli clash in the Champions League, I had no issue playing him. Sometimes, you can’t be too fussed and just give the boy your confidence.”

How Good is he On the Ball?

Arne Slot: “I saw him play the semi finals vs Germany with Young Oranje and he played very strong. Even though they were beaten. He keeps on growing individually. I think as a defender he is amongst the best in the league already.”

Heus: “He is totally top of the league on any level. His technique, that is handy to have, man. He plays along, he is available, he sees the pass, he moves on… With him, you can play on and keep moving forward. And than with his speed, he can compensate any mistakes.”

Advocaat: “His strength is that he can defend like a defender and play attack like a midfielder. Feyenoord should be happy with this gem.”

Van Bronckhorst: “He is an attacking full back. I think he is quite good on the ball. And yes, he puts his foot on the ball at times, he is cheeky like that and that will problably never totally go away, hahaha.”

What should he Improve?

Slot: “This season, we have the ball more as a team, so he now needs to be prepared for any counter attack. He’s doing this well. I also see him more and more as a driving player, when we’re behind he is typically the player to try and force the issue, or to ignite a spark with a run or a tackle. Our left wing with him, Sinistera and Kokcu is pretty strong.”

Advocaat: “At times, he is on the ball too long. I am not sure why, but he might not see all the options in time. When he comes into the box, and he does this often, his yield needs to be better. More effectiveness.”

Slot: “I do see him taunt opponents a bit too much. Almost showing too much of the ball, to get them to bite. At times, it’s too much. He looks a bit complacent, arrogant even, at times. I talk to him about that.”

Heus: “Everything he does wrong can be trained. The coach needs to tell him at training: you, Tyrell, you can only touch the ball twice. And if he keeps on persisting, you may need to bench him for a game.”

Van Bronckhorst: “Every winger will have a headache the night before playing against Malacia. He is quick, agile and a great work ethic. At times he can be overexuberant. I had video images of him versus VVV Venlo at one stage: he was playing right winger! He laughed when I confronted him, like “sorry trainer, I will do my best more”… It’s his drive, his passion.”

The Future

Last summer, Club Brugge wanted to buy him. Feyenoord said NO. This coming summer, his agent Ali Dursun already announced, he will be courted by bigger clubs. Is Tyrell ready for a step up?

Slot: “That remains to be seen but the fact of the matter is, that his game vs Germany will have resulted in more clubs following him.”

Heus: “I am a big Daley Blind fan, on the ball. But without, he is becoming more and more vulnerable. I think it’s Malacia’s turn now, or Wijndal’s. They are the two left backs for Oranje, in my view. I would like to see Malacia stay one more season, than play a strong World Cup and then make a move. ”

Advocaat: “Of course. Feyenoord is third in the country, with the potential to go higher up. Tyrell has the quality and the drive. And off the pitch, he’s a good lad. He has not frills, is honest and hard working. He is the real deal.”

Van Bronckhorst: “When you play like this against Germany, it means you can play on a higher level consistently. I recognise his journey, I went through the same stages. Academy, Feyenoord 1 and then a step up. When you play at a higher level, you can easily play along and become better as a result. I played my best football at Barcelona. Mainly because I played with world class players. Is Ty ready for a next step? !00%!”

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by Jan

Benfica – Ajax: two faced match

Ajax could and should have beaten Benfica in the first leg in Portugal. In a time where a draw away versus a Portuguese top team is lamented as a disappointing results (have we forgotten that we hardly ever won against Portuguese teams, home or away??), Ajax can look back on a decent first half.

Ten Hag explained his choice for Gravenberch over Klaassen in geometrical terms: “With Klaassen I can play vertical, Davey loves his forward runs. But i want to put the emphasis on the width of the park. And Gravenberch is the player for this.” Huh??

Before the half time break. Ten Hag appears to get it right. What Ten Hag described worked. Seb Haller scores the 1-2, and like Ajax’ first goal, it is the result of the tactical hocus pocus of the bald maestro.

In the first half, Benfica is trying to pressure Ajax with a 4-4-2. When that fails, Ramos drops back into midfield to make life hard for Alvarez, trying to stop Ajax finding the free man in the midfield.

In defensive terms, Ajax plays man to man on midfield, as per usual. Alvarez on Ramos, Berghuis makes life hard for Weigl and Gravenberch is up against Adel Taarabt. The pressure play is done by Antony. The right winger is constantly pushing towards Vertonghen, from his position vis a vis Grimaldo. Mazaroui pops up behind Antony in the half space whenever he can.

That patterns is clear to see right before the first Ajax goal. Antony leaves Grimaldi open to push Vertonghen. Goalie Odysseas opens to his left back, assuming he’s got time and space. But Mazraoui pounces like an eagle and pushes the Spaniard off the ball, he combines with Antony and assists the Tadic goal. Seven seconds between the turn over and the ball in the net. It happens so often: the high press resulting in a goal for Ajax.

The way Ajax gifts the equaliser to Benfica must have Ten Hag pulling out all his hair. If he had hair. Martinez is paired with Vertonghen but due to a block, the Argentinian loses him and Mazraoui takes over his duties. But the right back slips and Vertonghen finds himself with time and space. The ex Ajax defender hits the ball in, where Pasveer fails to stop the cross in. And Haller doesn’t count on the goalie’s omission and stands on his heels, not able to move his feet: 1-1.

Still, Ajax gains control swiftly again. The second goal demonstrates why Gravenberch is in the team. Ten Hag has been harping on about pulling the opponent wide. Using the width to create openings in the opponent set up. Another aspect to focus in on, is Timber’s runs into midfield. His opponent Nunez is not one to defend and he allows Timber to become and extra midfielder. Benfica plays zonal and has two player on their right hand side. Ajax puts three players opposite these two. With winger Tadic, left back Blind and midfielder Gravenberch almost hugging the line. Silva is pulled towards the ball by Blind, Berghuis took the left winger role for a bit while Tadic is in the centre and the former Feyenoord talisman crosses the ball into Haller who has two bites of the cherry: 1-2.

This is not a coincidence, because just before the break, this same situation results in another chance for Haller. Timber is in midfield again and Gravenberch plays like an extra left winger and the Benfica defence is getting confused. Ajax opens with a cross ball to the right, where Antony has space one on one. He launches Alvarez and the Mexican hits the post with his shot. The rebound is just to hard for Haller to control with his left.

In the second half. Benfica coach Verissimo plays the joker. Yaremchuk comes as an extra striker. Now, there are three central strikers on the pitch for Benfica and Ajax starts get countered more often, with four Benfica forwards threatening the Ajax goal.

In an attacking sense, Ajax’ wing backs have more space to attack but when the ball is lost, the Benfica forwards have space and time and the game opened up massively.

This is the lead up to the Benfica equaliser: Timber is in the opposing box and in my view, he makes a mistake by simulating an injury, to get a penalty. The slow-mo shows he wasn’t touched. He’s down though and as Gravenberch, Tadic, Blind, Haller and Antony are also up field, the rest defence consists of Alvarez, Berghuis, Martinez and Mazraoui. The Mexican is played out by Silva and the move ends with a distance strike by Ramos. Usually, a low percentage option. Pasveer blocks the shot but the ball drops right in front of the empty goal where Yaremchuk is simply quicker than Berghuis: 2-2.

Ten Hag responds by bring a better defender for left back with Tagliafico. The Argentinian can bomb up the flank too and Klaassen is coming in for Gravenberch. Ajax wants control back. But Benfica is happy with the draw and switch back to a 5-4-1 system and starts to run out the clock.

Benfica ends up being joyous with the draw which is another indication of the big chance Ajax missed to get one leg into the next round. Benfica can now play defensively in Amsterdam and play on the counter attack.

Oh, and it has to be said…. Daley Blind played a terrible game….

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