Tag: Frank de Boer

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 by Jan

Oranje on the road to Qatar

Not selecting Weghorst but bringing Stekelenburg back to Oranje are the two main talking points re: Oranje.

The first training is behind them, for the WC qualifiers. Rene Wormhoudt was leading the warming up. Assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy and Maarten Stekelenburg (the other one) were managing the rondos, and keeper trainer Patrick Lodewijks was working with his three goalies while senior assistant Lodeweges was managing the attacking patterns. With Frank de Boer interrupting from time to time.

Memphis and Gini Wijnaldum are the last to leave the trainingsground after practicing their free kicks. Frank de Boer was watching from a distance, big smile on his face.

At Crystal Palace, he used to practice with the rest and would get some flak from the players (“Show-off!”) when he curled another ball in the top corner…

Frank de Boer is aware of the humbug concerning Weghorst, Stekelenburg (the goalie) and the Qatar situation in general but wants to focus on the ball. Three qualification games are planned (Turkey on Wednesday, Latvia on Saturday and Gibraltar on Tuesday. This will be the last opportunity for De Boer to weigh his players before we start the prep for the Euros mid May. Without skipper Virgil van Dijk, if we have to believe Jurgen Klopp.

Normally, Stefan de Vrij would come in for Virgil, but the former Feyenoord has tested positive for Covid. Nathan Ake is also absent, as he missed months of game time due to a muscle injury. But there is no shame in playing Daley Blind and Mathijs de Ligt in the centre defence.

Frank de Boer seems to build on the work Koeman left him, with as key difference, the use of a real number 9 in Luuk de Jong and Memphis back on the left wing. Koeman struggled with that position himself as well. Under his reign, we saw Justin Kluivert there, Arnaut Danjuma, Dilrosun and Boadu but Koeman constantly went back to mainstay Ryan Babel.

Right wing is also not a settled spot. Steven Berghuis has the most caps, Calvin Stengs is considered our biggest prospect and Steven Bergwijn has experience in a top competition.

There are heaps of choices at right back. Kenny Tete’s return gives De Boer more options, on a position where Dumfries and Hateboer seemed to have their stamp. Joel Veltman can play there too, as can Jerry St Juste, while Rick Karsdorp is knocking loudly on the door as well.

On the left, Daley Blind seems to have that spot as his, but Van Aanholt and Wijndal are strong contenders when the Ajax man is needed elsewhere. Daley Sinkgraven is an option outside of the squad, but looking in…

In midfield, Tonny Vilhena and Kevin Strootman – southpaws both – seemed to surpassed by Teun Koopmeiners, who excels week in week out for AZ. He’s currently with Young Oranje but for the Euros, you can count on the AZ captain to be present.

The battle for the third midfielder spot will be interesting. Frenkie and Gini are beyond discussion, so the third spot will be between Klaassen, De Roon and Gravenberch. Davy Propper is working on his fitness while Donny van de Beek hasn’t had enough games, you’d think.

The meeting with Turkey on Wednesday is the 13th match up. The last time we met was 6 September 2015, when we lost painfully, 3-0. We lost three times against them and we won five matches. Four games were undecided.

Daley Blind is about to play his 75th cap and is the 22nd player to do so in Oranje. Blind is the most experienced international, with Gini Wijnaldum and Ryan Babel as 2nd and 3rd (respectively 70 and 67 caps).

Frank de Boer at the presser about his decision to ignore Weghorst. The former Heracles striker scored 22 times this season but hasn’t gotten the chance to add another cap to the last game he played in November 2019. He has played four international games so far.

“I had to choose between Luuk and Wout and I picked Luuk. I understand it’s delicate. It’s a very tough call, also for me. And definitely for him of course. He has performed ever so well but so did Luuk at Oranje. We now only have a couple of days to prep for this important match vs Turkey and taking that into consideration I decided to go with the player who is used to our processes, who knows the way we work and train… Luuk.”

“I did call Wout and explained it to him. It’s a tough call and he wasn’t happy with me, that can be clear for all. I told him to keep on making it hard for me. He is knocking on the door… or even worse, he hit a couple of holes in the door already. This was the most difficult decision I had to make.”

“I do feel they’re a bit the same, as types. And yes, I can take both, but for now I think, for these three games, I needed Luuk only. But Wout is heavily on the radar for the Euros. I truly admire him and we will follow him. Others know that they also have to keep on performing to stay in the race. Wout is definitely in the mix for the Euros.”

I think Frank should play this eleven:

Cillesen

Dumfries – De Ligt – Blind – Wijndal

Klaassen – Frenkie – Wijnaldum

Berghuis – Memphis – Malen

I can see us win this game 1-3, with Memphis, Malen and Klaassen on the score sheet. Expect a top game by Wijndal!

March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 by Jan

Choices by Frank de Boer

There are around 17 million National Team Coaches in The Netherlands. And of course, you lot as well :-). And we all know better.

Frank de Boer is officially the only guy whose choices matter. For him the job to select the right squad.

There were some question marks about his selections. Let’s discuss.

Luuk de Jong v Wout Weghorst

The lanky Wolfsburg striker is showing glorious stats for years now and is one of the most prolific players in Europe. Still, Frank doesn’t want to rely on him for the supersub role. Understandable: we don’t need him as a 9 in the starting line up, as we have Malen and Memphis for these roles. Frank expects Wout/Luuk to come in as a battle-ram, as the extra striker who will wreak havoc in the box and use high balls to head them in or towards a team mate. Luuk de Jong is the better of the two in those situations. On top of that, Luuk has been part of the team already for years now and Wout wasn’t. Bringing Wout in and cutting out Luuk is a risk. Weghorst is not a great header of the ball and if the switch ends up not working, it will be tough to get Luuk back into the zone, with Oranje. Your Oranje blogger agrees with Frank de Boer on this one!

Maarten Stekelenburg v Marco Bizot

Frank drops Bizot. I am not disappointed. The AZ goalie is not having a strong season and is quite clumsy on the ball. He’s not a natural goalie. While Stekelenburg oozes talent and technique. And of course, experience. He is also known as laid back so won’t make it hard for Cillesen, who will be Frank’s #1. Ever since Onana’s ban, Stekelenburg is impressing as Ajax’ goalie. I am with Frank, again.

Rick Karsdorp vs Tete/Veltman/Dumfries

Karsdorp is having a bluster of a season, with many assists and penetrating runs. He’s doing better than Tete at Fulham, although he too is doing ok. Playing regularly, at least. Joel Veltman is playing really well, actually, at Brighton. Was named Man of the Match recently and impresses in England with his touch. He is to Brighton what Daley Blind is for Ajax! And Dumfries is beyond debate. His mentality, personality, being captain at PSV and his experience in Oranje, he will never be dropped. So Frank decided to keep the players in who were part of the squad in the past 3 years. With Tete and Veltman capable of playing centrally at the back as well. Karsdorp himself responded: “I didn’t expect a call up. People around me spoke about it, but I am very aware I have not demonstrated it in the past 3 years. So I can’t expect anything after 6 months. I need to keep on doing what I am doing and hopefully my turn will come one day.”. As much as I like Karsdorp, I think Frank makes the right decision.

St Juste vs Pascal Struijk/Nick Viergever/Gouweleeuw

With Stefan de Vrij out and Ake a question mark (even Daley Blind has just returned from injury) we have some issues centrally at the back. Perr Schuurs and Timber are needed at Jong Oranje, so Frank opted for St Juste. He’s a right footed defender, like De Vrij, and can also play right full back. Against the opponents we are facing now, it shouldn’t really matter. I am not in a position to complain about this choice… Again, spot on!

There are some questions about Strootman too. I can understand this, but I haven’t seen him at Genoa. Have you guys?? I do hear and read that he’s impressive again? If that is the case and if it is true that De Boer rates Strootman high “in the dressing room”, then I can imagine the call up. We don’t have Propper, Donny van de Beek will miss rhythm, it might be a good thing to have a pure defensive midfielder, who can read the game, play physical and can coach. I say, lets support the coach in his choices.

I do like to see Schouten, at some point, or Bazoer again… definitely Karsdorp too, and Danjuma, but for now, Frank needs to work on his squad for the Euros and I don’t expect many new players to come in. I believe Ihattaren might still have a chance to break into the squad, as does Gakpo but otherwise, I think a lot of spots are now taken…

A big question mark also, for Memphis!! The French Covid rules say that anyone leaving France for a non European country needs to go into quarantine for a week! This means, Holland playing in Turkey: Memphis can’t go back and play an all important match for Lyon! Which is ridiculous, as the French national team needs to play in Kazachstan, but they all were given exempts!! That doesn’t sound fair, does it! Memphis has even appealed to the French government, to get dispensation as well…

Who are your question marks?

March 12, 2021March 13, 2021 by Jan

Oranje preps for Euros

My dear friends, more apologies from me. I know, it’s becoming a pattern and I’m sorry, but life at this moment doesn’t allow me to write more. Once the Oranje fever is coming up and we get closer to the Euros, you will see more of me. Just busy with work, with set up of a new company, with lots of limitations due to Covid, lower back problems, travel interstate in Oz, etc etc.

But, the pre-selection for the next three friendlies triggered me to pick up the keyboard again. Lets start with comments on the pre-selection and do a quick and dirty overview of the lads, while I prep for some more insightful articles soon again.

Frank de Boer’s pre-selection had some surprises for some and some omissions for others…

The big name missing for me, is Rick Karsdorp. The AS Roma man just renewed his contract with this club until 2025 and he is becoming one of the key players in Fonseca’s plans. The three times capped ex Feyenoord marathon man could be the ideal right full back, but Frank de Boer ignored him. Would he done this if Karsdorp was an Ajax old boy, one wonders?

The inclusions of Maarten Stekelenburg at 38 years surprised people, but not me. I have followed his career (EPL) and remember him playing a sensational match for Everton v Man City a couple of seasons ago, and he still had it. Stopped two penalties! Everton could secure Pickford, England’s number 1, and obviously, the 35 year old Stekelenburg had to make way.

But, in the words of Rafael van de Vaart, he is the second best goalkeeper Oranje ever had (Edwin van de Sar being the #1). “Maarten is technically the best. He has everything. Feet, good in the air, great reflexes and a good vocal coach”, said Rafa recently. “But he is too laid back. He doesn’t care about the jet set life, he likes a cigarette and a beer and is a bit of a stoic.”

If being 18 year young is old enough when you are good enough, than 38 years is young enough, right? He plays really well for Ajax, he has loads of experience and he won’t make a fuss if he needs to be the 2nd or 3rd goalie.

And lets face it… Bizot? He is all over the place recently. Drommel and Bijlow need some more miles and Cillesen only came back into first team playing time recently. Frank de Boer will most likely pick Cillesen as #1 and spot 2 and 3 are open.

Jeremiah St Juste is a surprise inclusion too. I haven’t seen much of him, but what I hear about him is that he can be a bit wild and unfocused at times. Why not Gouweleeuw? Other than that, I think De Boer picked the right lads. Tete does ever so well at Fulham, Veltman to my big surprise does great at Brighton. Was Man of the Match recently and scored even! I personally rate Perr Schuurs higher than st Juste, but like I said, I haven’t seen him play recently.

In midfield, Donny van de Beek is in but will only be called up to help him get fit, as he is currently sidelined with an injury. Gravenberch deserves to start, for me. What a player. Him, Frenkie and Gini in midfield. Strootman back is logical in a way, but unnecessary, for me. I rather see Toon Koopmeiners, Propper or Schouten of Bergamo there. But Koopmeiners is called up for the Young Oranje team which have some key games to play. Same is for Boadu and Noa Lang, the latter might well be the right winger we need for the Euros, by the way.

I would also love to see Bazoer back. He’s amazing for Vitesse, in a free role from the back (I compare him with the likes of Scirea or Beckenbauer). He does play in a back 5, so maybe doesn’t “fit” in Oranje. He also recently had another explosion of anger towards his coach which might have prompted Frank to bypass him.

In attack, Ryan Babel apparently is on good form currently, good on him. Stengs is underperforming and doesn’t deserve to be in the squad. Bergwijn also hasn’t played for weeks due to an injury.

Mo Ihatarren is not in the pre-squad and that is quite logical. The young talent is going through a torrid time at PSV, where the club even issued a statement to the media, saying that after everything the club, the coaches and the players have done for him he still isn’t improving his conduct, and therefore was removed – temporarily – from the squad. By now, he’s back, but rumours of him making a move to Ajax won’t make things better.

But no matter how you look at it, Ihatarren doesn’t deserve a spot. I like to think that Gakpo – now injured – is in front of him.

March 19 is the final selection.

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 by Jan

The Great FdB interview

We’re back! Oh Goodness Gracious Me, the site was down. Some weird error, and it took me some time to sort it. Also because support was hard to find in the Xmas/NYE days.

Not a lot of news re: Dutch Eredivisie or Oranje anyway, but the Premier League keeps on powering, just like Italy, Spain and Germany have started up again.

Traditionally, the national team manager gets the big interview at the start of the new year and Frank de Boer gladly agreed to do his part.

Louis van Gaal saw it first…

Fdb: “That I was going to be a good national team coach? Hahaha, yes we were doing a canal boat tour in the winter some time back. Ronald and his partner was there too. It was a gastronomical tour, very good fun. And Louis told me that he thought I would be the prefect for the job, but the KNVB picked Ronald Koeman, back then. I thought that was actually a fine choice. Anyone could see there were some amazing talents coming through.”

When Van Gaal resigned in 2002, he said he might have been too much of a club coach. How is this with you?

Fdb: “Well, yes but it was totally different, as we were all in our early 30s. We weren’t young talents anymore. We had won basically everything. I think in such a scenario, a Hiddink type coach would be better. It was important to manage the vibe in the group, but not to tell Ruud van Nistelrooy to button up his shirt! Or tell Van Hooijdonk to wear socks! Pierre never wore them. We all knew this. And then there was a new physio, Raymond Verheijen. He’s a good man, with expertise but he was years younger than us! And he presented himself as the clone of Louis. We had more than enough to do with one Louis hahaha. At the World Cup 1998, and this is not to be negative about Guus Hiddink, but we determined how we played. Not Guus. We never trained tactically. He just made sure everyone was feeling ok and was happy. And at certain times, he had to step in and be razor sharp and he was. But he knew exactly what he needed from this group. I think that is key for a national team manager.”

What does the current squad need?

“A mixture of approaches. We have a mix in ages too. They all know what they want, but… not everyone has been there. Gini and Virgil have had big successes with Liverpool, Daley and Gini and De Vrij and Memphis were at the World Cup. But other players haven’t. It’s all new. Dumfries, Frenkie, Malen, Van de Beek… They still need to learn what it means to play a tournament.”

Are you now more manager than trainer?

“Yes, it’s part of your development too, and it’s also because one can’t do it all alone. Management is an important part of the job but I think I actually prefer to be trainer.”

At Palace and Internazionale, there was criticism of how you lacked empathy.

“Managing a squad is a skill and being more social and show interest in someone else, yes, it is something that doesn’t come natural to me, I had to learn this. And that is why they say being a coach is an experience profession. And I started at Ajax, where I had played for 20 years or so and I knew everyone and everyone knew me. Supporters, sponsors, management, ex players, the works. And my vision was developed by Ajax basically, so the match was perfect. I had to learn to work in a non Ajax environment and that wasn’t so easy.”

What went wrong?

“Well, at Inter it was always my plan to take into account the Italian culture, the club culture, traditions etc. I also wanted to bring in my own ideas. And I noticed really early on, that the basis of my thinking, the basis of the Dutch way of playing is passing and receiving. That is something you have to be able to do. Look at Frenkie, at Koopmeiners, Bazoer, Propper, Blind… But the Italians didn’t like it at all. They fumbled, they became childish, they tried to screw the other players by playing hospital balls… They preferred to do sprints, with the stop watch or play tactical practices. They didn’t feel good with my approach, they felt they needed more intensity. They also didn’t do rest. If a player had a big couple of games, I would sometimes give them a day off. The medical staff went berserk. I was supposed to clean the situation up, like Koeman at Valencia, years ago. But there was resistance. And mind you, after they fired me, they used and fired two other coaches before they came to Conte and it started to click, with a completely new squad.”

Was it a mistake to go there?

“No I don’t look at it like that. I learned a lot. It was a good experience. In England, I did change my way a bit. Crystal Palace wanted to play continental but I analysed my squad and noticed I couldn’t do that, so I adapted to a 5-3-2. I think the tactical choices were fine, but I was a bit too harsh to certain player. Scott Dann had been skipper for many years and I was certain I wasn’t going to use him so I took his band. That was not smart, the way I did it. He has a lot of supporters in the club and I created my own resistance, in this way. We played four games, lost them all and we didn’t score one single goal. We needed some luck and we didn’t get it. We played away vs Burnley, my last game in charge. We played really well, we created chances and put them under pressure. But we didn’t score. We did have a short back pass to the goalie and Burnley took their chance and scored. That is also part of being a coach: you can’t do it yourself.”

The KNVB was looking for Koeman 2.0. They actually signed De Boer 2.0 it seems?

“I do think I changed as a coach, yes. I have more patience and more empathy, I think. The experiences at Inter, Palace and Atalanta were important. They wanted to go the Koeman route with me. I didn’t want to say too much about it, but I am not Koeman. I am different and I will have to do it my way. Even Koeman at one point said – from Barcelona – that he didn’t want the KNVB to look for Koeman 2.0 as it would only lead to failure. A national team coach needs to be autonomous and independent.”

Not a lot of people had you on the top of their list.

“I get that. I understand that names like Van Gaal or Ten Cate or Peter Bosz were mentioned. I was out of the picture for a spell. I did think it was tedious that I had to defend myself all the time, when I was signed up.”

It doesn’t happen often, signing a national team manager after two failed adventures.

“But I also won the title 4 times in a row with Ajax. And I won trophies with Atalanta. I mean, sure, I understand that some people focus on the negatives. It’s up to me to win them over.”

Four times the title with Ajax. It sounds as if it was an easy job.

“Well, it was a different Ajax back then. We had Tobias Sana, Danny Hoesen, Niklas Moisander, Lorenzo Ebecilio. Nothing against these lads, but no where near the level they have now. But still, we won against Barcelona and we beat Man City. But the only thing people seem to remember is the square passing, hahaha. But hey, you’re as good as your last match. You know what my biggest memory is from all these years as Ajax coach? That last game when we lost the title against De Graafschap. And not the title vs Twente, in May 2011 and won it for the first time in a long time. I can’t blame people to focus on the bad experiences, I do that too. We won the title 4 times in a time when Ajax did not have a lot of money and we had a lot of managerial problems back then as well. But what is the strongest memory of these days: me in the bus, having lost the title in Doetinchem.”

Ronald Koeman once said, that people in Holland enjoyed themselves if it didn’t go well with Ronald Koeman. Is that something that applies to you too?

“Probably yes. It’s not that people actually enjoy it when you fail, but they need to know that big name players can also fail, are human. All that glitters ain’t gold, that sortathing. It’s human nature, I think.”

You started with a loss vs Mexico and a draw in Bosnia Herzegovina. But it seems that you turned it around really quickly.

“That was maybe the lessons learned in Milan and with Palace. I came into a situation with an existing squad and a technical and medical staff that worked well together. I don’t think changing things around is handy, in that case. So I had some indepth talks with my staff, with the players. What do they want, how do they see the game. And after that, I was able to make some subtle changes. I also have to take into account who we play. I changed things for Italy, and changed it back for Poland. And sometimes, you have players who suddenly give you options. There was Owen Wijndal suddenly, well… I loved using him. And when you play Wijndal and Dumfries, you need to make some tactical changes, as you can’t have both of them stampeding forward all the time. Away against Poland, we were lucky when they broke for what could have been a 2-0. We did have enough players behind the ball by the way. It was the timing of the interference, or the planned interference. De Vrij was a step too slow, and a meter here or there makes the world of difference. And these defensive issues aren’t new, those were here under Koeman as well. We love to attack, but how do we organise ourselves defensively. I am working on this with Dwight Lodeweges now. We can improve there.”

Is this Dutch team world class without the ball?

“Maybe, when you look at the specific qualities we have. We have defenders who are world class, yes. But we want to dominate and we do have the players to do so. Frenkie, wants the ball. Daley wants the ball. Memphis wants the ball. We have a team that wants to take the initiative. We did ever so well under Koeman in the Nations League, but also in those matches, we were lucky at times.”

Still, our defenders are world class: Virgil is the best in the EPL and De Ligt the biggest defensive talent on the planet.

“And Frenkie de Jong? And Gini Wijnaldum? Memphis? It’s all a bit cyclical, I remember a time when we had mediocre defenders – according to the media – and world class strikers. But we have Donyell Malen, Cody Gakpo, Justin Kluivert… A couple of amazing attacking talents. And our new right full back?”

Dumfries?

“No, Bergwijn! At Sputs, he is used as wing back and he does that. He tracks back, he challenges and hassles. He realises, when I want to play in the EPL I have to work my socks off. And he does. I can see him play up front, together with Memphis. Steven is fast, and he has a click with Memphis.”

You brought the classic #9 back into the team, with Luuk de Jong. Is this purely to play versus lesser opponents?

“Exactly. What we need, is movement. A lot of movement. It’s like in basketball, the 3 second rule in the circle. Move into the box, you don’t get the ball, move out again, keep circling, like sharks. Like Man City does it. What you need to have is good peripheral scanning ability. You saw this against Poland away and Bosnia at home. Memphis, Berghuis, Malen, Wijnaldum, continuously moving. And yes, you go 10 times but don’t get the ball, but the 11th time you do and it’s the break through. The most simple and hardest-to-defend ball is the pass over the defense in behind. You can’t defend against pace. We need to improve. But Mbappe, Messi in his top years, CRonaldo, Sterling, Mane, Salah, Malen, it’s all about pace and getting that yard. “

So where does Oranje stand now, 6 months before the Euros?

“We can beat any opponent. But we will need to be top to do so. Should we reach the semis, I think we’ve done a good job. Belgium, France and Spain are top favorites. I Think England, Italy and Germany are right behind them. And then it’s Portugal and us. Portugal won the Euros in 2016 but didn’t impress in any of their matches.”

And thus…

“We need to raise our consistency levels. Not now and then a great match. Every match a great match! I don’t want to be dependent on one or two players. The difference between us and France or Spain, is they have top notch players on every spot in the team. Double, even at times. We have some world class players and some who can become a world class player. Wijndal can become world class. Gravenberch, as well. It’s amazing what he does, but can he keep on it. It’s very hard to predict the career path of players. Look at El Ghazi, or Bazoer.”

You need experience, to guide them? In other players?

“Sure, this is why I think Babel is important. I get all these questions about Ryan. Same with Strootman. But you need some of these types: experienced, professional, never whining or being difficult and working their asses off. Their mentality is amazing. I called Strootman to explain why I wouldn’t be selecting him and he said he agreed! That is the sort of mentality we need. And some people tend to ridicule them or the fact us coaches say they’re important in the dressing room. People who haven’t played top football have no idea. They are key for the intensity of the training sessions. You usually need 16 players who could all be in the starting eleven, and then 6 players who simply accept their role and work their butt off to keep the rest sharp. Strootman and Babel are those types of players.”

Louis van Gaal spent as much time with the reserves in Brazil, as he did with the starting eleven…

“Yes and I get that. You need them. For a tournament, the training sessions are so important. Remember Ooijer in 2010? In South Africa? He didn’t expect to play a single minute. He was constantly teasing, and taunting. You know Andre? He has that Amsterdam style cynical humor. He was giving the physio a hard time all the time. And then suddenly, in the warming up for Brazil, Mathijsen couldn’t play. And Ooijer slotted in and played a top match. Why? Because he was super fit. He was sharp. It’s always the weakest link – not meaning Ooijer per se – who determines the strength of the chain.”

Koeman moved from Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk to a training centre in Zeist…

“Oh yes, at first I thought it was a step back! But when I look at it now, we have two fantastic pitches, we have that living room vibe in our hotel. That wasn’t there in Noordwijk. You wouldn’t see players in the communal space. Some were gaming in the room of player A, others were playing golf, the next little clique was walking the boulevard… Now, they’re all together, chatting or playing board games or watching a game together. Way better for the team building.”

What do you do when you don’t have a lot of time to practice?

“You can talk. You can discuss the organisation, the defensive positioning. If this happens, we do that. If this is the way they attack, we do this. Before the Italy game, we discussed our tactics. Do we play 4-3-3 or 5-3-2? We had a great session and then we went on the pitch and man, the sparks were flying, I was worried that we needed medivacs on the pitch, they were sharp, they tackled and challenged like how they play their match. It was very satisfying on the one hand, but I also thought “Goodness, I hope no one gets hurt!”. This immense pressure on the players, in their competitions. I mean, Van Dijk’s injury. Would that have happened if he was super fit and not having to have played so many big matches? Who knows? We see a lot of muscle injuries now, hamstrings etc. We need to manage this. For the Euros, I have only 2 weeks preparation, while Louis had 4 weeks for the World Cup in Brazil.”

Will Virgil van Dijk be ready in time?

“It will be a race against the clock, really? I do hope so, but it needs to be responsible. Liverpool won’t let him go if it’s not the right thing.”

What do you do now, in this period?

“Watching games. And there is a lot to watch. We do know about the usual suspects, the Wijnaldums, the Frenkies, we want to now focus on the category that is up and coming, such as Sven Botman at Lille or Jerdy Schouten at Bolonga or El Ghazi at Villa. This category player can be very interesting for us and we’re mapping that now. We do have some firm spots taken but from spot 17 to 23, it’s wide open, as far as I am concerned.”

How did Corona affect you in the US, at Atlanta United?

“It was typical for the US, very well organised. We we had 4 weeks of serious quarantine, than we opened up a bit more and I was allowed to fly to Holland to visit my mother-in-law who was in bad shape. After three weeks we could train in bigger groups and we entered The Bubble. We all went to Florida, we were all based in a couple of hotels and we tested and played, tested and played….”

And that was your final phase at the club?

“We both felt it was good as it was. We run our course. I can not say anything negative about the club, I had an amazing time. The facilities were top notch, we won two trophies and the lifestyle was great. But I also started to feel the impact of constantly on the road, flying, time zones, etc. Now, I realise how nice it is to not have to do that all the time.”

The good life as team manager…

“Yes, you know what a big difference is: you don’t need to focus on negative stuff. A player who is unhappy, or needs attention, or a medical staff member with opposing views, you always deal with that at club level. It’s constantly putting out fires. And the lads that work really well don’t get the attention they need. And now, it’s great. I play tennis, I go to Zeist twice a week for meetings and planning and I have dinner with my family. This is a big benefit of the team manager’s role. We do get stressed, but always a short time, hahahaha.”

Good to be home at Xmas!

“Well, in all honesty, I lost jobs before Xmas so I have had Xmas with the family, hahahaha.”

Source: VI Xmas edition

November 14, 2020November 14, 2020 by Jan

De Boer shows promise!

I know, I said it before: friendlies are not that interesting. For us, the viewers. I always hope it is good for the coach. This friendly vs Spain for instance. We don’t play the best eleven, as we have two big games around the corner. Same applies to Spain. The players who played never played together before. We had to endure injuries in the run up to these games. And De Boer uses 6 subs, which never helps the flow of a match.

So, we drew 1-1 vs Spain. Big deal.

Still, I think there is a lot to cheer here, and I am going to be first one here to say it: I think appointing Frank de Boer was a good thing!

Before I go into it, a quick summary of the game, from my end, and some comments on players.

We were second best in the first half, and Spain was second best in the second. We lost the first half, but won the second half.

The reason: we didn’t push up from defence to pick up players in between the lines. There was a disrupt between defence and midfield, resulting in a dangerous situation every time Spain repossessed the ball.

The cause: 1) lack of fluidity and understanding between players, 2) lack of real top quality on the pitch (Hateboer, Veltman), 3) lack of courage.

We fixed it in the second half and voila.

As for individual performances: for me, Owen Wijndal was one of the best out there. He definitely gave his calling card to the coach. Wijnaldum was good. Steven Berghuis was good (off the ball, but sadly, his team mates didn’t have the courage to play him in). Dumfries showed why he should be RB #1 (for now). Davy Klaassen showed his strengths. Stefan de Vrij was strong when he came on.

Also, the aforementioned Hateboer and Veltman came up short again, while Luuk de Jong also demonstrated all his weaknesses.

But that is all a snapshot of course. Hateboer is revered in Bergamo. Veltman is a starter in the EPL and Luuk de Jong got Seville a European Cup, so….

But why am I excited about Frank de Boer, all of a sudden?

Here goes…

For starters, he ticks all the boxes. Age, history as world class player, financially independent, Dutch, Ajax / Oranje / Van Gaal pedigree.

He has some scars now too (Palace, Inter) which will make any coach a better coach and in Frank’s case, will add to his motivation to really make this work. This is not Guus Hiddink, who refused to come to KNVB meetings and preferred to play golf, or Ruud Gullit who leaves practices to his assistants to go shopping in Amsterdam.

His main strength is: his honesty. Brutally honest.

Where Ronald Koeman had to act the benevolent uncle to the squad, picking them up after a dreadful couple of years and instilling them with confidence and self-esteem, it is now time for a more mature approach. Where Koeman protected his players in the media, De Boer has already been more critical of his players in 1 month than Koeman was during his whole tenure.

When Oranje struggled in the first half vs Spain, De Boer saw the problem immediately, and tackled it at half time. Koeman would not have mentioned in the press conference. Koeman would have used generic statements. De Boer simply said: “We lacked the courage in defence to step out and follow their forwards in between the lines. We had huge holes in between defence and midfield and we solved it during the break.”

Eat that, Joel Veltman.

And he went on: “I’m not saying you get the death penalty for letting a man go in between the lines, but that is where Spain will hurt you and we weren’t alert enough or courageous enough.”

He also complimented Frenkie and Wijnaldum for alleviating pressure at times but was critical about the decision making of his team: “You need to be able to read the game and know when to play long on De Jong, or when to pass your way out of trouble.”

Another aspect of De Boer vs Koeman: the current Barca gaffer had the tendency to keep his squad intact. There were heaps of questions about Strootman, about Babel but Koeman would praise Strootman’s mentality and kept him close. He was one of Koeman’s captains, when he started out in 2018. Frank de Boer only needed 1 month in charge to drop Strootman. And when he needed fresh blood in midfield, he didn’t go for the comfortable solution (call up Kevin), but brought in 18 year old talent Gravenberch. De Boer won’t be afraid to use fresh players, if he thinks they’re ready. He didn’t call up experienced goalies like Sergio Padt (Groningen) or Pasveer (Vitesse) when Bijlow got injured, but 23 year old Drommel.

Last time around, vs Italy, Frank defied the pundits and kept Berghuis benched, because the system he decided on lacked a right winger. And the Italy result (and performance) said the coach was right.

Just like we could and should have won versus Spain, (missed chances Memphis and Luuk de Jong), we could have beaten Italy with that system.

Now, Frank is clearly not the most fluid communicators. People like Koeman, Ten Cate, Gullit and Peter Bosz do have more flair. Yes, but the football smarts De Boer has will compensate for this. He also has a sharp sense of humour, cynical, which works well amongst footballers.

So the way we look at Frank, is via his interviews, and he will never dazzle with those. But the players will judge him on his actual craftsmanship and I think he has enough. And probably exactly what this team needs.

It’s time to go from Koeman’s Kids to De Boer’s Boars…

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 by Jan

Oranje is back! As is Klaassen!

My friends, I am sorry for the pause in posting… I have had some tech issues on my end and still working on them to get them resolved…

This pause did give me the option to re-think what I am doing and how I am doing it. I got some great feedback from some of you here and I will probably reach out for more.

I want to get these three games out of the way and after these games and maybe during the Xmas break I can reach out to you guys for some input on how we can improve this blog even more (if that is even possible!!).

So expect me to come back to you with some questions, ideas, suggestions etc. And you can start leaving some of that in the comments, if you do have things to share already!

Now, a quick look at the days ahead. Holland playing three games again in what, 9 days? And sadly, we can’t say the friendly vs Spain is “useless” because that result does count towards a good position in the World Cup qualifications. So it does make sense to win even friendlies, these days!

Still it gives coach Frank de Boer some headaches as he believes he can’t play players vs Spain for a full match and use them vs Bosnia. And some other players will not be able to play even two games, this quickly after an intense period of club games.

The latest is that Tonny Vilhena is out, positively tested for Covid-19. He has no symptoms but has to go into quarantine. Frank de Boer will not replace him. Before him, we saw Justin Bijlow already unavailable due to a foot injury and Twente’s Joel Drommel taking his place. Cillesen is out as well of course.

Frank de Boer did say that Bizot (AZ) will be the shot stopper vs Spain, with Tim Krul the #1 goalie for the Nations League matches (Bosnia Herzegovina and Poland) . Frank will not be playing players in the three matches for obvious reasons and will be careful with players who just came back from injuries. Denzel Dumfries for instance, again important for PSV in the domestic league, will probably not start vs Spain but will play in the Nations League matches. Hateboer will be his replacement for the Spain game.

De Boer was also asked about the system he would be using: “The 5-3-2 was a tweak we needed for Italy away. It matched their style and would solve the problem we had in the home game vs Italy. In the coming three matches, we will go back to 4-3-3”.

Davy Klaassen – not very well liked here on the blog I believe- will be making his comeback. He’s been Ajax now for a short while but in the games he did play for Ajax, he impressed. His timing to pop into the box and score goals, his work rate, his leadership are all revered and there is no expert / analyst or former pro who wouldn’t pick Klaassen for the starting line up, now De Roon and Leroy Fer is absent and Davy Propper is also still not 100% fit.

Kevin Strootman used to be the alternative left footed midfielder for Oranje, but De Boer did what his predecessors never did: he called the former Sparta midfielder to tell him he won’t need him. “His situation is not positive at his club. He has hardly played. He needs to change that in order to be important for Oranje again. But he took it really well and told he would do the exact same if he was in my shoes.”

Steven Bergwijn and Mo Ihattaren also had to leave the Oranje camp with little issues but won’t be replaced.

I think it’s quite remarkable that losing two midfielders ( Ihattaren and Vilhena) didn’t prompt De Boer to get a replacement in, but he will know best.

For the Spain match, I think Frank will go with this line up:

I believe Frank’s go-to eleven (for now) will look like:

But I could be terribly wrong :-).

The Spain confrontation will always be special. We beat them the last two times we met and that 1-5 in Brazil will forever be on everyone’s favorite Oranje top 5 list, I’m sure. But the loss in South Africa in 2010 will also always be with us.

Another reason to look out for this match, is that we most likely will see Marco Asensio in Spanish colours. The half Dutch, half Spanish forward is happy to be back in Holland. “I consider this my second homeland. Half my family lives here and I always spend time here, to see my family. Every year I visit and it’s special for me to play against Holland.” The Real Madrid star played all of his youth rep matches in orange and decided to go for Spain when he had to make his choice…

Let me hear your ideal line up below AND the line up for the Spain match…

More later!

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by Jan

Oranje prepping for finals

Imagine you’re Frank de Boer. New job. Exciting. Oranje has some amazing talents. And you need the job (to restore your reputation).

But then you end up having 1 day to prep your first game. Which is a friendly, 3 days before a “real” match. You lose. You then play the NL game vs Bosnia Herzegovina, and you draw (“We got 5 guild edged opportunities. At this level, you need to score one of them!”).

And suddenly, you’re facing an away match vs Italy, which feels like a finals. Should Oranje lose and not score a goal, we will have set a new record (most matches played in a row without a win or a goal). Not the sort of history Frank was looking to make.

It’s very harsh to blame Frank of all of this. He did admit that in hindsight he should have played Berghuis vs Bosnia. But he was also right not to play the starting eleven vs Mexico and also right to say that, yes, we did play agricultural vs Bosnia but we did create some chances: De Vrij misheading, Luuk de Jong’s header stopped, Frenkie fluffing his lines and Babel…well… that ball ended up in the parking garage of the Bosnian stadium…

People will come out and say “Frank is the king of the square and backpass” but stats don’t lie. The relative number of backpasses was higher under Koeman than under Frank de Boer (in his first two matches, that is). So that criticism is unfounded.

Frank was very feisty and confident during the last press conference, before the Italy game. Italy away, a match we never won since 2008, by the way.

When we go back to the lost Nations League finals vs Portugal, Ronald Koeman said something under his breath that was forgotten in the euphoria of reborn Oranje. He said: “We won’t win trophies if we can’t find top class players upfront…. We are not as strong there as we are elsewhere.”

And he was right: Van Dijk. De Vrij, De Ligt, Blind can all be considered European top players. In midfield, with Frenkie and Donny and Wijnaldum we can say the same. Upfront, the club names behind the attackers’ names are European subtop: Olympique Lyonnaise, Seville, Feyenoord, PSV, Wolfsburg maybe. With Bergwijn moving to Spurs, we do have a bigger club name behind an attacker, but Bergwijn was too injured to join. And at Spurs, Bergwijn is a not a starter.

Malen, Stengs, Boadu, Ihattaren, Gakpo…promising players but surely not top yet.

Holland was top behind the ball. Versus top nations. France, Germany, England, we took them all on. But typically, when we play Bosnia or Poland, we tend to get in trouble. Our build up is too slow, too predictable and we lack the pure class to outperform rugged defenders. Memphis keeps on trying, but just like in the time spent at Man United, he is not very successful in limited spaces. Malen, Promes, Bergwijn, they all need space to run into. And against Bosnia, or Iceland or Romania or Greece, that space is not there.

So it’s telling that our most dangerous attacker – without Memphis in the team – is a Feyenoord player. Who has been impressing for months on end, but even for him, there was no big club with a piggybank of euros, to sign him. Telling signs.

Against Italy, Oranje needs to deal with the marauding left wing back and the roaming left winger. In the home match, Oranje never got grip on these two and all the danger came from them. You can sympathise with Hateboer, as he was left to his own devices, by Veltman, Wijnaldum and De Roon. The former Groningen marathon man hardly ever plays right back at Atalanta in a 4 man’s defence and is actually a mediocre defender.

Frank de Boer: “It will be different against Italy this time. You can expect a different Oranje. At the same time, it’s good for everyone to realise that the Dutch National Team won’t play nations off the pitch that easily. The smaller nations are getting better and better. We had difficulties against Bosnia and so did Italy! And I know there is pressure, but at the same time, we’re #2 with one point behind Italy. So we have it all in hand.”

During the press conference, De Boer made a feisty impression. “I still stand by my decision to play that B-side vs Mexico. I could have been selfish and think about my reputation and play the best eleven, but it would have been foolish. They were not all 100% fit and they have a massive number of games to play still. It’s also my responsibility to protect them. And the Bosnia game… well yes, in hindsight, Berghuis could have been a better option but you never know how it would have gone with him as a starter. And if Babel or Frenkie scored in that last stage, we would be talking quite differently here. Under Koeman, they also scored late goals and got that result late, but that didn’t happen this time. Luck? Well, you make your luck. And we didn’t this time.”

When asked if Berghuis will start vs Italy: “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

And De Boer continued: “Italy wants to have the ball. Bosnia didn’t. So it will be a different game. I think it will be a good game too, nice and open. The first match in Amsterdam, we were lost a bit. We couldn’t get a grip on the game and we were constantly late. We need to change that around. In my view, our decision making was not great in that game. For the game tonight, I decided to train two scenarios and work on two tactical plans. And I have included the players in that discussion. I want to play Plan A. But only if the players support it. If they don’t feel confident, fine. We can play Plan B. We worked on both and we can switch easily. But whatever it will be: you will see a strong and positive Oranje. We trained well and I am pretty buoyant.

And, my friends, so am I. Just because I want them to win. I say 1-3 for Holland.

My line up: Cillesen on goal. Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Blind in the back. Wijnaldum and Frenkie in the engine room. Donny van de Beek on #10. Malen, Memphis and Berghuis up front.

Own goal De Vrij. And up front, Memphis, Donny van de Beek and Berghuis on the scoreboard for the orange. Hup Holland Hup.

October 11, 2020October 11, 2020 by Jan

Frenkie: We are not top!

In the international break, there is simply not a lot of football news on the day of the match. So the biggest news was the footage of a 13 year old Shaqueel van Persie, scoring against Ajax with a wonderful bicycle kick. The game ended 8-3 for Feyenoord Under 15. Dad must be proud! His goal is below, at 2.55 it all starts for him.

Oranje needs to get a result tonight vs Bosnia Herzegovina to keep the place in the finals alive. Bosnia kept Italy at bay and will be a tough opponent for the Dutch. After two defeats in a row (Italy, Mexico), it seems Oranje may have lost it’s magic? Frenkie de Jong disagrees.

“The magic isn’t gone. But we are not the top in Europe. We are not the best at the moment, so much is clear. We can’t play dominant against every nation in every game and can win them all. But I see a difference between the defeats against Italy and the one against Mexico. Italy was a tough game, but you’re talking about a top football nation. The Mexico game was a friendly, with lots of changes and some debutants… That is simply different. We want to show the world the magic hasn’t left us when we play Bosnia.”

Memphis will not be playing due to suspension. Frank de Boer didn’t want to say who will replace him but did admit that playing Luuk de Jong was very likely. Bosnia has Edin Dzeko up front. The experienced AS Roma striker was part of the team that got beat by Northern Irland, kicking them out of the qualifications for the Euros.

“That can go two ways,” Frank said. “It could have been a blow they are still dealing with when playing us, or alternatively, it could be a huge motivation to make something out of the Nations League for them. They played well actually, with Dzeko the target man, playing well in terms of hold up play. They got the 1-0 and chances for 2-0 but they couldn’t play the long ball to Dzeko in the second half and their game suffered as a result.”

De Boer didn’t want to say who will be the goal keeper tomorrow, but did say that Cillesen was doing “amazingly well” at training. The coach worked with Cillesen before and considering that the back four will be used to working with the Valencia shot stopper, odds are in favour of Cillesen.

De Boer also said they have been able to train tactics for a spell. “As a coach you are working on all the scenarios in your head. That is a constant thing, I even do it when I’m in bed, about to sleep… We learned from the Mexico game, but even more so, we will have the fixed formation, more or less, so I am quite confident, we can find our flow.”

The question: who takes Memphis’ role is not just a question of “what name do we pick”. The replacement of Memphis points towards something deeper. In the past decades, Oranje used to have a multiple of players who would frighten the opponent. In 1974, we had Swart, Keizer, Cruyff, Rep, Rensenbrink, Theo de Jong, Willy van der Kuylen… In the 1980s, we had Kieft, Bosman, Van Basten, Gullit, Gillhaus, Vanenburg, Houtman… In the 1990s we had Bergkamp, Van Hooijdonk, Makaay, Kluivert, Hasselbaink and more recently Van Persie, Huntelaar, Robben, Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart… Goals galore!

Memphis had 11 goals and 11 assists under Koeman. He had twice as many shots on goal (91) as #2 and twice as many (61) created chances than #2, in 2,5 years.

We simply don’t have enough players that generate fear and terror in the opponent. Waking up and realising you’re playing against Robin van Persie or Klaas Jan Huntelaar will have scared any defender. I don’t think Luuk De Jong, Boadu or Malen have that effect.

The options: Luuk de Jong and Donyell Malen. Malen resembles Memphis more. He’s quick, tricked and he is explosive, with runs in behind. Downside: he was injured for a while and has been treated with velvet gloves by PSV. Luuk de Jong is a different type. Static. Good in hold up play, but needing support and options. And service! Berghuis and Stengs both have the skills to offer that service. By the way, at PSV Malen and Luuk did play together as well… Luuk as target man and Malen as a #10 circling him in a 4-4-1-1 set up. 60% of the Dutch people (who voted) voted for Luuk in the 9 position. 35% picked Malen and 5% said “someone else”… (?).

Holland is able to break a bleak record tonight. The last time Holland lost 3 matches in a row without scoring, was in 1950!

Let me know what you think will happen?

I think 1-3 for Oranje. Dzeko will get his goal, but Luuk de Jong, Van de Beek and Dumfries score for the Dutch.

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 by Jan

Oranje powerless vs Mexico

The biggest news, for me, this week wasn’t this useless friendly vs Mexico, but the signing of Mario Gotze by PSV Eindhoven. What a great move. This does show ambition and courage. When there is blood on the street, you have to buy, is what investment guru Warren Buffet says. And he should know.

The 28 year old was touted as the next Messi when he made his debut at 18 and despite of some great performances for Dortmund and later Bayern and of course, that winning goal in 2014, the wunderkind got into trouble physically. The diminutive playmaker wasn’t built for the power football of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern and got injury after injury and saw stronger and fitter midfielders (Muller, Goretzka, Draxler) take his spot. His relationship with Roger Schmidt resulted in a 2 year deal with PSV.

I think the Eredivisie is the perfect platform for him and the domestic league will be way more interesting with him in it. We have Robben, Klaassen, Gotze, Berghuis, Stengs and more on display in the Eredivisie and we’re loving it.

What we don’t love, is tedious friendlies. I’m sure coaches can get insights and benefits from it, but for me, it’s not that interesting.

If you play bad, or lose, one can say: “ah so what, it’s a friendly after all. It doesn’t matter now, it matters in the real game”. And if you play great and win, you think “hmmm I hope they can do this when it’s for real, because this is a friendly after all”.

Well, we were not disappointed. It was meagre. Weak. At times awkward. And it’s too easy to blame Frank de Boer. For starters, he was offered this friendly, only 5 days before a real Nations League match. What to do? Play the starting eleven? Too much risk. There is also a second Nations League game 3 days later and you don’t want your big guns to play 3 matches in 8 days. Insane.

So Frank did what he had to do. Play the lads that most likely won’t start for 90 minutes, test the partnership of De Vrij and Van Dijk – as I predicted – and give Memphis playing time to get him in rhythm for Italy (Memphis missed some matches for Lyon).

He also offered a debut to Koopmeiners and Wijndal. The latter made a name for himself as an attacking full back. With the emphasis on “attacking”. The youngster got in trouble a couple of times defensively, and Frank de Boer will probably decide to go with the more solid option of Blind vs Bosnia and Italy. When Van Aanholt is fit, Wijndal might move back to 3rd option.

Koopmeiners, on the other hand, impressed. Cool under pressure. Excellent passing. Good vision. He too made some errors (as they all did!) but overall, he played as if he was playing his 23rd international. A mature midfielder and awesome alternative to De Roon for the spot next to Frenkie.

Another noteworthy mention need to go to Steven Berghuis, who started slow (lots went via the left flank in Oranje….) but grew into the game and almost reached his Feyenoord level. Frank de Boer hinted in the post-match presser that one or two of the “Mexico” players might find themselves in the line up for Bosnia. Could be Berghuis, and could be Krul too.

Tim played his first cap in 5 years and did relatively well. It’s a fact that Cillesen is a better player with his feet, and Krul passing was not full proof, but his shot stopping was excellent. The penalty was unstoppable.

Frank de Boer: “In principle, Cillesen is my number 1 goalie, but I will wait the results of his fitness test. If he isn’t fit, he won’t play.”

Another reason why Berghuis got into the game later, was the lack of forward thrust by Hateboer. I think by now we can all see that Hateboer is a good option in a 3-5-2 set up, where he can play the wide right back, with a central defender close by. He is excellent moving forward and scores his occassional goal for Atalanta but in a 4 man defence he is vulnerable. He lacks the smooth touch we expect from players these days (Ake, Blind), he is defensively vulnerable and he lacks the football vision to play that forward pass (again, Blind, Ake, Van Dijk, De Vrij, De Ligt)…

Dumfries is not much better in terms of pure football skills, but Denzel is strong, tough in the duels, good header of the ball and like Hateboer, great going forward. Denzel is a leader. Hateboer comes across as a “nice weather player”. Better right backs are needed (Karsdorp, Fosu Mensah, Klaiber, Zeefuik).

A remarkable move by De Boer: he decided to tweak the tactics. He says he is still following “Koeman’s line” as we call it, but he did go from two holding mids (Frenkie and De Roon usually) to one (Koopmeiners) with two attacking midfielders in Gini and Donny. So the 4-2-3-1 (actually a 4-3-2-1 in Oranje’s case, not to make it more complicated…) became a 4-3-3.

He did indicate that it probably won’t be used in the coming Nations League matches, as Frenkie will play of course and he needs a holding mid next to him, so he has the freedom to create the play. “I just think it is good to have options to play differently and have some more subtle options at your disposal.” Frank also played with a false 9, with Memphis dropping into midfield as the creator for runners like Babel and Berghuis. Both had an opportunity by finding that space. Babel had some good runs in behind, but wasn’t found often enough for it to register.

Remarkable, that the Mexicans didn’t see this as a friendly. They didn’t come to “try new tactics”, they came to play like they always do. With a lot of little fouls and annoying ways to upset the opponent. Alvarez (Ajax) showed their commitment by fouling Koopmeiners brutally in the first 2 minutes of the game and whenever a Dutch player had sight on goal, they’d nudge him or foul him or take the free kick. The Dutch seemed to want to play a practice match and showed way less resilience and grit.

Ironically, Holland conceded as a result of a subtle foul. Ake did touch Raul’s shoulder/arm when he went for the ball, but that would never been a spot kick in England or in 2010. But rules change, and looking at the opponent with a frown can result in a penalty these days. It also felt Raul was actually off side when the ball was played in but I am not 100% sure about that.

Memphis was his industrious self. It wasn’t good. But he tried. He had lots of loss of possession and tried dribbles that didn’t come of, but still. He did what he had to do in his role. We all know he can do better. The forward saw a transfer to Barca go awry but didn’t seem to be bothered. He took the set pieces, shot from distance, attempted dribbles and one-two combinations and was made captain by De Boer when Van Dijk left the pitch at half time. The big question is: who will replace him?

It seems logical to play Luuk de Jong. Not because he can play like Memphis (he can’t) but because of his form and status. I wouldn’t be surprised if Frank took a tough decision for the Bosnia game. He could replace Memphis by a more explosive player like Malen and use Promes in place of Babel. De Jong could remain to be what he is good at: pinch hitter for more opportunistic play. Because whether you like it or not: De Jong isn’t so quick and doesn’t have the intricate footwork we might need, vs Bosnia.

If indeed De Jong is played, we don’t have a real pinch hitter on the bench (and De Boer will have to use Virgil as the pinch hitter).

De Boer was disappointed. He felt we started rusty, needed some time to get into the game (as the English commentator said: Oranje started sleepy. Again.) but we lost the game due to losing too many duels and making too many personal mistakes. For me, that is part of the story, because we also couldn’t create much.

De Boer made a lot of changes to get an impression from others as well and that never really makes a match better.

Overall, a disappointing, flat performance, with Koopmeiners, Krul and Berghuis as positives.

Now the speculations about the starting line up vs Bosnia and Italy are starting.

Is it sensible to play the same eleven, in principle, against both nations? I think not. Lodeweges tried this too, in the previous match up weekend and the second match is too much for a full fledge performance. Some players will be able to do it (Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Frenkie) where others (Blind? Malen? ) will probably need a bit more time to recuperate. This is not even taking injuries and knocks into account.

I think Frank will play like this vs Bosnia, who play at home and will need to get a result, with 1 point from 2 matches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXh19RmWo4

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020 by Jan

Serious questions for Dutch football

In a world that has increasingly become more and more convoluted, with heated debates between Conspiracy theorist and Complicity theorists, democrats and republicans, blacks vs white, Jose vs Pep and as a result the world become harder to understand…

The same applies to our world: the world of football.

What is happening with Liverpool and Van Dijk? What is going on with Man United? Why doesn’t Van de Beek play?

Or in the Dutch competition. Why would Berghuis consider a move to the US? Why is Ajax bringing Klaassen back? At the expense of Noa Lang? Why did the KNVB pick Frank de Boer, not Ten Cate? How did AZ give another big lead away? 0-4 to 4-4 in a spectacular game vs Sparta. Why is Schmidt at PSV trying to break Ihattaren?

These last transfer days are always annoying, hectic and filled with opportunistic knee-jerk deals. Rekik to Seville? Interesting. Lang to Club Brugge? Might actually be good if he gets playing time. Wesley Hoedt back to Lazio? Good!! At the same time, I expected Danjuma to make a move and Tim Krul too for that matter.

No matter. The games can really start now.

Ronald Koeman is impressing at Barca (or is it the 17 year old Ansu Fati??), who had some critical words for Frenkie, after their last Liga match.

Excited to see Koopmeiners with Oranje, I think the 22 year old could be a strong contender for the pivot spot next to Frenkie de Jong. Marten de Roon gets flustered when he has to take the playmaker role, should Frenkie be marked, something Koopmeiners won’t be suffering. Davy Propper still being injured, I would love to see Teun play in the next friendly.

Also interested to see how Sean Klaiber will fair at Ajax. I do rate him, he’s a hardworking atacking right back with a nose for goals and assists. And a pleasant guy too.

There is some debate in Holland re: Ihattaren and his selection for Oranje. A player who doesn’t play usually isn’t invited, unless he had a strong position in the Oranje hierarchy and has earned that spot (Strootman?).

My opinion is that, it was wise to keep Mo engaged. He’s a young raw talent, who happens to be the victim of Roger Schmidt’s alpha male “I am the boss” approach. As if the German decided from the start to pick on the club’s talisman and hope for the future, just to make a point. As Willem van Hanegem said: “if you have a talent like Ihattaren, the last thing you want is to hire a coach who wants him to play in a straight-jacket”.

I’m off the same opinion, of course (Willem and I hardly ever disagree) and I believe the kid needs playing time, he needs coaching, he needs guidance. He doesn’t need public humiliations. And by keeping him with Oranje, De Boer might win his heart really quickly and give him the positive vibes he probably needs.

It does seem he might have slight injury, actually and it remains to be seen whether PSV will release him.

OK newsflash! Both Bergwijn and Ihattaren are out due to injuries. Calvin Stengs is called up as replacement.

Frank de Boer as a team manager for the NT might be a good thing. He has a number of plusses: he had a stellar career as a player, he was brought up with the Ajax DNA ( = Oranje DNA), he is Dutch, he can work with young talents. The negatives: his coaching career is a bit up and down. He did well in Holland, and he didn’t do well outside of Holland. This means he might actually fair well with Oranje and Dutch players, who share his direct mentality.

Another negative, is that like his master Louis van Gaal, De Boer might be tempted to get players in the squad with an Ajax background: Klaassen, Bakker, Al Ghazi (kidding), ….

At the same time: I wouldn’t put it past Frank to sacrifice Babel and Strootman which is probably needed. Both are past their prime and we do have better options today ( Malen, Gakpo, Berghuis, Danjuma for Babel and Joey Veerman, Koopmeiners, Gravenbergh, Rosario, Bazoer for Strootman).

Speaking of Bazoer. He played CB in the PSV youth. He didn’t want to and coveted a place in midfield, so he went to Ajax. Now at Vitesse, he is centre back again and he was amazing in the game last weekend, with two exquisite long passes for two amazing goals. Top performance by him.

The next couple of days, we will focus on the NT, with matches against Mexico( friendly), Bosnia Herzegovina and Italy on the roster.