Tag: Frenkie de Jong

by Jan

Ten Hag’s Ajax and how they do it

There are a couple of amazing stories in football, developing in front of our eyes… There’s Oranje’s revival under Koeman, with a spot in the Nation League’s finals… There’s Liverpool’s surge to the top, with two Dutchies as key players… Atalanta’s story is like a fairytale too, and FC Twente – relegated within 10 years of winning the title in Holland – reports back for duty in the Eredivisie next season!

But it’s Ajax that deserves the biggest boldest font.

Here is VI Pro’s analysis on how Ajax and its coach Erik ten Hag think, work and approach the game.

The initial commentary on Ten Hag’s appointment by the Dutch media was all focused on what we can now see as trivialities. His raspy voice, his East Holland dialect, his longwinded sentences and his headstrong approach to people and football in general were the subject of all we had to say about him.

But Ten Hag ignored that all but just worked. And he worked hard and diligently, with a strong technical staff, with amongst others Alfred Schreuder, Richard Witschge and Aron Winter.

Game Principles

Ten Hag works on the basis of his principles. The foundations of the game, if you will. For his: “It’s all about patterns, and we train these. We want to offer certainties to the players. Patterns they can fall back on. And we can add more and more and become ever so flexible in how we play. We call it “automatisms”, patterns that allow players to think and act really quickly. It’s like improv in theatre. You can only improvise if you know the script by heart… And in our case, Ajax is all about attacking, playing dominant and attractive.”

These principles are non-negotiable for Ten Hag. He is flexible in the system, flexible in which players he uses. But he’s not where it his principles are concerned.

In general, Ten Hag plays a 4-2-3-1 but uses different players in different situations. There is the CL line up, with two controlling mids and Tadic as the false striker.

In the less demanding Eredivisie games, he uses Dolberg or Huntelaar as a true #9 and uses Van de Beek as holding mid, with freedom to penetrate. Usually Tadic and / or Ziyech combine the #10 role behind the forward.

Pass map Ajax vs Juve at home: Tadic as false striker with the wingers Ziyech and Neres moving inside, creating space for the full backs.

Pass map Ajax vs Emmen away: a more offensive right back, allowing Neres to play inside. Van de Beek close to Huntelaar. Tagliafico a tad more back as Tadic occupies the left flank.

Pass map Ajax vs Fortuna at home: Van de Beek playing as controlling mid, but penetrating when possible. Dolberg as central striker with Ziyech in the #10 role.

Ten Hag’s principles:

  1. Create an extra man in midfield

Create a man more situation, and the first ball always played forward. That was one of the first things Ten Hag demanded, in his first training sessions. In Ten Hag’s first half season, he used Frenkie de Jong as central defender, moving forward into midfield. Now, with Daley Blind in the that role, De Jong can play from midfield. It’s also the drifting wide players (Ziyech or Neres or Tadic) who come in to create a man more in midfield. Ten Hag always wants to dominate the midfield.

2. Changing positions

Ten Hag demands a lot of changes in positions. He doesn’t want to see the predictable positioning that come from the “system thinkers”. With the dynamic players like De Jong, Van de Beek, Ziyech and Neres, there is always a player on the move, which results in other players taking over the roles or covering the spaces.

3. Don’t over-use the width of the pitch

It’s second nature for Ajax players: once one of the backs or wide players comes inside, the other moves outside and vice versa. In the times of Van Gaal (1995), the wingers were supposed to have the white on their boots, from the chalk lines. In Ten Hag’s system, not so much. When Tadic moves to the left line, it’s Tagliafico bombing forward on the underlap. Ziyech and Mazraoui enjoy a similar partnership. The opponent is constantly in doubt: do I follow the winger, or do I stay and wait for the back to run into my zone?

4. Always make runs and play passes forward and in behind

Ten Hag sighs deep in 2017, when interviewed about the state of Dutch football: “There is no country in the world where central defenders pass the ball to each other this often…”. And statistically, in those days, Ajax was the champion of square passing (under Frank de Boer). Ball possession should not be the objective, Ten Hag said in his first presentation to the media, for Ajax. Possession is a means to an end.

5. Make sure the rest defence is always organised

A term made popular within Ajax by Erik ten Hag. Rest defence. It is all about being aware constantly that at any given moment the ball could be overturned and lost. Players should always be aware of that potentially happening and being ready, positionally, to take care of these situations. Ajax always wants 4 players behind the ball, at any time. Whenever Onana has the ball, three defenders will form the last line with one controlling player in front of them, allowing Onana options to work the ball from the back to midfield.

6. Immediate pressure on the ball

Gegenpressing, a German term (meaning: counter pressing) brought to Holland by Schreuder (Hoffenheim) and Ten Hag (Bayern Munich) from their days in the Bundesliga. Defending the counter is key in getting results. Ajax has almot perfected this and have used it to great success in the Champions League as well. Ajax is now capable of playing on the half of the opponent and get a result against the best teams in the world.

7. Get back in the organisation immediately after a failed pressure moment

This “Gegenpress” is not just a matter of hunting the opponent until you get the ball, but also having a plan for when it fails. Ajax now will have a number of players behind the ball who will defend and control zonally. The players will force the opponent towards a certain side of the pitch, to make the angles for passing harder and the next gegenpress easier. This more passive approach will decrease Ajax’ chance of winning the ball back, but at the same time in also decreases the chances for the opponent to create anything against Ajax.

8. Lure the opponent to the flanks

Ten Hag doesn’t want to meddle to much in the axis of the pitch. He doesn’t want De Jong, Schone or De Ligt to move away from that area by stepping out. He wants to keep that intact, which means the team will force the opponent to go towards the flanks. The wingers do this to move inward, which opens up the passing options to the flanks for the opponent. Once the pass comes, Ajax locks the opponent in, like a horde of wolves would with prey. In this way Ajax can put max pressure on the opponent without being very vulnerable themselves.

9. Keep the spaces limited

Ten Hag wanted to increase Ajax’ defensive certainty. Controlling the distances between players, keeping it minimal, is key in this. Ajax does this on their own half of the pitch, but also on the opponent’s half. Blind and De Ligt are often positioned on the opponent’s half to block their progress. Throw-ins are recognised moments for Ajax to have a lot of players around the ball to put pressure on the ball as much as possible.

10. Defend the space

Ten Hag uses zonal marking vs man to man marking. He teaches his players to defend the space, instead of following opponents. In his first months at Ajax, he uses the 4-1-4-1 system, but this season it’s more a 4-2-3-1. The distance between the lines can not be more than 10 meters.

11. Immediately play the ball towards the goal

Who analyses the goals Ajax scored this season will see heaps of goals that will qualify as counter-attacking goals. Situation where Ajax pounces straight after re-possessing the ball. This is not a coincidence. Ten Hag works on recognising the moments where the opponent is most vulnerable. And with Frenkie de Jong in midfield, Ajax now has a player who sees the way forward quicker than anyone and has the ability to execute.

Attacking

Ajax has a tremendous number of goals again this season and key in this was Ten Hag’s willingness to adapt his ideas and approach to the qualities of the players available. With Daley Blind coming in the club, Frenkie could move forward to midfield, and Lasse Schone now has the job to protect the defence when Frenkie is exploring his free role.

This last summer it seemed Hakim Ziyech would make a move to a bigger competition. Zakaria Labyad and / or Dusan Tadic would be in line to take Ziyech’s role in midfield. Ten Hag has made the decision to play with the “point forward” in midfield, vs the “point backwards”… Usually, Ajax plays with one holding player sitting in front of the defence, and with two midfielders playing more high up the pitch ( the point backwards). Ten Hag now uses the opposite system. Two holding mids, with freedom to roam and penetrate (De Jong, Van de Beek) and with one more forward playing “#10” midfielder (the point forward system). Ten Hag: “Whatever you do or however you call it, once we build up and our central defenders move up, we will need to be playing and positioning in tiers if you like… You get more than 3 lines (defence, midfield, attack). We need dynamics and more variable implementations. These are the patterns I was talking about.”

But as Ziyech didn’t leave, he was able to use the system and use Ziyech as a wide play maker coming in from the right side of the pitch. Not unlike Messi plays at times, or Dyballa or Bernardo Silva. Starting wide and drifting inside.

One of the key aspects of this is, that Ziyech now is found when he is facing the opponent’s goal and it’s no coincidence that the former Heerenveen player is having a super season. In the past, Ziyech played deeper as a real playmaker and when he had a tough match, he would drop deeper to still get the ball and play the risky pass from deeper, allowing for much more dangerous loss of possession.

Now, in Ajax’ current system, Ziyech is allowed to take the risks, much higher up the pitch.

Another piece of the puzzle clicks in in those early Champions League matches: after Tete’s exit, Ajax invests in a Danish and a Spanish option for right back, but its former playmaker and question mark Noussair Mazraoui that grabs his chance as right back. He’s vulnerable defensively, but in offensive patterns he has proven his worth. His tactical discipline make him a typical Ten Hag player. And due to his perfect partnership with Ziyech, there has never been a discussion about the right back spot ever since.

Ziyech and Tadic both have a free role in the team. And the rest of the team will need to make that possible. “Both Dusan and Hakim are at their best when they can play freely and on intuition. So they are allowed to do this, and from the wings,” as Ten Hag explains it.

The full backs have a key role in this. They need to keep the width where needed and always have the outball to at least one side. Tagliafico and Mazraoui execute this perfectly.

It does mean that Schone and Frenkie de Jong have less adventurous roles, but for Ten Hag, the attack starts with Onana, and it helps to have a playmaker-type defender in your last line (Frenkie, Daley). And all three players – De Ligt, Blind or De Jong – have the perfect build up pass available once they’re played free in midfield. Frenkie de Jong in particular has the smarts to remain unpredictable.

Juventus coach Allegri thought he had a solution for Frenkie. “As he moves to their left – our right – I decided to use Bernardeschi to counter and press De Jong. But within minutes, De Jong recognised it and moved to the right side of the pitch, thereby forcing one of our attackers to pick him up. Every attack of Ajax starts with De Jong!”.

Ajax plays Dutch Total Football with a scent of Bundesliga dna. When Ten Hag worked at Bayern, he witnessed Pep Guardiola in the video suite, analysing the opponents to find the perfect moment to stop an opponent’s counter attack. And right hand man Alfred Schreuder did the same with Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim.

These turn-around moments have always been key for Ajax. Even back in the 70s, with Michels / Cruyff’s total football and in 2016/17 under Peter Bosz in the Europe League.

Defence

Erik ten Hag also added some gutsy defensive approaches to the team. He has the courage to have Ajax defend far from their own goal. Not a lot of opponents have the ability to play from under that press. In the Eredivisie, hardly any team knows how to deal with the positioning play of Ajax. The wingers move inside a bit, to cut out some passing lines and when the opponent tries the long ball, Mathijs de Ligt will control the situation and deal with it, Virgil van Dijk-style.

This image shows how Ajax deals with opponents who do have the courage and ability to play under pressure. Ajax forces the ball to the side, three players will attack the player with the ball, blocking his passing lines.

The only way to deal with this is to use the long ball to find space on the other side of the pitch. Feyenoord beat Ajax 6-2 in Rotterdam and used left back Calvin Verdonk to explore that space. Real Madrid was also able to use that weakness in Ajax’ tactics. Ajax did concede more goals than PSV, in the Eredivisie. Partly the result from the tactics Ten Hag uses, but also something Ten Hag will further focus on to perfect.

The Turnaround

When asked what Ten Hag will need to work on more in the coming season, his response: “The turnaround. In today’s football, that is key. And also, what do we do, once we get the ball? In the past, I felt Ajax would cherish ball possession once they got it back. And relaxed a tad. I want my team to immediately use that situation to take advantage of the lack of organisation with the opponent. With Utrecht, we were the top team in the stat “% goals within 4 passes after repossessing the ball”. Ajax was half way the table. But those are the perfect moments to score, particularly for a team like Ajax, which plays a lot vs parked buses. When the opponent is organised well, and their rest defence is good, sure…keep possession. But otherwise you’ll need to hurt the opponent.”

In the Champions League, Ajax demonstrates this vs Juve and Real Madrid. Neres goal at home against Juventus? He took the ball off a defender and ran in a straight line to the goal. Against Madrid, the five goal were scored after respectively 2, 1, 3, 1 and zero passes in the run up to the goals. When Ajax gets the ball from the opponent, they will take the shortest route to the goal.

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by Jan

Ajax’ Delight with Ajax’ De Ligt

I have to admit, I truely don’t know where to start… This blog is a Dutch National Team blog, and your humble blogger is a Feyenoord fan, but I am drooling with glee when watching this Ajax play. And I am not alone in it. The whole world watches and the whole world seems delighted to see what they can do!

Johan will be resting in his final resting place with a grand smile on his face…

You probably know all the stats better than me… It’s been 22 years since Ajax last was in a CL semis finals. It has been a long time since Ajax beat Juve, etc etc.

And back in the day, teams were only allowed to have 3 foreign players!! So any team was forced to have domestic talent in their team, and could only shop for 3 starting spots.

Today, Man City, Real Madrid, Juve, Bayern, they could technically buy all the best players from anywhere and present them as the “local team”. And still, Ajax manages to do what they do on a meagre budget (compared to the big boys) and with 6 home grown players in their line up (De Ligt, Frenkie, Donny, Mazraoui, Veltman, Blind)…

It is just mindblowing!

And I didn’t write a post on the home match vs Juve (I did plan to do so, but life is getting in the way at the moment…moving house, flu attacks, internet dramas, work, etc)…

I was quite positive about Ajax’ chances coming into the game, like I was vs Real Madrid. But my positivity quickly evaporated when I saw how Ajax started!!

They were completely off their game. They were overwhelmed with the tremendous tenacity Juve demonstrated, and some of them clearly were suffering from tension in the body, with balls bouncing off feet, passes not arriving and even Mr Cool (Frenkie) dribbling senselessly into cul-de-sacs…

Onana got it wrong early (Can pressing onto him) and with Mazraoui having to be subbed and then C Ronaldo’s goal after 20 minutes and the disarray in Ajax’ defence (De Ligt bumping Veltman out of the way), I truly thought our national pride was imploding like never before.

(From L) Ajax’s Dutch defender Daley Blind, Ajax’s Brazilian forward David Neres, Ajax’s Danish midfielder Lasse Schone, Ajax’s Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (Rear), Ajax’s Dutch defender Joel Veltman and Ajax’s Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek celebrate with fans defeating Juventus in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg football match Juventus vs Ajax Amsterdam on April 16, 2019 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images)

Mazraoui is not a defender. He was developed as playmaker in the Ajax youth and as a result is quite comfortable on the left and right of the pitch. Just like Daley Sinkgraven is a midfielder, originally, and Daley hadn’t played a proper match for months on end. Oops.

But… something happened.

I think Ten Hag / Schreuder made some positional changes in the midfield (telling Frenkie and Lasse to guard the back four with a double 6 system (two controlling mids) and pushing Veltman and Mazraoui/Sinkgraven high up on the pitch, to allow Onana/De Ligt/Blind an outlet…

I also believe Juve felt they could take their foot of the gas a bit, leading 1-0.

And I believe Ajax started to play with mentality of “well…we’re out of the competition now, so lets just play for it”…

And magic happened!

A mishit by Ziyech ended up at Van de Beek’s feet and he didn’t lash out like he sometimes does, he simply passed the ball in the goal.

That will have rattled Juve and when Ajax reached the half time break, 1-1, I was getting the feeling that they’d be best positioned to progress. Because conceding another goal wouldn’t change much for Ajax and their game plan.

Alternatively, if Ajax would score the 1-2, Juve would have to score two goals! Those sortathings will get in the players’ heads…

And Ten Hag managed to settle the players’ nerves in the half time break and the second half was all Ajax!

The telling thing for Ajax being their composure on the ball when playing out from defence, finding the right pass, the right run…never hitting it upstream blindly, always with an idea, a though.

And boy, what a chances Ajax got to truly humiliate the Old Lady and score not 1, 2 or 3 but 4 or 5 goals!

1-4 would not have been an outrageous end score. Neres missed a sitter (use your right foot!!), some decision making didn’t end up going well, Schone was unlucky with a dipping free kick and a half volley later on in the game, etc etc…

Ajax even managed a really flowing one touch attack over the right wing, with some composed passing by De Jong, Ziyech, Tadic, sadly not resulting in a super dooper world class goal!

Captain De Ligt was at fault with CR7’s goal, one could say. So the skipper stepped up and paid Juve back after more than an hour’s play.

The corner was kicked by Schone, De Ligt timed well, jumped high and slammed the ball into the corner, in between two Italian defenders. That is a feat for any player, but for a 19 year old kid, it is just incredible.

Ziyech, outstanding in Ajax’ campaign but a tad off his game now even managed a superb goal, curling the ball into the far corner… this would have settled matters but the Moroccan playmaker was 1 toe offside, apparently and the goal was disallowed…

There were some shaky last minutes with Juve pushing for a miracle and when Daley Blind – another Man of The Match performance – seemingly handled the ball in the final minutes, a gasp was audible from the Ajax camp.

But one specific camera angle showed the VAR that the ball didn’t actually hit his arm, but bounced of his chest/core and therefore: no penalty and Ajax was confident it had done the job!

The joy and celebrative eruption was completely warranted, after the game, with a somewhat overweight Marc Overmars performing a class – albeit static – belly slide in front of the fans…

All Ajax players and staff members after the game were in agreement that “yes, Ajax should have scored more goals and taken the opportunities and all that” but the euphoria won vs the criticism of Ajax’ lack of effectiveness…

“Now, we need to get our head in the game again, because next Saturday, it’s FC Groningen!”

Some conclusions:

  • Ajax will be robbed blind this summer, even Ten Hag will be hunted (Schreuder is on his way to become head coach at Wolfsburg)
  • Van de Beek deserves a starting spot in Oranje
  • De Ligt will be the most expensive defender this coming summer (100+ million)
  • Ajax will win this CL
  • Overmars should not do belly flops and ruin the pitch of the opponent

 

Cinematic highlights both games…

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by Jan

Why Frenkie picked Barcelona….

The news was out this week and it surprised nobody. Well, maybe PSG was surprised. But it was a done deal from the start I think. Barca swooped in late, brought their A-Team (chairman included) and made Frenkie and Ajax an offer he/they couldn’t refuse.

Ajax will make 75 Mio euros now with another 11 Mio in bonusses. Bonusses which, according to Marc Overmars, are seen as guaranteed. Willem II and RKC Waalwijk will also be paid a handsome couple of millions for their youth development work.

Frenkie on the how and why.

The Decision

“I decided on Friday last week. We would tell the media this last Wednesday, so on Tuesday I apped all the players via our team app. I couldn’t have it that they would read it online or in de newspaper. They were happy for me. I love that we have clarity. No more questions about it, the media, people in the street. Don’t get me wrong, I never minded it, as people are curious. Fine. But I love to get on with football now. On Friday, I bit the bullit. It had to be Barcelona. It’s all about the club, the jersey. As a kid I had dreams of playing there. Now I had the chance. I had to take it.”

“Our process was simple. We had all these clubs interested, so we made a list of what I wanted from them. In terms of football, vision, style, but also city, and all this. I had a short list of PSG, Man City and Barca. And with those clubs we talked. First my manager and friend Ali, and then I had talks with them. And I am always doubting you know. I overthink things too much. It takes time with me, but I’m happy I have made this decision.”

PSG

“Paris St Germain would have been awesome as well. They made a real impression on me. Great team, super coach and I think they offered me a real chance on a starting spot from day 1. The French league can be an advantage too you know. You do get time to grow, it’s a bit between Dutch league and Spanish, in terms of intensity. But when Barca came and they were so keen, I couldn’t resist it.”

Manchester City

“I never went to check Barcelona out. Simply no time. They came to Amsterdam, twice. I did go to Paris and met with Thomas Tuchel and I visited Guardiola in Manchester too. Both clubs made a real impression and I don’t think I could have selected a wrong option here. It is not that I decided against Man City or PSG, but more a decision pro Barcelona. Spain is top. The challenge is biggest there. The French league is fine too, but I don’t think I would want to play there for the rest of my career. But in Spain…why would you leave Spain if you can play for Barcelona for 10 years, right?”

Barcelona

“Three years ago I went to see Barcelona – Sevilla in the Camp Nou. I had just signed for and moved to Ajax. I never could imagine then that this would happen. But once you are with Barcelona, I don’t think you’ll ever want to leave. Top climate, best club in the world, that is the dream scenario. I was told I will have a real chance to start in the starting eleven. That perspective was key for me. They do have a lot of midfielders and I wasn’t given any guarantee, of course. I am quite realistic, myself. Busquets is easily the best defensive mid on the planet and he’ll be there for a while longer. I am not delusional. But there are other spots on the midfield and Barca sees that I can play on all these spots. I am going there to become a starter but I won’t be saying “I will play him or him out of the team”. ”

Transfer fee

“It’s an obscene amount of course. And I really enjoy this for Ajax, Willem II and RKC and for Ali as well of course. I personally can’t be bothered, whether I am valued at 20million or 120million. I am just happy I could decide. I can tell you, I have been lying in bed wondering what to do, hahahaha. It’s a luxury problem to have right?”

Messi and Suarez

“It’s amazing to be playing with Messi, of course. That is all I can say now. For me, it wasn’t key. The key was the club. And yes, I am a big Messi fan, he’s the Best Ever for me. And I think I will enjoy playing with him but I am not going to go there as a fan. It’s about the club and the team. Luis Suarez sent me a message the other day, welcoming me at the club. And he was keen to help me with stuff. Just like Jasper Cillesen. I spoke with him about Barcelona before of course.”

Oranje

“Ronald Koeman believed all three options were great for me, but I think Barca was his fave as well. He said “now I have a reason to go there and watch Barca play” hahaha. He was excited for me.”

Challenge

“I do think at times: am I good enough for Oranje. And in particular because I am never so self assured. Barcelona was quite confident about me and my chances, hahaha. So I will listen to them. But no, if I work hard and learn the language etc, I will give myself a good chance. I don’t want to blame myself in the future. And if my best is not good enough, well, at least I tried. I’m only 21 years old, I will still get better.”

Trophies

“Some people say “it went quick” but I don’t think so. I had to be patience at Willem II, at Ajax 2 as well as I played mostly for Young Ajax. Once I got into Ajax 1, finally, it went fast. And I do have competition here. But I am hungry to win trophies man, I really only have this season to win something with Ajax. I want a trophy this season, but everyone thinks like that in our squad. It’s all about the trophies.”

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by Jan

The Big Ronald Koeman interview

It’s a tradition. Every last week of the year, this blog has an in-depth one on one with the most important man in Dutch football: the NT manager.

This is also my way of saying: Happy New Year and thanks for following the ramblings on here… It’s highly appreciated.

At the bottom of this blog post you’ll see a video with the highlights of this Oranje year.

I’ll follow this post with some nice predictions for the year to come.

Until then, please drink a lot of alcohol on New Years Eve and then enter an amount in the paypal option on this blog to support another year of the Dutchsoccerblog and press “DONATE” so I can also buy food and water for New Years Eve….

For Ronald Koeman, 2018 was the Year of the Resurrection. 2019 is the year we will really have to show what we are worth. Thanks to the AD Sport papers and VI Pro.

The big photo on the table shows a group laughing and cheering Oranje players. Young lads celebrating the second goal vs France, Depay’s Panenka. The goal scorer is the beaming centre of the grouphug, with Frenkie de Jong, Tonny Vilhena, Virgil van Dijk and Daley Blind as his rays. Matthijs de Ligt is seen in the background. Koeman looks at the photo and smiles: ” This is what we aimed for when we started. Have fun, enjoy yourself and radiate happiness to be part of the Oranje team. And all this, is visible in this picture.”

The photo does summarize the year Oranje had. The resurrection, the new swagger. Four wins, four draws and only two defeats in matches against top nations. And the first spot in the difficult Nations League group. “No, I didn’t expect all this,” says Koeman. “If we would have lost 6 games, it would not have been odd. That was a scenario I worked with as well.”

Koeman is at the KNVB Sports Centre, the new home of Oranje. After the abysmal results with Hiddink and Danny Blind, not qualifying for two major tournaments, Koeman decided to bring his squad to the forest in Zeist, as opposed from the holiday seaside town of Noordwijk. “I spent two to three days per week here. They had the KNVB Christmas drinks thing the other day, obviously I felt I had to be present for that as well. As a kid, 13 years old or so, I came here with the North Region rep team and also later with the Oranje squads. This is the hub of Dutch football. The facilities here are good but not as luxurious as what some top clubs offer their players. It’s quite impressive what is happening at Man City, Liverpool, Everton and Barcelona. We can’t offer that quality yet, so I had my doubts… How would the players respond to what can be seen as a step back, but the players actually loved it. There is more bonding going on, they tend to spend more time together playing games, and having fun. In Noordwijk, we had this one floor in the hotel but that place was so big, you could easily decide to be alone and not see other players. When you wanted to hang with another player, you really needed to coordinate that. Here, the rooms are closer, the communal areas are in the middle, you constantly see each other and have those impromptu little circles going on, players talking, playing cards, checking moves out, etc.”

Does this generation need that?

“Well, it’s mainly good for the image of the team. People always say “they make so much money and they don’t really work for it”, but these lads are focusing on football 7 days a week. The programs they run through, the nutritional aspects, the body work, it’s so different compared to my time as a players. In my days, we had Jan Molby at Ajax. His warming up was shooting 20 balls on goal. That’s it. Today, that would be unthinkable. So, this environment is the right one for the way the players today work, live and operate. I can’t see any other sport being more intense than football, as it used to be…”

What are your thoughts re: Memphis, the central figure in this photo?

“It definitely applies to him too. He does everything for his sports. We all had the idea, me as well, that he was a bit complacent. I met him in Liverpool when I wanted to get him in on a loan deal from Man United. And ever since that meeting, my view on him changed. I really feel a click with him. I mean, yes I see the Instragram clips and think, oh well… That cigar wasn’t needed for me, but at the same time, I think…so what? Leave him be. Players these days are constantly in the spotlight. Whenever they go out for a drink or a meal, it’s going viral on the net. So if Memphis enjoys doing those little clips: fine. Let him.”

In the past, you clashed with the young Wesley Sneijder and Rafa van der Vaart. This is now the more experienced coach talking?

“Yes, I guess. I was a young coach back then and I wanted to project my ideas, my values onto these lads. I was too rigorous in that, yes. Coaching is an experience craft. I have learned to see that everyone is different and that younger generations are different.”

The current Oranje players are of the same age as your kids. Doe that help?

“For sure! My kids love following Memphis and the others on social media. They are used to it, and it’s part of today’ sports culture. So yes, I sometimes check in with my kids to ask their opinion about things, and at times they simply tell me what they think and I can see more and more how things work for the younger generations.”

Ronald Koeman is not just the NT coach, he is now also the figure head of Dutch football and spoke at the NL Coach Congress recently, using an example of what happened at Ajax – Bayern Munich… “I used it as an example, but Bayern coach Kovac had two experienced bench players, Hummels and Martinez and he let them warm up in the second half, for at least 20 minutes. He needed something to happen, as Ajax was in front. When he finally wanted to use his third sub, he turned to Renato Sanches who was sitting on the bench. He hadn’t done a warm up. He used him, and Sanches went onto the pitch cold. I watched Hummels and Martinez, who looked at each other with confusion and a wry smile. That sort of thing has an effect. On the coach, on the vibe in the squad, the mentality of these older players, the hierarchy. Lets just say, it wasn’t smart of Kovac to do it like this. These are the little things that can work against you in terms of player support and team spirit.”

Wat did you do to re-establish a new hierarchy with Oranje?

“That happens in a natural way. Memphis doesn’t want to be the designated leader but he leads due to his way of playing. Virgil is a natural leader because of his age and his position on the pitch, his charisma and experience. Gini Wijnaldum, Jasper Cillesen and Kevin Strootman are key players as well. They play at big clubs, they’ve been around and share their experiences. And the technical staff is also about clarity. If things are unclear, we want players to speak out. If things are not clear, players get nervous.”

Was it important too that dominant personalities like Robben, Sneijder and Van Persie are no longer part of Oranje? Wijnaldum mentioned something like “a gap in the squad”?

“I guess so. But for clarity’s sake: I have asked Robben in the early phase of my role here, to come back to Oranje. He is still so good. But yes, with the big lads gone, there is space for the younger players to step into that space and show what they are made of.”

And with the rise of talents like De Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, the jigsaw puzzle suddenly seemed complete?

“Ha, I read somewhere that this coach has a golden dick, hahaha. But yes, a coach is only as good as his material and these two are really good. I actually spoke to Pep Guardiola about both, some while back. He is completely smitten with midfielders like Frenkie and he wanted to know everything about him. Frenkie has really made a contribution to Oranje. He is biggest quality, is that he can postpone his decision on the ball, just another couple of seconds so he can give that pass that another player wouldn’t be able to give. And everyone goes: damn! That was amazing.”

About the past couple of years… we thought our football was in crisis. Was that a knee-jerk response? Were we really that bad?

“Well, something had to happen for sure. We need to do more to get to the top. In Holland, we always thought that with our talent, we just need to play some good football and then we’ll get there. But the nations in Europe and beyond have learned as well, and developed. Countries like Iceland, Wales, Uruguay, Japan, Australia are no longer walk-over nations in football. It’s the same at club level. Look at Ajax in the past 10 years in qualifications of the CL tournament! It has become harder on all levels to get to the top. Belgium was a nice example for us. They can play re-action football like they used to do, and use the turnaround moments, but they can also dominate and play the “Dutch way” for lack of a better term. They are flexible within their format. I like that. And like Belgium, we have the players to do both, as well. And in 2019, we will face Germany again, for the Euro qualifications. I’m already thinking about how to approach those games.”

Oranje went from underdog to the favorite again. 2019 is a year with heavy expectations.

“I do wonder, if we can extrapolate the way we played this year, to next year. We will start vs Belarus and can we play like we did this year, against a ultra defensive team? Can Memphis be as important? Or, do we need to use Luuk de Jong as central striker and make some changes? We never had to do this as we only played strong, domineering teams but I do realise that in 2019, it really starts. I wouldn’t have minded another friendly before we start for the Euro qualifications against an opponent like Northern Ireland.”

Some players dropped in the hierarchy. Kevin Strootman seemed to have lost his starting spot. How do you deal with that?

“Well, Kevin will be part of the squad as long as I see that he wants to be. He’s important for the group, he’s in the players council. I will always check the dynamics of the players on the bench. Do they celebrate goals of the team or do the join in after a won game? That sort of conduct is taken into account.”

You once mentioned how Rinus Michels decided to take players like Hendrie Kruzen of FC Den Bosch and Wilbert Suvrijn of Roda to the Euro1988, as they were players happy with a bench role and still giving 100% at training. Does that influence your way of thinking?

“Absolutely. You have to take personalities into account. And particularly at a big tournament. You are so close for weeks. Look at Belgium again: Nainggolan wasn’t part of their squad. Judging from a distance, I suppose it has to do with hoe he deals with not starting a game. In our case, the Euros are still a bit away. A lot can change. Transfers, injuries, development of players. Take Promes, he started as a wing back at Sevilla! That could be an interesting development for us.”

Did you also ignore players in your selections to give them a sign?

“Yes, take Steven Berghuis of Feyenoord. He is a great player. With the ball. Without the ball, he needs to do more. I saw him recently play against PSV, and he was fantastic. That is what I want to see week in week out. He knows this.”

Now you’re back in Holland, after a number of years in England… Is there anything you like from what you see here, in our competition?

“Holland will always bring talent early. Recently, Orkun Kokcu at Feyenoord. 17 years old. In England I have Ward-Prowce, who was a bit older but our board said: he can’t play more than 10 games per year. In England, they see young players as a risk. We don’t. And I’m certain that in 10 years time, we’ll have the next De Ligt or Frenkie de Jong, chomping at the bits.”

You worked at the top 3 in Holland. Which club do you think is the hardest one to manage?

“I have to say Ajax. I think particularly today, with that trophy drought. Ajax invested heavily into more expensive players as well and sacrificed Keizer and Bergkamp. The pressure is on there. And Ajax always has several streams of important people behind the scenes, trying to pull strings. It’s always a difficult club. They also want to see attractive football. When De Boer won his fourth title in a row, he was criticized for the boring play. That would never happen at PSV. PSV is different. Similar top sport climate, but more a gentleman’s club. Whereas Feyenoord is hard because of the lack of resources and the enormous expectations and hunger of the Legion but the love and support of the Feyenoord fans is undying. So I have to say Ajax.”

It’s good for Dutch football to see Tadic and Blind back in the eredivisie, right?

“Absolutely. I worked with Tadic at Southampton and I saw what he did for his fitness, his rhythm. He is so fit and strong and has a great mentality. It’s so good for the youngsters to have him, for at Feyenoord to see Van Persie and before him Kuyt. The young players will learn a lot from that.”

You mentioned something you picked up from the Dutch women’s team…?

“Yes! I wasn’t even NT manager when it happened. I was invited to give them their award some while back, best sports team of the year. I said I loved to see them, and that their appeal was so broad because they clearly had fun. They played with a big smile on their face. And they are accessible and down to Earth. I think supporters like that. And when I compare that with the internationals I had at Southampton and Everton… They’d return from their Oranje stint and I didn’t see any enthusiasm.”

You turned it around quickly.

“But that isn’t my work. It starts with the players. And they are being developed and coached daily by the club coaches. By Gio, Mark van Bommel, Erik ten Hag, etc. I also realised that Danny Blind and Guus Hiddink had a lot of bad luck. And I don’t mean that Bas Dost goal vs Sweden, alone. Also all that drama at the KNVB, with the technical director, the decisions made by the board, assistant coaches leaving, there was no consistency, no positive vibe and when it storms at the top, when you’re on the ground you will feel the rain and get wet. The whole vibe around Oranje was negative.”

Did it all turn around? Or do we still need to make structural changes?

“The times we live in are different. This applies to society, but also to football. In the past Robben or Rep or whoever was our winger, could take 10 mins rest per match. Stay up and wait for that stray ball. Today, wingers are the first defenders. The physical demands are so much higher now. I am not sure if we have incorporated that into our development and you could even say, that culturally, we don’t like doing this. We seem to be a complacent and lacklustre, in general. Listen to all the players that make a move to a bigger competition. All of them, no exception, will tell you: wow, they work so hard, the training is so intense, we don’t see a single ball in the pre-season, it’s just running and weights…. That is such a clear signal to me.”

These days, the laptop coach is making his way. Using stats and simulations… do you work with this?

“Yes, you will always find ways to incorporate it, but it’s not leading for me. The interpretation is key. We had a lot of this at Everton. We played Chelsea and I took the stats and saw that Diego Costa made significantly more runs in behind than Lukaku. And we constantly had to go with him. So I used this in my prep with Lukaku: look mate, this is Costa, and this is you!”

“But the essence of coaching, is management of people. We have 20+ top players. All alpha males and they all need to go into the same direction. They all have their own ideas, they all have invented it and they know everything better. And to lead that, you can only do that by creating a bond with them, a mutual understanding.”

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by Jan

Frenkie de Jong’s break through year

2018 was the year of Frenkie’s international break through. A start spot at Ajax, impressive games in the Champions League, a dominant role in the new Oranje and a mega transfer to a European super power looming on the horizon. “I play in the Champions League and so does my manager Ali Dursun.”

It’s a cold December day in 2012. Ali Dursun is at the Willem II youth academy to watch his son Mike play in the D pupils. After that match finishes, the football dad decides to check out the C-team at Willem II to kill the time waiting for his son to get ready to go home. “What I saw there was unbelievable. A blond kid, with 10 on his jersey. The goalie kicked the ball out, that number 10 picked it up out of the air, made a Zidane turn and played no look pass through the eye of the needle to the striker who scored. The striker did well. But the midfielder made all of that happen. I gave my car keys to my wife and said: you go home with Mike, I need to watch this kid.”

Ali Dursun decided to follow the youngster and started a conversation with the dad John and grandpa Jan who were always at the playmaker’s games. Dursun was a local player’s agent and working part time in the courier company of his brother. There was a click. Frenkie de Jong now: “We started to build a bond. Ali became a friend of the family and my confidante. He was there when I was a kid and offered wisdom and guidance. He was never about control, or contracts or money. He really wanted me to succeed. We share everything as he completely gets me, the way I think and I get his way of thinking.”

It’s easy to see 2018 as a perfect year, but Frenkie grabs his phone and shows the interviewer a photo from February. It’s an ankle and on the angle is a knock visible, the size of a tennis ball. Ronald Koeman had plans to invite De Jong for Oranje but the Ajax player (he left Willem II for Ajax when he was 19 years old) missteps at training and does himself in. The first invite for Oranje melted like snow. “Initially I wasn’t too worried but somehow the horror stories of Van Basten and his ankle woes came into my head. I think he was 20 or so when he injured himself (Van Basten aggressively tackled Groningen midfielder Edwin Olde Riekerink but injured his ankle severely which ended his career prematurely before San Marco turned 30). It took a long time to heal. And I started to get really upset.”

Ajax wanted to use the midfielder in the title race but he wasn’t able to get fit in time. “My life revolves around football. Without it, I feel this void. Slowly however, the pain disappeared and I was really relieved that I could participate in this season’s preparation.”

Frenkie remembers the first game he played this season, against Anderlecht in the Olympic stadium. A friendly in July. “I was waiting and working for months to play again and finally I could and I was so bad. I was sooo incredibly bad. Unbelievable. I don’t think I ever played a shit game like this one. Passes went astray. I ended up moving in the wrong spaces. Dribbles were dramatically bad. I wanted to do too much. I was doing so well at practice, but I learned then and there that match fitness and rhythm are real things…”

Last season, Frenkie played 26 games in all competitions. This season, he already played 30 and we’re only half way. The high point? “Without a doubt, my debut in Oranje. It was five months after the initially planned debut but I finally got there. I got onto the pitch in the Sneijder farewell match.. In the Johan Cruyff Arena.” Frenkie got to show his exceptional skills in that match. Ali Dursun can’t control his excitement. “I know Wesley well, and I always hoped one day Sneijder and Frenkie would play together… They did, only for 15 minutes, but still.”

In the matches vs Germany and France, Frenkie demonstrated his qualities and as a rocket established himself as a super target for the big clubs. His breakthrough. Frenkie: “Yes, it feels like that. I think that last year in Holland, most football fans and pundits and media started to recognise my qualities but there was always something like “yeah, cool, fun, but can he do it on the highest level?”. I think I dealt with that question and I have shown myself.”

Frenkie talks like he plays football. Without pressure, free style, no restrictions. The Frenkie de Jong Hype has ceased to be a hype. It’s structural now. The Spanish media lead the dance. For months now, his face graces the cover of the plethora of Spanish sports publications. Frenkie: “The first time I saw it, it was very special. My picture on the Spanish newspaper front page, that was pretty cool. My grandpa was on holiday in Spain and picked up the morning paper with his grandson on the cover. That must have made him proud, hahaha.”

The tremendous media attention and the continuous questions about his future, Frenkie is still as fresh and polite and patient as in the beginning. “Oh, ye it doesn’t phase me at all. I don’t mind it. I don’t mind the attention and I don’t mind talking to the media. Why would I? It’s not hard. You just have a conversation with someone, but this time with a mic involved. You, I’m a positive guy. I try to keep things light. I also don’t want to come across as a puppet or a machine. I try to remain genuine.”

Not a lot phases him but when people started to compare him with Johan Cruyff, he started to push on the brakes. “Come on man, that is such BS. That is the only time when I thought, come on people! Now it’s going over the top. He is the football player of football players, he is God. I mean, comparisons are always ridiculous, but especially with him. Just let me be Frenkie.”

“I don’t mind criticism, and I don’t mind negative comment. Why would I? It’s someone’s opinion. Only when they are factually wrong, I can get a bit antsy. Recently on telly someone claimed I lacked speed. That is definitely not the case. I am the second fasted player in the squad, you know? You don’t seem opponents running away from me. I also recover a lot of balls, statistically. I can see that I have aspects that need improvement though. Don’t get me wrong. My shots from distance are not great. I do train a lot on this, but I still have to show it more. I also need a bit more composure in the box. My long pass needs to be more flat. More speed. And my through pass radius is too short. I need to be able to play that pass over a longer distance and take out more opponents.”

One thing that is not on his list to improve is the risk factor. He tends to take too many risks, people say. Like in the home game vs Bayern Munich. “But I don’t! I don’t ee it as taking risks. Statistically, you can see I hardly ever lose possession. I don’t see it as risks, anyway. For me, it’s normal. Risks are part of football. It’s part of my game. I see it as my role, to try and find the opening. And this is how I made it into Ajax 1 and into Oranje. Should I now play simple? This, what I do, for me is the simple and natural way of playing. When I change, I will become like so many others, what would be the use? I play the way my intuition tells me to.”

Dursun: “Before every game I app Frenkie and tell him: buddy, play your own game, do what you are good at. That is all I send.”

Frenkie: “In the youth teams, I always had coached who wanted me to keep it simple. Play simple. I always nodded and went and did my own thing, hahaha. And usually, it worked out so I never got in trouble. A lot of youth coaches take the freedom and joy out of the game. Deciding to take the non risk pass. Or touch the ball twice and play on. I was never open to that stuff, I merely went on my intuition. In Holland, the positioning / passing game is sacred but we overdo it. A pass square, a back pass, keep possession. No, I want to play forward, I want to take risks and be adventurous. That is who I am as a player.”

Marc Overmars saw Frenkie come on as a sub in an Oranje under 16 match. “I wasn’t there to scout, I was just watching some of our lads. He came on and I remember thinking: whoa, he might need to eat some more steaks for dinner. Thin, thin legs, but his first move on the ball grabbed me. And I took his name and kept following him.”

Frenkie’s girl Mikky, a pro hockey player

Dursun: “Frenkie had some team mates at Willem II who were scouted, like Sam Lammers by PSV and Ould-Chick by Twente. There were clubs for Frenkie as well, also big clubs from England, Germany, Spain, but he wasn’t keen. We decided he would take the normal route in Holland. Stay at Willem II, finish high school, make a move to a big club in Holland.”

PSV felt it had the talent already, but Ajax was simply more pro-active. Frenkie: “I wouldn’t change a thing if I had to do it again. You see, at Willem II, I was the key man in midfield. And as a result, I always received the ball. I think at Ajax in the youth, there is more competition. Also at Willem II, very important, we always were under the kosh. We always had to play stronger teams, basically. And I was a tiny lad. I had to be creative, I had to work on my technique a lot and my speed. The time at Willem II was key for me.”

The partnership between the two is remarkable. They talk rapidly, finish each others sentences and cherish their history, while dealing with the future. Dursun: “It was a busy time, these last couple of months. And Frenkie luckily made it easy for me. He said, tell me which club has interest to talk and if I’m not interested I will let you know. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time and I told those clubs a simple “No, sorry”.

Frenkie: ‘All those clubs, it is quite special and strange. As if I am in a computer game…’

Ali : ‘So we brought the list back, from 10 clubs to 3 and then suddenly another phone call from another big club with questions. And if Frenkie liked that club, well… the list grew again.”

The picture in De Telegraaf of camp De Jong, Ajax and Paris St Germain, meeting in Amsterdam early December, fueling the rumours of a move to PSG

Frenkie: ‘We can’t talk to all of them. I simply can’t make the time. All my energy and focus are with Ajax and I will give that priority always. But it’s also very important to make the right decision.’

Ali : ‘And we need to take it all in, right buddy? The whole picture needs to be right. From A to Z.’

Frenkie: ‘For sure. But still, what is a good choice? You know this in hindsight and I know now already that there are several good choices, but you can only pick one. I only look at the key thing for me: my role and development. Is it a club that plays like I want to play. Do they share my football values? Attack, dominate. And, can I play regularly.”

Ali : ‘The football technical story is leading. Frenkie needs playing time, we don’t want him to be the 5th midfielder in the squad.’

Frenkie: ‘The money involved is insane. The amounts that you hear are preposterous. It’s a lot of money, but it’s not something I can influence. This is between the clubs. It’s supply and demand. I am an Ajax player, so they can set the price. How do they determine this? I am not sure, it’s not based on goals or assists, or passes or whatever. How does this work?’

Ali: ‘Indeed, that is something the clubs sort out between them. And it’s rough. I can see that. It’s like a chess match at top level.”

Frenkie: ‘If I knew where my future was, I would tell you, but in all honesty, I don’t know yet. I still have to make the decision. All stories you read are presumptuous.’

Ali: ‘I think we will decide in the coming weeks. I think Frenkie should focus fully on Ajax in the second season half. It’s football. Winning trophies with Ajax and Oranje.’

Frenkie: ‘Seriously, it doesn’t bother me. When I am playing football, I am not thinking about any thing else. Just play ball. And if people call me about a transfer, I direct them to Ali.’

Ali: ‘A lot is happening of course. The number of agents and managers that tried to speak to Frenkie. Absurd.’

Frenkie: ‘Some people can paint beautiful pictures, haha, but I thank them all in a friendly way and direct them to Ali.”

Ali: ‘They do try to come between us. By making up shit, or tell lies. It’s sad. I don’t mind people trying to contact Frenkie, that is ok. But after he told them to talk to me, some will keep on harrassing Frenkie. That is not on and if that happens, they’ll hear from me.”

Frenkie: “I told Ali many times. We are doing this together. Wherever, whenever, we got to the top together. We are one and remain one, my friend.’

Ali: ‘Frenkie is loyal. He always was. Last year this time, we signed a new deal with Ajax and he knew: whatever happens, I will stay with Ajax for at least 1,5 season. Whatever comes.’

Frenkie: ‘I prefer to do things well, before I do things quick. I know they can go together. Last season, I made it into the first team. This season, I am the most sought after midfielder in Europe. That went really quick. But, we’ll see how it all goes.’

Frenkie orders another ice tea. “But, I want to win silverware with Ajax. This squad is so good and not just good, we are a real team you know. The bond is real. And we have demonstrated how good we are, but still haven’t won anything. We’re fighting on three fronts… Winning the CL might be hard, but we will still try and make a lasting impression. The hunger and desire is huge and the relationship between our staff and the players is top. I read and heard that people say it’s different but that is total hogwash. We are really happy with Erik ten Hag. There is literally no one that can’t work with him or deal with him. And I would have known. He’s simply put a very good coach. And when that criticism came how he was not from Amsterdam…. So what? I am not from Amsterdam! Neither is Hakim, or Tadic, or Onana… It’s so stupid. We want to make history and it will have to happen on the pitch. Go out there, play football and enjoy!”

Source: VI Pro

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by Jan

Your vote: best Dutch international of 2018

It’s your time now!

As we close to the end of the year, a year in which the drab and disgraced Dutch National Team straightened the back and rose, like a Phoenix from the ashes. With victories over the newly crowned World Champs, the former world champs and good results and performances overall vs the likes of Belgium and Portugal.

And the result: group winner in the Nations League and a big jump on the FIFA ranking.

Most importantly: the fans love the team again and the team loves playing for Holland again.

And boy, did we see tremendous development in our player? I mean, Denzel Dumfries?? Pablo Rosario?? Marten de Roon? Tonny Vilhena? Ryan Babel?

Time to pick the best international of the year… I’ll help you with some insights, but the vote is all yours. I’ll give you until December 1, and then we’ll announce the winner here, with a cool interview/article on the winner.

The Candidates

Virgil van Dijk, our captain, deserves the first mention. What to say… His year was tremendous. The big money move to Liverpool. The winner in his debut vs arch enemy Everton. His stats are terrific. In Oranje, he developed into a great leader and skipper, with the deciding goal in the final minutes vs Germany. Does it get better than that?

Virgil is a true natural leader. The way he handles his team mates, the way he covered up the young ball girl when he noticed she was shivering in the cold, the warm manner in which he consoled the ref after the Germany game, when Virgil learned the poor dude lost his mum (and got notified of that fact during the half time break). Virgil… pure class!

Memphis Depay is in the key age group for top notch peformances, and it shows. The former Sparta talent is a changed man. From arrogant, self-centered, headstrong wannabe winger in Manchester, he grew into a lethal striker in Lyon. With stats that are only topped by Messi and C Ronaldo. Better stats than Neymar and Mbappe, to name other forwards in France. The loner, who clashed with the likes of Sneijder and Van Persie is now a team player. One of the leaders on and off the pitch. Ever since he found God, Memphis is a better human being, more humble, active with his foundations for the lesser fortunate ones and on the pitch he is unstoppable.

He creates goals, he scores them, has a sensational corner kick delivery, hustles and hassles defenders, keeps three markers busy while working for the team and stretching the play. He’s clearly in a positive mindset, as he coaches, encourages and directs the play from the front.

Every “Best Player” award should go to a forward. A player who makes a difference. A player that draws people to the stadium. Cantona, Ginola, Ibrahimovic, C Ronaldo, Ozil, Ribery, Rooney… Memphis falls in that category and I personally don’t care what hat he wears or what colour leather seats are in his Bentley.

Frenkie de Jong is probably a solid candidate as well, even though he only played 4 caps for Oranje. His talent was spotted many years back and both Willem II and Ajax decided to bring this kid slowly. He was 20 years old when he made his first foray into Ajax 1. As opposed to the likes of Seedorf, Kluivert Sr and Jr and many others who got their first games at 16 or 17 years old. But once Frenkie made his mark on the first team, everyone could see his tremendous potential. So much so, that Frenkie is already the new footballing leader (playmaker) of Oranje. Everything goes via him. And he is already seen as unmissable. And its expected he’ll make a massive jump from Ajax to a world class team in the summer (Man City, Barca, Bayern, Real Madrid, Chelsea….).

Gini Wijnaldum has also made a sensational growth, finally, to establish his position in Oranje. Making his debut more than 10 years ago (!) at 16, in Feyenoord’s first team as a #10. Used as winger at PSV. Signed by Newcastle as box-to-box midfielder and in 2014 suddenly part of the Oranje midfield that got bronze in Brazil under Van Gaal. Van Gaal apparently was reluctant to use Wijnaldum as controlling mid, believing the always smiling Georginhio would be able to play there, but he managed and even scored vs Brazil in the losers final. Klopp signed him at Liverpool and immediately told him he signed him for the controlling mid role. Today, Liverpool uses him on any spot in midfield. Despite all the new midfield signings, Wijnaldum – when fit – plays. In Oranje, Frenkie de Jong’s game allows Gini to play further upfield and be more decisive for Oranje, scoring important goals.

Mathijs de Ligt is considered one of the best central backs in Europe and like Frenkie, appears on all the scouting lists. The grounded Dutch lad, called “Dickie” as he used to be a tad overweight in the Ajax youth (in Dutch, the word for fat is “dik” so he was called Dickie), is only 19 years old but plays like a 26 year old. Composed, focused, and utterly complete. Fast enough, strong, fierceful header of the ball, able to dribble infield (Dickie used to be a midfielder) and with a good long pass as well. De Ligt will go places. He’ll be the Oranje centre back for at least another 10 to 12 years (if he remains fit). And we’ll see him playing for one of the top teams in the world for sure (Bayern, Barca, Real Madrid).

Ryan Babel‘s story is the come back story of the decade (in Oranje). He broke through in Ajax as a winger, but was considered an ideal player for a 4-4-2, a system Ajax back then simply didn’t want to play. Babel made his name in Young Oranje, under Foppe de Haan and impressed with his physique, his “hip” shot and his speed and power. Ajax was happy to let him go for a decent offer as he didn’t fit the bill in Ajax’ 4-3-3. By then Marco van Basten brought him into Oranje where Babel scored in his debut game. San Marco called him “the next Thierry Henry”. His big money move to Liverpool got waylaid as he tore his ankle ligaments right before the Euros2008 and was ruled for a spell, which forced Liverpool to sign alternatives and Babel got behind in the pecking order (behind Dirk Kuyt, amongst others). Bert van Marwijk kept faith in Babel and used him extensively after the 2008Euros. Kenny Dalglish, manager at Liverpool, decided to bring Luis Suarez to the club and let Babel go. The dark days followed, with a stint at Hoffenheim which didn’t work out. He went back to Ajax to rejuvenate his career, but ended up in the Turkish competition and not much later choose the money of the UAE league. He ended up playing for the reserves there and was relieved to be able to return to Turkey via Deportivo La Coruna. Now he’s at Besiktas where his good form got him a spot in Advocaat’s Oranje back in 2017. The explosive winger from yesteryear is now a mature team player, playing as a wingback. He clearly acts as mentor for the younger lads (on the pitch and potentially in the music studio as well) and his workrate and tactical smarts have brought him lots of kudos from all Oranje fans and pundits.

Other candidates? Jasper Cillesen? Top goalie on the Barca bench, but usually strong when relied upon. Both in Spain as in Oranje. Although the two German goals last time around did seem stoppable… Or Daley Blind? Mr Reliable? Good touch. Superb vision. Excellent passing. Pleasant positive personality. But vulnerable in defence? Just not tall enough? Just not quick enough? Quincy Promes than? Scoring goals like there is no tomorrow for Spartak, but always a question mark in Oranje (and Sevilla). Despite all this, his success in Moscow was always as a number 9, so maybe Promes should be seen as the understudy for Memphis?

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by Jan

Orange Masterclass vs World Champs!

You know you did something right when even national team manager Ronald Koeman says that it was an exceptional performance. I think it’s fair to say Holland played one of the best games in many years.

It clicked. It’s all working out. The mix of experience and youthful exuberance, the seasoned and shrewd Babel, the focused Cillesen, mercurial Memphis, disciplined Blind and the ridiculously talented De Jong and De Ligt… Working under a no-nonsense pragmatic coach as Ronald Koeman with warrior Van Dijk as his lieutenant… Simply perfection.

If it wasn’t for Lloris, we could have won 5-0. And how good is it, to not only beat France, but to also have Germany relegated at the same time… Ah, the sweet smell of revenge.

Koeman was quite cautious after the 3-0 beating of Germany. “It was good but not the whole game. We had good spells and lesser spells. We are improving but I want to see more of the good and less of the not-so-good.” This time, after becoming the first nation to beat the newly crowned Champions of the World, he couldn’t hide his enthusiasm and praised his team. “I can not fault them on anything. We played a perfect game and every single player was playing great. I am very happy and proud and we have definitely turned a corner. We can develop into a great team with a bright future.”

Koeman can indeed be proud of what the team achieved:

  • We are the reason Germany got relegated
  • Oranje will stay in this Division A
  • Oranje is certain of being in Pot 1 for Euro qualifiers
  • Oranje is the first team to beat World Champions France
  • A big jump in the FIFA ranking
  • A draw vs Germany means Holland will be in the Nations League
  • The end of a series of defeats vs France

 

The win in Rotterdam means it’s the 15th game in a row won in De Kuip. In the last 15 matches played in the Johan Cruyff Arena, Oranje lost 7 matches. In 2018, Memphis was involved in half of all the goals Oranje scored. Including his stats for Lyon, Depay was involved in 41 goals (23 scored, 18 assisted) in 52 matches.

Hugo Lloris needed 9 saves against Holland, the highest level of saves for France since 2008.

The Dutch media praised the performance. The terms “magnificent” and “reborn” and “master class” were used to describe what Holland achieved. “As if Oranje drank from the well of confidence. But apart from the execution, this team also oozes warmth and sympathy. This is a team with class, who bonded as friends, this is finally a real team. This might well be the biggest difference compared to the post 2014 Oranje teams we saw being humiliated. It was balanced, disciplined, focused, but also with balls. And France? They played like Iceland plays. But without the passion. The World Champs didn’t dazzle us with quality in Russia and has further slipped into apathy.”

De Telegraaf mentions the only weak point of Oranje: “They could and should have scored more. This is something to work on. Otherwise the victory was sensational. With a world class performance by Memphis. Everytime Depay was played in, the French panicked. He had continuously two markers close to him, but it didn’t stop him.” The normally modest and puritan Trouw wrote that Koeman has transformed a weak performing collective of players into a team, playing with their brains, their qualities and with passion and purpose. “This was a good night in the natural home of Oranje: De Kuip.”

De Volkskrant: “And coming Tuesday, Holland can beat Germany again and win this Group. Who would have predicted this 3 months ago? Not only did we beat and relegate Germany, we also beat the world champions with a last second Panenka by Memphis.”

The international media picked up on the performance as well. The French papers speak of a the ruthless Orange Lion tearing the French cock to pieces. The French federation president admitted that France had deservedly been beaten by a better opponent. “Holland was better on every level this time around. Pure class.”

Skysports: “A rampant Holland didn’t give France a chance, with man of the match performances by Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries.”

Marca in Spain: “In the Dutch football temple, Holland hadn’t lost for 15 matches and this 16th match was a victory as well. No one took notice of Holland anymore, but there are some young tulips coming up and they shine more bright than ever. Holland played France completely drunk.”

El Mundo Deportivo was focused on Frenkie de Jong: “De Jong is a modern playmaker, he can dribble, he can pass and is always on the move. Uncharacteristically for a playmaker, he is also happy to tackle and put in a shift for the team.”

France coach Deschamps was quite clear: “We didn’t have any claim on anything today. We were deservedly beaten by a better Holland, It’s not an excuse that we missed players. We should have competed more, even with the players who were fit to play. Holland simply wanted it more.”

So how did we do it?

Koeman found a way for Oranje to dominate, without committing too many players forward allowing the French to counter attack. Deschamps will have thought: Holland at home, they want to win, they want to attack and we’ll pick ‘m off.

The French trap usually consists of 3 controlling midfielders, 2 fast wide forwards (Mbappe, Griezmann) and a strong target man upfront (Giroud). Not unlike PSV’s tactics.

Koeman’s preparation was all about the balance between having enough players around the ball to control the game, while having enough players back to stop the counter. In his pre-match talk he told the players this will probably be “the most difficult match, so far!”.

The French set up. Four defenders, a bank of 3 controlling midfielders, Mbappe and Griezmann in front of these guys and Giroud up top

Koeman’s mantra: always have three players in the last line of defence. The build up will be done by Blind, De Roon, De Jong, Van Dijk or De Ligt. Out of these 5, there always needs to be 3 together at the back. Denzel Dumfries strength is all about bombing forward on the flank, allowing Bergwijn to come inside to assist either Memphis or the midfield.

Babel on the left would remain on the flank, as Blind is less of a forward bulldozering full back, but whenever Blind would move forward, and he would do so with gusto at times, Babel would also move inside, to stop their counter should we lose possession.

Even if only Giroud was up front, with Mbappe and Griezmann tucking back in to support midfield, Oranje would never play naive and keep 3 players with Giroud to protect the space.

On our own half, always three man behind the ball. This time with Frenkie as the first build up go-to guy.

Once Oranje brings the ball well into the French half, would be the moment when Holland would allow two defenders with Giroud but keep two controlling mids close to the centre backs (usually De Roon and De Jong, with Wijnaldum further forward).

This time, it’s De Roon as the third “central defender” with De Jong roaming in between the lines.

This way, the Dutch would crowd the midfield enough to stop counters from happening, while the tactical smarts of De Roon and De Jong would protect the space.

Before the half time break, this tactics did results in a chess match, a tactical game of sorts, less entertaining than the Dutch usually like it. With Koeman, it’s results before entertainment.

After Holland scored, Deschamps makes some changes to go from the 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 and it’s then when Oranje is capable of playing in between their lines and create havoc.

This time, Blind also drops deep to offer an option, as he realises De Roon could dribble into midfield. Notice Dumfries positioning higher up the park.

Once Oranje loses possession they pressure high to win the ball back and if that fails, Babel and Bergwijn – the oldest Soldier of Orange and one of the youngest ones – fall back into a wide full back role to guard the space. Highly disciplined and tactically astute. A good example of how far Dutch football has gone. Babel resurrected his career with aplomb and Bergwijn is already playing at an astonishing mature level.

An early chance! Notice how 5 Oranje players are in front of the ball, with only Van Dijk and De Ligt in defence, and De Jong and de Roon protecting those two. Blind is moving into the French half. This is where Koeman allowed the Dutch to take risks.

Ronald Koeman deserves praise for ending the naivety that so characterised Dutch football recently. He knows, that in today’s game, it’s the turn around that is key. It’s loss of possession, individual errors and dead ball situations that will be key. And this match also showed that playing with patience, with tactical discipline and organisation can lead to an entertaining match.

A great view on Oranje’s movement when losing possession. Both full backs (Blind and Dumfries) came inside to put pressure on the French axis (with Blind challenging for the ball. Babel is playing left full back, while our centre backs go into position to sniff out the forward pass.

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by Jan

Oranje’s future: Frenkie’s Farewell Tour

He’s 21 years old, hasn’t had a full season in Ajax 1, but already is he the new leader of Oranje (on the pitch) and the most talked about Dutch talent since… Memphis probably.

Frenkie de Jong. Gifted. But also intelligent and levelheaded. An important quality, both in terms of football intelligence (decision making) and generic intelligence. Everyone knows his story by now. In summary. Grew up in Brabant (PSV territory) but in a family of Feyenoord fans. Both clubs courted Frenkie for years, but Ajax got him in. Rumour has it, that Ajax really took the opportunity to whoo the youngster. When he visited De Toekomst (the Ajax youth Academy “The Future”), Bergkamp, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Ronald de Boer and Edwin van de Sar all popped in to shake the lad’s hand. He decided to stay at Willem II until he finished school and joined Ajax.

Not long after breaking into the Ajax 1 team, most top clubs in Europe knew it for sure. The youngster they had on their radar made the final step up and would be ripe for a deal. Bayern Munich, Barca, Real Madrid, Man City, Spurs, they’re all keen to join in on the hunt for Frenkie de Jong.

De Jong has demonstrated in big games, that he’s able to perform. With Ajax in the Champions League, with Oranje in the Nations League, he makes it seem easy. And even though Frenkie plays “behind the ball” in a holding role, Feyenoord coach Gio van Bronckhorst decided to change his line up and tactics to take care of De Jong, with Jens Toornstra coming in the first team to manage the youngster. But to no avail. Toornstra’s first foul came in minute 2. A clumsy and actually quite mean-spirited step with the studs on the calf. Worthy of a red card.

From that moment on, it was clear that Feyenoord and Toornstra weren’t their usual self. Van Persie played as #9. Jorgensen operated as a false winger on the left and Toornstra played in the #10 role but only to step onto De Jong’s toes when possible. As a manmarker in the playmaker position.

It’s logical though. Van Persie doesn’t have the legs to deal with the playmaker/holding midfielders De Jong and Schone. But Feyenoord did want to pressure high up the pitch, so… this line up could work. But the Rotterdam team was so uptight that first Jens made a nasty foul to be followed by St Juste’s stupid hack on Tagliafico, resulting in Jerry’s fasted red card in Klassieker history.

AJAX Game component* FEYENOORD
68% Possession 32%
24/11 Shots/On target 6/2
13 Corners 6
9 Fouls 10
698/619 (89%) Passes/Good (percentage) 332/253 (76%)
164/73 (45%) Duels/Won (percentage) 164/91 (55%)
35/17 (49%) Aerial duels/Won (percentage) 35/18 (51%)

After the red card, Feyenoord was lost. The confidence decreased even more and it was unclear how to proceed. Van Persie and Jorgensen decided to keep the press on, where possible, but half of the Feyenoord team didn’t participate. Usually, when playing with 10, teams will go to a 4-4-1 and aim for damage control but the timing in the Feyenoord team and the communication about when to press and when to drop deep was gone. And with the fact that Ajax has a better player than Feyenoord on every position, it makes it very hard. Only Berghuis might be good enough for this Ajax, most other Feyenoord players will have to accept being second-tier to the Sons of Gods.

It is telling that a young kid in midfield is the reason for Feyenoord to change their tactics and playing style. But Feyenoord isn’t alone. Benfica did it too, in the CL match last week. Gedson Fernades became Frenkie’s guard but despite that, the former Willem II playmaker was able to dominate the game and become one of the key players on the pitch, just like he got the Man of the Match award after the Feyenoord game.

How is it that Frenkie de Jong can play the way he plays? Well, for starters: the team is set up to get the most out of him. Daley Blind and Mathijs de Ligt have exceptional qualities for a centre back: great build up pass, wonderful ball skills and technique and good tactical vision. They both have their eyes forward always. Lasse Schone, the other holding mid is also a player with the skill to accelerate the game and as the two full backs will push forward and force the wingers of the opponent back, there is a quartet of Ajax players playing opposite 3 opponents. And all four are wonderful players on the ball. And should the pass not be possible, no worries, Frenkie simply drops all the way back next to Blind to offer an outball. As he has the ability to swivle and dribble his way into midfield.

The differences between Clasie and De Jong are interesting to observe and demonstrate the difference in intentions between Ajax and Feyenoord. Both players are the deep lying playmakers with the task to accelerate the game where possible. De Jong had 4 times as many passes as Clasie. And that is not just a result of the red card, as De Jong is constantly sought and found by his team mates, which is less the case for Clasie.

FRENKIE DE JONG ASPECT* JORDY CLASIE
Defensieve middenvelder Position Defensieve middenvelder
94 Minutes on the pitch 94
198/182 Total number of actions/good 72/60
5/2 shots/on target –
141/132 (94%) Passes/good (percentage) 40/33 (83%)
5/2 Key passes/good 1/1

Clasie is definitely more a passer. De Jong is more a dribbler. He is sometimes called a postman, but it’s not fair. His quality is to draw players towards him, when he dribbles, allowing him to create a man more situation by taking the opponent on or by passing to the free man. De Jong is an old-fashioned playmaker like Fernando Redondo or Gunther Netzer who can play from a controlling position, as he has learned to defend and re-capture possession when needed.

Ajax already received an offer for 70M euros for the player and as the season wears on, that number will increase, with allegedly an 80M offer in the making by Man City. This kid will leave Ajax next summer. The biggest objective Overmars has, is to make sure he’s not gone in the winter break.

Obviously, there are other players high on scouting lists. Mathijs de Ligt will have to cost a similar amount as the 19 year old captain has everything to become a world class phenomenon. Andre Onana is on the hit list of Spurs and Argentine captain Tagliafico will probably not stay much longer either, with several Italian and Spanish clubs preparing offers.

Enjoy these players while you can!

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by Jan

Koeman’s Kids on the radar!

We didn’t qualify for two big tournaments, we burned through some very decent coaches in a short time (Advocaat, Blind, Hiddink), we produced thigh thick reports about how dreadful our football has become, bowed our heads in shame when Vincent Janssen failed at Spurs, Memphis failed at ManU and Bazoer failed at… I don’t even know where he failed… and we all need to learn how to play football again, from the Germans! That is only a year or so ago…

Today, Europe has taken notice. There is a new sheriff in town and he brought some exciting deputies. Koeman’s Kids is the phrase. And the mix of the squad seems to be quite good. From old hands Babel, Cillesen, Wijnaldum and Strootman, to team players Blind, De Vrij and Propper to stars in the making De Ligt, Bergwijn and Dumfries… We are excited again!

And with reason.

Some interesting little symptoms that bode well. Just randomly. A 70 mio euro offer for Frenkie, from Man City. Or, on the other end of the spectrum: a distraught and highly critical Pablo Rosario beating himself up after his below average debut. Or Denzel Dumfries who humbly admits his ball technique needs a lot of work (“I have hard feet”). This squad exudes joy, comradery, ambition and above all: exceptional quality!

The win over Germany and the draw against Belgium is another big step forward in Koeman’s mission to bring Oranje back to the top. And the signs are positive: the interception of Donny van de Beek, snakelike. The turnover and high quality counter. Within a nano second the ball goes from Promes to Memphis and his pinpoint pass has the angle and the weight, perfect for Danjuma to finish. All this, within 15 seconds of retrieving the ball.

Sure, Belgium had pressure, dominated and created chances, but Oranje fought and countered and could have won it.

And Ronald Koeman can take the credit. He brings balance, structure and maturity to the picture. Realism. The joy was big after the Germany win, but immediately after the match Koeman put his foot on the brakes. He saw some tactical mistakes in the second half. He saw the spaces becoming bigger, with the team on the fence between pushing up or sitting deep. “We keep on stressing the points we need to improve. We’re going ok, but there is much much more potential, things to improve. But give these kids three more years, all the Champions League experience and what not, and check again in 2021 where we will be.”

The players are happy with Koeman’s directness, with his clarity. His team selections and squad selections are logical, with a strong fixed core of players and players who get the chance to show themselves. Patterns and “automatisms” are showing more and more.

Jasper Cillesen is the number 1 goalie. Without debate. Even with him being a bench warmer in the Nou Camp. The central defenders duo will be De Ligt van Van Dijk. A top defender from the EPL with a top talent with a tremendous future in front of him.

In midfield, it seems Frenkie de Jong and Gini Wijnaldum will be the usual suspects. Gini’s qualities will become more apparent with a player like De Jong behind him. Marten de Roon was excellent vs Germany, but surely Propper and Van de Beek can fill the third man’s shoes as well. With Carel Eijting and Pablo Rosario making big steps, it seems Strootman’s role will become smaller and smaller.

Up top, Memphis is the key man, with Ryan Babel currently his side man. Bergwijn, Danjuma, Promes, but also AZ’s Stengs or Roma’s Kluivert can come in to complete the forward 3.

This Oranje does know how to deal with space. And with prospects like Fosu-Mensah, Van Aanholt, Dumfries, Karsdorp, Janmaat and even Ake and Vilhena for the wide back roles, the mix of talent and experience is really good.

In the international break before this last one, we got some colour back on our cheeks. Now, we can even muster a smile…

A tpyical weapon Koeman is putting a lot of time and effort in, is the dead ball. Every team works on that, of course, but Koeman made it clear he sees the free kick / dead ball situation as an extraordinary opportunity. “When you dominate, you will have opportunities galore to find a gap and create a chance. When you play more compact and will have less possession, against the stronger teams, the dead ball situation can make all the difference. For this reason, we put more emphasis on it. We even train and practice and talk through these situations on the match day. When you have players who can deliver, like we do (Memphis, Dumfries, Janmaat, Blind) and players who can win aerial battles (Van Dijk, De Ligt, Dumfries, Strootman, Ake) you’d be silly not to use their qualities.” And it shows: Van Dijk scored vs Portugal like this, Nathan Ake vs Italy and now Van Dijk again from a Memphis corner kick.

Memphis playing in between the lines, pulling away from the defenders and coming into the zone vs statically being there…

Another weapon we use with flair, is the false #9. Most central defenders like to play against static strikers. Lets make it an even battle, between strength, length, timing… Defenders like Ramos, Hummels, Skertl, Thiago and Ottamendi to name a few, will love to play against Luuk de Jong. But when Tadic plays #9 for Ajax vs Bayern or Memphis vs Germany their weaknesses show. It’s not new of course, one Johan Cruyff started it maybe, in the 70s. Every nation back then had a Gerd Muller like #9. Holland didn’t even play with a player wearing the 9 on his jersey :-). Messi perfected that with Barca and Memphis Depay is quickly becoming the new standard. The alternative to Benteke, Lukaku, Lewandowski and Giroud.

After the first weeks with Oranje, Koeman criticised Memphis for being to static. Playing like a pedestrian. “Move Memphis, run!”. And Memphis picked it up. He makes himself available in between the lines, he knows when to dribble, when to go deep without the ball, when to hold up play…. Against Germany, he had 5 attempts on goal and created 3 chances.

Holland doesn’t need to dominate anymore, to win. Based on our compact organisation, the effectiveness on dead balls and the world class qualities of Van Dijk/De Ligt/F De Jong/ Memphis we can kills opponents off without seeing much of the ball. A luxury Holland never had.

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by Jan

Another positive match for Oranje!

A match vs Belgium is always fun, due to the rivalry. This time, it is an up and coming Oranje team oozing with talent vs the top class players of the #1 on the FIFA ranking…

Ronald Koeman was true to his word, he would play different players and rested some lads, in order to give Ake, Van de Beek, Strootman, Danjuma, Promes and De Vrij a chance. In those circumstances, with a starting eleven which never played together before, it’s only logical that the start is a bit rusty. And take into consideration that the players Oranje was facing have names like Hazard, Mertens, Lukaku and Witzel… Not a bad line up.

Holland started on the back foot and Belgium really jumped out of the traps. Hazard in particular had a real appetite and it didn’t take long for Mertens to score the 1-0 in a glorious fashion. I have to be honest, at that point, I really believed Belgium would eat us up, puke us out and eat us up again.

The first 20 minutes were horrendous with Ake constantly chasing his man and De Ligt and De Vrij constantly looking for their man. But slowly, Holland would grow into the game, playing compact and disciplined and it would be long before Memphis was offered a first chance, he should have put away.

When Donny van de Beek picked up on a lose pass in midfield, Memphis had the wherewithal to reach debutant starter Danjuma, and the Club Brugge wing man scored his first senior Oranje goal 1-1.

Holland fought itself back into the game and would get more opportunities even, with a good strike by Promes on the post. Belgium slowly drifted off, with their midfield being dominated by the Dutch.

In the second half, with 6 subs for both teams, the flow of the game disappeared a bit. There were chances for Lukaku and co and some opportunities for Holland (the Ake header deserved more, while Memphis was unlucky with a shot cleared by Aldeweireld).

We saw Pablo Rosario make his debut too in this game and the PSV midfielder had to get adjusted to the pace of the game as his first minutes in orange were a bit unlucky.

The end result (1-1) can be seen as pretty good in an away game vs the world’s #1. We could have won it even, but, as Memphis said post-match: we could have lost the game too.

It was a good effort all in all and Ronald Koeman was quite happy with the two matches. He felt there clearly was a good foundation to build up on.

And don’t forget: we played Germany and Belgium! Two powerhouses of international football. One win at home, one draw away. Not bad. And as Donny van de Beek said after the match: “Playing compact and disciplined, isn’t that how France won the World Cup?”

The axis of the team seems to be quite clear and quite solid too. Cillesen as not real competition, Van Dijk and De Ligt seem to be certainties too, with Frenkie de Jong as deep lying midfielder and Wijnaldum centrally high up the pitch. Memphis as the false #9 again played a very good game and is the danger man up front, this time with an assist.

Dries Mertens and Toby Alderweireld, both with a Dutch Eredivisie background of course, were full of praise about the Dutch. They were quite certain Holland would soon be amongst the European football royalty again.

Speaking about royalty. Mathijs de Ligt has played vs Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku and C Ronaldo, three absolute top goal scorers, and none of them found the net against the Ajax man. Another calling card dropped last night by the 19 year old Ajax captain!

He is the first Oranje player under 20 years old to play 10 caps in a row for his country, since 1933!

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