Tag: Frenkie

by Jan

Sluggish Oranje win over African champs

After the WC draw, people felt this was going to be easy. Even last week, some football pundits felt Senegal would be a walk-over. A bit arrogant maybe? I don’t think the players and coaches felt the same.

Senegal – even sans Mane – is a strong nation. This is the champion of Africa. This is not Equador or Greece or Finland. This is a team full of top players, who make their living in England, France or Italy.

Add to that the stress of playing your first World Cup match and it’s not without reason that Oranje didn’t play amazingly well. I even think it is better to grow into the tournament, then it is to start phenomenally well. I remember 2008 and 2006, two times we were in the Group of Death, only to be eliminated in the first knock-out stages.

There are many aspects we can complain about. Is Janssen the ideal replacement for Memphis, over – say – Danjuma? Is the choice for De Ligt over Timber the right one? Should Berghuis play next to Frenkie or Koopmeiners?

I think we’ll see changes in the course of the tournament, but for now I think Van Gaal’s choices are reasonable.

De Ligt was put in the team to counter the height threat of Senegal. They do have quite a number of strong, tall headers of the ball. This is why De Ligt was in the team and on that aspect, he delivered.

But he was quite weak in other situations. Too physical and weak in build up too. He seems to think that defending means wrestling, while Nathan Ake demonstrated that you can defend in a different way. Patient, on your feet, focus on the ball and keep it simple. Ake was one of the best last night, I believe. I expect Timber back in the team soon.

De Ligt plays more on the left side of the centre for Bayern and was pushed in a right back role vs Senegal in Van Gaal’s set up. Not a role he really is comfortable in.

Noppert is another surprise starter of course and we can only guess why Van Gaal and Hoek selected him as the #1 goalie. It seemed very risky, but Noppert did well. He stopped a couple of shots you expect him to stop and had one great save, low in the corner in the 85th minute. His build up play with his feet was risky in the first half, giving the ball away eventually, but his long kick in the 98th minute did allow three subs to combine for the 2-0. Headed on by Koopmeiners, run and shot by Memphis and typically, Klaassen who made the run to help out and pick up the pieces for 2-0.

Would any other midfielder have made that run? Taylor? Berghuis? Koopmeiners? I wonder.

Overall, no one stood out. Frenkie played a good first half, but was wasteful in the second half, trying to keep on playing like he does at Barca, but Senegal had a good tactical solution constantly closing the space with two players whenever Frenkie started to make a run.

Frenkie would be instrumental in the 1-0 of course, with a very “sensitive” cross with his right, offering Gakpo a goal. Normally, it’s Gakpo crossing the ball like this to Luuk de Jong, at PSV.

But Frenkie, despite his loss of possession, intended to play like he normally does. This can not be said of Bergwijn and Van Dijk, particularly. Bergwijn seems to be out of form and Van Dijk’s long passing and build up play was meagre, to say the least. He can be of more importance.

Janssen was not overly great but had some great touches. He was the one to flick Gakpo into the box in the first half, allowing a square pass which Bergwijn could have finished if the pass was better.

There was some more of these Janssen lay-offs, one that allowed Berghuis a shot on goal, which sailed over the bar.

Berghuis played a more controlling role and did well off the ball. He did have some good moves and passes, one was a potential assist on Frenkie, who for some reason didn’t want to finish on goal, but wanted to chop the ball to his right foot. Wasteful. But we do want more from Berghuis.

Daley Blind played ok. No big issues to report. He played with discipline and helped out in attack and he had a role to play in the 1-0, keeping the field wide and offering a option to Memphis and Frenkie, before he assisted the first goal.

Denzel Dumfries too played his usual game. Marauding runs, tough in the duels but his delivery again was left wanting. He had too many crossing options that ended up as waste, at one time hitting the defender in front of him. He will always be good value in the team, but his pure football skills are limited and I think Frimpong might eclipse him in the years to come.

Virgil was solid in defence, but as mentioned: I want him to be more regal in the build up. I see Virgil, I see Beckenbauer, but only in charisma. Not yet in his playing style. I want to see him up the level a bit.

Gakpo was important for the team and has some excellent moves, but there were too many stages in the game where he was invisible. He needs to be more dominant in the #10 role. That is the difference with his role at PSV from the wing. As a #10 you need to demand the ball and find the spots and spaces. The fact he only had 7 passes in the first half tells you the story. Great goal for him of course, but needs to up his game. When Memphis came on, Gakpo played from the right and made a crucial run into the box, when he noticed Dumfries and Klaassen were the focus of the defenders and he was the free man.

Because Senegal used two defending mids, Gakpo couldn’t be found in the centre of the park so he decided to look for space on the wings.

The main story should also be the subs. Koopmeiners made a statement when he came on and might well start the next game. He showed his work rate, his smarts, his leadership and had the pre-assist for the 2-0. When Memphis came on you couldn’t tell he hadn’t played for 2,5 months. He was a threat, he was confident in his touches, he was clearly enjoying being on a football pitch again and had an assist and a pre-assist this game. Klaassen, well, what can you say. The least popular Oranje player maybe, and probably also the least skilled player, but his nose for the position is just amazing. He is always right there where the ball drops.

A word on Senegal, they do seem to be a hard to beat side, with threats going forward. I can see them finish second in the group and potentially make life hard for other higher ranked nations.

Their coach Aliou Cisse, changed his tactics dramatically to counter the Dutch threat. Where he usually defends in a 4-4-2 (two blocks of 4) he now used Gueye as a higher playing holding mid. Why you say? Frenkie is the answer. They decided to block the centre axis of the pitch and not use their full backs too high up. So this opened up the space for Daley and Denzel to be utilised but we didn’t manage to get these two going. The Timber speciality, dribbling into midfield to lure a midfielder or forward to bite, didn’t happen because…. Timber didn’t play. Van Dijk and De Ligt didn’t do this well enough.

In the second half, Van Gaal uses Berghuis higher up the pitch, next to Gakpo and the result is two teams who cancel each other out.

One of the key players without the ball in this situation was Vincent Janssen who managed to break up the passing line to Diallo, who usually is important in Senegal’s build up, but in this match more than half of his passes ended up with an orange jersey. This is the result of the work of Janssen. I’m sure people here will criticise the Antwerp striker but he served his purpose.

For a first WC match, we should be happy. We got the point. We didn’t give a lot away. We suffered no big injuries, so the mood will be good in the Oranje camp. Qatar and Equador should not give us much trouble and if LVG is capable to get this team to play better, we will prove to be that Dark Horse we love to be.

Marten de Roon scored as well, by the way. After the game.

 

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by Jan

Oranje ready for the first match

We will keep on doing more “The Road to” posts in the coming weeks, unless Oranje and the other nations are really impressing up the gazoo, but if not and I have time and space, I will keep on making profiles for the Dutchies.

The team has arrived in Qatar and LVG has given his first presser, the key thing that stuck out: a confrontation with Telegraaf journalist who had one more question on Cillesen. Louis the Sun King was not impressed and had another dummy spit. And the next thing was Louis raving about the amazing infrastructure and fascilities in Qatar. Oh, the irony…

Yesterday, the team was considered “settled in” and they had a public training session with the token workers and labourers, as a bit of a “thank you” for the sacrifices (…). Where the US, England and the Canada teams all did this too, but behind closed doors, Oranje had their joint training session with the media present.

I think it’s great that the players do this, but I think the real solutions need to come from higher up of course.

Frenkie was seen chatting with one of the workers, using gestures and sign language it seems… After the conversation, the media asked Frenkie what this was about. Frenkie: “I actually asked him about his living conditions here, and how he was doing but he didn’t want to talk about it. He only wanted to talk football. He told me that he thought I needed to go to Liverpool….”.

KNVB’s Gijs de Jong: “This is not just a token gift. We have been speaking to the differend delegations of labourers here and this is what they wanted. They had to wishes: pick a hotel that treats its workers well and keep on talking about this topic in the media during the tournament.”

Van Gaal was open to have his players mingle with the labourers present but then went into Dictator Louis mode during the trining. He played 11 v 11 with the B-team copying the way Senegal is supposed to be playing. This was all behind closed door as he would have selected his starting eleven for the Senegal game. Later they played some kicking and passing practices and the Dictator was really cracking the whip.

In the 8 v 8 practices later, it’s again full speed. Memphis is playing the full session and at full throttle. Another interesting point: Noppert is the goalie behind the assumed back three of Ake, Van Dijk and Timber.

Skipper Van Dijk explains: “The KNVB gets requests from the Qatar delegations to do this or that. They then bring it to the players committee. As a skipper, I am in that. We accept the proposition and then bring it to the squad. We have decided that if 1 player is not comfortable doing it, none of us will do it. For now, we all support what we have set out to do.”

So, we saw the team wear a Football Supports Change shirt at the start of World Cup qualfiers, and the One Love captains band for Van Dijk during the World Cup. The KNVB is also pushing for a compensation fund to be set up by the FIFA. Some people think it’s all not enough, although the Dutch seem to do more than most other nations. The KNVB has set up auctions of jerseys for which the revenue is used to assist migrants with legal aid and social activities. The Dutch labour union FNV is also involved with support internationally.

The KNVB has never hidden their disgust of the Qatar choice for this World Cup. In 2010, we didn’t vote for Qatar and when they got it, KNVB director Van Oostveen said: “It is crap, it was crap and it will always be crap.” Not sure if this was about the FIFA decision or his own role in sacking Hiddink, then Blind, then appointing Van Breukelen who then pissed off Henk ten Cate only to bring Advocaat back into the role…

Louis van Gaal has called the decision to give Qatar the World Cup: ridiculous.

And thus, Oranje played a nice match versus the labourers. There is laughter and taunting. Slidings and tackles are forbidden. Trickery is not. The whole show ends with penalty kicks, which does give the thing a different perspective. The penalty kick debate may have cost Flekken and Cillesen and it’s quite funny to see the Qatar migrants score one penalty after another against the three Oranje goalies.

All nice, fun and games.

Time to focus on the first match!

It’s close now. What to expect from Senegal without Mane?

Coming Monday we play Senegal. They will most likely play with Sarr, Dia and Diatta upfront. Gueye and Kouyate in the midfield and Koulibaly and Diallo centrally at the back, with Mendy on goal. I am telling you: this is not going to be an easy match. Not at all!

The Senegal coach usually plays a 4-3-3.

But in their build up, Senegal will have the centre backs positioning wide, with a midfielder dropping in between while their full backs will move up the pitch. Not unlike Ajax plays. Usually, it’s Mane who drops into midfield a bit to make the numbers work, but with Mane out it remains to be seen if the replacement of Mane will play the same way. In any case, Van Gaal will want his backs to push up high and to take on their full backs, while the rest of the team will pivot towards that side. For instance, if Dumfries needs to put pressure on their left back, Timber will move into Dumfries’ position and all players will squeeze to the right, with Daley Blind ending up on the left centre back position.

When Oranje builds up, Senegal will most likely move into a 4-4-2 shape, to block the spaces. Mane and one of his partners will pressure our defense and the two midfielders will probably press onto the two Dutch holding mids. This will give great opportunities for our #10 (Gakpo or Berghuis) who can use the space behind their midfield to create something.

It could also be that the defensive shape of Senegal changes, due to Mane out. You could also expect a 4-3-2-1, If that happens, there will be chances for Timber or Ake, the free players, to dribble into midfield, to bait one of the Senegal players to bite, allowing Gakpo or Bergwijn to get into space.

My prediction for this match.

I think we’ll have a tough one. This is a good opponent, the conditions are not great and we’ll have the usual tournament stress I can imagine.

I am not sure who will play next to Frenkie. Koopmeiners seems to be the safe bet. He’s a bit in between Berghuis and De Roon.

I believe we will draw 2-2. I hope Janssen will get a World Cup goal and I believe Gakpo or Bergwijn will find the net as well. We’ll need to win our last two matches, which should be doable.

 

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by Jan

The Road to Qatar: Frenkie speaks

Frenkie is a player who has been hailed as the grandmaster of current Dutch football and graced our pages here often. We discuss Van Gaal here and tactical systems and Memphis’ injury and all this, but we only have a chance to win something in Qatar when Frenkie can play his best version of himself.

There is a painting in Zeist, which is called The Dutch Masters. Johan Cruyff is the beaming centre of the painting. Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten but also Xavi Simons and Vera Pauw are on the canvass. Louis van Gaal is there as well.

It’s unclear if Frenkie is on it, I haven’t seen it, but he is currently the only Dutch Master in the squad (sorry Memphis, Virgil). Louis van Gaal: “Frenkie is always important. If the opponent wants to pressure us, he is the man who can play out of it. He is strong on the ball, can turn both ways easily but he can also give the final through pass or score a goal.”

Beautiful words

Frenkie: “Yes, it’s always nice to hear nice things from the coach.”

Did you have to get used to this national team manager?

“Not really. He has such a reputation and he does have a different approach and way of working. I have never worked with someone like that, and you sort of prepare for this. But it’s really good to work with him. He is very direct and I like that. You get clarity and you will hear it when you don’t do well but also if you do do it well. As a group, we can deal with this. We won’t be losing sleep because of his approach because we know why he does it. He is merely helping us win matches.”

Van Gaal said: we can win this World Cup. Agree?

“Of course, we can win it. We have a pretty good team. We might not be the favorite, but we don’t need to be the favorite. I never look at who the media push as the frontrunner. I agree with the coach, we can win it, but other nations can win it too. Our strength is the team spirit combined with good players. We are not France though. A big nation, with a bigger pond to fish in.”

Who wins it: the best team or the best players?

“The team. 100%. But that is always the case, in any competition. If you would plan a match between the best team and a team with the best players, the best team would win. And in a tournament, it’s about working as a team and do what you can, literally everything. That is the foundation of it all. When you can do this, the qualities of the individual players can make the difference. The team is a the foundation and we have this very solidly.”

So this Oranje is a good team?

“We’ll need to see. The vibe is top. We are willing to work our asses off. All ingredients are there. The coach has brought a structure and that helps us enormously. We play with a fixed core of 14 players or so and that brings automatisms and patterns.”

Is this system a good system for you?

“Oh yes. I can play in any system. I don’t even think in these terms. Whether it is 5-3-2 or 4-3-3 or 3-4-3… it’s all about a couple of meters left or right or back. The most important thing is that the positioning on the pitch is correct. When that is the case, any good player can play in it. The way we do it now suits me fine.”

Where were you when Robin van Persie headed the ball over Casillas in 2014?

“I was watching tv with my orange jersey on hahaha. I was 17 and playing for Willem II. I liked that tournament, but I loved the 2010 tournament. I was 13 and you do process it way more intense. I remember everything from that tournament. But I have always been an Oranje fan and when you can play a World Cup yourself it is the best, the highest, the most important… The Euros was different due to the Covid restrictions. We didn’t play for full stadiums and the matches were played in different countries. There was atmosphere and all that, but not really, you know? Now, it will be different, a World Cup is huge. Now we play Senegal and Equador. I never played these nations. I have played against Germany four times now, but might be playing Brazil or Argentina for the first time. I look forward to that.”

How do you view this World Cup in the winter?

“It’s different, isn’t it? With one 1 week prep. We had 4 weeks for the Euros. But, all nations are suffering from this. But we’re basically in WC preparation since Norway away, really. By now , it’s quite clear what is required and how we want to play and solve problems.”

Virgil van Dijk wasn’t there, at the Euros. What is the difference when Virgil plays?

“I was devastated when Virgil got injured. He is one of the best defenders in the world, if not The Best. He has so many qualities, but he’s also a leader. On the pitch, off the pitch. He has charisma and you can tell that opponents and even referees are impressed with him. And when we play, the way he organises, keeps everyone awake and alert and coaches, that also makes an impact. On us, but also on the opponent. When I look behind me and I see Van Dijk, that gives me a safe feeling. Certainty, or an insurance kindathing. I am happy for him that he can play this World Cup but also very happy for myself, hahaha.”

You are close with Memphis. Is he going to be ready?

“I think so. Or think… I know so. He has been working so hard the last weeks and I know him well, he is a true professional. No one can criticise him on his mentality and work rate. He trains when he has to and does even more than that. Memphis was born ready.”

We all know you are top player, but you also seem to have top mentality. I think you had this as a youngster already, but this last transfer summer in Spain you kept a really cool head…

“That is basically how I am. I simply won’t get nervous easily. It’s all between the ears. My family and my agent Ali Dursun supported me well, in what I want: stay at Barca. No discussion. And I stuck to my path. The world outside of the club can say whatever they want or have any opinion. It’s nothing to do with me. I knew what I wanted, and that is all that mattered. I think you will be doubting stuff, if you are not quiet in your head. And in all honesty, I used all that stuff to get motivated. That is how I dealt with it. I believe in myself and the rest is just noise.”

 

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by Jan

On the road to Qatar: Noa Lang

LVG has made his final decisions. Lots to discuss. I will give my insights here, and will continue with the Road to Qatar series discussing a suprise – for some – inclusion: Club Brugge’s Noa Lang.

But first the 26 squad.

The shock was the omission of Cillesen. Something that would have made the goalie furious and I get why. The argument that Cillesen is not in form is BS. He is as much in form as Pasveer, who had some howlers in the past months. Cillesen is playing really well for NEC Nijmegen, so this was a white lie.

Later in the presser, Van Gaal let slip in between the lines, that Cillesen is poison in the squad when he doesn’t play. I think this is the real reason. Wesley Sneijder opened up about Cillesen’s behaviour at the WC2014: “When Van Gaal subbed him for Krul he got really mad. We all remember the kick against the water bottle, when he walked off. But it went further. He didn’t congratulate Krul afterwards and kept away from the team celebrations. He called his parents and his management and they went back to Van Gaal. I remember the coaches were about to send him home, but decided against it due to the media spectacle that would become. He is not supportive towards his colleagues. When he is #2, he will undermine the #1 goalie. I can understand why he is not part of the squad.”

Ok, so can I. But if this is the case, why wait so long with letting him know? That was unnecessary. When you have good options in Bijlow, Pasveer, Flekken and Noppert, why not let Cillesen know weeks ago that he won’t be in the plane? Strange.

Then for some (me too), the exclusion of Danjuma seems odd. He is fast, explosive, strong in the duels, he makes runs in behind and he has ice in his veins. When you need good penalty kickers, he’s one of your men. But Van Gaal opted for an extra midfielder in Taylor. I would have taken Danjuma as replacement for Memphis who simply is not fit and could well be a huge gamble. It’s a muscle injury. Muscle injuries can look like their gone, and then suddenly return with a vengeance.

Janssen is not a replacement like-for-like for Memphis.

The reasoning to leave Danjuma out: he was not part of Oranje when Van Gaal made his big shift from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2. He said it then: players who were part of that experience – which LVG sees as crucial – have an extra plus behind their names. Danjuma was not there due to injury and will have missed the tactical instructions.

Whereas Noa Lang was part of that squad. Even better, Club Brugge plays in that exact same way! And even betterer: Noa Lang excels at Brugge as a sub, which is exactly what LVG has in mind for Lang. A game changer off the bench.

Janssen v Brobbey is another debate. The Ajax man is more explosive and quicker and a better header of the ball. But… he wasn’t part of Van Gaal’s “masterclasses” and Janssen was. It’s also a known fact that Janssen is a popular lad amongst the players and the coaches: articulate, intelligent and loyal. Brobbey can be a wild card in this respect.

For me, there are not any more surprises. I would have loved to see Clasie but not sure who I would have sacrificed.

Lets look at Noa Lang. The rebel forward who started his career at Feyenoord, made the move to his fave club Ajax, and from there got himself a transfer – sort of forced – to Club Brugge.

Last season, he established himself as a force to be reckoned with, both in Oranje and in Club (remember the PSG games in the Champions League), and he gambled on a transfer. He felt AC Milan would be a nice next step on his way to Real Madrid.

But the transfer didn’t happen and he got injured in the summer, which cost him his spot in the starting line up. Despite being fit only for a month, he made it in the WC squad.

It may be a surprise for many, but not for me.

His Dribbles

We used to have many players in the past who could take on opponents and dribble their way to success, from Rensenbrink, Cruyff and Van Basten all the way to Robben and Elia. Today, we have a couple of fast paced, direct forwards (Malen, Danjuma, Bergwijn) and a couple of target men (Luuk, Weghorst, Janssen, Brobbey) but we desperately need a guy who can take on an opponent to create a man more situation. We have Gakpo, Memphis and, yes… Lang who can do this. Of all the Oranje potentials for attack, Noa is the number 2 on the list of successful dribbles, just behind Gakpo, and in front of Depay. Bergwijn, Brobbey and Luuk de Jong are quite a way behind.

Van Gaal: “Noa has always delivered in my teams. He is a creative player who doesn’t need a lot of time or opportunities to break open a defence. And at Brugge he now demonstrates he can do it as a sub too, which is exactly what I have in mind for him. He will be my impact player off the bench.” As mentioned before, Lang also is accustomed to the 3-5-2 LVG is planning to use at the World Cup. Definitely a plus.

Running in Behind

It seems LVG sees the trio of Gakpo/Memphis/Bergwijn as his preferred attacking three. With subs like Luuk de Jong and Wout Weghorst and Vincent Janssen, Oranje has different types of strikers, but still need a player with speed and depth, with the ability to run in behind. Malen is considered not good enough at the moment, so it was between Danjuma and Lang. LVG chose Lang.

Lang has explosiveness also without the ball. Most of his goals come from his runs in behind, from the left flank. When Oranje is pushed back against strong opponents, Lang can definitely be a strong weapon.

Multi-functional

LVG loves multifunctional players. The likes of Blind, Klaassen and Berghuis fall in that category. When Lang was used in his debut v Latvia, Van Gaal put him on the right wing position. He was clear in his pre-match announcements: “I want to see how Noa plays from the right”. Within 5 minutes, the extraverted rebel pushed Gakpo to the right and went to play on his fave left position. Van Gaal was gobsmacked! “Isn’t that incredible? I had to correct that immediately. That was not my plan!”. LVG could laugh about it though, and have him another chance later. Against Wales, LVG changed his system from 3-4-2-1 to 3-4-1-2 and Lang’s introduction was key to that. As Van Gaal has three traditional central strikers in De Jong, Weghorst and Janssen, Lang offers the veteran coach something different, with the various positions Lang can play in. Even a return to 4-3-3 is an option with Lang in the squad.

“Plus”

Van Gaal likes to use the “plus” and “minus” labels when explaining his selection process. He wants the following aspects: form, rhythm, personality and tactical knowledge of the LVG Philosophy (huh?). It seems form, rhythm and personality are quite on par between Lang and Danjuma, but the Brugge forward has an extra plus as he was part of the squad that worked on the 3-5-2 model ( 3-4-1-2) LVG prefers these days.

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by Jan

Jan’s World Cup Squad

Well folks, I promised you my World Cup Squad. I will try to get into the head of LVG but my personal preferences will shine through.

Yes, Blind was hooked by Schreuder for two matches now (apparently they had a bit of a fight) but Blind will obviously be part of the squad. There is no way in hell LVG will drop him. There will be very limited new blood in the squad, knowing Louis, as he won’t want to many new faces to “educate” about the Van Gaal method. So don’t get yourself all worked up. No Bakker, no Struijk, No Botman. He will probably add Xavi Simons for good reasons, but Van Gaal is a hard head and he could even completely ignore what we all want.

Below is the scene from Ajax – PSV that stuck with me most. Not the goals, not the silly hand bag battles, or moves by Kudus. Not the shot on target from Berghuis or the workrate of Xavi Simons. This:

As for the comments on Ajax – PSV. I think the match was pretty even between the boxes. Ajax had the better of the ball there. But when it started to become serious – in the boxes – it was PSV that was sharper and more willing to battle. For both PSV goals, Ajax simply didn’t want to defend. As if they didn’t want to get their shorts muddy. Before the 1-0, Bergwijn is worked to the ground and he stays there, as a spoiled child, watching the ref. Kudus and Brobbey decided to jog a little bit. As a result, the right hand side of Ajax was overrun and the right back couldn’t or didn’t want to pressure Gakpo too much: result? A pin point cross to Luuk de Jong: 0-1. For the second goal, it was a corner by PSV (or a free kick, not sure) and the ball was cleared half, Ajax started to push up, while Tadic lost possession on the edge of the box to Veerman. 5 (!) Ajax players stood still and watched. De Jong went into a duel for the ball, these Ajax players still stood there, watching. As a result, Guti was completely free to pick up the ball and score.

Simply lack of work ethics. Nothing to do with tactics or experience or quality. Everything to do with willingness to fight for every ball.

This is so pathetic… I’m ashamed to be Dutch…

Ok, now my 26 for the World Cup. Some comments: usually a coach picks two players per position. When you play 5-3-2, however, you would pick 10 defenders instead of 8 (in a 4-3-3) so that won’t work. You don’t even need 8 defenders usually, as historical data show that you usually only sub a defender if he’s injured or has a yellow. To change the game, you usually bring a forward, not a defender.

You will find my group of 26 in this image below.

I have to be frank, I thought I’d have a surprise for you, but I don’t. I was thinking to put Clasie in. Why? Because Clasie has 1) experience, 2) is a Van Gaal favorite and 3) brings the passing quality we might need if a player like Frenkie and/or Koopmeiners is out. Clasie is a good organiser, a very decent dueller for the ball and a cool head. Good set piece taker as well.

But right before posting this, I realised that it’s probably overkill. With Koopmeiners, Frenkie and Berghuis we should have enough players who can play in that role. You can even add Blind to that if need be while Ake or Timber could even play in that position.

I realised that there is no alternative if Luuk gets injured or suspended. Yes, you can send De Ligt up top or De Vrij but I decided to pick Weghorst as the joker’s joker behind Luuk.

Simons has to come, and I added Klaassen as well (positioned as LCB but that is only to make the picture symmetric I guess. Klaassen is the only real box to box player and with his goal scoring instinct I felt it was good to bring him along. Klaassen is also a player who will not complain if LVG makes him polish all the boots.

This my preferred start up eleven, based on the fitness of the players today:

Ok, let the insults, criticism and sarcasm begin!!

You know where to put your comments… ( pun intended).

 

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by Jan

On the Road to Qatar: Steven Berghuis

Whether he going the long way from the amateurs to the pros or whether its through a headline grabbing transfer from Feyenoord to Ajax, Steven Berghuis will always go his own way, dreaming of a pro career and dreaming to reach Oranje, like his dad Frank “Pico” (ex PSV, ex-Galatasaray) did.

He made his debut in pro football in 2011, for FC Twente in a game versus Heracles. It’s no surprise that Steven got into the National Team, as that whole team consisted or would consist of internationals. A couple of names: Mihaylov (46 caps for Bulgaria), Rosales (91 caps for Venezuela), Onyewu (69 for the USA), Landzaat (39 caps), Luuk de Jong (38 caps), Nacer Chadli (66 for Belgium) and Marc Janko (70 for Austria) to name a few.

Ironically, defender Douglas didn’t get any. But he was the one Louis van Gaal pushed to get a Dutch passport and after a prolonged visa process, he did get two call ups for qualification matches with Oranje but never played a single minute for the Dutch NT.

Berghuis’ debut in Oranje

12 years later, it’s the longhaired youngster with the shiny boots who would become the most prolific international for Oranje from this particular squad. He made his debut in 2011 but there is only 4 seconds of footage of him, in which he is recognisable due to his typical little spring in his step. Assistant coach Alfred Schreuder (!) told him to go out and enjoy himself but he might not even had touched the ball, against Heracles with a young Remko Pasveer on goal.

A couple of years before his debut, he has had a sniff of pro football when WSV from his home city Apeldoorn selected him as 15 year old to play with the first team against Feyenoord in a friendly. The amateurs lost 4-1 but Berghuis gets his goal and celebrates it as if he just won the Champions League. When he made it to skipper at Feyenoord, many years later, he posted a photo from that match, standing in between Gini Wijnaldum and Slory, with goalie Henk Timmer on the right.

15 year old Berghuis against Wijnaldum

His dream to become a pro player like his dad Frank seems shattered when the Vitesse/AGOVV academy decides to cancel his spot there. He tells his coaches that he will find another way to become a pro player and goes back to his amateur club, where he would play for 2 years, until several pro clubs come knocking. He gets into the Twente first team squad via the Go Ahead Eagles academy and the rest is history. He doesn’t get much chances at Twente, where Co Adriaanse feels he is too feeble and vulnerable for the top. He makes a move on loan to VVV Venlo where he shines and gets picked up by AZ Alkmaar scouts.

Watford recognises his talent and pays good money to lure him and dad Frank (as scout) to Watford, after having impressed at AZ. He doesn’t fit in the system of Quique Sanchez Flores though, and only gets a couple of sub turns, before he is relegated to the B team, from October to April. Late in the season he gets two games and partly due to two Berghuis assists is Watford able to stay up. Flores praises Berghuis’ tenacity but the technician feels English football is probably not for him. When Feyenoord decides to get him in, on loan first, he grabs the opportunity with both hands and becomes a regular at De Kuip.

Danny Blind also recognises his talent and selects him for Oranje. Berghuis would finally eclipse dad Frank, who played 1 cap for Oranje, and gets his hare against Ireland in a friendly.

At Feyenoord, he is important in his first season, when Feyenoord wins the title. Striker Jorgensen and Dirk Kuyt are the key men but Berghuis still gets seven goals and five assists. He will grow out to Feyenoord’s main man and skipper in the seasons after. In four seasons, he will become the most valuable player with a role in 106 goals in 119 matches.

In a 2020 interview, he is asked about his stats in relation to his role as winger: “I don’t see myself as a winger. I don’t have that speed or particular dribble like Robben had. I am more a 10 playing wide. Something you see more often. Ziyech plays like that, Mahrez, Tadic. I could also play as a real 10 I think. But in modern football, a lot of the 10s are now more box to box players, with lots of movement, like Guus Til or Davy Klaassen.”

Steven and Frank Berghuis

Interestingly enough, at Ajax, Berghuis is used a lot as midfielder, and actually, a midfielder who can play at any position. Under Ten Hag he plays mostly as a 10 but under Schreuder and recently in Oranje as well, he is used as an 8 or even a 6.

This means he gets involved sooner, and has more impact on the game. His stats demonstrate this. This season, he had 91 touches in a match and 68 passes! That is the highest he had ever since returning to the Eredivisie.

In Oranje, Van Gaal used him as controlling mid and in that role he had 4 key interceptions defensively and three shots on goal and a wonderful assist.

In the National Team, he can play in any role in midfield and in a 4-3-3 he could also play as right winger. Wonderful for any coach to have such a versatile player, with a wand of a left foot. When he played his first U-19 match, he wondered if he could do better than dad Frank. With 39 caps now and a World Cup on the horizon, it seems like he has definitely made his dad proud.

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by Jan

How Van Gaal rejuvenated Oranje. Again.

With his 2014 experience, Van Gaal i making this Oranje “World Cup proof”. It will be tough to beat this system.

We won’t have a festive farewell game for Oranje, as per usual and the last match in Holland – the 1-0 win over Belgium – was not a festive one as such. It was tactical, shrewd and a bit like chess. Van Gaal wanted this. He prepped his team as such.

He wanted Oranje to play versus a strong side and keep a clean sheet. The focus now, was possession by the opponent, a strong one at that. Frenkie and Memphis were not there to take the team by the hand, so Louis wanted to build a fortress. Oranje succeeded and Van Gaal was realistic: “We defended well, we play less than acceptable with the ball.”

From the tactical cam up in the stadium, the hand of Van Gaal was visible. The team moved organically, as one being. They pressed where the ball was and dominated without the ball. When the spaces opened up in the second half and the opponent started to get more fatigued, Oranje pounced.

Van Gaal’s philosophy is simple: not the best players will win, but the best team will. He learned this when he missed the 2002 World Cup with experienced world class stars and won bronze in 2014 with three top talents and the rest in service.

Compared to Brazil, when Van Persie, Sneijder and Robben were the key men, our current top players are more behind the ball: Virgil van Dijk and Frenkie de Jong. Van Gaal thinks this squad is stronger but any coach would always favour their current squad over a past squad. In the 2014 campaign, our top players were surrounded by Eredivisie players (Wijnaldum, Blind, Janmaat, De Vrij, Martins Indi) whereas most of our lads now are playing at a higher level. Yes, lots of Ajax players, but Ajax has also stepped up a notch or two since 2014. According to Van Gaal, this squad show more responsibility and are self-sustainable in a way. Players like Van Dijk, Frenkie and Memphis will regulate behaviour in the dressing room, without the gaffer being there.

There is another differentiator: time. In 2014, Van Gaal had a month to prep his team, tactically, mentally and physically. For Qatar, he has 1 week. This is why he worked with the squad as he did during the last outings together. Focusing on moulding the starting line up and working on a winning mentality. Van Gaal used every minute he could. In one session, there was no more time to add another training session, so he took the lads in to the conference space and used 22 chairs to explain his vision. Another advantage: most players have similarly focused coaches at their club ( Pep, Klopp, Ten Hag, Gasperini).

Tactics is yet another aspect. In 2014, Van Gaal played a 5-3-2, with a passer in midfield and speed/guile upfront. That happened after our 4-3-3 was played off the pitch by France. Van Gaal immediately spoke to Robben about it, who supported the plan. He called Van Persie, who also saw this as a plus for himself individually. When Oranje would be able to cement the defence as a wall, we would have a fighting chance. When LVG started with his third tenure, he fell back to 4-3-3 because “it’s the easiest for the players”, but he already laid his plans for a 3-2-1-2 down. He only needed to convince his players, and he did.

Van Gaal solves a couple of issues, using this system. For starters, we have strong centre backs, so three in the backline should be enough to stop the opponent’s forwards. Secondly, we  add more bodies in midfield, using the full backs as midfielders. This creates an overload and he who controls midfield controls the game. Thirdly, we don’t have real classic wingers at the moment, so this role will be taken by the full backs. The number of assists they had (Blind and Dumfries, but also Malacia), demonstrates this point. And lastly, our free roaming forwards will have the freedom to play according to their intuition.

There are some issues too. LVG wants his players to be in position once build up starts. They work with certain meters between the players and different lines. It takes time to get in position which slows the build up down a bit. When they are in position, they need to have either a full back or a pivot in midfield to make themselves available. This tends to happen slow at times.

Also, what do we do when the opponent doesn’t press? And just sits in position – zonal – to wait for us to create something?

In that case, we need to create. Play fast, move fast and find the space for the combination or the dribble. We are very good when having to press the opponent, regain possession and pounce.

Van Gaal is not happy with the game play in possession. Against Belgium and Poland, it was sloppy. “I do think we will find this again in a short time. It has to do with the form of the day, with fitness and with the quality and resistance of the opponent. For this, we depend on the club and the way the player is built up. Against Belgium, both Koopmeiners and Frenkie were missed. But still, we had more chances than Belgium, strangely enough… that is football for you.”

Skipper Virgil van Dijk: “We didn’t play well but we did win. We were not good in possession which means we need to work harder and run more. But we did. And we responded well to their positioning changes. Try and beat this Dutch team, it is not easy.”

Van Gaal also said most players have gained their “plusses” on the score card and if all goes well – fitness- these players can organise their suitcases already. Timber, Van Dijk, Ake are players who dare to press high. With De Vrij and De Ligt, Van Gaal has tremendous stand-ins.

Van Gaal trusts the power and run of Dumfries on the right and the vision, timing and footballing skills of Daley Blind on the left, with Malacia as a super stand in.

Frenkie is beyond reproach in midfield, while Bergwijn and Memphis are shoe ins as well. Gakpo is also clearly in the LVG good books.

So the remaining questions are: who partners De Jong in midfield? Berghuis, De Roon, Koopmeiners, Taylor and De Roon are options, depending on the quality of the opponent. Gravenberch can dream, as can Simons. The goalies are also not 100% certain. It seems LVG will bring four, so Noppert, Bijlow or Flekken will have to sit on the sofa at home, as Pasveer and Cillesen seem to be the logical choices for now.

Then there is the target man: Brobbey or Janssen? And the pinch hitter: Luuk de Jong or Wout Weghorst? Van Gaal: “And there is always the potential of a talent suddenly manifesting itself. Look at Taylor. if they’re good, I’ll pick them.”

It seems Frimpong can still dream. More on him in the next post!

Lastly, there are some former internationals who had to abandon the orange jersey due to injuries, such as Karsdorp, Danjuma, Malen and Lang. One or two of these could make the cut if they perform really well in the coming 7 weeks.

Is Oranje now a title fave? No, more of a dark horse. But when the stars align (form, draw, off-day opponent) then anything can happen…. Just like in 2014.

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by Jan

Oranje-Belgium: I hope we lose!

I noticed I didn’t have a good feeling about the Poland win… Was it because I have that innate fear, that if you are too positive, you may jinx stuff? Is it to protect myself from more disappointments? Am I starting to think like some of the vinegar pissers here ;-)?

I think there is nothing wrong with Louis’ football vision but I simply don’t like the school teacher / uncle style he shows when working with his players… His condescending style of dealing with them? Like how he praised Frenkie de Jong at the presser after Poland, how Frenkie was able to make whole sentences? Or how he explained that Virgil doesn’t always do what the manager wants? The manager knows best, but Virgil is a human being who sometimes wants to do his own thing?

Or his disgusting way of talking down to the press, while the press are basically representing us, the fans, and our questions.

I do not buy into conspiracy theories, how Danny Blind has damaging photos of Louis van Gaal and his sexploits with Frans Hoek and how Danny blackmails the coach to put Daley in the team.

But I do believe Louis is creating this bubble of confidence, telling everyone how amazing the group is, how strong Van Dijk’s leadership is, and how innovative the penalty science will be and more of those amateur psychology moves, to build a better and stronger team than we actually are.

The Poland win was nice. We had some great moves. But we should have done way better! We owned the ball, we owned the pitch and we created two wonderful moves (goals) and that is it.

Everyone was happy, we will go to the Final Four, we might get a chance at the World Cup title, there will be room for Memphis and Frenkie and more of these positive soundbites.

I believe we will be beaten by Belgium and if all goes to shite, we might lose 0-4. The southerners are hellbent on revenge. They were humiliated and want to do this to us. They’ll come to Holland with knives between their teeth.

At te same time, we lose our two most influential players (sorry Virgil) and we will go into this match thinking we’re top notch. Which we simply aren’t.

Our keeper situation is messy. Which goalie feels the support of his coach? At the presser, yesterday, Louis said he was jealous of Belgium, with their goalie Courtois. Nice one Louis!

Our full backs are mediocre. Blind: top with the ball, weak without and not getting better. Dumfries: top when launched in space, weak when having to participate in the big rondo and weak in defending.

Our midfield only consists of one sure thing: Frenkie (who will not play of course). The other midfielders are all question marks. Koopmeiners (also absent) is top at Atalanta, still need to prove himself in the orange jersey. Berghuis? Hot and cold. Klaassen? Important in moments, invisible in most of the matches. De Roon? Invisible for most, tend to stop the flow of the moves. They are all fine squad players, but none of them jumps out as players you cannot omit.

We do have quality upfront, but the quality is injured (Lang, Danjuma, Malen) or were injured. Memphis and Bergwijn are currently the only two top class forwards. Janssen would not be the striker in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany. Neither would Weghorst be. Brobbey would be the most likely candidate, but sadly, he lost his spot at Ajax. Gakpo might be a mainstay, he did well for Oranje versus Poland but I’ve also seen him disappointing in the orange jersey. Still a question mark…

It seems we’re always waiting for the next big thing. It used to be Ihattaren, now it’s Xavi Simons. He might well be our dark horse in Qatar, but I doubt it.

We don’t have a good record of following up good wins, with a good result in the following match. Now, I have not checked the stats, one of you might, but it feels to me that everytime we have a good game or a series of good games, we start to believe in ourselves a bit too much, and the next opponent needs to put us in our place.

Which means the players will go home with a defeat as their last match before the World Cup. In a way, this is the so-called “see them off” match (uitzwaai wedstrijd) and that will be a defeat. Not great to go into the World Cup with a loss behind your name.

Van Gaal will play up with his antics in the presser after the game. Probably blaming the press. Or Ronald Koeman. Or the absence of Frenkie and Memphis.

The players will play it down and blame the referee/pitch/aggressive Belgiums.

And it might be a good thing. It might be exactly what Louis and his boys need: a bit of a humiliation. A reality check.

To do well at the World Cup, it means doing well against a couple of these opponents: Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, France – just to name a few. The Poland game is by no means a benchmark for these upcoming battles.

I think we’ll lose this 0-3. There will be finger pointing and chagrin after the match. Just the ingredients needed for this Dutch team to be to have to go out of their comfort zone and really battle to come back.

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by Jan

Oranje on Pole position

If we have to believe the Polish media, Oranje could win this coming World Cup. And I agree, obviously.

Poland is a mid-tier European nation. They won’t win the World Cup but they can make it hard for any WC contender. But not last night. They played at home, they brought super striker Lewandowski, but it wasn’t enough.

Oranje controlled the game from the second minute of play (the first minute was all about Koopmeiners’ injury after a collision) and booked a steady win.

The main objective of LVG with this match was twofold: 1) win and 2) stop conceding goals and manage the game!

He would play a number of his key World Cup team players, mixed in with players he wanted to test further.

Pasveer, Koopmeiners and Gakpo are in that latter category I think.

My man of the match

And Louis was very satisfied as the team did exactly what they needed to do. Dominance on the ball, looking for the vertical passes where possible, but otherwise staying in control. We didn’t give much away, given we play away and versus Mr Lewandowski. Pasveer wasn’t tested and could only impress with his distribution.

Van Gaal let slip that he wasn’t fully convinced yet, as Pasveer did have some wayward long balls which could have been played better.

The first goal was a superb one. 21 passes, resulting in a sped up move with Berghuis and Dumfries forcing the move and Memphis with a brilliant perfect through ball as the pre-assist on Dumfries who allowed Gakpo a tap in.

Tiki Taka football in Poland

I believe we should have scored a couple more in the first half, in which we were superior. Blind got a massive chance ( “it fell to the wrong player” is what the commentator said) and Memphis had a great chance to assist a goal again but he went for personal glory. Same with Bergwijn, who had a shooting chance on the edge of the box, where he could have played in Berghuis.

Even so, a good first half, with a splendid performance by Berghuis, who came on for Koopmeiners in the second minute, De Jong and Timber. Nathan Ake was steady in possession and Dumfries was constantly threatening high up the pitch.

Still, the team was a bit sloppy in possession at times and Daley Blind again looked leggy and sloppy in some of his touches. Memphis played his usual game. At times slowing the game down, sometimes trying too much, but as always, he is in the thick of things. Cody Gakpo played on the #10 role again and did ever so well.

Berghuis strong performance

Louis van Gaal decided to sub Frenkie after the first half as he was not 100%. Same with Berghuis who came off as well, with lower back complaints. By then, Memphis had already suffered a muscle injury and might not make the Belgium game. The players all complained about the new grass pitch, which appeared a bit soft, according to the lads.

Marten de Roon came for Frenkie. A different type of player, but he managed pretty well, being involved in the second goal as well. Van Gaal wanted to see him again. Ken Taylor made his debut and impressed (as he has been doing for months already) and Vincent Janssen game on for Memphis, getting an assist for the Bergwijn 2-0.

All in all, a good match and Holland leads in this group, quite certain to reach the Nations League finals. I believe we need to lose 4-0 versus Belgium to give up that leading position.

Overall, a good result, a good performance too. Sad to see Koopmeiners and Memphis injured but both will be back soon, I’m sure.

Muscle issue for Memphis

The play with the ball was quite good at times. Oranje plays like a snake, almost. Slowly moving from side to side but when the opportunity arises, we strike lightning fast. The play without the ball was also impressive. Good pressure on the ball, all positions constantly taken but not always by the same players.

The coupling of Ake-Blind, Dumfries-Timber, Berghuis-Frenkie and Gakpo-Memphis was quite good.

I think Gakpo impressed but might still need to show more for Van Gaal to fully commit himself to the youngster. Same with Pasveer and Koopmeiners. I personally also think Malacia needs to be our left back. Take Blind along, sure, he can play in midfield, centre back and left back, so great to have him, but he is lacking the energy it seems. He looks tired.

Bergwijn with another goal

Overall, I think Timber was my man of the match. He plays with a confidence and swagger of a 28 year old with 50 caps to his name. He’s quick, he has great feet, he’s focused all the time and he can play!

Dumfries for me, is the best option as right back but he keeps on having hard feet, tends to overdo it physically in the challenges and doesn’t see the quick one-touch pass. He often slows the game down if he’s not launched into  space but simply played in, in the combination. Not sure if Rensch is much better overall and Karsdorp is probably not fit in time. Frimpong maybe?

Taylor on his debut

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by Jan

Annoyed Van Gaal’s quest for perfection

The press conference before the last get together before the World Cup was heavy with agitation. The team manager loves controversy, as we know, and enjoys playing his games with certain members of the press.

We have seen a very buoyant and generous Van Gaal at pressers, we have seen him funny even. This time, the first interviewer (the indeed very annoying Stekelenburg of the NOS) got on Louis’ bad side and the whole press conference was influenced by this. Any other pointy question was answered with “Ah, you must be a friend of Stekelenburg? You should sit together from now on” and more of those sarcastic quips.

His mood will also have to do with the work he can see in front of him. After this period, he only has 1 week in November, which he’ll need to “fine tuning”. This week is an important one for Van Gaal, the perfectionist, but the week is pretty full. We have two nations league games, we have all sorts of of PR and content related tasks for the players, among them, the intro of the new Nike jerseys. Van Gaal also added a former volley ball coach to the mix who will help Van Gaal with the selection of the penalty killer! There is this scientific method – according to Louis – to help analyse which goalie has the best chance to stop penalties.

Keepers

Most countries (England, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France) have their goalie or goalies for the World Cup. Not us. We still don’t know who is the #1. This time, the former #1 Justin Bijlow, isn’t even selected (although he will join the Oranje camp for the goalie analysis as mentioned, same as Kjell Scherpen) and with Andries Noppert a new name is added. Trusted goalies Pasveer and Cillesen are part of the club, but Flekken, Noppert and apparently Bijlow are question marks. Keepers trainer Frans Hoek will work with the goalies and will present his findings to Van Gaal, who is happy to meet the Ajax and Heerenveen goalie for the first time. But, all in all, Van Gaal doesn’t seem worried about this goal keepers conundrum.

Squad

Van Gaal has had several principles in his rich career. Players who wanted to be part of the squad needed to play and play on the position where he wants them in Oranje as well. But these principles have already been abandoned. Today, it’s about “performing”. Players need to deliver. All well and good but have players like Davy Klaasen, Devyne Rensch and Stefan de Vrij delivered, recently? And when questions like these are asked, Van Gaal gets annoyed and claims the reporters are asking mean questions…. It seems this squad might well be the World Cup squad, although Van Gaal leaves the door open for players who are currently injured and used to be part of the squad, such as Lang, Danjuma and Luuk de Jong. For new names, such as Joey Veerman, Xavi Simons or Bryan Brobbey it will be harder. Only when others get injured or lose form will new players be added and only if these new players really deliver.

Science

Van Gaal has decided to invest in scientific methods and included Peter Murphy, former Volleyball coach, to his staff for this week. Action typing is what Murphy studied and he will use his methods to determine which keeper is best equipped for the penalty killer role. Length is a factor, yes (Noppert!) but speed of reaction is as important. A tall goalie who reacts slow is still not a good goalie. They will also work on methods to “distract” the opponent when the opponent is about to take a spot kick. Okay. In 2014, it was “the eye of the maestro” which determined that Cillesen needed to make way for Krul which helped Oranje reach the semis. But Argentina took their spot kicks better and Van Gaal wants to rule out a similar scenario.

Commerce

The players will also need to spend time on what Van Gaal calls “content creation”. There will simply not be enough time for this later, so Van Gaal wants this to happen now. He doesn’t want this to interfere right before the tournament. This content creation is basically: doing the sponsor thing. Getting photos made with the new kit, or any other sponsor related action.

Football

There is even time for football! Van Gaal will talk a lot this week. He will have group sessions and individual sessions, in which he (and Danny Blind) will focus on video analysis and more instructions to perfect the tactics he wants to see on the pitch. Van Gaal was moderately happy with the way it is going, but it can be executed much better. For now, the second half versus Germany in the last friendly was the best half Van Gaal has seen and now the focus is on doing this for more than one half. The only downside: that second half was not played in Van Gaal’s fave 3-4-3 set up. Work to be done. Van Gaal did say that he will not experiment or allow players playing time. He wants to work towards his firm first team. Don’t expect much chances between now and November. On this topic, when asked if new players were to be expected, Van Gaal let slip that he doesn’t only look at player’s footballing qualities but also how the player deals with…. Van Gaal. The coach is a keen talker and has long tactical talks. In his words, “if a player starts to nod off during my talks, I know I can’t use him.” This probably happened and might well be the reason why a player like Karsdorp or in the past Seedorf were ignored by him.

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