Tag: Gakpo

by Jan

Oranje: ugly wins are also wins

We were up against an agitated opponent. We humiliated them in Belgium, they wanted revenge. They also wanted to grab their last chance to get into the Final Four. And we lost two of our key players. It didn’t look too good. I tried to find the positive in that event and posted that earlier.

I expected a loss, as you will remember, and with De Roon for Frenkie and Janssen for Memphis, we were definitely weakened.

Before the game Van Gaal wanted a different “version” of his midfield, what with Frenkie absent. De Roon and Berghuis started as the two pivots and Klaassen in the 10 role to pick up the first holding mid of the opponent. Nothing new here.

The positioning of Bergwijn and Janssen was completely new. They were told not to pressure the ball but to move wide. Against Poland, our forwards were instructed to put pressure on the ball. In this match, Van Gaal allowed the central defender to have freedom on the ball. It’s not a bad idea, as in this way the vertical pass to the two playmakers (De Bruyne and Hazard) was blocked off, but the central defender of Belgium was not Boyata, as expected, but Alderweireld. One of the best passers of the game.

When De Bruyne and Hazard started to drift and float, we were getting into trouble with Timber at times pressing all the way to the Belgian box! Ake and Timber ended up in no mans land at times and add to that the slower and limited build up smarts of De Roon and there is your recipe for a weak first half.

Belgium started on the front foot, as was to be expected. Alderweireld was their free man and his passing is quite good so Belgium did take the initiative and created more than we did. Oranje was played a sort of counter football in the turn around but once we had the ball, we seemed a bit hesitant.

The ball circulation pace was low and it seemed only Ake and Berghuis were motivated to speed the game up and create something. Dumfries was minding Castagne, who was found often, while De Roon took care of De Bruyne, who kept on drifting into different areas

Belgium could have scored 3 or more in the first half, with chances for Hazard and Witsel. The Oranje organisation was solid, but the pressure on the ball was not easy, due to Belgium’s roaming midfielders.

in a game like this, Vincent Janssen’s weakness – his lack of speed – comes to light as there was a lot of space in behind but only Bergwijn tended to try and get in there. Klaassen did make some good runs but on the ball he showed a complete lack of match rhythm. De Roon was solid, he played well and interestingly enough, he speeds the game up more than Frenkie, at times. Frenkie loves to turn and chop and turn again, and dribble. De Roon, knowing his own limitations, is more of a short passer.

Van Gaal had to replace the active Berghuis, who still suffered lower back issues. He was keen to make an impression with his work rate and vertical play, and with De Roon, Koopmeiners and Klaassen not overly convincing, the Ajax #10 will probably make the squad for the World Cup. His left foot remains a unique weapon.

Van Gaal wanted more aggression in the second half and brought Malacia for Ake. Malacia had to deal with De Bruyne who pops up on that zone a lot. Van Gaal wanted a pit bull defender there instead of Blind, who is more a tactical defender. The forward press by Malacia went really well.

Gakpo was on the pitch already for Berghuis and he demonstrated again what potential he has. The corner kick which brought us the goal was a peach, and we saw him do this with succcess versus Feyenoord as well. Consider Gakpo a shoe in for Qatar as well. Frans Hoek deserves credit too. De Vrij is then already on the pitch for Timber and he pulls away to defenders by sprinting early across the area. Klaassen positions himself in front of Courtois, who usually plucks corners for fun.

Ken Taylor was brought on to give the team some more solidity in midfield. The kid can do everything a midfielder needs to do. He’s strong on the ball, good passer, positively looking forward, making runs and creating opportunities.

Bergwijn could have scored three goals, he smashed a ball in to the side netting, after a splendid Gakpo turn and the Ajax winger should have shown a bit more composure. Blind also launched Bergwijn in the last phase of the game but he found Courtois in his way.

Pasveer and Timber impressed again. Both demonstrated a cool head in tight situations. Pasveer is calm, in control and constantly on the front foot. Had some good instinctive saves. Timber also is very relaxed under pressure. What a talent he is.

Pasveer had the save of the night on a great pass by De Bruyne and a finish by Onana. A great instinctive save. I think Pasveer can start packing his suitcase.

So much for the individual performances. As for the team game play, it was not good. it was sloppy in possession again, not being able to string too many passes together. As said, the pace was low and the decision making was wanting. Still a lot to work on.

But, if you are second best all night but win the game, that is worth a lot. In every big tournament, you will have at least one game where you’re under pressure. If you can win ugly, well…it’s still a win!

We love the win, we love the clean sheet and we love to be in the Final Four. That is all well and good. The defensive organisation Van Gaal instilled in the squad is superb. Belgium was the better side, but they didn’t create too many chances.

This means we will be a tough team to beat, even if we are not playing amazing.

To be ready for the World Cup, we need to shore things up more. I believe the midfield Berghuis – Klaassen – De Roon is not good enough. I hope Taylor or Koopmeiners or Gravenberch will step up to offer that better option next to (or instead of ) De Jong.

I also hope to see Danjuma fit and ready, as we will need more quality up front. I also hope Brobbey will be on fire for Ajax in the coming months as he will be a better, more explosive and skilful option for Janssen.

Give me your thoughts!

Bookmark and Share
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

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Oranje: how are we doing?

The month August is a terrible month for Dutch football, usually. Our teams usually struggle so early in the quakification games for European places. We also do not have the world class players who usually would be signed the earliest in the season (Raphina, Lewandowski, Haaland), which means Dutch players/clubs usually get to know their future in the final week of the transfer period. In this season, the Eredivisie will be already 4 games in.

Lets have a look at the Dutch NT players and where they are.

Goalies

The usual suspects are Cillesen, Bijlow, Pasveer, Flekken, Krul as I see them, are all doing ok, but not great. Flekken and Cillesen had some howlers already. Pasveer just got back to fitness and the coming man Bijlow also had a couple of mistakes already. But, I think we’ll find 3 goalies to come to Qatar with us.

Defence

Van Dijk is doing what he does best. Lead the defence at Anfield. Ake is getting quite some games now at City, Dumfries came of the bench to score a dramatic winner with the last touch, De Vrij is playing, Rensch is impressing, Wijndal is doing ok with Ajax, as is Blind. Malacia has yet to play a real series of matches with ill-fated Man United. Hateboer and Karsdorp are getting games in, as does Tete. Botman got his first start as well, while Pascal Struijk is a regular starter at Leeds again. Geertruida also impressed at Feyenoord.

Mathijs De Ligt is the only player yet to start from the beginning, but he’ll be fine.

Midfield

Our midfield is ready for a bit of an overhaul. Wijnaldum has to find a way to get back, while Klaassen and Van de Beek are also still waiting for ample minutes. It seems Steven Berghuis might also lose out now Schreuder seems to enjoy Tadic on the #10 position. Frenkie is not a starter at Barca (yet) but every time he comes onto the pitch, he lifts the game. It feels like – like Cruyff – the midfielder is strengthened by conflict situations. We do see some exciting new names, though and we might see a changing of the guards. Xavi Simons is impressing with everything he does. He’s a real player, great touches, speed, vision, he can score and assist and off the pitch he comes across as a fun, focused and humble professional. I hope LVG takes him to the World Cup. Quinten Timber is another player to keep tabs on.

Another name that established himself in my book is Joey Veerman. In the holding role (next to Frenkie) he can be really good. I love his side-footed finishes, which gives him a lot of control and shows the icy blood in his veins. I think he’s improving positionally as well, so time to give him the nod.

Forwards

Luuk de Jong does what Luuk de Jong does best, at PSV. Bergwijn is shining at Ajax, while Memphis works hard to be a factor again. He impressed me in the pre-season and if his deal with Juve comes off, he’ll be our leader of the line, as per usual in Qatar. Gakpo is going through a difficult spell, while Noa Lang is also not yet settled. These two are typically players who might find a new club late in the window. Malen is yet a bit invisible (for me) while Danjuma is injured (ankle). Weghorst is playing in Turkey and will find the net, but I think it might be a toss up with Brobbey who has been really good in his hold up play as a #9.

Problem cases

I think we all know by now that Ihattaren is going through a really difficult time. His connections with a gangster family is not helping and Ajax, apparently, is ready to move on. Sad. I don’t think Frenkie and Memphis are probem cases, they are too good to be stopped. Malacia though, might have some issues getting into the Man U side, as Ten Hag does well to protect the lad in this tough period.

I do believe he’s way better than Shaw and will make his mark, but is it in time for the World Cup?

My current squad of 27 would look like this:

Goalies:

Cillesen, Bijlow, Pasveer

Defenders:

Dumfries, Karsdorp, Timber, De Ligt, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake, Blind, Wijndal/Malacia

Midfielders:

Frenkie, Veerman, Simons, Koopmeiners, Berghuis, Klaassen, Gravenberch

Forwards:

Bergwijn, Memphis, Danjuma, Luuk de Jong, Brobbey, Gakpo, Malen, Lang,

Who do I miss?

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Van Nistelrooy’s PSV

PSV has been doing great business this summer. Roger Schmidt’s project wasn’t what was hoped for and as he’s turning heads in Portugal, club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy reluctantly took the reins and is making headlines with his TD John de Jong and new MD Marcel Brands.

Sangarue and Gakpo still wear the PSV colours, Luuk de Jong is back. Guus Til will bring depth and goals, while the goalie issues seems sorted now with Benitez between the sticks.

Conceding Less Goals

This was one of the missions for the summer. Joel Drommel, albeit talented, wasn’t the man for the job (yet). A tad nervous, uncertain and lacking courage with high balls. They found the ideal shot stopper in France. Argentine Walter Benitez was statistically the best goalie in France and his mission is to play CL football and get into the Argentina squad.

PSV has a list of players that left Holland at a young age, only to return to PSV to get games in their pocket and as a result an invite for Oranje. Ki-Jana Hoever wants to do what Donnyel Malen, Jeffrey Bruma and Karim Rekik did before him. The youngest ever Liverpool player in the FA Cup will focus on the right full back spot. The season’s preparation demonstrated his comfort on the ball and his smarts in the build up. His weaknesses? Typically, his defensive abilities, but Ruud van Nistelrooy was quite happy with how Hoever developed in this short time at PSV.

Youth Sensation

Xavi Simons is a brand and a youth sensation. With his blonde, curly hair he became an icon as a kid for Barca and he slowly moved to the big boys’ matches via Paris SG. He realised that he would have a hard time playing week in week out in Paris, so he decided on a loan spell to PSV. The talks between him and the club were such that he actually decided to leave PSG and sign with PSV all the way. Simons wants to get the same status in men’s football as he had in youth football. He’s got all the tricks and never loses sight of the space when in confined spaces. Xavi has superior technique and an eye for the through ball. The only question is: how well is he equipped physically, to play 90 minutes at high intensity, 2 matches per week?

Guaranteed goals

No other active Eredivisie player scored more goals in the Eredivisie than Luuk de Jong. 135 goals. And as they saw in Sevilla and Barcelona, Luuk will score when the service is right. The new PSV skipper also has a tremendous role model function in the squad as everyone who knows him praises him for his professional approach. Another guaranteed goal scorer is Feyenoord’s topscorer from last season, Guus Til. Feyenoord couldn’t make a move as they needed to sell players first. Til didn’t want to wait and signed for four years in Eindhoven, where he hopes to play CL football. The midfielder is not the gifted technician but due to his work rate, depth and tactical discipline, every coach in football loves working with him.

New names

With the signing of Jarrad Branthwaite, PSV has another defensive option. Due to injuries, Van the Man needed more and Marcel Brands lured this tall defender away from Everton, where he signed him previously. Savinho is a player the fans will enjoy more than the tall English centre back. The Brazilian super talent is part of the City Group and asked for a loan spell at PSV. The Eindhoven club still have magic in its name in Brazil, thanks to the stints of Romario, Ronaldo and Alex, among others at the club. Savinho is an Antony like left footed right winger, who will benefit from the long term ankle injury of Madueke.

Tactics

Van Nistelrooy is no Schmidt. Where the German relied on compact organisations and turn-over moments, the former Man U striker is a believer of the Dutch School: possession, pass and move, forward press and attractive and attacking football. PSV will move closer to Ajax and Feyenoord in that way. Ruud used the 4-1-4-1 system a lot at Young PSV and seems to want to play like this with his current squad as well. With the extension of Gutierez, Sangare still on board, Joey Veerman, Guus Til and Xavi Simons, Van has quite some good midfield options to go to. In the pre-season, Van Nistelrooy used Sangare as lone defensive mid and has also played with Veerman next to Sangare and Til as shadow striker. “I like to be able to vary, to keep the opponent on their toes.” In Schmidt’s system, the team would overcrowd the ball and all players would move towards the ball, in order to take possession and quickly break out. In Van’s world, he will keep the players in position as much as possible. This will diminish the risk of not being able to win the ball and having opened up the pitch. Another benefit is, that it doesn’t require the intensity Schmidt demanded. In Schmidt’s system, the wingers played as midfielders and were coming into the space or squeezing inside. In Ruud’s system, the wingers are used as final station in the build up, before the killer pass arrives in the box.

Ruud wants to see one defender more than opposing attackers, at the back. This is usually the central defensive midfielder, as the full backs are needed higher to play triangles with the midfielders and the wingers. Luuk de Jong wants service from the wings and Gakpo and Savinho or Madueke are capable to take on opponents and bring the ball into the danger area.

This season will be really interesting, between PSV and Ajax. I can see Ajax focusing more and more on the CL win, while PSV just wants that title again!

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Oranje finishes campaign on a high!

Another match played in the “old rubbish stadium” of De Kuip. The final match of these series, after two wins and one draw. Oranje had to play in Rotterdam, much to LVG’s chagrin, as the Stones were supposed to play in the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, but due to a positive Covid test, Jagger had to cancel. How Rock & Roll is that? They performed for years in a state of drugged up drunkenness but Covid positive? No rock, no roll.

Van Gaal re-iterated before the game, that yes the pitch is amazing and yes, the fans and the vibe in De Kuip are brilliant, but he has no place to put his 50 odd staff members. WHAT?

Van Gaal fielded a team with players who 1) hadn’t played much yet and 2) players he wanted to test (in partnership and by themselves).

Cillesen was back from a slight knee injury (hit his knee to the post at practice) and De Ligt got the nod to play skipper and centrally in defence. Jordan Teze got a chance on the right hand side with right back Hateboer next to him. Martins Indi was our left centre back.

More importantly, Vincent Janssen got the chance to show himself. An “exam” is how Van Gaal put it.

Sadly, no Schouten next to Frenkie, I would have liked to see that combination.

The away game versus Wales was slow and boring to watch, at times. This time around, the pace was way better and the intent was clearly there. As was Wales’, who didn’t park the bus like the Polish, but who wanted to be adventurous.

This resulted in a fun match.

Vincent Janssen needed some time to settle and his hard feet did indeed show themselves early in the game. But as the game went on, the former Feyenoord prospect did better and better, resulting the assist for the first goal, by Noa Lang. Lang is a player who will always try something. Playing “normal” is not good enough for the cheeky fan favorite. He too needed some time to settle but demonstrated his talent at numerous times. None more so with the goal. A swivel, a chop, a turn and a shot: 1-0. In that move, Jordan Teze needs to be mentioned too. His forward press resulted in turnover of possession and got the ball to Janssen for his assist.

Not much later, Vincent also won two headers in a row, getting the ball into the feet of our #10 Cody Gakpo who scored the second time of asking: 2-0. Earlier versus Wales, it seemed the orange jersey was too heavy for the PSV star but this time around he played a great game. Demanding the ball, finding spaces and basically hardly losing possession. He’d end the game with a 90% pass accuracy rate!

We expected Oranje to push through and we did get chances. Vincent Janssen was close too after stealing the ball after another good pressing moment but the shot sailed wide.

It took a series of Oranje mistakes to gift Wales their goal. Teze, playing in Timber’s place, did exactly what Van Gaal didn’t like about Timber! He dribbled into midfield, without knowing what the plan was. He didn’t see an option, he doodled a bit and lost possession against Dan James. Still, there were 5 players (!) in the rest defence and a goalie. And they all failed to help Teze out: Hateboer could have squeezed, De Ligt should have stepped in, instead of dropping back and Martins Indi made a strange diagonal run which didn’t help. Last but not least, our goalie Cillesen made a little jump up right at the moment the shot came in. As a result, he was not able to be in time with his dive sideways and block the shot: 2-1.

Cillesen and his little “hop” right when the ball is shot on goal… costing him seconds…

Van Gaal would have been pretty peeved with these series of mistakes.

For the second half, Van Gaal made some statements. De Ligt was punished for his lack of leadership with the Wales goal and was moved to the right, in place of Teze. De Vrij came in to take care of the leader role centrally in defence. Hateboer was also subbed, for him came Dumfries, who’d play a key role in Oranje’s final minutes.

Both Hateboer and Teze couldn’t impress. Hateboer is not Oranje material. No idea in possession, wild and reckless in defence, positioning is awkward. He seems out of place and he seems to know it. Teze will be Oranje material in the future, but the Oranje right hand side was so impotent, even the Oranje players in midfield and on the left seemed to hesitate to pass the ball wide to the right.

Oranje got more control, with an outstanding Frenkie de Jong in midfield and a very busy Vincent Janssen up top. We’re waiting for that third goal, really and after a bit more than an hour, Van Gaal brings fresh legs for Noa Lang and Vincent Janssen, who both leave the pitch with an ovation from the fans. Both these lads are popular amongst the fans. Despite his arrogance and obvious skills, Lang also works very hard, something the fans appreciate.

Memphis and Bergwijn, the dynamic duo, came on and Van Gaal wanted to make sure we’d win the game. Memphis in particular had something to set straight with the fans, after his penalty miss versus Poland.

But the next goal was a Welsh one. With Bale and Aaron Ramsey on the pitch, Wales went for a late thrust. The cross came in and Roberts jumped backwards to head the ball on to Bale, while Tyrell Malacia jumped a bit towards the ball. No clash of heads, but a clash of elbow and head, with the Welshman coming off worst. Not a foul, in my book. A mere collision. Stopping the play for the physios to come onto the pitch, yes, but a foul? Not for me, and thus not a penalty either.

But the ref gave it, the VAR supported it and Bale converted the penalty.

Cillesen again demonstrated he’s not the penalty killer we need. His reach is limited and when you wait that long to react, you can only stop a penalty which is through the middle or chipped Panenka style. But we won’t be too harsh on Cillesen.

It seemed Wales did it again: a late equaliser.

And surely, Oranje would never again manage to score a winner in the next seconds.

The players thought differently. They huddled together quickly, and without interference or help from the coach, they came up with a plan. First ball back to Martins Indi, four players chasing forward to the right hand corner (Gakpo, Memphis, Bergwijn and Dumfries). The Inter man is strong in the air and he headed the Martins Indi hail Mary into the box, where Memphis was right on time to slot the ball under goalie Henderson: 3-2.

De Kuip exploded!

After the game, Van Gaal was – again – proud of his team and the spirit they showed. “Never give up!”.  Van Gaal explained his subs (see above) and he confirmed that Vincent Janssen did everything he hoped for (“Except score, but he was very close and we know he can score”).

Ratings

Jasper Cillesen – 6

Did most things right. Took his time when played in by the defenders, resulting in some nervy moments. He doesn’t look very confident, but that can be deceiving of course. Didn’t do too well with the first Wales goal (the hop) and was powerless against Bale’s spot kick.

Hans Hateboer – 4

Doesn’t add much to the game. No comparison to Dumfries, really. Good club footballer but not Oranje material.

Jordan Teze – 6

Teze did well with his forward press this time and was key for the first goal. He did loose the ball clumsily which got Wales on the board, but he wasn’t the only one at fault. Subbed to make way for De Ligt.

Mathijs de Ligt – 6

Another player for whom the band might be a tad heavy. De Ligt wins most of his duels and is ruthless and strong. Good on the ball too, confident and collected. But still making some errors. LVG moved him to his preferred position in the second half.

Bruno Martins Indi – 6,5

Started weak and off the beat. Handling speed needed improving, and he did. The game went on and Martins Indi grew into his role. The elbow attack which gave him a yellow was a high risk. Could have been a red. Played a solid second half and played the long ball to Dumfries, resulting in the winner.

Tyrell Malacia – 6,5

Show much promise. Confident on the ball, Davids-like mentality, had some good defensive tackles and plays along well in possession. His final pass needs work but he will make it hard for Daley Blind, I think.

Frenkie de Jong – 7,5

Strong on the ball, always on the move, always prowling and scouting for options. Some nice interplay with Janssen, Lang, Koopmeiners and Gakpo. I think he can still do better.

Teun Koopmeiners – 6

Didn’t do much wrong but isn’t playing to his usual strengths. Plays at one pace, square passes and dwindles a bit on the ball. Quite anonymous and he should fear for his spot, when the likes of Gravenberch or Van de Beek return.

Cody Gakpo – 8

Played a smashing match. Confident, demanding the ball, finding space and mixing up his passes, from short play to long passes. Great stats, high pass accuracy and creating good opportunities. Gakpo is close to a starting role.

Noa Lang – 7

Hardworking, always “on”, always trying to create. Showing some nifty touches and highly unpredictable. The type of player you want in the squad, to bring on to the pitch when things don’t flow.

Vincent Janssen – 7

Janssen needed some time to find his feet, but was key in the two goals and was close to scoring himself. Worked hard as per usual but could have played a bit higher up the pitch, in the #9 role. He did have some good sliding tackles to regain possession. Popular amongst the fans.

Denzel Dumfries – 7

We all know his weaknesses in the pass and move game, but compensating this with his great energy, work rate and explosive runs on the flank. Always keeping two opponents busy. Was instrumental in the 3-2.

Stefan de Vrij – 7

Came in to organise and lead the defence. Did a good job in replacing De Ligt who failed for his test in the first half. De Vrij is never “remarkable” but does everything business like and solid.

Steven Bergwijn – 6.5

Demonstrated his skills and speed. Always a threat. Clearly enjoying his time with Oranje and based on his recent games, he’ll be in the team.

Memphis Depay – 7

Needed to fix the miss versus Poland and was immediately in the thick of things, trying to make a difference. Typical strikers’ goal in the dying minutes, with a sense of timing and place. Oranje’s talisman.

Van Gaal – 7,5

Solid coaching at half time, taking Hateboer and Teze off and injecting some experience and quality later in the half by subbing Lang and Janssen for Memphis and Bergwijn.

Next up, the LVG’s Oranje Squad and an analysis of Louis van Gaal The Coach…

Watch this space….

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Oranje keen to polish tactics

Louis van Gaal is leading the way in our Nations League Group but for him, it’s not about the Nations League. It’s all about prepping for the World Cup. And with difficulties, as the playing calendar means he has to shuffle the pack in order to keep players healthy.

The Oranje tactics work. For LVG. The two training sessions of the past days were defined as “fantastic” by the 70 year old. He is quite happy with the Oranje progress.

It seems the questions are being answered. Not necessarily in a positive way, but still.

De Ligt as left centre back is not something we’ll see Van Gaal do again.

I believe Hateboer and Teze will have to be concerned by competition from Rick Karsdorp and who knows, Devyne Rensch should he make that spot his at Ajax.

Koopmeiners is put on notice by Van Gaal: “I want to see the dominant Koopmeiners I know from Atalanta. He hasn’t played like that in the orange jersey yet and Van Gaal needs to see more.

When asked about the system change in the Wales match (when the 3 forwards changed positions in the 20-something minute): “That also hinges on how the opponent plays. The way we started versus Wales can work, but Wales didn’t play the way we expected them. So in that case, it made sense to switch it. We played Noa Lang on the #10 role and our game improved as a result.”

LVG now calls the system, the 3-4-3 and the wingbacks/midfielders are key in creating triangles everywhere on the pitch. And thus it’s possible that forward Bergwijn is playing deeper than wingback Malacia, who was on hand in the final seconds to cross the ball to the striker.

Van Gaal kept his cards close to his chest re: the starting line up versus Poland. It’s certain that either Ake or Blind will play on the left centre back spot. I think we’ll see Cillesen again and as Lang and Vincent Janssen will be on the stands, it seems Klaassen or Berghuis will start, as will Memphis, who will captain the team. This might indicate that De Vrij will start on the bench, and De Ligt will be the central defender, with Timber to his right.

I hope LVG gives Gakpo another go, as the youngster drowned a bit versus Wales, amidst a team of fortune-seekers. With the more settled players around him (Frenkie, Memphis), we can expect a better Gakpo. He was voted the best player of the Eredivisie last season and I’m convinced he can do better than he did last Wednesday.

Janssen made an impression at training, becoming the top scorer at practice in the 5 v 5 matches, scoring some beauties with his left and right foot. Still, Van Gaal will treat him like he did Schouten and Martins Indi. “He is part of the group, so he is with us pre-match, in the dressing room and he can experience how we do things and what he can expect. Once he has that experience, he will be part of the squad. Vincent will play versus Wales, coming Wednesday.”

Vincent Janssen, standing on the right, celebrating his goals at practice

The Polish counterpart of Van Gaal has used his top players versus Belgium and some – like Lewandowski – might be rested for the Oranje game. It seems the coach wants to use his big guns in their home game next week against Belgium.

There is quite a lot of murmur re: the players from Young Oranje and the wish of many to see players like Brobbey and Geertruida in Oranje. Geertruida has indeed made amazing progress under Arne Slot and deserves a call up. He can play central as well and he can play as a defensive midfielder even. Geertruida is definitely a better option than Hateboer.

Brobbey is a real fan favorite. He scores goals, he has an impressive physique and he’s a funny guy in interviews. But is he ready to solve our #9 issues? Is he the killer in the box? According to the experts, Brobbey is not ready yet to play the full 90 minutes at top level and simply needs to play, week in week out first.

It seems Brobbey might be a better “Oranje striker” than Vincent Janssen, but it feels right that LVG tests Janssen now and allows Brobbey to hone his skills at a lower level. Should Brobbey get playing time in the coming season and if he keeps on finding the net, he’s most likely in the WC squad.

Poland is not a bad opponent to have for Holland. We played them in the previous Nations League and beat them twice. The last time we lost against them was in 1980, some 42 years ago! Dennis Bergkamp is Holland’s top scorer versus the Polish, with 3 goals.

Memphis can make further steps up on the Oranje all-time topscorers list. One goal vs Poland and Memphis equals the tally of one Klaas Jan Huntelaar. The Van Persie record of 50 goals might be crushed by Memphis before the World Cup starts.

Brobbey, lamenting a missed chance

The Poland match is in De Kuip, in Rotterdam. Traditionally, Oranje’s bunker. Since 2007, Oranje won all their games in Rotterdam. The players love playing there because of the vibe and the perfect pitch. The only thing is: the VIPs have to use dirty old toilets….

Turkish ref Halil Meler is officiating the match. Feyenoord knows him well. He was the referee in the Slavia Prague game, where he showed eight yellow cards, of which five for the Feyenoord players.

The line up I expect:

Cillesen

Dumfries – Timber – De Ligt – Blind – Malacia

Frenkie – Berghuis

Klaassen

Bergwijn – Memphis

With sub turns for Gakpo, Schouten and Weghorst.

Oranje will win 3-0: Memphis, Klaassen and Berghuis scoring.

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

The World According to LVG

Louis van Gaal always had a good sense of “entertainment”. People in Holland have compared him with certain dictatorial leaders from the past. His booming voice, his use of his own name in the third person when speaking about himself, his condescending approach of journalists, his domineering style of dealing with players.

And now, LVG decided to have a daily Van Gaal Show press conference to entertain the masses.

It was all about his choices. And he didn’t mince words.

About Wijnaldum.

“I am a big Georginio fan. I love the guy, I love how he can play. But…. he hasn’t delivered. In the time I am coach, I have subbed him three times! And Louis van Gaal doesn’t sub players for nothing. He didn’t deliver. He also doesn’t deliver at his club. He is playing in a team where he doesn’t seem to fit. So it is up to him. Once he starts to deliver, he will find himself back in Oranje, because I know how important he can be.”

“Yes, other players played even less minutes than Wijnaldum, like Bergwijn. I know that. But, when he was called up, whether at Spurs or in Oranje, he delivered. That is the difference.”

About Martins Indi

“I was not overall happy with the way our left central defenders played, particularly in the press. We need to do better. I have limited options and when I am confronted with two or three major injuries in November, who knows, I need to be prepared. Martins Indi has grown significantly, particularly in his forward passing and his pressing. Exactly what I need. Sure, Mathijs de Ligt played there for us and Juve and he can do it. It’s not that we don’t have options in the squad. But I need to know what we have available further down the line. And for me, it is important to see Martins Indi at work, up close.”

About Vincent Janssen

“It is simple. Danny Blind has had a lot of joy from Janssen. Yes, he has limitations. He’s not the most explosive, he can have hard feet, all true. But he also does a lot of things right. He uses his body well, he can play with his back to goal and he has eye for the movement around him. Danny pointed this out, and we both watched some of his recent games and I saw it: That is what I want from a Van Gaal striker. Can he do it in Oranje again? That is what we will find out.”

About his wedding

“Yes, he had a wedding planned. It happens. Do I need to tell him to cancel it? Of course not. He is a human being. He has a right to get married and I want him to have a nice wedding night with his lovely little woman. And then he’ll fly in. Simple.”

About Edgar Davids, the new Oranje assistant

“I am thrilled to have him with us. He was unique as a player. I called him my pitbull, because he was the only one with that fierce mentality. I see this in two of my current players too, in Dumfries and in Malacia. Davids was tactically stronger, a better defender, but all my players can learn this from him.”

Leaving players out of the squad

“Yes I am coach of the National Team but I also a guardian of Dutch football. And Young Oranje is also on the verge of doing big things and it is in everyone’s interest that Young Oranje performs well. So players like Brobbey, Gravenberch, Rensch, Geertruida, Botman and Bakker need to be there for Young Oranje. I know what they can bring and their time will come. But I have to juggle all the interests of Dutch football. Clasie wasn’t left out by me. Clasie called me to say he’s been playing with a bad knee for months. After a match, he can’t drive, he can’t train. He needs to get that operation and he’ll get back in the mix once he’s playing again.”

It will be an exciting summer for some Oranje players. The window is opening and there is a lot of interest in the Dutchies.

And overview:

Steven Bergwijn was not allowed to leave Spurs during the season, to return to Ajax. The Amsterdam club has tried three times now, and will probably try again this window. Conte proclaimed he needed Bergwijn, but he never ended up using him for more than 10 mins per sub turn. Time to leave.

Jasper Cillesen is not the 100% numero uno at Valencia and PSV is keen to sign the 33 year old. Cillesen’s agent happens to be the son of the former PSV general manager Ploegsma so 1 and 1 can be 2, quite easily. But Cillesen doesn’t come cheap and Valencia will want their pound of flesh too.

Memphis Depay is 28 years old, in the peak of his career. Despite a somewhat disappointing season at Barca, his stats are still pretty good. He’s versatile, and quite unique in his style, with clubs like Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Juventus sniffing him out. Xavi has said he doesn’t want him to leave, as his versatility is a strength, but in Barcelona money talks.

Mark Flekken put his name on many lists by getting a spot in the LVG squad. Ajax is the club with the biggest goalie issue, with Pasveer (38 ) and Stekelenburg (39) as main goalies. It seems a matter of time before Flekken lands in Amsterdam.

Cody Gakpo is the hottest talent for the Dutch and every big club is keeping tabs. PSV is doing what they can to keep him one more year, like they did with Memphis and Wijnaldum. They hope Gakpo will bring them the title next season and they’ll limit his transfer fee.

Frenkie de Jong is one of the players Xavi doesn’t want to lose, but he simply might have to. He is one of the few Barca players for whom other clubs are willing to sign a big check. Ten Hag’s Manchester United is mentioned a lot. Xavi calls it “the economical aspect” in his press conferences.

Teun Koopmeiners has had a good season at Atalanta and doesn’t need to leave there. But Ajax have been a big fan of the player ever since they saw him and with Gravenberch out to Munich, Teun could be their ideal left midfielder.

Noa Lang is on his way to AC Milan, so say the Italian football experts. The former Feyenoord product is ready for a next step after Club Brugge. The price tag is firm though: 22 million euros.

The question is not: will Malacia make a big move but when. The left back is on many a scouting list but Feyenoord has not received an offer yet. It is said that Man United is also on the prowl but Ten Hag’s priorities are a striker and midfielder. Malacia’s price tag is 20 million euros.

Guus Til is officially a Spartak Moscow player but he will most likely not play in Russia next season. His financial wishes are steep though and Feyenoord is cash poor so the chance that Til will play in Germany or Spain next season are significant.

Jurrien Timber’s management team was spotted at 5 Stratton Street in London. The international HQ of Man United. Timber is one of the key signings for Ten Hag who believes he can only play his style of football with the proper centre backs in the team. Bye Maguire, Hello Timber. The transfer fee will be north of 40 million euros.

Wout Weghorst wanted to play EPL football and signed a 3,5 year deal with Burnley. After half a season, the former AZ striker will play Championship football next season, if Burnley will keep the expensive forward. He couldn’t make the difference for Burnley and new coach Kompany might not need the tall Dutchman.

Gini Wijnaldum finds himself in a tough situation. The 31 year old is on a super salary in Paris but doesn’t get playing time. Leaving the club will not be easy. For starters, PSG will want a transfer fee. And what club will offer Gini what he gets in Paris? The midfielder doesn’t want to be forced to sign elsewhere and will have to make sure his season start will be great for him to get his spot in Oranje back.

Virgil van Dijk is allowed to take an early break. Van Gaal wants the Liverpool CB to join at the start of the campaign, so he can join in the post Germany debriefing (” we didn’t press in the right way and Virgil was co responsible for this, so I want him to be there for it”) but is allowed to leave after the Belgium game and take a break from football. LVG: “Virgil has had a massive injury in 2021 and came back to play 60 matches in a row, at full intensity. I think he deserves some time off. He is the type of guy that wants to play everything, it’s not him. It’s me.”

Your views on the views of LVG?

Most of the Dutch pundits believe LVG made an error with the way he treated Gini Wijnaldum. They believe the PSG midfielder deserve more credit and they fear the backlash it might cause in the squad.

Other voices say that Wijnaldum is not a “positive force” on the bench and does not support the ones who do play (unlike De Roon for instance, who is considered positive factor even if he doesn’t play)…. Your views?

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Cup Final: Mario Götze has the keys

When you view the Dutch Cup Final in highlights mode, you may have missed Mario Götze. And still, the 29 year old German was the man leading PSV to victory.

On October 6, 2020 a restaurant owner in Eindhoven tweeted to the world that he spotted World Champion Mario Götze at the PSV Stadium. No one believed him. Why would someone like him, the German wunderkind, want to play in the Eredivisie. But new PSV coach Roger Schmidt was able to convince the match winner of the World Cup 2014 finals and the shadow striker paid the coach back with dividend in the 2022 Cup Final.

PSV scored goals in the ten minutes after the break, to pivot the match in PSV’s benefit. Götze was not overly involved. He got the free kick, which enable Erick Gutierrez to score the 1-1. He chopped Daley Blind out of position and Tadic made the foul of the German, offering the Eindhoven club an opportunity to swing the ball in.

The second goal came after a stray pass from Martinez, which was intercepted by skipper Gakpo, who drove forward and hit the ball with his strong right foot in the near corner. Stekelenburg was blind-sighted by Klaassen after Alvarez went for the tackle a bit too eagerly and Cody Gakpo was able to avoid the Mexican. Götze role? He was the one closing the pass to Gravenberch, and immediately went for pressure on Martinez. He decided to play the ball long. The rest you know: 2-1.

The new Götze at PSV is not the man scoring the goals (that is now more for Zahavi, Gakpo or Manueke). He is also not so much the assist king. Veerman, Doan, again Gakpo or Sangare do well in this domain. Götze is the pre-assist king. He dominated between the two boxes with his vision and technique. He is constantly looking for the free spaces to make sure there is an option available for his team mates and was always the extra man available for a pass. In that central “10” position, he has the freedom to go where he can be of most use. He had the most dribbles versus Ajax, he was fouled most by Ajax and had the most successful passes (31). And where he had his touches explains his role in the team, playing from left back to right winger.

On top of that: he works his butt off. He had 25 duels in the Ajax game and won 12 of them. The last PSV player with this many duels one on one, was Luuk de Jong, in 2019. Schmidt after the Ajax match: “I have to check the stats but I think Mario must have ran 25 kilometers!” When Schmidt told Götze his joke, the former Dortmund star quipped: “Correct, but that was measured after 60 minutes!”.

Thanks to Götze, Alvarez was playing with the invisibility cloak. Götze would take care of the Mexican and would then move forward to press Martinez. A typical Götze move for this match was in the 85th minute. He anticipated better than Davy Klaassen on a on a high ball and then took the ball of Berghuis with a sliding tackle. Two minutes later, he picks up a headed ball by Gravenberch and offers Vertessen a great chance, who hit the post. This playmaker was in the spot light for his ball retention. Because this game needed that.

It is not new that Mario Götze is the key man with his passing and his defensive work. In the Europe League match vs Real Sociedad, he also impressed with his work rate. He ran 4,3 kilometers at “high intensity” as it’s called, which was more than 1/3 of all his running. The highest ever in the history of PSV’s stats driven analyses. His pass accuracy is also amazing: 87,1% of all passes end up with a team mate. Only Erick Gutierrez has a higher rate but he plays the controlling mid role and will play more riskless passes. There is no other attacking mid in the Eredivisie with better stats than Götze.

Götze should not be judged on his goals and assists. He is the oil in the PSV machine. He will add to the build up of PSV but also work hard to break down anything their opponents want to conjure up.

The question now is: where will his new ceiling be? He never made a secret of his ambition to want to win the Champions League. He won’t do that with PSV, most likely. Now Schmidt is leaving, the chances are high that Super Mario will leave as well. He also expressed interest in playing another World Cup. Fair play to him. His contract at PSV goes till 2024 but odds are he will leave before that. His goals will be replaced. But his intelligent “middle ware” will be missed. His work ethics will not be easily replaced.

After the Cup Final, Ten Hag muttered that his team was the only team deserving of the win. Schmidt said the same thing about PSV. The stats demonstrate why both coaches would say this.

Shots and Expected Goals PSV And Ajax

PSV Ajax PSV Ajax
First half 2 3 0.06 1.14
Second half 12 5 1.24 0.34
Total 14 8 1.3 1.48

Ajax led the way in the first half re: expected goals. PSV did so in the second half.

Schmidt said that Ajax didn’t create any chance until Gravenberch scored the 0-1. And Ten Hag claimed – rightfully so – that Ajax had gifted PSV two goals.

PSV had a smart tactical plan. They had played a tough – and losing – match v Leicester City for the Conference Cup and needed a smart plan: they’d play physical looked for the duels, in this way taking the pace off the game and making sure there enough little rest moments in the match.

The whole match took 102 minutes. The pure playing time was only 50 minutes. More than half the full match, the ball was not in play!

This was all PSV: they made 17 fouls in the game, the highest in the Eredivisie since February 2021. And with Ajax players exaggerating their injuries and going along with PSV, the pace was taken out of the game completely. This was all in PSV’s favour. Ajax made almost as many fouls by the way (14).

There were not many longer passing sequences. The PSV passing accuracy was 67% a very low number for the Eindhoven team. PSV was clearly aiming for a chaotic game, with lots of fouls and turnaround moments.

Ten Hag had kept Ajax top scorer Seb Haller out of the starting line up. “I felt this game needed Brobbey,” was his comment. Brobbey had one attempt on goal and had three touches in the box. Disappointing, but when Haller joined the match in the second half, he was not able to offer anything. He had zero opportunities and zero touches in the box.

Sub Ritsu Doan created most chances (4) and Bruma had the most shots on goal (4), while sub Vertessen rattled the post. The better chances in the final stages of the game were for PSV, on the counter.

PSV’s magic formula was to copy what Benfica did. Throw sand in the Ajax machine with little annoying fouls and break their rhythm. Clearly, it worked.

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Impact van Gaal on Oranje

If all goes well, we only have one more month to wait before we can celebrate our WC ticket for 2022.

NT manager Louis van Gaal worked his magic. As he always says of himself: I am direct and I only speak the truth. Although, he also said he lacked wingers. Danjuma and Noa Lang: “Hold my beer!”.

Lets look at some LVG changes, per line.

Goalies

Only 30 minutes after Bijlow’s key save in the dying minutes vs Latvia, Van Gaal proclaimed: “The goalie situation is still an open question.” And in the same sentence, he hailed he absent Jasper Cillesen, who seems to be back in the starting line up at Valencia.

Mark Flekken’s sudden entry into the squad (and Drommel’s subsequent banishment to the stands) clearly shows that Van Gaal is stirring the pot. Bijlow has played 5 steady internationals for us, but next month we will get more clarity whom Van Gaal picks as his goalie for the time to come.

Defence

Van Gaal spent a lot of time talking to Mathijs de Ligt, during practices. Sitting on the dug out bench, which is symbolical and fitting, as the Juve defender has to accept a benchwarming position. This happened to him at Juventus too, at the start of the season. He did make an impression on Van Gaal: “Mathijs is returning from the darkness. He is clearly getting to the point where I can assess him as a first team player. But he has an extraordinary rival in De Vrij who was my Man of the Match twice now.”

In his ideal system, Van Gaal would play three central defenders. Louis prefers the 5-3-2 but his players asked for 4-3-3. Van Gaal might tweak it once we secured our ticket. He will have time in the coming calendar year to try out new things. Should we fail to qualify, the time to experiment is way less. Louis expects the central defenders to play an active part in the build up. Versus Latvia, Van Dijk and De Vrij played the ball square a walloping 73 times! That is a record for 230 international games! While Van Gaal’s principle is: first ball deep. De Vrij did demonstrate his cross pass just like Van Dijk can. Daley Blind is a a player with the vision and passing skill to accelerate the game and since Pat van Aanholt and Owen Wijndal have not secured a spot under the former Man United coach, it’s Malacia who is Blind’s understudy.

Midfield

Davy Klaassen was in the sticks for 3 years and made his return to the NT under Frank de Boer. But he didn’t get a second of playing time at the Euros. With Louis, Klaassen is a key player. Van Gaal wants to play with two “number 10s” to further support Memphis. And Klaassen ticks all the boxes: he has forward thrust, legs and lungs of a horse, a nose for the position and he can score a goal. And just like colleague Wijnaldum, Klaassen has a good sharp radar for the turn around. He can play all roles in midfield, including the holding position. Against Latvia, he scored and made a crucial goal saving block.

Marten de Roon seems to be the big loser. The Atalanta midfielder was first choice, mostly under Koeman and also under De Boer. He played a mere 17 minutes under Van Gaal. Teun Koopmeiners has passed the former Sparta player in the hierarchy, as De Roon had to take to the stands against Gibraltar.

Frenkie is the only controlling mid now and Van Gaal was highly critical on the Barca player. “The coach wants me to play in the Busquets role but he doesn’t want me to drift too much. As a central mid, you need to always protect the axes. Should I dribble now, I will leave a huge gap. The coach wants me to pass the ball quicker and not be too much of a post delivery man.” Van Gaal: “Frenkie plays on the position where I played and you really don’t need to run much on that position. I also think he can improve his game, someone with that talent needs to have a higher yield.”

Attack

From the start, Van Gaal lamented the lack of real wingers, so he couldn’t play his beloved 4-3-3. Since Robben retired, the coaches used 17 (!) players on the wings up front. “It’s not that we don’t develop right wingers, but the difference is the way we play today, with players and their contra foot on the wing. In my time, I had Roy or Overmars on the left and Van ‘t Schip or Finidi on the right. Today, we use the wingback to fly past and cross the ball in,” said Van Gaal.

He also points to the development trends in football. “We play 4-3-3 in Holland so we do develop wingers, but in some countries, the wingers are players who dribble inside and go for goal. In Holland, when players turn 16 years old, that is when we start introducing other systems.” Van Gaal only considers Berghuis as a real right winger. Bergwijn told the coach he doesn’t want to play there. Gakpo and Malen have not impressed on that flank. Noa Lang told Van Gaal he could play there and was happy to play there but 10 minutes into the Latvia game, the cheeky Brugge player switched flanks with Gakpo.

Under De Boer, Oranje played with Memphis on the left flank and a real #9 as striker (Weghorst, Luuk de Jong). This has immediately been rectified by Van Gaal: Memphis is the central striker and Weghorst and De Jong are Plan B players. And how it worked. In 5 internationals under Van Gaal, Memphis scored 7 goals and had 4 assists. Van Gaal: “When I see the data and the stats of Memphis, wow… I never had a striker like him. The work rate, the miles he runs. He does so much work for the team, he is constantly on the prowl. He is amazing.”

Asked where Oranje now is, he said: “We don’t know. We don’t have really top nations in our group, so it’s unclear. Should we qualify this November, I can organise friendlies against top nations and then we will see. On paper our midfield is European Top but… are they really? We can only tell when confronting European Top and that will have to come, still.”

For now, the winners are Justin Bijlow, Stefan de Vrij, Cody Gakpo, Mark Flekken, Davy Klaassen.

Louis van Gaal is also a winner, for getting Danjuma and Lang as white elephants.

Losers: Mathijs de Ligt, Marten de Roon, Joel Drommel.

Re: the Euros squad: there will be a way back for Owen Wijndal, Donny van de Beek, Joel Veltman and Quincy Promes. I am not sure about Pat van Aanholt and Marco Bizot, while Maarten Stekelenburg already retired from international football (and is currently seriously injured anyway).

I’m quite happy with LvG’s choices up until now. All logical and thought-through. The only big omission for me, is Rick Karsdorp as right wing back but he will get in the squad if he keeps on playing like this for Roma.

Another positive trend that deserves mentioning is the corner kick, under Louis van Gaal.

We would have won vs Gibraltar without corners, of course. But we scored the first from a corner like we did against Latvia. This is remarkable, as the yield from corners in Oranje was typically very low before Van Gaal. We took 20 corners at the Euros and only 8 reached a Dutch player and only 2 ended up as a chance to score.

The only nations worse than us in corner kicks: Sweden, Hungary and Finland.

Against Turkey away, we even conceded two goals (!) from corner kicks. Our corner kicks!!!

Van Gaal started work on the dead ball situations immediately. During his first spell, when Covid was a serious member of the squad, he even practiced this inside, in a conference hall, with chairs, tables and without a ball!!

The first corner versus Latvia was a success. The coaches had seen that Latvia doesn’t really have an overload at the far post, so the plan was to have the air force go to the near post, attracting all the defenders, while Memphis would curl the ball towards Klaassen at the far upright: 0-1.

This is by now means a magical trick, but a very effective, simple way to use a corner.

Against Gibraltar, same story. But the Gibs used man marking, so Oranje executed it differently. This time, our four strongest headers were around the penalty spot and using De Vrij’s block, Virgil came in front of his man at the near post and had a tap in (with his head).

From the other side, similar concept. This time, it’s Dumfries attracking the attention, allowing De Vrij a clear header, which was blocked by an arm. Penalty. Missed by our top scorer for 2021, but hey… He would get another chance.

During Koeman’s reign, considered successful, Oranje scored 7 goals from a corner in 20 matches. Under De Boer, it’s 3 goals in 15 matches and under Van Gaal, 2 goals in 5.

Bookmark and Share
by Jan

Noa Lang: Rebel with a Cause

And a heart of gold, if you believe the people who know him. The former Feyenoord talent, ex Ajax prospect and current Club Brugge start got the MoTM award in a game inwhich a certain Leo Messi played as well.

He was already knocking on the orange door, but last week’s CL game turned into a heavy boom. And Van Gaal decided to open the door, albeit cautiously. Noa is part of the provisional squad. But based on LVG’s comment that he is not happy with the available wingers in Oranje, he will most likely jump at the opportunity to get Lang in his squad.

So, when you’re 6 year old and you live close to Rotterdam and Feyenoord knocks on the door. What do you? You go. But in Lang’s case, he decided he didn’t want the Feyenoord sports bag. Why not, was his dad’s question. “Because I am an Ajax fan,” the blond lightning strike answered.

He was a remarkable talent, at his age. “He would shoot balls at me that I simply couldn’t stop. So hard. And when he played his first game when he was five years old, he went about his business with sliding after sliding. “I will never forget a match for the title. Noa played in a team with older and bigger players. One of the opponent kids, a tall player, went alone to score the winner against Lang. He jumped on the kid’s back and hung on his shorts and that guy scored the goal with Noa Lang hanging on his shorts, hahahaha.”

Noa Lang, left, duelling with Ajax captain Mathijs de Ligt

Noa was influenced by Edgar Davids, that much was clear. He would play through the pain and never complained. “If I asked him if he wanted to come to the cinema, he would usually say: I can’t dad, I need to train!”

His mother divorced his dad and got into a relationship with Ajax forward Nordin Boukhari. “He was so excited when he learned I played for Ajax. He would come with me to matches always. He was completely obsessed.”

Boukhari played his football with FC Nantes and Besiktas as well and little Noa would briefly play his junior football at these clubs as well.

When he was 13 years old, his dad asked him again: “If you are really an Ajax kid, why do you stay at Feyenoord?”

And off they went. Noa Lang became an Ajax player. The head strong and articulated fellow would get himself into trouble regularly. Not by being a pest, but simply by asking questions or maybe by being a bit of a smart-ass. His mum: “He’s not trouble, but he’s outspoken and sees through fakeness. But he’s loyal and very honest. A social kid who really values family. And he will definitely sacrifice everything for his sport.”

Noa was always close to Ajax players, as a result of his step dad being part of the squad with Sneijder, Heitinga and Nigel de Jong. It was normal for him to be amongst these guys and he ended up collecting shirts from players like Van Persie and players from Ajax opponents. He once got the Bastian Schweinsteiger shirt, one of his fave players, but he would call him Einsteiger. He simply liked that name better.

On holiday with Nigel de Jong (left) and as youth player at Besiktas

Leen Boer, his coach in the Under8s: “He got into my squad and immediately told me honestly: coach I like Ajax. I didn’t care, I said he would probably change that preference in a couple of months. But he didn’t. But what a player he was. He scored the most amazing goals. And even now, when I see him, he will always come up for a hug and some smalltalk. A great kid.”

His dad: “At home it was all Ajax. Posters on his wall, PJs, his bedding, Ajax Ajax. One day he went to Feyenoord for training, wearing his Ajax shirt. That is when Feyenoord told him: ok, this is taking it too far!”

Eventually, Feyenoord allowed to let him go to Ajax.

When Lang was 16, disaster hit. A back injury became so severe that the medical pros feared for his career. He was struggling with it for years already. Living with a brace for a long spell eventually helped him to “fix” his back. His recovery was almost miraculous.

Two ex Ajax wingers: Boukhari and Lang

His C1 season was not that great, but when he got into the Under17s he had Richard Witschge as his coach.

Witschge told Lang he was considered arrogant, even if he wasn’t. But his mannerisms, his hand gestures, you will make it hard on yourself. And Richard knew all about that. They had a similar type of personality. And Witschge would call him out if he had to. Call him ‘asshole’ in front of the group and usually Noa would accept a dressing down.

His mother, Manon: “He plays for the fans. As a kid he would sometimes be more enthralled with the action on the stands and I can tell when he’s showing off for the fans and when he starts to become cocky. He loves to hear the ooohs and aaahs. And when I try to talk to him about it, he is all like “don’t worry mum, I know what I’m doing”. He feels no pressure.”

Lang would make his debut in Ajax 1 but felt there was not enough future for him at Ajax, after a couple of clashes with captain Dujan Tadic and coach Erik ten Hag. Despite this, Ajax wanted to offer the youngster a 4 year deal, but the feeling was gone. Lang wanted out. Leeds United was interested, but a loan spell to Club Brugge resulted in a firm transfer to the Belgium champs.

It all goes fast for the 22 year old. Lang’s performance in the Champions League got people taking notice. With MBappe, Messi and Neymar on the pitch, it was Lang who got the headlines and the MoTM award.

There was no player in the first CL round with more attempts on goal (6) and he had a higher Expected Goals value than goal scorer Vanaken.

Louis van Gaal lamented the lack of wingers when he was just appointed. But with the likes of Bergwijn, Gakpo, Malen, Memphis, Danjuma, El Ghazi, Berghuis and now Noa Lang as well, it seems the old Maestro must stop whining. Most of the ones above prefer the left side or the central striker role (Malen and Memphis), both Berghuis and Lang can play on the right wing. Finally a back up for Ajax winger Berghuis!

Why does it work at Club Brugge and not at Ajax? Noa Lang himself: “I am given more freedom here. The coach knows that serves my game best. The Ajax set up is more rigid. As a winger at Ajax, you have to stay on the wing. Whenever I drifted inwards, I would get told off. But that is not me, I am not a winger. They always play young players there because it’s an easier and less demanding role but it’s not me.”

Coach Clement uses Lang in different roles but he always has the freedom to roam. He can play right winger and drift inwards for an attempt on his left foot. But he can also cross balls in to Bas Dost or start from the left, in a Memphis-type role.

Lang’s image in The Netherlands is that of a complacent, somewhat arrogant difficult kid. In Belgium, they can’t understand any of it, as he’s the model pro there. A team player with amazing stats. His image in Holland was probably fueled by on camera spats with the likes of Tadic and Ten Hag during a couple of friendlies.

Noa Lang’s performances for Young Oranje will not convince anyone about his potential. Coach van de Looi allowed Noa’s debut back in 2019, but he never became a stalwart. He had three sub turns and one starting berth and in the group phase of the Euros U19, he got injured as he also missed the group stage due to injuries. Van de Looi does see Lang as a right winger, in his set up.

Van Gaal likes to use a left footer on the right and vice versa. He instructed Gakpo to “come inside and shoot on goal with his right”. This is also how Berghuis – a leftie – is used on the right. But Lang is right footed, just like Anwar El Ghazi and will have to battle Gakpo, Malen, Bergwijn if Van Gaal sticks to his principles. Which means Berghuis still is the only real option on the right.

Van Gaal will look at his options and pick the player that has the form of the day. Gakpo will probably shine in the Eredivisie, while Malen, Bergwijn and Danjuma might face tougher circumstances in bigger competitions. Van Gaal thinks Danjuma is a real option but he’ll need to demonstrate consistent form at Villareal, like Bergwijn and Malen will have to play and perform as well. For Gakpo and Lang, the circumstances to shine are better.

Danjuma for now is coming in from the bench and he catches the eye with his dribbles, just like Gakpo.

Here is a comparison:

It will be interesting to see if Van Gaal wants to return to the 5-3-2 system, because Lang can play well in that set up as well. At Club, he played in that system in a free role. The statistics won’t let Lang down and that he can bring it is no longer a secret or a question mark. Just ask the Belgs…

Bookmark and Share