Tag: Gakpo

by Jan

Van Gaal focuses on Turkey

Today was the presser pre-Turkey. The fact that Gakpo and Nathan Ake had to leave the trainings camp. Gakpo due to injury, Ake for ‘personal reasons’.

Van Gaal was disappointed, as “we don’t have a lot of wingers in the first place”. Gakpo would probably have played against Turkey. Van Gaal didn’t want to make the Turkey coach smarter, but he did say that Daley Blind returns into the team.

Memphis Depay was Van Gaal’s colleague representing the Dutch, explaining how playing against a compact shaped opponent works. Less space, lots of physical challenges. But Memphis demonstrated his usual swagger and confidence in his response: “We are confident, we know what we need to do. We will get our chances.”

Van Gaal furthermore lauded the Turkish coach, for his smart and his ability to turn the Turkish egos into the team. Van Gaal expects a counter-attacking Turkey and will analyse the way Turkey find their space moving forward.

Furthermore, Van Gaal expressed his belief that the Turkey match is not “a finals” but it is a key game for us. We play at home, and should have that extra to make a difference against Turkey. Van Gaal thinks the Turkey match will be the toughest match for the Dutch.

The question how Van Gaal and Depay were able to mend their relationship was answered in a balanced way by Memphis. “I think I was a different player and a different human being back then. We didn’t have a lot of success together but that doesn’t mean there was a lot of drama. That was magnified by the media.” Van Gaal added: “I can’t say it better than him. I recognised his talent when he was 20 years old and took him to the World Cup. I also took him with me to Manchester United, but that didn’t work too well. But that was partly also the team. I positioned Memphis on the #10 position! Not as winger. I think he, as an intuitive player, is at his best on that position, like he plays with us. As a false striker. The team couldn’t carry him and when I placed him as left winger, he started to get blockages. And my analysis, he didn’t have the orientation qualities he has now. He had trouble with the activities around him, to scan it fast enough. Now, he has developed and he is now as good as I knew he would be. He has unbelievable qualities.”

“Team work is super important. That was the case for Memphis at Man United but also for instance, Berghuis and Dumfries. By playing Dumfries, Berghuis will be able to play better. When I play Klaassen as a box to box player, this will help Memphis.”

Speaking of Memphis: he always cops a lot of criticism. Is it his rapping? His fashion style? His tattoos, or his swagger? No matter, because he just scored goal #29 and 30, getting close to the top 10 of top scorers in Orange. And only one player was younger than Memphis in that top 10.

After the Norway game: “I expected more from myself. I wasn’t able to make a difference, but I do need that ball quicker. I only have half a second of freedom and that is when the ball needs to be played in. Otherwise I have a big defender on my heels and I can’t turn that easily.”

Against Montenegro, this worked better. Although Memphis did start as a striker, but was everywhere on the pitch, except for…the striker position. That was the area where Klaassen and Wijnaldum ended up. The partnership between Gakpo and Memphis is developing rapidly and they both were involved in several goals. The penalty kick Memphis converted is his sixth and he now only had Koeman (8), Van Persie (7) and Neeskens (7) ahead of him. More coming, I’m sure.

Memphis played 70 internationals and was involved in 53 goals. That is superb. Only eleven Oranje platers scored more than 30 goals. Memphis is part of that list now. Only Kluivert was younger than Memphis. Kluivert did need less games though, as did Huntelaar and Bergkamp.

Faas Wilkes in the late ’50s needed 33 matches. Cruyff only 38. Of the modern era, Huntelaar needed 48 matches. Record holder Robin van Persie need 69 matches, just one less than Memphis.

It seems clear that Memphis will topple Van Persie and grab the record. He’s only 27 years old, so should he score 5 goals per season and has another 5 years on the clock, he’ll add 25 goals to his tally, reaching 55 goals for his country. Robin van Persie has 50 goals from 102 matches.

In terms of assists, Memphis is the #5 on the all time assist list behind Sneijder, Robben, Van der Vaart and Bergkamp and #6 on the combined list behind Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Bergkamp, Huntelaar. Great company to be in.

I think it is time for all of us to realise that Memphis Depay is becoming another Oranje legend, in the same way Cruyff, Van Hanegem, Neeskens, Gullit, Van Basten, Bergkamp, Van der Vaart, Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder are Oranje legends…

This is my line up (well, the line up I think Van Gaal will use) for the Turkey game.
I expect a 3-0 win (again) with Berghuis, Memphis and Bergwijn to score.

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by Jan

Tense Oranje finds flow

As per usual, the expectations of the Dutch fans were high. We all want to cheer away the Czech and recent Norwegian blues, while clearly the Covid-restrictions also add to the level of expecations of the crowd. While the race fanatics get to enjoy the first F1 race in Zandvoort with idol Verstappen in 36 years or so on Sunday, the football crowd was desperate to cheer the Oranje players again.

Three matches in 7 days, a new coaching staff, differences in fitness levels and hardly any preparation time. That is what was on the table and like in Norway, Oranje started the match slow, deliberate, a bit cautious and lacking a bit of confidence too, maybe?

Van Gaal had been outspoken in his criticism of the team in the Norway game and will have used that criticism to push a couple of the key players in his plans (Memphis, Gakpo, Berghuis). Van Gaal also had to deal with some forced changes, as Van Dijk’s fitness levels (and hand injury) stopped him from playing, just like Daley Blind was ruled out due to suspension.

So two new players in the back four. Nathan Ake the logical choice at LCB and Malacia the logical choice for LB. The Feyenoord talent did make his debut but Van Gaal opted for De Ligt as LCB next to De Vrij.

Van Gaal decided to give Berghuis another chance (as the coach – like me- analysed that it was Timber who impeded Berghuis in playing his best football), this time with Dumfries behind him. Gakpo started again on the left with Memphis in the centre.

The first 20 minutes or so were dramatic, so much so that I feared for another debacle. Berghuis tripping over the ball, Wijnaldum invisible, Memphis wasteful, and hardly any zip or pace on the ball. The only players seemingly escaping that slow start were De Vrij, Frenkie de Jong and Klaassen.

It was the Ajax midfielder’s header on the cross bar that changed things, and got some confidence and some oomph in the team. Van Gaal needed to get vocal making sure Berghuis and Gakpo would not drop too deep and it was up to vice-captain Memphis to make the difference with his incredible work rate.

So after 20 minutes of slowly passing the ball square, Oranje found its spring in its step, and the answer was: Memphis and his runs.

Like Norway, Montenegro tried to keep the field compact with a 4-5-1 when Oranje had the ball. An easy defensive tactics, but usually not something teams can sustain over 90 minutes. Van Gaal knew his team needed to be patient and play the opponent dizzy over a longer period. A bit like handball: defenders around the circle and the attackers passing the ball around to find a gap.

Memphis played the perfect #9 role, by coming into midfield when possible to become an extra midfielder and to make runs in behind, stretching the opponent. He wouldn’t get great service in the first half, but his movement created space for Klaassen, Frenkie and Gakpo.

Look at this moment here (see above). Frenkie has possession and Montenegro moves into their shape. Memphis darts away, deep, and stretches the opponent. Both central defenders have to react.

You can see below how that opened up spaces in the midfield and via Malacia, the ball does end up with Memphis who plays in Gakpo, who in turn see Klaassen using the space created by Depay, who binds three opponents!

This is the task Frenkie, Wijnaldum and Memphis have against these types of opponents. It’s important to pull the opponent in, as these three will be seen as the danger men in orange, but by their movement, others will get more freedom.

Klaassen and Wijnaldum both switch up their play, from ball in feet to ball deep in behind. Van Gaal was adamant about this: “Find the right timing for your sprints!”. Below two situations, where he comes deep first, pulls a midfielder out of position. Then he moves deeper and forces the defenders to choose.

In the second photo, you can see Berghuis again launching Wijnaldum in the half space, which resulted in a goal against Norway. This time, Gakpo gets an opportunity to shoot.

These moments are typical for the attacking play we need. Runs in behind by the big players, to create space for themselves or for their mates. Look at the first goal here.

Memphis starts his run in midfield and gets the through pass from Gakpo. Klaassen has forced the defence back so the Barca striker is never off side. Gakpo’s pass is perfect and Memphis has the skill to trick the defender: penalty! And Memphis then gives a master class in penalty-taking.

The 2-0 was also the creation of the three attackers. Both Berghuis and Gakpo are instructed to stay wide and stretch the opponent. Memphis lures the right back by being active in the half space. De Jong uses his short passes to suffocate the space and allow room for Gakpo. That results in an attempt on goal by Berghuis, which gets blocked, and in the rebound a great goal by Memphis, who can’t stop scoring it seems.

The third goal also started with Memphis. Gakpo and Berghuis keep their width, Wijnaldum makes his run into the box and after some short passing, Memphis finds Berghuis, who finds skipper Gini with a nifty little through-ball and the 3-0 was there.

The more Montenegro got tired (and the more stalwarts they lost), the more space for Oranje. Look at the 4-0. It’s Memphis and Malacia who now dominate that space on the left and Gakpo makes his way to the striker position. Malacia got his assist, Gakpo demonstrating his glorious kicking technique and it’s 4-0.

Earlier in the second half, Malacia almost also had an assist for Montenegro. It ended well though for the debutant, who saw experienced De Vrij do the same almost, allowing Bijlow to claim the headlines with his highly composed control of that situation. Don’t go to ground, just wait what the player wants to do and deal with it.

The 4-0 was a symbolic goal. It showed the class of this new Oranje. Leader Memphis working his butt off, youngster Malacia and Gakpo with quick feet and a high work rate of all involved.

This is the Oranje Van Gaal wants to see: build up patiently, use the width of the park, and have a high intensity off the ball with lots of runs and movement.

This seems to be the right step up to that next game (Turkey). All that went well can be improved upon, while all we gave away were the result of lazy defending. Something Van Gaal will most definitely stamp out of this squad.

Wijnaldum: “We needed this. The Euro exit is still fresh and we couldn’t really dazzle versus Norway, so the pressure was on. We had to do it tonight and after a slow start, we managed to do it.”

Van Gaal: “I don’t like standing at the touchline to yell commands to my players. I believe you haven’t done your job if you need to do this all the time. But I did step up to instruct Gakpo and Berghuis to push up more, stay wide and high and allow space for others to use. I think that went well. Our first 20 minutes were abysmal, but our last 70 minutes were pretty good.”

My player ratings:

Justin Bijlow – 7.5

Calm and collected. Bijlow’s distribution was fine and when he was needed he did what he had to do. Plays with the swagger of a 28 year old. I think we have our new goalie for the next 10 years.

Tyrell Malacia – 7

Played as if he has been playing in the NT for years. Needing too many fouls in the beginning, but smart in his positioning and using his low centre of gravity in any aerial duels. Showed his quick feet and more than decent cross and worked tirelessly. Good for him to get an assist. He will battle it out with Wijndal and maybe Jetro Willems on the left.

Mathijs de Ligt – 6

Strong enough and good enough, but showing some rust in his passing and did time wrong a number of times, almost repeating his clumsy defending versus the Czechs at one point. But he did play in a role that he doesn’t prefer, and the future is obviously his.

Stefan de Vrij – 6

Played strong, was focused and alert. Tried to dribble in and support midfield where possible but also had a weak moment at the back with a short back pass putting Bijlow into trouble.

Denzel Dumfries – 6,5

Played great for a player who just had Covid and hasn’t played since the Euros. Defensively tricked once, in the first 20 minutes, otherwise a solid performance, although would be wise to play more simple and cross the ball in when he can. Got his usual chance at the far post again but needed a bigger shoe size.

Davy Klaassen – 7

Played to his strength and thanks to Memphis runs in behind, he was able to use his typical qualities more than against Norway. He did have a header on the bar and some close moments in the box but no cigar. A fine performance.

Frenkie de Jong – 7.5

Constantly prowling and hunting and scouting for openings. Strong on the ball, and in my view the player who added some oomph and pace to the game when after 20 minutes or so it was clear that the way Oranje was going was not going to cut it.

Gini Wijnaldum – 7

Added the runs to his game, made dirty yards and connected well with Berghuis on the right flank this time. Got his usual goal and was subbed by Van Gaal to keep him fresh for Turkey.

Cody Gakpo – 7.5

Cody needed some coaching initially re: his positioning but grew into the game and demonstrated his class at various times, whether it’s crossing, dribbling, pass and move or finishing. A glorious goal for him and boy did he enjoy it.

Memphis Depay – 8

Memphis led the line, Memphis gave the right example. He overcame a weak start and pushed himself to glory in this game. His penalty was a masterpiece and the Barca striker ran more than 11 kilometers for the team. Smart passing, some nice trickery for the fans and even an on-pitch selfie with a young fan. A mature performance.

Steven Berghuis – 7

Berghuis too needed some attention from the coach and after a horrid start grew into the game. He will always play his own game: passing with risk, trying to find the opening. I still feel he plays with the handbrake on as he had a couple of options to shoot himself. He created the Wijnaldum goal with a nifty flick and was involved in many attacks.

Steven Bergwijn – 7

Usually, a sub who has 20 minutes or so to play will not be able to impress much but Bergwijn had some amazing runs and great footwork (and a panna) to show the coach he truly is back. An amazing all round athlete, who can most likely play in the Memphis role, if need be.

Louis van Gaal – 7

Louis did what he needed to do. Logical tactics, logical player choices, logical substitutions.

It seems this will be Van Gaal’s system of choice, until he has more time to really work on the 5-3-2 or 3-4-3 system.

Wide wingers, a false #9, a dynamic runner on #10 and creative but ball-sure midfielders. He is right, we don’t have many wingers, but when you have Bergwijn, Malen, Gakpo, Berghuis, El Ghazi and Danjuma, you’re not in bad shape.

Memphis, Malen and Bergwijn can play the false 9. Luuk de Jong and Weghorst can act as pinch hitters when needed.

The dynamic #10 (as opposed to the playmaker #10 such as Bruno Fernandez) is also available in Klaassen, Van de Beek, Van Ginkel and Til, while Frenkie, Koopmeiners, Gravenberch and Propper can play in the creative deep playmaker role.

Tell my your thoughts!

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by Jan

Who is Cody Gakpo?

Before we turn our attention to Cody Gakpo, here is a quick update on the Dutch camp. Louis van Gaal and Stefan de Vrij had their presser earlier and Louis did give us some insights into his thinking for the Montenegro match and he performed a typical Van Gaal Act when De Vrij was asked about the coach.

But first the team news: even though De Ligt is fit and allowed to play, De Vrij will keep his spot and Mathijs will start on the bench. “De Vrij played great in that position and I can share that he’ll start. As I don’t see De Ligt as an option for the left side, he will start as a sub.”

Van Gaal also had some clarity on Berghuis’ substitution and the disappointing Memphis. “Berghuis was not as effective as he can be. But he is still the best right winger we have, whether in the Eredivisie or outside. But he needs a wingback who overlaps him and Timber is used to playing the Ajax way: on the inside. Everytime there was an option for them to create, Timber would come into the half space and block Berghuis. I couldn’t sub Timber as I felt Dumfries wasn’t ready, so I decided to sub Steven. But Berghuis didn’t do too bad: he did create our goal, so he’ll get another chance, this time with Dumfries behind him.”

About Memphis: “He is our go to man up front for solutions. But the things is, he will always have 2 or 3 defenders on his toes, so the forward pass to him needs to be played fast and early. And we lacked the courage to do it. So everytime we found Depay, it was too late. He was suffocated. I have worked with Memphis before and the Memphis of today is miles better. He is stronger, smarter, quicker and has that swagger that top players like him (and C Ronaldo, Haaland, Lewandowski, Lukaku) have. We need to help him better.”

When De Vrij was asked if Van Gaal was now a bit friendlier and “softer” compared to 2014, De Vrij answered that back in 2014, Van Gaal was also friendly and open to suggestions. “He will always listen to you, and when you have good arguments, he’ll go with that.” This resulted in somewhat embarrassing response from coach Louis van Gaal. See here:


I believe this will be the Dutch line up for the Montenegro game. I predict a 3-0 win, with Berghuis, Memphis and Wijnaldum on the score sheet.

Apologies for the spellcheck error (Frankie – Frenkie)

Mo Ihattaren was touted as the new big thing in Dutch football. That PSV had more talents in the wings, like Cody Gakpo and Madueke, seemed less important. But after two years of hype, Mo left PSV through the backdoor, while Cody Gakpo and right winger Madueke are the two figureheads of this new and exciting PSV.

Gakpo is keen to become a firm fixture for Oranje as well: “I want to be a starter for the National Team!”

A talk with the lanky right-footed left winger.

About his inspirations:

“Diego Maradona was my idol. I watched all his movies on Youtube all the time. And Thierry Henry. He was a left winger like me, tall. Usually, wingers are smaller. Overmars, Robben, Messi so I really resonated with the taller players. I watched and analysed him, his movements, his timing, I tried to learn as much as possible. I have always been a PSV fan. I had a PSV doona on my bed, PSV pj’s and posters on my walls. I also had a team photo of Barcelona. I was a fan of Ibbi Afellay and recently I got to play with him, which was amazing. We still speak.”

Mo & Co

About scoring goals:

“I am a forward so I love scoring goals. It started in the E pupils. We would win the trophy with a couple of 100 goals. I made 100 goals myself. We won matches 20-0 and if you’d score 5 or 8 it would really add up, hahahaha.”

“I started at PSV when I was six and ex pro Twan Scheepers was my coach for a spell. He’s now a good friend, he helped me a lot with my football, with also with the mental side of things. Some people think that talent is everything but that is not true. When I got into my puberty, all sorts of issues started. At home, at school and a lot of talented players drop out. I used to think I wasn’t good enough, in those days. I wasn’t the typical star of the team or something. And Twan would help me with my confidence and self belief.”

“Mark van Bommel became my coach when was 15 years old, at the A1 level. Fairly quickly I made the step up to the first team and worked with him there as well. He’s very good tactically. I still have a strong bond with him.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was my striking coach from when I was 14 year old. He taught me a lot. With Boudewijn Zenden I am working on my weaker left foot. It’s a challenge in all honesty but it ‘s going better.

About his genes:

“My dad is from Togo. My parents met there as my mum was traveling through Africa. My dad first moved to France but after that he came to Holland. My dad was a good player. He played for the Togo national team and played in the PSV 2 team. My mum was Dutch rugby international, so we always have sports in our home, in some way. I have never seen them play, although I did see some newspaper articles on my mum, as women’s rugby was never televised, I don’t think. My dad doesn’t think we are alike, as players. He thinks he was 10 times better than me, hahaha. But I think I am a bit like him. I do remember that an old coach of my dad came watching me when I was in the A1. He did say afterwards that he felt my dad was better at that age. That motivated me to work harder. I really owe it all to my parents. They were always supportive and brought me to the club and came and watch me play. My mum always simply asked if I enjoyed the game. My dad always wanted to do a whole de-briefing. My dad always told me to believe in myself.”

About his body

“I had shoe size 46 when I was 16 years old and only 1 meter 60 tall. The ratios didn’t work and I was super clumsy. But it all went well. I had a calf injury when I was 17 and broke my ankle. I had a tear last season in my ankle too, which kept me out for 3 months. But I am cautious and aware of my body. I eat well, I take my rest and drink a lot of water. At the Euros, I saw how professional some of the older lads were and that was very inspiring. I also do a lot of weight and resistance training, I do need to be a bit stronger, but overall I’m happy with my body.”

About religion

“I’m raised a Christian and I am really into it. I try to simply be the best person I can be. I do dedicated time to my faith, I read a lot of books, I visit church whenever I can and I pray. I read the Bible daily, yes, I am devout man. I recently got a book from Denzel Dumfries “Praying is believing” which I am reading now. Other lads at PSV share my faith, like Madueke and Donny Malen. With Oranje, Memphis is a good sounding board, how we understand pieces from the Bible and sayings and that sorta thing. We share those insights. It creates a bond and is inspiring. I also love to talk to people from other faiths, like Mo Ihattaren, who is muslim. We do see a lot of similarities.”

About the Dutch National Team

“Once I was in the flow of the Euros, it felt normal. I never really felt that is was special or remarkable you know. I was never part of the squad before but the other lads really include you into things and it all goes so fast too. When I went on a holiday, later, it all sank in. We have a really tight group and I immediately felt at home. The spirit is great. That last match versus the Czechs… It was a tough day. It was hot, and humid but I don’t think we got into trouble, really, until the red card. I tried to stay close to Memphis and Malen. Both players coming from the left, both a PSV history… What I try to improve is to pick the right moment to make a particular move. I met Louis van Gaal last year for the first time, when we drew Ajax 1-1. I saw him at the parking lot and he said: Nice pass! I had given the assist for the PSV goal. “Keep on going like this,” he said.” Now I tasted it, I want to be part of the Dutch national team as a starter and kick some goals.”

About his dreams

“I want to win trophies. This season, the title with PSV. The double, really. And maybe a European prize? I want to score goals and create goals. I hope to be able to make a move soon. I would love to play in England or Spain once day. I have been playing for PSV for many years and I’d love to lave through the front door with a trophy or two. And then go to the World Cup in Qatar and do wonderful things with Oranje.”

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by Jan

Rusty Oranje disappointing

We always approach these analyses from the Dutch perspective, of course, but it is also fair to say that Norway played really really well. But, we are not going to play the victim: Norway was good because we couldn’t find the solutions.

Louis van Gaal must have been free of stress and game jitters. When you only have 1,5 day to prep your first match, well… what to expect. He did have his zoom calls with the players individually, and I also think his video analysts will have sent clips to the players with specifics and instructions, but what do you do when you only have 1,5 days to prep?

You don’t pick players without rhythm. Ergo: Dumfries, Malen and De Roon didn’t start. You also don’t want to mix up the existing core team too much. So you offer a debut to Bijlow and a starting berth to Gakpo, but you don’t want to bring Malacia as well.

You don’t start with 5-3-2 because the ghost of Frank de Boer will be hovering over the team and result, which is something Van Gaal would want to avoid.

The line up was quite logical. I had Dumfries and Malen in my starting eleven ( I simply think Dumfries without rhythm brings a bit more than Timber, more on that later) and I’m a big fan of Malen, who offers depth. Gakpo, Memphis, Berghuis…they all want the ball to feet.

I was excited with the line up though. I like the 4-3-3 (although Oranje started with 4-1-4-1) and I was looking forward to seeing Bijlow play.

Van Gaal wanted Frenkie in the centre of midfield in a holding role, knowing he would have the ball a lot and would be able to dominate the game. Memphis got Klaassen and Wijnaldum as his assistants behind him, as Memphis gets the best results with dynamic players around him.

The first phase of the game, Oranje dominated possession. Norway was hesitant and was keen to play on the counter and Haaland proved to be a threat. We wanted to stop the pass into him but in the first state of the game, we weren’t so good at it. A first attack was a warning for Oranje. Haaland slipped past the offside (Timber played him on) but Bijlow earned his Heineken. The second time Haaland got a sniff, he scored. Gakpo was slow to get back up on the pitch but Timber also kept Haaland onside, the ball was brought back in and Haaland had a sensational tough to push the ball past a helpless goalie. Despite Van Dijk’s lunge.

Oranje lost it for a while and needed a shape/pattern that was practiced during training (and you can see this in the clip I posted in the previous post). A ball via midfield towards the winger (Berghuis), who found the running Wijnaldum in the half space (excellent pass), who pulled the ball back, low and fast. Davy Klaassen as per usual entered the box and had an easy goal to score: 1-1.

The second half saw Oranje start in a 4-2-3-1, with Wijnaldum next to Frenkie. This was needed, as Norway found space on the counter everytime Frenkie was pulled out of position. With Gini covering that space in the De Roon role, Norway had less options to counter (but still did).

The biggest chance in the second half was for Haaland again, after a nice break led by Odegaard. The Arsenal #10 was second-best most of the times vs Frenkie but this particular move was great: the little run by Haaland (towards De Vrij and then suddenly away from De Vrij) was pure class and his shot ended on the post.

We only had some lame attempts. Two headers in the first half (Gakpo), a soft header in the second half (Van Dijk) and a last-second option for Dumfries who couldn’t sort his feet you.

Louis van Gaal was not super disappointed after the match. He too praised Norway. “The opponent played it very well and despite we wanted to win this, we need to be happy with the draw. Considering we had only 1,5 days to prep and not all players at the same level in terms of fitness and rhythm… I think we need to take this. We still have it all in hand and we will need to win the next two matches.”

Asked where Oranje went wrong: “We were sloppy. We had some issues with the flow of the game on this slow and dry pitch, but we let ourselves down. We were not too precise with our passing and we made the wrong decisions at the wrong times. Norway is very good in compact defending, so the space was limited, which means two things: you need to be creative against these opponents and you need to be in good form. We weren’t able to do either. This needs to improve, but I’m confident we will. In order to play them to pieces is by showing courage, by stepping into midfield and creating a man-more situation but we lacked the confidence, I think. Another thing, our set pieces and corners were not good enough. This is all trainable and we will improve on this. See, we can think we are world class, but in all honesty, we are not. We can beat any team, but any team can beat us too.”

Captain Van Dijk was disappointed. Just like all the other players. “It was really depressing how that goal came to be. We all went up the pitch, but Cody was slack. It happens. But we were restless after that. We had enough chances or options to go for the winner but it didn’t happen.” Playing against Haaland was chore for Big Virg: “He’s amazing. He is strong and fast, so you need to be really ready for him. But we had to win here, I think we could have. But hey, we’ll need to do in the next matches now.”

The man who usually gets us the goals, Memphis Depay, was also a bit down after the match. “This is a bummer! We didn’t create enough. We lacked creativity, something we do have. But it didn’t work, we lacked confidence or courage it seemed. And that also applies t me, and the lads in midfield. Frenkie tried to play between the lines, but we need more players to do this. But we worked hard and kept on trying. I can create goals from nothing, I know this, so even when I’m not super good I can have my value for the team. We almost got it even, but we lacked the luck for that last second goal.”

Justin Bijlow is now the new #1 for Oranje. “The coach told me on Monday. I was super happy, and I had some butterflies in my stomach the day before the game, but on match day, it was all focus. I felt good on the pitch, just like other times. I’m sad we didn’t win, but I am proud and happy with by debut.”

My ratings:

Justin Bijlow: 7

He showed confidence, his distribution was good, he saved the first attempt by Haaland and had the much needed luck when he was beaten in the second half.

Daley Blind: 5

Daley played a decent first half and saw the danger of a particular counter, taking a yellow for the team. In the second half, he had a period where nothing worked. Balls slipped under his feet and passes went astray. Uncommon for him.

Stefan de Vrij: 7.5

Best Dutch player. Strong on the ball, always alert and tough in the duels. Once, Haaland beat him in a typical striker’s move which is very hard to defend.

Virgil van Dijk: 5.5

Virgil is still struggling a bit with his rhythm and was too complacent and times. His powerful cross balls also lacked precision. Understandable after his heavy injury.

Justin Timber: 6

He worked like a monster and was focused. He could have done more in possession but that is not why he is in the team. More a central defender though. I prefer Karsdorp.

Gini Wijnaldum: 6

Was in the wars with a tough hit on his ankle. He had the assist for the Oranje goal and had snippets of brilliance but lacked his usual sharpness

Frenkie de Jong: 7

Frenkie ruled the midfield and demoted Odegaard to a supporting role for Norway. Everything started with him but he wasn’t able to find that one opening.

Davy Klaassen: 6,5

The dynamic and hard working Klaassen played strong in the first half and got his goal. Faded a bit in the second half.

Cody Gakpo: 6

Cody had 6 attempts on goal and showed his class. He also made some bad decisions (the attempt after Memphis’ backheel for instance) and couldn’t use his speed and guile. Still, offering some aerial threat as well.

Memphis Depay: 5

Memphis was constantly busy, trying to link up, worked for the team but his set pieces were wanting and he simply didn’t reach his potential.

Steven Berghuis: 5,5

He did what Van Gaal instructed him to do but the dynamics on the right were not as good as on the left. Berghuis did have the pre-assist and tried to put a stamp on the match but couldn’t.

Donyell Malen: 5,5

Always available, always threatening but lacking service and only an attempt missing the goal for all his troubles.

Denzel Dumfries: –

Didn’t play long enough for a rating, but he could have won it for us in the dying seconds.

Louis van Gaal: 6,5

Lots of possession using the 4-3-3, logical line-up, logical tactics but not a lot of chances and no win. It can only get better.

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by Jan

We’re back in action (almost)!

After a bit of a break (and a lot of Olympics ! ) it’s time to focus on football again. This weekend, the Eredivisie starts and so do some of the competitions around us (EPL, Ligue 1, etc).

National Team Manager Louis van Gaal also presented his prelim squad for the upcoming September WC qualification games.

The news that dominated the sports papers though, was Messi’s exit from Barca. Much has been said about it. I have to admit: I was saddened by the news. The guy wants to play at Camp Nou but other people’s mistakes (and maybe some foul play by Real Madrid??) have pushed the Best Player Ever ™ out. We all saw the presser, we all have our own ideas about it. I’m sure Memphis will have mixed feelings. Would it be grand to play with Leo? Yes it would. But without Messi, there is a vacuum in leadership and star-ship (?) and Memphis will be the first to put his hand up to take the free-kicks and penalties from now on.

Wijnaldum must be giggling himself to sleep. One of the reasons why he desperately hoped on a deal with Barca was the chance to play alongside Messi. The finances weren’t good enough for Team Wijnaldum and when PSG offered him twice the deal Barcelona had on the table, he decided to go for his future generations, more than his ego.

And guess what, Gini will be super busy in that midfield now, knowing that Mbappe, Neymar and Messi are not known for their zealous pressing. Wijnaldum might well turn out to be PSG’s key player, amongst all those Hollywood stars.

In the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord impress. PSV because of their rollercoaster games in the CL qualifications, with power in midfield, speed up front and goals. Schmidt and Co were able to secure the services of Brazilian Ramalho who made an impression. Boscagli bounced back from his horrific start under Van Bommel and in midfield Marco van Ginkel is playing like a true Roman emperor: back straight, always looking over the ball and playing like a real captain. With the likes of Propper, Sangare and Gotze in midfield, PSV is a formidable challenger for the title. English junior international Madueke claimed all the headlines with his goals, while we all know that Cody Gakpo is destined for great things too! Mo Ihattaren who?

Feyenoord impressed too, not so much due to the wins over Drita and Luzern (which you could expect) or the “friendly” victory over Atletico Madrid, but more due to the fact that coach Arne Slot’s ideas are being processed and implemented so easily, it seems. The addition of CB Trauner from Austria is a big plus, as Feyenoord can now play higher up the pitch. Danish RB Pedersen also adds speed to Feyenoord’s defence. Marco Senesi is impressing with his passing ability and in midfield it seems Guus Til has been able to convince Van Gaal to give him a look in, with his prolific goal scoring and work rate. Up front, Iranian Jahanbakhsh will dazzle the Legion and we also expect Sinistera to get back to his full form and fitness after his tough injury. Oh, and if goalies are key to winning games and titles: Ajax has 37 year old Pasveer, PSV has the somewhat insecure Drommel but Feyenoord has the future Oranje goalie between the sticks. That could well be the differentiator.

We don’t need to mention Ajax, I don’t think. They are in good shape. When you have Blind, Tadic, Antony, Berghuis, Kudus, Timber, Schuurs, Martinez and Klaassen in your squad, you will be the title favorite. Although for me, Ajax will most likely focus more on the CL this season.

In other news, Dumfries finally gets his transfer to Inter. Van Aanholt moves to Turkey. Donyell Malen impresses at Dortmund, Donny van de Beek buffed up in the gym and Virgil is back in action and just signed a new deal with Liverpool.

Which brings us to Louis, who explained how he works as the National Team Manager.

As per usual, Van Gaal is not afraid to give youngsters their debut. In this case, maybe also an oldster. Remko Pasveer, Justin Bijlow and Joel Drommel could all make their debut in Oranje, as could Tyrell Malacia as left back and Devyne Rensch as right back. The Feyenoord LB is the only real left back in the squad, as Van Gaal doesn’t believe Wijndal and Van Aanholt have the fitness levels currently.

Stekelenburg has ended his international career and Cillesen is still not fit.

Louis van Gaal creates a squad every week (!), usually. Even in weeks/months when the NT doesn’t play. This makes his life easier and this is how it works. LVG and his staff use three stages in their work: preparation, execution and evaluation. Execution is the match itself, obviously. The preparation consists of: 1) analysis of opponent, 2) selecting the NT squad, 3) downloading information to the players via tactical talks, video analysis and training.

The evaluation is in group processes and individual, also with video analysis.

In his first tenure as NT coach, in 2000 for the 2002 World Cup, he made a crucial mistake. He decided to trust the core of players he worked with before: Davids, Seedorf, Kluivert, De Boer bros, etc. He gave them his trust also when they didn’t perform. He stopped doing this. For the 2014 World Cup, he went with his system and playing principles and picking the players who were in form, in full fitness and mentally ready (to be coached).

He produced a profile per position in the team and that is the benchmark for picking players. Then it’s all about: form, talent, fitness. He has a group of around 60 potentials, which he follows with his staff every week. Every Monday, he and his staff gather in Zeist to discuss the games they’ve seen and in particular the performance of the players. And every Tuesday, he’d make a 23 player squad. And thus, making his final squad for a certain NT match is an easy process. The skeleton frame is there, it’s just a matter of checking which of the lads is potentially injured, or lost his spot or has issues otherwise…

In 2,5 weeks, our beloved NT is ready to rumble again. Away against Norway on September 1, at home vs Montenegro on September 4 and at home v Turkey on September 7. By then, we know where we stand…

This is my eleven for Norway away. The other line ups will have to wait (depends on result, on fitness, etc).

What is your fave line up for Norway away? In the comments please :-).

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by Jan

Where does Oranje stand?

Friends, we did what we had to do. We won all home matches in the group stage. And we didn’t expect anything less. Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia should be wins with any Dutch generation, really… Scoring 8 is good. Conceding 2 less so. All players fit, that is a good thing and yes, the 5-3-2 seems to be generally accepted now.

The Dutch experts/analysts are still not convinced. Where do we stand now? How good are we really?

The international media, however, seem to push Oranje to a favorite role. And I don’t think that is justified. Sure, Germany, Portugal, Spain, they’re not firing on all cylinders but you wouldn’t want them to, right? Just like with Oranje.

But can we reach a higher level, once we face them? Or even worse: France or Italy? Who knows?

I even doubt if Frank de Boer knows.

And then there are the fans on this blog, who mostly seem to be highly critical of Frank de Boer, Daley Blind and Memphis Depay ;-).

This North Macedonian game further showed why the international football world (players, fans, coaches and analysts) rate Daley Blind. If you saw the game and you still think he is only in the team because of his daddy (huh??), you should probably start supporting another sport.

Overall, the key thing every Dutch fan looked at in this last group game was: how good will Malen and Memphis (and Wijnaldum) gel, in comparison to playing with Weghorst?

The jury is out, as far as I’m concerned. Malen is a better player than Weghorst, he adds something fresh, and explosive to the team. He has depth and runs in behind and he has a daft tough too, as we saw with Oranje’s third goal. But, most importantly, he makes Memphis play better!

And if we want to achieve something here, we need Memphis to be in top form.

It was nice to see Gravenberch, but the young talent demonstrated that he’s not yet mature enough for a role in the starting eleven. In the first half, he was wandering a bit, not sure where to be, what to do. It did improve and he’ll be a top player for us.

Other than that, the other subs didn’t bring us much news. We saw Berghuis, keen to prove his worth, with sloppy moves and a couple of great passes and a top corner kick. The prolific right winger has a limited fee of 4 million euros and both Ajax and PSV are courting him. Gakpo got his debut and demonstrated his skill too in the last 10 minutes.

But what did North Macedonia teach us?

Well, the 5-3-2 might be a fine system but you do need to implement and execute it well. North Macedonia surprised Frank de Boer with a 4-2-3-1 system and their particular tactical move puzzled the Dutch eleven.

When building up, the Macedonians pushed Alioski way up, to keep Dumfries quiet, but Trajkovski would push up left next to Pandev. As De Boer is focused on man marking, not zonal, this resulted in a mess within Oranje. Normally, the player in the zone would pick up the wandering Elmas. Wijnaldum in this case and Frenkie would be available to pick up Trajkovski.

The situation above is how we did it, with man marking. Frenkie is completely out of position because Elmas is his man. There is a gap behind him, which forces De Vrij to move forward, far away from his comfort zone.

Another situation, in which Frenkie and De Vrij are lost in space. The number 62 of the world is capable of playing from under Oranje’s press. And by then, it is not even a surprise that Trajkovski is the man rattling the post next to Stekelenburg with a fine attempt.

Before the break. Oranje ends up in situations in which the distances between the lines are too great. The midfield was all open and bare as our players follow their man and are lured out of position. You can see, there are no holding mids to protect the back four. This will be noted with glee, by the scouts of the remaining nations.

On the other hand, Oranje is constantly threatening on the break. It seems to always find ways to hurt the opponent. And even when the pass and move positioning game breaks down, with Malen, Wijnaldum and Memphis, there is always the chance on a break. And this is how we come to our first goal. A ruthless Blind tackle, a pass through by Gravenberch and Malen on his moped to launch Memphis after two 1-2 combinations: 1-0.

Dumfries gets another chance, to become golden boot candidate, in the 29th minute. Alioski is playing left winger so Dumfries has acres of space. Malen’s ball is fine but the goalie ruins the party of the PSV boys.

After the break, De Boer opts for the 4-2-3-1 as well and brings Timber and Berghuis for De Vrij and Dumfries. This is what De Boer calls the “Italian way”.

In this set up, De Boer does what Koeman did: one penetrating full back and one conservative one.
Under Koeman, Dumfries was the penetrating one and Blind was sitting. In Frank de Boer’s version, it’s Van Aanholt with the penetration and Timber the one staying back.

Now it’s truly a man-to-man battle and North Macedonia can’t find any openings anymore, simply due to the difference in individual qualities. Not because we suddenly defend so well. Because our back line is still vulnerable. The only gain in this system: there is no confusion who marks who.

Before the tournament, Dutch fans and analysts feared that the 5-3-2 wouldn’t be attacking enough. It seems that this is not the real issue. The real problem with the 5-3-2 is the defensive structure. North Macedonia has pointed out that the bigger nations could really hurt us.

 

 

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by Jan

Frenkie remains humble

Hi all, sadly no more time to write a specific post on the Austria game.

I personally think it will be a tough match for us, even without Arnautavic involved. They’re an experienced team, physically and tactically disciplined. This could wel end in a 2-2 result or something like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if we would choke on this opponent.

But, being positive as I am, I will call 3-0 for Oranje. Goals by Wijnaldum, Memphis and Malen.

Leave me your prognosis below in the comments.

And leave me some beer money while you’re at it :-). Covid hurt this blog and blogger too… You can now also decide to donate crypto. it seems to be going down anyway…

Your gift is appreciated

The AD newspaper had a nice insightful interview with Frenkie de Jong.

For someone who is usually showered with superlatives and compliments, he hardly uses them himself. More to the contrary. When you start paying attention it becomes comical, even. In this particular interview, which took an hour, he used words like “not bad” and “pretty ok” around 12 times. The only time he uses the word “amazing” is when he mentions Messi.

We’re halfway the interview, talking about his role in this Dutch Netherlands team at these Euros. “If I can reach my usual level, I have a fair chance to get minutes,”. He says it with conviction. As if this is not the best and most popular Dutch player of the moment. And it’s not a false modesty. He is like this. Calm, balanced and analytical. He’s self conscious but also highly self critical. He finds it easy to put things into perspective, as a result, the hysteria surrounding him doesn’t really affect him.

He’s got a smile almost plastered on his face, but it’s not like he’s without tribulations. It appears as if he floats through life, but the people who know him well will tell you this is definitely not the case. Frenkie was convinced of his talent and ambitions when he was still quite young. “We watched the World Cup 2014 at home, with friends and family. And from a certain age, I felt…yes, I want that. And I always felt that one day, I would be at a big tournament. I was 12 years old and had the complete conviction.”

Frenkie is a modest kid, grew up in the small town of Arkel. A normal, fun of the mill family. Dad is parking guard in Delft and his little brother plays there with the local amateurs. Parking guard is probably the exact opposite of the position Frenkie has in life. “But my dad loves his job. He’s a lot in the outside open air, riding his bike and he knows a lot of people in Delft. He’s not the guy who will fine you, he’ll probably talk to you to get you to change your behaviour.”

Frenkie’s journey to his first big tournament was relatively long. The missing of the World Cup 2018 happened just before his break through in Oranje. And when Koeman’s Oranje qualified for the 2020 Euros, it got postponed with a full year due to Corona.

“I don’t feel young anymore. I am not a rookie anymore, you know. But playing your first tournament is super special. I’m enjoying and I talked about it with the lads that were at the 2014 World Cup. And it has started to really sink in, now the domestic leagues have finished. The commercials on telly, the orange jerseys, I love it. As long as I don’t have to be in one.”

While many of this colleagues opted for a week holiday in Dubai or Ibiza, De Jong went home to Arkel to recharge his batteries. “I didn’t feel tired. We didn’t perform well in the last part of the season with Barca, but it wasn’t fatigue. We simply had to beat Granada at home and take the lead in the Liga. We had a good spell before that game. And then the draw against Levante and the belief seeped out of the team. It was mainly mental. As if we kept on chasing our tail.”

You gave yourself a 6,5 for the season in the newspaper Trouw, after your first season. What is the grade for this one?

“No, hahaha, it was a 6 actually. I don’t know for this season. I my personal performances were better than last season, but we missed the title, we got kicked out of the CL pretty early and despite the national cup, we had a mediocre if not bad season. When you play at Barca, you want more. The season itself wasn’t dramatic, we had a fantastic comeback and played some good stuff, but at the end of the day: not good enough.”

So, that means one point more?

“I would say, half a point.”

But your personal stats went up, like Koeman wanted from you?

“When Koeman came in, I had a talk about my role in the team. And he was clear: he wanted me to be more offensive and add to the team’s goal tally. He kept on saying: you’re a big money signing, you need to start making the difference, you need to take responsibility. He put more pressure on me and I loved it.”

Under Koeman, he did play on several positions. He played in the holding role, he played a number of games as centre back and the final part of the season more and more in the attacking mid role. He made quite an impression in that position.

“I do like scoring goals, but it depends on your role for the team. At Ajax and initially at Barca I played in the holding role. You are the first station in the build up and you determine pace, and direction, you try to start the engine. When you’re a more offensive mid, you are station 2, in a way. You are higher up the pitch, and you aim to be decisive, with a dribble, or a through ball… I played well in that role, I had my best games in that position. And in the Cup Final (Copa del Rey) it was probably very visible, with a goal and two assists.”

“I prefer the midfielders role, either holding or forward. I prefer not to play too far back, as you are more a lock on the door than a real playmaker. And playing in the #10 role is also not my preference as you are more in a sort of waiting mode, waiting for the players behind you to find you. I prefer to be more involved, hence my preference for midfield. The ball is there most often. I basically want to have the ball, hahahaha.”

He assimilated into Barcelona life with ease it seems. The city, the magnitude of the club, the media, the players group… it all went smooth. As if it was normal that a kid from Arkel played in the Bluegrana jersey. Where Donny van de Beek, Steven Bergwijn, Hakim Ziyech and before them Memphis Depay had serious issues settling in another country and club.

“The ideal moment to go abroad is different for everyone. You can’t say “you need 150 Eredivisie games before you go”. I think it’s different per player. Some are ready when 18, others are ready when they’re 27. I did feel more settled the second season, I think that is actually quite normal. Barca paid something like 80 million for me, and that puts a lot of pressure and expectations on you, but I will remain who I am. They bought me for how I played at Ajax so that is how I’ll play here. I won’t become a different person.”

How is it now in your second season along side Messi? Does your relationship change, now you’re there a bit longer?

“I met him first when we had a friendly against Arsenal. He came later due to the Copa America. I shook his hand, I am not sure if he mentioned his name. Not that he had to, hahaha. I told him my name. But Messi… I am still humbled to play with him. He is so amazingly good. He has so much status. And you can understand, when I have the ball and I can play the ball to Messi or to another player, well… if they’re both in a good position, I’ll pick Messi. Isn’t that the best thing to do?”

How was it to see him blossom again this season?

“I think he’s very happy at Barca. I hope he stays, he’s so important for us. In the dressing room we act as per normal with one another, but I don’t ask him about his future, or app him to ask him to stay. That is up to him. When I was 12 years old, he already was the best of the world. He won the Ballon D’Or, right? And now I play with him :-). That is just amazing. And I realise it every day that I play with him now.”

The Spanish media are now also very focused on Frenkie. “It’s extreme, it’s 12 times worse or more intense in Spain. There are tv programs on football that literally broadcast 24/7. And they sometimes just make it up, you know?”

The Dutch football fans will have their eyes set on Frenkie de Jong, but the expectations aren’t that high. Frenkie gets that: “If you do go to a tournament, you need to go to win it. Otherwise, why go? But you need to be realistic too: France – to name one – is favorite I think. Look at that squad! And there are about 8 nations that can win it and I think we are part of that eight. We’ll need to focus on every game as they come and not talk about the title now. Let’s earn that privilege.”

 

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by Jan

Is Oranje good enough…?

In the past weeks, we saw some negativity posted here about the team which prompted me to respond. There were so many things said, that I felt a counter-post was warranted. I mean, Wilson and Tiju tend to vent their frustration with certain players and coaches here, but Jean Venette took it to a whole other level.

In general terms: you don’t need a team of world class players to win trophies!

For every France 2018 or Spain 2012, there is a Greece 2004 or a Leicester City 2016.

You need the best team to win trophies! And a bit of luck. I could end this post right here. Point made.

But, below I will quote Venette (and others) and respond:

“Jan is gonna write his opinion tomorrow and trying to convince folks that this team is good. HAHAHA”

I don’t do this. I am usually trying to explain why a coach does what does and why I think it might work. You can say a lot about our coaches from the past, but they all have a good pedigree and considered to be experts in their fields. We did have inexperienced coaches, but I am not 100% sure you can blame Van Basten for our exit in 2008 or Rijkaard for the dreadful misses v Italy in 2000…

What I do do, and what I do believe in: as a fan you need to support your team. You can be critical of your coach (I am), but the players deserve support. Yelling from the stands “Wijndal, you suck, you don’t deserve to be in this team!” is not my type of supporting.

And lets face it: how often did this group of followers here criticised players… Van Bommel, Nigel de Jong, Dirk Kuyt, Daley Blind… Every player less than Cruyff, Van Basten, Bergkamp or Sneijder gets insults, at times (on this blog).

“This Dutch team isn’t going anywhere. The team is suck….. Berghuis is suck and again he is a starter. LOL Most of these players as sucks.”

I don’t know why I would respond to this. Sounds like a spoiled kid criticising his dinner ( “this meatball sucks, this spinach sucks, I don’t want to eat this!”). The team doesn’t suck. This team (with Virgil) beat France, Germany, England and drew Italy away. So…

I think people in Lyon don’t think Memphis sucks. People like Pocchetino and Klopp don’t think Wijnaldum sucks. Apparently, Frenkie de Jong is the highest valued player in Spain now. So no, we don’t suck.

“You have a bunch of players in this squad that are bench players in their clubs or went abroad and could not perform.”

Someone remembers a certain Marco van Basten, in 1988? He didn’t play. He was not considered first team material by Michels.

The reason that Donny van de Beek doesn’t play at Man United is not hard to fathom (if you follow football, you’d know).

“You have to admit that this generation is suck except for a very few.”

We all know that Spain and England and France are stronger in terms of individual quality and options on every position. That is sadly the fate of The Netherlands. Small country. Less options. England has 5 top right backs, we only have 1 (in my opinion: Karsdorp). This is true. But having said that: how often did England win a big trophy in recent decades?

If you understand football, you know it’s not about the individual players. How many big trophies did C Ronaldo win with his country? Only the last Euros. When he was 33 years old. How many World Cups did Leo Messi win again?

Belgium has been playing several tournaments now with a top notch team with “world class players”. How many trophies exactly?

We have two of the top defenders of the Serie A. We have a true class act in Daley Blind. Frenkie de Jong is top notch. Wijnaldum is a world class player, anyone who begs to differ is not paying attention. He won heaps of trophies at Liverpool, played practically everything, scored key goals in the Champions League and at 30 could sign at PSG, Barca, Bayern or stay at Liverpool.

For me, Liverpool is World Class. So any Liverpool Legend must also be world class.

We have Memphis as top attacker and players like Gravenberch, Timber, Malen, Gakpo will surely follow suit. We don’t need a team of super stars. Those teams never win trophies. We need players like Klaassen and Weghorst who will put in a shift and help support the stars.

“Any tactical decision wouldn’t make any difference.”

Tell this to the German coach who won the Euros in 2004. Tactics are there to allow the players to play at their best level. Did you see the tactical change Koeman made at Barca? And the impact his shift to three-at-the-back made?

“If Berghuis was good enough he wouldn’t be in the Eredivisie by now.”

Why wouldn’t a player be able to decide to stay in Holland? Danny Blind never left Holland. He is considered one of the greatest liberos. How well have some players done when moving abroad (your own observation). So some move abroad and get criticism if they don’t break into a big team right away (Bergwijn, Van de Beek, Kluivert). Others stay in Holland and shine every week and then they get criticised for that?? That is not fair. Berghuis made a transfer to Watford. He decided to return to Holland and play weekly. He was offered a massive pay-check at Feyenoord and decided he wanted to be a big fish in a little pond. But don’t worry, there were more than enough suiters for Berghuis and he’ll make a move, for sure.

I compare him with Ziyech. Elegant technicians, with a tremendous left foot and great vision. But Ziyech is wasted in the high octane style of Tuchel (sadly) and Berghuis was wasted at Watford. I think we should be grateful that Berghuis stayed in Holland.

“For me I think we have to accept the fact that we have failed to produced talented players that we use to and figure out where and how we fell short and look into the future.”

You are behind the times. This process started in 2016 already (actually, after 2012’s debacle) and since, we have started to produce a lot of great talents… De Ligt, Gravenberch, Stengs, Malacia, Lang, Timber, Rensch, Ihattaren, Gakpo, Bijlow, all these names are coming through now and some hav established themselves (De Ligt, Gravenberch, Bijlow), others are on their way after suffering some setbacks (Gakpo, Lang, Malacia) and others struggle a bit with that last step up (Stengs, Ihattaren, Boadu)… The future is quite bright. Wijndal has indeed not progressed enough, I agree with that, but that is normal with young players. That last step is huge.

I pointed out that in The Netherlands (and I was there before the 74 World Cup and the Euros 1988) and before most tournaments, the overall attitude is shifting between “what the F are we going to do there” to “we’ll win this”. And everytime we believe we’ll win it, we go home disappointed (1990, 1996, 2002, 2012) and everytime we believe we have nothing to win, we do exceptionally well (1974, 1978, 2014).

Before the World Cup 1974, the expectations were truly low. We had qualified as a result of a referee blunder (Belgium had an onsite goal ruled out!) and we were missing all our central defenders.

In 1978, we didn’t have Cruyff and Van Hanegem.

And back then, players like Haan, Rijsbergen, Jansen, Jongbloed were not considered World Class.

And like with the criticism poured over Bergwijn, Van de Beek and co: Rep, Jansen, Suurbier, Rijsbergen and others did not have a glorious career abroad. Wim Jansen played in Japan and the US and returned to the Eredivisie, for instance. Rijsbergen made a name for himself at New York Cosmos but that was never taken as a serious team.

Wim Suurbier, party animal

In 1978, we had Poortvliet, Wildschut, Van Kraay, Nanninga, Brands…definitely not world class players.

In 2014, we played with a back 5 of all Eredivisie players. Except for Vlaar, who was playing relegation football with Villa.

In 1988, we had elegant and skilled players galore ( Van ‘t Schip, Vanenburg, Mario Been, Frans van Rooy) but Michels opted for a balanced squad with hard working players (Erwin Koeman, Suvrijn, Bosman, Wim Koevermans, Sjaak Troost) as he understood that these players would not upset the apple cart if they wouldn’t play.

But Van Basten was considered not match fit and Vanenburg was forced to play in service of the team, while 37 year old Muhren was brought in to add some experience and intelligence to the team.

And were we really brilliant? We lost our first game. We won vs England, but with luck.

So why would we now suddenly need 11 world class players??

In 1998, we had a very strong squad. Didn’t win. In 2002, we had one of the best coaches of Dutch history and amazing players. Didn’t even qualify.

“The world will not be talking about these players in 30 years time. Wijnaldum isn’t no Iniesta, nor a Donadoni, Enzo Scifo, Franchescholi, not even an Edgar Davids.”

I think you are wrong. Wijnaldum is on his way to play 100+ caps for Oranje. If you manage that, you will be considered a legend, whether you like it or not :-). He’s been exceptional at Liverpool, much loved there and respected and with a full trophy cabinet.

Memphis is a very colourful player. His foundation work, his clothing line, his funny hats and outfits, and mark my words, he still has his best years in front of him.

Daley Blind will go into history as one of the most gifted left footers we ever had. Frenkie de Jong will become one of our best ever midfielders. I think that in itself is already something to be happy about.

The thing is too: players are considered TOP after winning a big trophy. So, should Holland manage what Greece did in 2004, players like Weghorst and Klaassen and Dumfries will be considered “European top” suddenly.

I think we all have subjective opinions about coaches and players, and we need to accept that there is no such thing as “the truth”. Vincent Janssen is now somewhere in Mexico. Off the radar for most. If he would have picked another club than Spurs, who knows, right? He played 62 games for Monterrey, and scored/assisted 23 times. Which is one goal/assist every third game. Those are way better stats than Luuk de Jong. Janssen could have been on the radar if he would have chosen to play for Gladbach or Mainz or Club Brugge.

Frank de Boer is considered “a loser” but I think that is truly extremely harsh. Sure, his communications is not every enticing. It’s monotonous, he drawls a bit and has a lot of uhs and ohs and ahs… It’s like Emery when he was with Arsenal. He came across as a joker. But despite that, Emery is definitely a top coach, with trophies to prove this. De Boer won the Dutch title 4 times in a row. That is not bad, considering he coached Ajax in a period where they struggled.

He went to Inter, because they wanted to change from a negative, catenaccio style to a more dominant attacking style. The player revolted and the Inter board lost their spine. It took 3 coaches since De Boer and the appointment of Conte to change this. And guess what: Conte is out already, because according to him, the Inter board is constraining him too much.

Same story at Palace: the owners wanted a continental style football. De Boer could have had results in his first four matches but bad luck resulted in a ridiculous loss late in the (fourth) game, which meant the Palace owners shat the bed and chucked him out. They got Yoy Hodgson in and he went back to typical counter football. De Boer was sacrificed to appease the fans and some senior players.

His Atlanta gig can not be seen as a failure. He was there for a good spell and won trophies. What more did they expect?

I remember constant criticism on our teams and players. In 2010, Bert van Marwijk was considered a cautious coach. Our defenders were considered mediocre (Mathijsen, Ooijer, Heitinga). Before the tournament, our two friendlies were considered shambolic. In 2014, no one had any confidence in what Van Gaal was doing. And the story goes on and on.

As for the development of players, look at the 2016 squad and lets look at some names of exciting players who played for Oranje then:

Karsdorp – got seriously injured and missed two whole seasons

Fosu-Mensah – never was able to deliver on that wonderful promise

Hoedt – had a great spell at Lazio but had to re-invent himself after his Southampton move

Jetro Willems – got seriously injured and is now on the prowl for a new club

Bazoer – lost the plot and is now rebuilding his career

Davy Propper – got injured this season and struggled to get back into Brighton, after a solid spell there

Bart Ramselaar – never cut it at PSV, is now back at Utrecht

Van Ginkel – dramatic series of injuries, might return next season (PSV)

Vilhena – great move to Krasnodar where he is one of the key guys, but off the radar a bit

Obviously, Hakim Ziyech should have been on this list too, but his heart decided differently.

As a European football nation expressed in terms of population, we are 8th on the list. Poland and Romania have more people than us. But in terms of football ranking, they are way below us. The top 6 are: England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland.

It is logical that these countries have more talent to pick from than we do.

Only Portugal is way below us in terms of population, while being able to beat us regularly. All other nations below us (Belgium excepted at the moment) should be considered nations we can beat.

In conclusion:

We don’t need 11 world class players to win a trophy. We don’t need to play well in the pre-season friendlies. Even worse, we don’t even have to play great games in a tournament to win it.

Lets get some comments in on this topic (with respect please).

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by Jan

De Boer on his Euro plans

The competition is done, in The Netherlands. The biggest shock probably Emmen’s relegation. After a dramatic return to form the popular club fought themselves back into a relegation play-off and after 90 minutes of attacking and creating dozens of chances vs NAC Breda, they failed to score and got relegated after losing the penalty-series. The big leagues will all be done with competition football this weekend so it’s time for a look at the Euros, with Frank de Boer.

“It’s key to create a good vibe. We’ll be together for weeks and having a good atmosphere or not-so-good atmosphere will be key. I have been around when the vibe was not good, in 1990 and 1996 and look at the results. Whereas in 1998 we had a real connection in the squad and we overachieved.”

Johan Cruyff liked to use the conflict model to drive players to higher levels. Frank thinks it’s an outdated concept. “You can use the conflict model with individual players. Not everyone responds well to it. But overall, I am a fan of the Deschamps method. Any coach would want Benzema in his squad but Deschamp left him out for many years, as he would be toxic in the group. No Benzema in 2018, in other words.”

Louis van Gaal tweaked the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 for the 2014 World Cup after realising that Oranje couldn’t beat the strong teams in that way. Arjen Robben back then was the only real winger in the top of Europe and different playing styles were needed. Bert van Marwijk was also a pragmatic coach and Frank de Boer soaked it up when he assisted Bert in 2010. “I will definitely sit down with Bert before the Euros to revisit that World Cup. He got the maximum result out of the team and we weren’t the favorites back then.”

How long would you want the squad together prior to a tournament?

“I’d say, ideally 3 weeks. Now it’s less than two weeks. We have four days between our friendlies vs Scotland and Georgia. But…”ideal” is out of the window. Ideally, we have full stadiums too. You also see big droves of Orange coloured fans marching towards the stadium, that is all not going to happen. Or maybe at least a bit.”

How do you look back at that Euros in 2000, also in The Netherlands?

“Very positively, actually. I don’t see those two missed penalties vs Italy as my trauma, no. I think we are all proud of what we did, despite that match. And playing in our own country. And now again, three games in Amsterdam. We are favorite in the group, I get that. We won’t skirt away from that. But, Ukraine kept France at 1-1 and also beat Spain 1-0 in the Nations League. The same Spain that embarrassed Germany 6-0, you know? And Austria, they do have quality players from the Bundesliga in their squad. You may have heard of one David Alaba?”

What is the objective for Oranje at the Euros?

“I want to say semi-finals, at least. That is where I think we should aim for. Final four. But, everything needs to work with us, no injuries, no silly red cards and key players in form. Anything beyond semi finals would be a tremendous results. Our first 13 players are all top class. And I see we’re homogeneous, as a team. I can see parallels with the 1998 team. And we have some exciting youngster on top of the 13 and some great utility players. The mix is excellent. We can reach far but I think we are not the real faves. I think we’re an outsider. Belgium, France and Spain are top favorites for me. And don’t underestimate Portugal, England, Germany and Italy. I think we belong in that second series of 4 nations.”

How will we play?

“We’ll vary, I want to be able to shift systems instantly, during games. I want to move from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 or 3-4-3. We will work on this in the prep period. I have discussed this with the players already and some of them, those 13, are used to this already with their clubs. As a coach, I used to play 4-3-3 predominantly. We want to be dominant. Holland isn’t a team that parks the bus. Also, counter football is not our thing as we lack pure speed up front. Whether it’s Memphis, Luuk de Jong, Berghuis or Weghorst, speed is not their weapon. Only Malen has that in his arsenal. But we need to make decisions. What happens if we lose possession here. Or there, you know. Do we have the lock on the door? Is the rest-defence properly organised? Turkey away, for instance… What went wrong? Two goals conceded from a turnaround moment in the game. That is completely unnecessary. In Poland, same thing. One moment of concentration loss and boom, you concede because you’re wide open. That needs to improve. When we played Italy in Bergamo, we did way better. The Italy version of Oranje, and whether you call it 5-3-2 or 3-5-2, I want to use these systems and want to switch during a match, if need be. But not in the first round. Only when we play tough opponents who want the ball even more than us (Spain?) We also need to assess which players are top, which are truly fit, after this long and tough season. And then find a way to have your best players excel. The good thing is, all players, even the youngster, have played with a back three, so no one will say “Wtf is De Boer cooking up for us now??”….

What will be Ruud van Nistelrooy’s role?

“Well, among other things he will work with our forwards. If there is one player who knows what it takes to score, it’s him. He is also a very good analyst, so he’ll do scouting and analysing for us as well. I also want him to talk about 2008, under Van Basten. We played a sensational set of group games, only to lose focus afterwards. And in the first knock-out match, we get beaten. Ruud has seen it all.”

How was your own debut in 1992 and what did you learn from that?

“I was never coached or guided by the older players. What can you expect, how to behave, what to be aware of, etc… I want to do things differently. Back then Michels said: “You’re in the squad. Do your thing.” He never said how he wanted me to play, for instance, what the plans were. But also 1998 was a big lesson. I remember thinking “Wow, we’re playing a nice tournament!”. But the team focus was never “We can win this!!”. We were quite happy with ourselves and when we lost the semis vs Brazil, we even felt like “Wow, being beaten by Brazil…yes, that can happen…”. Now, I look back and think: we should have approached that game differently. And many 1998 players look back at that match and feel the same way. We were satisfied with playing the semis. That is not good enough, hahahaha.”

What does it mean for the hierarchy in the dressing room, now Captain Virgil isn’t present?

“We will miss him dearly. His leadership, his charisma and of course his football qualities. But the hierarchy… there won’t be a vacuum, don’t worry. Wijnaldum is very vocal in the dressing room, Memphis as wel. They’re leaders. Then we have players who lead by example, like Blind and De Ligt and Frenkie. We have enough leaders. Our training sessions will be intense and no one will pull out of a challenge.”

Did you not select Weghorst in the past because he might disturb the vibe in the squad?

“Huh? No… I never thought about that, with him. Never looked at it like that. No, Weghorst position was already doubly booked, so to speak. Babel and Malen on the left, Stengs and Berghuis on the right and Memphis and Luuk de Jong centrally. End of story. And Wout is doing so well, he is a top striker and whether he is an asshole in the match or not, I don’t care. But as long as he’s an asshole to the opponent, hahahaha.”

You know already which 26 players will be selected?

“I have a couple of players where I am not 100% sure yet. I still need to lay that egg. I also considered bringing Virgil as one of the three additional players, even if he couldn’t play, just for his presence in the squad. But I won’t.”

How will you deal with the social media stuff?

“It’s part of life now. Players do a lot with this and it’s all good. We do have someone in the back room staff who will take care of films and photos, so the players 1) don’t have to worry about that and 2) can be assured they’ll look good on the pic, hahaha.”

Do you support a mandatory vaccination policy for the players?

“No! That is an individual decision, people should be free to decide for themselves.”

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by Jan

De Boer follows this blog

We’ve seen it before here, with National Team coaches taking advice from us Oranje experts. The call for Weghorst, the confusion around Babel and Strootman, the omissions of Karsdorp, Frank has taken the hints and acted on it.

When De Boer took over from Koeman (actually, from Lodeweges) he didn’t have much time to play around with the squad. He only had half a day to prep for his first game and understandably, he stuck with Koeman’s choices.

It was always clear that he would pick his own squad ahead of the Euros, with time on his hand to analyse the larger list of players (Danjuma, Lang, Gakpo, Stengs, Karsdorp) and to develop a game plan.

The latter, we’l’l have to wait and see. We will slowly see his ideas emerge in the coming weeks. The prelim squad tells us a good story, though.

He dropped Babel and Strootman, while previously singing their praises as “important lads for the dressing room”. It doesn’t feel like a glorious compliment a player wants to hear. “We’re taking Toornstra to the Euros as well, because of the way he carries the practice balls. And we have picked Vilhena due to his amazing musical selections for before the game.”

No, when the sharp ends comes closer, you pick the players who can win you the trophy.

For me, the squad is logical. I don’t see any player that makes me cringe. But I would have liked to have seen Noa Lang and Danjuma in the squad. At the same time, you can “only” bring 26 players so a number of pre-lim players will be dropped.

Add the fact that Jong Oranje also has a serious tournament this summer and Van der Looij will require some of this stars to play for him.

If there is one surprise, it is the absence of Calvin Stengs. The one-time super talent of AZ is not in the prelim squad and the surprise is less to do with his amazing skills and performances of late (there weren’t any) but because he is Frank de Boer’s son-in-law and the coach has risked a family feud by not selecting the AZ winger. His coach, Pascal Jansen: “I can fully understand De Boer’s decision. I’m a Calvin fan, and he is special. But you do need to show that on the pitch, and he hasn’t this season. He needs to make a step up and show the coach he cannot ignore him. For now, Jong Oranje is more his level.”

Virgil van Dijk confirmed what most of us knew and actually hoped for: the Euros are too early for him. The risk for him to play anyway was such, that he could have completely destroyed his career at Liverpool and Oranje and the World Cup next year. We’ll have to do this without him.

Daley Blind, on the other hand, does seem to be on schedule to return. A good thing with Daley: he never had to need games to return to his full form after injury. He’s one of those players that will be able to pick up where he left off.

The introduction of Jurrien Timber was hoped for. The Ajax centre back impresses weekly. He’s strong on the ball, lightning fast, he plays with courage and he head up and defensively focused, not unlike that other young (former) Ajax talent, Mathijs de Ligt. Timber can also Cody Gakpo also makes his entrance. Frank simply couldn’t ignore him, after his return from injury. A big plus for Gakpo: he can play left winger but he can also fill in the 10 role in a different way then Klaassen or Van de Beek.

And then there is the return of Karsdorp – finally – and Anwar El Ghazi. The latter was a super talent in Ajax’ youth – compared to none other than CR7 – and has been playing regular football for Villa, scoring goals (8 this season) and being important. He used to be a tad lazy and complacent but life in the EPL and being coached by John Terry will have had this trait removed…

Rick Karsdorp is Roma’s wingback on the left and starts most games in the Serie A and in the Europa League. He has 6 assists and 1 goal in 32 matches and galops along the right flank like he used to do before his injuries. Yes, Dumfries, Hateboer, Veltman, Tete and St Juste are also part of the prelim squad but if De Boer wants a 4-3-3 line up and a 3-4-3 line up, it pays to include Karsdorp. Tete is not a regular in Fulham and wasn’t able to keep the Cottagers in the EPL, whereas Karsdorp reached the semi finals of the EL. I think Hateboer won’t be match fit after his injury woes and Veltman will probably go to the Euros as utility player (left back, centre back, right back).

Lastly, Weghorst. Of course he will come to the Euros. The additional 3 players De Boer is allowed to bring will mean he simply cannot ignore the Wolfsburg striker.

Arjen Robben is not part of the list. Whoever came up with that joke had a lot of fun. I think Robben mentioned it as a pun after his first game in many months (2 assists) and the media and pundits took it seriously. He would be an amazing assistant coach though, but as a player? Ridiculous!

What is next?

On May 24, De Boer starts his first practice camp, with the full squad. Wednesday May 26, De Boer will announce the final 26 man squad. On Saturday May 29, the squad will fly to Portugal for their prep. On June 2, the first friendly vs Scotland is planned and on June 6 Georgia will be the opponent in the Twente Stadium in Enschede. The Euros will start on Sunday June 13, with the home game vs Ukraine, with Austria on June 17 and North Macedonia on June 21. All games played in the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.

I will now re-jig the selection I think Frank will go with (with the know-how of the prelim squad).

Goalies:

Cillesen, Krul, Stekelenburg

Defenders:

Dumfries, Karsdorp, Veltman, De Vrij, De Ligt, Blind, Wijndal, Ake

Midfield:

Frenkie de Jong, Gini Wijnaldum, Davy Klaassen, Donny van de Beek, Marten de Roon, Ryan Gravenberch, Teun Koopmeiners

Attack:

Malen, Memphis, Luuk de Jong, Wout Weghorst, Berghuis, Bergwijn, Cody Gakpo, Promes

I doubt only the last name. Quincy Promes was part of Oranje for years now and I think that will be the difference between him and El Ghazi. De Boer might decide against Promes should he feel the ex Ajax man is too much of a distraction with his off pitch antics and pending court case.

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