Tag: Guus Til

by Jan

Introducing Henk Fraser: the Ghost

In a period within which Dutch clubs are making their massive come-back onto the European front! Sure, everybody knows Ajax and PSV has also had some recent smaller successes in Europe with Feyenoord lagging behind. But this time around, Vitesse and AZ have also found their way into the group stages of the various European cup competitions and that is great news for us! Well done.

Ajax is placed in the Champions League by virtue of their title, last season. And the Sons of Gods are lucky once again, this time with the draw. By all means doable, and with heaps of jealous glances from Paris, Manchester and Liverpool of course.

PSV had a real chance of getting there too, but after some impressive games vs Galatasaray and Midtjylland, Benfica appeared to tough to handle, despite a tremendous second half in Portugal and despite playing 10 men for 60 minutes or so. But the Philips team choked and their coach might not have made the proper chances when needed. Still, Europa League is their League and they will have a chance to go far.

Feyenoord impressed under coach Arne Slot with some impressive attacking play, and they sailed through the qualifications for the Conference League, with their easiest (but first) game vs FC Drita their toughest! Vitesse had some hurdles to overtake, in particular against Anderlecht, but they did it in the end. AZ Alkmaar wasn’t able to beat a mediocre Celtic for a spot in the Europa League but they will compete in the Conference League now, which is still a feat for a coach who had to say goodbye to a couple of mainstays (Stengs, Boadu, Midjo, Bizot).

Guus Til back in the squad too

We can prepare for a special season, both domestically and internationally.

Lets focus on the NT again, as the first matches under LVG III will commence sooner than you think.

Van Gaal presented the final squad selection and was happy to be able to welcome back Denzel Dumfries and Steven Bergwijn. The latter has had a good run in Spurs’ matches recently and impressed. Van Gaal really wants to have more options on the wings and with Bergwijn, he has a player who can play left and right wing.

We’ve spoken enough about Louis and his side-kick Danny Blind. Lets look at Henk Fraser. Who the H is Henk Fraser?

The older football fans will remember him as the tough-as-nails centre back of FC Utrecht, Roda JC and Feyenoord. He started out as a striker at Sparta Rotterdam, in the same time that Danny Blind and Louis van Gaal played there. Interestingly, Louis couldn’t remember it! The Sparta skipper was on his way out and Henkie was a shy sub who never got onto Louis’ radar. He never made it as a striker, was transferred as one to FC Utrecht, though, but his coach there immediately turned him into a very good centre back. You could compare him with Adri van Tiggelen (lanky, lean, mean, tough, fast) or with Portuguese defender Pepe. Fraser could also get red mist in front of his eyes. Mr Yellow was his nickname at FC Utrecht.

When at Roda JC, he got selected for Oranje in 1989 and made his debut vs Denmark, alongside Bryan Roy and Stanley Menzo. He played against Brian Laudrup and got the compliments from skipper Gullit after that game. Ajax, Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund wanted him but an injury and family circumstances put a stop to that.

A year later, Feyenoord would sign him, with a massive signing fee on top. Fraser would become Feyenoord’s most expensive signing at that moment.

He played 9 seasons for Feyenoord and in 1993 he won the title under coach Van Hanegem, with whom he’d build a strong relationship. His time at Feyenoord was successful but Fraser also suffered multiple injuries ( torn ankle ligaments, broken leg, and knee injuries). Officially he was also part of the 1999 squad that won the title, but he wouldn’t play that season. Not long after, he would retire from football. He won 4 National Cups, 2 titles, the first Johan Cruyff Shield and reached the semi finals of the Europa Cup II in 1991/92.

Fraser would end up playing 6 games in Oranje, as he was also part of the NT squad for the World Cup 1990. He would play 30 minutes in the last group match, subbing Richard Witschge. He would be called up way more, but never played any more in orange.

Coaching Sparta

His nickname Ghost came from Marco van Basten. During the 1990 World Cup, the three AC Milan stars and Ronald Koeman were the four dominant forces. Fraser, being new to the squad and one of the few Feyenoord players, stayed well in the background, shy as he used to be. He was so quiet, that Marco van Basten called him “The Ghost”. But at training, Fraser would play against Van Basten. Initially, Henk didn’t want to be too tough and Van Basten taunted him constantly with elbows and little knocks and nibbles. To the point where Fraser at some stage lost control and hacked Van Basten down. The AC Milan striker smiled and said “that is how you do it!”. But coach Beenhakker immediately stopped the session and scolded Fraser for endangering his top striker!

After the World Cup 1990, sometime in 1992, Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard were interviewed and were asked: who is the ideal defender in your eyes? They looked at each other and said in unison: “Henk Fraser is the perfect example of the most complete defender”. High praise indeed.

Fraser: “I think I haven’t gotten all out of my career, like many players… That emotional thing in me has not helped. I was not able to control myself. If I was ok, I would jump over a player who slid on the ground, but I was not my happy self and that opponent had kicked me or something, I would sneakily plant my studs on this thigh, you know? That sortathing. I learned all this later in life.”

About the World Cup 1990. “I never felt settled in Oranje. There was the Ajax – Feyenoord thing, of course. Back then, the rivalry was insane. Today, Ajax and Feyenoord players go on holidays together. In those days, unthinkable. I also didn’t have a click with the other players. I knew John van Loen, from Utrecht and Roda. Also Wouters and Winter were good guys, but the other players… they were happy with their own clique and never opened up to the lesser players. But that was how I thought back then. I might well have been very wrong, but I was a bit insecure and didn’t feel it. I was the room mate of Danny Blind, now my colleague at Oranje. We didn’t have anything together. Not that we didn’t like each other, or something. We simply didn’t have a relationship. It was probably as much me as him, or probably more me, even. I had the same issues later when playing for the Suriprofs (players born in Suriname), and I realised I was the problem. I need time to settle in, to find my comfort zone.”

Ruud Gullit mentioned Fraser recently, saying he never expected Henk to become a successful coach. Too quiet. “I had to learn to lead, learn to be vocal and speak my mind. Clarence Seedorf had it when he was 16 years old. With me, it came later.”

After his career, he became a successful youth coach at Feyenoord, hailed by the players but eventually needing to leave due to clashes with the club management. He went on to coach the PSV youth and worked extensively with Memphis. When he became assistant coach at ADO Den Haag, he got the chance to step up when Maurice Steijn – the head coach -was fired. He had to overcome his biggest fear: public speaking. “I had to learn to be comfortable and to have something to say. I learned a lot from my KNVB mentors, but Leo Beenhakker was also an inspiration. After his tactical talk, I was foaming at the mouth and ready to run onto the pitch, hahahaha.”

And after winning the first and only prize with Vitesse – the National Cup – everyone expected Feyenoord and Fraser to find each other again, but before Feyenoord could make a move, Sparta beat them to it. Last season’s play-off ticket was another calling card Fraser dropped and this time around, he did make it on the Van Gaal Radar.

It is funny: Louis didn’t remember having shared a dressing room with you?

“Hahaha, that was pretty confronting. But Louis is direct in his communication, eh? I was not a starter in those days. I did play in that infamous Europe Cup match vs HSV Hamburg, but probably not so good hehehe. But with a career like his, it’s impossible to remember all the youngsters you’ve met.”

One of the best Sparta squads, with Fraser, Van Gaal, Blind, Lengkeek, Olde Riekerink and Rene Eijer 

How was he as a player and colleague?

“You could recognise the coach in his playing style. He loves players with a good orientation and feel for the position and space. Louis was a highly intelligent player. Not the quickest with his legs, but fast with his brain. He was definitely the leader. And he’d only have to look at you at training and you knew: ok, I’m carrying the ball bag today… He was very social. We went on an international trip, to Spain one day. I was 17 years old and Louis took us under his wing. We went out and he gave me a Lumumba. A chocolate milk with rum cocktail. I have never been so drunk in my life.”

And then, 35 years later, he calls you up: do you want to be my assistant?

“He first messaged me: is it ok for me to call you? I thought I was being pranked, so I checked and double checked if this was indeed Louis’ mobile number. But it was him and he was very serious and to the point. I actually asked time to consider. A reflex I guess. I never take a decision just like that. I called my dad for advice and he’s like: mate! Be proud. Say yes. He was all emotional and that was the confirmation I needed.”

So how will you work week look now, in your double role as Sparta coach and NT assistant?

“Simple. I don’t have any days off anymore. My free day is now an NT day. I will not take any time away from Sparta of course.”

How will you divide the roles?

“I will focus on the Eredivisie players. And that is a bonus for Sparta too, as I’m constantly scouting and watching games, so Sparta will benefit from these insights too. We will do our meetings online, as Louis will work from his Portugal home. And he’s as impressive via Zoom as he is in face to face meetings, hahahaha.”

And were you offered the NT job after Louis leaves?

“I read that everywhere, but it’s not the case. I have not been informed, at least. Lets just focus on qualifying first and then we’ll see how things go. For all I know, Louis might not be happy with me after a couple of games, who knows?”

Van Gaal recognises the potential of this Oranje. Do you think the quarter finals goal for this past Euros was realistic?

“Yes, if Holland is in a good form, we can beat anyone. But it’s not an automatic thing. There are at least 10 great football nations on the planet. At least. And countries like the Czech Republic, or Mexico or Uruguay can also make life hard for any of those 10 nations. But yes, Louis sees potential but also because Louis knows that he can make the sum of the parts better.”

As assistant of Cor Pot at the Under 21s in 2011

Where are you in the playing system debate?

“I think realism is needed. There are still experts in Holland who think that 4-3-3 is the only way to play attacking football. That is baloney. We can play attacking football with any system. You can press high with a 3-5-2, why not? But hey, at the World Cup, all you want is win games, right? We are good but not that good, not so good that we can force our way onto any opponent. The coach will take into account our form, our strength and weaknesses but also the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. And then you pick your best tactics.”

It seems you will be the assistant who will be closest to the players?

“Probably yes, that will be my role. I worked with Memphis, Wijnaldum and others before. I have worked with some of these players at the Euros Under 21 in Israel and I think I have a good contact with players, usually. It’s all about them, really. They need to feel good. I look forward to working with them again.”

 

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by Jan

Gearing up to Oranje friendlies

With the lull we had in Oranje football and the newly appointed strong men finding their feet (Hoogma, Koeman) it’s time we see the Orange Lions perform again. The Eredivisie simply can’t convince us of better times to come I suppose… Ajax, the best players but inconsisent (and even worse with Ten Hag then under Keizer at the moment). PSV, on title winning course, but never impressing (bar the Feyenoord game, in which they played very good) and Feyenoord…well… disastrous really.

AZ is getting the kudos and the headlines, and rightfully so, but we’ll need to see if they can do it in big games vs big opponents as well. Usually, the bottle it against Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV.

There are some positives though, some of our Oranje candidates abroad are getting stronger and stronger. Memphis and Tete show promise. Promes shows…well…promise. De Vrij, Hateboer, De Roon, all strong. Davy Propper is getting praise from the Match of the Day punters while Mike van der Hoorn has found his role in the Swansea defense.

The number of youthful talents in the Eredivisie is on the increase as well, with quite some strong talents coming up on the radar. Soon, I’ll post an article with some up and coming stars for us.

Ronald Koeman made some big changes when he started in the job. In the olden days, a former team manager decided to have the NT stay and train in Noordwijk, in the hotel of a friend. Strange of course. Because the KNVB spent millions to build a cool sports centre in the forests of Zeist. Every athlete or sports team (Hockey, baseball, etc) would go there to be secluded, to be able to focus and have all the amenities available. The NT however, had to train miles away from the hotel at the amateur club of Katwijk (Dirk Kuyt’s former club) and logistically, this was always a drama. The players loved it there though, the more “extraverted” ones would slip away from the hotel to go to the vibrant night life of Zandvoort or The Hague to have some party time away from coaches and family.\

Media circus at Hotel Noordwijk

Under Koeman, no more. He was known to be one of those party animals when he was a player and he knows every trick in the book. (If you were a team mate of Ruud Gullit, you definitely would get a master class in slipping girls into your hotel room…yes girls…plural!). So Koeman decided to stop with that ritual of staying in Noordwijk. And he is directing his underperfoming prima donnas to go to the prison camp – a luxurious one though – in Zeist. Boom!

Koeman demands dedication, rest and professionalism on his long and winding road towards the 2020 Euros.

Koeman is quite optimistic. He believes any team or squad needs to play to their strengths AND weaknesses. “If we don’t have the world class talent of Sneijder and Robben anymore, we’ll need to use the strengths we have. If we’re not strong defensively, we need to make sure we don’t need to defend…” Cruyffian statements.

He asked the questions, rhetorical ones of course. “How is Quincy Promes doing in Moscow? Isn’t De Vrij a top defender in Italy? Has Memphis not demonstrated that he can do it? Is Wijnaldum not a highly valued player under Klopp? Didn’t Liverpool break the transfer record for Van Dijk? Can we not all see the amazing lungs and legs of AZ’s Guus Til? Aren’t we excited about Frenkie de Jong, Justin Kluivert, Donny van der Beek?”

Koeman is optimistic. But also disappointend. “When I was called up for the national team, in my days, I was proud. I was exhilarated to be part of it. I would go even when my leg had been amputated. I miss this mentality now. The pride to wear the jersey. The attitude, the mentality. When you have less quality, you simply have to give 110% of what you have. When you’re Messi or Robben or David Silva, sure, you can rely on your skills. But when you are Greece 2004, you need to spit in your hands and work work work. “Missing one tournament is highly inconvenient, but okay, it can happen. Missing two in a row, is really bad.” The only good thing for Koeman is that with Oranje and the KNVB in crisis, he could come in at his terms.

So after barely a month in the job, we can see some impact already.

The move from Noordwijk to Zeist is a big call. The players’ quarters are at walking distance from the pitches. The medical centre is right next door. There are gates around the complex, so Ronald can work in peace and without media people or scouts or managers trying to butt in.

The KNVB Sportscentre

The prelim squad selection is a second big one. No more Wesley Sneijder. Ronald Koeman did it with grace. He flew to Qatar, spoke with Sneijder, our record international, and basically said: Wes, just pull out of international games, otherwise I have to drop you. And with the former skipper and leader’s international career over, the career of new faces Til, Weghorst, Kluivert, Bizot and Padt just started. And if Frenkie de Jong wasn’t injured, his name would be on the list as well. Our team manager simply looks at players who play well consistently, so Ruud Vormer – best player in Belgium and ignored by Koeman’s predecessors – is also finally part of the prelim squad. Hans Hateboer went through a tremendous development at Atalanta and is also part of the 33-players prelim squad. Koeman’s signal is clear: I cast a wide net. If you perform well, I’ll spot you!

The third signal Koeman is giving, is hidden in the age and skillsets of the players. Ryan Babel is the only 30+ player in the squad. Koeman considers to play like Atalanta does, with three defenders and a team of fit, athletic runners (like Hateboer and De Roon). This playing style fits Koeman, who introduced it at Feyenoord and it will fit Daryl Janmaat, back in the squad, and players like Van Aanholt and Ake.

And lastly, the way Koeman organises the accessibility of the players will change. In the past, it was a media circus when the players arrived at the Hotel Oranje in Noordwijk. Not any more. There will be no press conferences to announce player selections, just a press release. There will be one Oranje training where media is welcome, but only for 15 minutes. At Southampton and Everton, Koeman worked like this. He doesn’t like media and other voyeurs to be watching when he is working. He wants peace and he wants to be able to say or shout things that should not be repeated in the papers. In England, this is accepted. In The Netherlands, the media will complain about this as the former NT managers were usually quite open. But the criticism leaves Koeman cold. He shrugs his shoulders…

“My terms!”

I personally don’t see too many surprises in the squad. Still a bit surprised that Erik Pieters isn’t called up but we do have good quality on the full back positions, with Patrick van Aanholt finding his old form again. Sven van Beek will probably get a look in later, if he keeps on performing consistently and Frenkie de Jong will also be a no-brainer.

It’s good to see Bergwijn amongst the forwards, a very bright prospect indeed.

At the same time, we have all seen how hard it is to reach and stay at top level. I think our good friend Emmanueal Tiju was blowing the horn of Kevin Diks and St Juste and Bart Ramselaar and Jorit Hendrix in the past year, but one can see how hard it is for a talented youth player to stay at the top and keep on developing. The orange jersey seems a long way out for Kevin Diks at the moment.

I saw some questions on the site about some players. My opinion below:

Bryan Linssen – good sub top forward. Already 27 years old. Quite lazy. Doesn’t give 100% for the sports, always struggling with his weight. Gifted player but not for the top. He’s at Vitesse now and I think that is his ceiling.

Idrissi – was kicked out of the Feyenoord youth and went to Groningen. Was seen as a dissonant there too. Showed promise at Groningen but finally shines now at AZ in a better team. Van de Brom is a coach who can reach Idrissi, so there is still hope for him. Very talented but also full of himself.

Ruud Vormer – also a bit long in the tooth. Lacks pace. Great player on the ball, a bit like Lasse Schone. Not an Oranje international long term.

Guus Til – great talent, wonderful runner, picking his time right and cool in the box. Pleasant personality too. Like Van Ginkel a bit. Will make it.

Wout Weghorst – reminds me of Van Nistelrooy. Hard working, very ambitious, invests a lot in himself. Will make it big(ger) due to his workrate and personality. Will not even be able to stand in the shadow of Van Basten, Kluivert, Van Nistelrooy but can be very useful.

Bart Ramselaar – was a big man at Utrecht and took a long time to find his role at PSV. Finally seems to find his game, played well in the last weeks. Too early to tell.

Expect a post on our former skipper Sneijder and our former playmaker Van der Vaart soon!

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