Tag: Huntelaar

December 11, 2016 by Jan

Robin van Persie is back!

We’re smack in the middle of one of those generation gaps. It happens with smaller football nations. Belgium’s gaps are longer than their peaks. Denmark had a trough but seems to be coming back. Hungary is been missing in action for 50 years. We have had them before. Right after the 1970s golden years was the biggest one of course. NT coach Danny Blind did not pick an easy road. After two World Cup top 4 spots and the Golden Four entering their autumn (Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie) and winter stages (Van der Vaart),

We discuss our current top players (a utility player of Liverpool, a box to box player at Swansea, a make shift center back at Watford, a bench warmer at Man United, an inconsistent right back at Feyenoord) and even throw some players in the mix who hardly played a handful of top flight games for their Euro sub top club (Nouri, Diks).

Robben and Sneijder are the two old hands who help Blind carry the load. Robin van Persie should be the third world class player to return to the fold, in my honest opinion. He’s been in the cold for a couple of seasons now, but Robin is back. Fighting fit and motivated. His story…

Currently, Robin van Persie (33)is in his best period in years, as the Fenerbahce striker. Blind still doesn’t give him a look in at Oranje. Robin’s views… “The team manager makes the decisions. Not me. It’s that simple. But, the team is in transition and why wouldn’t I be able to help?”

His wide open mouth, the near insane look in his eyes. These images are still everywhere in Istanbul. On the front pages, posters and Turkish tv. Even in commercials. Robin van Persie, wild with joy, scoring against arch rival Galatasaray (2-0).

Even now, weeks later, this is still the topic that matters. “Oh man! The joy I felt. It was a serious explosion. Everything tried to get out. Literally, everything. I needed that!”

Robin van Persie clenches his fist when he says this, in the relax room of the Fener training complex, in the Asian part of town. Historical black and white pics on the wall. “A few days before the match I visited a Turkish friend, and he told me: as long as you haven’t scored against Gala, you are not really a Fener player.” And he meant it. All supporters think like this. You can play well, you can score a lot, all well and good, but what really counts here is being the decider of the derby.”

And we see it a day later in the Sukru stadium, when Van Persie plays versus Besiktas (0-0). His difficult first season at the club, it hasn’t had any negative influence on his popularity with the Blue-Yellow fans. He is the first player they cheer and call to the fan-zone behind the goal for a crazy cheering ritual. An ear deafening roar comes into the stadium. Dick Advocaat: “Robin is the most popular player here. But, that already was the case before the Gala match.”

Advocaat has said it before. His striker is top fit, fresh in his head and pretty darn good. Against his old club Feyenoord, Van Persie didn’t shine but he played a solid role in service of the team. And in mid week games, his coach tends to rest the old fox. He’s not 22 anymore but he is the number one striker for Fenerbahce. His statistics are clear in the months October and November. The player starts to look more and more like his old self.

“Fun, just pure fun! Fun in playing, the matches, the practices. Carefully prepared passing and finishing practices. Sharp games. Even a good warming up is something to cherish. When expectations are high, I can perform at my best. I missed that drive, to be honest with you. Last season was no fun. My last season at Man United wasn’t great either. It was a struggle in many ways. And you only notice this when the joy is back. That gives you a mental boost. It’s liberating and I think it also affects your physical strength and fitness.”

You were presented as a super signing, but you couldn’t deliver on that promise. At all.

“I know what you mean. Things didn’t go the way I wanted it. There were several factors at play. I personally think the “he is not fit” element wasn’t even that big a thing. The media and the outside world made that more important. There were other things too. I am not the kind to look back in anger and say nasty things about people, but lets just say that things turned around very positively when Dick Advocaat came. However, I did score 22 goals last season, so it wasn’t that big a drama I don’t think.”

2015-2016 HASAN DOGAN SEZONU FENERBAHCE-BURSASPOR 5.HAFTA 20.09.2015 MUSTAFA NACAR — **“Crisis? What Crisis??”**

How was Advocaat turning things around?

“He makes the difference, with Cor Pot and Mario Been. The way we train, the way we play, the discipline in and off the pitch, the clarity in the vision. We had a good meeting, when Dick came in and he was honest, sharp and critical. He said “I have high expectations of you. I want you to carry the team, to lead”. I enjoy that Dutch directness. That is what we need.”

You did have a personal trainer working with you for months. He even lived with the family. Did that work?

“For sure! I needed to do more in that period. I felt that, but I couldn’t fit it into the usual practice sessions. I have now ended those personal sessions but it has strengthened my foundation, that is what it is. The last percentages of progress I booked through playing matches.”

When Dick Advocaat came in August, he was sceptical about the striker. Again, Robin was injured. The former Zenit and Sunderland coach wanted to see what Robin could do. Advocaat: “I had my doubts yes. No team can carry a player who can’t reach a certain level anymore. Not in the big games. But, when you saw his fitness return, you could easily see what an incredible player he still is.”

Still, a return to Oranje is not happening. When Vincent Janssen and Luuk de Jong demonstrated to lack form and rhythm, against Belgium and Luxembourg, Blind still didn’t make that call. Dick Advocaat decides to pass on this topic. “It’s sensitive in any situation for a coach to make a comment about that, but I assisted Danny for a spell so it’s not appropriate for me to comment. But, I am happy that I don’t need to make those decisions.”

Van Persie takes a breath and moves around a bit when the subject is broached. “I want to pick my words properly but I don’t want to beat around the bush. But, for starters, it’s the coach’ decision. That is how it works. But, I think I have earned the right to say something about it, based on my history with Oranje? And why wouldn’t I be able to give my viewpoint?”

And how do you see it?

“When I see Vincent Janssen play, I can see he is a good striker. For real. He’s got the intuition, the work ethics, he has courage and confidence. But, I can also see little things in his game that can improve. It’s details, I know, but I am sure I can help him. This is how Ruud van Nistelrooy worked with me. Obviously, Vincent needs to be open to it, but I’ve played eleven seasons in the EPL and scored a couple of goals for Oranje so I think I can help in this process. Obviously, it’s weird to be saying this knowing that Luuk de Jong and Bas Dost will not be too happy with me talking myself into the squad… I do respect them as players as well.”

Could you live with a role as second striker?

“I probably couldn’t four years ago, haha, but when things are made clear and there is communication and the first striker is the man in form and better than, why not? And you can make decisions based on the game at hand. I can play in four roles upfront. Here at Fener I play the #10 role as well at times. If there is a will, we can find a way. And I’m no fool! I know the generation Sneijder/Robben/Van Persie/Van der Vaart is phasing out. That is only natural. The Dutch NT is in a transformation stage and Janssen might well be the striker for the next ten years. But that will not happen within a day or week or month. Why wouldn’t I be able to support that process?”

It seems that Blind doesn’t recognise this role in you?

“It’s quite possible we don’t have a click personally. And that’s ok. But I do hope the professional will win against the personal. It’s not about him or me. It’s about Oranje. That is the main thing.”

Things happened between you and Memphis on the training pitch, among other things. Could the past play a role?

“I don’t know. I can be quite direct, I know. But in some case it is needed. It’s part of top sports. If you want to be top and perform to the max, you need to be able to tell each other your truth. And a clash, sharp, head to head, it’s ok. It’s not always a bad thing. And then you need to be able to let it go. I actually saw Memphis at Man United some time back and asked him: Memphis, you still pissed off at me. And he said no. So that’s it. Done. And I have always put a lot of energy in young players. I love that. Talking, helping, feel free to ask them.”

Can you imagine Blind might think: Van Persie in a secondary role, that’s not going to work?

“No idea. He might think that. But, it’s a matter of management, isn’t it? That is important in being a coach, apart from coaching. It’s managing the personalities in a team. I scored twice against Gala, but for the next game against Zorya, three days later, Advocaat told me: you won’t play. And I said: What? I feel great. I want to play! But Advocaat said he felt the next competition game was more important. End of story. And that’s cool. It’s clear and open and honest. I’m now 33 years old. I’m starting to wisen up a bit.”

But in all seriousness, the last couple of years, the coaches of Oranje would not have a lot of reason to select you. You didn’t play great and you weren’t fit

“I hear what you say. I sort of lost the fun in the game. And I have to blame myself for this. But not every period is the same. People will say I am biased, but I did have some good periods as well.”

Like right before this last international break, for the Luxembourg and Belgium games?

“Yes exactly. And I do get Oranje is in a process and Blind is looking for consistency and all that. You want to grow and develop towards the World Cup. That is the way to do it, but at the same time, football is also today. Now. You need to get results now as well.”

Did Blind ever call you or ask you about this other role in the squad?

“No he didn’t and to be honest, that puzzles me a bit. I mean, if he doesn’t want to select me, fine. That is his prerogative. He is the coach. But Danny worked with me in his time as assistant of Van Gaal and I think we worked well together. We’ve known each other for years. Why wouldn’t you just pick up the phone and talk about it? You don’t have to go with my ideas, but why not talk about it? I can be a reasonable guy, hahaha.”

And if Blind calls tomorrow, would you come? Or would you want a firm meeting before deciding?

“I always maintained, that playing for your country is a true and huge honour. I don’t have any reason to view that differently now. That talk will come anyway. But I will never say no to Oranje. It’s too valuable for me.”

Van Persie played 101 caps for Holland. When a player reaches 100 games, he usually is presented with a beautiful scale. The KNVB decided to simply mail the thing out in October, using regular post, to Instanbul. No one at the KNVB took the trouble to visit him, take him out to dinner… Or invite him as guest to an Oranje game. Van Persie had himself and wife Bouchra photographed with the thing, sitting on his sofa, with a grin on his face. And what a contrast with the welcome he received at Old Trafford or in De Kuip last Thursday. He was subbed in the 75th minute and received a tremendous applause. In Manchester, he even got a standing ovation when he scored against Man United. “Those were goosebumps moments. Really, the warmth and respect in England. The moment I got off the plane in Manchester I felt it. It was great. We lived there quite a while and I feel good in England.”

But the pics on Twitter of you with that KNVB scale? That was a subtle statement? We are not that good in Holland in honouring our top athletes.

“But I do feel the respect and acknowledgement from the Dutch fans. Of course, receiving this in a stadium, with fans in the stands is much more fun and valuable, but that chance might come one day. I am proud anyway.”

In Turkey, the adoration goes beyond what we believe to be normal. Have you gotten used to that?

“We really enjoy life here. The people, the city, life in general. We feel at home and the kids too. I think I’ve become a bit of a Turk myself. I love Tavla, a sort of Turkish backgammon game. Amazing game. And I bought a special table for it, hahaha. My Turkish team mates love it too. But I can win against them now, so they don’t enjoy it too much anymore.”

And do you feel safe here? A lot has happened recently, with even a political coup?

“True, and people do talk about this. We do feel connected to the nation and we try to follow the news. We talk to people about it. Bouchra is always busy helping asylum kids from Syria, with other players wives. A lot is going on in the world, not just here. It’s frightening at times. Sure. And we do see security as a big theme. We will take that into account when we take our next step.”

Do you feel safe here?

“Yes I do. The last months are quiet. Istanbul is not unstable but listen, we are privileged. 99% of the other people have bigger worries than we. I’m a well payed player, I live in a beautiful home in a secure compound. I don’t think we would be the first to complain about feeling unsafe.”

(Note JR: and just this morning the news broke of a bomb exploding at Istanbul train station 🙁 )

Life was different last August. You weren’t happy with coach Pereira, there was the coup, I’m sure you must have considered leaving?

“We discussed all options, yes. And there were opportunities to consider and good offers. And we weighed everything, the football, family, security, etc. In that stage, only Wesley was here in Istanbul, as a Dutchman. But within weeks, we saw Nigel de Jong at Gala, Jan Olde Riekerink was here of course. Van der Wiel came to Fener, then Hoek as keeper trainer at Gala. Dick came here with Cor and Mario and then Lens showed up to play here. Really incredible. It all happened so quick and fell into place.”

So if Advocaat wouldn’t have come, would you be playing elsewhere?

“Hard to say, but it was a big factor in my decision. And pretty soon it all clicked. And I started to feel good and settled. I think I was fortunate that it all went as it went.

June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 by Jan

What are your best Oranje Euro memories?

Time now to stop bickering about whether Kuyt is a headless chicken, Memphis has thunder thighs (all that erotica!) and whether Tiju is a better coach than Van Gaal and Hiddink…

Time to swallow our pride and start this Euros 2016 experience with fond memories of our lads in past tournaments. The Euros are usually a hot and cold event for the Dutch. When expectations are high we fold, and when no one expects it, we perform…

The glorious World Cup wannabees at least won one EC trophy, although some of us here won’t have real memories of that day. Not yours truly though. He was there when we basked in glory. Partying with the players in Hamburg and Munich… But more of that later…

In the modern game, we played a fair number of exciting games and weather a few storms too… Let’s look at our past and share memories here.

Euros 1976 Yugoslavia

The first Euro tournament of note for Holland. On the back of a sensation 1974 World Cup, beaten by the Germans and more specific Sepp Maier, Oranje was ready for revenge. We had the bit in our mouths and the adrenaline pumping. The best forward in the world, the toughest playmaker ever and the bull running rampant in midfield (Messrs Cruyff, van Hanegem and Neeskens of course), with supporting role for Golden Dick Johnny Rep, snakeman Robbie Rensenbrink and Mr Cool Ruud Krol, we went to go, see and conquer.

It didn’t go as planned though. Coached by new manager George Knobel. By then Nees and Cruyff played for Barcelona together. The team impressed with a 5-1 friendly win over a strong Sweden. In those days, qualification games and quarter finals were like today’s group games, but played in the run up, in a home and away game. The actual Euros were only played with four nations and started with a semi final. Holland was in a group with Poland, Italy and Finland. The squad was divided into two camps: the Ajax and Feyenoord players vs the rest (PSV and other clubs). The big name players of Ajax and Feyenoord (and Barcelona) were given some extra privileges. Due to their European club efforts, they were given the option to join Oranje later than the rest. PSV stars Willy van der Kuylen and Jan van Beveren objected to this special treatment and this resulted in the two icons to leave the squad. Van der Kuylen had scored a hattrick for Oranje in the win over Finland.

Oranje started really well but got beaten severely vs Poland away. Due to results in other games, Holland won the group and faced Belgium in the quarter finals. Robbie Rensenbrink and Johan Neeskens played a top game and Holland won at home for the first time since years in a 5-0 win. Three Rensenbrink goals sealed the deal. The away game was won 1-2 and Holland went to the Euro semis with high spirits. The semis against Czechoslovakia was supposed to be a formality. But things panned out differently.

The Czech provoked the Dutch, in particular with rough challenges on Cruyff and Rensenbrink. In typical Dutch style, Neeskens and Van Hanegem retaliated, resulting in cards and erratic referee behaviour. Cruyff in those days, used to talk to the ref a lot and when Neeskens got red carded and Cruyff was yellow-carded for debating, something shifted in the team. Rebel rouser Van Hanegem decided he didn’t want to come over to the ref when asked to do so.

“I’m not a dog” he explained later and he refused to kick off after the Czech’s scored as protest. Which got him a red card too. Holland ended the game with 9 players and lost in extra time. We played for the 3rd place and won it versus Yugoslavia in extra time 2-3 thanks to two Ruud Geels goals. Obviously, Van Hanegem, Neeskens and Cruyff were suspended.

In those days, Oranje players were considered serfs to the federation and the three Oranje starts were highly criticised for their behaviour. Cruyff and Van Hanegem lost interest in Oranje and would both not travel to the World Cup 1978, for different reasons. But one reason was the KNVB’s lack of support for their icons. Neeskens did go to Argentina.

Euros 1980 Italy

The big guns Cruyff and Van Hanegem had quit international football. The apprentices were supposed to take over. With some new names, most from European sensation AZ Alkmaar. Hugo Hovenkamp, Kees Kist, Pier Tol, Jantje Peters supplemented by Feyenoord defenders Wijnstekers and Van de Korput. Ruud Krol and Johan Neeskens and Johnny Rep were also still wearing their jerseys.

Coach Jan Zwartkruis (John Blackcrotch)

Team manager Jan Zwartkruis (former Dutch Military team coach… this tells you how important Oranje was in those days) found himself in a group with West Germany, Greece and Czechoslovakia. Holland started vs Greece in a 4-3-3 with Martien Vreijsen and Rene van de Kerkhof on the flanks. The team didn’t create a lot and Dick Nanninga of Argentina 1978 fame replaced Vreijsen, who’d never play a game for Oranje since. A soft penalty was awarded to Oranje and Kees Kist (AZ Alkmaar) scored what was to be the only goal of the game.

The second game was against West Germany, with Hansi Muller, Rummenigge, Schuster and Stielike. Oranje with an insecure Piet Schrijvers in goal and with Rep on the flanks for Vreijsen. West Germany was boss with Klaus Allofs scoring a hat trick. A soft penalty yet again gave Johnny Rep the chance to score and late in the game Willy van de Kerkhof scored the 2-3 but it wasn’t enough. Holland couldn’t reach the finals anymore but could still get in the losers final. An early injury to Rene van de Kerkhof had Oranje playing with 10 men for a while and the Czechs scored in that phase of the game. Kees Kist came on and he scored the equaliser in the second half but it wasn’t enough.

Euros 1984 France

One of the best tournaments I’ve ever seen without Oranje (the World Cup 1982 was one of my faves too by the way). With the Danish Dynamite, France of course… Many good games. But no Oranje.

Euros 1988 West Germany

I’m sure most people will know this tournament well. The period between 1980 till 1988 we missed three big tournaments. I won’t bring the mood down by explaining what happened, but I can assure you I was very close to all these events. Nuff said for now. Still hurts…

But with a new generation players (Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Koeman, Vanenburg, Van’t Schip, Kieft) we were going for it with Rinus Michels as head coach. Michels was keen to play 4-3-3 again and like Van Marwijk was struggling to find a good spot for everyone. We have Gullit, Van Basten, Kieft, Gillhaus and Bosman fighting for the central striker role and we have a couple of good right wingers but no left winger of note. Van Basten was recovering from a bad injury which kept him sidelined at AC Milan. Gullit had a great season in Milan like Koeman, Van Breukelen and Vanenburg with PSV winning the Europa Cup that season. Wouters and Van’t Schip had a good period at Ajax. Van Basten was close to calling it a day when he noticed Bosman was picked ahead of him in the line up and he felt he’d be the third striker. Cruyff implored the headstrong striker to stay in the squad and make it hard for Michels.

Van ‘t Schip played relief left winger and Gullit played right wing. But in the first game vs the USSR, despite dominating and creating pressure, we fell in the knife of the Russian counter and lost, 0-1. Michels decided immediately to turn the team around, also taking into account our next opponent: England playing 4-4-2. Van ‘t Schip and Bosman were the sacrificial lambs with Michels re-enforcing our midfield bringing Van Basten for Bosman and Erwin Koeman – a midfielder – for winger Schip.

Oranje got lucky vs England. An offside goal (one of three scored by Van Basten) and two balls on the post by the English helped us to the victory. The Ireland game was scruffy and it took Vanenburg’s hand to stop a header from going in, before sub Wim Kieft misheaded a deflected Koeman shot from an offside position past the Ireland goalie.

Next up, host West Germany. And we had an axe to grind with these guys. In what is probably one of the most memorable Oranje games ever, Oranje overcame a 1-0 score from a soft penalty vs Rijkaard by fighting themselves back into the game. With a MOTM performance by Jan Wouters, it was Koeman scoring the spot kick after a fair tackle by Kohler on Van Basten (who was as surprised as Kohler when the ref pointed to the post) and Van Basten scored the winner late in the game after a superb through ball from aforementioned Wouters. The party afterwards in the players’ hotel is still strong in my memory. This was the infamous game with Koeman wiping his arse with the Olaf Thon jersey, something he later regretted… Allegedly.

The finals was against USSR again. Oranje was buoyant but USSR was much better than us in the first half. They missed some opportunities and a cross in from a defended Oranje corner ended up on skipper’s Ruud Gullit’s head who’d score his first and only Euros goal in 1988 with a thundering header. The Oranje skipper looked tired the whole tournament and couldn’t repeat his hero role as he had for AC Milan that season. But he was the Oranje mascotte and lightning rod, allowing Van Basten (in particular) to take center stage. The former Ajax #9 would grab his definite place in football history with arguably the best Euros goal ever in the second half. Right in front of yours truly, enjoying the game live, the overcooked Muhren cross seemed wasted but Van Basten – who had no support – realised he could only do one thing. Dasaev never even stuck a hand out. 2-0 was the final score, also thanks to Hans van Breukelen who stopped a penalty, which he handed the USSR himself first with a rush of blood to the head dive.

The Party in Holland would go for days and many a house boat in Amsterdam is still recovering…

Euros 1992 Sweden

The World Cup 1990 was the biggest WC disaster ever, for Oranje. The Euro 1988 squad plus Richard Witschge on their way to glory in Italy. The story of what happened there is well-documented and I will again ignore it. But Beenhakker obviously was out so Rinus Michels, by then management at KNVB, decided to take the coaching role himself again for this tournament. Ironically, with Dick Advocaat as his assistant coach.

Oranje had a good qualification campaign and Michels went back to a 4-3-3 system with Gullit and Bryan Roy on the flanks. Barca libero Koeman led the defence but brother Erwin missed this tournament, as did the injured Richard Witschge. His brother Rob Witschge had found his second wind at Feyenoord and played a starring role this tourmament, scoring vs Germany. Dennis Bergkamp played his first big tournie for Oranje, as did Frank de Boer. National team manager Danny Blind was stand in for Koeman and new Ajax coach Peter Bosz had a sub turn this tournament. Aaron Winter and Wim Jonk had cameos as well, as did former PSV striker Eric Viscaal (now in Belgium).

First game was vs Scotland and a late Bergkamp goal sealed the deal. The second game was against the former USSR, now called GOS, and a goalless draw meant Oranje had to get a result against Germany. Last tournament, Germany had ousted Oranje from the event, with the infamous spitting incident between Llama Rijkaard and Rudi Voller. It was Rijkaard who took revenge with an early goal, followed by two more goals. The aforementioned long distance strike by Witschge and a beauty by Bergkamp, created by Marco van Basten without actually touching the ball.

In the semis, Holland had to play Denmark. The beach team. The Danish didn’t qualify, but as Yugoslavia had entered a civil war, they were disqualified from competing and the Danes were called from the Spanish and Greek beaches. Twice Oranje conceded and twice they fought back through Bergkamp and Rijkaard. The extra time didn’t bring any goals and during the penalty shoot out, 1988 hero Van Basten was denied by Peter Schmeichel. The Danes would go on to win it.

Euros 1996 England

Like in 1990, the players yearned for the national team management by Johan Cruyff, but like in 1990 the KNVB couldn’t get “a deal sorted with the headstrong Cruyff”. In 1990 they never tried as Michels felt “the players can’t be given what they want, as they can’t think they call the shots”. In 1994, Cruyff had the audacity to claim the right to pick his own technical staff. Something which is pretty normal these days. But the KNVB insisted Cruyff worked with their assistant coaches. Cruyff said “you must be joking!” and said his goodbyes.

So Michels decided to push his former assistant Dick Advocaat forward for the World Cup in the US which didn’t end too well for Oranje. Lots of bad management decisions off the pitch and too much complacency when Advocaat came back after losing the quarter finals, claiming “it was a very good result”. Oranje needed a new strong coach and Guus Hiddink was selected. Oranje finished second in the qualifications and had to play a play off game vs Ireland, at Anfield. Patrick Kluivert sealed the deal with two goals.

This was the generation of Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Danny Blind, Marc Overmars and Patrick Kluivert.

Like in 1992, Scotland was our first opponent. The usual central backs, Frank de Boer and Danny Blind were not able to play. Suspension for Blind and an injury for De Boer. Hiddink used Edgar Davids and Johan de Kock. Davids had played there successfully for Ajax at times and Guus picked Bergkamp as central striker, with Jordi Cruyff and Gaston Taument on the flanks. Ronald de Boer played in midfield with Richard Witschge and Clarence Seedorf.

Holland dominated and in particular Dennis Bergkamp had many opportunities to score but failed. Pat Kluivert came on but he couldn’t find the net either, resulting in a goalless draw: 0-0.

Against Switzerland, in the second game, Hiddink expected them to play the tall striker Grassi. Davids was considered to small for the role so Hiddink decided to play Seedorf as center back. Davids was benched. Witschge kept his spot and Ronald de Boer would take Seedorf’s central role in midfield with Aron Winter coming on for Davids. Cruyff played on the right this time around. After 26 minutes, Seedorf was subbed by Hiddink, who saw he had made a mistake. De Kock came on to play alongside Blind. Edgar Davids, on the bench, was highly tempted to knock the lights out of Hiddink and had to be restrained.

Jordi Cruyff scored for Holland and Dennis Bergkamp scored the important second, securing Oranje’s win. After the game, Davids was interviewed and said “the coach should do well to take his head out some players’ asses!”. Hiddink had to send the Ajax midfielder home. And a rift was born. The media made it about race. The coloured players (Kluivert, Bogarde, Davids, Seedorf, Reiziger) vs the white boys (De Boer 2 x, Blind, Van der Sar). A whole thing came off it. But the players were adamant it had nothing to do about race. But about culture. The food the KNVB had organised for instance, was typical Dutch food (potatoes, veggies, meatballs) while the players with a Suriname background preferred rice and more exotic food. But their preference was ignored. More importantly, it seemed all the coloured lads at Ajax had lower contracts than the white players… It wasn’t about race per se. But race did seem to have had an effect…

In the next game vs England, Hiddink again used Seedorf as central defender (he had De Kock and Stam on the bench) next to Blind. The strong England forwards had a field day. Blind conceded a penalty, Shearer converted. Sheringham scored two in the second half with Shearer adding a second, putting England 4-0 up. Holland at that time was out. Hiddink kept on making weird decisions, bringing De Kock as left back for Witschge and putting Winston Bogarde in midfield. Kluivert was brought in at the 72nd minute and he almost immediately scored a consolation goal. But that goal got us to the number 2 position in the group and we were able to play the quarterfinals. France was the opponent. With players like Blanc, Desailly, Karembeu, Deschamps and Zidane. Hiddink finally made some logical choices. Seedorf on the bench. De Kock in the center with Blind. Kluivert in the starting line up with Bergkamp as number 10. And Phillip Cocu still playing as left winger in those days, replacing Peter Hoekstra. A goalless game, yet again, over 120 minutes. Seedorf would come on and ended up on the list of penalty takers. Not for the first time, he failed to score, Blind, De Kock, Ronald de Boer and Kluivert did score, but all the French players did as well.

Exit Oranje. This is a documentary about the alleged racism situation, of the Suriname players vs the white players. The name of this group of Suriname players is De Kabel (“The Cable”).

Euros 2000 Netherlands & Belgium

This was to be the one. Hiddink learned from his drama in England. He made up with Davids and with him, Hiddink got close to reaching the finals in the World Cup 1998 in France. His assistant Frank Rijkaard was promoted to team manager (as suggested by Cruyff) and Holland was spared from playing qualifications as Holland and Belgium hosted the tournament. Rijkaard played a massive number of friendlies with Oranje, including three matches vs Brazil. One of these ended up in a red-card festival. In Rotterdam, they played a sensational game vs co-host Belgium, ending in 5-5 with a special Edgar Davids goal. With one of the best squads ever, Rijkaard was destined for glory.

Against the Czechs in the first game, Holland did need some referee help in the final stages when a soft pull on Ronald de Boer’s jersey was enough for a penalty, to be scored by younger brother Frank. Rijkaard used Co Adriaanse’s xmas tree system, 4-3-2-1 but Bergkamp kept on running inside while midfielder Seedorf didn’t use the right flank and the team seemed to choke the space out for themselves, leaving them toothless.

Against Denmark, Rijkaard went back to 4-4-2 with Zenden and Overmars as wide players. Kluivert scored the first, Ronald de Boer had a tap in for the 2-0 and a break with Reiziger presenting Zenden with a free shot on goal resulted in the 3-0. Denmark missed a penalty. In this game, the injured Stam was replaced by Bert Konterman, while Seedorf was benched. The third match was versus world champions France, but both teams had qualified for the next round. Coach Lemerre left most of his star players out (Zidane, Blanc, Deschamps) and in an open game, Holland won the match 3-2, with a stunning free kick by Frank de Boer.

For the quarter finals against Yugoslavia, Bosvelt and Numan played as full backs. Oranje was on fire, with Kluivert scoring four, although one goal was taken off him as a Yugo defender deflected the ball into the net. Overmars scored the other two. This got Kluivert the golden boot for the tournament.

Red hot favorites Holland played Italy in the semis. Probably one of the most memorable losses on a Euros ever by Oranje. We did everything right. Bolo Zenden was on fire. Zambrotta saw red in the first half, and Oranje created chance after chance (Bergkamp!) but failed to find the net. Late in the first half, Holland got a penalty. Frank de Boer saw his attempt blocked by Toldo. In the second half, Davids was impeded and Kluivert stepped up. To hit the post. Still 0-0. Italy defended, battled and stalled. And got to the penalty series. Toldo became the hero. Frank de Boer the zero. He missed again, Jaap Stam’s attempt is somewhere on the bottom of the river Maas and Bosvelt missed too. Straight after the match, a crying Rijkaard was filmed sitting in the bus and not much later he resigned in disgust and shame.

Euros 2004 Portugal

After the deception of failing to qualify for the World Cup 2002 under Van Gaal, the KNVB decided to pick two “warm” coaches to bring Oranje back up to top level. Dick Advocaat and Willem van Hanegem, two friends, took the role, with Willem as assistant.

Holland started the tournament vs arch rival Germany. The Germans took the lead but a late Van Nistelrooy goal got Holland a draw. The Czech game was next up and via Bouma and Van Nistelrooy, Holland got an early lead 2-0. Jan Koller scored for the Czechs and with an hour played, Advocaat decided to “spare” the slightly injured but excellent Arjen Robben for the defensive midfielder Paul Bosvelt. One of the worst substitutes in Oranje’s history (Van Gaal does take the price for this with his Portugal away substitutions in the WC2002 qualifications game). Holland didn’t have any teeth left and the Czechs celebrated the sub by firing on all cylinders and ended up winning the game 2-3. After the game, Advocaat was universally ridiculed for his decision and assistant and friend Willem van Hanegem quipped at the press conference: “Next time if he starts to make silly sub decisions, I’ll simply knock him out!”.

Oranje seemed out of the tournament, but the Germans had a shocking draw against Latvia and when the Germans got in front against the Czechs Holland needed a miracle. And it happened, as the Czechs again turned the game around and won the match, giving Oranje a life line for their Latvia game. It was a tough game versus a defensive opponent but two Van Nistelrooy goals and a late Roy Makaay hit sealed the 3-0 win. Next up, Sweden in the quarter finals. In an even game, neither team found the net. The penalty series would end the Oranje penalty trauma. Despite Cocu’s miss, Holland won it with Van der Sar stopping a Swedish attempt, after Ibrahimovic missed his spot kick.

The semi finals was versus host country and favorites Portugal, with a young C Ronaldo, Deco, Luis Figo and Maniche. The latter would score the winner in an even game. C Ronaldo scored Portugal’s first, while Andrade scored an og for Oranje. Greece would end up upsetting the hosts with their miraculous win in the finals. After the tournament, both Advocaat and Van Hanegem quit their jobs. The two friends wouldn’t talk to each other for years…

Euros 2008 Switzerland & Austria

Again, advised by Cruyff, the KNVB decided to go with a young, untested coach for the 2006 WC. Marco van Basten was John van ‘t Schip’s assistant at Ajax 2 when Johan Cruyff suggested to the KNVB to pick him as national team coach. Van ‘t Schip, who had agreed with San Marco to switch roles in the next season, took the assistant job. Van Basten lacked experience as a coach, but Cruyff was adamant that for a top player like him, this wouldn’t be a problem. “He has a good vision. All players respect him and he’ll let them play adventurous football.”. Van Basten saw the WC2006 as a development step with a new generation of youngsters (Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder, Heitinga) and hoped to peak at this Euros. The qualification series went well, but Holland finished second after Romania. This resulted in Holland having to settle in the group of death, with opponent Romania, France and world champions Italy.

Oranje played with flair and dazzle and beat a stunned Italy with 3-0. A contentious first Van Nistelrooy goal, seemingly off side but ruled in favour of Holland, due to an Italian player lying behind the touch line. No offside. Sneijder finished a tremendous counter attack, after a superb Van Bronckhorst pass and a nice little Kuyt cushioned header. Van Bronckhorst finished the game off with his goal in second half. The France game was exhilarating as well. Kuyt with a header from a corner, Van Persie with a good finish after a wonderful attack, but Henry put France back into the game. At that stage, France equalising seemed more likely, but Robben got Holland back on top with a sensational goal in the near corner, taking some of Barthez hair along. Sneijder scored another beauty in the dying seconds of the game, 4-1 win for Holland.

The Romania game didn’t matter anymore, but with the second-tier players in the line up, Holland won 2-0. A dramatic incident would have a lot of impact on the Oranje squad. The players in the squad were all close and they all had small children and babies at that time. After a win, players like Kuyt and Van Persie would proudly take their kids onto the pitch to celebrate. Khalid Boulahrouz’ partner was pregnant but was rushed to the hospital as the baby was about to be born prematurely. The little girl didn’t make it. Most of the players spent two days with Khalid in hospital and this disrupted the preparation and focus for the Russia game. Van Basten allowed the players to take their time and as he was also good friends with Boulahrouz, he allowed the former Chelsea man to decide whether he wanted to play vs Russia or not. The defender wanted to play, which sadly ended up in him getting a muscle injury in the game.

So the next knock out game was versus Russia, managed by one Guus Hiddink. The sly fox knew how Oranje would play and had a tactical plan to frustrate our game. Despite some narrow chances for Holland, we never were able to score. The team looked sluggish and without focus. Most of the chances came off Rafael van der Vaart’s gifted free kicks. It was a weird game. In the second half, a Russia player was yellow carded for the second time. Inexplicably the ref decided to put the card back into his pocket, adding to the frustration of the Dutch players. Russia scored twice in extra time, sending the revelation of the group stages home.

Euros 2012 Poland & Ukraine

On the back of a glorious World Cup 2010, where Bert van Marwijk’s men grabbed silver (and almost gold), the expectations were high. Again, the qualification campaign was a smooth ride, with Holland dropping only 3 points. A tough group to face, with rugged Denmark, strong Germany and sly Portugal. We had some bills to settle with all three. In the run up to the tournament, Van Marwijk made Huntelaar and Van der Vaart believe they’d get a fair chance to get into the line up but the seasoned coach had his line up in mind and was only providing lip service. Erik Pieters was Holland’s left back after Gio retired but the defender had to undergo a foot operation. Lost for options, Van Marwijk decided to use 18 year old youngster Jetro Willems from PSV. In the first game vs Denmark, Willems gave his calling card by thumping a ball from 40 meters almost onto the cross bar.

The solid holding mids Van Bommel and De Jong were part of the plan, despite their dminishing speed and agility. The first game against Denmark went really well. Holland created chance after chance and Robben hit the post. But, the chances went begging. And Denmark in typical style scored a goal where everyone expected Oranje to score at least a couple. Several penalty shouts for Holland went unnoticed and stunned, the team left the pitch with the first defeat of the tournament.

Against Germany, Holland started on the front foot yet again, with Van Persie getting a glorious early chance to score. But he missed. First opportunity for Germany ended up in the net. 14 minutes later, the Germans repeated that feat. Holland fought back into the game, with a goal by Van Persie in the second half. With 15 minutes to go, Holland created more half chances but wasn’t able to get the draw. Second defeat and Huntelaar and Van der Vaart started to look more and more unhappy.

This summed it up

Holland had a chance to qualify if they’d beat Portugal and if Germany would do its job. Van der Vaart got a start and in typical fashion scored the first goal for a strong Holland vs a counter-attacking Portugal. The former Real Madrid man hit the post quick after the goal but couldn’t become the hero of the day. Two sharp counter attacks later and Portugal grabbed the victory, with Oranje taking an early plane home. Three losses. Zero points. Lots of frustration and golden wonder coach Van Marwijk having to resign from the job.

Euros 2016 France

In a parallel universe, Oranje made it to the 2016 Euros. Blind went with a team of youngsters, with Memphis, Berghuis and Propper in the line up. Playing 3-4-3 in possession and 5-3-2 without. The starting line up:

Cillesen

Bruma Blind Van Dijk

Janmaat Propper Strootman Sneijder Willems

Robben Memphis

With Berghuis as super sub. Oranje sailed through the group stages and beat every big team they came across on their way to the finals. Belgum was our opponent. The game ended 5-5. Penalties needed to decide the winner. For Belgium, Hazard missed his penalty. Well, he didn’t miss it, but the silly Belgian took the penalty at the wrong goal and it was disallowed. Memphis took the final spotkick and delivered the Cup to Oranje…. (this is enough nonsense. End of post)

June 4, 2016 by Jan

Oranje polishes up its game with a win

The victory over Poland doesn’t get us to the Euros… It doesn’t get us three points. But it will lift the pressure of Danny Blind and his staff. It will boost confidence going forward. And it gives us all a good feeling.

Poland is not France or Germany, of course. And they are simply prepping for the Euros. But it is a good win still.

Holland played better than against Ireland. The dynamics Blind wants to see worked out better. Crisper passing, better mobility and more courageous balls forward.

Vincent Janssen showed how useful he can be when used right. Against Ireland, he moved well but was never found. Against Poland, he still moved well and was given opportunities to score a couple. He is the real deal. Played at second pro level last year for FC Almere. And seems to make the steps up without too much issues. A glorious left foot, great positioning awareness and cool as ice.

Poland didn’t play bad but failed to register some real opportunities for themselves. A slip in the back (Bruma, Tete) was the lead in to their opportunities. And a perfectly hit corner kick from Milik’s glorious left foot and Van Ginkel zoning out got them their goal.

One has to say: conceding from set pieces is a worry. Van Dijk vs Ireland not awake. Now Van Ginkel… But at least we don’t concede from open play, which is good (always focus on the good too!).

Steven Berghuis was a bit hot and cold but for a young player without rhythm, it wasn’t bad at all. You can see why Watford wanted him and why Blind relies on him. His type is rare. He’s fast, has a decent dribble and a tremendous left foot and vision.

We need all sorts of players. The power and brilliance of Memphis (when in form), the length and leadership of Luuk de Jong, the speed of Narsingh, the vision and passing of Berghuis, the aerial threat of Dost and hopefully soon the experience and skills of Van Persie and Sneijder. Add to that the world class talent of Robben and we can look hopeful towards the future.

Kevin Strootman looks strong and confident and it will be a matter of time before he will be his own self. Wijnaldum, Propper, Van Ginkel, Blind… all decent utility players and if we can cement our back four a bit better (Vlaar, De Vrij, Bruma, Van Dijk, Willems, Riedewald, Kongolo, Van Aanholt, Veltman, Janmaat), we should be able to sort ourselves out.

Danny Blind is keen to use this period to cement his ideal September line up. I don’t expect too many changes in the line up vs Austria. Blind: “I think Austria is the strongest of the three opponents. They had a tremendous qualifications campaign and with Janko and Arnautovic up front and a player like Alaba at the back, they could well be the surprise team this Euros.”

Keving Strootman will come in again to start, as skipper, after his 20 mins sub turn vs Poland. This might go at the expense of Van Ginkel. “I don’t want to change too much anymore. We need to start solidify a team.”

Dick Advocaat spent his first week with this Oranje. It is not hard to see what kind of coach he is. The perfect field trainer. Like Blind he has a whistle around his neck, like Blind, but unlike Van Basten. The first days he observed. “That is key. Take a step back and watch them do their thing. Some of them had a disappointing season, some are not 100% fit, some are worried about their future… It was a long season.” When the players do an 11 v 11 game, Dick coaches one team, San Marco the other. Marco coaches with his normal voice. Talks a lot. Dick is more quiet but when he does say something, he uses the deep and hoarse yelling voice. “Bazoer! They’re moving away from you behind you. Pay attention!” or “Bruma, if you tackle, do it for a full 100%!!”.

Dick Advocaat took over from Van Gaal in 2002. The former Man U coach wasn’t able to coach Oranje to the World Cup and Dick needed to mend things. Jeffrey Bruma: “Yes, we spoke about that. We need this to happen again. Immediately back to the big stage.” Advocaat was given the job back then on the advice of the failing Van Gaal. “Louis felt I was the right man to take the older players and get them to perform again. We needed to squeeze all out of them and I did it. Back then, people wrote that that generation was done for. Like they do now. But I will never write off any player. They usually do that themselves by not performing. If a player is good enough at 18 or 38 years old, all fine by me.”

You sometimes need an old sly fox to come up with a tactical decision that can change things. Like Van Gaal demonstrated at the World Cup when he brought Krul for Cillesen at penalty time vs Costa Rica. Some people think Oranje should use the PSV core, as they have the dynamics in place already. Put another player for Arias, another defender for Moreno and Strootman in place of Guardado and Robben for Narsingh. Dick: “Really? So Bazoer and and Memphis and Janssen? That would be a shame.”

Dick Advocaat likes to taunt his players and the vibe in the group has changed with the former FC Den Haag icon. Van Aanholt worked with him at Sunderland. During the training game, Advocaat yells at Patrick: “Hey Van Aanholt, you’re up against Promes. Peace of cake, yes?” Danny Blind: “It is important to have someone like him in the group. I think Marco and I are more detached. We keep our distance a bit. Dick really is very open and warm with the players.” Jeffrey Bruma: “Dick is a very warm and friendly guy with great anecdotes, but watch out: he is also very direct and tough.”

Memphis is doing sprint training. Advocaat observes. Memphis steals a yard the first time. And the second time. And the third time. It’s not rare. Rafael van der Vaart used to do this. Willem van Hanegem and Johan Cruyff would hide in the bushes during running training to smoke a quick cigarette. Advocaat: “I see it. But I don’t say anything in the group. I walk over to Memphis after training and say “I saw you making short cuts. Fine with me. But show me in the match that you deserve it.”

Advocaat: “Normally, a group selects itself. Perform at club level, work hard during Oranje sessions and deliver. Usually, the right options present themselves. But this is a very hungry group. They love being here and we have some guys who love to laugh and we also have some odd types… I like that. There is a mix. I want them to give everything for themselves. And I leave them space to do so in their own way. But, it is quite simple: if you don’t perform, you’re out.”

March 23, 2016 by Jan

Oranje back in action…..

If you start writing a post but don’t have time to finish it you can punished! The prelim squad becomes definite, new players come and existing players get injured…

Never a dull moment. Please accept some “old” news in this post but I will make it current as I write (and you read) along….

Coach Danny Blind gave his prelim squad and happy to see he went for the usual suspects and gave Davey Propper the highly deserved nod.

The PSV midfielder is one of the revelations of this season and reminds me of elegant classy midfielders like Phillip Cocu and Kevin Strootman. More technician than breaker but always on the move, and never to lazy to throw in a tackle or two. Like Bazoer of Ajax, it seems time slows down when he has the ball and he shows great composure.

Davey Propper, elegance and class

Also good to see Jetro Willems back in the selection. The PSV man was out for a while but has demonstrated his form and class in the matches he played for PSV since. What a left foot! Timo Letschert is one of the key players of FC Utrecht, which is aiming for a #3 or 4 spot in the Eredivisie under coach Erik “Pep” Ten Hag. The former Twente player worked as a coach for smaller clubs and worked as assistant for Pep Guardiola at Bayern. His style of coaching and training is similar to Pep’s and it is starting to work wonder for the Domstad club. Ayouteb and Ramselaar are also players close to Oranje, while Nassar Barazite is showing his class on a weekly basis after been in the jungle for years since leaaving Arsenal. French striker Haller will also be on the short list of many a big European club, with his goal scoring antics.

AZ Alkmaar is also impressing with Ron Vlaar strong in their defence and one Vincent Janssen scoring like there is no tomorrow. Two years ago, Feyenoord sent him away. Via the Jupiler league, Janssen came to AZ and after a slow start he made his way into the squad. In the last months, he can’t stop scoring. He’s not the quickest, not the tallest, doesn’t have a Marco van Basten style technique but he’s a killer in the box. Left, right, head, distance, tap ins, he can do it all. But make no mistake, Janssen is not the only striker to make it big after starting in the Jupiler League. Huntelaar, Van Nistelrooy, Hasselbaink, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Bas Dost all made the same journey.

Vincent Janssen, 20 goals in the league

Then there is Mitchell Dijks. The Ajax left back. Tall, strong but also fast and with a gifted left foot. If Willems has the best cross of the Eredivisie, Dijks comes second. Sent away by Ajax and making his way back to the forefront via Willem II. Ajax signed him again, something they hardly ever do and he is a consistent threat on the left flank, with a good early cross, but despite his body shape also has the speed to dash past defenders.

And there is more to come. Danny Blind is confronted with disappointing turns by his usual suspects. Arjen Robben is still going strong at top level, but Sneijder’s Galatasaray is disappointing this season, Van Persie is struggling at Fener, Huntelaar lost sharpness and speed, Nigel de Jong is off to LA, while Van der Vaart doesn’t even play anymore. Ron Vlaar is another 30+ player who is making his way back to full fitness at AZ.

So Blind is looking at a number of players to come in. Kevin Strootman is fit and needs to play games. Promes is still doing well in Russia, but other names pop up on the list and have seen either Blind or Van Basten visiting them in the past months. Bazoer and Propper are no-brainers, but others are knocking on the door.

25 year old Patrick van Aanholt went to Chelsea at a young age and via several loan spells, one of which at Vitesse, the left back is now a firm fan favorite at Sunderland. The relegation candidate might struggle in the EPL but not as a result of Van Aanholt’s exploits. He scored 5 goals (of which two were consideren own goals) and had 5 assists, which is the highest combination for a defender in the EPL. Strong in attack, lively, fast and a gifted left foot. Defensively vulnerable, but that applies to all our full backs, incl Janmaat and Willems.

21 year old Nathan Ake is a favorite at Watford, which is placed above Chelsea in the EPL standings, the club that owns Ake. He can play left back, center back and defensive mid and has been exceptional going forward and even scoring goals for Watford. He looks like Gullit but plays like Edgar Davids. He himself hopes and believes he will return to Chelsea and be offered a shot at a spot in the squad.

Riechedly Bazoer is considered one of Holland’s biggest talents. Ex PSV defender turned midfielder under De Boer. Composed, great vision, all round qualities and a good distance strike. Napoli and Wolfsburg have been brushed off by Bazoer but Chelsea has started talks. The Utrecht born player has his hopes set on Barca. No lack of ambition… We all hope he stays at Ajax for another two seasons at least.

Bazoer in his first game for Oranje, hamstring problems. Robben is an expert on the topic

29 year old Ryan Donk was part of Foppe de Haan’s successful Young Oranje almost 10 years back. The AZ defender made his way to Belgium where he was hot and cold but his good season last year got him a transfer to Galatasaray. He plays a lot but hasn’t been able to stop the rot in Turkey. Still, with his length and experience, he could be a candidate still.

23 year old Marco van Ginkel had a tough three years, since leaving Vitesse for Chelsea. Ajax offered more than Chelsea but Vitesse didn’t want to see him go to a competitor in Holland. Poor Van Ginkel got injured at Chelsea and since played for AC Milan, also injury stricken, and had a spell at Stoke City where he couldn’t get in the team. The dynamic midfielder seems to soft for defensive mid in England and not good enough for offensive mid, but in Holland, at PSV, he already demonstrated his worth with goals, passes and tackles.

22 year old Wesley Hoedt only played 28 games in AZ Alkmaar when Lazio decided to offer him a deal. Against the advice given, he went. No one expected him to make a big impact any time soon but partly due to De Vrij’s injury, Hoedt started to get games and is now playing like an experienced defender in the land that invented defending.

So the definitive group got announced and pretty soon after a number of players had to give their thanks… Daryl Janmaat got injured, Ron Vlaar got injured, Propper got injured. Locadia and Erik Pieters won’t be available either, so Ibi Afellay is back as is Patrick van Aanholt and Feyenoord back Rick Karsdorp made his debut into the squad. Arjen Robben was already off the list, so Danny Blind will have to go for a team without the danger man upfront and with heaps of players missing out.

Despite all this: Robin van Persie is still not part of the plans.

Blind “I haven’t written Robin off, but he needs games and he needs fitness. He knows this. He is exceptional when he is fit and I would love him to get back to his full form, but he knows he’s having a tough season.”

Asked about the significance of these games for Oranje: “Listen, we need to start winning again. For us, this is the start for our WC campaign. Simple as that. Two tough opponents and it’s good to see where we stand. The fans need something back now, from us. And it gives me options to use a different system and to see if some younger players will step up.”

Timo Letschert is one of the new names. The Utrecht defender was developed at Ajax where he failed to make it into the senior team. He wanted playing time and moved to Groningen, after which he signed for FC Utrecht. Under Erik “Pep” Ten Hag he has been impressive. Blind: “Timo is a modern defender. He has it all. Length, power, speed, balls and he can even score. Good to have him.”

Timo Letschert

Oranje will have a good series of games in the coming months. France and England now of course and later on we play Poland, Ireland and Austria in May and June. Blind will also go on a training trip to Portugal with the team after the season ends.

In September 2016, we’ll play our first WC qualification game vs Sweden.

Blind: “We might not have a group of world class players at the moment, but it is always about the team. We have a good enough team to compete and I still believe we should be able to qualify for the World Cup, even if it won’t be easy.”

He is keen to go back to 5-3-2 but only to regain composure and confidence. “I don’t want to be pinned down on systems. 5-3-2 can work with the players we have, as we have demonstrated. Both Memphis and Robben fit in that system, as does Sneijder and we have flying wing backs like Willems and Janmaat so it does fit. Once we gain more consistency I still want to be able to switch to 4-3-3 but the system is not sacred for me.”

Asked about Robben’s importance: “Arjen is still world class. He’s important for Bayern, that says enough. But we still have players with that unpredictable character and loads of talent. Memphis, Quincy Promes are two of those players. We have an exciting young striker in Janssen and ourmidfield is actually quite promising, with Propper, Wijnaldum, Clasie, Klaassen and Bazoer. We can’t rely on one player, we need to focus on the team performance. PSV demonstrated this vs Atletico Madrid and there are many examples like this.”

Wesley Sneijder (32) is adamant to keep on going. He wants to play the WC2018: “I would be so proud to somehow be involved in a young team that will win the cup one day. And I would be able to say I played my tiny part in that. We have good young talents coming through and I enjoy my role as the old player, hahaha.” And on top of that, Sneijder is keen to take the record of most capped Dutchie from goalie Van der Sar. Currently, Wes is number two, with 12 matches to go.

I believe the coach will start with 5-3-2 vs France and hopefully 4-3-3 vs England.

I think the 5-3-2 vs France should be:

Cillesen

Veltman Bruma Blind Van Dijk Willems

Klaassen Wijnaldum Sneijder

Promes Memphis

Veltman is playing really well as right back, with Bruma making big steps at PSV. Blind and Van Dijk are no brainers and Willems isn’t 100% fit but needs games, so why not use him. We need Klaassen and Wijnaldum in midfield as they form an aerial threat, without a real striker.

Against England, you want to play 4-3-3 to keep their full backs in check and they’ll play with four at the back so I’d go:

Cillesen

Veltman Bruma Van Dijk Blind

Bazoer Afellay Sneijder

Promes Huntelaar Memphis

Or something like that?

Your views?

Anf for the fans, the German media found this old clip of a teenager Arjen Robben at FC Groningen, where he played in the youth academy. It’s in Dutch, with German subs. But it basically says: “Hi, I’m Arjen Robben and I’m going to teach you a cool trick.”

January 16, 2016 by Jan

The End of Year Danny Blind Interview

As per usual, the Big Interview with the Team Manager. Danny Blind (54) – former world class libero of Ajax – took over from Guus Hiddink at the end of the abyssmal qualification series for the Euro 2016 campaign.

What word best describes 2015 for you?

Danny Blind: “Disappointment. Our goal was to reach the Euros in France and we failed.”.

Did Oranje overachieve at the World Cup 2014, reaching the semi finals, or did Oranje underachieve in this campaign?

DB: “We cannot compete structurally with the world top nations. We need to be realistic. We had two great World Cup campaigns, but inbetween we got cleaned out at the 2012 Euros. If it all clicks into place, we can compete, but if we run into trouble, with injuries or form issues, we suddenly become average. This is why we decided to build in some more security for the WC2014 tactics. We have vulnerable spots in our team and even Bert van Marwijk acknowledged this by fielding two holding midfielders in his team. These were conscious decisions to make the team stronger. In European terms, our clubs are getting weaker. The best players leave earlier and our development methods are lacking in certain areas. We were not able to produce a new generation of Robben/Sneijder/Van Persie quality players in the age group 24-28 years old. It might be partly the typical cycle in football as we experienced before, but we also need to look critically at our development process. This discussion we are having now is vital. We are a small football nation and we need to remain on our toes.”

And our identity. How realistic is the Dutch School of football as a foundation?

DB: “So what is this Dutch School exactly? Some people try to stick to this mythical thing. I didn’t make it up. I don’t know what it means. It’s not a black and white 4-3-3 vs 4-4-2 debate. You can play very attacking with 4-4-2 and very defensive with 4-3-3. It’s about the intent. Even PSV plays 4-3-3 but differently than Ajax’ 4-3-3. How do you position? Where do you put pressure on the ball? What are your actions in possession? What do you do when you lose possession? Do you press high or do you press at the halfway line? These are things that determine how you play. Not where players stand at the start of the match. And don’t forget, we won our one and only trophy playing 4-4-2. We didn’t use wingers. Koeman played as a wide left midfielder, Gerald Vanenburg on the right. No one criticised us then? No one came up with “What’s with the Dutch School??”. We can not play like we did in 1974 anymore. Every nation now can play like this. Back in 1974 we surprised the world with our total football but it is not unique anymore. And in Holland, it seems it is never good enough. If you lose with wingers, people criticise. If you win without wingers, people criticise. We have become vinegar pissers in Holland. I read everywhere that our clubs are not good enough to survive in Europe but if we want to pay realistic football, the same people blast us for abandoning our identity… Hello!! But as a coach, you need to be immune for all this. As a coach, you need to analyse and adapt your football tactics to what is needed to win games. And you can’t win without scoring, so most coaches do look at the best way to score goals.”

Is Phillip Cocu with his pragmatism at PSV an example? Seeing how he got through the CL group stages?

DB: “Absolutely. In the home game vs Wolfsburg, Cocu played 5 at the back. To make sure they’d win that game. That is what counts. PSV likes leaving the initiative to other teams at time, to score in the turn around. Some people say it’s blasphemy, but I applaud it. You cannot play like Bayern or Barca if you don’t have the players for it or the time to mould those tactics into the team. A young team like Ajax is not able to do this. I think we have gone too far with our wish to play attractive and dominant and with possession. What good does 65% possession do if you can’t use the ball to score goals? Do you actually believe people in Italy or Spain care about the system their national team plays? They cherish their titles. And rightfully so.”

What was your role in changing the Oranje 4-3-3 into 5-3-2 towards the WC2014?

DB: “That was Louis van Gaal. He asked me to analyse the way Juventus and Italy played, right after our friendly against France. They played 5-3-2 and he wanted to know what it would take for us to adapt to this system. The best example was Spain vs Italy at the Euros 2012. They drew 1-1 in the group and Italy played 5-3-2. In the finals, Italy went to 4-3-3 and got hammered by Spain, 0-4. Juve played with three in midfield but Pirlo plays deep, just in front of the defence. We prefer our central midfielder to be a number 10, close to the striker. We want to use wing backs in attack and we like to see one center back move forward as well. We decided that by tweaking the Italian style, we could make it work. But we also wanted the players to be able to switch back to 4-3-3 in case we needed to. We selected our players on the basis of these two systems.”

How different is it working for Louis van Gaal or Guus Hiddink?

DB: “It was basically the same. I did most of the tactical talks re: future opponents. I did a bit more under Guus. I used to do the match preparation talk for him, in part as well. But Louis and Guus are very different. Guus likes to give his staff and players freedom to find their own solutions. Louis is a bit more dominant. They both had tremendous success with their approaches and I worked well with both.”

When you got the team manager’s job, what were the key elements in your first team meeting?

DB: “My key message was about the tactics, about how to play. We would play 4-3-3 with a defensive mid. We needed to get results and I chose to play the way most players are able to. All our players are developed with this system, more or less. We didn’t have time to do other things. It would have been a big risk. I did consider 5-3-2 in WC2014 style, but the key players of that campaign (Robben, Van Persie, De Jong, Vlaar, De Vrij) were unavailable or not 100% fit. It didn’t make sense to go that route. I chose clarity and a system we are all accustomed to.”

One of the main criticisms Hiddink received was his tendency to go from the 5-3-2 to the 4-3-3 and back again. Tinkering…

DB: “We wanted to start with 4-3-3. We felt this campaign would allow us to go back to a more dominant style of play. However, the Czechs play 5-3-2 with attacking wing backs. As we were playing away, we felt it was better to start with 5-3-2 as well to counter their playing style. We had a game before the qualifications game against Italy. A friendly, but the execution left much to be desired, so based on this and on the Czech tactics, we decided to use the 5-3-2. We lost that game, as you know, but I don’t think it was due to the tactics, really. We simply made too many defensive mistakes and we forgot to score our opportunities… No system would have remedied that.”

And against Wales, you went back to the 5-3-2 system?

DB: “We have had a horrible campaign for the Euros and we need to build security back into the system. A foundation to fall back on. We will play a series of friendlies now which we will approach as if they’re World Cup finals. And we decided to do this with a more fortified defence. We need to get more body, personality in the team, before we go back to the 4-3-3. The World Cup demonstrated that moving from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3 is easier than the other way around. Ideally, our teams need to be able to play both systems. This is how we were able to break open games in Brazil 2014 and that is going to be our vision towards the future.”

Your team selection was criticised heavily by some, like Willem van Hanegem, saying you preferred Ajax players over other club players?

DB: “Ridiculous. Total hogwash. I want to win. And I select players that give me the most chance to win. We see 35 potential Oranje players every week. I have scouts visiting matches and we get reports every week. It’s a very detailed process. Then I read media reports by so-called experts that believe player A or B needs to play in Oranje. And I think “really?”. Did you see them play? I am fine with people having an opinion but it is silly to say I prefer certain clubs over others. No coach will ever do this. What do I gain with this? It is stupid.”

But you did select some young Ajax talent for whom European clubs like Rapid Wien or Molde were too strong?

DB: “I make decisions based on the data and insights I have for certain positions. Sure, Ajax didn’t do well against Molde or Rapid Wien, but Karsdorp and Van Beek of Feyenoord, excellent players, didn’t play European at all! At least Tete and Riedewald had that experience in their backpack. And today, no one criticises me for selecting them. Every analyst on tv now say that Tete is one of our biggest talents. Riedewald made his debut against Turkey and played a good game. So suddenly everyone stops moaning about this. That is typical.”

Did you ever hesitate to take over from Hiddink? Did you consider to ask the KNVB to use an interim coach?

DB: “No. It would have been better for me personally, maybe. And make a fresh start for the WC qualifications, but it would have made things complicated. You can’t walk away from responsibility. There was more than enough positives to look for and I saw a good possibility to qualify still.”

Did you know that Bert van Oostveen and Hans Jorritsma were going to talk to Hiddink?

DB: “I did not. I was not involved in any way. I was only asked, earlier already, that should – for some reason – Hiddink not be available all the way, I would be willing and able to take the role. Ideally, I would have liked to have Guus finish the job, with success in qualifiying. For me personally, much better and for Oranje as well of course.”

Your personal coaching experience is comprised of one season at Ajax, some 10 years ago. Your predecessors have had decades of experience before they got the job.

DB: “I’ll have less credit than those coaches. That is logical. I can’t fall back on a long career as club coach. But the KNVB thinks I am the right man for the job and that is all that matters to me. I have gained a lot of experience as a player, captain of the team and I worked in numerous roles in football. I think I have the wherewithal to do the job and the KNVB thinks so too, apparently.”

Did you fear for your job after not qualifying?

DB: “No, that is not something I am concerned with. I have learned to put distance between me and the things I can’t control. If the KNVB wanted to make a change, my worying about it wouldn’t have made any difference, right? I want to do what I am passionate about. Should I don’t enjoy it anymore or should the KNVB not want to proceed with me, I’ll go and do something else. Of maybe do nothing for a spell. I am quite independent in that sense.”

Did you do an evaluation with Bert van Oostveen about the first months of your managerial role?

DB: “We discussed this, yes.”

Johan Cruyff said, it doesn’t make sense to evaluate with someone who “knows shit about football”…

DB: “The evaluation was more about the process of this qualification campaign, decisions made and not made and how to move forward. I don’t discuss football matters with Van Oostveen really. We don’t go into detail about right footed left wingers or defensive mids vs offensive mids and all that. I have my staff to do that with. The KNVB does not have a technical director and therefore there is no one with football knowledge to correct me.”

The KNVB has said they will not enter into a structure as the one with you and Hiddink again. What does that tell you?

DB: “I don’t think about that. I can only judge my own situation. The KNVB knew I could make the move to Man United with Louis. My contract didn’t end and they gave me this option. I made my choice. I didn’t come up with this structure, they did. I don’t know why and I also don’t know why they don’t want to do this in the future. You should ask them.”

As you said, we lack strong players in the age category 24- 28 years old. Why is that and is it a problem?

DB: “It is how it is. Our veterans Robben, Sneijder and Van Persie are still the leading players in this squad. Younger players need to present themselves as such in a natural fashion. You can’t just force it. Most players younger than 24 are still more focused on their own game. They start to expand their horizon on the pitch when they reach their mid 20s. They see more, they see solutions on other sides of the pitch and they can support other players with coaching. Kevin Strootman is in that stage of his career but obviously he hasn’t been playing for a while. Ron Vlaar is a player who can do this and Gini Wijnaldum will get there. I expect Daley Blind to start becoming that player. We need those players to coach and guide the youngsters. Davy Klaassen is forced in that role at Ajax and it doing it well there but he’s not ready for it in Oranje of course. But you can see players making the right steps. I think we lacked some real talent in that age group. We had good players but it takes more. Mentality, physical strength… We had players who couldn’t cope with the physical demands and there were players who sadly got lost in their careers like Royston Drenthe. But, we do have tremendous talents at the moment… Willems, Tete, Bazoer, Karsdorp, Memphis, Van Beek….but these players will still be inconsistent. It is how it is…”

As you said, mental issues. It seems a lot of youth players wearing the orange jersey are getting into disciplinary trouble. Is there enough focus on this aspect?

DB: “This has my special attention. I am part of a working committee focused on this and on defending. Our development programs are still world class in the field of technical ability and tactics but we have lost ground in the mental and physical side of things. It is crucial. In every sport, very professional methods and programs and coaching is introduced, years ago already. Rugby, hockey, athletics, baseball, American football…you’d be surprised. But not in football. In Holland, people still ridicule mental coaches, we need to make some big steps here.”

The German national team uses mental coaches. When will we see this with Oranje?

DB: “It’s a very current debate. I believe in mental coaching, but in individual cases. I don’t think you want to create a one-size-fits-all culture. You need to work with the individual. What does it take to perform 100% twice a week. It’s tough. How do they process setbacks? Can they do a critical self analysis, etc etc. Now, this process is hit and miss. We hope it all works out. The best will float to the top, etc etc but we lose ground. There are many things we can do to streamline this.”

With today’s knowledge, what would you have done differently in the past year?

DB: “It’s easy to talk with hindsight. I do still support all my choices in player selections and substitutions. I subbed Huntelaar against Iceland, when Martins Indi got redcarded. We had to play with 10 man, we wouldn’t be able to dominate, so Huntelaar would be less relevant. I preferred fast players with depth. I still think that was the way to go, but obviously, if you don’t get the result, as a coach, you failed. Whatever your decision making. But if we would have turned the game around, people would have said “Great coaching!”.”

What needs to be the key word for Oranje in 2016?

DB: “We need to become a team again. We need to cover up our vulnerabilities and perform in unity. This needs to happen off and on the pitch. With the conduct and responsibility and accountability that goes with it. At home against Iceland, that team spirit was there. I was quite happy, despite the loss of course. But against Turkey, we lost that unity, that spirit. We lost against Iceland due to the red card of Martins Indi, the injury of Robben and the mistake by Van der Wiel. But from a team perspective we did a lot of things right. Against Turkey, some players were more concerned with themselves. Now, we need to find that unity as we are in a tough qualification group. Sweden and France are very strong and both going to the Euros. We are not. Considering our current status, France is favorite for top spot. People see us as the number 2, but we will need to reposition ourselves internationally. And we need to abandon that Dutch School nonsense. We need to be pragmatic and realistic. As it will be tough enough without all that to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.”

November 15, 2015 by Jan

Crucial win in friendly for Oranje…

Never thought I’d write that sentence… But… Holland needed a win. Blind needed a win! The Dutch media claimed Danny might lose his job after another defeat. Not that I believed this….

But after an abysmal series, we did it. We won. And it was good to see Arjen Robben back on the pitch.

I started this post hours ago and my computer crashed. I usually write my best posts off the cuff so you might miss some wisecracks I won’t be able to repeat….

Note to self: save posts regularly….

Danny Blind decided to go back to 5-3-2. Something Hiddink should never have abandoned. His son Daley organised the defense and played a sturdy solid game at the back. Wonderful in his cut outs and always composed on the ball. Van Dijk played in the center, Bruma too the right. Janmaat got his spot back and celebrated it with an assist. Kongolo played on the left and was clearly less confident on the ball but did have some good passages of play, including the first real cross for striker Dost to attack.

It was a 3-4-3 more than 5-3-2 as Wales sat deep and played how they were able to get their Euros ticket. They missed Ramsey and Bale of course and have a horrible record against Holland, never winning a game ever. Also, Oranje never lost on Brittish soil so Coleman’s team was happy for Oranje to make the play.

We started slow. Partly due to the bad conditions. The pitch looked like a Dutch cow paddock and was s l o w .

Our first real good one touch passage of play got us our first goal, thanks to a wide Janmaat run and a solid cross, allowing Dost his first senior Oranje goal: 1-0. The first change we created as after 15 minutes when the left wing back Kongolo found the Wolfsburg striker for his first attempt at goal.

It looked like we would control the game but Wales did find a way back, in a fortunate way. A late corner in the dying seconds of the first half and a shot blocked by Kongolo in the box with his hands. He did block the shot, but it would have hit his head otherwise and I found the penalty a bit harsh and the yellow card a bit ridiculous.

Cillesen is known to not be a penalty killer. He even got ridiculed in Holland for celebrating extensively recently when a penalty was hit on the post. As close as he’ll ever get to stop a spot kick, the media laughed. But he did stop this one, only to be let down by his defenders. The upcoming Wales player scored the rebound and we had start all over again in the second half.

Blind’s tactics worked against Wales, although it was the crucial contribution of Sneijder and Robben in particular what won us the game. Promes had promising runs and shows intelligence in his movement. Clasie played solid but at times was caught out. Kongolo and Janmaat were not as effective as they could have been and Dost doesn’t have the Van Persie touch. But all in all, it wasn’t that bad.

In the second half, Robben demonstrated that he can change and win games by himself. He should have scored 4 but ended up with a brace. A typical Robben move from the right coming inside finding time and space for the left foot curler… Everyone knows what he’ll do. That he’ll do it and still there is no stopping him. His movement was quite good, drifting like Cruyff in his best days, with Clasie and Sneijder always having their heads up to find him.

We did concede a second goal and again from a set piece. The team switched off when Wales took their corner quickly and short, no one picked up the players moving in and some Oranje players even had their backs to the ball. A fine header meant 2-2.

It was obvious that one more chance would finish Wales off though and a fine Dost pass into space found Robben, allowing him his 30st goal and allowing Oranje the win.

I think we – and Danny Blind – can be happy with the performance. Defensively, apart from the two set pieces, we looked alright. Bruma has his wild moments, but Van Dijk and Blind did well. I particularly liked Joel Veltman in the second half, coming on for the injured Van Dijk. The Saint got a knee problem and is out for Germany, but the Ajax man – hailed for his build up qualities – demonstrated he can be tough as a defender as well. He had numerous break ups and went in like a man.

Kongolo needs more confidence but the youngster will come good. Janmaat played well and had his assist, offering more runs and crosses in the second half. Clasie was a bit subdued and doesn’t look 100% fit to me. But he did ok. Dost had an assist and a goal so we can’t complain about him. All in all, better stuff from Holland. For what it is worth.

I think we have the ideal players for a 5-3-2. Against tough opponents, we can play counter attacking football, from a tight defensive organisation, using the speed of our forwards and the intelligent passing from the likes of Sneijder, Clasie and Blind.

In games like these, we can switch to 3-4-3 or any other version ( 3-3-4) in a jiffy with the likes of Willems, Kongolo, Riedewald on the left flank and Janmaat, Tete, van der Wiel on the right. A fit Van Persie could be replacing Dost and with Bazoer, Wijnaldum, Klaassen in midfield we have legs, duelling power and football intelligence in midfield.

We are ok for goalies and as long as Sneijder and Robben can play like this we have a good chance of returning to the top of world football in 2 to 4 years.

Danny Blind was happy with the team performance: “I think we showed grit, we showed creativity and patience. I am very upset about the two conceded goals though. We shifted to 5-3-2 to stop the onslaught of goals, but switched off twice to allow Wales back into it after set pieces. That has to stop.”

Ajax midfielder Bazoer made his debut for Oranje late in the game, replacing Jordy Clasie but he won’t be traveling to Germany with team as he has a slight hamstring scare.

Arjen Robben was delighted to be of importance. The former Groningen winger said repeatedly that he wants to follow Ryan Giggs in his footsteps and play as long as possible, focusing on nutrition and yoga to keep his body fit. “I am happy to have had an impact, although I should have scored four tonight. But yes, Giggs got a different role in the autumn of his career, playing more from midfield. I like to think that my experience and vision will help me do that to when I need to. But the tests at Bayern Munich show I still am as explosive and quick as two years ago, and that gives me great confidence. I want to play another World Cup.” Asked about his Bayern colleague Philip Lahm, who recently retired from international duties. “Lahm has won everything. He won the World Cup in 2014 so that makes a difference. Once I win the World Cup in 2018, I might retire as well, hahahaha. But anyway, I’m happy with this game, at times we played really well.”

Bas Dost is over the moon. “I am really happy, I have to pinch myself. I have players like Van Persie and Huntelaar usually in front of me and for me to finally start a game was a dream come true. When Janmaat whipped that ball in, I knew I had to score. That was my ball. I am so happy.”

Wesley Sneijder was quick to say that this system should be used from now on. “We are not good enough for 4-3-3. We conceded too many goals. You cannot qualify if you concede 23 in 10 games, or whatever it was. It is simple. When Danny asked us (Robben and Sneijder) about the change of system we both said yes… We need to. And like this, we can get ourselves out of the rut really quickly I think.”

Asked if the 5-3-2 would have resulted in qualifications for the Euros: “I am not sure. It’s too easy to say this now. We missed a fit Arjen Robben and a fit Robin van Persie. We have great young talents coming through but these two are world class players. Without them it is hard. Take C Ronaldo out of Portugal or Zlatan out of Sweden and you have different teams. We are not a Germany or Spain with heaps of top class players and this series we were vulnerable. Most of our goals conceded were not the result of 4 or 5 at the back, but has to do more with sharpness, with focus. The two goals we conceded here as well. You can four Robbens and we’d still have conceded them. It is never just one thing….”

Cillesen: “Stopping the penalty was good but still conceding put a wet blanket on it. But I am not too concerned you know. The media made it into a thing. I never did. You stop a penalty, sometimes it’s just luck. I did well to punch it but I wanted the ball to go more to the side. Let’s hope next time it all goes well.”

Blind: “It is a bit ironic. We have tremendous length in our squad now, with Virgil and Dost. Usually, we have the likes of Vlaar, Van Persie. We should not concede header goals. This sharpness, or lack thereof, needs to be ironed out. Against Wales in a friendly you get away with it, but against Germany or even Iceland when it matters, it is not enough. You can see we still need the smarts and vision of the older players too, going forward. Wesley and Arjen were instrumental for us. I wish we could use Arjen against Germany.”

With Robben, Bazoer and Van Dijk out, we will most like see the following line up vs Germany:

Stekelenburg

Janmaat Bruma Veltman Blind Pieters

Wijnaldum Clasie Sneijder

Huntelaar Memphis

October 9, 2015 by Jan

Oranje ready for Kazachstan!

The tension is mounting. Also in the Dutch players camp. The media love to interview the big name players before a game as some of them still have it in them to say something remarkable.

Most young players are afraid to speak their minds and copy the words of the press officer… “Yes it is an honour”. “No the coach decides and I play where he wants me to.” Etc etc

Memphis Depay today is such a big name. But the Man U winger decided to scoff the press and said “I am not talking to you guys!”. And marched on. Louis van Gaal would not accept that kind of behaviour when he was in charge of Oranje, as opposed to his predecessor Van Marwijk and successor Hiddink, who were a bit more loose with that behaviour.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar is always a good target for interviews. The former PSV talent, who had to make his way into the big league via AGOVV and Heerenveen before Ajax picked him up had a horrific spell under Blind. In the first game vs Iceland he had to make way after getting a start when BMI saw red and against Turkey Blind suddenly didn’t need him at all.

The Schalke top scorer doesn’t want to dwell too much on this. “I wasn’t happy but hey, it’s football. The coach decides. I was happy to start of course and the coach explained his tactical views after the game, the reason why he subbed me. The Turkey game was a huge disappointment of course and again, the coach had plans that didn’t include me but I love Oranje. I love playing for Oranje and whenever the coach needs me, I’ll be ready to play. I will focus fully on the future and don’t dwell on the past. It is not about me either. Oranje needs to qualify. And whether I play and score or someone else…. ”

Wesley Sneijder was the key man against Scotland in 2004 when he helped Oranje qualify for the Euros 2004 in Portugal. “That is a long time ago. I’m still here, hahahaha.” Sneijder laughs when he realises his buddies Rafa van der Vaart, John Heitinga and – currently – Arjen Robben don’t have the level of fitness or form to play for Oranje at this stage. “And I’m not done yet. I have much more in me. I am happy where I am, my wife is expecting, life in Turkey is amazing and now we will need to give it all to qualify. Bring it on!”

The cocky midfielder realises his role in Oranje has changed. “When I came into the squad I had someone like Jaap Stam having a go at me and putting me in my place. Today’s young players are a bit different, it seems. I do sense I am one of the older lads and like Stam, most likely, I feel like they kids don’t always listen to me. In my early days, the senior players played cards. Always battling over klaverjassen, and the young lads tried to get into the game. Today, they sit in their rooms and play Playstation. I think it’s childish. Not manly at all. I don’t do it, hahahaha.”

Asked about the odds of Oranje not qualifying. “I don’t want to talk about it like that. I simply cannot believe we won’t make it. But whatever the result, I do believe Blind should stay. He is perfect for this group. He deserves to get more time. With new players, old players, whatever. As long as I am part of it hahaha.” Wesley’s wife Yolanthe is at the end of her pregnancy and Sneijder said many times he will go home if the baby comes. “This is priority. I have played football for too many years and have put my family on the second spot for years. This time. I want to be there. I want to support my wife and see my baby being born. Once I am on the pitch, I will play the match but if I get the message before the game, I’m off. Sorry.”

Oranje will play the away game vs Kazachstan in Astana, the futuristic capital of the nation. In the past, a big steppe where nomadic tribes lived and lingered. Today, a new sort of Vegas or Dubai with a highly futuristic football stadium, Sneijder: “It is very science fiction. I never saw this before, and believe me, I have seen a lot of stadiums.” With the new oil and gas revenue, this former USSR state (became independent in 1991) has re-invented themselves and are ready for the big games. The Astana cycle team has done well, the Astana FC made it to the Champions League and the nation’s dreams go further.

As to be expected, the pitch in the Astana Stadium is made of artificial grass. This is a first. Oranje never ever before played a match or a friendly even, on artificial grass. Robin van Persie: “The last time I played on astro turf was when I was in the Feyenoord youth. Maybe 16 years ago?”
Wesley Sneijder played their recently with Gala in their CL match against Astana. “My muscles are still sore. It’s not good.”

Huntelaar despises fake grass. “For me, it is a reason not to go back to the Eredivisie in the future. There’s like 4 clubs now with this fake pitch. Not for me. I hate it.”

The younger generation of Oranje players, however, is used to it. Elia: “I don’t mind it. When you are fast, it is more reliable and you can pass the ball well too.”

Blind trained with a fully fit squad in the Astana Stadium and as opposed to the earlier games, where he picked Hunter without RVP for Iceland and RVP instead of Hunter against Turkey. For the Kazachstan game, we will most likely see both players leading the line.

El Ghazi will most likely start on the right. The Ajax winger is seen as show pony but realises it doesn’t all have to be brilliant. “We need to win. As simple as that. Even if it is ugly. My job is quite clear and this applies to all players. We’ll simply have to do it.”

Georghinio Wijnaldum went from heaven to hell. Picking up the bronze medal in Brazil, winning the title with PSV and as a result a big transfer to a sleeping giant in the EPL. But his team is last in the standings and his Oranje might not get to the Euros. “It’s crazy. People in England ask me all the time, what is wrong with Holland…. It’s hard, we haven’t played our best football but that flow can come back just like that. I am personally happy with where I am. The situation in England with Newcastle isn’t great but we are a young team in development and we play world class opponents all the time. The pace is amazing and they all want to attack attack… Against Man City, we started great and got in front but then Aguero has 5 amazing touches: 5 goals. And we gave the goals to them….”

The Spanish papers were all about a Dutch player who isn’t important for Oranje anymore…. Although some feel he should be part of this current squad… Dirk Kuyt. Apparently, FC Barcelona made up a short list of players they could get to the club to allow them to bring on a super sub pinch hitter. The statisticians were told to look for players with international careers, over 30 years old with good stats in scoring off the bench and who haven’t played CL football this season (and thus are eligible to play). A list of four players, among them Feyenoord’s Dirk Kuyt. The only one on the list without Liga experience though… The same Dirk Kuyt that was mentioned by an influential sports analyst in Holland as a potential call up for Oranje. Janmaat wasn’t replaced by Danny Blind and according to Sjoerd Mossou only Dirk Kuyt would make sense. He would be the talisman, he would definitely make an impact in the dressing room and he would be able to start at right back and end up playing fourth striker and scoring the all important winner in the dying seconds….

With Janmaat out and Dirk Kuyt wearing his Messi PJ’s it seems Kenneth Tete is about to make his debut in the Oranje team. The young Ajax right back has caught the eye of many Dutch experts, not just Blind and Van Basten. The 19 year old will be 20 this coming Friday and has a bright future in Orange. As opposed to youngsters like Janmaat, Van Rhijn, Van der Wiel and Willems, Tete is a real defender. Not unlike Terence Kongolo, Tete is happiest after a strong block tackle. Where Van Persie dreams of the perfect assist and Huntelaar of the perfect header, Tete is all about the perfect challenge. Tete grew up in the same streets as Narsingh and Assaidi and played street soccer with the older lads. “I had to really grow up fast and become tough as they’re all so good and quick and older as well… I was like a kamikaze pilot in the youth… running and flying and tackling. I am the product of an African dad and an Asian mum :-), My dad was Dutch champion kickboxing and I think I have his power and my mum’s agility. I always wanted to be a defender. Jaap Stam is my role model. I love it when the Ajax fans applaud an interception or a tackle. The Ajax supporters are critical but can really appreciate good defending too.”

And back to Memphis… The young winger is talking to the media, but on his terms. “We only talk about the Kazachstan game. I don’t want to talk Man United or working with Van Gaal or the EPL or the World Cup Brazil. Most football fans like the arrogance of the top player. Sneijder has it, C Ronaldo has it. The amateur kids know Memphis could be the one playing Oranje out of prison.
“Asked if he feels the pressure to be the man who changes things around, he says: “I understand this. I am one of the players that can win a game with one move. So I will have to deal with that pressure.”

So…people…. it’s time to give you my ideal line up. Although this time it will not be much different than Danny’s, as the injury list is bigger than I would like to see it.

I personally am not a big Cillesen fan and would always go for Krul. But Blind won’t.

So for me it will be:

Krul
Tete – Van Dijk – Riedewald
El Ghazi – Wijnaldum – Blind – Sneijder – Memphis
Huntelaar – Van Persie

I expect Holland to win 0-3 against these cats. I think Huntelaar will score the first one. Van Persie will score one and Memphis or Sneijder will score from midfield position.

Gimme your ideas!

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015 by Jan

Oranje Euro Campaign: do or die!

The Dutch Oranje fans are still partly in shock after the two dreadful losses in September vs Iceland and Turkey. And while the Dutch top talents from the Eredivisie are experiencing that life abroad is a bit more difficult than expected (Wijnaldum, Memphis, Van Ginkel, Afellay), the usual suspects in Holland are debating how to clean up the Oranje Act. And Pronto too!

With only two more games to go and without the steering wheel tightly in our grasp, the analysts seem to agree on two things. Firstly, it doesn’t make sense to replace Danny Blind now. The poor coach surely made some mistakes in his first two games (overrating our quality, mainly) but can’t be blamed for the sorry state the team was and is in, after the dramatic campaign post-World Cup 2014.

Changing the coach now will not have a lot of impact. We simply have to deal with the facts at hand: our current ‘Dutch School” tactics won’t work and we do not have the quality we need.

With the two key games at hand now, the debate whether we will still be able to make it to the top or not can wait till after the games! For now, the focus is on the games vs Kazachstan and the Czech and our voodoo powers to block Turkey from winning two games. Although…it has to be said…. Turkey drawing one and winning one won’t cut it either… Turkey will actually have to lose one at least… While we win two.

Anyway…. Danny Blind is trying to change the tyres of the vehicle while driving it… He has Marco van Basten as his super critical assistant and Ruud van Nistelrooy in support to work with him on the training ground.

Blind has made some errors in selecting the right squad for his first games and probably also some tactictal mistakes but that is all in hindsight of course. At least he had an idea. Sadly, it failed… (I’m talking about using Promes instead of Huntelaar in the last match, for instance).

JC usually wants his teams to play well and attractive. For the coming Oranje games, the old master doesn’t care. He wants results.

But anyway. Blind will have to work with what we have. The key is to use the best players we have and use them in a system that gives us the best options to win.

I don’t need to see “Total Football” or creativity in the coming matches. I want to see a team that will give 100% to win the game.

In the Arsenal – Man United game, we all saw what it means if players really have the desire. True, Arsenal oozes quality as well but Leicester City is playing like this with 9 average players and two top forwards and they’re in the top 5 in the EPL.

Blind will need to find the right words to get him team to give it all!

Selecting the right players is one thing, but prepping them to go out and win is something else.

One of the big talking points in Holland is Ziyech’s decision to play for Morocco instead of Oranje. The Twente playmaker played for every Oranje rep team in the youth system and was even invited in the prelim squad earlier this campaign by Hiddink but as he never got a minute in the Orange, he is still able to switch loyalties. And his heart made him decide to go for Morocco. According to many (Johan Derksen, Willem van Hanegem) he could have been saved for Oranje if we simply went out and talked to him to explain his future in the Dutch team. Ziyech being the ideal replacement for Wes Sneijder….

El Ghazi, the prolific Ajax winger, decided to go for the Dutch. The youngster is on the hitlist of many EPL clubs now, as he is the top scorer in the Eredivisie and he actually went to speak to Cristiano Ronaldo for advice. The Portuguese super star suggested that with Oranje he’d have more growth and more chance on silverware. The Moroccan player was immediately picked for the Oranje squad by Blind.

Rick Karsdorp, playmaker made right full back at Feyenoord, missed the cut after being selected in the prelim squad and quite remarkably (not for us!) Narsingh was dropped as well. The experienced PSV winger admitted in an interview, quite maturely, that he indeed played shocking in his recent Oranje games and understood Blind’s decision.

Arjen Robben and Luuk de Jong won’t be present either, due to injuries and Joel Veltman lost his spot to Virgil van Dijk, who impresses at Southampton.

Bruno Martins Indi and Greg van der Wiel both took the grunt for the bad results of the last two Oranje games but aren’t in the squad due to suspensions. It’s anyone’s guess whether Blind would have picked them if they weren’t. Janmaat makes his way back into the squad, as does Karim Rekik.

With Quincy Promes out due to injury, Eljero Elia who has revigourated his career at Feyenoord, is back in the squad to fill in. The sensational talent-who-once-was missed a couple of years in his development due to some bad career choices and lifestyle choices and after failing at Bremen and Juventus and Southampton seems to have the right motivation and quality to impress in the Eredivisie. Elia played his last Oranje game in 2012.

Elia is back!

Another setback for Oranje came in after the Ajax – PSV game. Davey Klaassen, usually a starter, suffered a light concussion against PSV and can’t make it for Kazachstan. He might join the squad for the last match, but Blind called up another Ajaz midfielder, Riechedly Bazoer, in my view one of our biggest talents.

As per usual, there was a little media rift created in the run up to the Oranje games. In a press conference, Phillip Cocu was asked if Danny Blind ever spoke to Cocu about his players, for instance about Narsingh. Cocu responded prickly with: “Blind never calls me. I haven’t spoken to him at all.” The media quickly moved out to Ajax in Amsterdam to quote Frank de Boer saying this: “Danny calls me a lot. We discuss his choices, he asks me about certain players. He asked me if I thought if El Ghazi was ready for Oranje and I said: yes, pick him!” Asked what he thought Blind would do if De Boer would have said “No, he is not ready yet”, De Boer said: “Well…usually Blind listens well to what I say…”

Danny Blind responded to this favouritism by explaining that he has rung Cocu three times and three times the PSV coach didn’t pick up. “I guess my number is not in his address book so he might have ignored the calls.” Gio van Bronckhorst was called once by Blind, when the prelim squad was made public. “Danny can always call me to discuss players.” the relaxed Feyenoord coach quipped.

At this point, Blind and Cocu have spoken and in between Cocu’s words you can make out what went on. “I spoke to Danny now. He left a message for me and I called back. That is what I do. If I don’t recognise a number, but they leave a clear message, I will return the call. So lets not make this into a big thing. The players need to focus on the game. Whether Blind does or doesn’t call me is all the same to me. But it was good that we cleared the air.”

Last news from the Oranje camp: Daryl Janmaat didn’t return to Holland without a blemish. The Newcastle right back had a knock on his knee in the Man City game and might not be 100% fit for the Kazachstan game. Kenneth Tete is a potential replacement for him.

Yesterday Blind and Gio discussed Elia who was called up to replace Promes.

Elia, normally always quite eloquent and extraverted, was in shock when his coach told him he was to go to Noordwijk to join the Oranje squad. “I don’t know what to say. I have almost squandered my career and I know I can only blame myself. I want to atone and play well and work hard. I know I am on the way back and I know I have the quality still to make a difference. But this is unexpected. I didn’t think it would go this fast. I still have a lot of growth in me.”

All in all, Blind comes across positive and buoyant but he is a coach in distress of course. Arjen Robben, Strootman, Willems, Vlaar, Clasie, De Vrij injured, Van Persie warming the bench more than he’d like to, Klaassen and Promes injured, Luuk de Jong injured, Ziyech decided to play for Morocco and now Janmaat not 100% fit either…

Virgil van Dijk finally gets recognition…

We could play a strong team of injured players, utilising Vermeer or Stekelenburg in goal, playing Willems, Vlaar, Martins Indi and Van der Wiel at the back. Strootman, Klaassen and Clasie in the middle of the park and Robben, De Jong and Promes upfront. Not bad…

Danny Blind: “We can find all sorts of excuses for sure, but we won’t. We simply need to play two good teams and win. With the players we have. Period. We are playing on astro in Kazachstan and we will travel a couple of days early to get used to the pitch. But from what I know, the ball will roll nicely, it is flat and evened out so we will be able to play our football. No excuses. Winning two games and then simply wait for the Czechs to do their job….”

Btw, wanted to share this with you:

September 6, 2015 by Jan

Turkish Delight or Drama for Oranje….

My dear friends, let me start this blog post by showing you something that will fuel your hope for the future. Dutch football is not dead. When you have players like Vincent Janssen, Nathan Ake, Bazoer and Tannane there is a future. Let’s see how far these guys can go. And I know, it was only against Young Cyprus and all that, but you can see what kind of talent we do have.

The seniors were on a mission to win four games. They lost the first, as you probably will have noticed, and now a draw against Turkey is enough to finish third… Well, I don’t believe in “a draw is enough”. There are more games to play and who tells me that Holland will win the last two? Therefore, we need to play to win!

I have watched the press conference and some of the interviews and it really is not that inspiring. “Yes we will try and win.” “Yes we want to silence the crowd”. “Yes we are full of confidence.”

Whatever. We need to see it tomorrow I suppose. The Turks aren’t that good but they definitely aren’t shabby either. They play with intent, with a sense of urgency and they can play. They might be erratic at times, or undisciplined but hey…so do we.

We need to realise that we are not that great team (at the moment). And I am not referring to 1974 per se. We are also not that great team of 2014. Even if we almost have the same players. The team simply isn’t there.

I watched the first 30 minutes of the game again and despite what some say, Van der Wiel wasn’t the problem. Sure, he created the penalty and that was absolutely ridiculous, but the first 30 minutes, when we played 11vs11 and it was 0-0, the problem we had was created by the lack of movement by Klaassen and Wijnaldum. Our defence did not have an outlet. And when Sneijder got the ball the movement around him was absent.

Not, with Robben out, we have a mediocre team. Which is ok. We have four outstanding players. Two used to be World Class (Sneijder and Van Persie), one will be (Memphis) and one is a goal scoring machine (Huntelaar). The rest are all ok but need to play in function of these four.

With RVP not 100% match fit, it is only predictable that Hunter will start. When Oranje is in front, expect a like for like change with RVP. If Oranje is trailing, Blind will bring RVP to play next to Hunter…

I have my personal ideas who Oranje should play but I don’t think Blind shares my ideas. I do believe he will start Van der Wiel again. He has no options. If he’d play Tete he would basically have to send Wiel home and get Janmaat in his place. Lots of loss of face.

So Van der Wiel will start, alongside De Vrij and Bruma and Blind, most likely. I imagine Blind will keep the midfield intact but add Lens on the right as a false winger. He’ll play Depay left and Hunter centrally.

I think.

I would have made many different choices. I would have had Janmaat with De Vrij and Blind as left center back (like he plays for Man United) and Pieters as left back. Blind can build up well from behind and speed up the game.

Virgil van Dijk

I would have Sneijder, Anita and Wijnaldum in midfield with Memphis and Hunter upfront and Lens as false right winger (allowing Janmaat his runs in the channel).

You’d have Blind and Memphis on the left hand side, who know each other. You’d have Janmaat, De Vrij, Wijnaldum and Anita who sort of know each other.

Klaassen for me is a left midfield player. Not a defensive mid.

Should you need more fire power you can always sub Pieters for Van Persie.

Anyway…we’ll see. It will be a nail biter.

I hope we get a sensational win but it could well be a chess game ending with 0-0 or something like that…

We played Turkey eleven times before and won five times. We lost twice. Last game in Amsterdam was a draw with Huntelaar’s last minute equaliser. We lost our last game against them in 1997. The infamous Seedorf penalty miss game…. The Turks have a scoring issue at the moment. They haven’t scored more than once every game for a while. Yilmaz, team mate of Wesley, is the man in form in terms of goals. With Turan their bearded leader and playmaker.

RVP is our top goalscorer with 49 goals. Huntelaar is behind him with 41 but the Schalke man is prolific in qualification games, so who knows. For superstitious people, Promes shouldn’t play today. The former Twente winger never won a game with Oranje. He lost five.

The best number 3 is qualified directly, by the way. If we have to play play offs we are most likely the best ranked “number 3” and we will have some protection and probably will get an opponent like Norway, Slovenia, Israel or Ireland.

September 4, 2015 by Jan

Horror scenario Oranje vs Iceland

Any coach will go through potential scenarios in his head, when preparing for a match. All different angles are being talked through. What happens when we concede early? What happens if it stays 0-0 for a long time? What do we do when we score very early? What will Iceland do? What if we lose a player due to a red card? What if Arjen Robben gets injured…

But I do think that even Danny Blind didn’t come up with the scenario that hit us like a hammer. “What if we lose a defender in the first half on a red card, what if we also lose Robben to injury and on top of that Iceland gets a penalty in the second half…” If Van Nistelrooy would have suggested this, Danny and Marco would have said “Shut up Ruud, you’re not funny!”

But this is exactly what happened. And sadly for all of us, for the supporters, the players and for Danny Blind: the choices the coach made have come to bite him in the butt. Not that he made obvious blunders, but his choices didn’t pan out. And as he is end responsible, he will have to take the blame.

It starts with the selection of the players. He took BMI and Van der Wiel along, two players who lack rhythm. Both players let the team down. Coincidence? Maybe… BMI couldn’t control himself and had to smack Sigthorsson in the neck. Not smart. While Bruno actually started relatively well… Greg van der Wiel was cocky before the game and said with a wry smile “who said you need to have a starting birth at your club to be able to play for Oranje?”. Well, Greg… You made the point. The sliding tackle in the box on a player who was going into a cul de sac was unnecessary and foolish. You simply stay on your feet and block his passage to the goal…

These are childish mistakes. Mistakes you’d expect Tete and Riedewald to make… Bind must have gone crazy but he has to look into the mirror. The loss of Robben can not be blamed on Blind… Or can it…?

Danny Blind decided to make a big thing out of the change of skipper’s band. As if the new coach wanted to make a point to the world. “I am now in charge!!”. He gave Robben the band, but had to send out a press release to emphasize the fact. Why? As a result, the Dutch media were focusing on this aspect more than necessary. It was all about the extraverted manner in which Robben led the team and was actively cheering everyone on. Robben was at the press conferences and Robben fielded questions. Blind could and should simply have said “Oh by the way, Robin is not 100% fit and since he might not play, I passed the armband on to Robben.” Done.

But with the additional focus on Robben and the energy all this took, it might have contributed to additional stress in Robben’s body. The groin injury came out of nothing and Iron Man went back to being Man of Glass…

I was also not impressed with Blind’s changes. Iceland didn’t come to score goals. When BMI left the field, he could have decided to bring Daley more in to the left center role and have Klaassen drop back a tad to cover the left flank. Just see what would happen before you decide to sub a striker.

Subbing Huntelaar was contentious to say the least. Hunter keeps two defenders busy, just by being Huntelaar. Oranje also would have a target man to focus on and Klaas Jan can hold on to the ball, usually. Without him upfront and soon after without Robben as well, the danger would come from two players coming in from the flanks. Memphis known for his skill, Narsingh (brought on) only known for his speed. For which you need space. Which we didn’t get.

I would have kept Huntelaar on and would have instructed De Vrij, Daley and Klaassen to sort it out. I would have brought in Afellay for Robben. A player who can shoot from distance, create something with a dribble and have the ability to pass and move. More options than Narsingh offers. I would have had Wijnaldum play more controlled and used Van der Wiel as a wing back to bring the ball into the waiting Huntelaar. Afellay and Sneijder would loved to have picked up the lose ball. At that stage, it was still 0-0 and one goal would have been all we needed…

But Blind made a different decision. He chose to go for mobility and movement. Instead of long balls towards Huntelaar. After the game, he acknowledged that the Hunter option was definitely an option but he decided against it, and he didn’t regret it. “We create a number of opportunities with my game plan, sadly we couldn’t finish.” He wan’t wrong, but I think we would have had more dominance and power with KJ Huntelaar op front and a more pragmatic and opportunistic approach.

Obviously, it is too easy to blame it all on Blind. His game plan could have worked but most players in Orange weren’t able to reach their usual level. De Vrij was decent, Sneijder worked hard, Memphis had his moments and Cillesen made no mistakes but too many players were bland. Wijnaldum and Klaassen in particular looked out of place while Narsingh offered not enough either…

Despite the gloom, Holland still has options. We can still finish third and play offs will be available to us to make the cut. But we do have to keep Turkey behind us, which we can realise coming Sunday. The Turks seemed to be winning but a late goal resulted in a draw for them and a lifeline for Oranje.

After the game, Blind calmly analysed what went wrong and did mention Martins Indi and Van der Wiel specifically in their foolishness. The BMI action, he called “bad” and Van der Wiel “should no better by now. You never go down in the box. Lesson #1”.

Later on he evening. Blind announced that Jeremain Lens and Virgil van Dijk will be added to the squad, which leaves for Turkey today. Martins Indi wasn’t available for comments as he avoided the media. Arjen Robben however was quite furious. “I do blame him for this. This was not smart. He let the team down. There is a lot riding on this.”

Wesley Sneijder, currently the skipper for Oranje: “It was terrible. A horror scenario indeed. But we have to pick ourselves up now. All is not lost. We simply need to work hard to get our sights on Turkey. That will be a tough game, but they have something to play for, so I do assume we will get more space to play football.”

Tag: Huntelaar

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Oranje ready for Kazachstan!

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Turkish Delight or Drama for Oranje….

Horror scenario Oranje vs Iceland

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