Tag: Johan Cruyff

Weak Oranje bullied by Northern Irish

We saw our beloved Oranje in the doldrums for a couple of years, and we had to sit out two major tournaments. Our newly found confidence, the string of new players, Ronald Koeman as the new NT Manager, the sun started to shine again.

We played “Dutch football” again, we won vs France, Germany, England and we reached the finals of the Nations League.

And right at the time when Frenkie claims “there is a lot of growth still in the team” our Oranje crashes through the floor in terms of quality level.

Of course, a team can never be an “8” every match. There will be games where we are an “9” in one half and a “6” in another half. But yesterday vs a very average Northern Ireland, we dropped below the level that I would call acceptable. I’d say every single player from the starting line up except for Virgil van Dijk deserved a bad mark on their report card.

And yes, Mathijs de Ligt, Daley Blind and Jasper Cillesen all had a howler in a comedy caper sequence leading up to the goal. But it was the whole team that disappointed. From Dumfries, to Wijnaldum, from Memphis to Babel. But the biggest disappointment for me, was Frenkie de Jong.

I would like to start by saying that Northern Ireland is completely entitled to play the way they do. They cheat for seconds, they don’t play to score but they play to destroy. And why wouldn’t they. They play Klopp-Liverpool style football but without the amazing forwards.

It’s annoying, it’s negative, it’s anti-football but…it’s their prerogative to do this and it’s up to us to break them down.

I believe it all started to go wrong with the starting eleven. This is typical a game where you need Donny van de Beek and you don’t need Martin de Roon. De Roon is our destroyer, but we didn’t need to destroy. We needed to create. And move. And stretch the opponent. Something Donny does in spades.

So why didn’t Koeman start with Donny? Unclear. “So he could bring him in when the team needs him”. BS.

Also Dumfries. A great athlete, good runner. But hard feet. Doesn’t have the subtlety in his game to play along in this pass and move game we needed. We could have used Veltman better in this match, I feel. A good cross, solid passing and experience and physical strength.

I can imagine Koeman didn’t want to start with Malen as you do want to be able to bring an explosive attacker in from the bench, and Babel did have some good games before, but Van de Beek vs De Roon… I can’t understand it. When you play a strong opponent, maybe De Roon is better, allowing Frenkie some support, but against this type of opponent, you do need a runner like Van de Beek.

But lets not kid ourselves. Koeman made mistakes but the eleven on the pitch simply were terrible. Touches, passing, understanding, pace, moving without the ball, it was all sub par.

In these type of matches, you need to pass and move. At pace. One or two touches. Don’t play backheels or funny shimmies or don’t try and dribble. They won most one on one duels and most second balls. Stay out of the duels and pass the fricking ball!

You also need to keep the pitch wide, and use the half spaces to reach the byline and cross the ball in low and hard (like Malen did!).

Northern Ireland wanted to suck the oxygen out of the game and sadly, our playmaker Frenkie de Jong helped them but taking so many touches of the ball. Trying to dribble, trying to turn, left, back to right, back to left again. And all to no avail. There wasn’t enough movement up front, yes, I’ll give him that, but when you are being man-marked (as he was) you know another player gets some freedom. Pass the fricking ball!

This is where Ronald Koeman could and should have changed his team, even 10 mins in. Take De Roon out and bring a player with ball skills. Even Steven Berghuis on that right midfield position would have done better than De Roon as Berghuis can pass a ball and take on a player.

And our wing play? In the first half you could see ever so clearly that Dumfries isn’t trusted by his team mates. Frenkie de Jong, Bergwijn, Van Dijk, they all prefer to open on the left – to Babel – instead of using Dumfries, no matter how open Dumfries was. Reason why? They don’t trust him to do the right thing! And they were right!

Can’t wait for Karsdorp to be 100% fit!

Second half, it all started to get a bit better. Northern Ireland was getting more fatigues and there was more pace and more grit in our team in the second half. When Van de Beek was introduced he received a thundering ovation.

But for the first time in 19 years, Oranje faced a 0-1 score line in De Kuip, when the first and only attempt on goal by the Northern Irish got promoted to a goal thanks to the 3 Stooges: De Ligt, Blind, Cillesen.

The first time we reached Malen in the half space on the left resulted in his low cross and a magical Memphis touch resulted in the 1-1.

Another freak goal got Luuk de Jong the hero status in the dying minutes, when a deflected defensive header got onto his stretched out leg and the ball went high up, only to land just in front of the goal line. L de Jong quickly grabbed the post and was able to flick the ball over the line.

And finally, when the game was played, Frenkie got his chance to dribble forward and that immediately resulted in Memphis’ 3-1.

They crucial game in our group was won. And after the game, a lot of relief and optimism about the future, but it was merely the result that we should be happy about.

Lots and lots of things to think about. For Koeman and his staff, yes. But also for Frenkie, Mathijs, Daley, Gini and the rest.

As the whole team, including technical staff, failed. Despite the win.

 

 

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Frenkie: “We have so much room to grow!”

The competitions have started again. And with a focus on the Dutchies, it’s clear that we are seeing – mostly – pretty decent developments. Yes, Mathijs de Ligt might need a tad more time to get used to Sarri’s new way of playing for Juve. Even Bonucci says in interviews he needs more time himself! And yes, Luuk de Jong hasn’t scored yet (but don’t worry: he will). Cillesen is allowing goals, yes, and maybe he’s not as good as Neuer or Kapa or De Gea but he’s still good enough for Oranje.

It’s all good news. PSV’s forwards, Ajax’ continuous run, AZ’s talents knocking on the door, but also the return to fitness of Danjuma, the goals of Weghorst, the minutes made by Chong and most importantly the key role Frenkie is playing already in this Barcelona. Only Feyenoord is a bit of an up and down team at the moment… Epically beating Porto and then losing horrifically against Fortuna Sittard? But all good lessons for the players and hopefully they’ll find their spine soon.

Frenkie oozes confidence: “We have made a good run with Oranje, but now we really need to win the next two matches as we will make a giant leap forward to qualification. Northern Ireland is the key game, and away against Belarus, well…with all due respect, we really should win that. We will have the upperhand vs Germany and Northern Ireland in terms of 1v1 result and we have it all in our own hands.” Frenkie has a right to be cocky. He started in 10 of Barca’s 11 official matches and the media can’t stop talking him up. He’s seen as a real asset, providing creativity and solutions from midfield and accelerating the game where possible. Some media even claim that the current Barcelona team is struggling to keep up with Frenkie’s game!

“Yes its going well, but I never worried about that. For me, it’s new team mates and a new stadium and a new country and language, but the football for me is always the same. I wouldn’t know how to play differently. Barca signed me with their full brain, as we say in Holland, and they know what they’re getting. And to be honest, we’re not playing that well. We can still do so much better. But a Barca that plays average, always has a Suarez or a Messi to break the deadlock. That bycicle kick of Suarez? He doesn’t it constantly in training. That was meant to happen like this, I can tell you. And I am as surprised by what he does as the fans are, hahaha. We have so much quality, we can always find an opening.”

Oranje is not that far progressed. “Not yet!”, Frenkie smiles. “But we will work towards this. I believe we can play better but if you see how we played partly during the Nations League semi finals and the second half vs Germany… That is the level we need to hold on to. We can still improve and that is a good thing! We all sense there is room to grow.”

The goal is reaching the Euro2020 tournament. “I did play final tournaments in the youth system. It’s really good fun to play at those, but this one is the real deal! It’s a disgrace in a way that The Netherlands missed out twice! I really want to be part of the group that will qualify again.”

Another player who entered the trainings camp for Oranje with his chest out is skipper Virgil van Dijk. “We’re now 8 points ahead of Man City with Liverpool! Who would have thought that so early in the season. Wow! Winning the CL with Liverpool was huge, but winning the title in England will be even bigger. We want to win everything now, the title, the FA Cup, the World Cup for clubs, everything!”

Van Dijk never played a final tournament. Not even in the youth. “Four years ago, I made my debut vs Kazachstan. Boy, what a difference. Things didn’t go so smoothly, to say the least. And if you look at the steps we made since then? It can go quickly and it all is based on the talent coming through. It’s cyclic I think and we’re on a good run now.”

Van Dijk wants to temper the euphoria. “We haven’t won a single thing yet. Yes it’s going well but Thursday, Northern Ireland…it will be tough. Yes, it’s a full Kuip and all this, but I know the Northern Ireland team and I know most of their players and I’m telling you: it will be a tough match! But no matter how you look at it: we want to win and we will qualify because we are ready. We have the players, the technical staff, the history, the fans, we simply belong at that stage.”

Ronald Koeman was asked about this new look Oranje. His analysis. “It all comes in waves. I was also part of a young group in the 1980s that had to be brought in because Oranje was disappointing on all levels. With Vanenburg, Van Basten, Gullit… And we were kids. But we had the pizzazz, we had the courage and some luck. Now, we see another tremendous generation knocking on the doors of the top. Frenkie de Jong, two seasons ago, was not yet a certainty. Virgil was overlooked by most clubs, Dumfries, Ake, Van De Beek… And there is more coming and that is wonderful. I also believe we changed things at club level. Today most clubs have their players 8 hours per day. In the years before, other countries trained harder. Longer. Players were fitter. Today, I think we can compete.”

Asked why Koeman is not open to make changes in his squad (think Weghorst vs Luuk or bringing in Stengs instead of Berghuis), he said: “You have to understand that I have been working with these lads for 1,5 years now and we don’t have a lot of time before matches to fit in new players. There is always that urge to give younger talents chances, but we need to win Thursday. I don’t have time to focus on a young player coming in and getting him into the system. It’s definitely something I long to do, I can also see we have some good players coming through, but I want to do it slowly but surely. I selected Berghuis over Stengs, both left footed forwards, because Steven has the experience within Oranje. He has been part of Oranje for years, on and off. But Stengs is definitely knocking on the door. Koopmeiners too, a player I am following. He has leadership skills, great feet, mentally strong, so yes. And there are more options, I am aware but we will find the right time to start to include these new lads.”

Asked about the Weghorst / Luuk de Jong debate. “Weghorst scores easily and now he has a number of goals while Luuk hasn’t, but I don’t look at that only. I look at what they do without the ball and how they can be of use for the team. As a pinch hitter, I think Luuk offers more. More “gogme”, more smarts and experience. Luuk is great in holding up the ball and finding team mates, with his head or chest or feet. Wout is more a finisher. But you can’t claim Luuk doesn’t know how to score, right? He was Eredivisie top scorer so he knows how to do it.”

Asked about Mo Ihattaren. “It’s clear that he will become a European top player. No doubt. We really want him to play for Oranje, but considering his private situation (Mo’s dad recently died) we have said we would give him time. I am not going to stalk him, particularly not now. He is only 17 years old and he needs to decide on his own time.”

He did have to drop players, as for instance Donny van de Beek is back to full fitness. “I decided to drop a midfielder extra as Davy Propper isn’t fit either. We now have one extra forward. I think it’s legit, as we will be playing opponents who will want us to have the ball. Tonny Vilhena was part of Oranje for years now, so it’s hard on him, but things will keep changing, I’m sure. Players get injured, or we need more midfielders maybe against other opponents. The least fun thing for a team manager is calling players who are loyal and have had contributions to tell them they are not needed. I do look at how polyvalent a player actually is, of course, and with the likes of Donny but also Malen we have players who can play on more than one spot. I think Malen can play on 4 positions… That is rich.”

The Northern Ireland match is seen as a key match and a difficult one.

I think Holland will thrash them: 4-0. The Belarus away game will probably prove to be more difficult… Malen, Memphis, Donny and De Ligt on the score sheet.

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Resilient Oranje thrashes Germany

This post is dedicated with gratitude to my dear friend Bob. You know why :-).

NOTE: English highlights at the bottom of this post!

We all like to say and think that Dutch football is on the way up, but at the same time…we’re all still quite vulnerable… Frenkie isn’t playing on his favorite spot at Barca, De Ligt makes a number of obvious mistakes at Juve, Memphis wasn’t able to make a move to a top club, Promes isn’t really making it hard for Ten Hag at Ajax and has to work his way into the Ajax team, and more.

So when Arch Enemy #1 Germany is on the roster, a lot of people would watch the match with an extra set of diapers on… The Germans… they always have a tough team to beat, they always develop talent and they know how to win games…

In the Volkspark Stadium in Hamburg, where Oranje dealt with West Germany back in 1988, Holland started sparkling. Forward pressure, high up the park, quick pass and move play while Germany clearly was playing compact from a more deeper position.

Germany playing counter football in their own home? Deja Vu to the 1980s?

Marathon Man Gini

But despite Holland getting the first shooting opportunity (Memphis testing the fists of Neuer), it’s Germany again, countering to 1-0 in the first 10 mins of the game.

A series of “mistakes” allow this to happen… No pressure from Wijnaldum on the ball (Toni Kroos!), Blind and De Ligt pressing forward – even with Koeman explicitly telling them not to “bite” to early – while Van Dijk drops back a bit and blocks the offside trap!

And Promes not realising Kloostermann was sprinting away from him, just on-side, and preparing the Gnabry goal… Cillesen did his best but the rebound was too much.

With the 1-0, Germany even sat deeper still waiting for more counter opportunities (which did come and Cillesen had to act with a strong hand to keep Werner from scoring their second).

Oranje had the ball but failed to really create chances. The flow wasn’t there. Reasons? For starters, Koeman’s tactical trick didn’t work.

The idea was to have Babel as centre striker (like he did at Galatasaray) and Memphis in a free role. Promes was supposed to cover the left flank – as Blind doesn’t do wingback – while Dumfries was supposed to cover the right flank – he does do wingback. De Roon would drop into the right back zone to cover for Denzel and to assist in the build up.

Blissful contributions by Babel

This is where it went wrong. The Germans were happy for De Roon to build up and allowed him the ball. And De Roon is a good player, but not a great play maker or passer. What definitely didn’t help either, was Dumfries inability to keep the ball and/or do something solid with it.

The PSV right back is lauded for his strength, his mentality, his legs/lungs, and his fighting spirit… But he is also known to have “hard feet”. Meaning…lack of technique. And it showed.

Dumfries was launched into a very promising opportunity by Memphis, getting into the box but almost stumbling over his own feet. Most of his actions failed on the flank, and it was clear Oranje’s right flank (De Roon, Dumfries, Babel) wasn’t working.

Orange jersey suits Malen really well

It happens. We’re not going to suddenly crucify Dumfries for being who he is. But we do need better quality. If Holland wants to win trophies, we do need top notch players on all positions. De Roon and Dumfries might just be lacking in that. They’re good, but not world class (like Memphis, Wijnaldum, Frenkie and Van Dijk).

When Propper and Malen came on (and Promes moved to the right) in the second half, there simply was more pizzazz and class in the team. And with De Roon suspended for the next game, I expect Propper to come in and stay in (maybe until Van de Beek is fit again).

The switch in the second half to bring Babel back to the left worked, with Wijnaldum now having more space to work with.

What a photo! Memphis at the top of his game!

Oranje remained patience and was fully focussed on attacking Germany when they looked vulnerable, with Babel and Wijnaldum setting traps all the time. And it was Babel who was instrumental in getting Holland back in the game, with a cross that was finished by Frenkie in perfect style. A wonderful first touch, followed by a side footed controlled finish: 1-1.

We love emphasising how good we are, but truth be told, Germany defended horrifically. New central defender pairing Ginter and Tah made a mess of most situations and a corner and Virgil header was the prologue to another howler. Memphis brought the ball back into the 5 yard zone, Babel did some silly step over – back heel trick (that failed) and Tah decided to stick his leg out: 1-2. Babel walked away with a sheepish grin on his face.

I was personally confident that my 1-3 prediction was going to make it, but not long after the 1-2 the ref decided to help the poor Germans a bit, with the execution of a poor new hand ball rule.

Part of the problem. Five Oranje players high up the pitch against a compact Germany… Hardly any space to operate in, with a disappointing partnership between Babel, Gini and Memphis.

“Every hand ball in the box is now a penalty” is the new rule, apparently.

So Matthijs de Ligt blocks a cross successfully. The ball goes up in the air. De Ligt loses sight. The ball drops on the ground but brushes past De Ligt’s arm. There is no way the German player could have re-capture the ball. There was no threat, danger, whatsoever, but the ref decided: penalty.

Cillesen is starting to become a better penalty killer, but there was no stopping Kroos’ decisive spot kick: 2-2.

Germany seemed to think the 2-2 was fine. The pace was slow, they were sloppy and Holland simply wanted the win more. And did more to force the win.

And boy, did we have another trap ready for them. We took the ball high up the park, on the left hand side, again. Babel playing his part, Memphis slotted the ball through to Wijnaldum who – under pressure – was able to flick the ball perfectly to Donyell Malen who was able to celebrate his first goal in his debut game for Oranje: 2-3. A brilliantly worked goal!

The German goal: no pressure on the ball, Blind/De Ligt pressing forward while Virgil drops back and ruins the offside trap while Promes is surprised by the run of the full back….

Germany needed to find a third wind, to salvage a point and in doing so was vulnerable even more.

Koeman felt 2-3 was good enough and took Babel off. The veteran did his job and Nathan Ake was brought in to secure the win. Blind moved further to the left and Malen and Memphis played upfront, with Frenkie, Propper and Gini Wijnaldum in midfield.

A wonderful interception by the fresh Ake resulted in a wonderful pass to Memphis, who saw in his peripheral vision one of the strongholders of Oranje making a 60 meter dash – we are talking the last minute of the game!! – into the box. Memphis pass was pitch perfect and Wijnaldum only needed to put his side foot to the ball: 2-4.

A perfect final chord from one of Oranje’s key performers.

Eat this!

And the result of all of this is quite good…

The result is perfect: 3 points and in the bilateral match up, Holland now edges Germany and might win the qualification.

We also demonstrated to the world that we are a team to be reckoned with.

We worked on our confidence and flow.

Koeman will have seen that it’s time for a better right back and time to have a player like Propper back in the starting line up, versus workman De Roon.

Oranje under Koeman seems to be strong in coming back into the game after conceding and Koeman impresses with his subs, but…one could also say: stop coming back from behind by not conceding in the first place and start the game with the right eleven! Hahahaha :-).

The future is bright, with Rick Karsdorp getting back into full fitness (my preferred RB option), while Kenny Tete will also be back soon. Hateboer and Janmaat (when back in the starting eleven for Watford) will also be options, as is Hoeve.

As for the midfield, Van de Beek will make his return, Ihattaren will be a great prospect  to have and on top we also have Eijting, Stengs and even Adam Maher as options.

I will post more on the talent coming up soon!

For now, lets enjoy this one more day and then focus on that ever difficult away game vs Estonia!

And share your thoughts below!

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PSV needs to renovate

The season has started in Holland. Belgium was even earlier and the qualification games for the European competitions is upon us too, while Spanish and English clubs still have weeks of prep ahead of them. Weird.

The issues have been widely discussed already. Ajax is playing their CL qualification game tomorrow, while David Neres only returned to the club some days ago. And with the transfer window still open, Ajax might well end up having to deal with the exit of players like Ziyech, Neres and Van de Beek while Lasse Schone already took the bus to Genoa earlier last week. Strange times.

In England they will close the transfer window in the coming week! Well done Poms. Why can’t we do this in Holland too? It’s frantic for the clubs and highly annoying for the supporters. And it’s competition fraude too, in a way!

It really annoys me, every year again.

And thus, Ajax and PSV dropped points already in their first match of the competition while PSV couldn’t get past Basel and will have to forget playing Champions League football this season.

In a way, I don’t think it should be considered to be too negative for PSV though. They do seem a tad light this season and might do much better in the Europa League.

After all the news from Amsterdam in the past months, it’s time to focus a bit on that other big club in Holland. Mark van Bommel’s PSV.

Guti is in charge

PSV over the past seasons (5 under Cocu) used different midfield players and different midfield systems to find the ideal structure. In Cocu’s title winning last season he used 7 players for the 3 spots: Siem de Jong, Pereiro, Van Ginkel, Hendrix, Ramselaar, Propper and Guardado.

Van Bommel directly went for a 4-2-3-1 system with two defensive / holding mids. Pablo Rosario and Jorrit Hendrix were Van Bommel’s go to guys, but they copped a lot of criticism for not offering up enough creativity. Rosario seems to be above criticism with the former Bayern midfielder as he is made one of the captains (with Afellay Van Bommel’s first choice, but the former Barca man is still not 100% fit). Hendrix might be on his way out (with Bologna from the Serie A close to a deal) and it seems Erick Gutierrez (Guti) will claim his spot, finally. The Mexican midfielder needed a full season in Holland to adapt to Van Bommel’s style of play but he’s with the pace now it seems and was one of the more positive players in the past weeks.

Gutierrez and Rosario have developed a good understanding while his passing capabilities work well with the dynamic trio / quartet up front. The question is: will his old friend Lozano be part of that? Luuk de Jong made a move to Spain and Lozano would love to follow him to either Spain or Italy. Rumours abound that the Mexican forward will move to Napoli soon.

Skipper Pablo Rosario against his old club

The PSV fans won’t be too disappointed as the Mexican winger has agitated most of them with his petty behaviour at times, his egotistical performances and his spoilt brat behaviour and ridiculous red cards.

And with Portuguese rocket Bruma in the team, Lozano might not be needed anymore. The left winger demonstrated his skills in the pre-season and does seem to be more lethal in front of goal than – for instance – Malen who does miss more chances than needed.

The analyses and passing maps show clearly that with Guti in midfield, PSV does get to play more football. The forward pass is coming quicker and more precise and with Malen on the #9 position, PSV aims to have 3 quick artists up front with Sam Lammers in the false striker role behind Malen, that used to be Luuk de Jong’s.

Lammers is sadly injured for a while (operated on his knee already) but Malen will stay in the 9 spot with Pereiro coming in as the #10 shadow striker.

Michal Sadilek normally is also a contender for a midfield spot. The young Czech international is seen as a carbon copy of Mark van Bommel and not coincidentally, Van Bommel is a fan of the terrier. With Angelino back to Man City and no real replacement for him at left back, Sadilek is currently a place holder on that position but probably not for long. Van Bommel will be making some tough decisions soon but it seems Guti / Rosario will form the engine room with young Ihattaren a potential dark horse even.

Michal Sadilek – Mark van Bommel Mark 2

Van Bommel will be headstrong in his vision. This much we know. “Football is a game of space. We need to have dominance in the key spaces. I don’t care who takes the space. As long as it’s one of my players.”

Van Bommel wants to see less predictability and he wants to see a mentality of unperturbedness (if that is English). He wants his team to stick to the fundaments and work from that perspective, while at the same time being able to add some variance to the team. “Gakpo can play left wing, but also #10. Bergwijn can play #10 and winger, but also out and out striker, like Malen.”

With the transfer market still open, Mark van Bommel will not sleep too well. The former AC Milan midfielder knows that scouts are still keen to check out Bergwijn and Dumfries, while Jeroen Zoet has announced he will be ready to leave PSV at some stage. The latter doesn’t seem to be in top form by the way, so an exit might not even be that bad (with Unerstahl now as second goalie).

PSV wanted to lure Steven Berghuis from Feyenoord to Eindhoven (as they did successfully in the past with Ruud Gullit and Gini Wijnaldum) but the Feyenoord star has signed a new deal in Rotterdam this weekend and was never seriously considering a move to Eindhoven.

Donyell Malen

Toni Lato is the new left back who will replace Sadilek at some stage, while Derrick Luckassen gets the chance to prove his worth as centre back. Obviously, Van Bommel does have a spot in mind for Ibi Afellay too, once he’s fit. We might see Guti move a spot up to the #10 role potentially, with Rosario and Afellay taking the engine room. Lots of options for PSV but they might still want to make a move or two on the transfer market. A central defender would not be an overly luxurious thought, while an extra striker is definitely needed, even if just as a pinch hitter.

 

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Arjen Robben: Legend!

Arjen Robben has retired. He has hung that left boot of his on a hook (the right boot was never that important). He won his 12th national title (!) and the domestic cup and that was it. No more adventures in the sand pit, or in China, the US or even Eindhoven and Groningen.

How did you experience those last days at Bayern?

“It was bizar… That farewell was edging closer and it made me more and more emotional. Too many moments where I had to swallow the tears away, hahaha. I noticed it with Robin’s farewell at Feyenoord. That really grabbed me. It was good to see how Robin really enjoyed it all and then you sort of project this onto your own farewell. And its all so close suddenly. Chapters are being closed, and actually, the book is almost finished. Not almost… It’s simply finished. Done. Over. I have so many great chapters, and particularly here. I had intens moments here. Assistant coach Gerland, for instance, he is here for decades, he teared up in front of me when he told me that he couldn’t say goodbye… Club people, people with whom you shared so much. His emotions, this was not just for what I meant for Bayern as a player, but also what I meant to him as a human being. Beautiful!”

We saw you in tears when warming up for the title decider, last month. We saw your tears when you played your last cap for Holland, during the anthem. You are not that ice cold northerner, are you?

“Certainly not. I’m quite emotional, particularly with those big moments which impact me and my family. I was very aware that I was playing my last match for Holland, vs Sweden. I was packed with adrenaline. I wanted to show everyone what I could do, one last time. Even though we lost our chance to go to the World Cup, I wanted to eat up the pitch and do all I could. And I think personally, I was able to say farewell with grace. I played well and scored two goals. The challenge is to park your emotions once the match starts. And I can do that. I can focus fully on my performance, this is a skill I mastered at the start of my career and helped me a lot!”

What does that mean, in terms of preparation?

“Van Gaal called it visualising. It’s a way to start programming your body on what it needs to do and to show it a way to success. I hoped to start vs Eintracht, our title match. I did experience not being picked as a hit on the head. I really wanted to show the fans that I still have it and say farewell in style. That was the ultimate. But, I got my sub turn and got my goals, so that is great. We won the title and the cup, so that is a top notch end for me.”

You now have 12 titles to your name. No other Dutch player has done it more. Not even a certain Johan Cruyff. Do statistics like this mean anything to you?

“Some stats I don’t care about, some stats I do. This one is absolutely a big one. This is a confirmation of your career. I don’t really linger too long, but personally, I think this one is very meaninful. Because Cruyff. The biggest player we ever had and I took him over on this list. That is a special milestone, no?”

It feels as if it’s 30 years ago when you left PSV for Chelsea. Do you feel that like this as well?

“I do know what you mean. It’s been a long career. I made my debut at 16 and after two years PSV I left for England. I’ve been gone for 15 years. And you do experience so many things while not having time to really process it all. And there are moments when you can appreciate it, but mostly it is a day-by-day routine. Living in the here and now.”

Do you remember your debut at Bayern still?

“I remember everything. I had the best entry one could wish. Bayern had started the season badly. Two draws and a defeat. And we had to play the 4th game vs the title holder, Wolfsburg. I had just made my entry on Thursday. I had my medical on Thursday and my first practice on Friday. Louis van Gaal had me starting from the bench. In the second half I came on, and scored twice. The German commentator said “the circus has arrived into town!” when I scored the second :-). That afternoon was a start of a long and tremendous period in my life.”

In 2012 you were booed in your own Allianz Arena home when you played there with Oranje, and a year later you were the hero when you scored the winner in the Champions League finals. Was that the toughest year at Bayern?

“That was an extraordinary story. The one year, you lose out on everything and all the disappointment is aimed at you. The next season, you win the treble. A lot of people tend to want to pick that period as the story for me at Bayern, but I look at it in a much broader perspective. I was here 10 years, and you have so many ups and downs, including the injuries of course. And I was down a lot of times, but I came back up. Every drama was followed with a victory. That is the overarching feeling for me. We had a lot of successes. I also enjoyed the time under Guardiola, for instance. I don’t want to speak negatively about other coaches, but Pep was the best I ever worked with. It was so good to play in his structure and vision.”

What makes him special?

“The way he sees the game and the way he translates it to the players. That was really quite incredible. And with every club where he worked, the Guardiola DNA remains. He will always leave his mark. He develops players and he is able to let them play as a team. Look at Raheem Sterling at Man City. Three years ago Sterling vs Sterling now. Unbelievable!And I experienced this too. When Guardiola came to Bayern, I was 30 years old. Normally, you won’t develop too much anymore. But I think I did make some key steps under him. I played on different positions under him: right wing, but also as central striker and as #10. I also covered the whole flank under him. That variance was amazing, challenging, educational and super fun!”

It is no coincidence that pros like Van Persie, Kuyt and yourself are able to play at top level until well into your 30s. Is that the results of taking good care of body and mind?

“I suppose so. It’s about understanding what top football demands, both physically and mentally. You are basically constantly preparing yourself for a peak performance. It must be a way of life. With as much focus on career and as little distraction as possible. It’s wonderful once you can reap the benefits.”

You always challenged the laws of match fitness. How is that after an injury spell you could return immediately to top level?

“That was always a huge benefit I had. I think it has to do with my way of recovering from injuries. I always worked at the highest intensity, and the result is that once you are ready to return, you’re immediately top fit. And then it’s a mental thing. Once the first match works out, the confidence and faith will boost the performance even more. I always studied what it takes to return from injury, because I was injured so often. Remember the World Cup in South Africa and that hamstring? I did an intense revalidation project and was able to play the World Cup and reach a decent level. By the way, ask people about that tournament and they’ll say “Robben and the toe of Casillas” and that is normal, I guess. But for me, the World Cup 2010 theme was the miracle of me being able to play in the first place. And I had a contribution in even reaching that finals and that is the special memory for me.”

How do you experience the revival of this new Oranje?

“That is great to watch. And we have delivered another bunch of exceptional talents, who give football a lot of positive impulses. We saw it with Ajax and now with Oranje as well. And I’m keen to see how this develops. Some lads have the ability to become world class!”

Which players do you see in that category?

‘Frenkie de Jong is a super talent of course, but I’ll limit myself here to players I played with: Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek. Talent and quality enough but it will be key to see what kind of character they have, their personality. I have seen a lot of young players come through in my career and I can really judge the type of personality they have. And I’ve seen top talents fail. But about De Ligt and Van de Beek I have zero doubts. These kids are top notch in personality and mentality and I can see these two make it big. I could see how they prepared and how they live for the sports and that will pay dividends.”

You had a 5 month injury spell this last season. Did you ever think: lets forget about it all, and throw the towel?

“At times it crossed my mind. I was getting to the finish line with my recovery and then I had a set back… I was banging on a door which seemed locked. I did get some sense of depression of it all, hahaha, but that feeling disappeared really quickly. I didn’t want to end my career like that. So I kept fighting. The problem was that for a long time, the medical peeps didn’t know what it was. Their was no diagnosis to work with. Where was the pain coming from? When you tear a muscle, it’s at least clear! Anyway, once you can work with the group and the ball again on the pitch, I feel like a kid, like a school boy playing. And the level at Bayern is very high, so it’s like you’re suddenly in Disneyworld, you know?”

Do you see yourself in a role here, now your career as a player is over, at Bayern?

“The door will probably always be open for me, here. Bayern is now my club, it’s part of my life. I had sensational times everywhere, but this bond with this club… But I haven’t thought about life after… I think I’ll take a long break first. I’ll take my distance and re-order my life.”

Robben scoring his first goal for Bayern Munich

Is your family excited about you finally retiring?

“I think so. I am a weirdo. My mindset and mood is determined by my sports life. When things go well, I’m relaxed and happy go lucky. But when I’m injured, I’m a bit of a dickhead. I am really intens with my emotions and my wife and kids are used to this by now. They know what exquisite joy football brought us and also what I had to give for it. That rollercoaster ride of emotions is now over. I can re-establish my self as a husband, partner, parent, etc.”

Arjen Robben Stats:

19 seasons pro football

12 domestic titles

96 international games

206 club goals

Robben is the Dutch top scorer of the Bundesliga with 99 goals, with Willy Lippens (92), Roy Makaay (78), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (82) and Rafa van der Vaart (45) completing the top 5.

He is also the Dutch Assist King of the Bundesliga, with 53 assists (Rafa van der Vaart is second with 38).

Robben scored 84 goals of the 99 with his left.

And the Robben trick is always, threatening to go outside, cutting inside, a quick burst of acceleration and a curler in the corner. Goal!

Why is this so hard to defend?

“I think it’s about the fact that defenders cannot be 100% certain I cut inside. I do have the ability to the other way and they will always leave me that split second to take advantage of. So I use that to quickly accelerate slightly and I always had more touches in my dribbles than most players… Not as many as Messi, though, hahahaha. But that gives me a little window to finish and then it’s all about the finish, the quality of the shot.”

When comparing Robben’s stats with other top attackers from the past 10 years, he is the most prolific of all, bar Neymar.

Robben is involved with 1 goal every 101 minutes.

# of minutes per goal:

Neymar: 84

Robben: 101

Di Maria: 115

Ribery: 118

Reus: 118

Bale: 124

Sanchez: 126

Hazard: 145

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Congrats to Dutch Lionesses!!

Well, because all of you were following the women so enthusiastically and asked me for a post on them, I will… :-). I had posts about De Ligt, Arjen Robben and others prepared but sure… the Dutch Lionesses did amazingly well and do deserve this.

There is a lot of negative stuff and overly critical stuff we can say about the women. Which would be unfair. It’s like comparing an Under 15 game of boys with a CL match between Man City and Barcelona. It simply is another type of game when boys play, or when women play it. And once you accept that, you can also accept the weak shots on goal and the clumsy mistakes some still make.

But, amongst all of that, winning silver is still a superb result and deserves our respect.

So, lets discuss them!

Coach Sarina Wiegman (49) is already being compared to coaches like Michels and Van Marwijk. Professional, composed, keen to learn and tough.

Now, every coach is as good as the material available and when you have star Martens, goal machine Miedema, midfield engine Groenen and wingers like Van de Sanden, it does become easier, but after the WC we do need to admit that coach Wiegman is probably the real superstar of this squad.

Wiegman demonstrated to be an excellent manager. She knows her football, she is a great communicator and she is realistic about where her team is, in their development.

She also makes the tough decision and despite that, all the players – even the benchwarmers – repeat it whenever they can: Wiegman is extremely important for the development of the Lionesses. Wiegman created a strong unified team, with a strong willingness to fight.

How did the coach herself experience the World Cup in France? A couple of themes below, with Sarina’s comments…

The Finals

“I think we were in it, until Team USA scored. That penalty was like an uppercut. And we became sloppy and gaps started to appear. And yes, we analysed them well and we knew they had fast wingers and penetrating midfielders and we had to play a more defensive game. We thought we could hurt them through the middle with speed and this is why I used Beerensteyn there. We played a 4-4-1-1, basically. And it did work, defensively, but offensively we didn’t create enough. I think the win for Team USA was the right result, really. But, we are still terribly disappointed. But also proud. In 2009, it was our first European Tournament. We had our WC debut in 2015 and now we reached the finals, s… The world has changed around us. That was something to experience. And we have performed under pressure, so I am happy. But now we need to keep on developing. Next time, I want to beat Team USA!”

The Quality of the Play

“During the European Championship in 2017, we went from surprise to surprise. No one expected us to win it. It was a big party in Holland, but the World Cup is even bigger… But we had to adapt. At the Euros we could play an offensive game and for the WC qualifications we had to deal with teams parking the bus. And at the WC tournament, we had to play different styles and cultures. Everyone expected us to be better on the ball and this needs to improve. Our opponents analyse our games and are astute enough to derail our tactics. Tactically, this WC was tough and the pace is so much higher. The reason why we were not as good, had a lot to do with the opposition. But what we did really well this time is scoring from dead ball situations. We weren’t so good in the past at this, and we worked so hard on it. And it worked out. We also scored some excellent open play goals, but at the top level you simply get less opportunities.”

Criticism

“I never used the criticism we got as a motivator for the players. We are just more visible now, we get more exposure. The attention we get is actually really positive and really fun. People take us more serious now. Expectations changed. We used to be an underdog, now we are a contender. Criticism is part of our life and top players need to get used to this.”

Shanice van de Sanden

“Shanice is a very important player for us. She had tremendous impact with her assists and goals. But she had a tough tournament. She had trouble finding space and wasn’t as decisive with crosses. And our subs have played an important role in this tournament so when you do have a Beerensteyn on the bench, I have to use her when I can, right? And I can’t be the nice coach. I need to be tough and it’s hard for me too. I had to tell Anouk Dekker and Kika van Es that they would be starters but they all accepted their role and supported the team. I tip my hat for Shanice as she was subbed but we needed her to come on for us vs Sweden and did a top job!”

Fighting Machine

“Yes we are fighters. We always put in a lot of effort. My period in the US will have contributed to that. The US has a culture of working hard. We have a tremendous drive in our team, the will to win and to do it together. Those are strong weapons. We had tough times in this tournament but we hung on and fought for a result and once that works, it’s easier to bring that again in the next match. And you create a culture of winners. The US is a world class team, alright. But now, we can say: so are we!”

The Orange Fans

“The support was incredible and all those fans…. and it helped us tremendously. Make no mistake. They were in Rennes, in Lyon, In Valenciennes… Very special. And it gave that little bit extra motivation we probably needed at times. I once visited Shanice for a CL game of Lyon and I was impressed, 50,000 people! And again when we played there. We are starting to get used to that now, hahaha.”

The Olympics

“It’s super that we are going to the Olympics. It’s a bit thing in Women’s Fotball. And as a coach, I can now make a dream come true. All the Dutch top sporters together. That is special. We’re a small nation, but we have a huge sports heart. I will become terribly patriotic at the Olympics, I’m sure…”

Emotions

“I didn’t get too emotional. I was quite relaxed during the Sweden game, I needed to be able to observe and analyse. I don’t think I’m helping the team when I’m running around like a mad woman. I was most emotional when we won the quarter finals. That meant we can go to Tokyo. That was an ambitious objective for us. Reaching the finals here and the semis before and qualifying for the Olympics, those are massive achievements for us. I have to pinch myself regularly and ask, is this all for real?”

Mental Strength

“I think I was a bit more controlled at this tournament, more than usual. That I had to train. I was never a controlled person, I was a pitbull as a player and I had to work hard on this. We have prepared ourselves enormously and this helped me to stay calm as well. I did everything I could to make this work and that is all you can do. I observe better with a clear and peaceful mind. I won’t divulge who I work with, but it works. I do think we had pressure on the team and that is all new for us. The players had to cope with this. And I told them, be brave. Play! And don’t bother what the world says. But it’s easy to say of course. But when you can’t achieve it with good football, at least go in for a fight. And now we do have a team that will always show up.”

Developments

“There is enormous potential in Dutch Women’s football. But the infrastructuur and facilities were lacking. When the Eredivisie started in 2007, we entered into a new phase. And now the players make or have made big steps into the big European world of football. It all start with belief and that we have. We have gained a lot in confidence. And we can be proud. Yes, we had some fortune at times but you make your luck too, sometimes. This World Cup will hopefully bring more impetus to the game in Holland.”

 

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Van de Beek: Koeman’s support was key!

Last summer, Donny van de Beek thought he had his break through season behind him, but head strong coach Erik ten Hag at Ajax felt differently. The Ajax midfielder had only had eleven minutes in the CL qualification games and his face predicted a thunder storm. “This is a tough situation. The coach decides and that is what I have to deal with. I can be all full of bravado and talk about leaving but I simply have to give 100% and we’ll see what happens. But I can’t accept a role as a bench warmer. I’m sorry.”

This summer, it seems Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich are just some names of big clubs preparing an offer for the 22 year old.

What Donny didn’t mention was that in that previous summer, his groin had played up and he wasn’t part of the full pre-season program. Ajax played 6 qualification matches and Donny only started in three of them. In the first months in the Eredivisie, a similar pattern. When he did start, Ten Hag took him off before the game ended.

Mr Ajax, icon Sjaak Swart, the former right winger in Cruyff/Michels 1970s Ajax looks back at that time. “Donny has lived with me for a while, ever since his teenage years, simply to limit the long trips every day to his family in Nijkerk. I think I have a good insight in his personality, and I was never in doubt that he’d come good. I know his mentality and he is a fighter. Yes, it was tough, but he never rebelled and kept on working hard. We knew he’d fight his way into the team.”

Despite the stop-and-start beginning of the Ajax season, Ronald Koeman never overlooked Van de Beek. He was always part of the squad and although he didn’t play vs France and Germany in the Nations League games, he did play in the Belgium friendly in Brussels.

The turnaround at Ajax came when Ten Hag went for the Tadic-line up as it’s called in Holland. The version with Tadic as the false #9, allowing a spot for Neres and Van de Beek (but keeping Dolberg and Huntelaar benched).

And that campaign ended far in extra time in the second semi finals in Amsterdam vs Spurs. With an increasingly important role for Van de Beek, with his sense of positioning, his technical ability, his running ability and tactical smarts… The complete midfielder, as also Real Madrid scouts have noticed.

Van de Beek with Ajax legend and manager Sjaak Swart

His stats are impressive: he scored 17 goals and had 13 assists in 57 official games for Ajax. Ronald Koeman: “The success of Ajax is important for the young players and for Oranje. Donny is the prime example, he is knocking on the door. Really loudly.”

Donny van de Beek, in Portugal with Oranje for the Nations League: “I understand why Koeman didn’t use me in the Nations League group games. The team stood! The results were good and the other lads did well. But I am convinced I can make my point and get into the team.”

Van de Beek made big steps, this season. And also thanks to changes in his nutrition and strength training. Sjaak Swart: “In the game against Utrecht, considered one of the toughest ones for Ajax in the last stage of the season, two players stepped up and took Ajax by the hand: Ziyech and Donny van de Beek. You can only do this when you are super fit. You can’t do this when you haven’t been taking care of yourself. He has grown tremendously and he is now one of the leaders on the pitch. He is always available, he makes his dummy runs and is important in the group. He has grown in every aspect of the game.”

Koeman has a luxury issue with his midfield. He has an international star in Wijnaldum, who finally shows his level in Oranje as well as in Liverpool. Frenkie de Jong is another certainty. Since he plays in Oranje, the Dutch play dominant football again with a strong forward thrust. The third spot will have to battled for, by Marten de Roon, Davy Propper and Donny van de Beek (albeit that Donny could also compete with Gini Wijnaldum for his spot).

Since the Reds midfielder is playing more offensively his share in the attacking results has increased significantly. In his last 5 games he was involved in 5 goals (3 scored, 2 assisted). Van de Beek has an opinion as well: “I don’t see myself as the high number 10. I am more a number 8, a box-to-box player but I can play in the controlling mid role as well.” The dynamic right midfielder role seems the ideal role for him in Oranje. And that allows for Wijnaldum and Frenkie to play in their fave role. And with his runs forward, he would be a perfect companion for Memphis in the striker’s role.

His penetration runs… in the Eredivisie he has an average of 6.3 runs into the opponent’s box in 90 minutes. At PSV, Pereiro is the player with the second most runs with 5,8 runs and Guus Til of AZ is #3 with 5.1 runs.

And Van de Beek has many new fans, one of them Jose Mourinho who put Van de Beek in his CL team of the season. There are many new options too, even though he renewed his deal with Ajax only months ago, now it goes till 2022. Borussia Dortmund was the first club to come knocking but they were scared off by the asking price. With Frenkie and De Ligt already leaving and great odds that Ziyech is leaving too, Ajax wants to keep their other strongholders and ask for the top price if interest is shown.

What will he do? Make a mozzah but end up on the bench in Madrid or London? Or will he stay, maybe take the captain’s band and play another season under Ten Hag.

Swart: “Donny needs to be with a club where they play neat and attacking football. He would do well with the likes of Man City, Arsenal. He has that here, its always a question mark how it will go elsewhere. But he is keen to find out where his ceiling is. And he will need to make a step up to find out. But he won’t go to just any club. He will also not decide with his wallet. That is not him. When he leaves Ajax, it will be for a world class club, nothing les.”

Van de Beek himself? “You read stuff and you hear stuff. I am not worried. I’m taking a break now and I’ll see what comes on my path. I am focused on football and I love being at Ajax. My contract is still for another 3 years so I won’t make any comments on my future. I want to win more trophies. And with Ajax and Oranje I can and this is where my focus is.”

 

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Ajax wins trophies, PSV deserves applause

The season has ended… Most of the decisions are in. Yes, the play offs for European Football and Promotion/Relegation are still on, but the key decisions are in: Ajax wins the double (and had one leg in the CL finals as well of course), and NAC gets relegated.

We will congratulate Ajax here on a sensational season! A season that made us all drool. Not just us Dutchies, but football fans from across the planet fell in love with this Ajax team!

They won matches, they won trophies, they outplayed the bigger guns (Benfica, Bayern, Real Madrid, Juve, Spurs) and were so close to playing the CL finals! And all of this with great football.

So, expect more posts on Ajax and Oranje in the coming month!!

Interviews with Ten Hag, Overmars, analysis of their games, the Ajax future, etc.

Expect more on the Nations League too, of course.

But despite Ajax’ successes and my inbred support for Feyenoord, this posts needs to give some deserved credit to PSV Eindhoven!

It’s not my club. But this season they really impressed and Ajax coach Ten Hag did praise them, as they kept Ajax sharp (and vice versa) throughout the season.

Because we tend to forget that PSV had its complete technical management replaced, this last summer. Marcel Brands left for Everton. Cocu went on his Turkish dream nightmare job and the youth academy coach left as well.

WK 2010 reunion, with from left to right: Mark van Bommel (standing), Arjen Robben, Technical Manager John de Jong, Nigel de Jong (unrelated), Wes Sneijder and Bert van Marwijk

John de Jong (former PSV midfielder) took over from Brands while Mark van Bommel was promoted from the youth system (PSV2) to the first team.

And the headstrong and outspoken Van Bommel left his mark immediately.

And credit where credit is due! He put his team out there. He instilled his principles into the team. And he started winning games like no tomorrow.

On the first day of the season, Ajax dropped points (Heracles) while PSV won. The two points lead was there all the way until only a couple of weeks ago!

And PSV didn’t dazzle. PSV did win some games in a “fortunate manner”. And they were bumped out of Europe in the CL group stages.

But lets look at at that more closely.

Van Bommel instilled a more modern and dynamic playing style into the team. “I want my teams to be the boss. That doesn’t mean we need the ball all the time, it also doesn’t mean we want to be playing some fantasy football or be attacking all the time. It means we determine what is going on, also without the ball.”

The personality of Mark van Bommel made its way into the team and with some strong signings, he did squeeze the best of out his – also young – team.

Van Bommel and John de Jong as players… the latter had his career cut short due to injuries…

I could even argue that Van Bommel did a better job than Ten Hag. But I won’t.

So Van Bommel wanted his team to press higher up the park and have more grit, more fight and more of a killer mentality. Where Cocu tried to adopt a more Dutch football style (and with a lot of Barcelona DNA which never really came of), Van Bommel added some German and Italian elements to this PSV.

Jeroen Zoet is a capable goalie. Not world class, but definitely top for the Eredivisie. Schwaab and Viergever are vulnerable and limited centre backs. But they did show what focus and determination and communication can do. Schwaab is German and brings that solid and focused approach. Viergever is mainly experienced and an obedient soldier. Nothing flash.

But the full backs compensated in spades. These two made the difference. Angelino is quickly becoming an A team player for Spain. While Denzel Dumfries is already consider Oranje’s best right back. Both players have assists in their locker, both players love bombing forward and can create and score goals (Dumfries more so than Angelino, but the Spaniard has a gifted left and a good partnership with Luuk de Jong).

Denzel Dumfries… From Sparta via Heerenveen and PSV to the top?

Van Bommel learned from his father in law Bert van Marwijk and used two holding mids in his 4-2-3-1 set up. Initially, Hendrix and Rosario took the job but throughout the second half of the season, Van Bommel needed more and started to change the team around. Many criticaster will tell you that was the start of PSV undoing but Van Bommel will know better.

Rosario deserves a mention. The kid came from Ajax, via Almere City of AGOVV or something. “Not good enough for Ajax” although it probably was due to his behaviour and his dad’s behaviour.

But Rosario is a rare player. So young, yet so disciplined, so astute tactically and such a wonderful passer of the game. He would have been more effective in the Ajax team, I do think, but he was a joy to watch in his first real season as a starter.

Jorit Hendrix is a solid club player. With some outstanding moments, but something is lacking with him. He’s too average for my liking. He’s like Ten Hag was, as a player. He’s not quick enough, not tough enough, not tall enough, not technical enough, doesn’t score enough, etc etc.

Pablo Rosario

Which is the only true criticism Van Bommel probably listened to. The PSV midfield didn’t score enough goals! Hendrix maybe 1? Rosario literally zero goals in the Eredivisie. Not good enough. Vilhena scored 7, Toornstra scored 8, Schone scored 5… you want your midfielders to score… Criticism that applies to Frenkie de Jong too, but he creates a tremendous number of chances and criticism Jordy Clasie gets as well.

The #10 in PSV is a problem and Mark solved it eventually by putting Luuk de Jong there. That happened in the period of the season where PSV would end up losing the title, but still, it somewhat worked.

Mexican Gutierez wasn’t good enough (Van Bommel: “The pace is still too high for him”) and Pereiro simply doesn’t seem to be consistent enough. A truly gifted lad, but not dominant enough.

With Ihatarren, PSV has a gem for that role. And Mark tried him on the #10 spot and the youngster made his debut at 16 years old. But can’t carry PSV yet.

So with Malen as the #9, Lozano and Bergwijn on the flanks PSV tried it with target man Luuk de Jong as #10. It did work, but simply not good enough.

Luuk de Jong did win the golden boot, shared with Tadic, and had a very strong season but I do think the captain needs to lead the line… The #10 role is hopefully a temporary one.

Cody Gakpo and Ihattaren: PSV’s future?

Ramselaar realised that his game is over at PSV. Along with Adam Maher, another prospect that didn’t really enjoy his time at PSV. Gutierez might well be the next one…

Lozano had a good start this season but somehow the Mexican doesn’t seem to be consistent. He picks up a lot of yellows and reds for petulant behaviour, diving and at times vile tackles. He seems to be playing for Lozano and seems to be wanting to make his mark and leave to a bigger club.

Bergwijn had a break through season. Scoring goals, using his explosive runs, creating goals and he made his way into the Oranje squad.

But the last months, he seemed to slow down. Not enjoying his game, maybe? Or…getting ready for a big move to his old stomping ground at Ajax?

Anyway, PSV deserves credit and Van Bommel deserves credit for the next wave of talented youngsters coming through. In the olden days, Sparta and Feyenoord would be the harbingers, alongside Ajax… Today, it’s PSV and AZ along side the Sons of Gods developing and keeping talent.

Potential new signing from Germany…

Ihatarren, Gakpo, Salinec, Malen, Rosario…all lads who played under Mark in the B-team and are making their way into the first team… Gakpo reminds me of Beckham, Ihatarren of Afellay, Salinec is a young Van Bommel and Malen and Rosaria, well…you know enough after seeing them play this season.

Van Bommel might be on hitlists in Europe already (AC Milan, Bayern) while numerous players will be scouted too (Angelino, Pereiro, Luuk de Jong, Lozano, Zoet)…

So who knows where PSV will be next season, but they definitely contributed to Ajax’ success (and Ten Hag rightfully thanks PSV) and they gave us some exciting new talents to watch!

Next season, we actually might see a new exciting Dutch talent coming in from a Bundesliga club: Arjen Robben… He doesn’t want to go to China, the sand pit or the US. He needs his medical team close and he wants to be close to his family… He also doesn’t want to compete for 6th spot, so it seems he is exclaiming quite loudly “PSV!!” but we’ll need to wait and see…

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Ajax swinging; Ajax fighting….

It’s as if it is the most normal thing in the world. Discussing Ajax’ performance at CL level. How quickly do we get used to this success… Away vs Spurs, the #3 in the EPL, with a budget 6 times that of Ajax, we all think it’s a disappointment that Ajax “only” won by one goal difference…

How different life was, a mere year ago. Or two years ago. When Ajax struggled to get through the qualifiers and Oranje struggled to get into a big tournament.

Today, Virgil van Dijk is considered the best EPL player. Frenkie de Jong is considered the most exciting midfielder in Europe. Oranje is up to win the Nations League this summer and Holland is oozing talent again, everywhere you look.

The 0-1 vs Spurs in London was indeed a disappointment. As Spurs was suffering from the loss of Kane, Lamela, Dier, Winks and in particular Son and simply not in a good spell, the expectations in Holland were that Ajax would win this easily, 0-3.

But the game was a very interesting lesson in tactics, for Ajax mainly, as Spurs was able to stop the footballing onslaught Ajax brought to them, and found a way to contain Ajax, without becoming threatening themselves, by the way.

But this game will have taught the young Ajax team a lot! So thanks, Spurs!

The first Phase – From start to minute 21

Ten Hag wasn’t sure how Spurs would start. They can play different systems, and the 5-at-the-back system was one of the systems Ten Hag was prepared for. Spurs used this to abysmal effect vs Liverpool, so most people felt it was unwise to start like this vs Ajax, but that is what Pochettino ended up doing. Ten Hag was not too concerned: “I believe Blind, De Jong, Tadic and Ziyech will be able to recognise what they need to do once we start the game.”

It is Daley Blind who is gesticulating and pointing from minute 1, when he recognised what kind of intent Spurs brings to the game. Eriksen will be De Jong’s counterpart, while Llorente and Moura will put pressure on Blind and De Ligt, keeping Tagliafico and Veltman free to build up. Once the Ajax backs have possession, Spurs springs the trap to push up. Ten Hag was prepared for this. He actually discussed this in details before the game: “When Spurs play with 5 at the back and they start pressing our backs, we will find a lot of space behind their defence.”

Ajax found the easy solution. Both De Jong and Schone would make themselves available for the defenders to play out and at times, even Veltman would squeeze into midfield to allow for the outball. Tottenham starts to doubt their action plan and Ajax takes control of the game.

The openings goal of Van de Beek has everything contained in it: Ajax control of the centre of the pitch, wih Veltman pushing inside. Ziyech attracting players to him, allowing for a 1 v 1 elsewhere on the pitch. When Neres is found with feel, Schone can keep the ball under pressure finding Ziyech who slots the ball into Donny’s feet who is just onside. A little dummy follows, he sits Lloris down and it’s 0-1.

The second Phase – from minute 22 to 45

When Tadic is injured on the pitch, Pochettino uses the time to instruct his players to abandon the 5-3-2 and Danny Rose is pushing into midfield. Hakim Ziyech was enjoying a lot of free space and with this move, the space in midfield becomes sparse. Tottenham also starts to play more direct balls. Llorente finds Daley Blind and he is the target man for the long balls. The tall Spaniard wins 7 aerial battles and allows Spurs a way out from trouble.

Minute 46 – 90

Ajax has demonstrated to be quite comfortable under pressure. They showed this vs Real Madrid. They can keep the pitch small and compact and play themselves out of trouble with their quick passing. At times a long ball towards the speedy Neres or Van de Beek can work as well. But Spurs forces Ajax into fighting mode. Tottenham puts more pressure on the ball and Ajax decides to avoid risk but to play a compact defensive game, absorbing the pressure and counting on a break. Even Neres and Ziyech are putting in a shift.

This image above shows what happened. The Spurs forwards make it hard for Ajax to play out from the back, and Onana is forced to play the long ball. Tottenham does have a lot of trouble creating any real chances though. The siege of the Ajax half doesn’t really result in open chances. And Pochettino simply doesn’t have the options on the bench for a breakthrough.

The best chance in the second half is actually for Ajax. Nazraoui, not 100% fit, is back in the game for Schone, who was spent. Nazraoui, a former playmaker, knows how to play midfield and when Ziyech puts pressure on Alderweireld he sends Mazraoui deep, who bombs past Eriksen and drives into the box. Tadic does get a chance from the same spot that got him his goal vs Madrid but the false striker decides to square to Neres, who mishits the ball a tad, and hits the post.

And thus, we saw two Ajax faces. The Ajax that can swing, dominate and tear opponents apart with blistering football and the Ajax that can battle and fight.

This shrewdness might well be another skill in the toolbox for Ajax, to achieve that historical ticket for a Champions League finals…

Elsewhere in Europe, Virgil van Dijk had to concede 3 goals, while his team played a very good game! But where luck and skill worked in tandem for Barca, Liverpool hit the post and missed their key opportunities to surprise the Spanish champs, even with Wijnaldum as false striker…

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Ten Hag’s Ajax and how they do it

There are a couple of amazing stories in football, developing in front of our eyes… There’s Oranje’s revival under Koeman, with a spot in the Nation League’s finals… There’s Liverpool’s surge to the top, with two Dutchies as key players… Atalanta’s story is like a fairytale too, and FC Twente – relegated within 10 years of winning the title in Holland – reports back for duty in the Eredivisie next season!

But it’s Ajax that deserves the biggest boldest font.

Here is VI Pro’s analysis on how Ajax and its coach Erik ten Hag think, work and approach the game.

The initial commentary on Ten Hag’s appointment by the Dutch media was all focused on what we can now see as trivialities. His raspy voice, his East Holland dialect, his longwinded sentences and his headstrong approach to people and football in general were the subject of all we had to say about him.

But Ten Hag ignored that all but just worked. And he worked hard and diligently, with a strong technical staff, with amongst others Alfred Schreuder, Richard Witschge and Aron Winter.

Game Principles

Ten Hag works on the basis of his principles. The foundations of the game, if you will. For his: “It’s all about patterns, and we train these. We want to offer certainties to the players. Patterns they can fall back on. And we can add more and more and become ever so flexible in how we play. We call it “automatisms”, patterns that allow players to think and act really quickly. It’s like improv in theatre. You can only improvise if you know the script by heart… And in our case, Ajax is all about attacking, playing dominant and attractive.”

These principles are non-negotiable for Ten Hag. He is flexible in the system, flexible in which players he uses. But he’s not where it his principles are concerned.

In general, Ten Hag plays a 4-2-3-1 but uses different players in different situations. There is the CL line up, with two controlling mids and Tadic as the false striker.

In the less demanding Eredivisie games, he uses Dolberg or Huntelaar as a true #9 and uses Van de Beek as holding mid, with freedom to penetrate. Usually Tadic and / or Ziyech combine the #10 role behind the forward.

Pass map Ajax vs Juve at home: Tadic as false striker with the wingers Ziyech and Neres moving inside, creating space for the full backs.

Pass map Ajax vs Emmen away: a more offensive right back, allowing Neres to play inside. Van de Beek close to Huntelaar. Tagliafico a tad more back as Tadic occupies the left flank.

Pass map Ajax vs Fortuna at home: Van de Beek playing as controlling mid, but penetrating when possible. Dolberg as central striker with Ziyech in the #10 role.

Ten Hag’s principles:

  1. Create an extra man in midfield

Create a man more situation, and the first ball always played forward. That was one of the first things Ten Hag demanded, in his first training sessions. In Ten Hag’s first half season, he used Frenkie de Jong as central defender, moving forward into midfield. Now, with Daley Blind in the that role, De Jong can play from midfield. It’s also the drifting wide players (Ziyech or Neres or Tadic) who come in to create a man more in midfield. Ten Hag always wants to dominate the midfield.

2. Changing positions

Ten Hag demands a lot of changes in positions. He doesn’t want to see the predictable positioning that come from the “system thinkers”. With the dynamic players like De Jong, Van de Beek, Ziyech and Neres, there is always a player on the move, which results in other players taking over the roles or covering the spaces.

3. Don’t over-use the width of the pitch

It’s second nature for Ajax players: once one of the backs or wide players comes inside, the other moves outside and vice versa. In the times of Van Gaal (1995), the wingers were supposed to have the white on their boots, from the chalk lines. In Ten Hag’s system, not so much. When Tadic moves to the left line, it’s Tagliafico bombing forward on the underlap. Ziyech and Mazraoui enjoy a similar partnership. The opponent is constantly in doubt: do I follow the winger, or do I stay and wait for the back to run into my zone?

4. Always make runs and play passes forward and in behind

Ten Hag sighs deep in 2017, when interviewed about the state of Dutch football: “There is no country in the world where central defenders pass the ball to each other this often…”. And statistically, in those days, Ajax was the champion of square passing (under Frank de Boer). Ball possession should not be the objective, Ten Hag said in his first presentation to the media, for Ajax. Possession is a means to an end.

5. Make sure the rest defence is always organised

A term made popular within Ajax by Erik ten Hag. Rest defence. It is all about being aware constantly that at any given moment the ball could be overturned and lost. Players should always be aware of that potentially happening and being ready, positionally, to take care of these situations. Ajax always wants 4 players behind the ball, at any time. Whenever Onana has the ball, three defenders will form the last line with one controlling player in front of them, allowing Onana options to work the ball from the back to midfield.

6. Immediate pressure on the ball

Gegenpressing, a German term (meaning: counter pressing) brought to Holland by Schreuder (Hoffenheim) and Ten Hag (Bayern Munich) from their days in the Bundesliga. Defending the counter is key in getting results. Ajax has almot perfected this and have used it to great success in the Champions League as well. Ajax is now capable of playing on the half of the opponent and get a result against the best teams in the world.

7. Get back in the organisation immediately after a failed pressure moment

This “Gegenpress” is not just a matter of hunting the opponent until you get the ball, but also having a plan for when it fails. Ajax now will have a number of players behind the ball who will defend and control zonally. The players will force the opponent towards a certain side of the pitch, to make the angles for passing harder and the next gegenpress easier. This more passive approach will decrease Ajax’ chance of winning the ball back, but at the same time in also decreases the chances for the opponent to create anything against Ajax.

8. Lure the opponent to the flanks

Ten Hag doesn’t want to meddle to much in the axis of the pitch. He doesn’t want De Jong, Schone or De Ligt to move away from that area by stepping out. He wants to keep that intact, which means the team will force the opponent to go towards the flanks. The wingers do this to move inward, which opens up the passing options to the flanks for the opponent. Once the pass comes, Ajax locks the opponent in, like a horde of wolves would with prey. In this way Ajax can put max pressure on the opponent without being very vulnerable themselves.

9. Keep the spaces limited

Ten Hag wanted to increase Ajax’ defensive certainty. Controlling the distances between players, keeping it minimal, is key in this. Ajax does this on their own half of the pitch, but also on the opponent’s half. Blind and De Ligt are often positioned on the opponent’s half to block their progress. Throw-ins are recognised moments for Ajax to have a lot of players around the ball to put pressure on the ball as much as possible.

10. Defend the space

Ten Hag uses zonal marking vs man to man marking. He teaches his players to defend the space, instead of following opponents. In his first months at Ajax, he uses the 4-1-4-1 system, but this season it’s more a 4-2-3-1. The distance between the lines can not be more than 10 meters.

11. Immediately play the ball towards the goal

Who analyses the goals Ajax scored this season will see heaps of goals that will qualify as counter-attacking goals. Situation where Ajax pounces straight after re-possessing the ball. This is not a coincidence. Ten Hag works on recognising the moments where the opponent is most vulnerable. And with Frenkie de Jong in midfield, Ajax now has a player who sees the way forward quicker than anyone and has the ability to execute.

Attacking

Ajax has a tremendous number of goals again this season and key in this was Ten Hag’s willingness to adapt his ideas and approach to the qualities of the players available. With Daley Blind coming in the club, Frenkie could move forward to midfield, and Lasse Schone now has the job to protect the defence when Frenkie is exploring his free role.

This last summer it seemed Hakim Ziyech would make a move to a bigger competition. Zakaria Labyad and / or Dusan Tadic would be in line to take Ziyech’s role in midfield. Ten Hag has made the decision to play with the “point forward” in midfield, vs the “point backwards”… Usually, Ajax plays with one holding player sitting in front of the defence, and with two midfielders playing more high up the pitch ( the point backwards). Ten Hag now uses the opposite system. Two holding mids, with freedom to roam and penetrate (De Jong, Van de Beek) and with one more forward playing “#10” midfielder (the point forward system). Ten Hag: “Whatever you do or however you call it, once we build up and our central defenders move up, we will need to be playing and positioning in tiers if you like… You get more than 3 lines (defence, midfield, attack). We need dynamics and more variable implementations. These are the patterns I was talking about.”

But as Ziyech didn’t leave, he was able to use the system and use Ziyech as a wide play maker coming in from the right side of the pitch. Not unlike Messi plays at times, or Dyballa or Bernardo Silva. Starting wide and drifting inside.

One of the key aspects of this is, that Ziyech now is found when he is facing the opponent’s goal and it’s no coincidence that the former Heerenveen player is having a super season. In the past, Ziyech played deeper as a real playmaker and when he had a tough match, he would drop deeper to still get the ball and play the risky pass from deeper, allowing for much more dangerous loss of possession.

Now, in Ajax’ current system, Ziyech is allowed to take the risks, much higher up the pitch.

Another piece of the puzzle clicks in in those early Champions League matches: after Tete’s exit, Ajax invests in a Danish and a Spanish option for right back, but its former playmaker and question mark Noussair Mazraoui that grabs his chance as right back. He’s vulnerable defensively, but in offensive patterns he has proven his worth. His tactical discipline make him a typical Ten Hag player. And due to his perfect partnership with Ziyech, there has never been a discussion about the right back spot ever since.

Ziyech and Tadic both have a free role in the team. And the rest of the team will need to make that possible. “Both Dusan and Hakim are at their best when they can play freely and on intuition. So they are allowed to do this, and from the wings,” as Ten Hag explains it.

The full backs have a key role in this. They need to keep the width where needed and always have the outball to at least one side. Tagliafico and Mazraoui execute this perfectly.

It does mean that Schone and Frenkie de Jong have less adventurous roles, but for Ten Hag, the attack starts with Onana, and it helps to have a playmaker-type defender in your last line (Frenkie, Daley). And all three players – De Ligt, Blind or De Jong – have the perfect build up pass available once they’re played free in midfield. Frenkie de Jong in particular has the smarts to remain unpredictable.

Juventus coach Allegri thought he had a solution for Frenkie. “As he moves to their left – our right – I decided to use Bernardeschi to counter and press De Jong. But within minutes, De Jong recognised it and moved to the right side of the pitch, thereby forcing one of our attackers to pick him up. Every attack of Ajax starts with De Jong!”.

Ajax plays Dutch Total Football with a scent of Bundesliga dna. When Ten Hag worked at Bayern, he witnessed Pep Guardiola in the video suite, analysing the opponents to find the perfect moment to stop an opponent’s counter attack. And right hand man Alfred Schreuder did the same with Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim.

These turn-around moments have always been key for Ajax. Even back in the 70s, with Michels / Cruyff’s total football and in 2016/17 under Peter Bosz in the Europe League.

Defence

Erik ten Hag also added some gutsy defensive approaches to the team. He has the courage to have Ajax defend far from their own goal. Not a lot of opponents have the ability to play from under that press. In the Eredivisie, hardly any team knows how to deal with the positioning play of Ajax. The wingers move inside a bit, to cut out some passing lines and when the opponent tries the long ball, Mathijs de Ligt will control the situation and deal with it, Virgil van Dijk-style.

This image shows how Ajax deals with opponents who do have the courage and ability to play under pressure. Ajax forces the ball to the side, three players will attack the player with the ball, blocking his passing lines.

The only way to deal with this is to use the long ball to find space on the other side of the pitch. Feyenoord beat Ajax 6-2 in Rotterdam and used left back Calvin Verdonk to explore that space. Real Madrid was also able to use that weakness in Ajax’ tactics. Ajax did concede more goals than PSV, in the Eredivisie. Partly the result from the tactics Ten Hag uses, but also something Ten Hag will further focus on to perfect.

The Turnaround

When asked what Ten Hag will need to work on more in the coming season, his response: “The turnaround. In today’s football, that is key. And also, what do we do, once we get the ball? In the past, I felt Ajax would cherish ball possession once they got it back. And relaxed a tad. I want my team to immediately use that situation to take advantage of the lack of organisation with the opponent. With Utrecht, we were the top team in the stat “% goals within 4 passes after repossessing the ball”. Ajax was half way the table. But those are the perfect moments to score, particularly for a team like Ajax, which plays a lot vs parked buses. When the opponent is organised well, and their rest defence is good, sure…keep possession. But otherwise you’ll need to hurt the opponent.”

In the Champions League, Ajax demonstrates this vs Juve and Real Madrid. Neres goal at home against Juventus? He took the ball off a defender and ran in a straight line to the goal. Against Madrid, the five goal were scored after respectively 2, 1, 3, 1 and zero passes in the run up to the goals. When Ajax gets the ball from the opponent, they will take the shortest route to the goal.

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