And we’re back!! After a long pause, in which yours truly had to muster the energy to keep on going as well.

A long spell without Oranje and some serious side effects getting used to an Oranje sans Van der Vaart and sans Van Persie. With Van Gaal gone and Hiddink not yet having a handle on the team and with our former heroes struggling with fitness (RVP, Fer, Strootman), relegation (Van der Vaart) or even playing time (Afellay, Stekelenburg, De Zeeuw) I really loath watching EPL games with not enough Dutch names in the teams. Janmaat, Krul, Blind… That’s about it. I will have to make do with semi-Dutch players like Bony, Eriksen, Vertonghen and Chadli.

But, it’s starting again. And I’ll give it one more go.

I do ask for your support yet again as I can use it very well these days. The cost are always there before the benefit (traditional Dutch saying)  and times are lean. So please find it in your heart to drop me some coins to sustain this adventure.

Two major topics, as far as I’m concerned!! The game vs Turkey and the Future of Dutch football.

Oranje has a good balance against Turkey. We played against them eleven times and won five, while we only lost two. We blocked their qualification for the WC Brazil in 2013. Arda Turan, Turkish playmaker in Atletico Madrid’s service is suspended. For Holland, De Jong, De Vrij and BMI are in danger of missing the next game when booked.

Arjen Robben had to take a break the last week due to a slight injury but Hiddink does expect the Bedum winger to play and carry the team.

Team manager Hiddink has added Bas Dost to the to the definitive squad, along with De Guzman and Klaassen. The latter two were not part of the prelim squad. RVP is not part of it, neither are Van Beek, Elia, Promes, van Rhijn, Vlaar (injured) and Jeroen Zoet.

Oranje will perform their away games in a classic tribute to the seventies. All white jerseys with the iconic lion on the chest. The shorts are very contemporary though. Orange with white stripes, resembling speed, according to Nike. “This new style is a tribute to Oranje’s style of play and is symbolic for speed, movement and energy”. Oranje will not wear this versus Turkey though, as Holland plays at home in the usual Orange kit. The friendly against Spain on March 31 will be the first opportunity for us to showcase the new kit.

Until De Kuip is renovated, the Amsterdam Arena will be Oranje’s home ground and the KNVB has sold 48,500 tickets for the qualification game. As per usual, there will be a lot of Turks living in the Netherlands cheering their team on.

Hiddink will not link his future to the result vs Turkey. “I did that against Lithuania. That is a small football nation. We should always win that. But Turkey is different. This is a big nation. Any team can lose against the Turks. But losing against them means we do lose grip on our qualification and that will be bad. But I am convinced we will get the result. ” Hiddink was a bit vague about his future after the last qualification game. “On purpose. For me it’s not just the football. I needed to get a better handle on things around the team. The broader organisation. I had to have a number of talks internally. And we did. I’m currently really pleased with my situation and the circumstances of the team.”

With Ajax’ exit from Europe, Guus was quized about his views on the Dutch clubs in Europe. “It’s a disappointment becaue we can do better. Sure, Zenit has a higher budget and AS Roma is a big club, but you can compensate that with effort, energy, spirit and smarts. It’s about taking those opportunities and giving it the extra 10%. But having said this, we have tremendous talents still coming through and if you see players like Van Beek, Bazour and Kishna, it’s ok if they make some mistakes. They’re still young. Oranje is still being carried by players playing abroad. Our next generation of players there, like Fer, Dost, De Vrij, De Guzman, will need to grow to the level of players like Robben, Sneijder and Van Persie.”