Tag: Klaassen

May 9, 2021May 9, 2021 by Jan

Euros approaching fast for Oranje

Well, we’re at the business end of the season… Things are heating up nicely in Spain and France, while the champs in Italy, Holland and England are known already. Still heaps to play for. Practically every club in the Eredivisie has something to play for still. There’s a lot of excitement in the EPL still on both ends and this weekend is a killer weekend for Barcelona!

And when the dust has settled, we’re all gearing up for two major tournaments in summer: the Euros and the U21 Euros.

Exciting times!

From this position, a bit congrats to Ajax, who had a masterful season. Winning the double with pretty good football and quarter finals EL is usually a season to be very proud of. It’s typical for Ajax at the moment, that most people are actually disappointed with Ajax’ European campaign. That says something about the expectations.

Another big feather in Ajax’ cap is the break through of some exceptional young talents: Gravenberch, Timber, Rensch, Brobbey and lets not forget Noa Lang in Brussels (technically also developed at Feyenoord, like Timber).

Ajax found the right balance: young exuberant talents, masterful experience in Tadic, Blind, Stekelenburg and Klaassen and the grit and bravado of the South Americans (and Mexican). Record signing Seb Haller wasn’t even that influential, so it goes to show what we can expect in the next season.

Erik ten Hag stays at Ajax, which will most likely result in another adventurous season coming up, hopefully with more CL results. I do expect a lot from Kudus, who had a difficult injury-laden season while Ekkelenkamp is touted as even better than Gravenberch. We also have Schuurs, Traore and most likely some new signings this summer. It’s believed Tagliafico and Onana are on their way out, but the Argentine left back has said time and time again, “I don’t need to leave, I’ll only go when the club is right and it is financially good for Ajax. I love playing here and living here, so staying at Ajax would work for me too.”

Onana has his own issues (won’t play a competitive match till March 2021) and might also not find a club.

PSV and Feyenoord both struggle. PSV has to deal with a coach who only wants to play one style, while the PSV players might well not be the right material for that German disciplined tactics. Feyenoord simply lacks quality, both in the squad and on the trainers bench. Advocaat truly is old school. Only Berghuis and Senesi represent real value (albeit with a limited fee for Berghuis!) and Bijlow, Malacia and Kokcu will represent more value in the future. They should stay a bit longer in Rotterdam.

AZ has impressed massively as well. Their start was rocky, they dropped at least 8 points which they shouldn’t have by conceding too many goals in the first matches. Add those 8 point to the table now and they’d be a title challenger. The likes of Wijndal, Koopmeiners, Midsjo, Karlsson all have a massive future ahead of them. Stengs and Boadu are still question marks though, and when Wijndal and Koopmeiners leave (while Svensson is leaving on a free, I believe) it remains to be seen if and how AZ can sustain their position.

Vitesse can also be proud of their season, with German coach Letsch capable of what Schmidt at PSV is failing: inspiring his players – even the difficult ones, like Tannane and Bazoer – in playing for the team. Those two, in combination with goalie Pasveer (on his way to Ajax!) and a couple of loanies, propelled Vitesse back to the top and into Europe (most likely).

This weekend it’s Feyenoord-Ajax, a last option for Feyenoord to give the season a bit of shine (although Ajax probably wouldn’t care too much if they lost).

And while we gear up for the European finals (with potentially a starring role for Ziyech, Ake, Donny van de Beek), our focus will shift to the Euros.

Sad news for the pundits and criticasters who were sharpening their knives for the Weghorst-Luuk debate: Frank de Boer is allowed to bring 26 players to the tournament, which most likely means that the NT coach will bring 3 more attacking players along.

Louis van Gaal made headlines in 2014 when he decided to bring less defenders and more forwards. Logic and statistics got him to do that and now it seems almost a natural decision to make. Statistics show that the majority of substitutions are about bringing game changers onto the pitch: strikers, wingers, creative mids.

Another reason to change players: fatigue or injuries. It’s usually the forwards that will struggle with this. Statistically, defenders are less likely to have to go off due to fatigue.

It simply doesn’t make sense to stack the bench with the likes of Hateboer, St Juste, Holman or Struijk.

And Frank de Boer has experienced this in recent matches with Oranje where he ended up sending defenders (Ake, Dumfries) forward in order to force an issue, as he ran out of attacking options. See photo below.

So I can imagine Wout Weghorst getting a spot in the squad. And De Boer will have to work through the scenarios: who do you want on the bench when you’re still 0-0 vs Bosnia-Herzegovina with 10 mins to go? Which midfielder can you bring late, to add some energy to the proceedings? Which skilled dribbler do we have to play the same part as Memphis did in the 2014 World Cup?

My squad:

Goalies: – Cillesen, Krul, Stekelenburg

Defenders: Dumfries, Karsdorp, De Vrij, De Ligt, Ake, Veltman, Wijndal, Van Aanholt

Midfield: Frenkie, De Roon, Gini Wijnaldum, Klaassen, Van de Beek, Gravenberch

Forwards: Malen, Babel, Memphis, Luuk de Jong, Berghuis, Bergwijn

Additional three: Weghorst, Stengs, Danjuma

I have left Bijlow, Koopmeiners, Lang and Gakpo out as I believe Van der Looij will select them for his Young Oranje tournament.

Based on today’s form and fitness, this would be my starting eleven for the Euros (Blind and Van Dijk not considered):

And against stronger teams (Italy, Spain, England, France) you could play Memphis on the left with Luuk de Jong or Weghorst centrally.

Should Daley be fit in time, I think Veltman is out.

Should Van Dijk be fit in time, Van Aanholt will be left out.

What are your thoughts?

March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 by Jan

Great night for Oranje

I wish I followed my instincts and wrote in my previous post that I wouldn’t play with the same eleven vs Gibraltar.

I would have gone with a 3-4-3 and probably leave out Dumfries. I didn’t so I can’t claim to be smarter than De Boer but I have the feeling most of you would probably support that notion anyway.

Frank started the game with the same eleven as he did vs Latvia. I can understand the sentiment, but against a 5-4-1 dogged team like Gibraltar you really don’t need 4 at the back!

Even stronger: in the home game, I think De Boer should put De Ligt on goal!

The first half, we simply had too many issues breaking them down. The two main problems: the ball pace was way too low and our bright midfielders ended up clogging up the box with their bodies making it easy for the Gibraltians (?) to defend. That, and their excellent goalie of course.

Denzel Dumfries ended up with the most issues. And according to influential football magazine VI, he was the only player who got a bad rating. He himself has said, that at times he has “hard feet”, meaning, he lacks the technical finesse to play in small spaces.

The Gibraltar coach is renowned for his tight organisation and there was hardly any room for Dumfries to do what he does best: run into space.

He did play a crucial part in the opening goal in the first half, but Frank subbed him at half time and brought prodigal talent Ryan Gravenberch as midfielder, to cover the space on the right. His contribution would become vital, allowing Berghuis to grow into a Man of the Match performer.

The first 20 minutes were shambolic. Uninspired, slow and sluggish. The first goal made the difference, as we all knew it would. It should have been scored sooner though. The second stage of the first half resembled the Latvia match: heaps of opportunities and half chances, but no sharpness in finishing. Davy Klaassen was against guilty of not having his sights sharp.

In the second half, some things that could be predicted happened: the second goal broke the back of the opponent a bit. They got tired. They were no longer able to track everything. Gravenberch played his part too, being the deep lying playmaker next to Frenkie, allowing Berghuis to stay wide and forcing the defenders to choose: do we stay, do we press, do we follow the runner…

Here are some examples: Latvia had issues with Klaassen as they played 4-4-2 and didn’t have the man available to take care of the Ajax midfielder. Gibraltar had 5 at the back so there was always the free defender to pick up Klaassen. The two wide midfielders would assist with stopping Dumfries and Wijndal. Because of this, Oranje needed to find space centrally.

Look at this situation. Wijnaldum needs to pass the ball. We have four players standing in line, up front: Frenkie, Luuk de Jong, Memphis and Klaassen. The midfielders have pulled their direct opponents with them and as a result the spaces became even smaller. And with Berghuis moving inside as well, the suffocation was complete. Frank de Boer even mentioned this problem beforehand, when he said: “Playing more forwards is not going to work, as the spaces will get smaller. We need to lure the opponent away from the centre and then make quick combinations into that open space!”

Oranje runs into these spaces and fills them up and does Gibraltar a favour!

The two first goals are good examples of what is needed. The first goal is the result of depth without the ball. A run in behind and it’s Dumfries who creates it. Berghuis finds the ball in front of his left wand and knows how to bury it.

In the second half, for the second goal, we see what was missing in the first: players coming into midfield to ask for the ball and creating space behind them. Here it’s Memphis pulling a defender with him, and Klaassen does this with the left back. This results in Berghuis getting more freedom and Luuk de Jong is then one-on-one in the box: 2-0.

Gravenberch offers more options in midfield. The Gibraltar players are pulled into the midfield more and this is how the pockets of space appear.

The fourth goal is a perfect example. Gravenberch, Klaassen and Memphis join at the right side in midfield. The left midfielder is now forced to stick to them which puts Berghuis in a one v one situation with the left full back. In the first half, Dumfries runs would bring that left midfielder next to the left back, making it tough for Berghuis. The Berghuis cross ends up with Wijnaldum who scores the fourth goal.

Same story for the fifth goal. Gravenberch lures an opponent in, Berghuis gets space to play with. He then pulls two opponents towards him allowing Memphis to pass into Klaassen who runs into space. His pass to Malen is a simple tap in. The two final goals are the result of a similar situation but then with Wijndal on the left.

The big lesson for Oranje: lure the defenders out of their comfort zone and use the dynamics to play in the wide players who are capable of taking on an opponent with an individual action. Another big change, was to play Memphis in midfield and having him want the ball in his feet.

The win was predictable. The number of goals was enough, not overly spectacular, but enough. And Frank de Boer finally showed his qualities by analysing the first half and doing what was needed in the second half.

A good night for Oranje, also because Turkey forgot to win against Latvia. They threw a 3-1 lead away and had to be content with a draw. This resulted in a wry comment by De Boer: “Hmm, so the 2-0 against Latvia actually wasn’t that bad after all….”.

A big wet blanket was placed over the win by the sad demise of Daley Blind. In what was a rare outing up front for De Barr, Blind was pulled to the ground by accident and one of his feet got stuck in the turf, which may have damaged his knee or his ankle. Unsure at this point. It looked terrible and the Ajax star had to be taken of by stretcher. It didn’t look too good.

Frenkie and Memphis both were quite happy with how it all panned out. Both players realised during their post-match interview that things ended up pretty well for Oranje. “Yes, we did the job. It wasn’t great, I know. We started weak, it was sluggish, we had to get used to the pitch and they were really dogged. But I think if you told people up front that we would win 7-0, everyone would be happy. I think at least. The second half was ok. And yes, Turkey dropped points of course, so it actually was more than ok. Yes, we actually had a top night!” So spoke Frenkie de Jong.

Skipper Gini Wijnaldum had a frown on his face: “The first half was very frustrating. We were a bit pissed off at the break and unhappy. It resembled the match vs Latvia. So much good intentions but so little to show for. The 7-0 was fine at the end, but it could have been double figures and I’m not happy that we failed to do so. We didn’t really celebrate our goals, we were on a mission. And yes, it’s awesome that Turkey dropped points, but we need to stop looking at others and focus on our own performances and improve!”

Last but not least, Young Oranje did tremendous business. It beat Hungary 6-1 and Cody Gakpo was the main man for the Dutch. When the reporters after the game asked the PSV winger whether he was going to play for the seniors or the youngsters, Gakpo was about to answer. And then coach Van de Looi walked by and coughed loudly. Gakpo: “Oh, I think I’m not supposed to answer that question….” Young Oranje ended this little group as group winner: well done lads!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFXo1bcV0xo

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 by Jan

Oranje needs monster score

Oranje is on the hunt against Gibraltar. It needs goals! “We need to make 5 at least, but if we can: as much as possible” says Frank de Boer. One big potential problem: players trying to force their way into the goal all by themselves. The last time Oranje was ruthless, was against San Marino: 11-0.

That match in 2011 was played exactly like it was supposed to: three goals in 20 minutes. The Oranje players got extra energy, while San Marino lost their last thread of confidence. Bert van Marwijk’s team wrote history that day.

Frank de Boer: “If we can play like we did vs Latvia I am sure we will score way more times than two. We need to score quick goals and we don’t want the opponent to be able to take a breath.”

The team manager used today’s practice session purely for finishing. Big goals and a match 11 v 11 and finishing. Players love that.

Gibraltar is the youngest member of the UEFA football family. They became a member in 2013. Their first international match ended in 0-0 vs Slovakia. They joined FIFA in 2016 and suffered a record loss v Belgium: 0-9. Gibraltar is the 195th nation in the ranking, in between Samoa and Bahamas. It’s the third match for them too after a loss vs Norway (0-3) and Montenegro (4-1). They might well be spent, mentally and physically.

De Boer: “They did rotate. I do expect a fresh team. They will want to show themselves against us, we’re considered a big opponent.”

De Boer will most likely play the same team as against Latvia, with Luuk de Jong as the deepest striker. With enough goals in the team, like Memphis, Wijnaldum, Klaassen and Berghuis. Even Frenkie de Jong is scoring more at Barca than ever. “Ronald Koeman has been working on this with me. Scoring is a mindset. I was never focused on it, I was always trying to find the assist, but now I do get more in front of goal. But in Oranje, it’s different, I’m not in that role. When I chase goals in Oranje, it will not be beneficial for the team,” Frenkie said.

De Jong mentions a potential pitfall. Memphis in particular, like Berghuis can have the tendency to want to score every time he has the ball. “It’s important to find a balance, but I’m not concerned. Attackers want to score. That is natural.”

De Jing was far from pleased with his own performance. “I wasn’t great vs Turkey. It was not good. I wasn’t present, not dominant and sloppy. I don’t think I added anything. But against Latvia it was ok. Maybe not outstanding, but good enough, at least.”

Ruud van Nistelrooy was added to the technical staff in this international break and the former super striker of PSV, Man United and Oranje has his hands full. Frank de Boer: “Ruud is a natural. And he has been working with the lads after Latvia, to go through all these missed opportunities. Ruud has a unique way of approaching things and he sees situations a certain way. He’s enthusiastic and highly committed. He can teach the forwards a lot.”

During the last training session, the Oranje internationals had a lot of fun. Matthijs de Ligt copped a ball right in the crown jewels and amongst footballers, that is reason for a big laugh. Frenkie got the question: “How is Matthijs?”. He first said something like “I don’t know, why?” And then… “Ah, yes yes, he got a ball on the balls, so to speak, hahaha. He will be fine, I’m sure.”

There is a clip where Stekelenburg and Bergwijn are having a lot of fun when the Juve defender is clutching his manhood.

I think the Gibraltar team won’t be a rock and Holland will score 8 times, this match. I can see Luuk get a hat trick, Memphis 2 goals, Berghuis 1, Klaassen 1 and Dumfries one.

Overall, a one-sided match. 3 point, mucho goals and no injuries would be the maximum result!

Young Oranje will beat Hungary and Germany will win their game. Oranje to progress.

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 by Jan

Oranje is back! As is Klaassen!

My friends, I am sorry for the pause in posting… I have had some tech issues on my end and still working on them to get them resolved…

This pause did give me the option to re-think what I am doing and how I am doing it. I got some great feedback from some of you here and I will probably reach out for more.

I want to get these three games out of the way and after these games and maybe during the Xmas break I can reach out to you guys for some input on how we can improve this blog even more (if that is even possible!!).

So expect me to come back to you with some questions, ideas, suggestions etc. And you can start leaving some of that in the comments, if you do have things to share already!

Now, a quick look at the days ahead. Holland playing three games again in what, 9 days? And sadly, we can’t say the friendly vs Spain is “useless” because that result does count towards a good position in the World Cup qualifications. So it does make sense to win even friendlies, these days!

Still it gives coach Frank de Boer some headaches as he believes he can’t play players vs Spain for a full match and use them vs Bosnia. And some other players will not be able to play even two games, this quickly after an intense period of club games.

The latest is that Tonny Vilhena is out, positively tested for Covid-19. He has no symptoms but has to go into quarantine. Frank de Boer will not replace him. Before him, we saw Justin Bijlow already unavailable due to a foot injury and Twente’s Joel Drommel taking his place. Cillesen is out as well of course.

Frank de Boer did say that Bizot (AZ) will be the shot stopper vs Spain, with Tim Krul the #1 goalie for the Nations League matches (Bosnia Herzegovina and Poland) . Frank will not be playing players in the three matches for obvious reasons and will be careful with players who just came back from injuries. Denzel Dumfries for instance, again important for PSV in the domestic league, will probably not start vs Spain but will play in the Nations League matches. Hateboer will be his replacement for the Spain game.

De Boer was also asked about the system he would be using: “The 5-3-2 was a tweak we needed for Italy away. It matched their style and would solve the problem we had in the home game vs Italy. In the coming three matches, we will go back to 4-3-3”.

Davy Klaassen – not very well liked here on the blog I believe- will be making his comeback. He’s been Ajax now for a short while but in the games he did play for Ajax, he impressed. His timing to pop into the box and score goals, his work rate, his leadership are all revered and there is no expert / analyst or former pro who wouldn’t pick Klaassen for the starting line up, now De Roon and Leroy Fer is absent and Davy Propper is also still not 100% fit.

Kevin Strootman used to be the alternative left footed midfielder for Oranje, but De Boer did what his predecessors never did: he called the former Sparta midfielder to tell him he won’t need him. “His situation is not positive at his club. He has hardly played. He needs to change that in order to be important for Oranje again. But he took it really well and told he would do the exact same if he was in my shoes.”

Steven Bergwijn and Mo Ihattaren also had to leave the Oranje camp with little issues but won’t be replaced.

I think it’s quite remarkable that losing two midfielders ( Ihattaren and Vilhena) didn’t prompt De Boer to get a replacement in, but he will know best.

For the Spain match, I think Frank will go with this line up:

I believe Frank’s go-to eleven (for now) will look like:

But I could be terribly wrong :-).

The Spain confrontation will always be special. We beat them the last two times we met and that 1-5 in Brazil will forever be on everyone’s favorite Oranje top 5 list, I’m sure. But the loss in South Africa in 2010 will also always be with us.

Another reason to look out for this match, is that we most likely will see Marco Asensio in Spanish colours. The half Dutch, half Spanish forward is happy to be back in Holland. “I consider this my second homeland. Half my family lives here and I always spend time here, to see my family. Every year I visit and it’s special for me to play against Holland.” The Real Madrid star played all of his youth rep matches in orange and decided to go for Spain when he had to make his choice…

Let me hear your ideal line up below AND the line up for the Spain match…

More later!

November 13, 2016 by Jan

Oranje on record run vs Luxembourg

The Dutch need the three points against Luxembourg. Period. All the other story angles are fluff. There is a record to be had as well though. Oranje has won 9 times in a row from Cyprus and Hungary before and can do the same with Luxembourg now. We played each other 16 times in history. With 13 wins for the Orange Lions. Twice, the Dukes won. In 1963 Luxembourg beat Holland in De Kuip, 0-1. The last victory they had over us. The last two games we played against them though, we only scored once in every game too. In the 2008 Euros qualifications, under Van Basten, we won at home thanks to a Mathijsen goal and in the home game, it was Danny Koevermans who got us the goal and famously, Edwin van der Sar even played for time in the home game, to get the needed win across the line.

Luxembourg is seen as a football minion but they managed to be despicable in this WC series. They lost against Bulgaria in injury time, only lost 1-0 at home vs Sweden and got the draw vs Belarus! Former Willem II and RKC Waalwijk striker Joachim already has 3 goals to his name.

Jeffrey Bruma remembers the name, vaguely. Different than Griezmann, Gameiro, or Berg and Guidetti. But still a danger. Is Bruma capable of keeping his concentration vs Luxembourg: “Well, this away game will be different than the France or Belgium fixtures of course. Now it’s us who need to make the play. But we’re still Oranje. We are obliged to beat Luxembourg and we will!”.

The Belgium press was clear, after the Holland – Belgium derby. If Belgium could get two players in their team from Holland, they’d pick Van Dijk and Bruma to replace their modest players at the back, Kabasele (Watford) and Ciman (Montreal Impact).

Van Dijk and Bruma turn into a fine pairing at the back. “Well, if Stefan de Vrij is fit, it will still be a battle for a spot,” says Bruma. “But I did play every game under this coach. But I believe in competition. We need to fight for our spot, and I want to make it hard for the team manager.”

The former Chelsea prospect has 24 caps now, but his debut was already back in 2010. Finally, he believes he can be a mainstay. “I came from far. I had to miss a couple of tournaments. Even with Young Oranje. But I will always fight to come back. Same with Wolfsburg. I had a weak start but competed and battled and I’m back at level. I know that mentality is the key.”

Bruma played 11 internationals with Van Dijk at his side and is comfortable. “We do have a good click, on and off the pitch. He’s in the EPL, I’m in the Bundesliga. We both are up against top strikers every week. Luxembourg might be a minion, but watch it. They do have players who are with Schalke 04, Gent, Olympique Lyon, Metz… The time that these guys couldn’t play is over. Joachim is not an amateur. But even without Janssen and Lens and Schaars… we’ve got Robben back. And when Robben is on the pitch, you feel more confident. And the opponent knows what time it is, you know what I mean. They’ll always fear him. He alone can decide matches.”

Joel Veltman and Marten de Roon

Lens would most likely not have played against Luxembourg. Which is why the Fener winger opted to go for a full match vs Belgium, despite not being 100% fit after a hamstring scare. And after 1 hour of play, the former PSV man got injured again. With the Turkish club furious for the risk Danny Blind took on him. There’s even talk that Blind ignored Dick Advocaat’s wishes to get back at him for leaving Blind high and dry as assistant coach, when he chose the money over loyalty. Danny Blind: “I heard these accusations too and it’s rubbish. I spoke to Dick and he told me Lens had an old knee irritation from his Sunderland days. I told him I wanted to use Lens vs Belgium and not against Luxembourg, and Dick was like “fine”.”

Arjen Robben is happy to play against Luxembourg. It’s almost exactly one year since his last cap for Oranje. Robben: “I recently heard I have missed almost as many games due to injury as I have played. Incredible. But I’m happy to be fit and hope to stay fit for a long time. Every time I get injured I have to dig deep to come back, but when I do return, it feels like I’ve never been away.” The Bayern star shows confidence with his feet and lips: “It’s not about winning vs Luxembourg for me. It’s about winning with lots of goals. It will help us to create more confidence and moral support from the fans. It was painful to see so many empty spots in the Arena vs Belgium. We need to do better and against Luxembourg we can not allow them to breath even. Grab ‘m by the throat and keep on working them.” When asked if a 10-0 was possible, Robben laughed. “Well, those days are over. Not because we are not capable but the football dwarfs are not that easy to beat anymore. The gap between top and second tier is getting smaller and smaller.”

What does remain a big difference between top and second tier is the quality of the pitches. The Luxembourg pitch was used for a rugby match mere days ago and looks like a potato field. Robben: “We knew this and went a day early to check it out. We’ll be fine.”

Danny Blind: “We know the pitch isn’t great, but that will never be an excuse. You simply adapt. You can’t keep on wishing things to be different. It is how it is and we deal with it. We like a pitch that allows for nice passing play, but if it’s not like that, we can’t hide behind that. We’ll deal with it.”

Daley Blind will most likely play his 41st cap for Oranje and will join his dad Danny on the list of most capped internationals. Danny Blind made his Oranje debut against Luxembourg, interestingly enough. Other players to make their debut against the minions are Clarence Seedorf and Pierre van Hooijdonk. Marvin Zeegelaar could well be another one. For Sneijder, there is also a nice record up for grabs. Two actually. He played 125 caps for Oranje and is on his way to beat record international Van der Sar (with 130 caps). Should Wes score against Luxembourg, this would be the 25th nation he will score against. Only Huntelaar and Van Persie are ahead of him on this list.

In the final presser before the game, Bind said he’d return to 4-3-3 for the Luxembourg game. “They will let us have the ball. We will dominate and attack and we’ll do so with three offensive midfielders.” The coach hasn’t released the line up but it seems that Dost will play for Janssen, Robben for Lens and Ramselaar will make his full debut in place of Schaars. It’s also highly likely that the weak Veltman will be replaced by Joshua Brenet, who is a much more attacking option on the flank.

Should Holland win vs Luxembourg (oooh… exciting!) it will jump to the 2nd spot in the group. Blind: “It was disappointing that Sweden couldn’t hold on to the 1-1. We would have had a good view on the lead in the group. But, whatever France does, we simply need to win our games. And we’re all very aware.”

October 8, 2016 by Jan

Oranje does the job: 4-1 vs Belarus

It was a must win game, said Danny Blind. And he was able to find and fuel the spark in the starting eleven as the Oranje lions started with focus and determination against a tight and compact Belarus. Not to be underestimated. Their youth representative teams did well in the past years, and Belarus does not lose games easily. But the signs were clear in the first stage of the game, with some solid attacking flank play on the right (Karsdorp and Promes), some first time passing and some good centre striker play from Janssen, who was close to a goal already early in the game.

It fell to much criticised Promes to break the resistance of the White Russians. Blind kept faith in the Spartak Moscow star and said he sees him play weekly as one of the best players. “He will show his class in Oranje, I am sure”, Blind said. And how he did. A Man of the Match performance for Promes, who with his quick feet scored the first one, nutmegging not one, not two but three defenders: 1-o in the 14th minute. Holland dominate play in the first half hour, with more than 70% possession and good movement. In the 23rd minute, Oranje should have been up 2-0, when Van Dijk guided in a Sneijder free kick in an on-side position. Two other Oranje players showed up in front of the goalie in off side positions, one might argue, and maybe this is why the linesman decided to rule Van Dijk’s goal out, but in my view, again, we were robbed. Sneijder look leggy in the match and it was no surprise that the young legs on the right offered up most threat to Belarus, who saw Janssen in typical striker style turn and shoot in one move, without any backswing, but the ball was too close to the goalie.

On the half hour mark, Oranje got what it deserved when Promes came in from the left, on the edge of the box, to take a dropping ball from a corner kick on the volley. A confident player does this and Promes made his own luck, as the ball got deflected and went into the goal out of reach of the keeper’s outstretched arms.

Holland was coasting, it seemed, and dropped the pace a bit which allowed Belarus to get back into it. The Belarus team has the ability to counter with some good runners up front, able to pick the moment. Whenever Karsdorp would push up it was Bruma’s role to cover the space and in the last 15 minutes before the break, he lost his man a couple of time, allowing Belarus the opportunity to score a goal. Or two.

Holland reached the break without conceding, and returned sans Sneijder who was left in the dressing room with a hamstring problem (indirect result of the thigh injury of last weekend, no doubt). I think he overstretched late in the first half when sliding for a loose ball. Davey Propper was Sneijder’s replacement and Klaassen went to play in the Sneijder role, with Wijnaldum moving into the Klaassen role. But before the players could settle, it was 2-1. Sloppy defending by Bruma again and a late reaction to the situation by Daley Blind allowed Rios to tap in the ball. Stekelenburg hadn’t been called to action, really, up until that moment and the Everton goalie could only watch the ball go into the net.

Confidence might have been rattled, one would think, but instead of Belarus pushing on, it was Oranje taking charge, under the leadership of Strootman in midfield and the excellent off the ball movement by Janssen, Klaassen and Promes who were always available for the out ball. A horrific defending error by the Belarus centre back got Oranje back into the game. Promes kept harassing the player, who couldn’t get the ball out of his feet. Janssen on the turn took the shot on and hit the post. A very attentative Klaassen still had some work to do to guide the ball – coming straight at him – into the net: 3-1.

This seemed to break Belarus who never looked likely to get back into the game. By then, the threat was dealt with and it was simply a matter of will-we-score-again and who-will-it-be? Janssen was very keen to get his goal, while Wijnaldum was making more moves into the box. Promes was on a hattrick, so you couldn’t blame him for trying. But – as one might expect from a good striker – it was Janssen who’d clinch the best goal of the night. Another error at the back, Janssen – not the quickest – took the ball and sprinted away from the slipping defender. One look up and he was only going to do one thing: with his gifted left, he guided the ball high and composed into the top corner. Janssen looked relieved after not scoring yet in the EPL but this game will show the Spurs fans what a prospect he is: 4-1.

Oranje professionally played the game out, but had chances to score at least two more, with Wijnaldum hitting the post (and a great opportunity in the rebound to pass into Janssen) and some good interplay between Karsdorp, Promes and Janssen in the box, trying to set up Wijnaldum yet again. Take the disallowed Van Dijk goal and Oranje could have won this 7-1.

All in all: a bright performance, Promes finally showing his class, Janssen a hand full, an assured performance by Karsdorp and solid performances by a not 100% fit Strootman and Wijnaldum.

The only real question mark for me is Bruma, who has his ups and downs and sometimes seems to fall asleep. With De Vrij back and Vlaar hopefully fit soon, Blind will have more options at the back.

Rick Karsdorp was on Cloud 9: “I think I had a good debut. We played well and I think I did ok. It is no use to play great at your debut but lose the game. So I’m happy. The win was important, and I think I played my part. It is a dream come true to play for Oranje at my home ground. I was 9 years old when I started to play for Feyenoord and now this… It really means something to me…”

For the France game, Danny Blind won’t be able to use Wesley Sneijder. The Gala playmaker will stay with the group and there is a small chance he will get fit, but Danny has called on Tony Vilhena to join the squad for the France game.

Sneijder: “It is the same muscle as the one I had trouble with last week. It’s always a risk to play after a problem like this. And it was when I had to make a sliding. It’s a good thing we were 2-0 up. We couldn’t take chances. It will be hard to reach France, we only have 3 days or so, but we’ll see….”

It seems Stekelenburg will defend our goal vs France as well. Blind: “With the goalies, there is so little difference. It’s just details. I just feel Stekelenburg is making a slightly better impression. Hard to explain. It’s a gut feel. Zoet hasn’t failed me, at all, but I will go with Maarten. It’s a tough decision to make, but that is part of the job.”

Blind also hinted at playing with five at the back versus France, which had an impressive comeback vs Bulgaria.

Danny Blind after the Belarus game: “I am pleased with the result and I think we’ve seen some very good things. But for at least 15 minutes in the game, we were sloppy. We got away with it, but against France, that will be lethal. We need to work on that. But overall happy with the performance.”

September 17, 2016 by Jan

Dutch resilience with Feyenoord and Ajax victories

Note: I don’t get to post pictures like this often, ok? Please let me enjoy this 🙂

Have we turned a corner? Even slightly? After a dreary period of Dutch club football (and a shorter dry spell for the NT) both Oranje and Dutch club football seems to be making their way up again.

Overall, Ajax missed a huge opportunity vs Rostov to get back into CL football. A couple of reasons: 1) signing Peter Bosz as head coach, 2) being too frugal with funds.

Bosz is known to be a head strong football idealist, who was signed by Ajax for that reason: strong philosophy, able to build attacking teams. On the downside: he needs time and he will not budge to change his ways just for the result.

Vs Rostov, he gambled and lost. Not just the game, he lost 15 mio euros for the club and lots of prestige.

As a result, the fans demanded something. And they got what they wanted (and Bosz didn’t need): Hakim Ziyech.

With the Moroccan playmaker, Ajax will have a chance in the Eredivisie to get back on top but lots of work needs to be done to make Ajax great again. They have the Academy, they have Bosz and they have funds. So it is doable.

PSV led the way last season with their tremendous displays and results in Europe. The knock out game vs Atletico last season could have been won. They got so close.

In this CL group fixture vs the Leticos, PSV deserved more. Again, the home team fought with spirit and conviction. At no stage in the game did they look overwhelmed, even with the bright start by the visitors. The disallowed goal was a disgrace. De Jong’s goal was legit and PSV should have been up. You could even debate that Atkinson should have disallowed the Atletico after the clash of heads with Propper. Some PSV players clearly got distracted, but then again…play the whistle… The first push in the box on Narsingh should have been a penalty too. This probably prompted Atkinson to be lenient when Narsingh stumbled later. Penalties unfairly rewarded have a higher percentage chance of being missed, is my theory. Players subconsciously know the pen was unjust and goalies muster extra motivation to undo the injustice. I might be wrong.

But fact is, PSV has a dreadful record re: penalties. Luuk de Jong has his qualities, but taking spot kicks is not one of them. This time around, Davey Propper was the designated shooter. But he was being treated on the side line for his head wound and when he wanted to come on to take the penalty, he was denied by the ref. Mexican midfield motor Guardado stepped up and followed his captain in failing to convert. Mediocre penalty (height!), good save.

Ajax did the business away in the Greek Hell. A tough place to go to, although the Ajax with Litmanen did great business there in the 90s. Ajax fought back after conceding and Riedewald ended up being the match winner after Klaassen fudged his penalty as well.

AZ disappointed vs Irish battlers Dundalk. An unnecessary draw. AZ is currently the freshest team to watch in Holland. Free flowing football, by players with a constant smile on their faces. They enjoy themselves on the pitch and the duo of Wuytens and Vlaar give this team backbone. I rate John van de Brom as a coach and I’m sure they’ll fight themselves back into it, even though this is a tough group and the 2 points lost vs weak Dundalk could well be the points AZ will come short to stay in Europe past the group stages.

The biggest challenge was for Feyenoord. The group with Fener and ManU looks pretty tough and I’m sure Gio would have made his calculations based on two defeats vs the Red Devils. I’m sure Feyenoord would have considered a draw at home a good result. In a disappointing set up in the De Kuip stadium (only 31,000 fans vs 46,000) and big nets around the pitch and blacked out stands close to the field, Feyenoord expected a strong ManU, but after 10 mins everyone watching the game could see Man United wasn’t able or willing to force the issue.

Everyone at Feyenoord showed up on the night. And the 31,000 demonstrated that they could compensate for the missing fans easily, continuously supporting the team and chanting their battle hymns. Feyenoord has made “You’ll never Walk Alone” theirs in Holland, in the past decades and the Man U fans were a bit rattled hearing it, as it obviously also is the trademark tune for arch rival Liverpool.

Dirk Kuyt being the man with the hattrick vs United from his Liverpool days was the least impressive man on the pitch. The years are showing. He wasn’t instrumental throughout the game, but for some solid hard work. His passing was off, his ball handling off pace, but all in all the whole team did well. The defensive four were excellent even. Botteghin looked like he could be yellow carded three times in this game, as he started clumsy, but he set the tone for a strong performance by the team. With Karsdorp and Van der Heijden using their physical strength and Kongolo powerful with his runs (forward and back). El Ahmadi was the boss in midfield. Constantly nipping at Pogba – in particular – and in possession making the right choices. Vilhena was lively and Berghuis had his moments, particularly in the first half, with Rojo becoming more and more erratic.

The win was flattering for Feyenoord who only had a couple of distant shots and a flubbed chance for Toornstra created by Kongolo. The goal – nicely put away by Vilhena – came from an off side situation. Man U on the other end, only had one real chance and Martial picked the wrong corner for his attempt, missing the target.

A good start for Feyenoord, and with Fener drawing vs the “other club”, Feyenoord looks solid in this group, for now. PSV here we come!

A quick word on Memphis. I think he played well. He started with some intensity and desire. Passed forward all the time. Went straight into space to make himself available again. Played with composure and confidence and in the way he talks with/to Zlatan and Pogba on the pitch and off, it seems he’s settled.

Yes, he tried to do too much. Free kick overhit, volley hit in the stands, some more attempts to score. But…that is what you get if the coach doesn’t use rotation and then puts players like Memphis in the team with the message “this is when you show me what you have”, while lacking rhythm. It’s a given that a player like Memphis will not pass the ball when he has a shooting opportunity. Hitting it in the top corner is the message Mourinho can’t ignore.

This Man U performance is on Mourinho. Not on Schneiderlin, Rashford or Memphis. Give a player 30 minutes to “prove himself”, what can you expect?

Mourinho needs to create a system with a preferred line up and players in the squad who know whose understudy they are. Clarity. Now, Pogba is trying to do everything (running with the ball, dribbling, shooting) whereas he needs to pass and go, pass and go. He feels he came to Man United to be Messi. Also, Mourinho shouldn’t play two central holding mids. Against Feyenoord? Really? He probably doesn’t need two of these guys ever. Rashford was isolated and their never was a flow in midfield because somehow Schneiderlin and Herrera was set up to cover Dirk Kuyt (37 years old).

If Man U plays weak vs Watford, I’m sure the pens will be sharpened yet again.

As for the Feyenoord Stadium. Yes. It always was the home of Oranje. The reasons: capacity, super pitch and atmosphere.

This is one of the few perfect pitches in Europe, 100% made of real grass. No synthetic stuff. The Feyenoord groundsmen win award after award internationally and we lost some in the past to the likes of Arsenal and Barca.

The reason why the KNVB doesn’t use De Kuip anymore is money, basically. This stadium is merely that: a stadium. Hardly and sponsor homes, meeting rooms, presentation rooms, no museum, no shops, no commerce going on bar the Feyenoord restaurant. There are urinals from the 1930s and the safety / security infrastructure is obsolete.

The Ajax Arena is a terrible place to play football if it’s not at full capacity. The pitch is horrific. They change pitches more than I change underwear! But, they have a parking garage, an Ajax museum, shops, many restaurants, talking toilets, elevators, escalators, sliding doors…

The everlasting debate in Rotterdam is: 1) do we upgrade De Kuip or build a new one, 2) who will pay for it, 3) where do we want it.

Still no answers.

The Feyenoord die-hards (fans, sponsors, ex-players) want De Kuip to stay where it is and to have it renovated. The project development sharks and the local government want a new site for Feyenoord and a completely new stadium.

Traditions vs Commerce. I wonder what will come out on top?

September 8, 2016 by Jan

Strong Oranje “forgets” to take the three points!

In what could have been a first upset on Game Day 1 of the WC qualification group of Oranje, Holland could have lead with 3 points, while favorites France couldn’t manage to score in their first match.

But, sadly, a strong Oranje created many good opportunities to score but saw Sweden hit the net first, after a rare Strootman howler. Oranje got back into the game with skipper Sneijder finishing an excellent move by Daryl Janmaat. Late in the game, Bas Dost seemed to have scored a perfectly legal goal to give Oranje the deserved three points, but the Italian ref somehow saw something untowards…

Danny Blind: “We’re bitterly disappointed, to be honest. Kevin Strootman is in a foul mood and he’ll probably won’t come out for interviews. I’m also quite cross with that referee. It was a perfect goal. What happened in that duel is what happens 67 times in both boxes during a game. Either you give a foul and a penalty for all these instances, or a defensive free kick, or not. But to disallow Dost’s goal…. Pathetic. We could have taken three points and have two points on France. It’s disappointing we didn’t, coz I felt the team did everything right. Our tactics worked, the players executed it perfectly, we created chance after chance… Very unlucky. But, it does give us something to build on…”

Before the game, in the press conference, Blind was quite clear: “We are coming here to win. But, if winning is not possible, at least we need to make sure we don’t lose!”

I agree with Blind. We did everything right, but score. And if it wasn’t for that a-typical mistake by Strootman, the one Sneijder goal would have been enough.

Holland dominated from the start. Patient build up, allowing the ball to be zipped around. Sweden, playing at home, were set up to not lose. Two banks of four, with 2 strikers. Guidetti and Berg, shrewd and experienced. Sweden didn’t want the ball and was basically hoping for a mistake by the Dutch.

Blind’s set up was perfect. He opted for two strong defenders to deal with the Swedish forwards. Van Dijk in particular played a brilliant game. Strootman sitting in front of those two would be the safeguard. Ironically, it was the usually solid midfielder who gave Sweden a present. Blind used Janmaat on the right, knowing he would playing as a winger more than anything. This means that Wijnaldum, on the right hand of midfield, had to play more controlling, as Janmaat and Promes were in charge of the attacking side of things. The Liverpool man’s job was to guard the balance and he didn’t show a lot of penetrative running for us.

On the left, with Sneijder as the false left winger, Blind wanted a player who’d play more controlled on that left wing, as Sneijder obviously wouldn’t be able to track 60 meters back all the time if a player like Willems or Van Aanholt would lose possession.

The left flank was kept open for Blind to venture into (at times he did and created some good crosses from the left with Sneijder) and Vincent Janssen and Davey Klaassen used that space to enter into as well.

And it worked wonder. Holland created close to 8 real chances, with a number of opportunities to shoot as well. The number of crosses and corner kicks added to this and you can see that Oranje’s only problem in this game was: scoring.

It was the penetration runs of Klaassen that got him the most opportunities. Couple of headers, little dink by Strootman, putting him one on one with Swedish goalie… Vincent Janssen did get some joy too, but the stocky striker was mostly impressive with his hold up play, his runs and work rate and a couple of decent efforts from distance (one tipping the bar after a deflection).

Everything clicked. No single player was disappointing. Sure, Janmaat had some defensive slip ups, but those things happen. Nothing came of it (in one instance, Van Dijk had to stretch and use all his agility to head the ball over the goal) and Bruma was not the best in his passing, but all in all, no one stood out in a negative way.

I would like to see more from Promes, personally. It feels like he lacks confidence. In the first half in particular, he made some bad choices, where a quick through ball or one-two combination was on the cards, but he did well with Janmaat on the right flank.

The only really negative moment I can recall by Oranje, was Strootman’s fumble. What was he thinking? Trying to get the ball under control with Markus Berg lurching, he could have played the safe square ball to Janmaat but decided to want to control the ball properly. He half stood on the ball, lost his balance and Berg was in possession. His goal was a peach!

In our first qualification game for the Euros 2016, vs the Czechs, Daryl Janmaat was guilty of a howler. Coach Hiddink publically attacked Janmaat for it and decided not to call him up anymore. That did not go down well with the players and was most likely the start of the drama. Now, when asked how he rated Strootman’s mistake, Blind said: “What can I say. Strootman is devastated. He knows he let the team down. I don’t need to remind him. Players make 100s of decisions in a game and it goes all very fast. Players who are in the thick of things, make mistakes. They’re not always lethal. This one was. We need to get over it and go on.”

Virgil van Dijk had a guild edged opp from a Sneijder free kick but he couldn’t bring the ball down, giving the goalie a chance to stop it, and Bas Dost was through on goal at one stage, where a simple side footed pass into the goal would have sealed the deal.

So, a disappointing result where 3 points were the deserved outcome, but all in all a good performance.

Particular taking into account that the pressure was on! The failure to qualify was still hanging over this team, add to that the shenanigans at the KNVB and the lacklustre 60 minutes vs Greece… It was game on and the punters in Holland were adamant that a bad result vs Sweden would mean Blind would have to pack his bags.

The Dutch coach was interviewed about this at the press conference and said this. “Do I feel the pressure? I don’t really. It’s the media that discuss this at length, we don’t go there internally. We focus on what we can do, should do, and must do. That is all we can do. I understand there is pressure, and that is normal. But I don’t feel it, I am not in any way constrained or influenced by it.”

Cool and collected, but the question was: would Oranje choke vs Sweden if things would go awry during the game?

And it didn’t. That, to me, is the biggest win of this first round. Blind picked the right squad, the right tactics, the right line up. It worked. What didn’t work, was us killing the game off and sadly one of our leaders on the pitch had one momentary lapse of reason, gifting the Swedes the goal of the Game Day.

Wesley Sneijder: “This is not the best Oranje I ever played in, in terms of individual qualities. But, this is becoming a solid team. And that is probably as important, if not more important.”

Later in the night, Kevin Strootman did come in front of the cameras. “I’m vice captain. I can’t make a mistake and not show up to talk about it. I am pretty devastated though. I have been going on and on in the last months about how we make too many individual mistakes. And here I am, we finally play a real qualification game and now I am the one throwing it away. And I can’t tell you what happened, it was a black out of some sorts, I can’t turn it into any kind of excuse. And yes, I hear Dost’s goal might have been legit, but I am the last guy here to talk about another guy’s mistake…”

We’re away, and things could have been worse….

March 28, 2014 by Jan

Oranje talents dream of the World Cup

Most Oranje fans would want any competition to stop now to make sure players like Robben and Huntelaar and Nigel de Jong won’t get injured… With Strootman out and Van Persie on the brink of being out ( sources claim that his injury might take longer than 6 weeks) any more bad luck amongst the mainstays would mean disaster.

This is not how the young talents look at it. And we do have a couple. With Strootman out and with Van Gaal opting for the 4-3-3 he is working with (wingers, penetrative midfielders, attacking full backs) a number of youngsters are aware they might be playing the World Cup this summer (albeit short….).

Davy Klaassen can’t stop smiling. He’s 21 years old and asked to come and model the new Oranje away jersey with his peers Joel Veltman (Ajax) and JP Boetius (Feyenoord). Klaassen smiles when he is confronted with skipper Van Persie’s kind words about him. In the game vs Barcelona, young Klaassen had the wherewithal to keep Barca at bay in the dying minutes and play like a veteran.”I read what he said in the newspaper. You then realise that these guys are watching me play like I am watching them. It hit me suddenly and it felt great.” Van Persie said he had enjoyed watching Klaassen playing for time. “Well, I did get a lot of positive responses to that but that was probably mainly because it was against Barca.”

Davy Klaassen

And with the mention of Barca, the discussion goes to the Real Madrid – Barcelona clash of last weekend. Klaassen: “Seeing that game did not give me any incentive to leave Ajax very soon. Man, that was such high level! I actually believe you should leave the Eredivisie at the moment where you feel you are at your top and you cannot grow anymore. Like how Sneijder and Ibrahimovic and Kuyt left.” Jean-Paul Boetius agrees. “Davy is right. And I think your gut feeling will tell you too. I have had my fair share of offers from abroad but I wanted to break into the first team of Feyenoord first. And make myself important for the team.”

Klaassen: “Playing CL or with Oranje is really a different level. It goes so much quicker. And I noticed that the energy drains away when you need to adjust to this. It’s massive. I think I can handle the level, but playing a World Cup is not the same thing. It’s at least three massive games in a short time span, maybe more. And then all the pressure. And playing top nations, right? There are no shabby teams there. And I have learned from the Barca game that if you have a plan and stick to it, it can work.” Boetius adds quickly: “Don’t forget one Lionel Messi didn’t play…’ Klaassen: “True. That is a big difference indeed.”

Klaassen knows the team manager is a fan and his call up for Oranje gives him the feeling that he might get lucky (with Strootman not fit). Boetius dreams of the World Cup too. “Mr Van Gaal has some options of course. Memphis Depay is a very good left winger. We played together in the youth Oranje teams. He as left winger, me on the right. I will do all I can these coming weeks and let’s hope it’s enough.

Klaassen will first party a bit with Ajax and the Eredivisie Shield. The fourth in a row. Has Boetius congratulated Klaassen already? The Feyenoord winger: “Listen, the Ajax of these past weeks is not the same Ajax as at the time of that Barca game. It feels like they’ll make it exciting again. And Feyenoord will want to finish as high as possible.” Klaassen: “Ah, yes, you’ll go for the second spot. Nice…”

Stefano Denswil

But there is more. Stefano Denswil (20) made his debut for Ajax in November 2012 but is still not a regular starter for Ajax. The central defender is quite a complete defender, with his length, speed and athlethecism. But he is still young and too kind. “I need to become more of a killer. I have worked with Jaap Stam and Frank de Boer on my defensive skills. It’s hard to go from Ajax youth to the Ajax 1 team. The difference is huge. The resistance at Ajax 1 is much higher. You saw that how we won many games easily in Europe in the youth CL ( Ajax lost against Inter Milan in the finals but beat the likes of Barca and Liverpool with aplomb). I am not happy yet and I think the coach shows this with his choice of starters. It’s as simple as that. De Boer always says: as a defender, you can never let both the man and the ball go past. If the ball goes past, the man stays. That mentality I have to learn.”

Karim Rekik is the PSV central defender this season. Developed at Feyenoord and now under contract with Manchester City. “I had a good talk at the start of the season with Man City. They wanted me to stay and I would be able to play 5 to 10 games in the first team. Mainly League Cup and lesser important games. I needed more games, so I decided to go for a loan spell. I preferred Holland because of the open play, the focus on youth and the Dutch style. I only needed one conversation with Mr Cocu to know that PSV would be the right team. Their vision but also the fact that they signed Jeff Bruma, Adam Maher and had Wijnaldum and Jetro already…”

Karim Rekik

Denswil: “This is my 13th season at Ajax. I started when I was seven. I was slowly prepared to play in Ajax 1 but the change is big. As Ajax youth player, you can hardly do any wrong. You win most games and you are Ajax, you know? But the supporters can be harsh re: the Ajax first team. Winning 1-0 at home is not good enough. At least three goals, is what they want. And I know, I used to be on the stands when Ajax played, hahahaha. I was one of them….”

Rekik has trained with big names, like Kompany, Toure, Balotelli… Isn’t that a big step back, playing for PSV? “Well, at PSV I train under Phillip Cocu. Quite a legend too, I think. But sure, the practices at Man City were unreal. These guys you mention, Tevez, Silva, Aguero… It’s top top notch. And I had Mancini as coach. He was quite a good forward but he knew exactly how to defend as well. He taught me about Italian defending, hahaha. We played pretty intense defenive games. He would let us defend with a string between us. And if the ball was played to the left, the whole defensive 6 (4 defenders + 2 midfielders) were supposed to move as one. Keeping distance but not too much and not too little… Really tough. And these type of sessions we don’t do in Holland. But… in Holland I get to play and in Manchester it was mostly practice.”

Kyle Ebecilio has a Feyenoord background like Rekik and Boetius but moved to Arsenal when he was 16 years old. “I don’t really regret that step. It was amazing. I played with Alex Song, Van Persie, Fabregas, Sanga…. Every day a master class. The pace was so high, unbelievable. I realised this was to be my year. I felt it was time for me to become an Arsenal 1 player. But in the talent team they kept on playing me as a winger, or a wide player. And I’m not. I am midfielder, a real midfielder. That didn’t feel good. There was some interest, PSV, Anderlecht, Twente… I spoke with the clubs but the talk with Alfred Schreuder of Twente was just amazing. He knew everything about me and told me what he wanted to do with me. I was sold from the get go.”

Is the level in Holland much lower than abroad? Ebecilio: “Well yes. It is….it is slower. Not lower. I believe it seems a bit less good because clubs go for youth now. You see many youthful squads and they can be a tad naive still .”

Kyle Ebecilio

Karim Rekik: “I think the pace is a bit slower but I also believe our current generation talents is really good. We can easily tag along because of our development. Also, in Holland the coaches expect you to take responsibility and show leadership. I think it helps your confidence if you are made important and it probably looks like we are playing with more experience then we actually have, hahaha.”

Tonny Vilhena, the Feyenoord midfielder (18 years young) chips in: “I think we play a little bit too naive compared to the more seasoned players. I played against Van Bommel last year. The trainer told me I could make him crazy by constantly running away from him. Make him work. His legs being a bit older than mine. But he is so smart. He would constantly move in such a way that I would bump into him and he would get a free kick. He would pace the game down, play the referee and get me out of my balance. And I remember thinking “man that guy is so smart….” You can learn from opponents in the field as well. But the number of Van Bommel’s in the Dutch eredivisie is decreasing of course….”

Vilhena can look back on a Superb Year. “I am not complaining. I am still only 18 years old and I do feel like a regular for Feyenoord now. That gives me some rest in my head. I have played 50 Eredivisie games already, I was at the EC with the Young Oranje and played Spain in Israel and I have made my debut for the big Oranje. I am quite happy.”

Kyle Ebecilio feels like his peak is yet to come. “I got a lot of confidence from the coaches but I didn’t start too well. Too much loose balls, too much little mistakes. I need to simply sacrifice myself for the team and work like a beast. That is my game. I seem to be important for Twente now, but I am also aware that this is because of Wout Brama’s injury. Wout is returning now, so who knows what the coaches will do.”

Vilhena remembers the moment well, when Ebecilio told his mates he’d move to Arsenal. “We lost Karim and Kyle. Karim went to Man City. Kyle to Arsenal and Nathan went later to Chelsea. JP and myself had the opportunity too but we both decided to break here. Somehow it feels better for me to play a number of years in Feyenoord 1. I am a Feyenoord lad and they put all their energy in my development. I am happy here, so I decided this. Karim and Kyle did their thing and that worked out well. There is not one way to reach the top.”

Tonny Vilhena

How do you deal with the expectations at the highest level? Rekik: “The expectations were always there, also at Feyenoord and Man City. But not comparable to playing in a first team. We had a bad series before Xmas and the fans really suffered. I believe it is your task, your responsibility as a player to deal with that. The external pressure was enormous. After our loss against Feyenoord our bus was attacked. I needed to get out and talk to them. I wanted to know what they thought and what they needed to get off their chest… I think my bond with the supporters got stronger there….”

And do you dream of the World Cup? Rekik: “If I have to be honest, I would be disappointed if I wouldn’t be part of it. I think I can handle it.I was invited earlier by Mr Van Gaal and had to say no due to injury. I think he will keep on checking me out and I believe I can deliver. So I will focus on that.” Vilhena: “Of course. If you have played for Oranje once, you do know you are close and you want to be part of it. But, I am young still. And there are many great Dutch midfielders, so….”. Ebecilio: “I want to be part of it, but I have quite some competition on my spot. I think I better focus on the Olympics….”. Denswil: “Van Gaal once said he wanted to select me but didn’t because Young Oranje needed me for a key game. That gives me confidence. That was a strong signal. I know need to show Van Gaal that he needs to pick me, but I’m not the only candidate, I know.”

Jean Paul Boetius

March 2, 2014 by Jan

Ready to have some fries…. French fries :-)

It’s almost that time again. March 2014. Back in 2013 we were fantasising how Van Gaal would work towards a fixed squad for the World Cup from the France game onwards…. It looked so far away.

But it’s upon us. Only 3 more nights… And it does feel we are getting close….

Lots has happened over the last months. Except for a lot of blog posts by yours truly, hahaha. Well, that will hopefully change. Still flat out like a lizard, as we say in Oz, but will endeavour to post some more inbetween the different obligations.

Lets start with the State of the Orange Union.

Louis copped some criticism lately, as he was becoming overly flippant and negative about the team manager’s role. In one interview he even said he hated the job. This is probably a badly articulated job advertising slogan as he means to say that he adores working with a (club) squad on a daily basis and he is probably hoping to woo one or two club boards here and there ( as long as it is in England). But the choice of words didn’t go down well with the fans and media in Holland. As I said before (a couple of times): it feels like everything LVG does is for LVG. He is coaching the Dutch team not because he feels it’s an honour but because it “fills a gap in his resume”. Pathetic. You know what you sign up for and if you don’t like the job, than piss off, right? Wouldn’t we all give an arm or a leg (of Louis of course) for this role?

Anyway, now the ball starts to roll again, LVG will focus on positive things I hope.

He recently created another little media flare up when Feyenoord made the fans believe they were courting Louis as replacement for Ronald Koeman. But Van Gaal crushed that story by saying he immediately told Feyenoord he wasn’t interested. “They know I won’t go to Rotterdam so why they keep on telling the media they want to talk to me is a riddle to me.”. Which prompted the Rotterdam club to announce they will now go for Co Adriaanse.

Koeman’s exit was to be expected. He has not been capable of turning this talented team – together for more than two seasons – into a winning machine. Agreed, they do play good football at times, they play typically Dutch total football with 3 forwards, and attacking full backs like Oranje but they have trouble killing games off. If it happens every now and again, fine. But Feyenoord has lost 8 games in the Eredivisie in which they scored first. and they appear to concede a lot of late goals… Concentration? Fitness? Tactical discipline? Who knows. But LVG won’t be too happy with his main defence provider being so sloppy.

Some people believe that this squad led by Van Gaal would have been the leader of the table and with Co Feyenoord will have a good second best option.

Van Gaal set his sights on the EPL. He has won titles in three leagues/countries ( Holland, Germany, Spain) and is hoping to add England to the list. Spurs seems to be the most likely to sign the man, but rumours claim that Davis Moyes may be out of a job soon and then LVG might be considered by Man United… Interesting indeed…. Latest rumours claim that Frank de Boer is named as Van Gaal’s righthand man, should Moyes be fired and Louis being courted.

A quick check up on our top guns.

It does seem we could do with some good fortune for ManU, as Van Persie clearly isn’t happy there. He complained about his team mates not having the tactical smarts which prompted Chicharito to sneer at him via Twitter. Van Persie has had some fitness issues as well which could be a blessing in disguise for Oranje, of course.

It seems Van der Vaart is also on an uphill battle. His club is not fairing well and he is struggling with his fitness (as per usual). Arjen Robben seems to be very happy under Pep and he is firing on all cylinders. Lets hope he stays fit. Sneijder is clearly making progress. His fitness is at top level, one would say, witnessing his performance against Chelsea. He looks fit, works hard for the team and has impact. If he keeps on going like this, he will make it to Brazil.

Van Gaal has announced that he likes Sneijder’s performance on the left flank in Istanbul but also added that the little general will never play in that role in Oranje. “Gala plays 4-4-2 or 4-5-1. We don’t. Sneijder will never play on the left flank in my team.”

Van Gaal suggested that Mancini plays Sneijder on the left for a reason. “The way creative midfield players have to play nowadays has changed. Look at Wilshere, Kroos, Iniesta, Silva and Oscar. Players who can make a difference with the ball and who can work for the team without. It’s key to me how Sneijder performs, not in the first 15 minutes of the game, but also after an hour of play. When fatigue hits, when tactical discipline gets less and the space on the pitch gets bigger….”

Strootman had a blast this season and will definitely make the plane, provided he remains fit of course.

Jeremain Lens is a question mark for me. Haven’t seen much of him and don’t hear much of him. With Boetius, Depay and other youngsters making an impact, who knows what LVG will decide. I’m also not sure on Vlaar. I like the guy, he is strong and solid. But not the greatest football player, slow and with Villa basically playing relegation football….

Having said that: our other center backs are not impressing either. Bruma, Rekik, Veltman, De Vrij, BMI…. Can’t say I’m overly confident. I do believe Virgil van Dijk deserves a call up but somehow Van Gaal doesn’t agree.

I like the development of Daley Blind. I have mentioned his name here years ago already (probably on the other blog….) as one of Holland’s biggest talents and it is really coming to the fore. He can play left back, center back (although he is too small, really) and defensive mid. I do like the way Vernon Anita is developing too mind you.

Van Gaal uses Blind as left back and feels that Holland needs some better options there. Jetro Willems and Patrick van Aanholt have not yet impressed Van Gaal. Van Gaal also believes Blind’s ideal role is in central midfield – like De Boer does – but due to his left back issue, he will not use Blind there. LVG has Nigel de Jong and Clasie for the central midfield role as well.

I see Nigel de Jong play for Milan regularly and to me he is still the best central midfielder we have. I like Clasie, I think he is the future but with our vulnerable defence I do believe we need Nigel the Destroyer on that spot.

Mr Van Gaal has named the final 23 and there are not a lot of surprises for me. Louis did call up some new players. JP Boetius (19 years old) is doing really well as a typical left winger and scores goals and makes assists for Feyenoord. Clearly a promising talent for Oranje and rightfully picked. Karim Rekik is following up from his roles in youth rep teams in which he always was skipper. The Man City defender (19 years old) has the goods and gets a chance to show them to LVG. Davy Klaassen is a shoe in for a role in Oranje, but maybe not for the World Cup 2014. The Bergkamp like midfielder would be on LVG’s radar as he knows him well due to their shared Ajax background (and Danny Blind’s). Klaassen (20 years old) can score, can play the Strootman role, has work ethics and like Bergkamp has a velvet touch. The last newbie is Quincy Promes (21 years old) of Twente. Smart penetrating midfielder, with a nose for goals (like Klaassen) and important for Twente’s surge to the top.

Rekik has been selected earlier on in the pre-selection but had to bail due to injury.

Remarkably enough, Van Gaal didn’t pick Nigel De Jong. His comments were ambivalent: “I know what Nigel can and cannot do. I want to see Clasie and Schaars this time.” Stefan de Vrij is also left out. “I need to present a list of 30 players by end of May. I want to have players now that have made a name for themselves recently, to get a clear picture.” De Vrij’s partner in crime Martins Indi has been called up.

Jeremain Lens is not part of the squad because he is suspended.

“I’ll say it again Danny! If you want the top job, you HAVE to start wearing your hair like me! That is what the young guns respect. Modern hair, spikey and upright!”

Bruma didn’t make the cut either (injured) and Fer, Siem de Jong, Propper, Stekelenburg and Vermeer were left out too. The absence of Tim Krul surprises me. Surely an experienced goalie from the EPL is more valuable than a talent from a struggling PSV?? LVG actually said that Ken Vermeer fits the job description best. “He is very athletic, fast, courageous and a good football player. He fits our style best.” But he won’t be selected because he doesn’t play at the moment. “But I haven’t forgotten him….”

Lastly, Paul Verhaegh had to pull out due to a nasty injury and it remains to be seen who will replace him. With Daryl Janmaat and Gregory van der Wiel, it seems we have enough right backs….

I will never agree with Van Gaal fully, I suppose. I don’t see it in Zoet (yet) but I am a big Krul fan. I doubt Vlaar but otherwise we seem to have the best players in defence that we can get.

In midfield, I can understand his doubts re: Sneijder (and Van der Vaart) but I don’t understand why Schaars is ahead of Nigel de Jong in the hierarchy. Nor can I understand the presence of Dirk Kuyt… I have always been a big fan of Kuyt, for his lion heart and his mentality. But he is the number 3 striker behind Robin van Klaas Jan. And thus shouldn’t be in squad. As a winger he simply is not good enough. Not when we (will) have Lens, Wijnaldum, Boetius, Depay, Robben, Promes, Narsingh… My 2 cents at least.

Beyond the World Cup, the Euro 2016 draw is out. I won’t go into it now. And I might not ever. Even the best number threes qualify so what is there to say…. Guus Hiddink and his shortly to be announced staff (incl Ruud van Nistelrooy) will not have a hard time to qualify.

Danny Blind will step into the “Joachim Low” role at Oranje. Meaning that he will assist Hiddink, who will be the shield for two years, until 2016 and after that Blind will assume the end responsibility towards the World Cup 2018. Most likely a good decision of the KNVB and there will be milestones in the contract to allow for adaptations should the results require this….