Tag: Luuk de Jong

New Season: PSV

This last title won by PSV appeared to be the closure of a era for PSV. Phillip Cocu decided to move on. He probably felt there wasn’t any more room for him to grow at the level of the Eredivisie, working with the confines the Dutch league brings. He wanted something bigger and Fenerbahce would be a logical next step for him. But the change in Eindhoven wasn’t limited to the coach, as the Technical Director was also lured away. Marcel Brands, serially successful, couldn’t withstand the opportunity to work in the Premier League. Everton had an interesting challenge in store for him. A bigger club on a bigger stage. Bigger budgets to work with. A rare opportunity for a technical director and Brands – former playmaker of RKC Waalwijk and Feyenoord – who had success in the managerial job with his old club RKC, AZ Alkmaar and now consistently with PSV also felt he was ready for a big step up.

These two exits forced PSV to make a big shift. Former PSV player John de Jong will take on the Marcel Brands role and another former PSV player has been prepped for the coach job. When Mark van Bommel made it clear during his playing career that coaching would be his next logical career move, PSV knew they wanted the former captain on the bench at some stage.

General Manager Toon Gerbrands, Technical Manager John de Jong and head coach Mark van Bommel

The ex Bayern Munich, Barca and AC Milan player was prepped in the youth academy for this role and last World Cup he assisted his father in law Bert van Marwijk with Australia.

Is he ready already? Is he forced into the job too soon with Cocu leaving?

Who knows, but I think not. Mark van Bommel was already a coach as a player and the first signs are positive for PSV.

At his introduction press conference, Van Bommel was clear in his football vision. “I want to be in control, of the game and of the ball. We want to be the boss on the pitch. preferably with ball but if need be without the ball. We want to play further up the pitch and taking advantage of the weaknesses of the opponent.”

Where Cocu was criticized for playing a bit passive, a bit counter-attacking style, Van Bommel wants to impose the Barcelona / Bayern Munich philosophy onto his team.

PSV’s pre-season was quite a success. The hand of Van Bommel was visible in the first games already and Gaston Pereiro in particular was the most remarkable player (Hirving Lozano returned late to PSV due to his contributions to Mexico’s World Cup campaign).

Van Bommel: “Every one can see Pereiro is a special player. Even non-PSV fans will like to see him play. I use him in the #10 role. He’s not a winger for me. Yes, he still has his moments where he seems to be dreaming a bit, we’ll work on that.”

Luuk de Jong decided to stay in Eindhoven and said no to several offers from Mexico, France and other competitions. The striker is scoring prolifically and is currently PSV’s captain. Van Bommel will select his skipper for the season in the coming week.

Steven Bergwijn is already high on the hitlist of many big clubs in Europe, but Van Bommel is adamant. “I want to keep Steven at the club. There is still a lot to learn for him and I believe he can make a big move if he stays a bit longer here.”

Marco van Ginkel is not going to be part of the plans for now. PSV would have loved to have signed him but the poor bastard’s knees are giving him a lot of grieve again and he’s out for another 8 to 9 months most likely. Sad story. Will he ever get back to 100% fitness?

Van Bommel is building his foundation at PSV and it seems he’s doing good business. Jeroen Zoet is the number 1 goalkeeper of course. Nick Viergever seems to be the left central defender, with either Schwaab or Luckassen as his partner on the right. Denzel Dumfries came from Heerenveen and the assist king will take the spot on the right, with Arias most likely moving up to Atletico Madrid. Angelino, the former Man City man, will take the left spot at the back.

Ramselaar and Hendrix will be the two holding mids in the middle of the park with Pereiro the playmaker, attacking mid. Van Bommel has a couple of tremendous talents available to him as alternatives of course, such as Mauro Junior and Pablo Rosario.

Mark van Bommel is still looking for a replacement for Van Ginkel though and is also still a bit concerned that there will be a mega offer for Lozano or Bergwijn. But otherwise, these two with Luuk de Jong will be the front men. Sam Lammers is off to Heerenveen to get some playing time there, will young talents like Romer0, Gudmundsson and Malen are chomping at the bits for playing time as well.

In the pre season, PSV beat three serious opponents and seems to be ready for the season opening vs Feyenoord for the Johan Cruyff shield. PSV beat Galatasaray, Panathinaikos and Valencia (the latter finishing third in La Liga last season!).

 

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Jetro Willems: I promise I’ll improve…

With the KNVB team almost up to speed (surely Koeman will be the man) it’s interesting to focus on the top quality players we thought we had… Jetro Willems came like a comet and disappeared into mediocrity last season. He’s picking up the pieces in the Bundesliga now.

“What is good arrives quick” is a typical Dutch saying. We saw it with JC, with Seedorf, Van Basten, Messi, Rooney… Age is not a concern, it’s all about quality. Giggs could play well into his 30s, so what? Jetro Willems appeared to be another top player who presented himself at top level in Holland at 17 years. And through a stroke of luck, ended up in the – disappointing – Oranje eleven for the EC2012.

Developed at Sparta Rotterdam, he made name real quick. Fast, strong, great technique and a wonderful left foot. PSV didn’t wait for the other clubs to wake up and immediately snatched him up. When Oranje and PSV left back Erik Pieters got seriously injured, Willems took his spot in Eindhoven, and not much later, the youngster was selected by Bert van Marwijk for the Euros2012. In his first 5 minutes in the match vs Denmark, he almost became a legend by hitting the ball like a rocket on goal, only for it to splash onto the bar. In that highly disappointing campaign, Willems was one of the high lights.

His coach Advocaat at PSV called him complacent. His Young Oranje coach Cor Pot called him naive. Willems always listened to the criticism and with his involved parents as advisers, he would improve himself.

After making a name as the youngest player at a Euros tournament ever, he also saw the other side of being a pro. Willems was a little bit too soft on himself. And in the year after the Euros, he even lost his spot in Young Oranje.

He also had to cope with a series of injuries at PSV Eindhoven but the season before last, he shone again. With the highest number of assists, he won the title with PSV, helping Luuk de Jong score and riding the wave with other marquee players like Memphis and Wijnaldum. And while Depay left for Man U and Wijnaldum went to Newcastle United, Willems decided to stay at PSV.

The season following was a dreadful one for the youngster. Hardly any assists, Luuk de Jong forgot how to score, more injuries and as a result, ridicule from the tv pundits for his weight problem. It was time for Willems to move on. But the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich weren’t interested…

The 23 year old was still keen to reach the European top, but he has to make a detour. AS Roma and AS Monaco were in the running for his signature, but Willems decided on the Bundesliga. Eintracht Frankfurt. An unlikely decision.

Willems: “And credit to my dad. Because of him, I’m here. Really, I was happy to go with the other clubs, and I never thought about the Bundesliga. I mean, the Bundesliga…that is a lot of running and working, right? I am not a great runner, I’m good on the ball. But my dad convinced me and I think him for it. Frankfurt came late in the game, we basically had decided for another club, we had negotiated the deal etc. It was almost done. But dad started to google Eintracht. Their games, their practices, he investigated the coach and he said to me: “I think Eintracht is ideal for you.”. I didn’t get it… He never ever pushed me to do anything, so when he said this… I took it seriously. And I thought. Ok. Bundesliga it is.”

Willems would discuss this with his dad later on. And his dad was quite harsh. “He never told me off he was always positive. But now, he basically said: let’s face it. You’re good on the ball, you’re a good passer, but in the turn-around you’re hopeless. You let your man go, you jog back, you’re too easy on your self! Now, look at the big full backs in Europe. Alaba. Marcelo. Alvez. They run their guts out. They work like crazy. Yes, all good players, but all hard workers. You won’t make it to the top if you don’t get that part of the game down.” Willems had to concede and went for it at Eintracht.

Willems: “Man, how I found out about that running. The first weeks of pre-season was so harsh. The first session I did was a 3 hour training, and after 2,5 hours I cramped up. So they said, don’t worry, we’ll do some easy running later today, to run it off. Guess what, that was an hour forest run! And I had done the first part of the pre-season with PSV and thus the second part with Eintracht. Incomparable. Seriously. At PSV, you work with the ball. At Eintracht, the ball doesn’t even come along to trainingscamp. We would run 14 kilometers per training day. Every day. Here, you need to be able to play full throttle every match, for 90 minutes. It’s that simple.”

Willems currently is top fit and starts to enjoy the hard work. “I never minded hard work, if I can see it aims towards something, sure. It’s not that I like it, but it’s a matter of just doing it, right? But my body mass index is still the same, don’t get wrong. Some people thought I was fat at PSV? But that is all muscle man. I’m a big boy, but I have a six pack and always had that. The only thing, my neck started to become a bit big, due to the muscle work I did in the gym, when I was injured. I looked fat, but I am fit as ever.”

Playing in Germany is a bit different. “Here, you play a good game, they will say: good game! In Holland, it’s always: good game, but…. this and that was not good. There is always that “but” in Holland. Look at PSV this season. Last season: criticism because they couldn’t get the results. This season, PSV is leader but still people whine and whinge that it’s not good enough… Typical. And my view of football has changed. I loved to do the cool and fancy things, but now, I realise it’s only about winning! I know Mourinho and Conte…they don’t care how they win, as long as they win. It’s time I start focusing on trophies rather than a cool trick or a good shot.”

Willems keeps on going: “In Germany, if you can’t win, the new aim is to not lose. In Holland, if you can’t win, you will try even harder to win. With the result, potentially, that you lose! I grew up with the Dutch school of football and attacking football is my thing, but here I have learned to play for the result. The Bundesliga enriched me like that.”

Eintracht Frankfurt is doing well this season and Willems plays a key part in it. “We are sub top now and we can look up instead of down. But, we’re not Bayern Munich, which can win games at 75% commitment. We really need to work our asses off for a win. The big thing here, like in the Premier League, is that any team can beat any team. In Holland, we only had two real rivals, Ajax and Feyenoord. We were expected to win the other matches. In Germany, it’s a bit more close. But tactically, the Dutch are better. Here, if the build up fails, they just hit a long ball forward. Boom! But in the last phase of the attack, everything goes much quicker here. Zip zip, some passing, first touch and before you know it it’s a goal, or a chance. And it’s constant. In Holland, we had moments in the game, where I knew I wouldn’t be involved. It was predictable, the patterns. I sometimes lost some focus. Here that is impossible. You need to be on your toes constantly.”

Willems is the fourth on the list of players with the most crosses, but he is number 1 in term of accuracy. He is no. 6 on the list of players creating chances. “Wijnaldum always pointed stats out to me, he’d always say: numbers don’t lie!”.

Willems about his position: “I am confident in the 3-5-2 system, which means I play 20 yards more forward and my defensive tasks are less important than in a 4-3-3. But I do need to track back of course, the coach expects me to take care of the whole left wing. So I need to be top fit.”

Life is good in Germany. Willems lives with his 29 year old cousin, who cooks for him and does odds and sodds for Jetro. “We have 17 nationalities in the team, it’s quite a cosmopolitan team. We speak English mainly but I’m learning German too, I can understand it. In Holland, it was all becoming “normal”. Here, both professionally and personally, it’s a new world for me. I’m out of my control zone now. It’s good.”

Willems enjoys being more anonymous. “Somehow I managed to get the attention of some tv pundits. It’s probably my own fault. I remember being interviewed when we were trailing behind Ajax two seasons ago, and I jokingly said – with a straight face – that we would win it, and we did! Hahaha, and I had some more funny interviews but somehow people don’t always get that humour. Football humour. And when I seemed to have gained weight, they were all over me. It’s good to be in a country where I am not important. They still call me a talent here in Germany. At PSV, I was one of the veterans, hahaha. I did play six seasons for PSV, won titles, played the Euros, I was one of the players in the dressing room who’d talk and be present. Here it’s different, with players like De Guzman and Boateng… I know my part here.”

Looking back at the criticism: “I understand the criticism. I simply wasn’t good enough, not consistent enough. I try to be honest with myself. I had this reputation of “he doesn’t care” but that is not correct. I do care. I am highly critical towards myself. I’m not arrogant, but I do speak my mind. In Holland, that is not always appreciated. I am not the ideal son-in-law, true, but I’m always speaking my truth.”

17 year old Jetro signing for PSV, with mum…

He had to make the switch in his head. “When I was young, I played on talent and instinct. I kept on doing this and maybe wasn’t always to responsible with my body. I had to learn this. You can reach the top with talent, but you can’t stay there just with talent. You need to work hard, learn, improve, push the boundaries. I didn’t do that for a while.”

In Germany, the benchmark is higher yet again. “The coach pushes me. He always says, if you train at a certain level, you need to push that level up, otherwise you won’t improve. In Holland, this is lacking. We train exactly how we did 4 years ago. The coach here tells me: “You’re good Jetro. But not as good as you think you are. That helps me, he triggers and pushes me. At practice, I get a lot of kicks. I tend to play a bit, trick the guys, well…they’ll have a go at you here. And the coach allows it. At one stage I was on the ground and said “coach, surely a free kick?” and he waved play on and yelled at me “will you cry and run to your mum!”… That took care of that, hahaha.”

Willems still has his eye on moving up. “Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot to prove here, but things are going well, so who knows. Gini went to Newcastle, he didn’t wait for a big name club. He played a good season and made a move. I think I could do a similar thing. After two years Eintracht, I’ll still be 25 years old. But key is to be happy and healthy. And I’m both here. I enjoy my football again and that is so important. Particularly after what happened to Nouri, I can say I’m blessed to be healthy and playing.”

Willems played his last international game for Oranje in October 2016, in the 1-0 loss against France. He watched Oranje’s exit from the sofa, at home. “So what can I say? I wasn’t there. I don’t have a right to say anything. My Eintracht coach tells me we are too complacent, we talk tactics but we don’t work hard enough. I get what he’s saying… I will do what I can to get back into it. But I am not the type to ask or to whinge about it. I have to show it week in week out on the pitch. It’s as simple as that. I hope the new NT coach will make a fresh new start now the older key players are slowly drifting out and a new group needs to step up. I hope to be part of it. And believe me, we still have top quality players. I think we’ll be fine.”

 

 

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Analysis Oranje failure to qualify

Let’s look at the way we had to operate during qualifications.

And allow me to first draw your attention of the Pre-Qualification period.

1. WC 2014

Van Gaal decided to change the 4-3-3 tactics of Oranje drastically, to not get obliterated by the likes of Spain, Mexico et al at the Word Cup in Brazil. He worked diligently to get his players to get this game plan under their belt.

It didn’t work too well. Oranje’s best results came when he abandoned 5-3-2 at half time to play 4-3-3. The key thing for us though, was the quality of players like Robben, Vlaar, Sneijder and Memphis. We also got a bit lucky. Spain had a 2-0 opportunity (Silva), Australia had a massive chance to 2-3 which they missed and Oranje was given a soft penalty later in the tournament (was it Mexico?). The Costa Rica game, we couldn’t put to bed and we didn’t create much vs Argentina.

LVG

Our 3rd spot was achieved thanks to Germany’s trashing of Brazil earlier on. The home team looked dazzled and rattled and gave up after Holland’s quick goal.

Coming out of the World Cup, several players made big moves to Portugal, Italy and England. Highly disruptive in the flow of a player. And most players would focus fully on their club, once back in action for qualifications so early in the season against less attractive opponents in less attractive circumstances. It happened to us, to Spain, to Germany, Italy and Portugal too.

hiddink

I do believe we were quite complacent too. We reached #3 at the World Cup and entered a qualification group that many felt was impossible not to win. This was subconsciously taken into the game. “We can play on 80% as we are Holland. No way Iceland can beat us!”. That sort of thinking. I’m sure players will deny this but I am positive this played a part too.

2. Guus Hiddink vs Louis van Gaal

After Van Gaal’s straightjacket approach, the KNVB in their glorious wisdom, decided to go totally the other way, appointing Loose Guus to manage Oranje. He also was instructed to return to 4-3-3. As a result of massive criticism from the media, fans and ex-players. In the Italy friendly, this failed and as the Czechs also play 5-3-2, Hiddink decided to go back to 5-3-2 for the first qualifications game. He couldn’t use the same team as Van Gaal used though and the team never looked like the Brazil team in execution. Danny Blind was caught between a rock and a hard place. Danny is a Van Gaal adept and uses analysis and thorough preparation, like Louis, while Guus is more a “enjoy yourselves out there” kinda coach. Body language of the two sharing the bench at times was telling…

Blind_HiddinkVI11_1180_580x310

 

3. Available Players

Czech Republic away

Against the Czechs, Hiddink missed key players from the World Cup. Vlaar and Robben were both missing. We played alright, created chances but failed to score more than one. And Janmaat had that atrocious back header in the last minute which cost us the draw. (Hiddink punished Janmaat immediately for this, which didn’t go down well in the squad. A faithful soldier who played well for Oranje was axed for one mistake… The players who failed to score up front were not held accountable).

Nederlands tegen Tsjechië

Kazachstan home

A must win game. And we did. Not pretty, but who cares (especially now). Afellay and Van Persie scored and Afellay had the assist on Huntelaar (Tiju, paying attention??). No Janmaat, but Van der Wiel. No Vlaar either. Robben was back, as was Lens. Martins Indi played alongside De Vrij.

Iceland away

In October, playing in Iceland… Not a lot of inspiration. But, despite conceding (WC2014 hero De Vrij giving the spot kick away) Holland had opportunities to score. But didn’t. One Arjen Robben for instance, missed a good chance. A dead ball situation (back then already…. nothing new under the sun) gave Iceland the 2-0. We tried to get back into the game but couldn’t. This game was played with most of our top guns available: Robben, Sneijder, De Jong, Hunter, Van Persie but without Vlaar still. Clasie, Klaassen and Memphis are not to blame for this loss (TIJU!!!)

ijs uit

Lithuania home

6-0 win. Huntelaar, Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder all in good form. Good goals. You will be happy to know that Clasie, Memphis, Afellay were all involved in this game. Van der Wiel played again, for Janmaat and Bruma played for Martins Indi.

Turkey home

A draw, after conceding yet again. A late Sneijder shot, deflected by Huntelaar got us the point. Memphis and Afellay played the whole match. Van der Wiel and Martins Indi in defence. Nigel de Jong, the captain in midfield according to Hiddink, got subbed and would later on be silently phased out by the same Hiddink.

turk thuis

Lithuania away

Tough but decent win away, with Wijnaldum and Narsingh scoring for Oranje. No Robben again, no Vlaar. Daley Blind in midfield. Van Persie with Huntelaar in the team. More tinkering… Janmaat coming back in the team as a sub. Van der Wiel still in starting line up.

4. Hiddink out!

With only 4 games to go (and in need of at least two if not more wins), the KNVB decides to stop working with Hiddink. The experienced coach doesn’t get on with Van Oostveen. Hans Jorritsma, team manager and as such reporting to Hiddink, plays a double agent role. The three meet to talk about their differences in Hiddink’s Spain home and the end result is Hiddink being sacked, with Daley Blind thrown in the deep to secure a Euro spot. The home game vs Iceland is next up, in September 2015. Basically, early in the new season and as per usual, some players haven’t settled in yet… Martins Indi and Van der Wiel in particular didn’t see a lot of action.

exit guus

Confidence was low at this stage. Some of our top players were struggling. Van Persie wasn’t happy. Van der Vaart disappeared. Martins Indi lost his spot. Memphis was struggling. The soul was gone from the team. The belief was gone. Guus Hiddink demonstrated this in his post match interviews, where he looked lost.

Danny Blind had to gamble.  Four games to go, four victories needed. He decided to go with players who are used to big occasions and puts Robben on a pedestal. Sadly the more experienced lads disappointed and Robben blew his engine up.

Iceland home

Arjen Robben is all pumped up as new skipper to lead Oranje to victory. In 33 minutes, all changes. The Bayern winger is too pumped up and tears a muscle. Martins Indi gets provoked by an Sighthorsson (Feyenoord vs Ajax)  and retaliates and gets red. Holland creates opportunities but lacks belief so it seems and poor Van der Wiel has an error that leads to a penalty. In this game we lost Robben and we were already without Vlaar, Van Persie and Afellay. Van der Wiel played as Afellay wasn’t available and Van Rhijn was no longer starting for Ajax. Tete was spotted as top talent but considered too early to call up. Oranje struggled in the matches with eleven players, in this game with 10 (for an hour) it simply was too much…

robben ijsland thuis

Turkey away

The pressure is on. We copped an early goal again, in a must-win game. And again Blind needed to make changes. Bruma came in, Riedewald made his debut and Robben wasn’t fit to play either. Turkey scores after a brilliant through pass. Holland’s team dynamics and pressure doesn’t work. Not much later, Narsingh gets a similar chance as Turkey and he misses… Memphis creates a tremendous chance for Klaassen who misses. Memphis finds Van Persie who offers Sneijder an amazing shooting opportunity but the Gala midfielder aims right at the goalie. Three good opps, none taken. Then Blind makes an error and Cillesen looks horrible when Turan scores the 2-0. De Vrij leaves at half time with knee injury. Memphis creates another chance for Oranje in the second half. An unmarked Wijnaldum can score with his head, but uses his shoulder. Memphis is hacked down again by Turk with yellow. Ref doesn’t care but should have given a red. Luuk de Jong misses big chance as well and late in the game, Turkey scores their third after a foul committed by Caner.

turk nl uit

Kazachstan away

A must win game for Oranje and we do. Again, lots of changes: Krul, Tete, Van Dijk, Riedewald, El Ghazi and Huntelaar are in. Artificial pitch. Holland attacks and has a good phase. Memphis and Blind combine well but the winger misses. Wijnaldum scores not much later. Sneijder scores a beauty in the second half after a wonderful passage of play. El Ghazi has a wonderful chance to 0-3 but misses.  Oranje has to win and wins, in a sometimes pretty good performance.

Czech Republic home

Zoet in goal as Cillesen and Krul are out. Riedewald, Tete, Bruma and Van Dijk are back four. Probably never had a back four consistently for two games and 1,5 years after Brazil we play with a totally different defensive line. El Ghazi for Robben again and Huntelaar instead of Van Persie again. The Czechs have qualified already, and you can tell. They play really well. But, counter attacking style. Inviting Holland in. Memphis with first opportunity, Oranje has good start. But the game is slowed down too much and Sneijder sits deeper and deeper. Van Persie is warming up as Holland needs more creativity and pace. Our defence fails twice. Incl Zoet. He didn’t look good with the 0-1 and the whole defence failed for the 0-2. Van Dijk and Zoet aren’t dealing with cross. Czech’s get red card for tackle on Memphis. Van Dijk very close to scoring. Tete is one of the few decent players. And to add insult to injury, Van Persie scores own goal. The same van Persie deserves a penalty later but is denied. Huntelaar and Van Persie get Oranje back into the game, 2-3 but we needed more but we didn’t get more.

rvp own goal

Everything that went right for us in Brazil, went wrong in this qualification campaign. Injuries, bad luck, bad decision making, loss of form. So many chances missed, so many unlucky and unlikely situations. Van Persie own goal, Sneijder missing chances, Memphis missing chances, penalties conceded but never received, etc etc… As if the Devil had a say in it.

5. Perfect Storm

Overall, we also lack quality. If quality is defined as a the total requirements to play top football. Sure, technique, they all have. They all have tactical smarts. But leadership, desire, mentality, physical presence…this is where we lacked the most.

Add it all together – wrong coach, wrong tactics, individual mistakes, key players missing, no team dynamics – and even the best football nation can lose against Iceland and Turkey.

guus balt

Something to add here, is the pretty crucial element: our lack of European top clubs. In the past, coaches were always able to draw from the key players of good performing clubs. Most teams in the 1970s and 1980s used Dutch players. When Ajax and Feyenoord ruled Europe in the early 70s, Michels used the top players from both teams in Oranje. They both played 4-3-3, no sweat. In the early 80s, the coach tried it with the AZ Alkmaar top players (Peters, Jonk, Tol, Kist, Hovenkamp) and in the mid 90s Guus Hiddink went with the Ajax talent pool. That effect slowly died out. But today you’ll find that Spain is making use of the Barca framework, which enables Spain to have a recognisable playing style, just like Germany has Bayern Munich and Italy have Juventus. England has a couple of top teams, mostly with non English lafs and hence, there is your England hangover. The Dutch have failed to impress in Europe at club level for some time, with this season a notable exception with PSV doing well in CL. For this reason, lots of people push Blind and his staff to go with the PSV skeleton for Oranje. Zoet, Bruma, Willems, Propper, Van Ginkel, to be supplemented with top players from other clubs like Sneijder. Robben, Bazoer, Van Dijk and Tete for the remaining spots. Obviously, some people believe the combination Willems, Propper, Luuk de Jong should be utilised. But this PSV core might well drift apart. Van Ginkel is still owned by Chelsea, Willems and Bruma might make a move and Luuk de Jong might lack real quality… The fact that Dutch clubs underperform in Europe will definitely have its impact on Oranje. But that is a fact of life. For now.

The good thing is, the Euros will be over and done with in 4 weeks or so. It will be history. And we will be facing Sweden without Zlatan, who will have trouble getting worked up for the qualifications so soon after the Euros. While Holland will pull a “Czech Republic”. We will want to eat the opponent and we will start our flow with a good solid win over the Swedes.

 

 

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Jong Oranje really wants it…

Only a couple of hours to go and Oranje will start its first game versus Germany at the EC in Israel.

And while the big guns are experiencing Oranje-mania in Indonesia and Sneijder might be on his way to Chelsea, and Babel on his way to Turkey and Stekelenburg signed for Fulham and Robben might be going to Liverpool, and the KLM didn’t get the best mileage out of sponsoring Oranje….

We focus on the Under 21s against Germany at the Israel based EC.

Always a heated game. Always more at stake than just the win.

At the recent press conference in Tel Aviv, skipper Strootman admitted that this Jong Oranje does not have any excuse for a non-performance. “The KNVB has organised this so well. Everything one needs, is arranged. There is no excuse why we wouldn’t perform at our best. And with the players we have, we should do really well here.”

Coach Cor Pot had to chuckle. The German Football Association said that this EC is a great learning experience for the players. “This would have been said by us ten years ago. Now we are the ones saying: developing players is nice, but you also got to teach them to win. For us, the result is highly important. Playing nice, we know we can do. Now we need to win and play nice. Germany has been copying our way of working off late, but they might end up without silverware, as a result.”

Luuk de Jong, playing his football in the Bundesliga, was part of the senior squad in Poland/Ukraine. Is this a step back? “Of course not! This is my youth group. I was a third striker in the senior squad. Here I have a different position. This is a major trophy for all of us. A major way of showing yourself. This is massively important for us!”

Spurs player and German skipper Lewis Holtby has no fear. “I know Holland well. I lived only 20 km from the border and took my bike into Holland a lot. Obviously, I know the players and I know they are strong, but we fear not. We need to be careful in the one-to-one situations, as they are lethal in those situations but we will play our own game. Don’t worry.”

At the press conference, Cor Pot did try to put a lid on the optimism. “We may have 12 A internationals, but for most, that means only two or three friendlies. Most players in the German squad already played heaps of games in the Bundesliga. That means probably more.”

Pot has his line up already but refused to share. He did say this: “I have a creative midfield (Clasie, Maher, Strootman) and a more physical one ( Fer, Van Ginkel, Strootman). For Germany, I have chosen a combination.” As Strootman and Maher seem certainties, it may be that Fer will play in Clasie’s place (but in Strootman’s role).

Who knows.

Jong Oranje hasn’t beaten Jong Germany in 20 years, by the way. In 12 times, Germany won 5 times, Holland only 3. The last game we played against them was two years ago in Sittard. Germany won 1-3. Fer, Clasie, Zoet, Nuytinck and Blind were all part of that team.

Jung Germany is trying to remove the stain of two years back when they failed to qualify. Germany can not use the A internationals like Holland can. Players like Gotze, Draxler, Kroos, Gundogan and Ter Stegen are all not available (injury or called up for senior team trip to US).

Jordy Clasie doesn’t share the optimism with the media and supporters. “Hoho, we are in a very tough group! Germany and Spain are top nations. We might also be, but we still need to play for it.”

Clasie is normally not too comfortable in the heat. The Feyenoord midfielder is happy with the time he was given to get used to the circumstances. “I need to watch the heat. I cramp up easily. I had it in Holland even, in the Vitesse game. I am glad we play in the evenings. In the day, it is simply too hot.”

Clasie will only have three weeks of holiday after this tournament and he is also on Van Gaal’s list to come to the WC in 2014. A new rhythm for the youngster. “At the moment, I am not at all thinking about holidays. I am a pro player. I want to play. It’s that simple. Your career is relatively short and I am so grateful I am where I am. And the expectations are high and that is cool. The pressure is on from minute one. A key game. Losing the first game brings you immediately in trouble. But, despite all that, getting to the finals is not going to be that easy. I know Germany well, they are good, despite not having all their big guns. Spain is obviously strong and Russia is an outsider. I rate Italy high too. It will not be easy to reach the finals.”

Luuk de Jong plays his football with Borussia Monchengladbach and fears losing against Germany. “Simply because they will make me wear a Mannschaft Jersey then… That is not cool… I am so ready to play that game. This has been in the back of my head for a while and the last weeks we prepared so well. Tactical talks, practice, medical preps, nutrition. I think we are ready.”

The striker performed amazingly with Twente and Jong Oranje but his first season in Germany was a stop-start affair. “It wasn’t easy. Some ups and downs. But I think most young players experience this when moving to a new club. I am confident my second season will be better. But for now, I focus on the Germany game.”

He knows his opponents well. “Of course. And they are very good. But so are we. We need to careful in possession, as their turn around is quick. And we want to go full throttle but we need to pick the right moments.”

De Jong’s brother Siem is with LVG and the big squad in Indonesia. Luuk really wants to bring home the silverware, in preparation for a great World Cup campaign with his brother. “It’s time for two brothers in Oranje again”, he winks. “I would be disappointed if we don’t reach the finals, sure. You do need some luck to win this, as always. But it does look great on your resume, doesn’t it? We will definitely give it our all.”

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Focus on: Young Oranje, preparing for European Title

Young Oranje wants the European Title. Full Stop. And with the group of talents at Cor Pot’s disposal you can understand the optimism.

Today, Pot announced his final 23. Jeffrey Bruma (HSV), Jetro Willems (PSV) and Danny Hoesen (Ajax) are the biggest victims of Cor Pot’s decision making while Feyenoord allrounder Kelvin Leerdam can be seen as a surprise.

Jeffrey Bruma, on PSV’s hot list for next season, hardly played at Hamburg SV and lost out against Utrecht talent Mike van der Hoorn, who is also on Louis van Gaal’s shortlist for the Big Oranje.

Jetro Willems already played an EC for the Big Oranje but fell in the hierarchy at young Oranje behind Daley Blind and Patrick van Aanholt. The latter, Chelsea loanie to Vitesse, seemed to get sidetracked in his career but he fought himself back into the limelight this season.

Danny Hoesen, former Fulham player and scoring prolifically for Ajax as a sub, simply has too much competition and not enough playing rhythm. Cor Pot has ample choice. Lerin Duarte, ex Sparta and now Heracles, will be given a couple of weeks with the squad to prove himself. The mainstay midfielder of Young Oranje was injured for a spell, and out of loyalty, Pot gives him a break.

This Friday, Young Oranje will play Young Australia.

It seems that Pot already knows who he will play upfront. Georginhio Wijnaldum is the right winger, Luuk de Jong the central striker and Ola John will most likely be the left winger for the tournament. With Luciano Narsingh and JP Boetius injured, it seems these three will lead the line. Yanic Wildschut (VVV) will have to await his chances. Both Memphis Depay (PSV) and FLorian Jozefzoon (RKC, ex-Ajax) have had a strong competition finish, something Cor Pot certainly noticed.

Gio Wijnaldum’s step brother Rajiv Van La Parra (Heerenveen) will most likely be the victim of this situation.

Kelvin Leerdam is the only player without real playing rhythm. The Feyenoord player played his last full game for Feyenoord in October 2012, when he had a fall out over contractual matters. He played six minutes against Vitesse last month. Pot will select him as he has no real alternatives for the right back position, behind Ricardo van Rhijn.

Young Oranje will start with a training camp in Dorwerth. On Friday, May 24 Young Oranje will play a friendly against Young Australia in Emmen.

The EC Squad:

Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse), Marco Bizot (FC Groningen), Daley Blind (Ajax), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Memphis Depay (PSV), Leroy Fer (FC Twente), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse), Mike van der Hoorn (FC Utrecht), Ola John (Benfica), Luuk de Jong (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Florian Jozefzoon (RKC Waalwijk), Kelvin Leerdam (Feyenoord), Jürgen Locadia (PSV), Adam Maher (AZ), Nick Marsman (Go Ahead Eagles), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Bram Nuytinck (Anderlecht), Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax), Kevin Strootman (PSV), Tonny Trindade de Vilhena (Feyenoord), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV), Jeroen Zoet (RKC Waalwijk).

Leroy Fer is the record international of this group. The Twente midfielder made his debut in 2009 and now has played 27 times in the talent team. With Mark van Bommel and Roy Makaay, he has the fourth spot in the list of most capped Young Oranje players ever. Arnold Bruggink ( Twente, PSV) with 31, Daniel de Ridder ( Ajax) with 30 and Niels Oude Kamphuis ( Twente and Schalke) are ahead of him.

Marco van Ginkel’s name is mentioned a lot in the transfer articles and musings. The Vitesse midfielder is aware of the carrousel. “So, Eriksen and De Jong need to leave Ajax, and then De Boer wants Maher and me? That is what I read. Which is all fine and dandy, but it’s not something I really want to deal with right now. I am focusing on the EC. Whatever happens with my contract is for later. I still have a two year deal in Arnhem and my biggest aim was to play European football. We will do so with Vitesse too, so I am not fussed. Now I’ll take a break and then we want to win that European title.”

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Oranje U21 in Group of Death

In a week in which Wes Sneijder is humuliated by his club, Robin van Persie and KJ Huntelaar keep on scoring and a tweet of Van der Vaart claims he will be going back to Tottenham Hotspur, Oranje Under 21 saw the draw for their Euro campaign end in another Group of Death situation…

The seniors used to do pretty good in such circumstances ( 2006 and 2008) but crashed and burned dramatically in another such groups in the 2012 summer….

Young Oranje finds itself in Poule B and will have to deal with Germany, Spain and Russia.

The other groups consists of Israel, England, Norway and Italy.

Coach Cor Pot was actually delighted with the draw. “We couldn’t draw a tougher group but this is very interesting. Four top nations in the group. Spain is the ruling champs, Germany won it in 2009 and we did in 2006 and 2007. And Russia is an up and comer. It’s tough but we want it this way. The best teams facing off. I expect tremendous games.”

Pot continues: “And we have only one goal. Winning the title. I said that before the draw already. If I can use the full squad, including players who are already part of the senior squad, I think we will see a tremendous strong and experienced team and we will definitely be amongst the favorites.”

The numbers 1 and 2 of the groups will progress to the semis.

Oranje can bring a strong group together for Israel, with the likes of Kevin Strootman, Jetro Willems, Luuk de Jong, Luciano Narsingh, Ricardo van Rhijn, Jeffrey Bruma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Adam Maher, Jordy Clasie, Leroy Fer, Stefan de Vrij and Marco van Ginkel.

But the competition isn’t that shabby either. With Mario Götze, Toni Kroos, Mario Balotelli, Danny Welbeck and Alan Dzagojev this could well be a tournament to look out for.

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Under21s qualify for European Championships

While the big boys are preparing for the clash against Romania, it’s the Under21s who lead the way. The double fixture against Slovenia the last serious hurdle for their qualification for the EC next summer in Israel.

This weekend, Young Orange won the away game in Slovenia with 0-2, courtesy of two goals by Vitesse player Marco van Ginkel. The Cocu-like midfielder gets himself seriously on the radar for scouts of bigger clubs, although he’s happy to remain at Vitesse and witness the Arnhem team making its way back to the top with big names like Wilfred Bony, Theo Janssen and coach Fred Rutten.

Oranje won the difficult home game with 2-0 as well. Coach Cor Pot expected this game, played at the Sparta Castle, to be more difficult than the away game. “Slovenia plays reactive football and that works best when they play away. We need to be totally concentrated.”

But Holland did what it needed to do and won thanks to two second half goals by Georginhio Wijnaldum and Luuk de Jong.

Oranje didn’t start well and Feyenoord allrounder Kelvin Leerdam suffered a lot of possession loss, while central defenders Bruma and Nuytinck were too loose in their marking. Jeroen Zoet, the PSV goalie, had to act a couple of times and Oranje couldn’t find it’s attacking mojo.

Striker Luuk de Jong was too isolated and Wijnaldum and Cabral’s attempts to force something failed.


Wijnaldum celebrates the 1-0

Pot made some changes in the half time. Maher moved to defensive mid, Wijnaldum moved to the playmaker’s role and Wildschut came on to replace Wijnaldum on the wing. Former Feyenoord holding mid Ricky van Haaren had to make way. This worked. Wijnaldum launched Cabral on the wing. De Jong was able to play his cross back to Wijnaldum who could score the 1-0. Ten minutes later, the game was played.

Wildschut was impeded in the box and Luuk de Jong scored from the spot.

Oranje won the youth EC in 2007, in Holland, but wasn’t able to reach the final tournament since.

Under21 coach Cor Pot, who started his career as youth coach at the famous academies of Sparta and Ajax, is a seasoned football man. Played for Sparta, MVV, Haarlem and Excelsior in his active career and worked at Feyenoord, NAC, Dynamo Dresden and most recently with Advocaat at Zenit St Petersburg as assistant manager.

Cor Pot: “This is a relief. This was not a great game. Or better, it was pretty weak… We had too many players playing with tension and stress in their bodies. We knew in the first half that a Slovenian goal was always an option, as they are a pretty good side. After the break we started to play better and we did the business.”

Pot saw his changes work out. “We needed more football from the back. Better build up. Van Haaren played ok, but Maher offers a lot more on that spot. With Wijnaldum on 10, we could still keep pressure on their defence.”

Luuk de Jong was a happy trooper. “It’s great that we reached this. Everyone really wanted to go, it’s a main objective for all of us. Most of us were there when we failed to qualify two years back and we needed to fix that. We want to shine at the EC.”


Ex-Feyenoord and current Twente winger Cabral slips away

He supported Pot’s words. The game was not great. “I don’t think it was nerves though. I think it was more that we all wanted to show how good we can be. We were sloppy. Too hasty in the build up. And when you lose possession, they can lash out. I think we did well in the second half.”

Bruno Martins Indi and Jordy Clasie were not part of this game, but Martins Indi feels part of the journey. “I really want to go to Israel too. This a one tournament I haven’t played yet. And having made the step up to the big team is sensational of course, but I still would relish this EC.”

Ricardo van Rhijn, Luciano Narsingh and even Kevin Strootman can still play for Oranje Under 21. Although Van Gaal will take the senior team on a trip to China and Indonesia, he has already pledged to allow Cor Pot the strongest possible side to take to Israel.

With the team we can field in Israel, we wouldn’t even do too badly at the big tournaments, I reckon…

We will keep on following these lads…


Cor Pot is happy

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