Tag: Maher

September 4, 2013 by Jan

Oranje News 3rd Update – TEAM LINE UP

Last time the Big 4 started together was against Hungary pre-World Cup 2010

The Dutch team is preparing on the two upcoming games against Estonia and Andorra. Not really big name opponents but Oranje has shown in the past ( way before Bert van Marwijk to be honest) that small time opponents can be hard to break down.

The results machine that was Bert’s team has made way for a younger and more inconsistent team. Will they be able to break down teams parking the bus.

Whatever happens, old hand Van der Vaart won’t contribute. The prolifically scoring playmaker had to leave the camp with a hamstring injury. Adam Maher (PSV) is his replacement. Just like old hand Sneijder was called in to replace the injured Wijnaldum.

The 93 times capped midfielder appeared to be the first replacement on LVG’s list, before Maher and Van Ginkel.

Rafa van der Vaart was in camp when the news broke and the HSV midfielder immediately called his old Ajax buddy. “He was still in Istanbul but he’ll be in the camp soon enough. He was incredibly happy. He has worked very hard to get fit and didn’t expect this to happen this soon.”

Van Gaal surprised a bit with his action. Only a week ago, he claimed Sneijder was not yet ready. “You need 7 weeks to get fit. He is on the way. In possession, he already has the “oomph”. But without possession, he still needs to improve. But a fit Sneijder is not a question mark but a key player you can’t ignore.”

With Van der Vaart not part of the squad and Maher not impressing too much at PSV, there is a fair chance Sneijder will start in the team.

“Sneijder, if you keep eating too much I will send you away again!”

Kevin Strootman is walking with his chest out in the Oranje camp. The Roma midfielder was important in the recent win over Verona and received an applause substitution in the last minute of the game. The former Sparta man was impressive with his positioning play, passing and lungs. The American owners of AS Roma have invested heavily in their new squad, with names like Maicon, Gervinho and Benatia. “It’s great to be with Oranje now. Last week, it seemed I was not able to play against Verona, as I had this ankle issue. We have a good group with Oranje, with some new faces. That is always good. If we beat Estonia and Andorra, we might be the first European nation to qualify. That is nice, but not that important. It’s important to impress and win once we are in Brasil.”

Another player chased by the media in the Oranje camp is Bruno Martins Indi. The Feyenoord defender was supposed to leave for Everton or AC Milan. The strong holder laughs. “I think the media were busy with my transfer. I wasn’t. I didn’t expect anything, as I said earlier: I wanted to stay with Feyenoord. This is where I will have the best development phase. I want to grow as a central defender. I’m not ready yet.”

Van Gaal said on the press conference that he found it very hard to pick a squad this time. “Some players are not in their best form. Still I believe I was able to find the best ones.” Nigel de Jong is not part of that list. “De Jong is on the radar and I can see he is quickly coming back to his usual standards. But Estonia and Andorra are not opponents for De Jong. We won’t need a defensive mid like him in those games.” Heitinga, Mathijsen and Van Ginkel were not selected, as they simply don’t play enough. “Not picking Mathijsen was a big decision. I respect him a lot. I worked with him at AZ and he is a super professional. And important off pitch as well. But I decided to try out the youngsters from PSV.”

Goalies Krul and Stekelenburg are also not ready yet, according to Van Gaal. “We are missing some big name players still, but despite that, we are able to qualify already, as first European nation. We will play France in March, 2014. That is when I will start to work towards a more fixed squad.”

“I want his hair….”

On his way to the trainings camp for Oranje, Arjen Robben had a little distraction. The presentation of a kid book, based on his career. With as theme: boys dreams and as title “Arjen Robben and the finals of the Champions League.”. Robben didn’t write it, but he is proud as a peacock to be the poster boy for this book, which is a collection of stories by primary school boys and their dreams….

The Dutch newspaper AD (my main source) has executed a poll amongst readers, as most people in Holland are getting nervous about all the different goal keepers being used. And with all due respect: Jeroen Zoet??

5000 people responded and 40% of the voters (of this Rotterdam based newspaper) wanted ex Ajax goalie Stekelenburg as the number one between the sticks. Tim Krul ( a fave amongst Feyenoord fans) snatched the number two spot, with 21% of the votes.

This coming Friday against Estonia, it will most likely be Michel Vorm in goal.

Wesley Sneijder is at peace with his coach. When he came to the press conference zone, he found a lot of media people waiting to interview him. “Ah, so many press people. That is probably because I am a debutant, hahahaha.”

He basically only missed the Portugal game, but was settling in next to Yolanthe on the sofa to watch the upcoming games in Turkey. “Things can change quick in football. And I do realise I have Wijnaldum and Rafa in front of me. But, you know me. Once I’m fit, I do think I am the best player for the spot. I have a couple of months to go still.”

He admitted that Van Gaal was dead right. “I hadn’t played for 5 months at Inter and at Gala, I wanted to show myself. I gave 110% and my body wasn’t able to bring 80%. So it snapped. Van Gaal was right when he told me I wasn’t fit.”

He never ever considered throwing the towel. “Of course not! That is not me. I’m a fighter. I worked all the way through the summer break to regain fitness. And I like Van Gaal’s approach. He is hard and direct, but always honest. I’m like that too. But I don’t need him to motivate me. I am self motivated. I know what the coach wants from me and for that, I do need 100% fitness. I was never scared that the China game was my last. But it it was, I would have finished on a high with that goal, hahaha.”

Van Gaal: “In my system, the number 10 is not a shadow striker, but a midfielder. And my number 10s always worked for the team. Like Jari Litmanen at Ajax in the 90s. Sure, they score, they give assists, but they also work. And when Sneijder reclaims a ball on Friday, against Estonia, the first one he reclaims, I will be cheering alongside the byline. You can see me do it.”

Van Gaal was clear about his choices. “Sneijder for me was the best choice after Wijnaldum had to leave. He has demonstrated to have the quality to play in Oranje, if not the full fitness. I need players to be at a certain level, for Oranje. There are some question marks, some players who can but who don’t play and than there are the ones that can. Like Sneijder. He is highly motivated. Fitness is a criterion, but only when I have options. If I don’t have options, I prefer a player who can place a ball anywhere he wants, like Sneijder. He demonstrated he can do this.”

Jari Litmanen, master shadow striker of Ajax, Finland, Barca and Liverpool fame, lives in Tallinn, Estonia and couldn’t help himself. Van Gaal invited the Finnish icon to come and spend some time with the Dutch team. Which he did.

Van Gaal was a satisfied coach yesterday. He checked the venue for the Estonia game and said: “The pitch is perfect. Very nice. Twelve years ago, that was a different story. No excuses this time.”

Jari talks. Everyone listens. Even LVG.

Van Gaal talked about his first away game with Oranje back in the 00s… “We were trailing 83 minutes into the game. We were 2-1 down but won 4-2, eventually. And every game lasts 90 minutes at least. We recently learned this against Portugal and Italy. We could have won those games, but gave it away late.”

Van Gaal gave away nine of the starters. Robben, Van Persie and Lens will lead the line up front. The defence will be Janmaat, BMI, De Vrij and Willems. Michel Vorm is most likely the number one between the sticks. Strootman and Sneijder will most likely start, either with De Guzman or with Schaars as holding mid.

Oranje can get very close to the Brazil ticket, winning against Estonia. And if we beat Andorra too (BIG IF) we could join West Germany ’69-’85 in their record of 16 World Cup qualification wins in a row.

But, in typical LVG fashion, he doesn’t want to talk about Andorra.

“We don’t win easily against this Estonia. History shows this. We won at home, 3-0, sure. But they did have the first chance and we needed the second half for the goals. This is not a bad team. We were in good shape in the home game, I am not too confident yet for this one here. We need to be razorsharp and quick in our passing game.”

August 30, 2013 by Jan

Dutch clubs in Europe

And it only takes a week for two of our young, cool clubs to be relieved of their European dreams. No CL for PSV, no EL for Feyenoord (or Vitesse, or Utrecht).

What a drama. Feyenoord started well against the Russians in a steaming De Kuip but missing a penalty is never a good thing to do. Too many individual mistakes. Not enough forward thrust. Not enough killer instinct. End of story.

Ronald Koeman: “We lost against ourselves, really. We did everything right in the first half. We pressured forward, we scored and created 5 opportunities. But they came back due to personal mistakes and that second goal took the confidence out of the team. This was very unnecessary.” Apart from losing the game, Feyenoord also lost Clasie with a hamstring injury.

Feyenoord not good enough. Utrecht and Vitesse: not good enough. AZ might have a somewhat friendlier draw than Feyenoord but still…probably…not…good enough.

So, we need to make do with Ajax. In the CL. An Ajax WITHOUT Eriksen and most likely Alderweireld, who is linked to Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. Ajax is checking if Van Ginkel is available for a loan deal, what with Willian coming in, but for now, Chelsea said no.

Last season, they were facing the champions of England, Spain and Germany. “It can’t get that bad this year,” everyone said. So now they get Barca, Milan and Celtic. And sure, it’s not that bad. I do believe 6 points are a must against Celtic and maybe they can grab two against Milan. Who knows how they’ll finish up. They will at least bag the millions tv-money all by themselves now PSV is out.

PSV might not have gotten the victory (and the CL ticket), as was to be expected, really. But PSV definitely received and deservedly so, the compliments for trying hard.

The young team ( 23 years on average WITH Park and Schaars, 20 years without these two oldies) played with gusto, flair and panache in the San Siro. With the first chance even for Tim Matavz.

But it didn’t take long for Kevin Boateng to find space in the centre, with the former Portsmouth forward drifting between Wijnaldum and Rekik and pulling the trigger early. The PSV goalie Zoet was probably expected to block that but he simply wasn’t quick enough.

PSV kept on playing and Milan allowed PSV the ball. And slowly PSV gained some confidence, knowing that a 2-2 or a win would be enough. And there is enough football in PSV to go for a goal or two. Maher understood this in the 20st minute, taking a ball on the half volley and forcing a stop from Abbiati.

In the 31st minute, great chance for Milan, with a low pulled back cross from the left and an El Shaarawy hit on the bar.
The start of the second half was great for PSV with a 100% chance for Wijnaldum. Instead of being smart about it, the former Feyenoord man went for power and Abbiati blocked it nicely.

but it was Balotelli who found he net in the early stages of the 2nd half.

And it has to be said…. AC Milan looked more lethal, more mature and superior, but they did allow PSV the ball a lot and the youngsters from Eindhoven tried to take the game to them. The final pass or the final cross failed them though. And it has to be said, some players failed to step up.

Specifically Adam Maher and Memphis Depay, in my book, should have brought more. Maher had some great moments, but he needs to be more dominating, in my book. He does drift in and out. Depay however seems to light at this level. Physically and in terms of decision making. He is a great talent, for sure. But his time has not come yet. Park and Matavz played decent. So did Wijnaldum. Schaars worked his arse off but simply does not have the class of a Sneijder or Clasie. It’s a bit too predictable.

The most impressive players for me where – despite the goals conceded – Rekik, Bruma, Willems. Fearless. Focused. And sure, playing those top forwards (Boateng. Balotelli, El Shaarawy) you do make mistakes and you will give chances away. But I was impressed with these guys.

Jeroen Zoet? I am not convinced. Talented for sure. But not the man to win games for you (yet). A bit too…..sweet? (Zoet is Dutch for sweet, hahaha). I can’t see how Tyton is not better at the moment.

Nigel de Jong was nice to his fellow countryman. The best Dutch player on the pitch: “I really need to compliment PSV. They play with heart and soul. And they’re talented. But it’s too early for them. If they can keep the lads together for a bit, their time will come.” Asked about his future in Oranje, he said: “Sure! I’d love to wear the jersey again. But for now, after this long injury, I need to focus on my club. If I do well for Milan, the rest will probably follow.”

Stijn Schaars: “We are too light for this. Milan showed us that. We just didn’t have enough. With 1-0 down, there was nothing really troubling us, as we had to score anyway. We had the 1-1 opportunity and we missed. The game would have been different as a result. They got one 10 minutes later, and score. Almost from the same spot. That is the story, I guess.

This game and this opponent came to early for PSV. Sadly or maybe not sadly, the can now concentrate on the domestic league.

And in Amsterdam they secretly cheer, as all the CL tv income will now go to Ajax….

August 28, 2013 by Jan

Bruma and Rekik: new Oranje center backs?

New PSV trainer Phillip Cocu talks as the Barca or Ajax coach. “Play dominant football, forward pressure and take the initiative.” He needed different center backs in his team to play this way. Jeffrey Bruma (21) and Karim Rekik (18) have settled in nicely. Bruma was bought from Chelsea (but the London club negotiated the right of first refusal) and Rekik is on loan from Man City. They are young. Very young. But very confident: “It’s not about age, but about quality.”

It seems as if all the new players have settled in nicely at PSV?

Bruma: “I think so. The people here at PSV have done an awesome job. The lads that were here helped us a lot too. It makes all the difference.”
Rekik: “The fun thing is, most lads I know from the youth games with Feyenoord. And Gini Wijnaldum played higher than me at Feyenoord of course but we knew each other. Some lads, I have known for years and are good mates, like Depay, Willems and Brenet. That made it easier for me to settle in.”
Bruma: “Same for me. I played with Zoet, Maher, Narsingh, Locadia and Wijnaldum in the Oranje selections and with Schaars I played too, in the big Oranje and I also know Cocu and Faber from those days. And Karim and I know each other for years too.”

Really?

Rekik: “I played for years with Kyle Ebicilio, who is now at FC Twente. He is a very good mate. And he is Jeffrey’s cousin. Our families know each other really well and we even went on holidays together. I remember you left for Chelsea that particular summer.”
Bruma: “It’s quite special to be playing with Karim now, thinking about that particular summer. We couldn’t have made that up back then, hahaha.”
Rekik: “We do share the same management (Rodger Linse) and through them I heard pretty early on that PSV wanted us both.”

There is quite some good football in your families…

Bruma: “My dad was a good athlete. A long distance runner. My mum played different sports. Fabian Wilnis is my uncle, who played for NAC and Ipswich Town. My brother Marciano played for Sparta, Barnsley and Lech Poznan. He is now my manager. And Kyle Ebicilio is my cousin. We all love sports.”
Rekik: “My little brother Omar, 11 years old, plays for Man City as well. He is regarded to be one of the biggest talents they have. He is in the elite group, for whom special arrangements for school are made. They attend this very expensive school and the club pays for it all. I’m so proud of him. I think we have the talent from my dad. He played pro football in Tunesia. My dad didn’t have long career as a knee injury made him stop. He studied hard instead and came to Holland to pursue a career. But from the day we could walk, he was always playing football with us.”

Karim Rekik got introduced to the Islam via his dad, but his little brother inspired him to practice the faith. “Our dad leaves us free in this, but my kid brother got interested in it and we went and checked this mosque out and it did something to me. I do it my way though. I don’t get involved in ramadan as I don’t believe I can combine it with my football. But I do it on days off. I do pray 5 times a day and on Friday’s I go to the mosque. And I want to visit Mekka one day.

You both went to England when you were 16 years old. And now you are playing for PSV. Criticasters will say: see, you made a bad decision.

Bruma: “I don’t think you can make general comments like that. Every player is different. I totally believe I made the right decision. I have played and trained with some of the best in the game. I have played in England and Germany and I’m only 21 years old.”

But you could have played in the Feyenoord first team for 4 seasons?

Bruma: “Yeah but who knows. You don’t know this for sure.”
Rekik: “It’s really not relevant to talk about this, is it? It is all “I could have or should have…” You make a decision and you go with it. I think I have not made a bad decision.”

And the money?

Rekik: “I have not made my decision to leave for Man City on the basis of money. I could actually go to different clubs, one Italian club in particular, was offering me much more. My first contract with Man City was an apprentice contract. I was paid 570 euro per month and they gave us a rental house. I now have a real contract of course, but you do have to earn that.”
Bruma: “I did it for the challenge. I wanted to know if I was going to be good enough for Chelsea. I have not been paid to well either, in the beginning. After two years in London, I played 10 games in Chelsea 1. I played Champions League. I am proud of that.”

Is it hard to leave a top club?

Bruma: “For sure. Every day you become better, when you train with the likes of Terry and Lampard. When you play with only top players, you are lifted up and get into this flow. If players like Terry, or Kompany in Karim’s case, help you and guide you, you feel special. It does something….”

Man City has a lot of faith in Rekik. The youngster will be scouted every match. “I know they will come and watch me play all the time. This is how they work. They prepare reports and keep track. There is a whole department for this. And they do evaluations periodically. I like it. It is clear that they take me and the others seriously.

But young players in England do not have any say in where they play, right?

Bruma: “Wrong. I have played on loan at Leicester and HSV Hamburg and this has always been after consultation with me. Chelsea wouldn’t force a player.”
Rekik: “Same here. Everytime I got loaned out, it was either because I took the initiative or because we both decided it was best. PSV is my third club. I played eight games for Portsmouth and later on I went to Blackburn Rovers.”

How did the PSV deal go?

Rekik: “Manager Marcel Brands first checked with Rodger Linse whether I would be interested. Rodger talked to my parents and and me. I was very happy to give it a go. So Rodger talked to Man City we all felt it was a good move for me. I spoke to Nigel de Jong about it too. He has become a dear friend and I talk to him a lot about these things. He’s my mentor. And he thought it would be very good for me.”

And you decided to leave Chelsea, Jeffrey?

Bruma: “Well, there was a new deal for me, at Chelsea. They didn’t want to see me go and I could be part of the squad now. But I wouldn’t be playing a lot. I would be a player for the future and I would get time in the Carling Cup or something…. I did think about it but I decided I am beyond a player for the future. I am a player for now. I am young, fit and I have learned a lot at Chelsea and HSV. I want to play every week. I had more options, but PSV was the right club for me.”

Lampard opposed to the tongue

But it didn’t work out really well at Hamburger SV?

Bruma: “I played a lot in my first season. It was a season of ups and downs, I have to say. We played relegation football almost. Very challenging. The second season, I became victim of a new policy at HSV. They wanted to use players with long-term contracts. The coach even told me I was his preferred option for center back, but the board wanted to use players who would be loyal to the club. I did understand their point, but it was disappointing for me of course. They wanted to sign me and make me one of their own, but they couldn’t get it together, financially. I still played 20 games last season. I wasn’t used to playing under that kind of pressure, to be honest. Relegation football… Also, HSV has never been relegated so playing with that potential outcome put extra pressure on. It was not easy.”

So returning to Chelsea was not what you were looking out for?

Bruma: “No, I didn’t want spend time on the bench there, with all due respect. I didn’t want to be in a situation where Chelsea would again loan me out to a relegation candidate. I wanted to take my career in my own hands.”

Jeffrey Bruma and Christianity: the former Chelsea man – son of a Dutch father and a Suriname mother – is a very religious young man. It was key in his upbringing and still is a factor. “I can go to church once a week again, in Rotterdam. I missed that a bit. In England and Germany I prayed with my mum and we watched services on telly or we read the Bible together. It’s a very cool congretation. Lots of music and singing. It takes 2,5 hours and then the cooks prepare food. It relaxes me. The older I get, the more important my faith becomes. My mum took me when I was young, but now I can determine myself whether I embrace it or not. And I do….

The Eredivisie has become a popular destination for young players. Look at Ajax, Feyenoord, AZ, Twente… Age is not a factor, it seems.

Rekik: “The meetings I had with PSV management were key for me. Marcel Brands and Phillip Cocu gave me a very warm feeling. I was on holiday in Holland and Cocu dropped in and we talked about me, my style of play, my career and his analysis of me told me he had really spent time on me. He gave me tremendous confidence and it was clear that he really wanted me in his team. I could also go to another club in England and a club in Spain. But I did want to play in the Eredivisie. I believe in Cocu as coach and the football played in Holland is befitting of my style.”
Bruma: “For me, it was important to play in Holland. Young players get more chances here. And the play is more open. Like Karim says, Brands and Cocu knew everything about me and my background. I did my homework too and when I learned about the signings and the ambitions here, I didn’t need much time to decide.”

You are both young, but play with the confidence of experienced players.

Rekik: “I hear that comment already a long time. I have always been skipper of teams and I always here that I resonate authority and confidence. And I worked on that with a vengeance. When I first played at City, I thought I couldn’t play football anymore. Every ball was taken away from me. I lost every challenge. And a loose ball, man…you’d see Kompany running towards me and I would simply pull back. I needed to work out. Get stronger. I got this personal program and started to work in the gym, to gain strength.”

What does Cocu, your coach, expect from you?

Rekik: “He wants us to be fearless. In defensive sense and in offensive sense. He wants the team to dominate, to control the pitch and the ball. We can do this.”
Bruma: “He wants us to play our own game. Karim and I have a click together, that always helps. I trust Karim, so I can take a bit more initiative and vice versa. He basically wins all his duels, did you see that?”
Rekik: “And when Jeff commits to a duel, I back him up. We are both pretty content with how we are doing and that is not something I easily am.”

You are relatively inexperienced, but you both ooze confidence.

Rekik: “There is no need to be anxious or nervous on the ball. You have to have faith in your skills. We both always were confident on the ball, which doesn’t mean we never make a stupid mistake, hahaha.”

Jeffrey Bruma’s transfer to PSV was a bit delayed due to alleged heart issues. “I wasn’t surprised,” Bruma says. “I have a thick heart muscle. What they call a sports heart. Chelsea knew this too, they found out when I was 16 years old. It is not a problem. PSV knew this too. For my medical though, they wanted to use the same doctor I have consulted for years in London and the good man was on a summer break, hence the delay. If he wasn’t away, it would have been settled on that same day and no one would have cared.”

Has England changed you or are you still typical Dutch defenders: good in build up, trying to take initiative?

Rekik: “That will always be part of our game of course. But the time in England has taught us to be killers too. As a defender, your first task is to defend.”
Bruma: “True. My development at Feyenoord as a defender was great, but always aimed at ball possession. In England I have learned what it is to battle. Practice in England and Germany were normally tougher than the games. Flying tackles like razorblades man.”
Rekik: “Coach Cocu demands this from us on practice too. He wants to see 100% commitment.”
Bruma: “He always says “being a nice guy won’t win you titles”….

The football world is taking notice of this PSV. With lots of scouts on the stands, as a result.

Bruma: “Cool. But, we played only 4 or 5 games. Too early to pass judgement. We should not think we are “there”. Because then it will go south really quickly.”
Rekik: “We do notice the response from the crowd. That always helps us improve too. So there is that interaction.”

You were the youngest PSV ever in the Zulte Waregem games.

Rekik: “It’s pretty cool to be part of that. Some people believe young people can’t be consistent. I don’t buy it.”

Jeffrey, Chelsea has negotiated a buy back option for 5 Mio Euros. Does that go through your mind?

Bruma: “I know they demanded that. But it’s not a topic for me.”

Karim, how is that for you?

Rekik: “I am now focusing on PSV. My deal with Man City is till 2017. They have faith in me, but this season it’s all PSV for me. As a player in a top club you need to live day by day. I don’t want to think about next season.”

What are your personal goals?

Bruma: “I want to play as many games as possible and play well. The coach wants me to take charge and lead. And that is what I want to do. I want to win silverware. We want to have a serious go at the title.”
Rekik: “Me too.”
Bruma: “And stay realistic. Keep our feet firmly on the ground.”

August 21, 2013 by Jan

Brave PSV reaps kudos but not the result

PSV has won five competitive games in a row and has garnered quite some excitement. And what’s not to like: fan fave Cocu at the helm and exciting young talents like Willems, Wijnaldum, Depay, Maher, Rekik and Bruma in the squad, to name a few.

The football PSV has demonstrated in the first weeks of this season has been pretty good. Fast paced, intelligent, domineering, attacking.

The style of football we haven’t seen PSV play in a long time (have to go back to Nilis / Nistelrooy days) and with Ajax the club to beat and Feyenoord in a dip, it’s a great prospect to have PSV-Milan on the roster.

A prestigious game between two big names in Europe. Both clubs won the Europa Cup before and only 8 years ago they faced each other in the CL semi finals.

The prize of this tie is a ticket into the CL and therefore access to lots of euros. Euros both PSV and Milan can use.

And what an experience it would be for Cocu’s babies, if they could make it. And wouldn’t LVG be happy with this lot playing at least 6 massive games this season.

But…. playing nicely and being attractive for the fans is one thing. Winning a football game is another. It sometimes feels that good football and winning don’t go hand in hand. PSV started their game great. As one expected. Cocu willl have instructed his lads in Barca fashion: have fun, be ballsy, take the game to them. There is nothing to lose, really. The onus is on Milan.

And in the first minutes, PSV did exactly that. Matavz, Depay, Wijnaldum, Maher, they all had a go, with Maher impressing in particular with a half volley blocked, another distance strike stopped and a rocket on the cross bar after a little dribble.

But by then, Milan had already pounced successfully. A Depay mistake tracking back, three defenders ball watching and El Shaarawy was able to head the ball in, unmarked.

By half time, I think PSV deserved to be equal with Milan.

There is a lot of good things to say about PSV, but at the same time, PSV is definitely not there yet. At times Willems looked like watching the ball. He should be charged a ticket price for that. The back four are talented but not yet the killers they need to be. Schaars impressed yet again in midfield and will add international caps to his tally without a doubt. Schaars is disciplined, has vision, and passes balls with tremendous pace into the feet of his forwards.

Depay and Wijnaldum need to improve in their decision making. Both players are very skilled with their feet, but not good enough with their head. Maher seems to have it all but drifts in and out of the game too much. Needs to be more demanding and show more leadership. Maher needs to learn a bit from Sneijder in that respect. He might be a bit too friendly.

In the second half, funnily enough, the lacklustre Milan of the first half changed into a more dynamic team. And when they did, it was PSV who scored. A distance strike with swerve from Bruma was too hot to handle and Matavz was on hand to head in the equaliser. Deservedly so.

PSV does get some more opportunities, like Milan in honesty. El Shaarawy with a missed chance and Jozefzoon – coming on for Park – and Rekik missing good chances.

All in all, a great open game. Lots of box to box action. Lots of mistakes and lots of testosterone.

One player to single out for me is Brenet. Not super in defence, but a good mentality, working hard, not starstruck at all but a wonderful prospect indeed.

In the last 5 minutes, we saw some chances for Jozefzoon for PSV and Polley for Milan. Jozefzoon didn’t get a shot off as he mishandled the ball, while the Milan sub did get a shooting opp. That, I suppose, is the difference between PSV and Milan.

And despite the result and the fact that PSV has been caught napping a number of times (corner kicks Phillip!!!), the fans in Eindhoven have something to look out for this season. And they better hurry too, as I can’t see players like Rekik, Maher, Depay and Willems play in Eindhoven very long.

Mark van Bommel assisted Dutch TV in analysing the game. The former PSV and Milan man was highly critical on his ex-mates and felt the youngsters were a little bit too playful. Where Urby Emanuelson was highly positive about PSV and predicted a huge future for the team and players, Van Bommel was cranky. “AC Milan was better. Much more goal focused. PSV played good but they made too many sloppy mistakes in the final third. It was too playful for me. Too much gallery play and little flicks and backheels. Against Milan for a CL ticket, you need to be totally professional and focused on the result.” The TV anchor was taken aback by Bommel’s criticism. The retired midfielder added: “Listen, of course PSV is young and inexperienced but this level of play doesn’t need frivolity. It requires more than that.” His former coach and father in law, Bert van Marwijk was in the tv studio and a little bit defensive: “I think Mark is disappointed with the result. Someone who is used to play at top level would say things like he says, but all in all, PSV can be proud, I think.”

Memphis Depay had a shitty feeling as he was at fault with Milan’s first goal. “I took too much time. I remember considering to just hit the ball away or go back to the goalie, but he was in my back and gave me a push and was away. When I looked up, it was 0-1. I was pretty pissed off and happy we at least got a goal back.”

Coach Cocu was positive about his lads. “Our first 25 minutes were very good. We created pressure and opportunities. You do hope to score at least once then. And it’s known that a club like Milan, with top players, only need one little mistake to pounce. They have that quality. They don’t need to play well. But we recovered well. We played a good second half and got our goal back. We have another game to play next week. We are not without chances.”

Stijn Schaars ended the game with mixed feelings. “We played really well, at times. And to do so against a European top team is quite something. And funny, the first time we didn’t look good, they score. That is what they can do. But, we only conceded one and we scored one. They won’t play for the 0-0 next week and we will get chances with our players. I think our belief in getting into the CL has only increased. We’ll make it into a match.”

Here is the highlights of the 2005 CL semi finals. The home game.

July 31, 2013 by Jan

Young PSV impresses!

Not a title I have used before, for sure :-). I have used it for Ajax, for Feyenoord, probably for AZ, never for PSV.

Because they never really were young in Eindhoven and because for years they focused on players from Bulgaria, Canada, Sweden and Brazil.

I never liked PSV much, as you know. The Philips Sport Vereniging. The name says it. An outlet for a big consumer brand. Money talks in Eindhoven and so does not taking risks. Never invested properly in youth, always ready to snatch talents away from other clubs. The move from Gullit from Feyenoord to PSV in 1985 bothered me much, I remember. They won the Europa Cup 1 with players poached from Ajax. I never liked them.

They always seem to go for the obvious, risk-free coach choice and their football system was always 4-4-2.

I am biased of course. Because that same PSV also gave us Romario, Ronaldo, Luc Nilis and allowed us to enjoy Gullit, Koeman and co. a bit longer. Without PSV today, who knows where Wijnaldum, Schaars, Rekik, Bruma and Maher would be…. I should stop thinking that Wijnaldum might still have been with Feyenoord. He probably would be in Moscow or Leverkusen or Mallorca or some other place where I wouldn’t be able to see him…

So, as of today, PSV has raised its profile in my world. Because they make it possible for us all (incl Van Gaal!) to enjoy Schaars, Bruma, Rekik, Wijnaldum, Maher, Depay, Willems and co on a weekly basis.

And because they finally have the courage to not go for a coach they know and like (Hiddink, Rutten, Advocaat) but to go for a young turk who hasn’t proven himself at the highest level yet but who has the pedigree as a player, the trust of the players and the charisma amongst the people.

Phillip Cocu is from the same stock as Frank de Boer, John van de Brom and Gio van Bronckhorst. Cocu immediately went for a proper 4-3-3. And he handed the captains band to 23 year old Gio Wijnaldum. Young Jeroen Zoet seems to be the first goalie, before Tyton.

Hail Phillip Cocu.

And with this very young team, Cocu started the third qualifications round for the CL and they impressed mightily against Zulte Waregem: 2-0 (although 6-0 would have been a better reflection).

Cocu’s team had an average age of 21 years in this game. And 23 year old Wijnaldum is now one of the seniors. The fans were keen to see how their heroes would do without fan faves Mertens, Bommel and Strootman. Zakaria Bakkali, 17 years old, didn’t need long to establish himself in the hearts of the supporters. Within 2 minutes, the Belgium super talent hit the post. And in the first 60 minutes, his dribbles and speed appeared to much for his countrymen. In the last phase of the game, the tank was empty. Another remarkable player for PSV was 21 year old Bruma. The former Feyenoord defender showed that he brings grit and power to the team and his build up qualities shone through. Before the break, PSV had at least 5 golden opportunities, partly due to good play, partly due to Zulte’s defensive shenanigans. Wijnaldum rattled the woodwork twice.

It was Memphis Depay, that other prodigy, who broke the deadlock after an hour with a power hit from 35 yards. Sub Jurgen Locadia scored the second later in the second half.

Bruma: “This was a good night for us and for the fans. No one knew where we stood and we didn’t even know. But it’s too early to cheer. We still need to play for it. 2-0 is a tough result. We could have done better, but such is life. We need to approach the return as if it’s a 0-0 result on the board. We need to play for it.”

Coach Cocu had enjoyed himself: “I was impressed with certain spells but I also saw aspects we need to improve. We could and should have scored earlier I suppose, as we still have to be cautious in the return. Zulte is able to create opportunities and we can not become complacent.”

Line up PSV: Zoet; Brenet, Bruma, Rekik and Willems; Wijnaldum, Maher and Schaars; Bakkali, Matavz and Depay.

July 28, 2013 by Jan

Oranje: one more year to prepare…..

Louis van Gaal has almost exactly one more year to prep his squad for the World Cup. Will the No. 5 of the FIFA Ranking have a chance in high heaven to win the World Cup? How strong is this Oranje.

A wonderful VI Magazine analysis, added with a splash of Jan insights.

Van Gaal is an optimistic man, normally. Who will always see chances for his team. His team is the absolute leader in the current Group D of qualifications, hasn’t dropped a point and is practically certain to go to Brazil.

But the same Louis van Gaal says his team is not yet good enough to go for the title. The ambition announced by the KNVB is to finish in the top 4 at the World Cup. One year into the qualifications, Van Gaal claims this is too ambitious and considers talking to the KNVB about this. “I would be a surprise if we win it. I don’t think we will. I can mention eight nations with better odds.”

Let’s analyse the squad and see where we stand.

Attacking capabilities

– Creativity, the ability to take opponents on one on one

These players are the big magnets. The players for whom fans pay the hefty price for a ticket. Clubs open their war chest to sign these lads. The Big Guns. Examples are Messi, C Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Reus, Balotelli, Iniesta, Cavani, Suarez, Bale… These are the lads who can make the difference at the highest level, under the most pressure, in the smallest of spaces. Holland has always had players like this. Cruyff, Rensenbrink, Bergkamp, Van Basten, Roy, Vanenburg, Ronald de Boer… We have demonstrated in the qualification games that we have a number of players who can do it at that level. The Narsinghs, Schakens, Mahers… But can they do it at the highest level? Doubt is justified.

We know Arjen Robben can. He belongs in the list above. Robben, injury prone, somewhat older… The only one at world class level. The afore mentioned Narsingh and players like Elia, John, Maher….they might have a good day… But they will also have a bad day…. That is part of their development. Even players like Neymar and Reus can’t bring it every game (yet).

Apart from Robben, we have Robin van Persie, who does not have that one-on-one dribble skill like Robben or Messi, but he definitely brings a lot of creativity in the box. Robben and Van Persie. That is the score on this topic.

Sneijder’s backheel vs China

– Goal scoring

We scored 20 goals in six games. Only three nations in Europe have done better: Bosnia Herzegowena, Germany and England. Top nations like Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium have more difficulty scoring. The Dutch goals were made by Van Persie (5), Lens (4), Van der Vaart (4), Martins Indi (2), Schaken (2), Huntelaar (2) and Narsingh (1). Siem de Jong, Robben and Sneijder added some friendly goals to it. A good wide range of goal scorers and we have goal scoring capabilities in attack, midfield and defence. Statistically it can be shown that Oranje creates a good number of opportunities on top. And we always did. The Dutch develop pretty good strikers and we had several generations with amazing forwards ( Cruyff/Van Dijk/Rep/Jan Mulder, Van Basten/Kieft/Bosman, Kluivert/Nistelrooy/Van Hooydonck, etc), but what do all the stats mean against nations like Hungary, Estonia and Andorra? Can we do it against the top nations. This year, we had three real tests: Belgium, Germany and Italy. In these three games we scored three goals and we conceded five. We have a phenomenon in Van Persie (we need to make sure he stays fit), a box killer in Huntelaar and players hovering around central striker position who can score goals but sometimes run cold ( Robben, Vaart, Sneijder, Siem de Jong, Maher). Bas Dost, Van Wolfswinkel and Luuk de Jong can still develop into goalscoring machines at the higher levels they now are, but it seems Louis should invest a bit more in his relationship with Huntelaar.

– Position play

Oranje demonstrated the perfect positioning play resulting in a goal in the last game of the season, against China. It’s the 66th minute when Sneijder repossesses the ball. He finds Van Persie. The striker dribbles a bit and passes to left winger Robben, who pulls the ball back on the coming man, Sneijder, who scores nicely with a backheel. This goal had class, smarts and all elements of a good cooperative team. Quick passing, good running, no egotistical moves. Effective and efficient. And Oranje showed many goals like this in the last year. Our team does not depend on one tactic or on set pieces. it is clear that Van Gaal’s work with positioning play has paid off. He has managed to play more pass-and-move while introducing more and more new players. Where Van Marwijk relied on two strong defensive mids and put emphasis on defensive skills over build up skills, Van Gaal seems to switch Nigel de Jong for a more football player type like De Guzman or Clasie. Whenever Oranje has possession, we have so many tactically smart players on the pitch (Van Persie, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, De Guzman) that we are almost always able to create a man-more situation. Even against strong opponents. In South Africa, in 2010, it was visible already against Brazil. In the first half, we played with De Jong as holding mid and we couldn’t make the play. In the second half, Van der Vaart came on and Oranje got the upperhand. Same with the game this season against Germany, early in the campaign. Oranje was nervous and a bit afraid. We didn’t do well. But against vice Euro champ Italy, later in the season, we demonstrated our gogme, our wits and our prowess. It’s not all perfect yet. Against China, against 10 men, it took until Sneijder came on to allow the ball to run smoothly through the ranks.

Narsing, John and Maher. The new breed…

– Depth / Speed

The ability to penetrate behind the back four of an opponent. Every top team has at least one player with that skill. Spurs has Bale and Lennon. Real Madrid has C Ronaldo. Barca has Dani Alves, Pedro and Messi. Bayern has Robben, Ribery and Muller. Dortmund has Reus. The big Rondo, where players pass and move the ball swiftly until one of the ten field players can make the run. It takes timing, it takes speed, and it takes a player (at least one) to play the pass.

Oranje has Robben and Lens. Narsingh has the quality too, but is still an uncertainty. From midfield, the running man (Strootman/Van Ginkel/Fer) should be doing it and from the back only Daryl Janmaat/ Van Rhijn have the ability.

Whenever Oranje plays with Sneijder/Vaart/Maher, this ability is less apparent as these players want the ball in their feet. On the other hand, these three are all capable of giving the killer pass, as is Van Persie, De Guzman or Clasie. It seems the development of Fer (Norwich), Van Ginkel (Chelsea) and Strootman (Roma) will be key to give Oranje that edge.

It has to be said that your back four has not excelled in giving that killer pass. Heitinga and Vlaar demonstrated a good pass at Eredivisie level but have yet to convince at the highest level. Willems has the guts to play it, Blind has the vision to play it and hopefully BMI and De Vrij the skills. But we have yet to witness it.

– Length/Power

Robin van Persie and Huntelaar can both be seen as specialists in the air. Huntelaar is more the Kieft/Houtman header. Excellent timing, courage and strong muscles. Speaking of courage, who can forget the header against England. Where Klaasjan gave another meaning to the expression “eating dirt”. Robin van Persie is more of the Van Basten style header. Van Persie heads the ball like he plays football with his left. With class, with pizzazz and with vision. Van Persie can place a ball with his head like most others can with their foot. We saw him score pretty amazing header goals this season.

Van der Vaart, Robben and Sneijder all scored important header goals (Vaart at Spurs, the other two at the World Cup vs Brazil and Uruguay) but can’t be seen as experts. Jeremain Lens even got word from Van Gaal that he should be working on his heading skills. And he immediately scored a freak header from outside the box. Both the De Jong bros are strong headers, with Siem having added value in the way he senses where to be when the ball comes. An uncanny sixth sense for position. Van Wolfswinkel and Dost are not typically good headers, and neither is Maher. We do have aerial threats from midfield in Leroy Fer and Marco van Ginkel. The former being a real specialist. Strong jumper, good timing and tremendous courage. Van Ginkel is a strong athlete as well, but technically not a great header of the ball. Strootman, equally tall, is a remarkably weak header however. The two full backs are weak in the air, but the center backs (Heitinga, Vlaar, Martins Indi and De Vrij) are all pretty solid in the air.

The young and the new: RVP, Blind and Janmaat

Defensive capabilities

– Ball winners / toughness / will to win

During the WC 2010 people criticised the two defensive mids De Jong and Van Bommel but when you ask players, you will always here the same : they love playing with Nigel and Mark. And they hate playing against them. And their role in 2010s Oranje was vital. They were the lock on the door and kept the team afloat when it didn’t flow. And the reality is, during a major tournament there is always at least one bad game. Every strong nation has players like these, to hold the fort. Spain has Xabi Alonso and Busquets. Brazil has Gustavo anD Paulinho. Germany has Schweinsteiger nand Khedira. Argentina has Gago and Mascherano. In Holland, Bommel and De Jong are absent. Van Bommel retired, De Jong has a long-term injury. De Guzman is now the man of choise for Van Gaal but his strength is build up. Not the destroyer role. Strootman, Clasie, Fer can all play on that position but none of them seem to have the grit of the two guards we use to have. In the Eredivisie, even Van Ginkel, Maher and Afellay played those roles but at the international level they would be too light.

In Van Gaal’s philosophy, taken from the Total Football text book, the whole team will need to be able to repossess the ball, Barca style. Gone are the days in which Sneijder/Van der Vaart could observe how Bommel/De Jong chased the ball. Tactical smart, will to win and physical fitness are the three players called up to replace Mark and Nigel.

– Tactical Discipline

Jupp Heynckes said recently that the biggest strength of his Bayern was their unity. Gone were the days of Robben and Ribery being the stars while the rest of the team did the work. Everyone does the work: even the Robbery couple. It was exactly this discipline that got Oranje in the WC2010 finals and the same lack of discipline that got us egg on our face in 2012. Does the current Oranje have “it”. The problem is: we can’t tell until we are tested. And we have not really been tested in a real match yet. Taking a look at Jong Oranje in Israel, it is clear to see how hard it will be for the youngsters to step up. We played nice matches against Germany and Russia when the circumstanves were good. We have a good spell against Italy, but when the Azuri scored, our spirit vanished. Van Gaal’s influx of debutants and youngsters will have affected the “team building” process. His captain-policy was a bit of a mishit (Sneijder and Kuyt both lost their standing this summer). Both Sneijder and Kuyt responded with great disappointment on that fact. The list of players that might have felt put down by the Team Manager grows. Van Persie was the first to be told he wouldn’t start, quickly switching roles with Huntelaar, who now must feel abandoned. Van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong, Ibi Afellay, Maarten Stekelenburg. This is quite a gamble. Sneijder and Stekelenburg could well bounce back but for Sneijder and Huntelaar it might be too late. It’s almost as if experience is a dirty word, since 2012. But Israel 2013 has taught us that youth isn’t everything. As for tactical smarts, Dutch players are universally admired for their vision and coaching and practice in Holland is always tactical. Young players like Blind, Clasie, Fer and Maher seem to be able to read the game and take the opportunities presented.

“Louis leave the gangsta rappin’ to me, ok bro?”

– Defensive Headers

Oranje only conceded two goals. Spain and Belgium are as tight. Only Switzerland (vaults) and Russia (gulags) do better with only one goal conceded. Holland is well organised when losing the ball, but with the young and experienced back four and the fact that both De Vrij and Martins Indi lack the ruthlessness of Vidic, Terry and Silva, to name three, it is logical for Van Gaal to add some midfield length to the mix. Janmaat and Blind are not natural headers of the ball. Against opponenents with a strong airforce, Van Gaal might pick Van Ginkel or Fer over Clasie/De Guzman, purely to support the last line of defence. Being developed purely in Holland, it is clear that the current defenders lack some grit. Martins Indi being exposed in Israel (as was Van der Hoorn, now at Ajax) and De Vrij was humiliated a couple of times in the Eredivisie even. Janmaat and Blind like to find the footballing solution. Pieters might add some power to the back four, as could Vlaar. The latter misses the footballing skills and the speed of execution – maybe – but his physical power is an asset. Heitinga can’t be ruled out either. A good header of the ball, but in need of a new challenge.

– World Class Goalies

Germany has Neuer. Brazil has Julio Cesar. Italy has Buffon and Spain has Casillas (and De Gea and Reina). Holland doesn’t even have a number one… Stekelenburg lost his spot (after a tremendous WC2010 and a poor EC2012 and a poor season at Roma). He might do a “Sar”. Edwin van de Sar drowned at Juve, made a comeback via Fulham and became one of the greatest. In top form Stekelenburg is world class. At the moment, Van Gaal is mixing it up. Krul had a go until his injury. The latter had an abysmal season with his club, while Vorm and Vermeer have class but it is not yet World Class.

– The Coaching Staff

Van Gaal has everything one needs to be a Top Coach. Experience, ambition, tactical smarts, communication skills (towards the players that is), a modern method (video analysis) and loyal assistants. Blind has been around and is a walking football encyclopedia while Kluivert is seen as a top coach in development. The latter has a great report with the players. But there are some weaknesses. Van Gaal’s relationship with the media is strained at the best of times. He tends to use players as pawns. Youngsters don’t mind too much, but the likes of Van Persie/Robben/Sneijder don’t like to be manipulated. In the past Van Gaal’s ego has forced him to make stupid tactical decisions ( Reiziger as left back, bringing 2 extra strikers vs Portugal when 0-2 up) and his track record as a club coach shows he can’t work anywhere longer than one season without ending up in drama. The man’s will to become a success on the World Cup Stage could be a blessing for us, it could also be a curse.

– Conclusion

Van Gaal said a month ago that he saw eight other candidates with better options to with the title in Brazil. He was most likely referring to Spain, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and maybe even Columbia and Belgium… He will also see England and France as outsiders. Van Gaal is a realist. He assesses Oranje’s strength well. We do have tremendous weapons, but also some vulnerabilities. We have one year to work on those, although the onus is less on Van Gaal and mostly on the question marks in the squad to develop well. In summary: the Feyenoord back four + Clasie, Daley Blind, Leroy Fer, Kevin Strootman, Marco van Ginkel and the goalies.

June 17, 2013 by Jan

Oranje and WorldCup 2014: one year to go

And here we are. Louis van Gaal had his Asia trip to check on the big boys and to allow some wannabees in, while Cor Pot had the top talents at his disposal to win some silverware.

With the dust settled, the Confederations Cup in full flow and the rest on their way to beaches, mountains, exotic cities or the training field (Sneijder), lets check the State of the Orange Union.

There is a list (in Louis’ head) with names of players of whom LVG thinks he will take them… This is of course, unless something remarkable happens (injury, dramatic loss of form or conflict at club).

At the top of that list is the current Captain, one Robin van Persie. He will lead us all into the final year leading up to the World Cup. Arjen Robben, vice captain, is close behind him. In the form he currently is, he is likely to win the Golden Ball at the end of the year… Or whatever the name. Kevin Strootman and Jeremain Lens (both still PSV but probably not for long) will be on that list too. Lens going to Kiev might be a gutsy move for him, in view of Brazil 2014, but maybe not. Russia has the future, they say…

I think Vorm and Vermeer might be certainties too, with Stekelenburg and Krul battling for the third spot. Stekelenburg to Fulham is a good move for him. Once Krul returns from injury, he might be taking Vermeer’s spot again, as the EPL is simply a stronger competition than the Dutch one.

Darryl Janmaat is way ahead of the rest of the pack on the RB position while Daley Blind has been doing really well on the LB spot. Ricardo van Rhijn will be a good alternative for Janmaat, but he might be surprised by the development of Gregory van der Wiel.

On the left hand side, Jetro Willems and Erik Pieters will both be vying for the spot behind Blind although I do give Van Aanholt a chance to make it, if he keeps on developing as he has, this season.

Pieters could well be a central defender option, depending on his coming season.

In defence, it seems Martins Indi and De Vrij are the key players for Van Gaal. For now… I wouldn’t be surprised if we would find another player suddenly coming in the frame for De Vrij. I was not totally convinced those last games for Feyenoord and I was not totally impressed with him in Israel. He has strong point, but he is slow and a bit clumsy in the one-on-one. Simply a bit too slow and lanky it seems.

I like De Vrij, don’t get me wrong but Bruma at PSV is a terrific prospect for me. I rate Bruma as a real candidate. Vlaar can most likely be the other player who can get his ticket, provided he will perform well this coming season. And then there is John Heitinga. He has been solid for a long spell in Oranje and has lost his standing in the last year or so. He is planning to move to the Eredivisie to make sure he can have a real go at making the squad.

Joris Mathijsen will not make the list, in my view.

In midfield, it seems Jonathan de Guzman made an impression. But he is leaving Laudrup and Swansea and his season might be quite different yet again. Who knows…

There are a couple of no’s, in my book. Like I said, Joris is probably not going to be there. I expect Nigel de Jong to be on the list of no-goers too. He is injured, as is Afellay, Boetius, Tim Krul and Luciano Narsingh. I believe Afellay and Narsigh, when fit, would be assets to the squad but the question is whether both will be able to reach their top form again.

Van Gaal has some options to choose from beyond De Guzman. Again, the Canadian born will have to prove his worth still this coming season in Spain, but lets assume he will succeed. Strootman, Fer, Clasie, Van Ginkel can all play that role, although Strootman will be the second midfielder, normally. The box-to-box man. With Fer and Van Ginkel as stand-in. Clasie would be the ideal stand-in for De Guzman.

As playmaker, I expect LVG to pick between Sneijder, Siem de Jong, Van der Vaart and Maher. Van Gaal thinks De Jong and Van der Vaart are more alike, as they play as second striker, while Sneijder and Maher are more similar as they play more like midfielders.

This suggests that LVG will pick between Siem and Raf and between Wes and Adam.

I personally think that is foolish. If both Wesley and Maher are in top shape and good form, you want them both. Sneijder is maybe only relevant as playmaker, but Maher can take any role in midfield and is versatile and also good coming from the bench.

Siem de Jong is a question mark. He is good at Ajax’ level, but can he make the step up. Also, he seems to play in the same pace all the time and lacks speed.

Speaking of which, Rafael van der Vaart is a question mark because he might not be able to perform consistently at the top level. His physical body doesn’t seem to want to do what his astute football mind wants…

Huntelaar will most likely be the RVP stand in as central striker and it is to be hoped that Ola John performs well the coming season so we can play with a real left winger with tremendous potential. Ruben Schaken has been used as a right winger, with success, but he is not really top notch Oranje material in my mind.

Derk Boerrigter has not impressed this season as a potential Robben stand-in on the right. Schaken is ahead of him but Wijnaldum might have something to say about this. Under Cocu at PSV, he might live up. At the same time, with Toivonen likely to move away, Cocu might play the ex Feyenoord prospect as playmaker.

Van Gaal has added two key aspects to his infamous TIPS system: orientation and conduct.

With orientation, Louis means: how does a player deal with a lot of space around him or behind him? This would apply to a central defender for instance. With a midfielder it’s more, does the midfielder see the runner on his blind side and can he pass the ball on intuition? Conduct is more: what does a player do when faced with a setback? An own goal. A horrendous mistake? Or a referee who is not that good? Or an aggressive opponent? Or how does a player respond when the team needs to fight back into the game? And obviously, how does a player respond when he is benched….

Van Gaal will also have a surprise or two, I’m sure. To give one example: Clasie was benched by Cor Pot, but the little Feyenoord midfielder is a typical Van Gaal player. A lad who sees the game quick and is able to accelerate the game (like Sneijder can). Just like Van Gaal is a fan of Siem de Jong, whose most important strength, according to LVG, is orientation. De Jong feels where space is, feels where the ball will come and is able to be right in time. A quality he shares with players like Jari Litmanen, Gareth Bale and Hernandez.

He might not have the creativity that Maher and Sneijder have, but he has the ability to enter the box at the exact right time to finish a cross or a pass.

I am hoping on the next 23:

Stekelenburg
Vorm
Krul

Blind
Van Aanholt
De Vrij
Martins Indi
Vlaar
Bruma
Janmaat
Van Rhijn

Clasie
De Guzman
Strootman
Fer
Sneijder
Maher

Robben
Narsingh
Van Persie
Huntelaar
John
Van der Vaart (or any other wildcard player)

And in case of emergency, I’m sure Kluivert still knows how to hit a ball :-).

June 7, 2013 by Jan

Oranje wins in German style….

Any international game between Oranje and Germany is ALWAYS eventful. And it always matters a lot! Even if it doesn’t matter at all….

It has been 20 years since Young Oranje beat Young Germany and if there ever was a good time for Jong Oranje to win again it was now. In a group with Spain and Russia, getting three points in the openings game was considered key.

And man, did we show the Germans!! Beating them in the dying minutes, Mannschaft style!

And man, did we give them football lessons in the first half!

And man, did we squeeze our arses together in the second half….

I’m a glass-half-full man myself… Actually, I’m the guy pushing the glasses aside and grabbing the bottle….

But we do have to face up to that dreadful second half start. My goodness. NOT good.

We will stay positive, of course. And despite a slow build up, it was all Oranje in the first half. The Germans did show they can play good football, but Oranje beat them on every aspect. More aggression, more pressure, better understanding, bigger work ethos and most definitely more skill.

We demonstrated some good moves, got a couple of corners, Maher got a 100% chance. It was very good to watch on all counts. Wijnaldum was invisible for the first 15 minutes and I remembered thinking “why not Jozefzoon”, but boy did he show his metal.

It was a fine football demostration (the Setanta commentator couldn’t find enough words to praise Oranje) but one has to say: Germany was really weak (and needed a tactical change to counter us).

Although I personally would have preferred to have seen Clasie for Van Ginkel. De Vitesse player did have a good first half (and he definitely played a strong second half) but Oranje missed a quick accelerator in midfield to support in the build up. Strootman is capable of playing the Van Ginkel role while Clasie’s presence gives the center backs an outlet, allowing our full back to push up more…. I believe Van Ginkel and Strootman are too similar and don’t seem to have the rapport you would want your players to have, also not with Maher. The AZ midfielder did have an instrumental role but drifted out of the game too often too.

Adam Maher found the net first, after a slick move by Ola John, while Gio Wijnaldum created the second all by himself. Clearly annoyed that was not used in the first 20 minutes of the game, the PSV player started to show more of himself by drifting inwards.

Dribbling past 4 opponents the winger took the ball on his left for a zinger. It seemed the goalie blocked the shot but it veered into the net of the goalies fingers. A massive celebration ensued and Wijnaldum would add a couple of very cool flicks to the game before being subbed in the second half, after having taken a knock.

But in typical Oranje form, we forgot all our best intentions coming out of the dressing room.

You could see what was going to happen. The German players were ready and waiting, eager to start the second half. You know what that means.

And one minute into the second half, my growing doubts on Stefan de Vrij further increased. He has made a number of these slip ups, in some key Feyenoord games recently, and you can not do that at this level. Against Germany, it is immediately a goal.

And with the risk of a sending off for Zoet and a penalty against, De Vrij really needs to have someone give him a blowdry speech.

The period after that German goal was atrocious. Around 20 minutes of headless chook football. No system, no pressure, too much space between the lines…. maybe, no leadership either (although Strootman was seen gesticulating and yelling…). In these cases you need to be able to hold the ball in the team. How do you do this? Positioning. Work rate. Pass and move. This is how you take the sting out of the German game. They can’t press for another 45 minutes, and the resolve would go out of the window.

But we failed to do so. Our positioning play was horrific. We seemed to panic almost.

Allowing Germany to take two short corner kicks without realising it (offering them shooting chances) is a typical symptom of tactical imatureness, lack of communication and leadership and downright weakness. It was Ola John at first and Jozefzoon later who were caught out and the Germans played for a spell as if they were Dutch.

We slowly got more composure and the work rate of players like Van Ginkel and Strootman got us back in the game. Luuk de Jong made a nuisance of himself and through a quick break Jozefzoon was almost the matchwinner with his first touch of the game.

The 2-2 again demonstrated our defensive weakness. In the EPL, this would never have been a goal. You simply are not allowed to take the ball in a wide direction without a massive block tackle. And when Holtby took the shot, two players could’ve / should’ve blocked him… And I personally believe Zoet could have done better….

So, 2-2.

I feared a complete meltdown. But somehow the team decided not to give the game away. And led by a fearsome Martins Indi and a hard working Adam Maher Oranje fought itself back into the game.

Cor Pot decided to abandon the 4-3-3 and brought Leroy Fer for Ola John. Luuk de Jong and Maher played upfront and the team pushed once more, resulting in a fine opportunity for Fer, who headed over and beyond.

A couple of minutes later, Van Ginkel was loose running into the box and a desperate block stopped the Chelsea target from scoring. It was from the resulting Adam Maher corner kick that the aggressive Fer could attack the ball and score like we have seen him score so often already. And with 5 minutes on the clock, we would not allow the Germans back into the game.

A deserved win, is what I say (but I’m biased). It puts Holland at 3 points and Germany on zero, and the Germans are up against Spain next… A great start. Key for Holland now is to keep the first half form and lose the second half dip.
Coach Cor Pot was the winning coach, bringing the matchwinner only minutes before he scored…. “Yep, a golden change,” he said. “I’m happy with that. But I’m totally soaked from sweat, haha. The first half was beautiful to watch but after the break we did it all wrong. We became insecure after that quick penalty and they grew wings. We needed more physical presence and with Fer we got that.”

Leroy Fer was matchwinner. The man who scored so many important goals for his club Twente and Jong Oranje in key games. But he started on the bench. “Yes, that is always crap of course, haha. But I knew I would get my chance. And to come in like this is wonderful. But it is a team sport, it’s not about me.”

Skipper Strootman was not happy with the second half. He was playing like a traffic warden for 20 minutes… “We got that penalty after an individual mistake and then we all seemed to lose it… But I’m happy we were able to straighten our back and winning this is absolutely great. We showed the world that we can play and we got the three points. What more can you ask?”

Jeroen Zoet was relieved to only see a yellow card after his foul on Holtby. “I know that some refs do give red for this. I’m not sure if Holtby would have been able to keep the ball in, and I’m not sure what made the ref give me yellow. I was a bit scared there….”

Van Ginkel admits the team had fear. “Well, you know the Germans can come at you when it’s suddenly 2-1 and I think we did get some fear into the team, yes. And they did have chances to win it even, they may have been the more dominant team in the last phase. But I knew we would have chances in the turnaround.”

May 17, 2013 by Jan

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.”

April 16, 2013 by Jan

Ajax dominates, PSV and Feyenoord choke….

The Eredivisie has been called the Mickey Mouse competition since before Walt Disney got the inspiration to draw the black mouse, it seems… But the so-called Big Leagues have lost some of its glory this season for me.

Bayern Munich, Man United and Barca were surefire champions on Boxing Day already, it seemed. While two weeks ago, five clubs in Holland were still battling for the title.

Sadly, however, Ajax has shown it’s men against boys in Holland. In the last weeks of the competition, the business end, Ajax demonstrates it wants it. Badly. While Feyenoord succumbed under pressure (physically and mentally) while PSV disgracefully disappoints. So much so that Mark van Bommel considers throwing in the towel and retiring.

What is going well in Amsterdam can clearly be summarized in three words: Frank de Boer. Sure, his assistants Dennis Bergkamp and Hennie Spijkerman (and Carlo L’Ami) will have an impact, just like Overmars and Van der Sar do great things in their suits and the Ajax scouting is able to find the talent, etc etc.

But to take all these great ingredients and to mix it all up into a winning team for three seasons in a row is quite a feat. And all that in non-matching clothes to boot! All Ajax staff wears the formal Ajax costume, bar head coach Frank de Boer who has his own personal fashion sponsor…. Something for Dick Advocaat to consider. He was still wearing his Russia National Team jacket in the PSV dug out….

Back to the field.

PSV – Ajax was a match between a team that really wanted it and a team that felt it merely deserved it.

PSV has spent millions on attacking talent in the last seasons. Matavz, Mertens, Narsingh, Lens, Wijnaldum and with Strootman and Van Bommel in midfield it seemed PSV would have all the ingredients to start winning titles again.

But someone in Eindhoven forgot you do need good defenders too. Scoring a lot is not a problem for the PSV team. But conceding a lot is doing them in.

Seasoned coach Dick Advocaat couldn’t find the right tone with his team. Where Ajax, Feyenoord and Vitesse are working with a coach that can relate to the 20 year olds, PSV decided to go for the veteran coach who is renowned for his “gun for hire” mentality. In a recent interview, he said “don’t expect me to go and check out a PSV youth team. Can’t be bothered…”. No wonder the spark was gone after a while.

Some old PSV icons, who are still involved at the club formally or informally (like Hans van Breukelen, Wim Kieft and others) are moving towards a coup in Eindhoven. Maybe not JC style so much, but the ex-players believe general manager Tiny Sanders is to blame.

Most pundits expect a different PSV next season anyway. Dries Mertens, Kevin Strootman, Ola Toivonen and Jermaine Lens will have moved on, while new coach Phillip Cocu will most likely replace a number of average players wearing the PSV jersey ( Hutchinson, De Rijck).

That will most likely improve the situation in PSV a bit, as the vibe in the dressing room has deteriorated. As Willem van Hanegem said in his column, he had heard from well-informed sources that most players were busy checking the American NBA results after their defeat against Ajax. He also heard that Mark van Bommel was most keen to put his studs not in an Ajax leg, but in Hutchinson’s for his continuous mistakes.

And Advocaat was heard muttering about Pieters’ mistake till late in the night. “What can I do, if an international defender like Pieters allows Boerrigter an open road to goal like this???”.

Van Hanegem went on to criticise Feyenoord too. He did not see a Feyenoord fighting for its last chance, against RKC. “Where is club love?” he muttered. “Should these guys fight till they can’t get up anymore, even if just for the fans who pay their high salaries?”. A often heard complaint by the Feyenoord legend. Ronald Koeman could only agree. “I still get tears in my eyes when I think how Duits was allowed to steam up into our defence. No one responded!”

The Feyenoord coach believes the selection of some of his youngsters this season for Oranje has not helped his quest.

All in all, Ajax is simply the best (again) this season.

Frank de Boer must be complimented for his work and Ajax fans will lose sleep this summer, as many European clubs will vie for his services, without a doubt. De Boer said “no” to Liverpool last season but what will he say if AC Milan, Barcelona or Manchester City comes to chat?

He earlier on said, he’d want an Alex Ferguson career at Ajax, so maybe it will all be well after all.

The man who helped Vermeer, Siem de Jong and Blind into Oranje and has made Christian Eriksen into one of Europe’s hottest midfielders will most likely see Dennis Bergkamp move to Arsenal. His successor is known already, what with Jaap Stam coming to the Arena, while Fons Groenendijk is also a highly respected coach in Amsterdam.

Ajax Godfather Johan Cruyff was pleased to see Ajax’ progress. “The performance can still be improved. It wasn’t great all the time. But the mentality was great. And Ajax has moved from “it’s nice to play good” to “we have to play good”. Frank de Boer is the right coach for Ajax. He made three changes and all three changes were aimed at winning the game. He didn’t make them because of PSV’s actions. It was not reactive, but pro-active. Things are looking up. Financially, the club is doing ok and winning the title this year again will help tremendously.”

Frank de Boer is one of the few players of a golden generation who is capable of transcending his passion as a player into his coaching. It took Jan Wouters a long while to find his mojo, while Rijkaard, Van Basten and Koeman had a hot-cold career so far.

It’s officially too early to congratulate the Sons of Gods, but their demonstration of will in the PSV-Ajax game clearly makes them the only club deserving of the title this season. And with a bit more luck in the draw next season (and Adam Maher for Christian Eriksen who will most likely move away from Amsterdam), the Champions League might prove to be a good platform for Ajax anyway…