Tag: Maher

by Jan

Dutch eleven lose important game….

Feyenoord’s youth system architect Wim Jansen with inspiration Johan Cruyff

Dutch Eleven? I can hear you think? Did the Dutch team lose?

No, Feyenoord lost. Against Marco van Basten’s Heerenveen. But quite unique, Ronald Koeman fielded 11 Dutch players. Quite a remarkable fact. And when he had to sub Immers and later Martins Indi, two Dutch subs came on. Boetius was subbed by Ivorian Cissee though, so the all-Dutch team got an international character then…

With Graziano Pelle in the team (the first name on the team sheet), this will never be possible, but as the Italian striker was suspended, Louis van Gaal looked on while his 7 internationals took on Heerenveen’s in form side.

Winning was key to remain a title contender, for Feyenoord and like Carlos, Louis van Gaal wants Feyenoord to win it. The National Team coach told Clasie last week: Go and win the title!!

Knowing, that if Feyenoord does win it, CL football is on the cards next season. What better foundation for the Feyenoord Seven, preparing for the World Cup.

Also, most Feyenoord players have stated to stay in Rotterdam if CL football is secured.

Players like Clasie, De Vrij and Janmaat will most certainly be able to sign lucrative deals for next season, but….will they get playing time? If they move to Liverpool, Arsenal or Fiorentina, they might be brought “slowly” by their new coaches, which will cost them their WC spot.

But Feyenoord didn’t win. Heerenveen was better, more aggressive and more hungry. A big mistake by Stefan de Vrij, otherwise very strong with Mathijsen in the central defender spot, secured the 2-0 win for Van Basten’s team. The former team manager of Oranje started very poorly this season. He lost the Heerenveen forwards Assaidi (Liverpool), Dost ( Wolfsburg) and Narsignh (PSV) but his Dost replacement Finnbogasson can’t stop scoring (21 goals for the Icelandic striker), while Djuricic is playing so well this season that Benfica snapped him up.

Van Basten has been able to turn his team around and with great results at home against the Top 5, Heerenveen is now sneaking back into the European football qualifications position of the league.

Feyenoord will have to take a backseat to Ajax and PSV. These two are also not impressing to heavily. PSV in particular, with that tremendous squad, keeps on underwhelming. By now, it is fairly certain that Advocaat will not extend his deal which means Philip Cocu will step up and take the reigns.

Arjen Robben played a key role in Bayern’s massive win over HSV (two goals and two assists in the 9-2 dressing down) but might consider a move (Inter Milan or Galatasaray are reported to make a move) as the ex-Groningen player wants security of a starting spot (for the World Cup, of course).

Wes Sneijder is fit to play with Galatasaray against Real Madrid, while Robin van Persie keeps on leading the line for Man United.

Rumours persist that Christian Eriksen will move to Liverpool this summer and Ajax will sign super talent Adam Maher to replace him.

Feyenoord may not win it this season, but they surely look bright.

Another club that seems to fly high thanks to Johan Cruyff’s insights. It is no secret that once Wim Jansen (former 1974 midfielder and Feyenoord icon) started to meddle with the youth system (with his son in law Stanley Brard), based on Johan Cruyff’s philosophy: 4-3-3 as the system and individual trainings plans for the players.

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by Jan

New and Refreshed Oranje makes LVG proud

Louis van Gaal was always headstrong. And with that mentality he is working on his plan. A new Dutch team, going for gold next year at the World Cup. The coach had already told everyone who listened: Holland’s youth has the future.

Against the losing finalist of the last EC, Van Gaal picked the youngest team since 99 years. The average age being only 22 years and 361 days. Seven of the players starting against Italy are still eligible to go to the EC Israel this summer with Young Oranje.

And Oranje played fresh and gutsy football against Italy and scored the first goal via Lens. The lads forgot to score more goals and conceded a late goal, ending it in 1-1.

LVG was slightly disappointed in that equaliser but still walked through the Arena with his chest out. Eight players in his starting eleven are Eredivisie players and his team was better than a team full of Serie A stars. This gave him hope for the months to come.

The next qualification games are against Estonia and Romania and winning those two games will make all the difference in the quest to World Cup gold. “Again, I will pick the best players of the moment. Big names, small names… all the same to me.”

Bert van Marwijk held on to familiar faces and created consistency and stability. Van Gaal rewards players who develop well and play regularly. Less stringent. Only in the last months before the World Cup will he work on a fixed line up.

In the coming weeks, LVG will visit Sneijder, Stekelenburg and other experienced names. When players like Van der Vaart and Heitinga perform well, Van Gaal is happy to select them again. But they will do their utmost to get to that point. Reputations do not count.

Van Gaal: “We played well as a team. We played attractive and offensive and created chances. Sadly, we could convert them all and conceding late was a bummer. We simply didn’t respond well to them changing their system.”

Van Persie played like a captain (even if Strootman was wearing the band) and resembled a traffic agent, sometime around the 22nd minute of the first half. He’s waiting with the ball under his foot. Right back Janmaat comes storming on the flank and Van Persie shows him the way to run. In doing so, Janmaat takes along one of Van Persie’s opponents. He creates space for himself and instead of passing to the Feyenoord back, RVP takes on the other opponent. And passes the ball to playmaker Maher in the center of the pitch.

Kit sponsor Nike lauched the new away kit for Oranje with the slogan “the New Masters” but it’s Van Persie who bridges old and new against Italy.

If the inexperienced pups of Van Gaal are the new masters, then RVP is the Grand Master in this Dutch team. Not because he acts the dominant leader ( he doesn’t) but because of the total control in his game.

The combinations with Maher are clearly visible, as a fine combination of old and new. The AZ midfielder has instinctive feeling for space and time. Wherever the Man United star drifts off, the young playmaker arrives and vice versa. This results in a goal twice, almost. Van Persie seems to have a similar click with Maher as he has with Ibi Afellay.

Maher is constantly available and he has the legs to bridge between attack and defense in the turnaround. This is where he has added value over more static players like Sneijder and Van der Vaart. The playmaker spot is now broken open. For years, Sneijder and Van der Vaart monopolised it. That time is over.

This gives us a sunny perspective on our way to Brazil. How 19 year old Maher remained on his feet between Italian stars like De Rossi and Pirlo.

A week ago, his coveted transfer to PSV didn’t happen. But in nothing could we see any disappointment. In the second half, Maher is part of every attack of Oranje. The only disappointment for him, is that he wasn’t able to score a goal.

Stefan de Vrij is another name that played a remarkable game. The 21 year old concluded after the game that there are many different strikers in football. Last weekend he played against Willem II’s Joachim. This midweek, he played Balotelli. Super striker and mad genius. “On this level, strikers are so much better. Stronger, faster and they move differently.”

He came on as a sub twice and now finally had his starting berth. He played against renowned names as Balotelli, Gilardino and El Shaarawy but never really got in trouble until the late equaliser. “I think we didn’t do too shabby with this inexperienced line up, we can be satisfied.”

Coach Louis van Gaal was clear in his instructions to De Vrij and Martins Indi. “He told us to defend as we normally do, but he also instructed us to be adventurous in possession. Push forward, keep the pitch tight. We needed to play with space behind us, which is pretty daunting. Balotelli is strong and fast and Pirlo knows how to play a ball in….”

De Vrij was not surprised that they did so well. “No, not really. We know what we can do. We are confident players. This game was a test for us, sure, but we knew we could show the coach and the fans what we are capable of. When Italy switched to 4-2-4 we got in trouble a bit. They pushed up while our front four wanted to score the second goal. It was pretty obvious that one of us would score. Either we’d win it 2-0 or they’d come back to 1-1. But the overall feeling is a bit down with that equaliser. It’s always shit to concede in the last minute.”

The two center backs seem to be the central duo for Oranje’s future. Something Ronald Koeman doesn’t seem to see, as he still pushed Martins Indi to the left back spot and uses Mathijsen centrally, next to De Vrij. “Van Gaal has different options as left back, so he can do other things. I know Bruno since my 13th… We play together for a while. We know who to play together and compensate each other’s weaknesses. But I can play well with Joris Mathijsen too. Ronald Koeman has options and either way, I’m cool with it.”

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by Jan

The Big LVG Interview – Pt 2

This is where we proceed with the Big Louis van Gaal piece, from De Voetbaltrainer.

Still no pictures (other than the main one) and no way to augment fonts :-(.

So, after all those staffing steps, it was time to select the first squad?

LVG: “No. I first went and looked at our regular hotel. The one where we have been putting up our camp for years now (Oranje Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk). I felt the players were dispersed too much. Across several floors and all that. I want the whole squad together on the same floor. I also wanted a central room on that floor for the medical staff. And I wanted a bigger room for the players to hang in. You know, for entertainment. Or to just sit and talk and be sociable. Players love to play table tennis or air hockey or pool or play cards. Now, after the renovations, we find approx 15 players there at all times. In the past, players went to their rooms to play games or play cards… Call it a player home. I also heard that the players got agitated with the internet speed for their online gaming. So we went to the hotel management and told them about their wishes and they promptly executed all of it. We needed fast internet for our video analysis too, by the way. Not just for gaming, but in general. Webstreaming, etc.”

Ok, so then finally the first squqd for the Belgium game?

“Yes, and it was not hard. Bruno Martins Indi played very strong in Feyenoord’s CL qualification game against Kiev and I was happy to select him. I took the core of Bert’s group and Danny came up with most of the other youngsters. We didn’t spend too much time on this. Was quite easy, actually. We spend more time on the planning of our first get together. Every step, I thought through. What will I say? When will I say it. Where will I say it, etc. What is the best tone of voice. How do I create the right mood? When do I talk and when do I let my assistants take center stage. Which order of individual talks. How do we pick the new skipper. How do I manage the media attention? Which video clips do I want to show them?”

Can you tell us the program?

“We knew there were some issues after the Euros. The KNVB had issues they wanted clarity on, so did I and obviously the players had their own issues. Some of the relationships had turned sour. I normally would have started with a group talk. But in this case I didn’t. I wanted to ask the question: Why do players keep coming back when called up to Oranje, even after such an abysmal Euros tournament? The answer: because they all want to play at the highest level. They want to win trophies at the highest level. So, for me, it was logical with fantastic videos from the last 40 years. All the top notch games, the classic moments…. Then we followed this up with a video in which I presented my football vision, which is not unlike the way Barcelona plays. This is the hardest style of playing and most people say “you can do that at club level, not at national team level”. I don’t agree. We used to play like this. Spain plays like this. In Holland, we do think a bit differently about attractive football. We do not like all the extensive passing and passing that Spain does. We want to do business. Score goals. Be more direct. So we will not “copy” Spain, that is not my intention. We want to play Dutch. And we can. I explained what I want to do with our tactics and I explained the move back to 4-3-3. After that, I sent the players to their rooms. To rest. I wanted them to have it all sink in. Lying on their beds and visualising what this would mean for them.”

And then the group talk?

“No, then we did a media-genic training session, led by Blind and Kluivert. Lots of fun, lots of rondos, lots of playing with the ball. Good for the media. The media got some time to question the players and they were keen to hear about all the problems. But the players couldn’t say more than “we spoke about the football vision and we watched videos and put our objectives out there”. Then we had dinner and after dinner, we had the group talk. I didn’t want all of the players in it. Only the ones who had played at the Euros. I’m sure I would get all the insights from that group and it would have been manageable to do it with 23 players. So, with the fact that some players were missing, we ended up doing this with 13 players.”

So, what room did you use for it?

“A cosy room. Like a cigar bar, but without the cigars. Open fire, soft chairs, lights a bit dimmed. We were in half a circle. No one could escape it. Everyone could see the other ones in the eye. And I had a table at the head of the circle for myself and my notes. I started with video clips, again. The documentary about the Oranje 1996 campaign, under Hiddink. Lots of trouble. And 2 years later, he almost wins the World Cup with the same players. And funnily enough, Pat Kluivert was in that doco and also in the room with us. Which helped. Then we looked at the tremendous WC2010 campaign. And I had an interview with Wesley Sneijder, right before the 2012 Euros, in which he says “With this squad, we need to go for gold”. And then I said: How is it possible that this squad got sent home with zero points? I also asked them if they wanted us in the room (the staff- Jan) and I’m happy to say that they were fine with us there. We talked for two hours. After the talk, I handed out my manifest. The new rules. I have added a couple of rules but also deleted some of my predecessor. I supported our new rules with video images again. One rule is “no more headphones when you are in a public area”. In the bus? Fine. When you walk from bus to dressing room, not fine. It doesn’t look good, is my opinion. After all of that, we asked Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt to come and talk individually, to discuss the captaincy. They both accepted their roles after talking about it and we concluded Day 1.”

On to Day 2…

“We woke up at 9.15 am. That is standard. I don’t like different schedules. I don’t want players to have to look on pieces of paper all the time. We also have the matra: “slow down, take it easy, haste is not good”. That second day we had two individual meetings. One with Robin van Persie, as he wouldn’t start against Belgium and one with Arjen Robben, as he would have to play on the left, and not on the right. I figured those two could have been intense and difficult meetings but they were both very positive. I explained my motives and they accepted it. Both players can talk very intelligently about football, so they were both very pleasant talks.”

And then you do something extraordinary. You are the first team manager to rotate intensively between the two games in a double match weekend. Andorra and Romania. Totally different squads.

“Well, if you consider that both games will be different, you can utilise different types of players. Huntelaar is a different striker than Van Persie. Huntelaar is the best killer in the box. Van Persie is the better football player, who can also create. You can look at all positions and utilise the best player for that game. Some players have more skills in a narrow space, others do better with space ahead of them. I can explain all my decisions to the group and they seem to accept my motives. And I am very clear. And I am also sharp at training. If I tell a player I pick him for a reason and at training he doesn’t prove to the squad that I was right in my decision, I have a go at him. I say “I picked you because you hardly ever lose possession and now you start giving the ball away?”. I coach very personally. Up close and personal. In their face. I try to reach inside of them.”

But are you motivating or criticising?

“Everything I do and say is to motivate. To make them better. More aware. Every time I see the players, I give them an evaluation moment. I tell them where they stand, in my book. And so do Patrick and Danny. I need to make them better. Or I need to make sure they perform better. And I tell them: I am giving you tools to become a better player. It’s not personal. I am not angry or negative. I see that there is room for improvement. I explain all players how I want to use them. Last time, Gertjan Verbeek of AZ was annoyed that we told Adam Maher we see him as a number 10. In Verbeek’s system, Maher plays right midfield. So what? Verbeek has different players at his disposal and has a different vision. I say it like I see it. In our midfield, we have one more static defensive midfielder, who is the anchor, we have a more penetrating player who can go from box to box and we have a creative shadow striker. I see Maher as that player. Verbeek uses his midfield differently.”

But what if Alex Ferguson decides to use Van Persie as a leftwinger? Will you then do the same?

“It depends of course, but theoretically: yes. If Robin would play a whole season in that role, we’d have to put him in the left winger category and he would have to compete with the Arjen Robbens of this world. But…it’s silly speculation. Which I normally don’t engage in. I leave that to the media.”

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by Jan

Happy New Year :-)

Hi all,

I’d like to wish you a very happy New Year…. And a big big thank you for being part of this blog.

It’s been a tempestuous year for the blog (relatively speaking 🙂 ). For starters, we made our move away from the Blog Gods of the Worlcup blog to go it alone.

And we created this wonderful home for all fans of the Clockwork Orange, right before the 2012 Euros and wouldn’t you know it: we had the worst Euros ever :-)….

In the last months, I had serious challenges to get a post happening every two days due to busy-ness. But I hope that will change soon.

But, 2013 looks great already.

Why? Well for starters, because we can’t be humiliated at a big tournament!

Kiddin…

I think it will be top year, because Robin van Persie can’t stop scoring… because it’s the year of the snake and Robben earns the Rensenbrink nickname Snakeman…. because Van der Vaart will be fighting fit…..Heitinga, Stekelenburg, Vorm are well-rested…because Ronald Koeman finally does what he is good at: delivering talent…because Louis van Gaal will definitely qualify this year…Sneijder will make a move to a real football club….Elia will find his mojo…Clasie will grow a little….Fer will never look back….we have the best full back talents (Buttner, Blind, Janmaat, Martins Indi, Willems, Pieters)….

I am SURE you can come up with much more reasons… 😉

Best reason gets a cool gift!

My predictions:

RVP = Golden Boot

Feyenoord = Champ of Holland

Sneijder = Back to Real Madrid

Robben to win the Champions League

Ronald Koeman to take over from Tito next summer at Barca

Benitez to be fired, to be succeeded by Martinez, to be fired two months later, to be succeeded by Dick Advocaat to be fired in the coming summer to be replaced by Michael Laudrup….

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by Jan

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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by Jan

Positive start of LVG's New Oranje…

With a couple of days to digest the first game under LVG Mark II – and one day before the sophomore match – it’s probably a good idea to have brief look back at that campaign opener.

What can we say about the new Oranje?

For starters… What immediately catches the eye, is the fact that for the first time in a long while, Rotterdam dominates this Dutch National Team. For decades, Ajax and PSV determined the “blood type” in Zeist, but with the recent revival of football talent development at Feyenoord, even Ajax-bred coaches like Kluivert, Blind and Van Gaal aim their sights at the working class city of Holland.

Van Persie being a real symbol of Rotterdam of course (although he surely isn’t working class), but players like Clasie, Vlaar, Fer, Kuyt, Janmaat and Martins Indi all have strong links with Feyenoord too. Add to that Stefan de Vrij (injured), who wears the red and white and benchwarmer Joris Mathijsen (currently at Feyenoord) and the three Oranje players who were developed at Sparta ( Kevin Strootman, Jetro Willems and Nick Viergever) and it’s clear that the folks in Rotterdam walk around with their chests out, these days.


The Big Three, enjoying their football and one another….

Another aspect we can mention, is that Louis van Gaal is rightfully so seen as a gutsy coach. He picks players that he feels are the best for the job, for the coming two years. And he has no qualms in selecting youngsters and unproven lads.
“I believe in these lads, they will improve. The older players will have to coach them.”

And where Van Marwijk saw Heitinga struggle at the Euros, this time around Van Gaal used the extra responsibility for Heitinga to draw a good performance out of him.

As all “veterans” did well. Robben worked his arse off to support young Willems on the left flank and created a lot. Robben clearly enjoyed his football and with a bit of luck could have scored twice (one ball was expertly defended by…Robin van Persie?!?! and the other one was a pass by Stevie Wonder Luciano Narsingh that never arrived…

Robin van Persie may not have had the best of games, like Sneijder, but boy that goal was nice. And a carbon copy of his goal against Southampton for Man U. And Sneijder’s assist wasn’t too shabby either. Late in the game, he almost scored another carbon copy goal for Oranje but that half volley just went over.

Man of the Match for me (and many others) was Kevin Strootman. I think he clearly demonstrated to LVG that he IS da man now Mark van Bommel has retired. He is a combination of Bommel, Willy van de Kerkhof and Phillip Cocu. Skill, dynamics, tackling power, vision, passing and leadership.

This Kevin Strootman will end up playing for a big European club very soon.


Poor Tim is out. LVG gives no clue as to who will play… I say Vorm plays…

Lots has been made of the mistakes Holland made in this game (the Dutch media at least) but I am with Louis van Gaal on this one. The only chances Turkey got were the onces we gifted to them, bar two. The early header in the first minute (but Robben was guarding the post, so no problemo) and the header in the second half, from the cross from the right. But as was pointed out to me: Krul had that one covered too.

Other than that, Turkey was able to be threatening thanks to miscommunication between Krul and Martins Indi (BMI: “Krul yelled to me, he said, but I honest-to-God couldn’t hear him… It was such a circus at that side of the field…”) and two momentary lapses of reason by youngsters Janmaat and Willems.

Typical mistakes we saw in the past by players like Frank de Boer and Frank Rijkaard. Both players didn’t alright in their careers…

I have all the faith in our youngsters at the back, like LVG. And I agree with him, yet again! (Scary). You can tell from the way the play, pass, move, that they are the real deal. They look over the ball, they try to make every touch count. They are pure football players. And BMI adds strength and length to that. We should feel blessed.


Louis: “Danny, I’m adamant! Next time BMI runs to me like that, you catch him!!”

There was this one moment in the game where our 18 year old left back made a dummy as if he’d play back, only to turn and play a long diagonal pass to Narsingh, which landed on the winger’s tie. That is pure class.

Same with Janmaat. He made a couple of mistakes, but he also showed he has skills going forward and courage when he has to put his body on the line.

I won’t even discuss BMI as he played as if he’s been part of the team for much longer. The way he tackled Van Gaal right at the end of the game demonstrates to me this bloke should always be called up :-).

In midfield, I felt little Clasie didn’t have a lot to play off in the first half. The Turks tried to crowd out our midfield and the only players Clasie had to bounce to were Willem and BMI. Clasie is not a playmaker, like Sneijder (yet) but more a connection man. He does need players to show up close to him – Barca style – to play his short pass game. In the second half, he could have, as the Turks laid off a bit more and seemed to get more tired. But by then Fer had joined in and took Strootman’s spot. The latter taking the Clasie role.


Meanwhile…elsewhere, the squad is secretly training the collective run to LVG if they score against Hungary….

Strootman played less impressive as a result, bar that final long pass on Narsingh ( inch-perfect) and Fer got the change to shine in the penetration role. Something the youngster does really well! Once Fer is fit again (he’s out for 6 weeks!!) LVG has some decision making to do…. Fer on the right midfield spot and Strootman as holding mid, or Clasie in the holding role and Strootman on the right…

Who knows…?

All I can say is, that this team really gave me confidence.

LVG is a bit of a pompous arrogant thick-neck but he knows his game and he has cojones. AND eggs.

So, all in all, with Van der Vaart, Afellay, De Jong, Elia, Van der Wiel, Pieters and Maher also in the fold, I think we have a very strong squad.

Very strong…

The last thing I want to say, and probably one of the most important things: the lads played as a team. They were hungry. They worked hard. They were focused (look at Krul giving it to Willems when he made that mistake) and they enjoyed playing football together (look at Sneijder and Van Persie walking off the pitch together in an embrace).

All the ingredients are here.

As Louis van Gaal said: the World Cup has actually started already. This was our first game. I’d say: we are on track to reach the finals! Only 16 more games to win :-).


Skipper Sneijder, leading the way to victory

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by Jan

Louis wins the press, but loses the match

Most of you know I was not 100% behind the appointment of LVG. I know he is a great coach and knows a thing or two about (good) football but I sort of fear his dark side…

In the last press conference, however, he was more Han Solo than Darth Vader.

It gives me hope!

He manages groups well, in first instance, and he clearly won over the media with his new behaviour.

Most important question: is this a new Louis, or is he merely acting?

Louis gave clarity to a lot of questions prior to the game. About the captaincy, the line up and even the players he’d bring at half time…. And seemingly, in a friendly way. That did promise something for the future :-).

Holland plays with Stekelenburg on goal, Van Rhijn, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Willems at the back. Nigel as sole holding mid and Raf and Wes as forward midfielders. Robben, Huntelaar and Narsingh play upfront in a 4-3-3.

Fairly remarkable was his comment that Huntelaar will be his striker for the near future. About his conversation with Robin van Persie: “Robin struck me in that. He is very intelligent and we had a very profound talk about football and about life. I have not had a conversation this deep with a player for a long time. It felt good and Robin in my eyes is an absolute top bloke. But Klaas Jan did bring more in the orange and he gets the nod now.”

Breaking news: Arsenal and Man United have reached an agreement on a transfer sum for Van Persie. Tomorrow, the ex-Feyenoord man will negotiate with Ferguson about his personal package.

Holland and Belgium. A famous fixture in the past. In the last decades, Holland likes to see Germany as their arch rival, but our neighbours in the south still see us as such. We played them last in 2004. Much too late. We lost 0-1, on a Bart Goor penalty kick. Sneijder, Heitinga and Kompany played in that match too.

The most famous friendly was the 5-5 in Rotterdam in 1999 with an Edgar Davids on fire.

Today’s Belgium played with (former) Dutch Eredivisie players Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Chadli and benchwarmers Mertens, Alderweireld, Simons, Dembele and Pocognoli.

Belgium plays with pressure high up the park against us and Mathijsen looks sluggish. Narsingh on the other hand impresses with his speed and a good cross on Huntelaar. Holland has lots of possession in the first minutes. And it’s also not as “friendly” in the first phase, with celebrated Van der Vaart copping yellow for a sliding on goalie Coutois.

After 20 minutes, Belgium scored. A lucky. Genk striker Benteke receives the ball after a Heitinga block and scores via Stekelenburg’s feet: 1-0.

Five minutes later, debutant Van Rhijn almost scores on a Narsingh cross. Coutois’ fingertips save Belgium here. The Ajax defender is bulldozered 7 minutes later, in the Belgium area, but ref Atkinson refuses to point to the spot.

Oranje is strong in possession but vulnerable in defense. Van der Vaart has the last word in the first half with a distance strike, blocked off by Vermaelen.

In the break, it’s Mario Been on Belgium tv criticizing Mathijsen: “He’s too slow and sluggish. His build up play is lacking.” And Ruud Gullit on Dutch tv: “Huntelaar isn’t found. If you can’t engage your striker, you are playing with 10 men. And Stekelenburg gambled with that first goal. If he would have stayed on his feet, he would have stopped that one. Like with Germany’s second goal at the Euros…”

In the second half, De Vrij, Maher, Viergever and Martins Indi all make their debut. Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems and Van der Vaart stay in the dressing room. With Van Rhijn in the line up, Oranje plays with all debutant defenders.

Ten minutes into the second half, it’s Martins Indi’s pass to Robben that creates the equaliser. His low cross is too strong for Hunter, but Narsingh – Holland’s best man in the first half – is at the right spot to score the 1-1.

And only two minutes later, the same actors create the 1-2. Martins Indi’s pass reaches Robben who finds Huntelaar available to tap in the second goal.

Stekelenburg keeps Oranje in the game with good responses to shots of Defour and Chadli. Not much later, it’s Robben dribbling past three defenders, only for Belgium to stop him halfway their own area. Martins Indi impresses in possession but is sloppy defending. Chadli gets a free header thanks to the Feyenoord defender’s lack of marking. Stekelenburg saved Holland just moments before.

Stekelenburg actually needs to act more in the minutes after. A Lukaki shot, and Witsel with a tap in, almost. Adam Maher attempts a distance strike, but Coutois saves this time.

Oi, 2-2 for Belgium. De Jong loses possession and Mertens is away. He outpaces De Vrij and scores. Martins Indi offered Mertens a chance earlier too.

And Belgium scores twice in two minutes too. Mertens creating again, this time Lukaki gets the tap in.

Oh dear, another goal two minutes later yet again! Van Rhijn is marking air and offers Mertens all the time to find ex Ajax skipper Vertonghen who beats ex buddy Stekel. Three goals in 5 minutes? Hmmmm…

Van Persie, Afellay and Kuyt remained on the bench.

So Oranje loses with four goals conceded. The fourth defeat in a row. This happened last in 1954.

Captain Sneijder: “The first 20 minutes in the second half were fantastic. And then we make individual mistakes and we lose the game. That is sad, in particular because we all support this new system we are playing. We should look at the positives now and build on that.”

Coach Van Gaal: “Everyone is really emotional. So I didn’t talk to the lads yet. The first half was not great but we did create 6 chances. We had two great goals in the second half but we had trouble with Lukaku. Personal mistakes get Belgium back into the game.”

Mario Been: “It’s clear where the issues are in Oranje. It’s the back four with the problems. Fix that, and you have a good team.”

Arjen Robben: “We learned a lot today. But there is work to do. But despite the result, this were 3 days well spent. We had good talks and the coach gave me clarity where he wants to use me. In Oranje, he believes my ideal spot is on the left. At Bayern, he switched me to the right. I have a preference there, but I am happy to play on the left wing.” Robben had two assists today.

VI editor and analist Johan Derksen, earlier on extremely critical on Van Gaal (calling him a sneaky unreliable backstabber): “I rate Louis van Gaal’s work today an 8 out of 10. He has put the right players on the right spot. He was very logical today. If players make mistakes on the pitch, he can’t really help that. This must have been a useful night for Van Gaal. Here he could see what happens when we are not at our best. We lose against Belgium.”

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by Jan

Renovate the Oranje team!!!!

Not really… :-).

I’m not for that. I don’t believe in forced things. It doesn’t work. It’s all emotion! Sneijder out! Vaart out! Van Persie out! Heitinga out!

It’s all based on our disappointment. We feel betrayed.

Well, I’m sure the lads are not sleeping well either.

These are the same guys that almost got the big one two years ago.

I am also not about “age”. And that is partly because I’m “getting old”.

But what is age? Good enough is young/old enough. If Willems and Maher are mentioned, that surely Kuyt and Mathijsen are still welcome too. As long as they are GOOD ENOUGH!

Apologies for yelling.

But let’s get serious people.

We are not in trouble.

We have great goalies. Stekelenburg is 29 years old. He has 6 good years in him. That is two World Cups and one Euro to go. And behind him: Vorm, Krul, Cillesen, Mulder and God knows who shows up in the next 6 years. Period.

Central Defenders. Maybe we are not too strong here. Maybe. We have Ryan Donk in Belgium doing well. We have Viergever, Bruma, Gouweleeuw and De Vrij making their way up. Rekik is only 18 years old now but he’s made his debut for Man City and he will certainly improve. Heitinga is certainly not spent. Daley Blind will focus on the center back role at Ajax and with a strong marker next to him, he can be the same kind of players as dad. Relatively good defensively, but very strong in build up. The point is we need to practice. Test people. Develop them. And then there is that man Douglas! Most likely playing for us in Brazil in two years. I am not concerned. And if it was me as team manager, I’d try out Strootman as sweeper.


Looking through an orange pair of glasses…

Full backs. A spot of concern. As full backs in the 1970s and 1980s were usually the worst players in the team, these days they need to be really strong. Fast, strong defensively, good vision, good headers and being able to cross a ball in.
Jetro Willems is a man for the future on the left. Erik Pieters will get back. Buttner will further improve and hopefully Emanuelson will too. And then there is that man Drenthe?! He is so sensationally talented! But needs a coach who can “touch” him. Instead of criticising him for being late at practice. Surely, if Balotelli is allowed to step on faces and burning down houses, someone should be able to motivate Royston?? I’m sure Feyenoord will produce some prospects for that spot too. At Ajax we saw Koppers playing really strong there for a spell and Patrick van Aanholt is a candidate too by then. I’d say, we should be fine.
The right back spot might be Van der Wiel’s now, but Kelvin Leerdam will be breathing in his neck and so will Ronnie Stam hopefully. And Ricardo van Rhijn will show himself too.

In midfield, I’m hoping we will play with only one holding mid. And we have a number to choose from. Nigel de Jong is still going strong. Strootman is too. Stijn Schaars is a candidate, while youngsters like Jordy Clasie and Leroy Fer will knock on the door with full force. Vernon Anita was close already and Ibi Afellay and Adam Maher can play the part too.

Creative midfielders galore, normally. The playmakers. Van der Vaart and Sneijder will not throw the towel as yet. Van Ginkel at Vitesse is catching everyone’s eye, as is Adam Maher at AZ. Georginio Wijnaldum was close already this time around. I personally don’t see it in Siem de Jong, but hey…add him to the mix. We have some exciting youngsters coming through at Feyenoord and I’m sure at Ajax, PSV, Vitesse, Sparta and AZ too… But with the number of strikers on hand, we should consider Mr Van Persie as a creative midfielder too.

Central strikers, no problemo. Hunter, Luuk de Jong, Bram Dost, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Luc Castaignos, Zeefuik, Nacer Barazite, etc etc…

On the wings, Arjen Robben will be around for a bit. At least I hope so. I think he is great. But please please, on the left wing, so we’ll see some crosses come in. If we play with a Hunter like striker, that is actually handy… We have Ola John on the left too and he has shown tremendous skill in crossing the ball in. And then there’s Derk Boerrigter on the left too. Narsingh on the right is a good classic winger too. Wijnaldum can play on the right wing and we know that if necessary Afellay can play there too.

And with youngsters like Memphis Depay (PSV winger), Stefano Denswil and Mitchell Dijks ( Ajax defenders) and Tonny Trindade de Vilhena (Feyenoord midfielder) even in the mix ( all around 20 years old in 2014), our future does look bright.

So, in summary, what do we have:

1. A very talented and skilful group of players, in a nice age mix
2. A football culture and style to rely on
3. Tactical smarts ( if we pick the right coach)
4. A strong need/urge/desire to take revenge on ourselves for this Euro debacle

The only thing we need to create is time to try out new players and test game play. Whenever the A-team gets together for a game, get the second tier lads together for practice. In the 2013 summer, don’t fall for the money trap to take the team to Japan, China or Argentina, but get the boys together for a practice period in Holland. Test young defenders, organise practice games against Ajax 2 or Katwijk.

Don’t let money be the guide and new coach, don’t do things “because that is how we always do them” but invest in re-visiting the Dutch playing style and drill it in. Forward pressure, high paced passing, wing play and pass&move.

There is no need to consider the 2014 World Cup as lost. We can be ready with a strong squad IF the KNVB has the balls to make the right choice.

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