Tag: Oostenrijk

Oranje needs more oomph!

Talent? Check. Energy? Check. Balance of experience and young exuberance? Check. Goals? Check.

But still, despite all of this, we still look like a team of juniors, the way we play. In particular compared to the likes of France and Italy.

Austria shouldn’t be a problem for us, but despite an early 1-0 after a foul in the box on Dumfries, the Orange were not able to get more light between the teams, despite some good chances!

I can see a couple of reasons.

For starters, yes Weghorst is a work horse and a handful but he simply is not good enough in open play. His lay offs and passes never come off, he’s lacking speed and guile and really doesn’t belong in this team. With the space behind the Austrian backline, I started shouting for Malen from the 15th minute onwards.

Another problem we have, is the lack of ruthlessness up front. Again, we saw opportunities for Memphis and for Wijnaldum but the finishing is just not good enough. Too weak. We seem to have a team with talented players but not enough real hunger and desire.

You see this in the physical duels as well. Not when De Ligt or De Vrij are involved. These “Italian defenders” understand what is needed in the duels, but Dumfries, De Jong, Memphis, it’s regularly too soft.

The third problem, as has been mentioned here a couple of times by others, our key players are our wingbacks and Dumfries and Van Aanholt are simply not good enough.

That last problem is not resolved in this tournament. We’d need Karsdorp on the right and a player like Malacia or Willems as left wingback. Or Vilhena even.

The intensity and hunger is a typical Dutch problem, I fear. Compared to the Portuguese or Argentines or even the South Koreans, our youngsters are spoiled and lack the grit some of the youngsters from other countries possess.

The most simple solution to the issues we have is: Malen! With De Ligt and De Vrij and Dumfries, we have enough header strength. But we lack players with depth. Memphis wants it in his feet, and so do Wijnaldum, Weghorst… Malen has everything to be our “Mbappe”.

In the second half we see similar situations. Lots of possession, lots of passes but in the final third it becomes weak. Undecisive. Hesitant. Lacking quality.

After 63 minutes, it’s Malen on the pitch. Lets see…

Well, he’s 2 minutes on and he does exactly what I want to see. Use his speed and run in behind. Well done Memphis, with your pass and well done Denzel Dumfries in running along with Malen: 2-0.

The number of times the Dutch were able to break but then stop playing, start walking, looking around, and then playing back. They just were able to get back from right wing position to the left back position where Ake simply pays the ball out of bounds… That really needs to improve!

Statistically, we probably played an amazing game. Austria literally had zero chance. I don’t think Stekelenburg needed to flex his gloves during the whole game. But against the tougher teams, we will not be able to play this sloppy.

We did see some quality moves, the individual class of Wijnaldum, Frenkie and the two central defenders were on display and even though Memphis played a mediocre game, he still scored a fantastic penalty and is always threatening.

As it stands, we’ll win the group and I hope Frank will mix it up a bit and use some other players. I’d love to see Timber as right back, Gravenberch and Malen from the start and Koopmeiners instead of De Roon…

85th minute in… Ake, whom I really like, dribbles into the midfield with some nice long strides and then he passes the ball square into the feet of…an Austrian player… This is just maddening.

So, in terms of results, nice work Oranje. But looking at the quality of the performances (Ukraine and Austria), I think we need to man up a bit more if we want to get into the quarter finals.

We need to have way longer spells of intensity and pace and directness. Not vs North Macedonia or Austria, but against the big guns.

By the way, a big fat congrats to Mempis Depay for his big transfer: he is now formally a Barca player!

After the match, skipper Wijnaldum said: “We are happy to qualify and to be the first group winner. That is awesome, but I don’t want to become complacent. We cannot relax. This team needs to work hard for it’s success and we need that intensity to stay up.” The PSG midfielder admitted that there wasn’t as much “flow” in this match, compared to the Ukraine game. “We lost the ball too quickly, our short passing wasn’t up to speed. And then a game goes up and down. And we didn’t score the chances in the first half, which also doesn’t help. But, at least our pressure worked well and we did create chances. That remains key. But this is tournament football. We didn’t give a lot away and we want to grow into the tournament. You know, we finish the group as leaders so we should be happy and focus on improving.”

Daley Blind: “We have a plan for the press and in this match we wanted to use the press to push Austria to one particular side. If you then win the ball you can open up fast on the other flank. The plan was very good, the execution was not that great. Yet. But there were also moments when we were pushed back but we remained compact and I think Stekelenburg had a relatively easy day today.”

Blind continues: “It’s ok to not always have the ball. You can dominate without the ball too. If you saw France vs Germany, I don’t think France really cared not having the ball.” The Ajax defender was surprised to see his number on the substitution board. “We didn’t plan for my substitution and I felt I could go on, but hey, the coach decided. It took me two glances to see it was me, but the coach has his reasons and it’s all good.”

Memphis definitely didn’t play his best game, but he’s again crucial when it counts. The penalty kick was converted with gusto, and it was Memphis’ smart pass in behind which launched Malen into space. The PSV forward decided not to be greedy and allowed Dumfries his second goal of the Euros.

He did get a very good opportunity to score. “That was a superb ball by Wout and I should have scored it. It is that simple. I was a tad late and the ball bounced up and didn’t get my leg behind it, not well enugh. It happens, luckily it didn’t have negative repercussions. Next one will be in the net! Today we were sloppy, yes, it wasn’t top. But we worked hard, we kept to the plan and we pressed well. I think we can be pleased, 6 points, clean sheet today and top of the group. It’s fine.”

Marco van Basten was not happy with Mathijs de Ligt: “He is playing in Italy, but I don’t think he learned a lot. He has been playing football for, what… 15 years? It’s always the same. Eleven v Eleven. And as a central defender, you see the game in front of you. Twice, he allowed himself to be pulled into midfield. Twice, there was a gaping hole. Unbelievable. Austria didn’t know what to with it. Against France, Italy, Spain, England, Portugal, Germany…you’re out.”

 

 

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Oranje polishes up its game with a win

The victory over Poland doesn’t get us to the Euros… It doesn’t get us three points. But it will lift the pressure of Danny Blind and his staff. It will boost confidence going forward. And it gives us all a good feeling.

Poland is not France or Germany, of course. And they are simply prepping for the Euros. But it is a good win still.

Holland played better than against Ireland. The dynamics Blind wants to see worked out better. Crisper passing, better mobility and more courageous balls forward.

Vincent Janssen showed how useful he can be when used right. Against Ireland, he moved well but was never found. Against Poland, he still moved well and was given opportunities to score a couple. He is the real deal. Played at second pro level last year for FC Almere. And seems to make the steps up without too much issues. A glorious left foot, great positioning awareness and cool as ice.

janssen berghuis

Poland didn’t play bad but failed to register some real opportunities for themselves. A slip in the back (Bruma, Tete) was the lead in to their opportunities. And a perfectly hit corner kick from Milik’s glorious left foot and Van Ginkel zoning out got them their goal.

One has to say: conceding from set pieces is a worry. Van Dijk vs Ireland not awake. Now Van Ginkel… But at least we don’t concede from open play, which is good (always focus on the good too!).

janssen poland

Steven Berghuis was a bit hot and cold but for a young player without rhythm, it wasn’t bad at all. You can see why Watford wanted him and why Blind relies on him. His type is rare. He’s fast, has a decent dribble and a tremendous left foot and vision.

We need all sorts of players. The power and brilliance of Memphis (when in form), the length and leadership of Luuk de Jong, the speed of Narsingh, the vision and passing of Berghuis, the aerial threat of Dost and hopefully soon the experience and skills of Van Persie and Sneijder. Add to that the world class talent of Robben and we can look hopeful towards the future.

wijnaldum

Kevin Strootman looks strong and confident and it will be a matter of time before he will be his own self. Wijnaldum, Propper, Van Ginkel, Blind… all decent utility players and if we can cement our back four a bit better (Vlaar, De Vrij, Bruma, Van Dijk, Willems, Riedewald, Kongolo, Van Aanholt, Veltman, Janmaat), we should be able to sort ourselves out.

Danny Blind is keen to use this period to cement his ideal September line up. I don’t expect too many changes in the line up vs Austria. Blind: “I think Austria is the strongest of the three opponents. They had a tremendous qualifications campaign and with Janko and Arnautovic up front and a player like Alaba at the back, they could well be the surprise team this Euros.”

Keving Strootman will come in again to start, as skipper, after his 20 mins sub turn vs Poland. This might go at the expense of Van Ginkel. “I don’t want to change too much anymore. We need to start solidify a team.”

kevin aus

Dick Advocaat spent his first week with this Oranje. It is not hard to see what kind of coach he is. The perfect field trainer. Like Blind he has a whistle around his neck, like Blind, but unlike Van Basten. The first days he observed. “That is key. Take a step back and watch them do their thing. Some of them had a disappointing season, some are not 100% fit, some are worried about their future… It was a long season.” When the players do an 11 v 11 game, Dick coaches one team, San Marco the other. Marco coaches with his normal voice. Talks a lot. Dick is more quiet but when he does say something, he uses the deep and hoarse yelling voice. “Bazoer! They’re moving away from you behind you. Pay attention!” or “Bruma, if you tackle, do it for a full 100%!!”.

Dick Advocaat took over from Van Gaal in 2002. The former Man U coach wasn’t able to coach Oranje to the World Cup and Dick needed to mend things. Jeffrey Bruma: “Yes, we spoke about that. We need this to happen again. Immediately back to the big stage.” Advocaat was given the job back then on the advice of the failing Van Gaal. “Louis felt I was the right man to take the older players and get them to perform again. We needed to squeeze all out of them and I did it. Back then, people wrote that that generation was done for. Like they do now. But I will never write off any player. They usually do that themselves by not performing. If a player is good enough at 18 or 38 years old, all fine by me.”

dick marco

You sometimes need an old sly fox to come up with a tactical decision that can change things. Like Van Gaal demonstrated at the World Cup when he brought Krul for Cillesen at penalty time vs Costa Rica. Some people think Oranje should use the PSV core, as they have the dynamics in place already. Put another player for Arias, another defender for Moreno and Strootman in place of Guardado and Robben for Narsingh. Dick: “Really? So Bazoer and and Memphis and Janssen? That would be a shame.”

Dick Advocaat likes to taunt his players and the vibe in the group has changed with the former FC Den Haag icon. Van Aanholt worked with him at Sunderland. During the training game, Advocaat yells at Patrick: “Hey Van Aanholt, you’re up against Promes. Peace of cake, yes?” Danny Blind: “It is important to have someone like him in the group. I think Marco and I are more detached. We keep our distance a bit. Dick really is very open and warm with the players.” Jeffrey Bruma: “Dick is a very warm and friendly guy with great anecdotes, but watch out: he is also very direct and tough.”

memphis dick

Memphis is doing sprint training. Advocaat observes. Memphis steals a yard the first time. And the second time. And the third time. It’s not rare. Rafael van der Vaart used to do this. Willem van Hanegem and Johan Cruyff would hide in the bushes during running training to smoke a quick cigarette. Advocaat: “I see it. But I don’t say anything in the group. I walk over to Memphis after training and say “I saw you making short cuts. Fine with me. But show me in the match that you deserve it.”

Advocaat: “Normally, a group selects itself. Perform at club level, work hard during Oranje sessions and deliver. Usually, the right options present themselves. But this is a very hungry group. They love being here and we have some guys who love to laugh and we also have some odd types… I like that. There is a mix. I want them to give everything for themselves. And I leave them space to do so in their own way. But, it is quite simple: if you don’t perform, you’re out.”

 

 

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