Tag: Rekik

April 26, 2015April 26, 2015 by Jan

Congratulations to Phillip Cocu!

I have never been a PSV fan. And I have shared it many times here. But… I do like and have liked many of their players… What is not to like… Romario, Wim Kieft, Willy van der Kuylen, Luc Nilis… Awesome players. And I am a big Phillip Cocu fan. From creative left winger to midfielder and leader. I liked him at PSV and admired him in his 6 years at Barca and all his games in Oranje.

It seemed he would be a good coach. Good mentality. Tactical intelligence. Great skill. Gentleman personality.

He decided to go through the phase of coaching youth team after youth team, while also assisting Bert van Marwijk with Oranje. He started his career at PSV with a young squad and started that season (last year) with tremendously sexy football. Attractive, attacking, fast, many goals… But somehow suddenly that team choked. And Phillip got pressure and flak. And when he asked Hiddink for council, the media ate him up claiming he was vulnerable and weak. In the meantime, he also battled with cancer while just been gone through divorce.

Not too happy times but Phillip turned it around. He was able to use a couple of new players coming in (Guardado, Luuk de Jong) and could count on the strength of two players who just starred at the World Cup Brazil, Depay and Wijnaldum. On top of that Adam Maher, the prodigal son, started to develop himself and find a spot in the team.

So this season, it all clicked. They started the season in winning form and kept on going. I don’t think they ever played as good as last season but they never played as bad as in the second half of last season. Consistent. Smart. Focused. With Wijnaldum in a leadership role and Depay as the miracle man and Willems as provider and Guardado guarding the balance.

Ajax simply was not good enough. Consistent in grinding out results, but not good enough.

Feyenoord started with 4 or 5 new players and lost points in the start of the season and lacked PSV’s consistency, although they probably played better football on the highs. But lacking scoring power a la Pelle, they could never challenge Ajax or PSV.

So after 5 years of drought, the trophy returns to Eindhoven.

On starting his career with AZ Alkmaar….

Cocu: “I got my first break as a first team player at AZ under Hugo Hovenkamp. He was stand in care taker manager when Eijkenbroek was ill and he used me. I was 18 years old. I had had three stints on the bench before that. The clock was ticking agewise. The club didn’t want to use me in the first team as they would have to pay a significant sum to my amateur clubs where I started. So they pressed Hugo to not use me for another couple of months. But Hugo said “nope, forget it, results come first” and he put me in. That was a whole thing, back then. I was very inconsistent back then, but AZ played first division so no one noticed hahaha. I could play 20 minutes great football and then I would invisible for 30 minutes… But I was driven, wanted to learn and had talent. I was already playing for regional rep teams and by then Young Orange came into view for me as well. We wanted to go to the Olympics in Barcelona but were beaten by Australia in the play offs. Ned Zelic scored the winner for them late. Was a disappointment, I remember. We had a tremendous generation. Taument, Ronald de Boer, Arthur Numan, Marc Overmars, but no Games for us….”

On his Vitesse spell…

“Roda JC wanted to sign me but I wasn’t impressed with their story. My parents wanted me to finish high school in case football didn’t work out. Roda wasn’t too supportive of this. It didn’t feel good to me. And as I was good at studying, I decided to do some more school work. At the end of my first year as a starter, Vitesse came. I lived in that area before with my family and it felt like home a bit. I wanted to study marketing and combine it with football but the uni didn’t cooperate! In this day and age, that would be unheard of. When I came to Vitesse, they just finished fourth! Was a top team, with Van den Brom, Laamers, Eijer, Latuheru, Sturing and Bos. In my first week I broke my leg. That was rough. But it allowed me to work on my foundations. Bert Jacobs was the coach. He was an amazing coach. He was a pretty weird sort of guy, but a great coach. We would kill for him, you know. And it was all about football with him. When Jacobs left and Herbert Neumann came, he put me in midfield. That was a big one. I think I could have had a good career as a left winger too, but never as good as a midfielder. Neumann was a good coach too by the way, but a bit more German discipline. As a midfielder, you cannot be inconsistent. You have to take care of the balance in the team and that helped me a lot as a player.”

On his step up to PSV.

“I was 24 when I left for PSV. I had 5 years at Vitesse. Ajax wanted me earlier on but Vitesse asked a lot for me. I signed a new deal with a limited fee for a transfer. When PSV came, I was ready to go. Vitesse chairman Aalbers gave me a blank check to sign, but I didn’t do it. I wanted to play top flite football and Vitesse was not making that final step. Today, players of 24 make the step abroad but I was born in Eindhoven, my family is from Eindhoven. I love PSV, the club values, the atmosphere. I still have that bond with Vitesse as well. That is important for me. I won my first trophy with PSV in 1997. That moment, I can still feel. A tremendous orgasm of joy and release. I have made that trip on the flat trailer a number of times now. It’s special. What a team we had: Wim Jonk, Ronaldo, Luc Nilis, Jaap Stam. We actually didn’t even win that much. Just one cup and one title. But Ajax had a pretty good generation too, so… it was good times.”

Playing with Ronaldo:

“He is definitely the best player I have ever played with. There is no category for that lad. He came to PSV 17 years old and simply scored 30 goals in his first season. I recently saw this compilation of him, he was unbelievable. Really passionate about football. He and I spent a lot of time together. We were good mates. He enjoyed going out for a drink or spending some time socially. The pressure he had to endure at a young age. And every couple of years he’d go to another club, bigger and better, and he never succumbed under the pressure. A phenomenon..”

On missing a penalty against Brazil, WC1998…

“That has haunted me for quite a while. I am telling you…missing like this… that is really bad. I suffered from these sorts of situations much longer than I enjoyed winning something. This was after 120 minutes of top football against Brazil and I was done for. I was empty. I didn’t strike it hard enough, really. It could have gone a bit more in the corner too. Simply not good enough. This was my favorite tournament. The Euro2000 was good too, but this one… Everything clicked. We were staying outside of Monaco. The vibe was so good. So different to the 1996 Euros. We started with 0-0 against Belgium and we lost Pat Kluivert in that match. The pressure was on for the South Korea game and we won 5-0. Here I score the first and Edje Davids is almost tearing my jersey off my back, hahahaha. All that passion and drive. I love that.”

On friendships in football:

“The football world is a bit shallow. Someimes one or two friendships is all you have left. Weird. But the pace is constantly high. Lots of games with the club and then the international games with the country. Whenever you have time off you want to spend it with real mates or family. I still hang with my old buddies from school. I value that. Going out for a bite to eat. They know me for who I am, not because I’m a cool football player. I do have real friendships in football, by the way. Frank de Boer and I are very close. We met at Oranje and played together in Barcelona and became close. We would go on holidays together and play foot-volley tournaments together. We are both extremely fanatical about winning. But he is a real mate.”

On playing against the best of the best:

“This is against Zidane. Man, what a gifted player. One of the best ever. Very elegant and skillful. On this pic I am captain of Barcelona. I was and still am so proud of that. I also skippered Holland. Also something I was very proud of. I played six seasons in Spain. Barcelona is as warm as PSV. A real family oriented club. I still go back to watch a game every now and then. I was there recently to see Barca play Real Madrid. The people always treat me very warmly and respectfully. I have gone through highs and lows in Spain, but at a certain point we had an amazing team…. Kluivert, Figo, Rivaldo, Ronald de Boer, Luis Enrique… ”

On his exit from Barcelona:

“My last season was the first one of Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. I rate Ronaldinho very high. Up there with Ronaldo. The joy was back in the dressing room…. A news period of successes. I was not going to be part of it. My contract ended. I was allowed to stay but the club was not doing well financially. I had already sacrificed earlier on with a new deal and as the skipper I felt the respect of that last offer was lacking…. Sure, you try to be there in good and bad times and as the skipper I played my part but this particular offer didn’t show a lot of respect. I am quite principled in that sense. And when PSV called, I got excited. They wanted to do something at Champions League level. I had a good feeling about it.”

On the second journey with PSV:

“For years, PSV wasn’t able to get that break in Europe. That quest was exciting for me. The way Hiddink embraced me and made me co-responsible for this was something I enjoyed. I try to use that approach myself now too, to make the players accountable. Not everyone is sensitive to this, there is always that, but a lot of them are. My first year back was great. We lost in the semi finals against AC Milan but we should have gone on to the finals. We were better over two games, but we let ourselves down. But, we won the title, the cup and got semi finals CL… Not that bad. More experienced players can be crucial in that process and this is why I am also keen to work with players with similar bagage. They can give the team that crucial last push.” (Jan: Schaars was one of the players in this category for PSV but he was injured most of the season).

On his final game for PSV:

“A crazy end to a crazy season. We won the title on the last day on goal difference and it was me scoring that final goal. This is probably the most emotional moment of my football career. I knew I would quit so it made it extra special. My sons are all football players. The middle one plays in the Vitesse youth, the others are at the local amateur club. I love watching them play and watch like a dad, not as a coach. They have good coaches and I want to enjoy them as their father. Obviously, they come and watch PSV play when we play at home.”

On resurfacing at Al-Jazira Club….

“Crazy. I was retired. And a week into my holiday I freaked out. I was invited to play in Munich for the farewell of Roy Makaay and Scholl and while I was there, Al Jazira was in a trainings camp there. And Rob Janssen, my manager, spoke with them and they made him an offer. One more year, in another culture… Quite an adventure. And quite a good pay-check. I decided to do it. In my first game, I scored with an overhead kick so my entrance was quite good, hahaha. During the season I did realise I was actually really getting over it a bit. And that was it. We won the Europa League of the Arab nations. Good fun. But that was it. I played Jaap Stam’s farewell game too that summer and enjoyed being in the dressing room with the lads. I missed that.”

On life as a retired football player:

“I never saw myself as a coach, like Frank did. He knew as a player he’d go into coaching. I did want to get that diploma but it was Van Marwijk who called me to assist him, with Frank, at Oranje. I loved it. I knew it was ideal to do this in combination with my studies. And being amongst the lads, on the pitch, always a ball around…was great. The South Africa World Cup was amazing! I started to work at PSV and took over when Rutten was sacked. We actually won the Cup and that is my first trophy as a coach. They all matter. I’m really happy that PSV saw me as a good coach, and just like with my football career, I do wish to achieve the highest possible.”

Cocu did suffer some setbacks in his recent years. He divorced from his wife and the mother of his three kids after she appeared to have an affair for years. He also was diagnosed with a tumor in his back, which was taken out last year.

April 18, 2015 by Jan

Cruyff’s velvet revolution at Ajax is failing miserably

Johan Cruyff will always be a factor at his two favorite clubs, Ajax and Barcelona. His opinion will be heard. He will voice it himself ( in meetings, via his column or via his connections) and usually the club listens. There are always times when some faction is in charge that opts to ignore JC, but at the end of the day, his opinion will be noticed.

As a result, his work and his vision can be seen at clubs like Feyenoord, AC Milan, Liverpool and Manchester United, while coaches like Arsene Wenger and Joachim Low have admitted to be influenced by him.

At this stage, in the Eredivisie, Feyenoord rules. Sure, PSV wins the title and Ajax probably finishes second, but in terms of youth development, it seems Feyenoord has leapfrogged Ajax over the last years, with talents like De Vrij, Martins Indi, Clasie, Karsdorp, Nelom, Van Beek, Vilhena, Achabar and Boetius all making it big while the likes of Ake and Rekik also came through the Feyenoord system.

De Vrij is making big impressions in Europe while Sven van Beek will be right behind him one can only assume.

Feyenoord HAD to change their strategy, after signing big name players (with big paychecks) failed and the shenanigans of Wotte, Gullit and Bosz almost bankrupted the club.

It was Cruyff adept Stanley Brard who organised Feyenoord’s youth system, mentored by none other than Wim Jansen and the rest is history.

Currently, Ajax’ biggest talent – Bazoer – was actually developed by PSV.

So, when Martin Jol was playing more realistic football as Ajax coach, Cruyff had enough and stepped in. He started the so-called Cruyff revolution. And with ex Ajax players and icons like Frank de Boer, Dennis Bergkamp, Wim Jonk, Marc Overmars, Bryan Roy and Orlando Trustful (ex-Feyenoord, not Ajax), Cruyff took the club by storm. With support internally from the likes of Mark Geestman and Ruud van Duyvenbode in the admin side of things and in governance, Johan modelled a new organisational structure. From now on, the technical triangle would determine the technical future of the club. The technical triangle being the head coach Frank de Boer, the youth coordinator Wim Jonk and bridge between senior and youth, Dennis Bergkamp…. In the background, Edwin van der Sar is the commercial director while Marc Overmars is technical director at board level.

But…Cruyff does things the JC way. He is a supported of seagull management. This means: coming in from high up, making a lot of noise, and flying off again, leaving a heap of shit. The shit he left, is basically no real in-depth deployment of the structure. It’s more like “you guys do this together and sort it out. Bye. Or better: adio!” And off he went to Barcelona.

Anyone with know-how of organisational design knows you need to do more than that. You need clarity in communication structures, in authority, tasks and responsibilities. Who is responsible for what? KPIs. Etc.

Not something JC will worry about. But with Overmars in the role of technical director – as Ajax is a public company and needs a formal structure – the role of the technical triangle is a bit unclear. Is Overmars part of it? Does Frank de Boer report to Overmars? At De Toekomst, the youth center of Ajax, the situation is not much better. Jonk is supposed to be the leader, but his communication and management skills seem non existent. The second in command at the youth center, a certain Ruben Jongkind , seems to have taken the lead but the poor lad is an athletics coach. So guess what. The emphasis in the Ajax youth center is now all about running and fysiology. And even worse: talented youth coaches like Ronald de Boer, Michel Kreek and Orlando Trustfull have all left. Ronald de Boer is doing tv analyst work, Trustful is coach of Oranje’s youth teams.

Ajax’ De Toekomst (The Future) youth center

It was always the plan to have at least one ex Ajax icon to manage a youth team. Now, after three years, that plan is in the bin. The new strategy is to have coaches rotate every couple of weeks. This is why Trustfull left: “I am happy for Ajax to determine what they think is best, but I feel I can deliver best when working with one team for a whole season.” Other coaches who managed a team have left as well, such as Fred Grim, Yannis Anastasiou, Heini Otto, Michel Kreek and Dean Gorre. Grim and Kreek are now at Almere City, Gorre and Anastasiou have gone abroad while Otto is currently leading Ajax Streetwise, a humanitarian project. Jongkind attracted new coaches, none of them with a football or even Ajax history, but former coaches in American football, athletics, triathlon and pole jump. There are still a couple of individual coaches, such as Simon Tahamata, Richard Witschge and Bryan Roy.

Jonk has refused to spend more time in the technical triangle meetings as he believes Frank de Boer ignores the Ajax youth and buys players Ajax doesn’t need to buy (Van der Hoorn, Duarte, Sinkgraven, Sigthurson, Viergever) while Frank de Boer and Marc Overmars don’t see eye to eye for the same reasons.

And in all of this, the battle between Cruyff and Van Gaal has a role to play as well. Because Bergkamp, Roy, Jonk are most likely all Cruyff adepts, but players like Frank de Boer and Marc Overmars are more Van Gaal supporters. When Cruyff was wielding his influence in Ajax a couple of years back, De Boer never commented on his “revolution”. Always said he was there to focus on the first team and he never wanted to interviewed about it. Only once, when pressed, did he say he was keen to utilise JC’s football know how. But as Martin Jol strikingly said, when his days at Ajax were running out: “If Cruyff is on the stands and shakes his head, you know what time it is….”.

Happier times….

When De Boer was winning title after title, he seemed an untouchable. Now, with a lot of slow backpasses and slow build up, there is no escaping anymore. The minute Cruyff uses his column to address you and your performance, you know you are in trouble.

Sadly for Ajax, the only way they know to make it work again is to ask El Salvador to come to Amsterdam again and fix the issues. Sadly for Ajax, the well paid executives (Overmars, Van der Sar, Jonk, De Boer, Bergkamp) can’t seem to fix it by themselves. Cruyff said it eloquently back in 2013: “They were all great players. They were able to find each other on the pitch without a problem. Surely, they will be able to sort things out.”

It seems not. End of the month, JC will be reporting back in De Arena to sort his pupils out. Board member, former Ajax (and Feyenoord) player, and lawyer Keje Molenaar: “There is a lot to do, but Johan is aware of the situation and is aware what needs to happen. He won’t be racing down immediately, but that has also to do with his agenda.”

Molenaar: “Cruyff will focus on taking the tension away and making sure all factions work and talk together again. But key is also the quality of the play on the pitch. We need to play Ajax style football again and make sure we get people to come back to the Arena.”

Cruyff responded as well: “I think Ajax is in good shape. Four titles in a row, lots of young players coming through and their quality improves by the year. But now we need to take this hurdle and make another step forward. We need to stop playing the ego game and swallow our pride and get on with it. The distance between the youth center and the first team needs to be closed. We need to develop players that will stop the management in trying to find better alternatives.”

March 27, 2015March 28, 2015 by Jan

Hiddink shows glimpses of his Oranje

Oops!! I forgot to give you my prediction!!

Well, I think we will win this 3-1. The Turks will score a late consolation goal. I think we’ll grab them by the throat and score an early goal (15 minutes or so) via Huntelaar. This will allow us to settle and before half time it’s Depay or Sneijder scoring a second. In the second half, almost an hour in,we score a third. Probably again Huntelaar. Hiddink will make some changes (Huntelaar, Sneijder, Wijnaldum) and the Turks will be able to score a cheap goal.

With RVP and Robben sidelined, most people are keen to find out what Guus is doing for the Turkey match. This match, remember, is a must-win match. The Spain friendly is irrelevant. It’s probably relevant for the Spanish, as they will want revenge. But we don’t really care. If we lose against Turkey, we can’t be bothered. And if we win against Turkey, we probably can’t be bothered either :-).

I mean, winning against Spain is all well and good, but it won’t bring us closer to the Euro.

So all eyes are on Guus and his lads. Guus, who used to coach Turkey. One would almost forget. The campaigns he had with South Korea and Australia will never be forgotten. His previous Oranje stint was shabby either. But the Russian job was ok but the Turks decided to let the man go. But Turkey didn’t improve after Hiddink. Far from it actually.

But today, he’s ours again. The journeyman used his influence to get rivals Huntelaar and Van Persie to become mates. Who’d thunk? They were rivals for a long while. Both central strikers and not very cleverly handled by Van Gaal. Who first pointed at Klaas Jan as his main striker, only to quickly use RVP when he noticed the Man United man was in glorious shape. Klaas Jan is used to being sidelined in Oranje, but already has 70 games under his belt and an average of 1 goal every 99 minutes!! ( Klaas Jan: “That is an annoying statistic, because we’d need 9 minutes of extra time against Turkey for me to score!”)

Kluivert’s tally is Hunter’s next goal and if he really has his swagger back he might even challenge Van Persie. The two had a fall out, publically, on the pitch against Kazachstan. Van Persie didn’t pass the ball to the open Hunter and the Schalke man politely informed RVP about his thoughts.

Hiddink did what apparently no coach before him ever tried: he told the two to grab a coffee together. Huntelaar: “We never did that before. I never drank a coffee with Robin. Mostly, because Robin doesn’t drink coffee, hahaha. But seriously, we were never friends. We never played together, which is different for me than my relationship with Robben or Sneijder. We never played together in the past. We simply never really connected. But Hiddink played us together and told us we could look forward to more of this. And now we have had our one on one, we actually enjoy talking to each other. We sometimes call each other up now. Just to have a bit of a chat. It’s good.”

Van Persie and Huntelaar together, with Robben in a free role. It resulted in 6 goals. The Hunter will have to do it without the two veterans but will have two younger forwards with him. “We have enough talent to make it work. Sure, we’ll miss Arjen and Robin but that’s football. Turkey is a tough opponent, but we’ll win this. I’m 1000% convinced.” The former Ajax man was not keen to name names: “The coach will decide who he plays. I’m cool with any solution. We have players that can play like real wingers, we have players who want to come centrally, either way…. I can deal with any situation.”

Hiddink did practice with both Dost and Huntelaar, but the sharp observer saw that this was a tactic being practiced in case Oranje would be behind. Huntelaar: “This team can play many different systems. And with a player like Dost, we can play long balls. We have players like Sneijder, Clasie, De Vrij and Blind. They are all capable of position a ball on your necktie.”

Stefan de Vrij, the Lazio defender, obtained a bit of a swagger in Rome. Where Strootman was hailed as a rock star when he was signed, De Vrij walked around Rome unnoticed in his first weeks in Italy. Not any more. With Lazio on a firm third spot in the Serie A, the ex Feyenoord man has built up some sensational statistics. “They keep track of everything in Italy. The number of interceptions a defender makes is similar to the number of assists for a winger or the goals of a striker. In that competition, I am actually number 1.” De Vrij is being humble. His statistics are even great on an international level. The pessimistic Lazio supporters believe the quiet defender might be sold to a European top team even, this summer. “I noticed I made some big steps. I played Luca Toni some time back with Feyenoord and he owned me. Last week I played him again and he didn’t touch the ball. I know people in Holland always say Dutch defenders need to become more gritty and tough, but I don’t get a lot of complaints in Italy.” The land of strong defenders… Both Blind and De Vrij will collect their silver platter tomorrow, for their first anniversary in Oranje.

It seems Hiddink will pick De Vrij as one of the first players when making his list on the team sheet. Cillesen will be on there too, along with Sneijder and Huntelaar. There will be some question marks too. Depay is not necessarily Hiddink’s first choice. The PSV man has had some run ins with Guus before and will need to step up a bit, according to insiders. It seems Clasie and Wijnaldum might start alongside Sneijder in midfield. Which could mean that Blind starts on the bench. Because should Depay start as left winger, it makes sense to use Jetro Willems as left back. As Steve mentioned in a comment, Blind would be an interesting option as center back, given that he played there a lot in the youth and had a number of good games for Ajax 1 in that role too.

I wouldn’t be surprised myself if Hiddink uses Afellay as a false winger. This will allow him to use a 4-3-3 style system with possession and a 4-4-2 without possession (Afellay dropping back when we lost the ball).

Hiddink is holding his cards close to his chest so we’ll need to wait and see what happens.

The good thing is, that Luuk de Jong lashed an elbow in Bruma’s face and drew blood.

Or let me rephrase: the good thing is that the lads train at a high intensity level. The training is tough, intense and with aggression. Something we will need to “replace” Arjen Robben.

It is all seriousness and gravitas currently in the Oranje camp but Wes Sneijder couldn’t help but lift the spirits with some comments. The former Real Madrid man is happy with his skipper role. “I don’t look back with negative feelings about me losing the band. We have been through that. It has been discussed and the topic lies at the cemetery for me. No, in general it is good to be the skipper for your country. And against Turkey, in a big match! Last time I scored against them, I didn’t celebrate. But this time I will. Not only that, I will cheer very loud!!” This last comment is a sarcastic nod to Van Gaal’s shout out when a journalist asked what he would do if Sneijder would score…

Hiddink is a fan of relaxed. Take it easy. Do normal, then you do crazy enough. Hiddink, like Huntelaar, is from the Achterhoek (the Back-corner) as the area east of everything is called. The fun factor at the last public training was Joost. A Down Syndrome kid who was present and commentated the training really loud. He knew all the names of all the players, but he kept calling Hiddink “Louis van Gaal”. Hiddink: “Isn’t that just fun? This lad, his spontaneity and his openness? Great.” But all fun aside, Sneijder said: “Tomorrow, the fun needs to stop. Particularly for Turkey. We are 6 points behind the Cechs and 3 behind Iceland. France will be far away in the distance if we let this game slide.” Hiddink looked back at the press conference on his time as Turkish team manager. “We missed the Euros in 2012 narrowly. It took the decider vs Croatia and that is a strong nation. Turkish players are very skilled but sometimes undisciplined. Once the emotions run riot, you sometimes lose them.”

August 14, 2014 by Jan

The Future of Oranje is Lucky

While the umptieth war is waged (I am not talking Israel – Hamas, but Laurent vs the rest, which I choose to ignore) lets have a look at our future…

When Louis was signed I was cynical. I thought it was all about Louis’ ego and personal ambitions (and it was, actually) and feared he would screw up in the social realm (media, clubs, some players) but he actually did remarkably well. And that is an understatement.

I have said it here and will say it again: he did an amazing job. With Three World Beaters, one World Beater fighting back to top form and a group of young talents and/or mediocre players, he was able to squeeze the maximum out of the orange. And if Robben took that chance to shoot in the dying minute of the Argentina game, we could have gone all the way.

So Louis has taught us some things. 1) Preparation is everything. Working hard on tactical discipline, game plan and physical fitness brings dividends. 2) It’s not about the individual names, it’s about the team! 3) Good changes / substitutions can alter the game and affect the result. 4) Focus and believing in the mission allows athletes to rise to the occasion and exceed expectations.

To me, this means that there are no more excuses possible in the future. Germany for instance, has a great team. But they do not have a Messi or a Robben. They have many great team players and a number of players who are more than a team player (Kroos, Muller, Lahm, Ozil) but none of these will be remember in 30 years, like a Beckenbauer, Muller or Netzer. Only Klose, as a result of his record. Depending on how long that will stand.

It’s the TEAM that wins it. Brazil was all about Neymar. Argentina was all about Messi. Oranje was definitely leaning on Robben a lot but we did have that massive team spirit. Vlaar. De Jong. Blind. De Vrij. And those wonderful subs: Huntelaar. Depay. Wijnaldum. Fer.

I was not too happy with the choice of Hiddink but I now believe it is not a bad move.

Lucky Guss will not add a lot of tactical wizardry to Holland. But he will bring his typical toolbox. He will bring a sense of “relax, it will all be good” charisma to the table. His pizzazz and cool will deal with the media and some of the big boys (Van Persie, Sneijder) while Blind will continue the work of Van Gaal.

And when RVP, Sneijder, Robben move on, Blind will be the man with the authority before a new group from 2016 onwards.

And with all the talent that is emerging, and with Blind’s skills in managing and prepping teams (assuming he has learned a thing or two or three from the Master) we should be VERY confident.

The key thing is: how and when will we move from the reactive style to the more dominating style we like to play. Ajax, Feyenoord, Twente, Heerenveen, AZ and PSV all tend to play that game. So does Bayern. We can only hope LVG will do the same with Man United and I guess Galatasaray will not play reactive football in Turkey?

Guus is not as adventurous as I would want him to be, but in the lead up to the EC, in that qualification group we’re in, I cannot see Holland play like we did in Brazil.

When Guus Hiddink was introduced to the media the other week, and he praised the work of Van Gaal. “Louis has add a dimension to Dutch School football. I will pursue that avenue myself too. Sure, playing creative and playful is fun but we need to watch out that we are not just being world champions playing nice football within the borders of our own country! It’s key for our talents to learn how to perform under pressure. The pressure of winning! We have many talents but they need to be transformed to players who can win games.”

Ruud van Nistelrooy, assistant of Hiddink and Blind: “I never listened to the assistant coach…”

Hiddink emphasized that winning is important. Silverware is important. He also stressed that Danny Blind will have an even more dominating role. “Danny will be in charge as field coach but will also be involved in the media and press conferences. He is a very astute coach and we will jointly manage this two years, as we both bring our specific qualities to the fore.”

Blind is an astute tacticus and I hope he will find a way to have Oranje play the Dutch football style we see being played by Bayern and Germany. (Ouch, I didn’t expect THAT to come out of my keyboard!!!).

But when you have the likes of Promes, Boetius, Robben, Depay, Kishna etc up front and the likes of Maher, Wijnaldum, Clasie, Klaassen, Van Ginkel, Siem de Jong, Strootman, Blind, Fer, Sneijder, Afellay in midfield and wing backs like Janmaat, Van Rhijn, Van der Wiel, Willems, Kongolo and Van Aanholt you cannot but play attractive attacking football…

The only worry I have is the center forward of the future…. Is it Castaignos? Or Luuk de Jong? Or Van Wolfswinkel? Or is it a player that has yet to be spotted? Or will we play without a real center forward…..? We were spoilt for choice in the past (Van Nistelrooy, Kluivert, Makaay, Hasselbaink, Van Hooijdonk, Van Basten, Van Vossen, Gullit, Kieft, Bosman, Gillhaus, Houtman) but we seem to not develop any real killers anymore… Is our development to blame? Or is there no more space for strikers…

Klose doesn’t seem to agree with us but most other goal scores at the World Cup are more attacking midfielders (James) or false strikers/wingers (Muller, Robben, Messi).

I personally don’t mind. Because whatever the need: we have Dirk Kuyt.

May 30, 2014 by Jan

More updates from the Oranje Camp

Van Gaal thought he had the whole squad together now in Portugal, with Verhaegh, Janmaat and Van der Vaart slowly returning to the training pitch. But the training camp was in slight shock when Van Gaal had to announce that poor ol’ Rafael is not going to make it to the World Cup. The tear in his calf will be such that his fitness cannot be guaranteed for the tournament.

It would have been massive for the 31 year old midfielder who played an important role in the qualifications but his 110th cap will have to wait.

Wesley Sneijder is his old confident (cocky) self. The little general did have some question marks about this World Cup earlier in the year but is quite comfortable now. “I did have my doubts in the past years. Mr Van Gaal was pretty intense in his judgements and I have to say, looking back, he was right. I was not 100%. I might have been 95%. Good enough for Galatasaray in the Turkish competition, but not good enough for CL glory or World Cup glory. I see that now. But over the last months, those doubts melted I was gaining fitness and form. And I walked into this training camp with a good feeling.”

So you are confident you’ll be on the plane? “Well no… actually, no one is apart from Robin and Arjen I guess… We’re all a bit tense with regards to this last cut off.”

Dirk Kuyt can be seen as a real veteran. The 33 year old believe he has much more years in his body. “The doctors at Fener always say I have the body of a 25 year old. It feels like that too. I will happily play more seasons in Turkey and maybe return to Holland one day. Who knows…”

Kuyt enjoys the process preparing towards the World Cup. “The actual tournament goes really quick. You’re in this haze, in this flow. But the prep phase is good fun. You grow towards each other, both on the pitch and off. Some of us know each other really well but most of the youngsters I don’t really know that well. And once you are in this pre-tournament process, it happens. You talk about other things than football, you play games, you socialise. It’s cool.”

What kind of games? “Well, we are all winners I guess. So we play games like cards, or table tennis or playstation games… There is a lot of rivalry happening and its always fun to try and beat certain lads. Arjen Robben has tremendous fits of anger when he loses, hahahaha. And there is nothing more fun than watching him…. But I’m the same, to be honest…”

Jordy Clasie is the table tennis king at the moment, as the lads have an internal competition. The little Feyenoord playmaker analyses his perfect pass on Van Persie below:

“I had a little bit of time, looked up and saw space behind their defence and Robin was already moving in that space. A pass like that needs to be firm and have enough speed. So you gotta put your laces through the ball, to keep it flat and to have the ball beat the defenders. And Robin is wonderful to play with, as you can do anything with him. He can have it in his feet, or in his stride, high, low, doesn’t matter with him.”

Here are some highlights of the training sessions:

Tomorrow, LVG will announce the final squad for Brazil.

Without Van der Vaart, it seems Wijnaldum has a real chance, although Louis might actually consider Depay or RObben for that role too or even Vilhena depending on how well the PSV midfielder is doing…. He is lacking rhythm too, so with a 5-3-2 LVG might decide to take an extra midfielder like Fer or an extra winger like Promes who impressed against Scotland….

We’ll find out soon!!

May 27, 2014 by Jan

Updates from Oranje camp in Portugal

Only 15 days to go!! And 5 days until we learn the final definitive selection!

The Netherlands has 15 mio team managers. People (fans, ex players, coaches, analysts, media people) and then there is the actual team manager of course…

And in the run up to the World Cup you will hear them all. And they all have their own ideas. Feyenoord assistant coach JP van Gastel repeats what his former head coach Ronald Koeman said earlier this week: “Van Gaal should have taken Mathijsen. It’s clear that the Oranje defence is young and inexperienced, albeit very talented. It would have helped if he would have picked at least one experienced trooper. Joris would have been perfect. He was in top form the last months, he has leadership on and off the pitch. I think this is a missed opportunity.” Pundits like Ronald Waterreus, Co Adriaanse and Ronald de Boer expressed a similar opinion. But, that is irrelevant now as Louis is not able to call him up even if he wanted to. The definitive group will have to come from the prelim squad.

The discussion centers more and more on “who will Louis select”? The future Man United coach said he has 20 names on paper already. Only 3 more to go. The practice sessions show a potential line up with Cillesen on goal and a back five of Janmaat, De Vrij, Veltman, BMI and Van Aanholt. In midfield Nigel de Jong has taken the role of Clasie (pretty useful against Spain and Chile of course) with Daley Blind on his side and the golden triangle of Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie upfront. Depay, Lens and Clasie will have to wait their chance on the bench.

Van Gaal also made some comments about a certain player who might not be top fit but whose yield – for lack of a better word – has always been very high for Oranje. “The ability to deliver sometimes overrides match fitness. And we still have a couple of weeks to get players more fit.” It seemed like Louis was referring to Raf van der Vaart. The HSV player has not had a super season in Germany and struggled with fitness. At the Portugal camp he had the flu and he suffered a little calf injury which kept him off the pitch today. But the former Ajax, Real Madrid and Spur midfielder has the ability to turn games around with his ability to deliver in big games and Van Gaal knows he might need an experienced player like him to bring in difficult situations.

With Depay he has a young gun who will be able to surprise with his confident performance and trickery. According to former Oranje wingers Regi Blinker and Bryan Roy the PSV winger might well be the surprise of the World Cup. “He won’t start, we don’t think, but he’ll get playing time for sure. And he might be able to do something special. Against Ecuador you could see how Van Persie rated Depay as he allowed him a free kick which RVP would normally take himself.”

Bryan Roy

Roy did say a bit more: “I would never go for 5-3-2 by the way. We have always impressed most with three strikers. We have the players to play like that and we can put more pressure on the opponents. But I do understand Van Gaal’s reasoning and you can’t ignore the fact he has proven himself as a world class coach, so maybe we should simply support his choices.”

Skipper Robin van Persie won’t say too many negative things about his coach. “We have special relationship. I never knew him too well before he took on Oranje and we had that first meeting in which he told he would go for Klaas Jan as his striker. That came out and people thought I would be disappointed. But I wasn’t. That comment was only one comment in a meeting that lasted hours. We talked about many things. Football and non football matters. And we still do. He might have said that to motivate me, but at the same time I wasn’t very impressive in Oranje till then and I know it. Anyway, we built up a good relationship, something you don’t have with just any coach.”

Van Persie grins when Van Gaal’s intensity is mentioned. “Well, he expects everyone to give 100% like he does. And that is tough at times. But I like it. It sort of lifts you up to do better. And he is very open and clear and direct. And that is good. He also wants you to talk to him about things you experience or believe. He welcomes debate. But if you didn’t perform, he will tell you.”

The Man United striker had a difficult season in England. No European football for him and he missed a number of games due to injuries. But in Portugal the former Feyenoord man is reaching his top level again. During the 5 against 5 games they played he dribbled past opponents as if they weren’t there and scored from all angles possible. He is expected to play a full game against Ghana and will be ready for the big job against Spain by then.

“Do what I say, nose, otherwise I will take your new job away from you!”

About the new system: “It is not really new for some. Feyenoord played like this and we played like this with Man United as well. I am sure half of the squad has played this system, but with Van Gaal it is always about the perfect execution. It’s almost sacred geometry with him. The distance between players needs to be exactly right and it takes a lot of thinking, coaching and focus. But we have a couple of weeks to go and you can tell things are improving fast.”

Van Gaal was not happy with the way Oranje played vs Ecuador and took Kongolo and Clasie off at half time. Does the Oranje skipper do anything special towards these players to keep them motivated? “I don’t need to, believe me. And I don’t have to tell anyone they played great if they didn’t. But it was one game, a friendly, while the non Eredivisie players were still absent. So you can’t judge too much. It was Kongolo’s first game in Oranje. And I have had many great assists in my life, but the one Clasie played against Ecuador was probably one of the 5 best passes I have ever received. So he didn’t do too badly. And seriously, all players are making giant steps. Did you see how Martins Indi positions himself, how he handles the ball and is coaching others? He has made huge steps compared to two years ago.”

Van Persie continues: “The key thing for young players is to keep on watching and learning and taking it all in. We are on the verge of a World Cup in Brazil. It doesn’t get bigger. I was never a bright player. When I was young, I was a selfish player and wasn’t really too smart tactically. I can see that now. And if you see how disciplined youngsters like Martins Indi, Clasie, Fer and Depay can play, that is quite something.”

Van Persie and Robben were the two top dogs in Oranje, with Strootman before he got injured. Wesley Sneijder, the former skipper and leader, had to worry about his position in the squad. But not anymore, it seems. The Gala midfielder has surprised Van Gaal in a positive manner. The team manager: “The biggest gift I received is Wesley Sneijder. He is very fit. If he stays in this form, he will be a very important player for us and I am very very content.”

“For Clasie we have a water bottle with a straw”

It seems the following players can count on a ticket to Brazil:

Cillesen, Janmaat, Verhaegh, De Vrij, Veltman, Martins Indi, Vlaar, Van Aanholt, De Jong, Blind, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Persie.

I do think Krul and Vorm are certain as well and I think we’ll see Clasie and Depay on the plane too. Huntelaar is the best stand in for RVP of course and if Lens is fit and in form he will be a certain squad member.

Three more field players needed. I suppose Van Gaal will consider Blind as left back if he believes Kongolo is too light for the big job. In which case we’ll see Fer and maybe De Guzman come along. As we will play with two forwards, having Depay and Lens as stand ins is probably enough and Boetius and Promes will be able to book his summer holiday, while Rekik suddenly might be needed to make up the numbers in defence…. Wijnaldum will lose out if LVG picks both Sneijder and Van der Vaart.

If Kongolo however impressed Van Gaal, he will be a perfect stand in for center back as well and Rekik might unlucky which might give Van Gaal the opportunity to bring another wild card in the form of Promes or Boetius or midfielder Vilhena…

The latter has been loaned out to Young Oranje (with Boetius, Rekik and Promes) while Kongolo was allowed to stay with the big boys. Tonny Vilhena: “It’s not a big deal for me. People tend to forget that even Young Oranje is already a step up for me, as I should normally play under 19s. And I have not given up on Brazil. It would be fantastic to go along. The coach told us he will make his mind up after seeing us play on Wednesday. So if we perform well, who knows?”

“I’m glad that my little media games with you worked out well, Sneijdertje!”

Karim Rekik adds: “The coach has told us specifically that we still have a good chance to be part of it. And why not. The other players will also have to prove themselves. I would love to go, and would love to see how Robben and Van Persie and those guys deal with the stress and the pressure and all that….”

We will give the Men in Blazers the last word in this post. The American comedians look at the chances we (and Belgium) have this time around. Funny. Not.

May 14, 2014 by Jan

Musings about Prelim Oranje – 27 days to the WC

Back in 1974, the Dutch team manager Rinus Michels was asked to be “coordinator” for the 1974WC campaign. The Barcelona coach took the job, although the players didn’t think they would need a coach.

The public opinion was negative. Oranje was never important enough for the players and we qualified thanks to a referee mistake in the last qualification game. It was Belgium who deserved to go to the tournament.

Michels did his assessment and found out all his experienced top defenders were unavailable. Rinus Israel, Barry Hulshoff, Theo Laseroms, Epi Drost, Aad Mansveld… These guys were sensational central defenders. Tough as nails. Experienced. And great leaders. All injured.

The old gang (Swart, Keizer, Moulijn, Van Duyvenbode, Jan Mulder, Nico Rijnders, Dick van Dijk, Lex Schoenmaker) was not available anymore and there were some new players making their way into the team, such as Haan, Rijsbergen and Rensenbrink.

Only a week before the start of the tournament it was, when Cruyff/Michels decided to put Arie Haan as central defender and to push the opponent so far up the pitch that the pressure would be off the last line of defence. This move, plus semi-sweeper Jongbloed in goal, were the two tactical moves that solved Michels’ puzzle. It clicked and the team won silver and most importantly the hearts of many generations to come.

By the way, RVP/LVG is the new combi (like Cruyff/Michels) as they discussed the 5-3-2 when they met to watch PSV – Feyenoord a month ago….

I didn’t like Michels. Just as I am not a big fan of the person Louis van Gaal. But I respect his skills. And he does want to play attractive football. I probably prefer him over Hiddink, in that sense. As a coach that is.

So I will – for now – support him, the team and his choices. I also rate Blind and Kluivert, so in Oranje We Trust!

As for the choices…

Van Gaal would have taken Van der Wiel if he was fit, I believe. But without him, the 2010 defensive line up is gone. A necessary move.

I personally would have loved it if Van Gaal would have decided to bring either Van Ginkel or Afellay, but the fact that he doesn’t means they’re simply not match fit enough. Van Gaal will know best, on this topic.

The exclusion of Stekelenburg and Vermeer is logical and one can only assume Van Gaal has made very well though through decisions with regards of Narsingh, Klaassen and the others… We might one day hear his thoughts, but as Vilhena is in, as are Fer and De Guzman, one can only assume that these players bring more to the table – at the moment – than Klaassen.

Vlaar is not fast enough :-)? Thanks for posting this, Steen!!!

We will see him (and hopefully Narsingh, Van Ginkel and Propper) back into Oranje under Hiddink in the years to come.

The inclusion of Kongolo makes perfect sense. For starters, we need a left back. Blind might be LVG’s choice for holding mid (either as starter or as sub for De Jong). Buttner hasn’t played enough. And Blind doesn’t fit the bill for the 5-3-2 role description.

The choice of Van Aanhold AND Kongolo tells you Van Gaal is looking for legs, lungs and offensive power on the flanks. Verhaegh and Janmaat offer this on the right. I do think Van Aanholt will be among the final seven who will not make it.

Kongolo can also play center back and midfield, so a safe bet. There is not much this kid doesn’t have, apart from experience. But he could well be the sensation of the World Cup for us and on his way to bigger things fast.

The goalie question is quite straightforward for me: Cillesen had a top season and is a very good goalie for the Oranje style of play. I can only assume playing EPL for years will give you the upperhand over a talented goalie who played for PSV only one season. So Zoet goes home.

In Defence, we’ll lose Van Aanholt and possibly De Vrij or Rekik. I think Veltman, BMI and Vlaar are certs for the CB role.

In midfield, I think we will not see de Vilhena go to Brazil and I don’t rate De Guzman too high at the moment either.

Lastly, Promes and Boetius will have to set their sights on 2016 for their first tournament.

This is what I think will happen.

I personally would prefer LVG to leave Kuyt home. I don’t see his role as a winger and as a central striker we have RVP and Klaas Jan (and even Rafael van der Vaart). I think Kuyt has a lot of everything, but not enough of one thing.

I prefer a young buck like Boetius in his place (he could be the Elia of 2014).

Rafael van der Vaart is the most experienced Oranje player with 109 caps to his name, although Dirk is the oldest player (33 years old) and currently has 98 caps to his name.

Van der Vaart hopes to commence his sixth (!) tournament and joins Aron Winter and Edwin van der Sar as record holders in number of tournaments. If he remains fit and valuable, he could easily reach seven in two years.

Sneijder and Robben can join Rafael in that exclusive club, by the way.

Oranje now has three debutants for the ball: Kongolo, Vilhena and Jeroen Zoet all have to collect their “hare”.

Van Gaal now only has 8 players who were present in 2010. Normally, Strootman, Afellay and Van der Wiel would have been part and parcel if fit and so could Stekelenburg have been, if if if….

Wesley Sneijder commented in his own style from Istanbul. He still has no clarity re: his position and he has not heard from the team manager about the tactical changes we might see. “Apparently, the hierarchy has changed.”

But, Sneijder can’t wait to go to Brazil. “It’s quite exciting. I don’t know what to expect. If I’m in, I will be joining the group in Portugal. I still have one game to play with Gala, but I’m doing really well. I am in form and I will keep that form as I am super excited to play this World Cup. That is just the best.”

March 28, 2014 by Jan

Oranje talents dream of the World Cup

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

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

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

Davy Klaassen

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

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

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

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

Stefano Denswil

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

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

Karim Rekik

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

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

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

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

Kyle Ebecilio

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

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

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

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

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

Tonny Vilhena

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

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

Jean Paul Boetius

March 5, 2014 by Jan

Van Persie: "We still don't know how good we are…."

Oranje is 100 days away from Brazil. Only 100 days…. It feels like it’s so close. But looking at the task of Van Gaal, you’d wish it was 1,5 season away…. So many uncertainties…. These last couple of days, Raf van der Vaart and Michel Vorm have left the camp, sick. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben aren’t fit either. It wouldn’t surprise me if we would see a somewhat devaluated Oranje perform. Van Persie is also struggling with the flu, while Robben is trying to fight off a knock.

Siem de Jong is called up to replace Raf.

Wesley Sneijder will most likely start along with some new names up front. Huntelaar will play if Van Persie isn’t fit and he will be flanked by some youngsters left and right.

Van Gaal told the media he is ok with Van Persie and Robben not being able to play. “I will use them in Brazil anyway, of course. But now I have a chance to see some new kids. Boetius will most certainly play.” Based on the last practice session, it seems Karim Rekik will also play his first Oranje game.

Van Gaal has a rookie-card, or a wild card, in his mind for a youngster who currently is not yet part of the squad. Van Gaal knows who that is, but doesn’t want to announce the name yet.

Van Gaal is currently working with a 35 man squad (incl Van der Vaart and Lens). Willem van Hanegem wouldn’t be surprised if the rookie is Feyenoord defender Terence Kongolo. The last weeks, the young talents has played Mathijsen out of the Feyenoord team. “I have said this two seasons ago: that is probably our biggest prospect as a defender. He was the best player in the Feyenoord – Ajax of last weekend.” If the youngster keeps on performing the coming months, it could well be him. Virgil van Dijk could be another candidate. In Amsterdam, the name of Ricardo Kishna is being whispered. Danny Blind is a big fan of the youngster. When Kishna was badly injured, the top management of Liverpool traveled to Amsterdam to sign the winger. Blind was quicker and presented a juicy contract for the bravado boy and secured his services for Ajax. Kongolo, Kishna. Boetius, Rekik, Klaassen, Promes… It could be either of them. Boetius is cautious with his comments: “I have been battling injuries and I am happy I am playing for Feyenoord again. Everything else is a bonus. I will do what I can to show myself.”

Karim Rekik: “I have nothing to claim but I would be disappointed if I would miss out….”

Van Gaal discussed the situation of Jeremain Lens in detail at the press conference, as the former AZ and PSV man plays in war stricken Kiev. “We keep an extra eye on Lens, as he has a special training program during the long winter break in the Ukraine. But with this unrest there, the situation is pretty serious there and we keep an eye out for him.” The suspended Lens is not part of the squad now.

Van Gaal will use this game vs France as his last real opportunity to experiment. Partly due to the fact he has a long list to submit by May 7 (30 players) and partly due to the number of absentees. It looks like Van der Wiel and Clasie will get a chance to show themselves. This team manager is not that hard to please. Veltman, Klaassen and Cillesen, for instance, all were players of Young Ajax at the start of this season and are now part potentially, of the World Cup squad. If a youngster shows consistent form from now on, he could be in it.

Quincy Promes played for Go Ahead Eagles last season. The Twente forward is humble, still. “I am not counting on anything. It is going fast, but I don’t want to get lost in all this. I take it one step at a time.” Klaassen played Jupiler league last season, but for him it can’t go fast enough.

Kevin Strootman is still considered a youngster but he is about to play his 25th international game. He will be honoured with a bottle of champagne and a shield with inscription. Dirk Kuyt and Arjen Robben are also about to reach a milestone: 100 and 75 caps respectively.

Robin van Persie, still not sure if he will play, was happy to be interrogated during the press hour. He frowned and was quite stern whenever someone raised issues re: Man United. “We are here at Oranje now. And I wish to keep my comments limited to Oranje.” But when someone asked him about the squad and the newbies in it, he said he couldn’t comment on topics that are the team manager’s decisions… What he did say: “The Stade de France is sold out for this game. Quite astonishing. 80,000 people on the stands, which says something. It will be a real match, I think. France has a strong squad. They play well. I saw some of their games. Players like Evra, Giroud, Pogba, Cabaye are pretty good. I see them as a contender.”

Asked if he felt Oranje was one too…. “I think we need to be modest. We don’t really know where we stand. We have some changes in the squad, with some players out and some newbies coming in. The expectations in Holland are always sky high. Ever since the 1970s, that result and those performances are now the benchmark. I don’t think that is realistic.” Van Persie does not believe Oranje will lack confidence or ambition. “Oh no, we are going to Brazil to go for gold, for sure. But with us, at least 10 other nations. We simply do not know now where we stand. But I will say this: I am impressed with the quality of the youngsters. I saw Ajax – Barcelona and the way Klaassen was making sure that the Spanish couldn’t get to the ball in the dying minutes and how he played it tactically was pretty impressive. We have wonderful talents and if we can make it gel, we can do something spectacular. But we also need to be critical. Only then can we get better.”

Call me crazy, but I think we are going to give the French a beating. I think they will be cautious at home, playing in a low pace and our fresh legs and youthful enthusiasm will get them. I think we win 1-3, with a dazzling Boetius and a powerhouse Klaassen performance.

Sneijder directing traffic, Boetius and Klaassen making runs while the rest of the team keeps it tight.

What do you guys think?

March 2, 2014 by Jan

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

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

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

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

Lets start with the State of the Orange Union.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A quick check up on our top guns.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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