Tag: Schaars

November 11, 2016 by Jan

Oranje draws, but takes a loss…

Or actually: three losses…

Friendlies are there for coaches to try things out, test the team, build confidence, let players gel together and for federations to make money….

However, prestigious friendlies against rivals might do the opposite: a loss will not build confidence and as Oranje already had to make so many changes, letting players gel together was a big ask.

And typically for the bigger mess we find ourselves in, Danny Blind loses three key players in run up to Luxembourg! Stijn Schaars: calf. Vincent Janssen: concussion. Jeremian Lens: hamstring.

Sure, it’s only Luxembourg, but again Blind needs to re-shuffle and again we will miss an opportunity to build on a new foundation.

Danny is almost able to field a complete team of players not available due to injuries or not available coz they don’t get playing time…

The good thing is: Arjen Robben will be back.

Watching Nederland – Belgie was watching a team of top class players playing against a team of rookies, with one top class player: on the stands. And it was a boring ass game. Belgium didn’t seem to want too much, Holland couldn’t do too much.

Belgium is stacked with players from the big leagues / teams who clearly didn’t want to put too much into the game. As a result, they had nice dominance, nice possession, some flowing passing but no end product. Not having a real striker but Dries Mertens as a false nine didn’t serve them too well.

Defensively Belgium was vulnerable and looked off the pace at times but I don’t think they will have been too shocked with the Dutch attacks.

They have sensational players and I’m sure they’ll do well.

As for Oranje: yes we have injuries, yes we lack team composure and automatisms, but it was definitely not the sort of performance that instills confidence in the average fan (like me).

It was poor. Team tactics were fine and to see us go 5 at the back in the second half with young Brenet coming in was actually refreshing. At the WC2014, it worked at times. In the friendlies (Van Gaal, Blind) it didn’t work at all (France at home!) but against this Belgium it did. Veltman in particular was dramatically exposed on the right flank in the first half and the fast and hard working Brenet, playing fearlessly, add some spice to the team in the second half.

But on all other aspects of the game, we looked second-best constantly. The result is ok (if you care about this), but the performance was poor. No creativity, lack of speed and sense of urgency off the ball and poor passing.

Joel Veltman would be the first player to take off the team sheet for me. Defensively weak, build up play even weaker. He had several opportunities to launch the fast Lens with a ball over the top and he hardly used those.

Virgil van Dijk was the only player for me who stood out, with Vincent Janssen second best, purely because of his hustling and ballsy duelling. Van Dijk is becoming the real deal. Plays like a leader. Will make a big move this summer.

Stijn Schaars started well but got knicked twice in a midfield duel and had to go off with a bad calf. He actually got the knock last week in the Eredivisie game vs Sparta, and might have agitated the muscle by changing his movement a little to avoid that knock. A dependable player. Low in risk taking. But not moving too gingerly anymore with his 32 years on the clock. He might not wear an orange jersey anymore, once the suspended and injured players return.

Lens was good on the ball but it was visible that he hasn’t been part of Oranje for a while. A lot of miscommunication between him and the midfield/defenders.

Janssen is able to make something out of nothing. Goes for everyball and will happily clash into goalies if the game needs it. Reminded me of Huntelaar eating grass at Wembley a couple of years ago, in a friendly.

I think he should have had two penalties for the two clashes with Mignolet, to be honest. The first one he knicked past Mignolet – ok, foot was high – and the Pool goalie grabbed him. Second clash, Janssen was there first and Mignolet crashed through him with his elbow hitting the Spurs striker on the head.

Lens did well to create the pen for us. On the ball, he looked solid. Sad to see him leave with a hamstring.

In typical fashion, Janssen played on for a spell – refusing to go off – but a concussion is not something to fool around with, and he’s out for Luxembourg.

For me, most players were average to poor. Clasie needed time to find his feet and rhythm and had some poor balls. Daley Blind didn’t reach his usual level. Wijnaldum still can be wrestled off the ball to easily for me. And to top it all of, sub Memphis Depay was not able to shake the cobwebs off and do something special.

Joshua Brenet has clearly put himself on the radar though. After 1,5 years of “not talking to each other”, Danny Blind and Brenet made peace. The PSV defender once said on tv that he thought Danny Blind only selected Ajax players, which is why he was ignored for Oranje. A gutsy thing to say. But also stupid.

Obviously, it isn’t true. And secondly, you don’t make the coach select you quicker. Brenet was ridiculed in Holland for these statements, as he was playing average in those days. Like many Dutch defenders: good on the ball, good going forward, but shocking defensively.

Brenet and Blind had their pow wow last week, shook hands and move forward. I’m sure he made an excellent impression and he could have had an unforgettable debut with an unforgettable goal, with a massive counter-attacking run when Belgium was out of position. Sadly, he missed the target.

Marten de Roon and Leroy Fer are called up for the Luxembourg game. I don’t think Blind will add another striker. Surely, Dost, Luuk de Jong and Fer as pinchhitter should be able to do the business.

It will be nice to take some rest from Oranje and hope for the likes of Elia, Bazoer, Willems, Janmaat, Memphis, De Vrij, Karsdorp…

Danny Blind said after the game he was happy with the result and the defensive performance. I can’t agree fully. The Belgiums didn’t really try. We were not really tested. The center backs did ok. The defensive mid did ok. The work rate of the team was ok, but parking the bus and stopping attacks is not “defending well”. Our out ball was poor and we had many chances to play out from the back only to dwindle too much on the ball and losing it again.

The key difference for me, and not just in this game, is the running and positioning off the ball by Belgium. As opposed to our play. Our defensive mids (Strootman, Schaars, Clasie) simply sit in that space. Not enough dynamics. Our midfield runs to support the striker (Sneijder, Wijnaldum, Klaassen) are lacking. The change of position up front and diagonal runs (De Bruyne/Hazard versus Janssen/Lens) was absent. It is not so much a quality thing, but more a sense of urgency thing, if you know what I mean.

Klopp, Conte, Pep, Pochetino, Ancelotti, Simeone…these are the coaches demanding this from their players. And players like De Bruyne, Hazard, Dembele, Vertonghen, Carrasco bring this to the team. In our team, only Wijnaldum has it (at times). Sneijder doesn’t have the legs. Lens doesn’t have the wherewithal and I think Clasie/Strootman/Schaars are simply not allowed…

Unless we don’t adapt to this new level of play soon (Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Oranje) we will slip and keep on slipping…

Iceland, Wales, Portugal, Leicester City… These teams do not have amazing quality players. Still they beat England, Belgium, France and the whole EPL last year…

November 9, 2016 by Jan

Derby of Lowlands insignificant: Oranje weakened…

The ones who have been with me and the blog for years know my stance on friendlies. I don’t like them.

I have told you many times why. Won’t go into too much detail. But this Belgium derby appears to be horrible in timing. We are lacking many players, probably will play a starting eleven (vs Luxembourg, the game that counts) that never played together before.

A coach would want to be able to use the days prior to the big game (Luxembourg!!) to practice. Get the players working together, bond, discuss tactics and roles. Instead of taking on a much stronger Belgium in a friendly. We all know what can happen. Belgium could tear us apart. They are better. As a team, most likely. Individually, surely. And as per usual, they have that inferiority complex and will want to beat us.

So in that scenario, say we lose 0-4, we need to shrug that off before the Luxembourg game. Media will hassle us, fans will ask questions and players might lose more confidence.

It’s also likely that Belgium will turn it into a real match. Which might lead to injuries.

All in all, not great. Or, our players might feel compelled to take the game to Belgium. Which might result in an ok result (0-0) or a great result – a win – but it doesn’t mean shit and we might end up with fatigue in the Luxembourg match.

And all of this, only for commercial reasons. For the KNVB to make money. As if they need it.

Danny Blind will not say it publically, but he will not be amused with the timing of this prestigious friendly.

Playing Luxembourg in a tough phase in the season is not so bad. Even if the first 22 are injured and we’d need to play Fosu Mensah, Nouri, El Ghazi, Toornstra, Denswil, Babel and Pieters, we’d still win it. Or we still should win it.

This Belgium game can be disruptive though.

Against Belgium, I don’t care who Blind uses. It will be for him to decide which player he wants to see (Zegelaar? Schaars? Lens?) and which to rest (Sneijder? Van Dijk?). We do have a number of players who are rested nicely. Daley, Wijnaldum, Janssen, Clasie…they all have had games off in the last month, so that’s not that bad.

Most will play with something to prove, but again: it might work against us.

Danny Blind remains the master strategist, who can always see positives. “The game does count for me. Winning vs Belgium means we improve our ranking. This might be key in the World Cup draw. So we will take the game seriously.”

Arjen Robben is keen to come (and play) but Bayern will only allow Arjen to sit on the stands for the Belgium game. I’m good with that. We need one moment of magic from him vs Luxembourg. Should we lead 2-0, I think Danny needs to sub him. No risk. Although, goal difference might become important in our group, so maybe he needs to keep him on.

The meeting with Belgium four years ago was Louis van Gaal’s first as Oranje coach in his second term, Oranje lost 4-2. Belgium is ranked #4 in the world, a whopping 16 spots higher than the Netherlands…

Maarten Stekelenburg will be on the team sheet, I’m sure. Cillesen lacks rhythm and so does Vorm. Stekelenburg had a screamer of a game vs Man City but made mistakes vs Chelsea and France, but overall he’s still a top goalie.

The match vs Belgium back then was Maarten’s last in Oranje, as Van Gaal picked Krul after the game. Due to the current Ajax’ goalie’s injury, Stekelenburg was offered two more games between the sticks and then it was all over. “I never watched Oranje at the WC2014. Too hard for me to watch. I should have been there.”

Back then, Van Gaal allowed De Vrij and Martins Indi their debut, while it was the last game of Sneijder and Van der Vaart together in midfield.

Stekelenburg came back from a dark phase in his career. “I can still have a bad day, like vs Chelsea… I had to do better on 2 goals. And yes France… I know. But I don’t panick anymore after a bad day. I spit in my hands and go on. The worst period I had was under Magath at Fulham. I didn’t even get a jersey number… Now, I can focus on my next game coming weekend and that is the best thing to do to shrug off mistakes.”

Stekelenburg knows he is not yet the Oranje #1. “Danny hasn’t said it to me or any of the other goalies. The situation is a bit fuzzy now with the injuries (Zoet, Krul, Vermeer) and Jasper’s position at Barca. But, I’m 35 years old at the WC2018, which is a good age for a goalie. The team is getting younger so an experienced goalie might be a plus.”

In 1999, Frank Rijkaard managed a Dutch side in a friendly vs Belgium which ended in a famous 5-5. Saw some amazing goals in that game….

October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 by Jan

Johan Cruyff is still alive!

No, I’m not referring to Appie Nouri, the brilliant young Ajax midfielder who hopes to get his first start for Ajax 1 soon. When he was 11 years old, the analists in Holland called him “the new Cruyff”. He might be, who knows. Like JC, he’s tiny and thin. But has wonderful vision and the same bravado. But, we said it many times about many players, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I’ve got a brilliant piece here on the real Johan, thanks to the VI magazine.

But before that, prelim squad was announced (as was posted already) with an interesting return to the squad for Stijn Schaars.

Danny Blind: “I have kept the prelim squad limited to 22 players. We have many players returning from injuries and I want to check their progress before I can make definitive decisions. It wouldn’t make sense to get a 30 man prelim squad up, knowing some of them won’t be even on the radar for the Belgium/Luxembourg meetings.”

There are several question marks, with Jeroen Zoet, Jasper Cillesen, Jetro Willems, Daryl Janmaat, Leroy Fer, Steven Berghuis, Quincy Promes, Arjen Robben, Eljero Elia and Bart Ramselaar returning from injuries or just returned from injury.

Kevin Strootman is suspended and won’t be part of the squad. Blind has decided to replace the midfield leader with another seasoned player. We do have Daley Blind and Jordy Clasie for the role of course, but Daley hasn’t played there for ages and will most likely be needed in defence. Wijnaldum has played there, Ramselaar could play there but Blind will not through Ramselaar in that position untested, while Gini is doing well in a more box to box role. Bazoer might have been the ideal player for the role but he hasn’t seen action for many weeks.

Stijn Schaars is the perfect choice. When he left PSV, he decided to play “at a lower level” with Heerenveen, as he wanted to get more playing time. Well, the “lower level” is now with PSV, as Heerenveen is flying under new coach Jorgen Streppel and takes the 3rd position on the table, with PSV on 4th. Schaars is the conductor in midfield. Hardly misplacing a pass, directing the game, pacing the game and kicking off the pressing. One of the outstanding players in the Dutch league at the moment and a perfect Oranje player: experience, discipline, communication skills and flexible.

Schaar had to be texted by Blind, as he didn’t have Danny’s number in his mobile. Blind called him three times to invite him and three times Schaars decided not to pick up. Schaars: “I hardly pick up when I can’t recognise the number and let it go to voice mail. When the coach sent a text with “This is Danny Blind. Please call me” I realised I better make that call.

I’ll keep you posted on progress around Oranje, as will our fellow blog guests of course.

Also, Robin van Persie has been celebrated and honoured for his 100+ caps for Oranje. The KNVB has made another big blunder by sending the medal and the shield by mail. Fricking mail!! They could have gone to Istanbul and spend the evening over dinner. They could have invited Van Persie to the France home game! One of the biggest players of the last 10 years, and they fricking post him the presents for his benchmark. What a bunch of losers!

Now over to Johan Cruyff!

Seven months after his dad passed away, Jordi Cruyff was in the Netherlands. His Maccabi Tel Aviv won vs AZ in the Europa Leauge and he spent some time working on the Cruyff Foundation activities.

The interview takes place in Alkmaar, when Maccabi is doing their last training before the AZ game. Cruyff talks about his youth, growing up in Barcelona, while keeping one eye on his team. He has a keen eye, a quick tongue, a sharp mind and the ability to play chess on multiple boards. He didn’t get that from a stranger. It’s in the genes, went from father to son.

It is now seven months ago when his world famous dad died. Just before, he had visited Jordi in Israel. “I was so pleased with that. We have enjoyed being together and we discovered the wonderful city of Tel Aviv. I have been away from home more than 20 years. All those “normal” family gatherings were not normal for me. So I look back on this with a warm feeling. It sort of helped me to process all that happened.”

Johan Cruijff visited his son in Tel Aviv, mere weeks before he died. Maccabi ex-coach Peter Bosz is enjoying the banter.

So now, we have Johan Cruyff – My Turn. Interesting title, as it is Johan’s first autobiography (after many biographies) and it hints to the famous Cruyff move of course, the Cruyff Turn. Jordi read the Dutch version and is now reading the English edition. He will also read the book in Spanish. “I really like to see how the different translators worked with his words in different languages. His Cruyffian texts will be fun to read in an other language.”

Jordi also read things that are new for him. Like the details about the kidnap attempt on his dad in Barcelona, on September 19, 1977. This, so he learned, was the real reason why Johan decided to skip the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

“My parents never spoke to us about that kidnap event. I think they wanted to keep it from us. He started to tell us only a year and a half ago. And the finer details, I had to read in this book. It clarified a lot! My mum was always blamed for my dad not going to the World Cup. But it wasn’t that at all. I now see things clearer. When I was young, I was never allowed to go on school trips and outings and if I wanted a sleepover my parents were always a bit cautious. They were probably afraid someone might try something. My parents were instructed by the police never to talk about this in public, as it might give other people ideas… I was also surprised to read a lot about his adventures in the US. That was quite impressive for him, apparently. I didn’t know this. This is why the book was very interesting for me. And of course, it’s brilliant that is ideas re: football have been made immortal for ever, haha.”

Pep Guardiola, Danny Cruyff and Jordi Cruijff at the presentation of the biography in London

The football part in the book has no secrets for Jordi. They discussed football all the time, in all fine details. And one word will be used a lot by Jordi, talking about his father: extreme! “A lot of coaches say they want to play dominant football, and attacking and attractive… These terms you hear a lot. But only a few can actually do it. You need big balls to push this through and some coaches will fold under pressure. You have to stick to your guns. Even if you lose four times in a row. My dad was extreme in that aspect. Nothing and no one could bring him off balance. You need a strong personality and guts. And you need some luck too.”Jordi thinks back to the insane season finale in 93/94 in Spain. Deportivo La Coruna was able to snatch the title up if they’d beat Valencia at home on the last match day. Barca did its job at home vs Sevilla. 5-2. It was 0-0 at Deportivo and they got a penalty kick in injury time. Dukic took it and choked. He missed and in Camp Nou, an explosion of joy erupted. “Quite incredible. And this you can’t practice. It’s luck. But, if you look for it, you’ll find it. If you don’t go for it, you won’t. And I saw it as a reward for my dad’s courage. He was extreme, if I check some of the line ups he used. How was that possible. He used a right winger as his left back, he had a midfielder who couldn’t run the 100 meters in 20 seconds and he used him as right back. And then Pep and Koeman together in the centre. But he got it to work.”With his gutsy football approach, Cruyff was able to bring a new identity to Barcelona three times. He did it as a player, from 1973 till 1978, as a coach, in the late 80s and in the naughties he did it as a consultant, strongly suggesting Rijkaard and then Guardiola to take the helm as a coach.

Jordi: “Don’t forget what the style was before my dad came here. Spanish football was defensive. Counter-style. Afraid not to lose. And then this Dutch guy comes along and says “Ok, we went from A to Z in the past, now we’ll go from Z to A!”. It is important to be able to change the mentality and get the belief from the players that they can do this. So he signed players from the North of Spain. Basque players are really disciplined team players. And he signed the ideal foreign players for the additional impetus and he picked youth players who wanted to believe in him. So you need a mix of iron discipline and frivolous talent. A lot of people claimed he was on a suicide mission, but he never ever doubted himself.”

“I have developed my own football vision. With strong influences of my dad of course. But I added my own ingredients. My dad was raised as a Dutch player and you saw that in his tactics: extreme possession, pressure high, using the wings for attacks. Typical Dutch. I grew up in Spain, so I have learned to play for results. Johan never cared if he lost, as long as the team gave what he want. I am more focused on the rest-defence, positioning and compact play and the 5 second ball recovery process. We had some good clashes over this.”

Barca coach Cruyff and future coach Pep instructing Popescu in 1995.

Jordi recognised a lot of his dad in former Tel Aviv coach Peter Bosz, now at Ajax. “Bosz is as extreme as my dad. Very ballsy and always looking for the positives. I loved working with him and I’m sad it was so brief. I am not surprised Ajax wanted him. Even more so, I knew when Frank de Boer would leave, Ajax would target Peter. So when De Boer left Amsterdam, I knew what was coming. And it was all done in a correct fashion. He’s doing well in Amsterdam, there was some criticism because of the results. A typical term I learned from Co Adriaanse, in Holland they are used to score-board journalism. If you lose, you’re wrong. If you win, you’re right. But that is not fair. Every coach needs time to go through the motions. And definitely with Peter Bosz: he wants to attack. Which requires extreme focus of his players as this playing style is tough. So, he needs time. Peter is the ideal Ajax coach, I have no doubts.”

Jordi is technical director at Maccabi since 2012 and they immediately ended their 10 year period of trophy-less football, with attractive play. Jordi likes coaches with guts, independent thinkers willing to take chances. “Barcelona has paved the way for many coaches and clubs to dare to play forward. You can play attractive and win trophies. My dad may have initiated that process, but coaches like Rijkaard and Guardiola added their qualities, like Tito and now Luis Enrique. Luis has improved the mental aspect of the game a lot at Barca. They are the benchmark for good football with results and funnily enough, with smaller players at the core. Xavi, Iniesta, Messi…those guys can do anything with the ball. They had a lot of impact on the way people think about football. If you have the ball, you don’t need to run too much. The opponent has to chase. That is logical, as my dad would say, but to be able to do this is another thing. And then stick to it.”

March 6, 2014 by Jan

Lots of work for Van Gaal… 100 days and counting…

I predicted a 1-3 win for Oranje over France. Well… I wasn’t too far off…. Couple of little mistakes. Only 2 goals vs the 4 goals I predicted which is a 50% difference, but for a friendly that is not bad. I said Oranje would win, well…we almost did. If they would have played with 4 debutants and would have less luck and the wind was stronger and if we would have had Gullit and Van Basten and Wouters…. I mean… It’s a friendly. Who cares. And no one likes the French anyway. And Van der Wiel was getting confused as he played against his team mates. Van Persie was still ill and you know….

But seriously….

A friendly doesn’t tell you that much (you know how I feel about friendlies) but at the same time… I think we can all conclude that the Eredivisie players (incl. Schaars and Clasie) do struggle at this higher level. At the World Cup, the worst opponent we will get is Australia and all these lads will snap at everything that moves. There is no time to ponder when in possession like in the Eredivisie.

“This doesn’t happen to me when I play against NEC??”

France was better. Full stop. More mature. More in control. We played ok in the first 25 minutes. But our wingers struggled. Our midfield struggled. Our defence struggled. And our goalie didn’t look too good. The only player who can look back at a faultless game was Arjen Robben.

The first goal of Benzema was stoppable, Jesper Cillesen. The second goal was scored after a series of positional mistakes in midfield and defence.

Our midfield leader Sneijder couldn’t take the team by the hand as he did so often in the past and he drowned in the mud with the rest of them. He tried. But he failed. And our leader of the line Robin van Persie could not be reached. The final ball was failing miserably.

All in all….not.good.enough.

Which sort of raises a question. To Mr Van Gaal.

Why are Urby Emanuelson, Virgil van Dijk, Nigel de Jong, Erik Pieters, Vernon Anita and Bacuna not being tested?

We all know what Nigel can bring. And Pieters, Anita, Bacuna and Van Dijk might not appear to be world class players, but they do play at a higher level and faster pace than the Dutchies.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Clasie and Rekik and I think Boetius and Promes have a lot of…promise… But they need to step up first. Let Clasie perform with Swansea or Sevilla for a bit. Let Boetius play a couple of good seasons for Feyenoord first.

I do hope Van Gaal will learn his lesson from this game and realise that at World Cup level, talent alone is not enough.

“This happens all the time to me when I play in the EPL”

We need men. Who can perform under pressure. Defenders who can defend a faultless game. They don’t need all be educated by Ajax in build up or in long passes. They need to simply stop the other guys from scoring.

And we need midfielders who can read the game, who can work for 90 minutes at high level and who can add value when the moment is there. Think Ramirez, Schweinsteiger, think Javi Martinez, think Cabaye. And we need a goalie who clashes heads with top strikers every week. And who knows what it means to be under pressure. Cillesen hardly experiences pressure in the Eredivisie. Krul on the other hand, and Vorm, play against the likes of Giroud, Rooney and Dzeko every week. EVERY WEEK!

Van Persie didn’t wanna make a big deal out of it. “We did well, the first 25 minutes. But their goal broke us a bit. We were not able to create anything. Our final ball was not good enough. It happens you know. I don’t really think it should concern us too much. The youngsters did well. It was tough. France is a pretty strong opponent. I only got one and half opportunity. We were not able to test their goalie. When we are at full strength, we will probably be able to do better.”

And they will also qualify for “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Van Gaal was full of praise. “We lost our heads a bit. Tactically, we played well and disciplined for 25 minutes. Their goal made us a bit too anxious. I think Benzema’s goal was stoppable. I think Cillesen was a bit surprised by the speed of his execution. The players worked really hard.” Asked what he thought of Sneijder’s performance. “Listen, it’s hard if doesn’t get the sort of service he needs. Sneijder can’t do it all alone. He played well in the first 25 minutes and he sort of lost his level with the rest of the team. He worked hard. That is all I can ask for.”

In the meantime: young Oranje was beaten by young Israel. In the friendly, Oranje hardly created a thing. Castaignos scored an early goal which was disallowed for off side. Other than that: no real threat. Israel scored in the second half. Young Oranje is going well in their qualification for the EC in Scotland this summer. They have 10 points out of 4 games.

“Where is my marker???”

September 11, 2013 by Jan

Oranje first European team to qualify for WC Brazil

Because Brazil didn’t qualify of course. They “bought” their ticket :-).

And despite all the negativity of the last days, we need to be proud of our team and our coaching staf.

I can list a number of reasons why we should be very distressed, by the way (and I am sure I will).

But I can also list a number of reasons why we should compliment LVG and Co.

For starters: Oranje started under Van Gaal in bad shape. The Euro 2012 was a disaster. Cult hero Van Marwijk was tarred and feathered and players like Van der Wiel, Huntelaar, Sneijder, Robben and Van der Vaart had difficulties hiding their frustrations.

Van Gaal was appointed amidst controversy following his unsuccessful run in 2002 and his JC backstabbing at Ajax. His comments that “his career deserves a go at a World Cup” didn’t sit well with me (and others). As it should NOT be about mr Van Gaal’s career, but about the Dutch National Team. I do like him as a coach (I think he is a very good coach), but I think he is a horrible human being.

Anyway…

On top of that, LVG had to deal with some player issues as well. Stekelenburg in trouble, Van der Wiel in trouble, Heitinga in trouble, Van Bommel retired, De Jong injured, etcetc.

LVG had to bring young blood and was somewhat forced to change Oranje’s playing style back to Total Football (he is doing this not just because he’s forced to, as he is a big believer himself of course).

And despite all of this, he has managed to only drop 2 points in a freak game away (Estonia, 4 days back) and managed to qualify as the first nation from Europe.

To quote LVG: “It simply wasn’t possible to qualify quicker, unless when you organise the tournament…..”

The expectations for Oranje’s chances are now being assessed. The KNVB management is only happy when Oranje finishes Top 4. This is what they gave LVG as a target when they signed him last year. Louis himself believes this is too ambitious and he will talk to the management about this. “There are at least 8 teams equal to us or better.” Louis goes for top 8. Johan Cruyff however believes Oranje should be happy if they progress from the group stages. “This Oranje lacks experience in key positions. Players like Martins Indi and De Vrij do have the future but simply lack experience. They can’t help that. They will be much stronger after the World Cup.”

Obviously, the position on the FIFA ranking will be key for Oranje’s chances. If Holland is Group Leader, we should be able to progress without too much drama. If we loste that spot and are part of a group with – say – Brazil or Spain, it might be less likely. However, I do think we play better against teams that play open (England, Germany) than against negative bus parking teams.

Robin van Persie: “We should have won this game 0-4 or 0-5. This was a bit…thin. Against Andorra, you should be able to turn and go deep 8 out of 10 times you get the ball, but we simply failed to do so. I think bringing Maher in the second half was a good move. We got some more creativity.” Van Persie almost has Kluivert’s record. “Patrick is awesome. He really wants me to get that record. He works with me a lot. In particular my timing. When to come to the near post, when to go to the far post. I take it on and think about it. It helps me a lot.”

Skipper Van Persie offered his jersey to a fan. “I am so happy. I think we did well this qualifications series. Sure, we need to improve, but at least we have a goal to work towards….”

Let’s look at the negatives now, for a bit.

Most people will say “how is it possible that Holland played so weak against Andorra???”….

Some reasons:

– It’s always hard to break down 100% defensive/destructive teams

– Oranje does not have the “automatisms” and flow you expect from the Dutch, which makes the former even harder

– We play with some new chaps who need to find their footing ( Willems, Schaars, Schaken, Lens on the left)

– Some of our players are missing (Robben, Vaart) or simply not in best form (Sneijder)

– Somehow LVG didn’t want to experiment too much, hence we played with 4 defenders and two relatively defensive midfielders

– We failed to score early, which further increased Andorra’s resolve

– Once it was 0-2 for Oranje, the team thought well enough was good enough as Andorra played a rough game and the players didn’t want to risk injuries

All these, are good reasons… Although I personally don’t get why Louis didn’t experiment a little bit more.

Why not use Schaars or Strootman as CB instead of Martins Indi? Using three defenders instead of four? Why not have the lightfooted Maher close to RVP and the man with the golden pass (Sneijder) sitting a bit deeper? Why not using the more offensive De Guzman instead of Schaars?

I can imagine Van Gaal’s response: “If the team does not flow as it is, changing the make up will only confuse more. We need stability and consistency. My aim was NOT to dazzle and to score nine times against Andorra. My aim was simply to win.”

Most of the other criticism is fair enough, but also not that relevant now. This month is NOT when the prizes are handed out.

We qualified. Which is more than LVG could say in 2002. We have 10 months to get our act together.

I believe we have two massive strikers with RVP and Hunter. I don’t buy the criticism on Klaasjan. He is an awesome killer in the box. Simply check his records.

We have 4 pretty good goalies.

We have a young and inexperienced defence. True. But in the words of JC: “If your defence is weak, make sure you attack!”.

Our midfield is potentially strong: Vaart, Sneijder, Clasie, Maher, Wijnaldum, Strootman, De Guzman, Van Ginkel, Afellay, Siem de Jong… What is not to like?

And we might have at least two or three awesome wingers…. Robben for sure. And at least two of the following list: Narsingh, Lens, Elia, Ola John, Boetius, Depay, Boerrigter. Surely, two of these lads should have some form come summer 2014?

I am not pessimistic. I never am.

August 30, 2013 by Jan

Dutch clubs in Europe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 23, 2013 by Jan

Dutch football, when the dust (almost) settles….

The Dutch competition is on its way and most other competitions have followed suit.

Oranje will commence it’s qualifications journey soon and there is more than enough talking points.

We’ll do this one quick and dirty. And get on with more Oranje related articles after this one.

But the European adventures of our Dutch teams prompt some comments.

For starters, PSV seems unlucky to have drawn AC Milan. Any lesser opponent and the frivolous Cocu team might have had a real chance. They still do, of course. 1-1 is not that bad a starting position for the away game, but I think Milan will have learned their lesson and PSV will be brushed aside in the San Siro.

I might have to eat my words in 5 days and I’d be happy to :-).

Feyenoord, in the meantime, really looks in trouble. The consummate pro that is Ronald Koeman has no clue how to handle these situations and seems the first to criticise his players via the media, where the players are not allowed to make any comments in the press. The rules clearly don’t apply to Koeman. It is really key for Koeman to get this right, real fast. The season for Feyenoord (and indirectly Oranje) might depend on his ability to pull his team together.

Ricky scores everywhere….

Ajax doesn’t have any real issues. Yet. The CL is not starting till later for them and there is no real competition in the Eredivisie for them, bar PSV.

And I personally believe Eriksen and Alderweireld will leave the club which will not make Ajax any stronger (bar the bank account).

Gertjan Verbeek is doing well with AZ. He had a good draw of course, compared to Feyenoord, but his new team (Maher and Altidore left, which is a big thing) has done really well already. I expect some firework from AZ this season.

Internationally, some of our players are out with injury (Hunter, Strootman, Narsingh, De Guzman, Janmaat), and others are not in the picture due to lack of form and/or rhythm ( Fer, Sneijder, De Jong, Ola John).

Van Gaal likes to work with youngsters, players he can ‘control’. He added Rekik and Bruma to the squad based on their good work in the first matches for PSV. Stijn Schaars is back too and so are Clasie and Van Wolfswinkel. Clasie’s return is remarkable as the youngster had an abyssmal start with Feyenoord but Fer/De Guzman/Strootman/De Jong not in the picture has everything to do with that.

Wesley Sneijder again not selected is quite logical. Sneijder had only one competitive game with Gala, and although he played well, it is clearly not enough for Van Gaal. And it would be a bit silly to invite him back in after one good performance.

As was stated on the blog earlier, Van Ginkel could have chosen to play for Ajax, and he would have had 3 matches under his belt, instead of the 2 x 8 minutes he has now. For now, LVG seems to accept this, but once Strootman and Fer are back in the picture, the former Vitesse man will be in trouble if he doesn’t add some minutes fast.

This coming weekend, some more exciting fixtures…

Fulham vs Arsenal… how will Stekelenburg hold up…

Hull – Norwich….Ricky Wolf and Leroy Fer

Newcastle – West Ham….. Krul and Anita

Aston Villa – Liverpool…. Vlaar

Blackpool – Reading…. Fan fave Roy Drenthe 🙂

Verona – AC Milan…. Urby and Nigel

Bayern vs Nurnberg…. Robben

Hertha vs Hamburg…. Rafa van der Vaart

Tottenham vs Swansea…Vorm, De Guzman

Augsburg vs Stuttgart….Verhaegh

Feyenoord vs NAC…. BMI, Clasie, De Vrij

Ajax vs Heerenveen….(De Boer vs Van Basten)

ManU vs Chelsea….. RVP, MVG

13 x 90 minutes of football…. not bad….

August 21, 2013 by Jan

Brave PSV reaps kudos but not the result

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 9, 2013 by Jan

Van Gaal irritated and impressed….

Louis van Gaal has announced his squad for the Portugal friendly. Schwarzenegger, Willis, Statham, Stallone, Jet Li…. Oops.. wrong list.

Louis has come up with some surprises… We miss Clasie (not in great form yet), no Nigel de Jong (long injury period), no Siem de Jong (LVG chooses others), Ricardo van Rhijn ( some lad from Augsburg gets the nod) and Adam Maher (because Wijnaldum was more impressive).

And other surprises: Schaars and Wijnaldum are in. The latter had a good spell with Jong Oranje in Israel and started well (as skipper) for PSV. Schaars was always a Van Gaal fave (AZ days) and has always been close to the Oranje squad. Schaars will go for the defensive midfielder spot ( with De Guzman).

Another big name not present is Wesley Sneijder. De former CL winner and Oranje skipper has not done himself many favours. When he wasn’t picked for the prelim selection, the Galatasaray midfielder couldn’t stop himself and was critical about his coach. “He will need to get fit first. Then regain his form. And only then can I compare him with the other players I have….”. Van Gaal was annoyed that Sneijder made comments in the media. “He should not have said that. Experienced players know what will happen with that. I don’t like that, as I constantly have to respond to questions from the media. Sneijder needs to vent internally, not via the media.”

“Players need to talk about their club when they’re at the club and the should talk about Oranje when they are with Oranje. That is the manifest.” Van Gaal also wanted to make it clear that Sneijder was wrong: “I have talked to him many times. In Turkey, Hoenderlo, Indonesia and China. If he still doesn’t get, than I don’t know what to do next with him.”

Van Gaal has not yet written Sneijder off. “No, he is still on the radar, but he will have to show it. It’s not an automatic situation that he will be part of the Oranje squad.”

Gio Wijnaldum is a fresh face in the Oranje squad. Criticised last season at PSV but a central part in Cocu’s vision for the new PSV team. And one of the best players at the Israel EC with Young Oranje. Louis van Gaal is clear about his choices. “PSV has played three official games. Those players are easiest to assess. Clasie, with Feyenoord, only played one official game and Feyenoord lost that game. Schaars and Wijnaldum were very impressive. Wijnaldum is a real surprise. I know what Schaars can do, but Wijnaldum has made a big step, in his maturity and the way he dominates the game.”

Oranje does not have a great record against Portugal. And Van Gaal is partly to blame, as he played two qualification games against them for the World Cup 2002.

We played them 12 times and we won only once! It was 1991, in the EC qualification game for the Sweden EC. We won 1-0 in Rotterdam, thanks to a Richard Witschge goal, under management of Dick Advocaat. Oranje played couple of remarkable games against Portugal. The home game in the 2002 qualifications, in which a fan blew a whistle and Davids stopped playing, gifting the ball to Portugal, who scored the 0-1. Reiziger played left back and led in the second goal with a horrific back pass.

In the away game, Oranje needed the win and was 0-2 up. With 10 minutes to go, Van Gaal took off two midfielders and put two extra strikers in, to go for the jugular. Davids was red carded however and Portugal pulled two back: 2-2.

The most infamous game was the 2006 World Cup knock out game. Referee Ivanov lost control and handed out 16 yellows and 4 reds (he gave one player 3 yellow cards if I am not mistaken). Maniche decided that game for Portugal, with horrific misses by Cocu, Van Persie and Kuyt.

Richard Witschge scoring

The Festival of Mistakes

The Hitchcock Thriller

July 31, 2013 by Jan

Young PSV impresses!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hail Phillip Cocu.

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

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

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

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

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

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