Tag: Van Basten

by Jan

Covid-19 impact and more news…

Eric Gudde, the KNVB GM on the photo. Symbol of Chaos.

Hi guys, hope you are all staying safe and sane without live football?

I was planning to make the Johan Cruyff 1990 post now, but the Covid situation deserves some attention – as commented on by some of you – and we had the news of Ronald Koeman’s hospitalisation as well.

To start with that, it is not clear what he has, exactly. Probably needs to have a vein clearance situation, as Ronald is known to enjoy the good life (wine, food).

He is given all the space to recover by the Federation and with our football agenda empty, he will get that time easily. People like his brother Erwin and Dick Advocaat already mentioned publicly that they expect him to return to his job, no worries.

The impact on the Dutch football scene of the Covid-19 situation is huge. As you will appreciate: most Dutch clubs are not wealthy and in the second tier – Keuken Kampioen Divisie – it is tough going.

Even a rich club like Ajax will get hurt, if this goes on too long and if we indeed have to play without fans for a long spell, it will everyone badly.

So the Dutch Federation decided to end the competition and as they believe there would have been time for the two relegation candidates to play themselves safe… So, in their infinite wisdom, they have decided not to relegate anyone and not to promote any club from the 2nd tier to the first.

As the UEFA does want to hear how the competition ended re: European spots, Ajax is the #1 (but not the champion) and goes straight into the CL. AZ will play CL qualification football with Feyenoord straight to the Europa League and PSV playing Europa League qualification, just like… Willem II. The Play Offs have been canceled and there is a fair chance that the Dutch Cup final  ( Feyenoord – FC Utrecht) will also be canceled.

There is a lot of anger about this amongst the clubs. Feyenoord probably the only club without any hang ups. Ajax wanted the title. AZ wanted a way to challenge Ajax for the title. PSV wanted the coefficient ratios over the last 5 seasons to be counted, so PSV would get the Feyenoord spot.

Cambuur coach Henk de Jong called this the “Blackest Day in Sports History” and that got him an interview on the BBC

FC Utrecht has the most reasons to complain, of them all. They had 1 game in hand, and 1 point behind Willem II. Their goal difference was better than that of Willem II. Based on this and on the coefficient ratios, FC Utrecht would have been the better choice to play European. Also, because they made it to the National Cup final.

RKC and ADO Den Haag ended up not being relegated. Good news for them. But both Cambuur and De Graafschap were miles ahead in the 2nd tier and would have been promoted in any other situation.

So, these clubs (Cambuur and De Graafschap) along with FC Utrecht are making their way to the courts.

People like Marco van Basten – independent as ever – have slammed the KNVB for their way of working: the outcome but also about the process used.

At some point, the KNVB wanted the clubs to vote for relegation of clubs or no relegation.

From the top of my head: 15 clubs said “YES” to relegation. 9 clubs said “NO” and the rest refused to vote (PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord, Groningen, Vitesse and others), as they “didn’t want to have a say in relegating their colleagues”.

FC Utrecht sad. RKC happy.

This tells you, that the non-voters actually did want the two bottom clubs to get relegated but they refused to say it. If not, they would have picked “NO”. Right?

But for some reason, the KNVB added the non-votes to the NO! Meaning that the majority allegedly voted NO to relegation. Which is just plain stupid.

I think the court cases are being held today/tomorrow.

The KNVB was capable of cancelling the competition because – as opposed to the situation in Spain, Germany and England – the tv money has been paid out in full, by Fox Sports, which is a good thing in a way.

So, in France (where they ended the competition as well) and Holland, the result of all this is anger, frustration and court cases.

Dutch consultants Hypercube have come up with an alternative plan, which would mean that all competitions will be played out after all!

They have pointed towards the World Cup in Qatar, which is being played in the Winter of 2022. So why not use this calendar year to finish the competition and start the new competition at the start of 2021. So use Calendar year as a season, instead of August till May.

Gini using the off-time to find out how his tools work…

Then, the Football Federations have the option to go back to the broken-calendar structure for football seasons after the World Cup 2022.

“This takes a lot of strain and pressure away from the clubs and the federations. The English and Germans want to finish the season whatever the cost, due to the tv money they need. The number of seasons remains intact. Every competition will have a winner, a champion and all decisions are made on the pitch and not in a board room or a court house”, so says Managing Director Pieter Nieuwenhuis. And the oft criticised winter World Cup in Qatar can suddenly be the solution we hoped for.

Nieuwenhuis: “This is way more sensible. Otherwise they’d have to plan competition games, European games and national team games from September onwards in a very full season, and if something goes wrong, we are all in deep doodoo again!”

Virgil van Dijk posted this

Hypercube also claimed that in 2023, the clubs/federations could decide to start with a short competition until the summer of 2023, and then go back to the normal structure, of August – May. “We calculated this through, as the clubs will suffer financially from this plan in the first months. We believe for Europe, there is a need for 8 Billion Euros to finance this. This is a lot, but if you take into account that the turnover of Football Europe is 30 Billion Euros, it’s not that bad. Surely, playing half a season in empty stadiums is even more costly.”

The UEFA and FIFA together have 3 Billion Euros in cash and could be guarantors. This would require zero subsidy money. Call it the Marshall Plan for football. “What we need now is a long term plan with solid financials, because if we just rush into this, certain clubs are at risk of going bankrupt.”

The big question though: what to do with players’ contracts, who now go from July till June.

“We don’t have all the answers. There are options, you could say: all players’ contracts will be shifted to the Jan – Dec format. Or, you could decide to keep the contract terms as is, meaning players will suddenly finish the season with another club. I think the international Players’ Unions will need to weigh in on this.

Memphis wants the cup in 2021

As for the Covid-19 impact on our lads… I don’t think there is any. Players like Memphis and Malen will have more time to get fit, and apart from Babel and Strootman, all our players will benefit from the additional time to get ready for the Euros. Blind can deal with his heart issue (we hope), as will Koeman. Zirkzee, Wijndal, Stengs, Boadu, Kluivert, Karsdorp, Bijlow and others will have a bit more time to build on their strength, while Marco van Ginkel might be joining in again as well?

A fit Koeman, a super motivated Memphis, Malen in form and Frenkie with a strong Barca season in his back pocket, why wouldn’t we win the Euros this time?

How are you guys doing? Share your stories below.

 

 

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by Jan

Kluivert to Manchester City??

Hi all, I hope you are all doing well, despite the threat of that virus or the disadvantages of the lockdowns and not working etc? And of course, being without some serious football….

I have some posts in the making but I’m very busy as well, trying to keep my business alive. If you are doing well, this is the time to donate some beer money, hahaha… Thanks in advance!

I have more posts on our talents coming up, more videos for you guys to enjoy and the 1990 Johan Cruyff Debacle story… A cool interview with Donny van de Beek and a profile on Justin Kluivert.

Who is NOT signed by Man City. The headlines in the sports media were quite fun: Kluiverth signed by Man City. But Kluiverth being his first name. Aguilar his surname.

His dad was a fan of Barcelona and enjoyed Patrick a lot.

A fun fact: this is not the first player to be named after a Dutch player. This can definitely result in cool names for cool players: Yohan Cabay, named after our Johan. Or Dennis Bergkamp, named after Denis Law…

Rudigullithi da Silva Henrique

Kluiverth is not a bad first name to have….

The most beautiful name of a player, based on a Dutch player is…hold for it….not Cruyff, Vandervaart or Persie, no no… Wanderkhof! Yes. Dad was a fan of the PSV Twins Willy and Rene van de Kerkhof! And it gets better, because this is his second first name, so to speak. His actual first name is Petroswickonicovick. Yes. Imagine you’re the match commentator when he plays.

This kid was a prolific goal scorer for Corinthians.

Then there is a striker in Albania. He made it to the Albanian national team. The name: Marko van Basten Cema.

Or the Brazilian defender, 26 years old, with a short stint in Portugal. He was with Cruzeiro and Sao Paolo and is now playing in Brazil again, for Bento. The name is  Rudigullithi da Silva Henrique. He has competition, there is A Finnish player called Gullit Zolameso, named after Ruud Gullit (duh) and Gianfranco Zola who once played together at Chelsea. This kid plays regularly for Finnish youth rep teams.

In Malta, the 26 year old Cruyff Grixty plays at the second tier on the island, something JC would be ashamed of.

Neeskens Kebano vs Vertonghen of Spurs

The best career of them all is for Neeskens Kebano. France born’s dad was huge Johan Neeskens fan. He played for Fulham and for Paris St Germain. He is a national team player for Congo. In Honduras, we have Neeskens Almendares, who played for Lobos.

Wulf Koronia Kluivert Shevcengko Horota. Yes indeed! Named after Dutch Defender John de Wolf (what??), the Corona virus, Patrick Kluivert and Andrej Shevcencho. The Indonesian does play pro football for Persipura.

And it’s not just Dutch player names which are used for kids, who then become players themselves. There are the most amazing concoctions. I will mention a series here, but one name is false. One name I made up. You leave a comment with your best guess. Winner gets a prize :-).

There is Creedence Clearwater Couto, we had Metuzalem, Mozart, Adriano Michael Jackson, Ziyech Ziyech, John Lennon Silva Santos, Lineker da Silva Matos, Ben-Hur and Mahatma Gandhi. Stalin Motta played national team football, and Kluivert Aguilar? He has a brother: Rijkaard.

Life is wonderful

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by Jan

Oranje for your Lockdown: Part 2

With everyone in lock down (see Van Persie and son practising in their backyard above)… some entertainment for you!

This is part two of classic matches of Dutch football. Obviously, there are many more classic matches of non-Dutch clubs but with Dutch players, that are great to re-watch. Anything Van Nistelrooy at Man U. Or the three Milan icons (Van Basten, Rijkaard and Kuyt). Seedorf at Real Madrid. Makaay at Bayern Munich.

I must confess, I totally forgot the European campaign in 1988 by PSV, winning the Europa Cup.

The finals vs Benfica was a forgettable match, as were the semi finals vs Real Madrid.

Therefore, this high light video on Romario and his hattrick.

Youtube is your friend!

The Dutch National Team

So, we’re entering the 1990s. And in 1990, the WC in Italy should have been ours. But it became a deception. I’ll skip those games. There was literally nothing uplifting in that whole scenario. The qualifications were bmweh due to arguments between coach Libregts and Ruud Gullit and the tournament became a complete disaster, as Michels refused to appoint Cruyff as coach and the players – consciously or subconsciously – sabotaged the tournament, under Leo Beenhakker.

Oranje needed to rise up and re-establish itself for the 1992 Euros and did so with some fresh blood, like Danny Blind, Richard Witschge, Dennis Bergkamp and Bryan Roy. Van Basten netted 5 goals in the 0-8 thrashing of Malta.

The 1992 tournament was a fun one, and one we could have won. The Danish beach goers were called back when Yugoslavia was banned and the Danish Dynamite won the tournament. But not after Oranje impressed again. Bergkamp’s goal vs Germany was a big one and Van Basten missing a key penalty vs Schmeichel was also quite the milestone.

Note how Van Basten directs Bergkamp’s goal…

For the qualification of the WC1994 in the US, Oranje had England in the group. We played some epic games against them. Slowly more new players entered into the fray: Ed de Goeij, goalie, there was Frank de Boer but also two players from Champs Feyenoord: Rob Witschge and John de Wolf, while journeyman Peter van Vossen popped onto the radar due to his scoring spree in Belgium.

The away game at Wembley was sensational.

As was the home game…. Notice Rijkaard’s goal flagged offside while he was yards on!

You can find the WC1994 matches online no doubt. It wasn’t to be for us. The heat in Florida, the lack of leader Gullit and some bad referee mistakes cost us our progress. We went out vs Brazil.
After a great come back…

We weren’t happy with the result and Dick Advocaat’s popularity went down when he returned from the US to declare that if you’re among the best 16 in the world, it’s not that bad…

In the run up to the England Euros, Hiddink tried some different players, from Eijkelkamp to Johan de Kock, from Orlando Trustfull to Youri Mulder. The latter scored an essential late goal at home to secure 3 points vs the Belarus. This was a must win game.

It’s sub Trustfull passing deep to sub Mulder, and in the dying minutes he scores 1-0. Mulder who was called up a day before the game when Kluivert ended up with an injury.

The Euro 1996 in England was a tournament to forget. We did play some interesting matches, but overall the theme for this tournament was the rift within the Ajax squad, the insulting comments by Davids and Hiddink sending Davids home for the remainder of the tournament.

After this tournament, Hiddink fixed the rift and started his prep for the 1998 World Cup. This was a friendly in Amsterdam, between Brazil and Oranje. JP Van Gastel, recently at Feyenoord as assistant coach, makes his debut as a sub would score a late goal.

Hiddink adds more names to the squad, as the old guard, like van Der ar, Valckx, Stam, Bogarde, Van Hooijdonk and Van Bronckhorst.

Here another forgotten match, at home vs Wales (qualification game).

The 1998 WC is probably one of the most popular campaigns by the Dutch, with amazing performances by Bergkamp, Frank de Boer, Edgar Davids and Phillip Cocu. Most matches will be etched in the memories forever, as is one of the most famous Dutch goals ever…

This next one is the same goal, but with commentary of Jack van Gelder :-).

Heartbreak was huge, when Oranje was kicked out of the tournament by Brazil, in a game that we should have won. Late in the match, Van Hooijdonk is clearly fouled but the ref “forgets” to point to the spot.

As the Dutch co-hosted the 2000 Euros, they didn’t have to play qualifiers. But this friendly vs Belgium is a must see game.

Club Teams

Ajax had a spectacular run in the 90s, after having won a European trophy in the late 80s, under Cruyff, it was Louis van Gaal’s turn. Ironically, Van Gaal was once seen as Cruyff’s successor at Ajax, as a playmaker. Now he was in JC’s footsteps as a coach.

In 1992, Ajax won vs Torino in the finals, but the semis with Genoa were more epic.

This Ajax was going to be built into the world class 1995 team.

In 1996, they reached the finals again, to be beaten by Juventus.

In 1997, Van Gaal almost went all the way again. This quarter final vs Atletico is also a classic epic!

Feyenoord and PSV also competed internationally for Holland, but their European campaigns were not that unforgettable.

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by Jan

Oranje matches for your Lockdown! Pt. 1

I think Andrew from California made the comment about classic matches?

I am happy he did. It was on my mind too (and to be honest: I already watched Spain – Holland 1-5 from 2014 again, last night)… What to do in a world without football? Revisit classic matches.

I will list some classic matches below.  I don’t have the links to these games, but I do believe YouTube will have them. Also this site here has some incredible info!

From my memory, the following matches are worth it.

1970s Club football

Feyenoord vs AC Milan and Feyenoord vs Celtic, when the Rotterdam club became the first to win the Europa Cup for The Netherlands!

Ajax won it three time in a row, after Feyenoord, with finals vs Panathinaikos, Inter Milan and Juve.

I don’t remember much of the games leading up to the finals for Ajax, but YouTube is your friend…

1970s Oranje at the World Cup

I am assuming we all know and have seen the Great Games Oranje played in 1974 and 1978. For students and scholars, it’s cool to watch all the matches of course and I know there are DVDs for sale and YouTube offers a lot too.

The three games to watch of the WC1974 are Oranje’s first match vs Uruguay. This is interesting, as this was the first time Oranje demonstrated their Total Football and even the Dutch fans and media were flabbergasted! We never saw Oranje play this well.

Don’t forget: The Netherlands shouldn’t have been there!! We played a qualifier to Belgium and we only qualified for the World Cup 1974 because of a real goal by Belgium was disqualified for off side.

The match vs Argentina is really good too, with Van Hanegem and Cruyff in superb form.

Lastly, the semi finals vs Brazil is an absolute cracker! Top goals, wonderful performances and gladiator style battles in midfield (Neeskens!!).

In 1977, Oranje played a famous match vs England at Wembley! The English loved to see Johan Cruyff, who was facing off with Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking. The Dutch had indeed Cruyff, Rep, Neeskens, Rensenbrink and Krol but it was young upstart from NEC Nijmegen Jan Peters (playing in the playmaker role deserted by an injured Van Hanegem) and Peters got the English all ecstatic with his perfect game and two goals (0-2). Peters would move to AZ Alkmaar and won the title there and reached the finals in the European Cup. He would later make a big move to Italy.

In 1978, without Cruyff and Van Hanegem, the Dutch started slowly but got to the finals anyway. With some outrageous long distance goals by Arie Haan and Ernie Brandts. Totally worth checking all these games, as it shows Oranje’s progress in the tournament.

Other Oranje Games from the 1980s

In the early 80s, we didn’t really play for the trophies! We had a dreadful 1980s Euros, we didn’t get to the Spain 1982 WC, or the 1986 WC in Mexico. We also missed the 1984 France Euros (both the 1982 and 1984 tournaments do stand out in my memory as top notch tournaments!).

In 1983, Holland played a famous qualification game vs Ireland (mentioned in the comments) in Dublin for the 1984 Euros. We didn’t end up going, but we had a massive break through in that match. We were 0-2 down. By then coach Rijvers was begged by fans to give the young guns of Ajax and Feyenoord a shot! There were the likes of Vanenburg, Rijkaard, Koeman and most particularly: Gullit and Van Basten. Rijkaard didn’t play this game, and Ruud Gullit played central defender! A role he played at PSV as well, later on, and he did so ever so well. Great strength, incredible long range passing and big runs over the axis of the field. This game was the rise of the youngsters! And finally Rijvers was confident enough to drop the like of Wijnstekers, Hovenkamp and Cees van Kooten for the young upstarts. The 2-0 half time score became a 2-3 win on a terrible pitch in Dublin.

In November of 1983, Holland played Spain at home and thanks to a Gullit winner, Holland had 1 leg into the 1984 Euros! Spain had one more home game vs Malta and needed to win 11-0 to qualify at the expense of Holland! That would never happen, right?

Holland won 5-0 vs Malta themselves and expected Spain to win with a similar score.

Only Cruyff and Van Hanegem, interviewed together, claimed that it wasn’t over yet and Spain would be able to score 11  goals vs Malta…

Infamously, the game was won (by Spain): 12-1!! And Malta had the first goal even! At half time, I think it was 1-1. Later on, it seemed Malta’s goalie was bribed and if you can stomach watching that game, you can tell why that story developed… Oranje was out!

This affected the qualification matches for the World Cup 1986 as well, with two early losses in qualification vs Hungary and Austria. Say what?

In November 1985, we played Belgium at home in Rotterdam. We would go to Mexico if we won 2-0 or more. I was there and remember the match also because my dad did his knee at walking to the stadium, which would be an injury right up to his death… We scored first, we scored the second… Houtman and Robbie de Wit. But only 5 mins left to go and right before us, Belgium defender George Grun slipped away from his marker and headed in the 2-1, meaning Belgium went to Mexico.

The next big memory re: Oranje would be the 1988 Euros. I’m sure you’ve seen the games?

All matches are worthwhile. The first match, Oranje lost vs the USSR but we played our best football of the whole tournament. But we lost. Coach Michels went from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and took Bosman and Van’t Schip off, for Van Basten and Erwin Koeman. The rest is history. Memorable games: the 2-3 vs England. The 2-1 versus West Germany and the finals of course. The 1-0 win over Ireland is also special due to Kieft’s freak goal and the tremendous fortune of not conceding a penalty for a blocked header by Ireland, with a hand. We rode our luck that tournament, as Van Basten scored an off side goal vs England and England was denied a 100% penalty.

 

 

 

 

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by Jan

Mino Raiola: The Greatest

I got the request to write a piece on Mino Raiola, the Super Agent. I had this piece in preparation so the timing is perfect. Raiola on money, De Ligt, Ajax, Restaurant Napoli and transfers…

Last transfer window, it was mostly Raiola in the news. In particular his buddy-ship with Mark van Bommel and their coupe in Eindhoven… That topic is reserved for later…

A VI reporter visited Raiola in his office in Monte Carlo. “I don’t mean to be arrogant but I think I created this whole industry. Calcio Mercato, it’s an industry now. It’s like the entertainment world. I gave this new world colour as I am a stand up guy, who always speaks his truth and stand up for my players. In Italy, the day starts with football. That is culturally like this for many decades. The morning starts with a cappuccino and the sports papers. The Dutch are more down to Earth but at the end of the day, just as football crazy as the Italians.”

“The opening of the transfer window is like the premiere of a new musical. Curtains up and we need to perform. And the spotlights are on us agents, for a couple of weeks. We need to do the business in this small time frame, but make no mistake. I have guided Haaland now, but that job took a year. And his dad Ale Haaland, an ex pro player, was closely involved. We talked with the clubs, we listened to their plans, we assessed their offers…”

With adopted son Van Bommel

The phone rings. As it constantly does. This time, two women. Two old friends. The mothers of Calvin Stengs and Myron Boadu. They know each other for years now as they met when the two players started their friendship, in kindergarten. “I always work with the families. I include them in everything. And top players always have top parents. I am completely transparant. I’m taking Doynell Malen to Pittsburgh for instance and discuss the whole process with his family. Everyone is focused on “Can Malen reach the Euros?”. I’m not. It’s not about the Euros, it’s about his career and health. He’s going to be out for 4 months at least. Boadu and Zlatan spent time together in Pittsburgh last year. One day after Zlatan’s operations, Boadu saw him work out. Doing his excercises. Zlatan is the ideal warrior. He’s a beast. And I think it triggered Myron. He’s 38 years old now and went to AC Milan to win silverware. It says everything!”

Haaland, Malen, Stengs, Boadu, Wijndal, they’re all in Raiola’s portfolio. The future of Oranje according to him is Justin Kluivert, however. “When he decided to go to Rome, everyone in Holland was upset. How can Raiola do this to Kluivert, etc etc. This is bad for Dutch football, etc. But…where were they all when Sepp van den Berg went to Liverpool? I didn’t hear anyone! And Redan and Chong? And Zirkzee? If it was me who guided them, the nation would have been too small. But now? Nothing. And when Ajax signs a 16 year old kid from Norway, you also don’t hear anyone. It’s ridiculous!”

Stengs, Wijndal, Boadu

“Stengs, Boadu, Malen, Wijndal and even Gravenberch could have signed with huge clubs with huge paychecks. All of them. But they’re still in Holland. You don’t hear people about that, do you? I get calls about them on a daily basis. And we decided in conjunction with the family that another year in Holland was best. And when Ajax comes with a good plan for Boadu and Stengs, we’ll definitely listen.”

“And I get the question: Mino, who do I go for? Malen or Boadu? And I’m like: what kind of question is that. What do you need? A Ferrari or a Lambo? And the smart club will sign them all! But I am not saying they should reach for the top as yet. An intermediate step is probably best. But… we all know step-by-step is best, but… Consider this. Assume Barca or Madrid comes for one of them. With a big offer. Do we need to say no? Do we need to consider his career? Or his life? Can you stand in the player’s shoes? Is it not hard to resist that offer? It’s easy for the supporter or analyst to judge, but those are dilemmas. And I have to deal with that. Players can get injured and lose it all. We’re dealing with someone’s life and the life of his family. Boadu and Stengs both suffered severe injuries before, remember. That can happen. They were lucky to get back to the top. There is no guarantee. And Klaassen, he went when he was 24 years old already. To an EPL mid-tier club. And look how that went.”

In his office in Monaco, the entrance has a serious series of amazing jerseys framed on the wall. An impressive list. With personalised messages on the shirts. Pogba, Lozano, Matuidi, Donnarumma, Balotelli, Kean, De Ligt… “People like to see this. It’s important but not to boast for me. I am not interested in what I have done, only what I will be doing.”

And in his personal office, there is nothing that points towards football. The second big passion of Mino is represented here. Posters of 007 movies are on the wall. “When I die, I want to reincarnate as James Bond. I am a big fan. He only needs to say his name and the ladies undress, hahaha. Daniel Craig is my fave. He’s more human. More layers. He suffers at times.”

Raiola is open and hospitable. On his desk are books, like Thinking Fast and Slow, The School of Life and We are our brain by Dick Swaab. There is also a book by PSV general manager Toon Gerbrands. Raiola spoke with him only recently to discuss Van Bommel’s sacking. “Mark is family for me. When Mark is sad, I am sad. Mark is paying the price for the fact that last season PSV has a better team than this season. That is all I will say about it.”

“Mark is a perfectionist. And I appreciate that, but his strength is his weakness. He is world class in everything but not everyone is like that. Marcel Brands was too. John de Jong is not experienced enough. A guy like De Jong should work with a seasoned coach like Cocu. I don’t worry about Mark though, he will at some point become one of the best in the business. And he’s not arrogant. He wants to learn. He has a good name and many clubs, internationally, have already contacted me. He will take a break but he’ll be back.”

Squeezing the last dollars from Zlatan’s body!

Business cards are not present in Mino’s office. “My work are my player. I don’t do websites either. I work on trust. On a handshake. When I don’t feel it with a player, I won’t work with him. Players are like artists. Take Pogba. He’s a Basquiat. Expressive. Rebellious. De Ligt is a Rembrandt. The drawing you see now, already great, will end up being an amazing masterpiece like the Nightwatch. Unique. He had a tough time at Juve in the beginning but that’s normal. He is taking it in his stride and is taking it in like a sponge.”

De Ligt’s move to Juve was one of the most talked about topic last summer. Juve paid $75M for the Ajax defender and it took a long time for the pen to hit paper. According to Mino, that was all Ajax’ doing. “I don’t want to say too much about it, because the main thing is that Matthijs is happy. But Ajax made promises to Matthijs and broke them. It’s that simple. He could have signed for Juve a season before and Ajax pleaded with him to stay for one more season. And he did. There were verbal agreements made. But that season, the transfer market exploded for Ajax players, due to their CL campaign. And when Frenkie signed for Barca for a record fee, Ajax wanted more for De Ligt, suddenly.  What frustrates me, is that it was at the expense of Matthijs. I identify with my players, so when Matthijs is done wrong, it’s done to me as well. I am De Ligt.”

But, didn’t Overmars and Van de Sar do what Raiola does as well? Play hardball? “Yes, I’m tough. But I never promise something and then break my promise. Ever. I don’t have an issue with Marc or Edwin but I believe in handshake deals and trust and loyalty. Because I guarantee results to my players. And when Ajax or anyone else does this sorta thing, a player can look at me and say: what about your guarantee? I work with many top clubs in Europe like this, and I hope with Ajax too, in the future. Is the anger gone? My anger? It should be… It simply wasn’t the way it should be. And any case you are involved in, influences the next. Next time Ajax promises something, I want it on paper. I am happy to lose out on something but I don’t want my player to take the brunt of it.”

A lot of people felt De Ligt should have gone to Barcelona. “A lot of people say Barca is a Dutch club. And therefore it was sacrilege to bring Mat to Juve. I don’t work in my emotion. Barca for me is like NAC Breda or Watford. A club. I think about what is good for the player. They really believed at Barca that they could get De Ligt because Frenkie went there too. But do you think Pique will step aside for De Ligt? Just like that? And Matthijs actually always wanted to go to Juventus. He wants to be the best defender in the land of best defending. The interest from PSG and Barca and other clubs was intriguing, for him. But he went for Juve. And not for the money. Money doesn’t interest him. If Juve would require him to pay contribution, he would.  am here to make sure no one takes advantage of him. I have a good relationship with Pavel Nedved, technical director of Juventus. He’s like a son to me. Pavel says: “This kid is even more crazy than I was in his sports mentality. He himself is a Ballon d’Or!” When you tell Matthijs that by shaving his head he will win 1,2% speed or tackle verocity he will immediately shave his head.”

Raiola speaks seven languages. He studied Law and knows everyone in football. But the restaurant in Haarlem, operated by his parents, was his real university. “Ristorante Napoli was my university. My dad worked day and night. and I always went to assist him. What a man. Sweet for the family, tough at work. At 14 years old, I did the accounting and tax stuff for him. We had a lot of famous people come here. Shell top brass, but also Tonnie Bruins Slot, Michael van Praag, lots of politicians and artists. And also the boys from the bad neighbourhoods. It was like the Sopranos at times, hahaha.” Raiola does have that mafia image a bit. Sunglasses, overweight and swimming in money. The deal he made for Pogba at Man United paid Raiola $49 million euros over 5 years, according to the internet. “I never put a gun on anyone’s head at Man United. They wanted him and I made a good deal. But don’t tell anyone this: I kinda lime my image. And I really don’t care what people think of me. I believe in Holland I’m considered the worst man, after all the pedofiles. But in Italy, I’m a star. I can’t walk the streets there. People want to be on a selfie with me, or thanks me. When I finalised the De Ligt transfer to Juve, the Juventus tifosi sang for me, hahahaha.”

With Mkhitaryan and Pogba

“What drives me? Money not so much anymore. That is just a result of what you do. What drives me is the ability to help players and make their dreams come true. The hug I get from Boadu. That is my real pay. When Wijndal calls me and says “tell Real Madrid I’ll be coming soon!” that is what I love. And he means it! And I tell him: yep, I’ll be there, helping you to get there! You see, money follows dreams. And I can do this job for 50 years. But a player only has 15 years max to make his money. You can’t buy groceries with trophies, you know? And I do what is best for them. And when I do well, I get paid too. Simple. And when I don’t have a click with a player, I won’t represent him. And I don’t sign contracts with them. When they want to go better elsewhere, please do. Same with me. I want to be able to say: mate, I’m letting you go. Sorry. De Ligt, Haaland, Malen, Stengs, Kean, Donnarumma, Zlatan, Gravenberch, they give me energy. My wife always says: you have two official kids and than a whole bunch of non-official kids, hahaha.”

Not long ago, Raiola entered the dressing room of PSV, after a match vs Heerenveen. That was not done, everyone said. “Typical Dutch. What does it matter. I enter the dressing room at AC Milan often. You know what I want, I want to find a women player who is so good that Ajax signs her up and uses her. To break all these conventions. The football world needs innovation. In the US they do everything in the dressing room after a game. Interviews, eat, drink, sleep. PSV was in a tough phase and I have a couple of them under contract and I wanted to support them and congratulate them after their win. That was all it was.”

Source: VI Pro

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by Jan

Oranje’s future…

What a year we had… With Ajax in last CL season and with Oranje… first in the Nations League and of course in our Euro qualification matches… We have seen Frenkie and Mathijs go to the big leagues, we saw Chong and Zirkzee making waves, the likes of Tete and El Ghazi making good on their promise and AZ impressing domestically and internationally… But we also saw Ajax being shafted by the VAR this last half year, Mathijs sidelined at Juve, we saw Daley Blind going to grass and Memphis and Malen with serious injuries…

Lets look at what this all means.

Memphis and Malen

I think we need to be realistic. We shouldn’t count on them for the Euros. Donyell Malen, maybe. He might be back in April or May and right in time to make a Marco-Van-Basten-style return… Memphis is probably sidelined until next season and it might be best for him – and therefore, for Oranje – when he focuses on 2022, in Qatar. The question is not: can they be fit in time, but: would it be wise for them to even try….

Memphis working hard

Donyell Malen in Florida

Daley Blind

It’s really vague what’s going on. Ajax doesn’t tell us a lot. “Insurance policy and privacy of the player”. Daley himself is optimistic on his Insta-feed but he didn’t travel to Qatar and we haven’t had any serious updates. His loss will be felt, should he not be able to get back to his old level, both at Ajax and at Oranje. His leadership, his passing, his sense of positioning… I don’t think we can find a player in the squad who can offer what he has to give. Let’s wait and see.

Mathijs de Ligt

I don’t think him not playing for a spell would be a serious problem. We’ve seen that his Turkish rival also got injured. It would sense if Sarri will sign another centre back in this transfer window but despite that: Mathijs will get his minutes. He is still highly regarded and he had a pretty amazing late block in the match vs Roma. He and his team mates cheered the interception as if he had scored. He’ll be fine.

So when we take into account the incredible development of the likes of Boadu, Stengs, Wijndal, Koopmeiners, Ihattaren, Gakpo and the fact that we have Ake, De Vrij, Vincent Janssen, Jetro Willems, Tete, Weghorst, Wijnaldum, De Roon, Propper, Van de Beek and many others in the wings, I don’t think we need to worry too much.

Willems staying longer at Newcastle

However… replacing Memphis, who was so important for us, will not be easy. His work rate, his showmanship, his leadership and personality, his free kicks, corners and crosses, his important goals (even when he plays like shite all day, he’ll score you the winner)… I can see several players doing what he can do, partially. Babel can work his arse off. Stengs can score goals and dribble. Promes or Berghuis can hit a free kick, Weghorst can hassle, but there is not one player who has it all. Like Memphis.

So what are the options for Ronald Koeman?

Like I said, he can opt to replace Memphis for another player. Some say Babel. Others want to see Weghorst. Another group yells Boadu. Promes also played centre striker at Spartak…they’re all good options. But I want to propose a different one. Also taking into account that we might miss Blind as well.

Memphis: “I’ll tell Koeman that you should replace me!”

I would opt for a 3-4-3.

Playing three at the back:

De Ligt – De Vrij – Van Dijk

With a four man midfield, with Blind on the left (when fit). Or alternatively, Van Aanholt or Wijndal.

On the right hand side, I really hope for Tete or Rick Karsdorp. But Hateboer or Dumfries are decent alternatives. Not great. But decent.

Frenkie on the left inside, with Van de Beek next to Frenkie.

Then three players up top. Promes with Wijnaldum as false striker and Bergwijn or Stengs on the right.

Obviously Cillesen or Krul as the goal keeper (depending on the rhythm of Cillesen, who lost his spot briefly).

With this tactics, I don’t think we’ll have to worry too much defensively. When the opponent plays with three forwards, Daley can drop back and help the back three. But most opponents will play with one striker or two strikers, these days. The centre backs are all good build up passers, and De Ligt can easily move into midfield when the opportunity is there.

Blind can act as a playmaking midfielder alongside Frenkie, allowing Frenkie to roam while static Blind keeps his position. When Frenkie stays put, Donny van de Beek can make penetrating runs, with De Ligt covering. Obviously, the communication between Van de Beek, Tete and De Ligt needs to be top.

Tete, Karsdorp or Dumfries can make marauding runs on the right, allowing for Bergwijn/Stengs to dart inside to support Wijnaldum or even take the #9 role when Gini drops off. This also allows Van de Beek to penetrate into the box as well, and like with Ajax, Oranje will become a Total Football team with players constantly moving in and out of position.

We’ll have length enough with set-pieces. Wijnaldum is a good header of the ball, as are De Ligt, De Vrij and Van Dijk.

We’ll have more than enough legs and penetration, with Donny, Gini, Bergwijn and Tete/Karsdorp/Dumfries.

We’ll have enough football guile and intelligence, with Frenkie, Blind, Promes and Wijnaldum.

And we have goals! Bergwijn, Promes, Wijnaldum, Van de Beek…all good goal scorers.

And should Daley- God Forbid- not make it, I think Wijndal or Willems will offer the footballing skills we need on the left, although Koeman could also opt for the legs and the opportunistic play of Van Aanholt… Even Tonnie Vilhena is an option for that role, should Wijndal or Willems not cut it, for whatever reason.

This would be my line up.

With Ihattaren as the first sub from the bench, being able to play playmaker (even in Frenkie’s role) or as false striker in the Wijnaldum role.

And Weghorst for if we need a pinch hitter.

Boadu would also be in my squad.

My 23

Cillesen – Krul – Bizot

Tete – Karsdorp – De Ligt – De Vrij – Van Dijk – Blind – Ake – Wijndal

Propper – Van de Beek – Frenkie de Jong – Wijnaldum – Ihattaren – Marten de Roon

Stengs – Boadu – Weghorst – Bergwijn – Promes – Babel

Tell me your solutions!!

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by Jan

Horror week for Dutch football!

And just when we started to feel really good about ourselves…what with Oranje performing well and reaching the Euros, Frenkie impressing in Spain, Dutch coaches on the up and up (US, Bundesliga, Ajax) and Ajax and AZ impressing, fate took a hit at us. As if to say “Nope! You’re not there yet!”.

And while the Dutch handball women won the gold at the World Cup, it was bad news after bad news for Dutch football.

For starters, Ajax getting ousted from the CL. So unjust. So unfair. Yes, Ajax played bad vs Valencia. Didn’t create a lot. Gave away that goal due to a series of errors. True. But we should have had Promes’ goal allowed vs Chelsea at home. That was at least one point, if not three points more in this group. And I don’t believe Ajax should have received 2 red cards in that away game vs Chelsea! Simply bad officiating, from my perspective. Ajax was cheated out of the Champions League!

Ajax lost two Eredivisie games on the trot as well and where the Amsterdam giants were thinking of easily repeating their title winning shenanigans from last year, AZ Alkmaar is now joint leaders of the competition. And rightfully so. AZ is dazzling, and should have had a 0-2 lead vs Man United in the EL. Feyenoord got ousted out of that competition, while PSV already was.

Their loss vs Feyenoord last Sunday was cause for the PSV board to sack Van Bommel. And even though I’m not a PSV fan (I am a Van Bommel fan though), I believe his sacking was very harsh.

Yes, he lost many points. Too many. But…he was the coming man. They knew he was inexperienced, he also had to deal with a new and inexperienced technical director (John de Jong) who didn’t bath himself in glory re: the players he got Van Bommel. I mean, Angelino left for Man City, and what did they get back?

They bought two left backs and they were so disappointing that Van Bommel had to play Sadilek ( a midfielder) on that spot. And Luuk de Jong (20+ goals) left and they got Sam Lammers back, who got injured straight away. Next thing, they bring a 40+ year old Greek striker…

Jeroen Zoet was dealing with a form crisis and on top of that Bergwijn and Malen got injured (Malen again!!) and they had to do without Ihattaren for a spell due to a private matter (loss of his dad). A topsy turvy season for Van Bommel and the board decided to sacrifice him (and keep De Jong in his role as TD). I think it’s weird and at least De Jong should have been loyal and leave as well.

The national cup competition hasn’t even started yet and obviously, PSV was never going to win the Europa League so the PSV board sacked Mark because he was supposed to win the title. But does PSV really believe you can win the title with a defence consisting of Viergever? Baumgartle? Schwaab? Sadilek? PSV’s midfield consists of youngsters (Rosario, Thomas, Ihattaren) or mediocre players like Hendrix and Guti. The forwards, ah…yes. They can play. If they’re not injured. I believe PSV should have supported Mark like Feyenoord did with Gio. He won the title after a season in which he lost 8 on the trot!

And top top it all of, as if it wasn’t enough, both Malen and Memphis got seriously injured. It seems Malen too would be out for half a year or more with tore ligaments but luckily for all of us, Malen’s injury is not that bad. He’ll be “only” 3 months out. Memphis however…. I think we won’t see him at the Euros…

And Daley Blind! During the Valencia game he went down (without ball or opponent close) and was groggy for a couple of seconds/minutes. Was he unconscious? Fact is, Ajax is up in arms after the Abdelhak Nouri drama and sent Blind to the hospital in Amsterdam where he spent two days/nights in their cardiology department under watch. He didn’t play last weekend vs AZ and news has yet to come out.

Isn’t there any good news??

Well, as mentioned, the handball ladies did win the World Cup… Otherwise, Atalanta is through in the CL… Zirkzee made his debut for Bayern. Berghuis got the hattrick vs PSV. But that’s it.

Oh, before I forget… AZ Alkmaar… They did pretty good this week. Joint leaders. Beating Ajax. Scaring Man United. And their golden boys keep on growing and developing. Our straw to hold on to….

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by Jan

Lessons for Oranje Under 17

Oranje Under-17 didn’t manage to win the world title last week. The Dutch talents were on a mission to win it, but ended up as fourth, in Brazil. They look back on a hectic tournament, with deep troughs and high peaks. “We need to learn from this!”.

The tournament ended last Thursday, when Youri Regeer misses the deciding penalty in the semis vs Mexico. The benjamin of the squad fell to the ground, with his shirt over his head to mask his tears, while the Mexicans danced on his grave. The Ajax player – barely 16 years old – is confronted with the harsh laws of top sports. Regeer is unconsolable and has to be brought off the pitch by assistant coach Henk Brugge. And the same applies to his team mates. After their escape from the group, the feeling existed that Oranje was invincible: who is going to stop us now?

And yes, against Mexico, Oranje was the better team and Regeer’s goal in the match was the logical result. But a free kick that shouldn’t have been awarded allowed the Mexicans to score and they did take the spot kicks better. A scenario no one took into account unfolded… And now, a feeling of emptiness. On the pitch, in the dressing room, the bus…the tears of this massive disappointment flow and it seems to go on forever.

Anass Salah-Eddine tries to describe it: “I thought: what is happening here? We have been working for this for two years and and now this. I can’t even describe it. Our dream was taken from us.” The youngest player in the squad had to take the biggest blow. Vergeer: “Our world just collapsed.”

Coach Peter van der Veen, who worked with the group since 2016: “When you see their pain, your heart cries….” He led Oranje U17 to the European Title in May and after he focused fully on winning the world cup. It didn’t go smoothly, the team having had great moments with weak phases and against Mexico, lack of sharpness in front of goal cost the team dramatically.

Van der Veen and staff aren’t successful in getting the team back to their feet for the game for the 3rd place. Taabouni does score the first goal, and a beauty, but in the second half, Oranje implodes. It’s that goalie Calvin Raatsie is in top form otherwise the score would have been embarrassing. Star player Sontje Hansen: “I have to admit, before the game and even during the game, the match vs Mexico was playing in my head. I wasn’t able to kick it, that disappointment. I fear this will be with me for weeks…”

The Oranje squad stayed in Brazil specially for Hansen and to watch te finals between Brazil and Mexico. The FIFA pulled open a can of legends for this, to help FIFA Chairperson Gianni Infantino: Júlio César, Bebeto, Zé Roberto, Roque Júnior, Ronaldo, Cafú and many others.

It’s a weird story. Brazil originally didn’t qualify for this tournament. Peru was certain to go, as Peru was the host, but when the FIFA checked the progress in Peru in March, they were not happy with the developments and decided to host the tournament in Brazil. Ergo, as host country, Brazil was allowed in. And they won it too, in the 93rd minute of the game! Oranje watches with mixed feelings, but by then, Hansen is already taken away by a FIFA person. He needs to be part of the celebrations.

Hansen receives the trophy for top scorer from Ronaldo. A moment to never forget for Sontje. Ronaldo applaudes for Hansen. The latter looks star struck as Ronaldo was his idol when he was a kid. Sontje was born two months before Ronaldo scored twice in the World Cup finals in 2002 but he knows all about the Brazilian: “He was my idol. I even had a hairdo like his… a little bunch of hair on the front, hahaha.” Ronaldo even whispers “Goed gedaan!” in Dutch in the player’s ear (Well Done!). Hansen merely said: thanks. “At least we go home with some sort of trophy.”

The Ajax player is having a remarkable tournament anyway. Last week, Antione Griezmann sent him a message on whatsapp. The Barcelona forward, world champion with France in 2018, let Hansen know he’s following him. “Yo Mini Boss! We follow you and talk about you. When you’re back, we should meet!”

This was the World Cup of Hansen. After the dramatic start vs Japan, coach Van der Veen benched the attacker. But he came back in the team vs the US and since that moment, he reached a terrific level. He scored 6 goals, all beauties and had 3 assists, maybe even more beautiful. But he impressed most with his overall game, his touches, his finesse and brilliance. When Oranje was almost down and out, Hansen got up. When the team started to lose confidence, he injected it into the team by demanding the ball and starting to dribble. He shot Holland to the knock out stage, scored a hattrick in the next game and was the man of the match in the quarters.

Van der Veen: “I don’t want to say that Sontje saved us. It really was a team performance, but yes, it was amazing to see the flow he was in. He made a huge stap in his development and in his professionalism. He took the sub turn well and looked in the mirror and said: my time is now! And it was!”.

Strangely enough, he is not amongst the three best players of the tournament, but he did make a name for himself. Simply ask Ronaldo or Griezmann.

Many scouts traveled to Brazil, mainly to check out Naci Ünüvar, will have circled Hansen’s name. But Oranje had several top performers.  Van der Veen’s eyes light up when we mention Youri Regeer. The 16 year old was brought into the squad at the last moment and started on the bench. After Japan he was brought in and never left the team. At Ajax, Vergeer is a #10 with scoring capabilities, but in this Under 17, he plays as a central defender.

Van der Veen: “With Regeer in the team, we simply function better. And that is quite something for a kid only 16 years old. He really presented himself. He makes the right choices on the ball and reads the game so well. This is why he wins many balls too, he is always there where he needs to be. And this is why people compare him to Frenkie de Jong, although Youri is a different type of player. But there are similarities, sure. Youri has a lot to learn still, but for a 16 year old he is quite something.”

So much so that Juventus and Real Madrid already checked his contract status. The squad is aware of this and are kidding the youngster. They call him “Great Player” as a joke but he does deserve his new status. In his first days with the team, he’s quiet and reserved but as the tournament wore on, he started to direct the build up and was continuously positioning his team players. And none of them talked back… Vergeer: “Yes, I think I grew into the tournament, and I’m quite proud actually. But I will never forget that missed penalty.”

Another strong holder in the team is Calvin Raatsie, another Ajax player. The 17 year old goalie made an impression with his footballing skills and could play as a sweeper while also impressing with risky build up passes. Sander Westerveld (ex Liverpool and ex Vitesse) sees the promise, as his keeper trainer: “He is a very complete goalie, which is remarkable for a 17 year old. He can play football too, and he is ok with high balls. Jasper Cillesen has a number of years in him, of course, but over time, Calvin will be his successor in Oranje.”

Three players reaching a high level, it wasn’t enough for the World Cup gold. The most talented players, like Naci Ünüvar, Ki-Jana Hoever and Mohamed Taabouni, simply weren’t good enough on the tournament. “The big lesson is, as long as there is hope, you got to believe in it and go for it. We demonstrated that here and that is a strong lesson. Second lesson: you need to stick to the agreements and if you don’t, you get beaten on this level. It’s been unforgettable and I think these lads will only get better as a result of all this.”

The team manager had a tough job though. “Well, in Holland I already noticed that they were complacent. They won the European title and though that they could coast in Brazil. I really had to wake them up. I confronted them with video material and we had to really go hard. We had some arguments, and harsh words were said. But they woke up. And the contrast surprised me.”

The question remains: how will the Oranje talents develop as a result. “We want to deliver these kids at the gate of the Big Oranje. This experience will help. When you purely look at talent, they could all go all the way. But there is a way to go. Talent alone is not enough. Mentality is what is needed. When you see the energy Brazil puts in to the matches, or the grinta (grit) with which Mexico plays. We can learn a lot from this. Mexico doesn’t need the ball to win matches. They are purely going for the result. Our players need to mature more. Some things – that are part of top sports – are still neglected a tad. Lifestyle, that sortathing. Sleeping enough, eating healthy, drinking enough water, etc etc. That is what makes the difference at the top. It’s percentages, but those win you the game and that makes the difference between a top player or a nice player. They need to step up because I can see the players that are below them…and they’re also extremely talented… So they need to step up.”

Skipper Ken Taylor: “We faced many new things. We had to play a big match every three days, I never did that before. And after the first match, I was benched. Also a first… And I had to learn to deal with that. But, overall, we failed. I mean, we went to win it, and we ended as fourth. That is not good enough. We need to learn to process this, which might be the key lesson for the rest of our career.”

Van der Veen agrees: “Winning teaches you to win. But you can learn from this as well. We were in a rollercoaster together and had good moments and bad moments. Harsh words were used but we also had moments of joy and had a lot of fun at times too. That is the strength of this team.”

The coach will say farewell now, after 3,5 years with this squad. He will now go back to the new group of Under 17s. “I saw these kids go from their puberty to maturity. It’s emotional to say goodbye but I will do so with price. We have had amazing experiences. And I do hope they will all have a wonderful career and that they’ll look back on this time with a smile on their faces.”

Back in the day…

Peru 2005… With Diego Biseswar, Marvin Emnes, Vernon Anita, Jeffrey Sarpong, John Goosens and Ruud Vormer

Mexico 2011

Boy de Jong, Memphis Depay, Nathan Ake, Terence Kongolo, Karim Rekik, Daan Disveld,  and sitting Anass Achahbar, Jetro Willems, JP Boetius, Joris van Overeem and Tonny Vilhena

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by Jan

Oranje qualifies after 6 years again!

It had to happen at some stage. A nation like Holland wouldn’t keep missing out on tournaments. History taught us so much. The tremendous development of players like Virgil, Memphis, Frenkie and Matthijs will have helped enormously, but it was also the changes made by coach Koeman that helped us reach a higher level.

Despite some negative responses after the 0-0 vs Northern Ireland this Saturday (we could have and should have won it and become the group leader, but hey… I won’t be raining on any parade), the overall feeling was joy and pride and relief.

Ronald Koeman’s first big decision when he was appointed as NT Manager, was to skip the training camps in flash and touristy Noordwijk to the boring woods of Zeist, to the KNVB’s sports centre. He didn’t want to turn the internationals into prisoners so much, but he did want them more “in his control”. So instead of individuals and little cliques, Koeman created a whole squad-vibe, supported by his captain and vice-captains (Virgil, Memphis, Daley, Strootman) and introduced group whatsapps and other group initiatives to help turn our talents into a cohesive team.

He did more.

  • Dominate the axis of the pitch

In the run up to the first matches under his management, Koeman was cryptic in his answers. Asked what system he was going to play: “I am not going to tell you. But I won’t call it 4-3-3.” With this comment, he said goodbye to the (Louis van Gaal) mantra, that wingers need to keep the pitch wide and cross balls into the box. Koeman wants a left footed player on the right, and a right footed player on the left. He wants them to come inside and he wants the full backs to keep the width. Koeman knows it’s easier to win games if you dominate the middle of the pitch. He wants his team to keep the ball in the central axis of the field as long as possible. In the EPL, most successful teams stock up their central areas. Pep Guardiola uses the full backs to come centrally to support, while Klopp at Liverpool uses Firmino to drop back and support and two wingers who constantly come to the centre of the park. Ten Hag and Van Bommel play a similar style in the Dutch competition. The number of crosses has diminished significantly as a result. In the EPL we saw 40 crosses per match in the 2008/2009 season, and that has imploded to only 24 on average in last season.

Typical positioning of Oranje in possession. A winger and the #10 (circled) forming a square with the midfielders (in rectangular)

Koeman used to be a fan of the tall #9 striker (Graziano Pelle at Feyenoord and Southampton) but with the mercurial Memphis as an option, Koeman has steered away from aerial attacks and crosses. He uses Depay as striker, with runners Babel, Promes and / or Bergwijn on the wings. All players who can play central striker, winger and #10 in midfield, allowing for maximum flexibility.

In this way, Oranje has more options when playing the minions who come to park the bus and want to force Oranje to the flanks. This was what happened under Hiddink and Blind a lot, when we failed to qualify versus Iceland, Turkey and Bulgaria. They forced us to go wide and use the crosses, which are relatively easy to defend. Under Koeman, we also struggled at times to find the way through, but Oranje always was able to find that solution. The cross is no longer Plan A, but basically Plan B or C when everything else fails…

  • Play Forward!

Not long ago, we had a national debate about the question, why is Wijnaldum a key player at Liverpool and mediocre in Oranje? The midfielder who won the CL with Liverpool was at times unrecognisable in the orange jersey. With Daley Blind, Kevin Strootman and Memphis Depay he became the symbol of player who couldn’t lead Oranje to the big tournaments… With the new playing system under Koeman, we might conclude that it wasn’t him/them. It was how they were used. With Wijnaldum, the discussion has been turned around even. In Liverpool, they’re asking “how can we use Gini like Oranje does, so he can decide more games for us?”. Wijnaldum: “That has to do with my new role in Oranje. I have more freedom now.” With Memphis, Blind and Wijnaldum performing much better in Oranje has to do with the build up. Koeman destroyed the Dutch Disease of playing the ball square constantly. In the run up to the World Cup 2018, more than half of the passes in 9 out of 10 games played by Holland were played between central defenders. In one of this first press conferences, Koeman said: “I don’t like to see players playing back to the keeper. Find space up front. Make it hard for the opponent. Let them deal with the issue. When you want to create something, you need to play the forward pass.”

When we are faced with two pressing forwards, Frenkie drops next to the centre backs, keeping the full backs higher on the pitch

Koeman has demanded from his players that they see and recognise where to apply pressure. If the opponent has one player pressing, we need to find the second team mate to come and help and create the man more situation. Do they press with two, than we need a defender to join in.

Koeman’s second principle: find the space behind their last defender. With the introduction of Frenkie de Jong, Koeman starts playing the 4-2-3-1 and manages to find the pass behind the last defender. Now Oranje starts to make an impression in an attacking sense as well.

This is a perfect example, vs Germany. Blind gets the second ball after a pressure moment on the left. In the failed qualification matches, he might have played it square to De Jong. Or he would control the ball first and turn back to his central defender to slowly build up again. But not now.

See how deep Promes is playing, as a make shift right back

Without hesitation he plays the ball hard and low into the feet of Memphis. The holding mid of Germany is too late and is played out. Wijnaldum is already dashing forward, Memphis finds him and Malen is on hand to score.

The late, great Johan Cruyff once said: sometimes something needs to happen before something happens… This Oranje does make things happen by playing the forward pass. Possession has become a means again, not the end.

  • Defend Space

Koeman: “We need to build a consistent core of players. I don’t change a lot because we never have a lot of time to build a dynamic. All we do now is just add some details about the opponent and off we go!”.

We conceded a goal against Belarus. Koeman: “We are suddenly faced with a situation of two defenders against three attackers! Maybe the others think Virgil van Dijk can deal with everything!”

And then he sums up the list of errors: Joel Veltman not pressing the ball so the cross can be played in easily. De Jong doesn’t track his runner. Blind doesn’t squeeze in time, and as a result Van Dijk and De Ligt are facing 3 opponents. The Dutch NT doesn’t make couples on the pitch, in a manmarking manner. We defend the spaces. Compactness is a key word for Koeman. The distances between our players should be max 10 t0 12 meters. With this, we can always give backing to team mates and offer options in possession. Everything he wants, was forgotten in that one situation vs Belarus.

  • Do what you can to win!

Wijnaldum: “Koeman explains what we need to do to win the game. And if we can’t make it happen in the first half, he will explain calmly in the break what we need to do to win. This group absorbs all this very well.”

The little note assistant Lodeweges used in the away game vs Germany has reached epic proportions. We were 2-1 down in Germany and in the final stage of the game, Van Dijk is directed forward to operate as second striker for Oranje. Just before time, it’s a cross by Vilhena which reaches Van Dijk and he scores the 2-2 securing our spot in the finals of the Nations League.

Koeman also directed Frenkie de Jong to play as third central defender in that Germany match, allowing or more control.

In the home game vs Germany for the Euro qualification, we see more shots of Lodeweges with notes in his hand. In this match, we play a 4-2-3-1 again, but Koeman adapts defensively. Koeman mirrors the German 3-5-2 by using Promes as a wingback. Oranje fights back from trailing 0-2 to 2-2 but loses in the dying minutes.

The “Germany System” with Promes as wingback

Not that long ago, Dutch NT coached would be heavily criticised for abandoning the Dutch 4-3-3 system. The Dutch NT needed to play to their strengths, people said. Van Gaal got massive complaints from the football world when he played with three centre backs at the World Cup 2014. Koeman didn’t seem to care about all these sentiments, went his own way, and got the results. Koeman is also not the type – as opposed to Van Gaal – to be very open to the press what he is doing. He deflects questions about tactics and uses so-called kitchen tile one-liners to explain things to the media. He always plays tactics down and says those discussions are not so important. His motto: if I don’t start the conversation, I won’t get any hassle from it.

  • Focus on the turn-around

Virgil van Dijk: “At some stage, space opens up and we have lads up front with speed who can benefit from this. And we do.”

A quick look to the stats show us that Oranje is deadly in ball possession. We have dynamic forwards, with legs and lungs and similar players in midfield (Van de Beek, Wijnaldum!) who can bridge any distance to the goal easily. This kind of counter goals were long considered an inferior way to win games. We usually blame Portugal and Germany (in the past century) for using these tactics. Today, victories vs Germany and Portugal (…) have silenced the criticasters.

Opponent Goal scorer Number of Passes
Belarus Georginio Wijnaldum 5
Belarus Georginio Wijnaldum 3
Northern Ireland Memphis Depay 3
Northern Ireland Luuk de Jong 8
Northern Ireland Memphis Depay 1
Estonia Ryan Babel 5
Estonia Ryan Babel 3
Estonia Memphis Depay 10
Estonia Georginio Wijnaldum 1
Germany Frenkie de Jong 6
Germany Ryan Babel 1
Germany Donyell Malen 3
Germany Georginio Wijnaldum 4
England Matthijs de Ligt 1
England Quincy Promes 0
England Quincy Promes 1
Germany Matthijs de Ligt 2
Germany Memphis Depay 8
Belarus Memphis Depay 0
Belarus Georginio Wijnaldum 7
Belarus Memphis Depay 0
Belarus Virgil van Dijk 1
Germany Quincy Promes 5
Germany Virgil van Dijk 0
France Memphis Depay 0
France Georginio Wijnaldum 0
Belgium Arnaut Groeneveld 3
Germany Virgil van Dijk 0
Germany Memphis Depay 2
Germany Georginio Wijnaldum 1
France Ryan Babel 4
Peru Memphis Depay 3
Peru Memphis Depay 0
Italy Nathan Aké 5
Slovakia Quincy Promes 3
Portugal Memphis Depay 5
Portugal Ryan Babel 15
Portugal Virgil van Dijk 2

In the run up to the Northern Ireland game, Koeman says this: “We want to score quick and start well. We are even better when we can play compact, with a goal to the good. Our counter attacks are super dangerous.” So, under Koeman we play dominant first, to counter-attack later. Our forwards feel most comfortable when they have space in front of them, and turn-around experts Wijnaldum and De Roon also feel best with space in front. And playing compact doesn’t mean playing defensive. You can press high, and be compact still. But when that doesn’t work, the players will drop back on their own half. And then the team requires patience to wait for the right moment to pounce.

In the small spaces of the modern game, the counter attack is an essential weapon. Even Man City, Barcelona, Bayern and Liverpool play like this, with France winning the World Cup in this style.

The turn around vs Germany, with De Roon playing the forward pass

Like any NT manager before him, Ronald Koeman benefits from the work done by the club coaches. Van Dijk and Wijnaldum feel at home in this style, because Klopp works the exact same way. De Ligt, Blind and De Jong will always try and find the solution by playing forward, because Ten Hag demands this at Ajax. Bergwijn will fortify our midfield and make way for Dumfries, because Van Bommel wants this from them at PSV. Babel, Promes and De Roon will help balance the team because these players learned to be a team player.

Koeman’s biggest strength, is that he has developed a playing style utilising the strength of his players.

So, one more game. A match in which Virgil will not be present due to personal circumstances. Gini Wijnaldum will be the captain and Koeman promised a completely new system / approach…

We’ll see…

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by Jan

Why Koeman can’t ignore Stengs

Calvin Stengs is 20 years old. If you deduct his year of being badly injured, he’s actually only 19 years old… When he came on the scene, some two years ago, we could all see how special he could become. Some players are not “discovered” by any scout, as even Stevie Wonder could see how talented this lad was.

Let’s analyse him.

Positional Intelligence

In today’s world, wingers play on the wrong flank, given their favorite foot. Robben started life as a left winger. As did Berghuis. And dozens of others, who ended up playing on the right wing. The so-called Inverted Winger. Calvin Stengs is one of those. Like Ziyech at Ajax, a gifted left footer on the right wing. But Stengs can’t be compared to Robben or even Leroy Sane. He looks a bit like Sane, he even walks a bit like him, but Stengs is one of those wingers who doesn’t rely on speed. He’s not slow, by all means, but he will not bamboozle opponents with explosive sprints or dazzling speed. If you have to compare the young AZ player, you probably end up with Angel di Maria, who is reborn at PSG.

He will start on the team sheet as right winger. But he will do most damage in the half space on the right, while the AZ right back Svensson will cover the channel on the right with overlaps. The interaction between these two and the timely passing of midfielders Midtsjo and Koopmeiners are the foundations of Stengs play.

But it’s not a one-trick pony gameplay, here. AZ also used the variance, of having the back dive into the half space, and allowing Stengs to drift all the way to the touch line.

Stengs loves to wonder in a free role and when he really gets the space he needs, he can create threatening situations from nothing. Sometimes, Stengs will pop up in the half space on the left, starting a combination with left winger Idrissi. It’s the intelligence of Wijndal, the left back playing wide and high usually, and the covering runs of Dani de Wit who will take Stengs position on the right hand side of the field.

Stengs popping up in the left half space to confuse the opponent

Stengs is also really comfortable playing on the “10” position and using his smarts and positioning to keep opponents busy, and keeping them from putting pressure on AZ Full backs, like Stengs did vs PSV. His midfield play kept Doan from pressuring Wijndal. Stengs will use his positioning skills to play in between the lines and once in possession he usually can find the killer pass, as he did in the game vs PSV, taking 3 or 4 opponents out with one pass.

Stengs dropping deep to force Doan to follow, allowing for Wijndal to get in possession

In Oranje, Koeman uses the 4-2-3-1 formation, with the right winger more on the half space while left back Daley Blind usually positions himself as a third central defender and starts the build up play. As a result, Dumfries (or whoever is right back) gets the freedom to move up into the area vacated by the right winger. This right winger position is therefore ideal for Stengs, who loves to wander and roam and who can easily play the role of all midfielders. With his versatility and intelligent positioning, it will be easier for the real left winger (Malen, Promes, Bergwijn) to play his part.

Functional skills

AZ scored four times vs PSV and with three of them, Stengs individual class was on display. Before the opening goal, the 20 year old does something remarkable. When Boadu keeps the ball in field, after a header by Wijndal, Stengs becomes available as a result of a smart little run. When Boadu plays into Midtsjo who dribbles towards the right, Stengs is running along in the same direction. But suddenly he stops. This results in him being completely unmarked behind Erick Gutierrez. Stengs than plays a killer pass into Boadu. The pass gets the applause, but Stengs’ movement deserves as much kudos.

The freedom Stengs creates for himself in between the lines

The second goal is a real team goal, yes with a magical dropkick by Midtsjo, but Stengs again is the architect. First, he controls a loose ball really well, then he loses 3 PSV players with one-two shimmies. He has a touch and go with Midtsjo and then opens on the right, where Svensson and Sugawara are in a two vs one situation. His assist for the 3-0 was quite simple but still smart. PSV is looking to get back into the game. Svensson passes into Stengs who is one on one with left back Sadilek. His typical dribble style will put the fear of God in the PSV defender: short steps, lots of touches, relatively straight back but with a plan. He wants to dribble diagonally inside, knowing that Svensson will be on his moped on the right flank. Stengs makes Sadilek believe he’ll go for goal, by emulating that body style. But he passes the ball gently to Svensson who finishes: 3-0. (see below)

Whether Stengs is Holland’s best winger is debatable, but the big plus is that he can play in different styles: running in between the lines, acrobatic individual skills and dribbling, to allow his team mates to score.

Productivity

He is involved in eightteen goals (18) this season (in 20 official games). Eight goals and ten assits. His productivity is the result of his individual qualities, yes, but also the result of the way AZ plays under Arne Slot. Stengs, like Boadu and Idrissi, doesn’t need any time to think in finding the right positions on the pitch.

Stengs productivity is not the result of luck. Only Dusan Tadic, Steven Bergwijn and Brian Smeets (the Sparta revelation this season) created more chances for team mates than Stengs (19). Also, the number of shots on goal (26) brings him in the top 10 of the Eredivisie. Stengs is super productive thanks to his skill set but also because Slot organises his team around these qualities. It will be interesting to see how Stengs’ productivity will fair in Oranje…

Stengs waiting for the cross, as a real right winger here…

Work Ethic

When Arne Slot is asked about Astana attacker Rotariu, who played for AZ in the past, he says: “He is very skilled on the ball, but we wanted more from him without it. He had difficulty with that. When you look at Calvin, and his work ethic… I mean, he can do anything with a ball but he works like a horse when we don’t have it.”

The statistics support this. Stengs has won the ball back more times (55) than Boadu and Idrissi together (54)! By positioning himself smartly in between centre back, full back and holding mid, Stengs can jump at any given time on a risky pass in the build up of the opponent. This is a situation vs Heracles Almelo.

Stengs, in red with jersey 7, putting pressure via his “jump” on the left back, who is about to lose possession

He also supports his team mates, even on his own half. A risky pass by Joey Konings goes beyond him but he sees with a carpenter’s eye that the ball is not good enough so he can put pressure on the receiver, with Svensson, to win the ball back.

Stengs recognises the risky pass and aids Svensson in putting pressure on, on his own half

This work rate and defensive smarts make him a real target for the big top clubs and of course for Oranje. Most talented forwards coming through the systems lack this defensive awareness and willingness to work for the team. This may not sound sexy, but the willingness and ability of players in the modern game to defend, to effectively put pressure on opponents are becoming crucial in top competitions (see Liverpool, Man City, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Dortmund). Stengs is not a speed train on the wing, and he’s also not a goal scoring forward, who gets 20+ goals, but his technical brilliance, his positional intelligence, versatility, productivity and work ethics make him a talent of the extraordinary category. Not bad for a lad who suffered a horror injury two years ago.

He will come into the Dutch squad and will probably never leave it again. He will most likely start, even, with Bergwijn injured, Malen uncertain and Berghuis in a form dip. And next? I can see Ziyech leave Ajax this coming summer and Stengs making a record move (25Mio? 30Mio?) to Ajax.

After two seasons Ajax, anything can happen. Liverpool, PSG, Bayern (with Ten Hag?), even Barcelona….

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