The Big LVG Interview – Pt 2

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by Jan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can you tell us the program?

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

And then the group talk?

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

So, what room did you use for it?

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

On to Day 2…

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

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

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

But are you motivating or criticising?

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

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

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

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95 comments

  5. Its a great read.Van gaal does many sensible things its important that he always sees rooms for improvement.
    But i would like to add that he must show the games of Brazil team-1994,France-1998,Brazil2002,Italy 2006 and spain spain 2010.he teach them the unity of those teams.and how they fought when things went out of their control.however LVG also must understand that does he have the quality players for a WC win.Ofcourse he has 15/16 players like that but he must find another 8/7 at least to have a hope tp beat Brazil in brazil,Arjentina,Spain,Germany,Belgium and portugal.
    @Anybody knows the twitter account of LVG??????

  6. “In Holland, we do think a bit differently about attractive football. We do not like all the extensive passing and passing that Spain does. We want to do business. Score goals. Be more direct. So WE WILL NOT “COPY” SPAIN, that is not my intention. WE WANT TO PLAY DUTCH. AND WE CAN”.

    …I don’t know about you guys but that’s wonderful to know 😀 🙂

  9. Great post Jan. Enjoying this in depth interview with van Gaal.

    I have promised to put forward an argument that builds the case of him being the best striker in the world bar Messi. So here we go:

    What I did was looking at the points a players actually adds to his team and I did that by subtracting his goals and assists from the final scoreline in all his league games. Now a goal is often the work of more persons and people who saw the opening to beat a defender already for the striker with his passing don’t get the respect in this metric. However it’s important to note that RVP is along the highest key pass deliverers himself at United (1.9 key passes per game), so he certainly repays his team in this dimension. I started to like these stats added to all the others, as a result of being annoyed with of all the hot air statistics can behold. I saw a comment the other day from someone on a certain forum who put forward that Theo Walcott had a better strike rate than RVP (Chicharito also by the way) and ended his post in a suggestive way with the words “you conclude from that statistic whatever you want” in a reply to another poster asking if he thought it proved Walcott was better. I think one should discriminate for venue (it’s easier to sore against QPR at home than against Manchester City) but also looking at what goals have actually contributed towards the points. You have those locked or tight games where someone has to turn up and do something special to get the points. At the other hand you have those games where the other team simply did not show up mentally and some players then turn on their “flat track bully mode” and have a go, pumping their statistics while you can’t earn more than 3 points per game. In a title race you like a striker to turn up every game to get those 3 points for you and actually rather be economical with his energy as the championship is a marathon and not a sprint. Maybe the only exception would be a fierce rival where a matter had to be settled with. Giving them a big beating does not pay out point wise (other than the 3 points obviously), but would be a big deposit on the emotional bank account for club and fans. They can go the next morning to their work and have a poke at their colleague’s who support the city’s rival for example.

    A goal is a goal often, but the definition of an assist is maybe harder. I think Whoscored uses a very rigid definition that make things sometimes embarrassing if you would look back at the highlights of the game and see that the ball only slightly touched a player without him knowing it and without changing the course of the ball and still gets the assist. Transfermarkt uses a more liberal definition, but is also not perfect all the time. However I used both stats in regard with a handful of elite players in EPL (who are in the running for EPL player of the years as well) and a fellow top attackers from around the world. The method is simple, I have subtracted goals and assists from the final scorelines in their league’s for all the players and looked at the loss of points that caused for their respective teams (if you think I made a (small/big) calculation mistake please let me know):

    * Source 1: Whoscored
    * Source 2: Transfermarkt

    Messi:

    * According to Whoscored (WS): 23 points in 19 games
    * According to Transfermarkt (TM): 23 points in 19 games
    * 23/18 = 1,21 points per game
    * Played 1653 minutes in La Liga/ 23 points = 72 minutes per point

    Ronaldo:

    * According to WS: 10 points in 18 games
    * Accrording to TM: 10 points in 18 games
    * 10/18= 0,56 point per game
    * Played 1547 minutes in La Liga/ 10 points = 155 minutes per point

    Zlatan:

    * According to WS: 12 points in 17 games
    * According to TM: 13 points in 17 games
    * 12/17= 0,71 points per game
    * 1510 minutes in Ligue 1/ 12 points= 126 minutes per point

    or

    * 13/17 = 0,76 points per game
    * 1510 minutes in Ligue 1/ 13 points= 116 minutes per point

    Falcao:

    * According to WS: 11 points in 17 games
    * According to TM: 11 points in 17 games
    * 11/17= 0,65
    * 1435 minutes in La Liga/ 11 points= 130 minutes per points

    Cavani:

    * According to WS: 10 points in 17 games
    * According to TM: 10 points in 17 games
    * 10/17= 0,59 points per game
    * 1515 minutes in Serie A/ 10 points= 152 minutes per point

    Mata:

    * According to WS: 11 points in 17 games
    * According to TM: 13 points in 17 games
    * 11/17= 0,65 points per game
    * 1499 minutes in EPL/ 11 points= 136 minutes per point

    or

    * 13/17= 0,76 points per game
    * 1499 minutes in EPL/ 13 points= 115 minutes per point

    Suarez:

    * According to WS: 12 points in 22 games
    * According to TM: 12 points in 22 games
    * 12/22= 0,55 points per game
    * 1886 minutes in EPL/ 12 points= 157 minutes per point

    RVP:

    * According to WS: 29 points in 22 games
    * According to TM: 30 points in 22 games
    * 30/22= 1,32 points per game
    * 1758 minutes in EPL/ 29 points= 61 minutes per point

    or

    * 30/22= 1,36 points per game
    * 1758 minutes in EPL/ 30= 59 minutes per point.

    So taking each player’s worst minutes per point rate in their leagues:

    1. RVP with 61 minutes per point (1.9 key passes per game)
    2. Messi with 72 minutes per point (1.4 key passes per game)
    3. Zlatan with 126 minutes per point (2.2 key passes per game)
    4. Falcao with 130 minutes per point (0.9 key passes per game)
    5. Mata with 136 minutes per point (2.6 key passes per game)
    6. Cavani with 152 minutes per point (1 key pass per game)
    7. Ronaldo with 155 minutes per point (1.6 key pass per game)
    8. Suarez with 157 minutes per point (2.8 key passes per game)

    Taking each player’s best minutes per point rate in their leagues:

    1. RVP with 59 minutes per point (1.9 key passes per game)
    2. Messi with 72 minutes per point (1.4 key passes per game)
    3. Mata with 115 minutes per point (2.2 key passes per game)
    4. Zlatan with 116 minutes per point (0.9 key passes per game)
    5. Falcao with 130 minutes per points (2.6 key passes per game)
    6. Cavani with 152 minutes per point (1 key pass per game)
    7. Ronaldo with 155 minutes per point (1.6 key pass per game)
    8. Suarez with 157 minutes per point (2.8 key passes per game)

    I actually did not expect this when I started to add all these numbers, but this was a fun thing to do and maybe sheds a different light on certain things. Who on this forum dares to name RVP in the same sentence as Messi?

    Conclusion: RVP is a boss.

    Cheers

    5. ‘I actually did not expect this when I started to skew all these numbers, but this was an entirely pointless thing to do and maybe sheds a false light on certain things. Who on this forum dares to name RVP in the same sentence as Messi?

      Conclusion: I am a fucking moron.

      Cheers’

      ^ fixed.

      You promised to ‘put forward an argument’.
      I’m still waiting.

    1. @DRB300 its no wonder its the problem in grooming the right players.i mean players with footballing intelligence.
      i Really wish players like Elia,Afaleey,Lenz,Narsingh,schaken should not play for national team anymore.it might harsh on those players but its the truth.these players has tons of trickeres and no use..Wc’s are won by ronaldos,zidanes,Delpeiros,rivaldos,and ineastas.either u have sublime skill like ronaldino or be wise as bergkamp,wesly or persie..Intially i was clearly detoriated by the presence of kuyt in attack,i would nt have had any problem if he was a holding mid or a defender.when i look back i feel that kuyt was much better than these usless dribblers.But still i will not prefer kuyt,luuk de jong in NT coz u need to score from half chances to win A WC.,whch they are not capable of and they need MANY CHANCES to score a goal.its seems liks i need to yell at some players in the team.VAn gaal still need to find some intenational class players..

        1. Krul
          Van Rhijn-De Vrij-Martins Indi-Van Anholt (how’s it written?) or Daley Blind
          Van Ginkel-Strootman-De Jong (Siem) or Clasie
          Lens-Van Persie-Robben

          1. U have put a nice lineup..i hope LVG does it…but Lenz doesnt have the brilliance to cop with clasie,stroot,Persie,Ginkel and roben..You need to find some other guy for that spot.
            Also we another 11 in bench who can easily replace the first 11 with out compromising quality.
            No matter name and charector are more important than spelling.Anholt-Aanholt..i would replace Lenz with Achabar or Ola john…would start with clasie over seim dejong
            Krul
            Van Rhijn-De Vrij-Martins Indi-Van Anholt

            Van Ginkel-Strootman-Clasie
            ———Wesly——-
            Van Persie————Robben
            Then second line would be
            =======================================
            ———–Velthuizen—————-
            Janmaat——Douglas—Bruma—-Blind
            ————-Anita————-
            ——Leroy fer—–Adam Maher—-
            Ola john—————-Urby———–
            ————-Basdost————

          2. ‘Krul
            Van Rhijn-De Vrij-Martins Indi-Van Anholt

            Van Ginkel-Strootman-Clasie
            ———Wesly——-
            Van Persie————Robben’

            Hahahahahahahaha nice defence.
            What a clownshoe.
            Your line-ups change with the wind. Idiot.
            Also, learn to fucking spell.

        2. With all the injuries Thats all I can think of, or a different formation style of

          —————-Vorm—————
          ——-Heitinga———-De Vrij——-
          Janmaat————————-martins indi
          —————-Anita——————–
          —-Van Ginkel————-S. de Jong——
          —————Van Persie—————–
          Ola John—————————Robben

  11. @DRB 300
    Among your list i would say RVP and zlatan are the genius players.highly intellgent than other players.both can score some acrobatic goals which messi and CR7 cannot score,its purly because of the intellignce.Everyone says zlatan is AS#$$$%le.i think he is guy who has bit ego and always try to stand agsinst anything.he is a rebel.Only xavi acn compete with RVP in terms of footballing intellignce..
    Dutch was lucky to have numerous number of inettligent players in last generation,if u think something ethey acahived in 2008 and 2010 ,then is due to the intelligence of follwoing players.Lesser intelligent players where Melchiot,Bula,Afaleey,brapheid,Elia and De jong.But Dejong and bula faught like lions so they made up that with their hardwork.hence both were in defence in didnt affect us.Afaleey didnt played much.
    let us hope that LVG finds some class players for us.

  12. some interesting developments…. Newcastle has been anything but good, Steks is wanted by Fulham……… wow, that leaves Vorm as our #1 goalie at this point. Crazy!!!

  15. @Miguel Rosado: i was going to comment about the same quote. We discussed this before (not brought up by me) but the same idea was discussed on this blog (thanks to Jan).

  16. From goal.com: PSV defender Erik Pieters was taken to hospital on Friday after punching through a glass window in anger following his dismissal in the Eindhoven side’s 3-1 Eredivisie loss at home against PEC Zwolle.

  24. well,at least he will have playing time,but honestly it doesn’t seem a great move. with his talent,he should have excepted manu’s conditions one and a half year ago… fortunately he is always good in the national team. going to leagues like turkey,russia,etc. players who will soon retire sign to these leagues. talents and world class players at wesley’s age go to the opposite direction.

  26. My favorite player is going to Turkey, an uncompetitive league, how is that a good thing for Oranje? But his wife wants a “stable” place to start a family (kids). I guess Istanbul is very nice, climate wise, affordable, good shopping, and the couple will make Turkish media headlines day in day out. So, for them, why not?

    For us? They wouldn’t care, would they.

  28. This also happened because Inter pushed him so hard. He has given them a CL title and this is what they make him do. What a shit club.

    What a mess this is. RVP is one year older than Wes and is killing EPL, yet, Sneijder is moving to the Turkish Liga while being younger.

    What is the guy thinking? Infuriating.

  29. This is a decision that sneijder will regret one day . That’s for sure .
    He should have thought what if Galatasaray doesn’t make it to the CL ?
    Will he spend the whole season playing in the average Turkish league ?

    I hope LVG talks to him and warns him about the consequences of this move , on him and on his spot in Oranje .
    So unwise from a player who’s supposed to be a CAPTAIN .

  30. Still better than staying at Inter and not playing. I guess in the end he left himself no choice. No top team will meet his wage demands after he hasn’t played for so long. I’m sure he is just as unhappy with this as we are but he really didn’t have any other options (QPR?).

    1. There are serious sources stating Liverpool wanted to pay 110 K per week for him. However Liverpool was put off by demands that would result in him making more than Gerard. The important technicality in this whole story is that in Turkey players only have to pay 15% taxes. That’s the thing that made the deal possible for Gala in the end. They can offer the same as Liverpool and Sneijder ends up with a much higher net income. Much higher.

      People also forget that he could have bitten his pride and take the pay cut at Inter. I mean, apparently he loved the club so much that he stayed there for so long in the first place. Then why not taking the pay cut?

      He should have left when Mou also left or the year after that. Now he was in a position (forced by Inter and also his fitness) that he had to leave for Turkey.

      Shocking move and a blow for Dutch football.

  32. “One rule is “no more headphones when you are in a public area”. In the bus? Fine. When you walk from bus to dressing room, not fine. It doesn’t look good, is my opinion.”

    I love this. I would become a fan of this team just because of this rule. I HATE IT when I see players coming out of a team bus with giant dr dre headphones, chewing gum like they do not care about anything else in this world. There was a time when you saw beatiful, serious faces, shaven and clean haircuts. This is business, players are employees and need to look professional. Now oftentimes you see thug like heads with weird haircut and tatoos up to the nose. Enough said. I love LVG, old fashion is best style.

  34. I am Mexican and if you guys remember we won the Olympics this last summer.

    There is a documentary of the story of Mexico’s Gold Medal in football and what I could see is that that team had a great spirit, they supported each other as if they were a big family, there was a great environment within the team and the coach played a great part in that victory.

    I know the Olympics aren’t as special as the WC but for Mexico it was a great achievement and a great lesson that if LVG manages to do the same I’m sure Holland will win the WC.

  35. i guess our only hope now is that strootman goes to a big club SOON… he is our future…. i am happy LVG made him captain, he should KEEP THE ARMBAND IMO

  36. Great win by Ajax today and shocking news about Wes. I agree with all the comments about his decision to go to Turkey. Mohammed is right, he will regret it. My only hope is that he will stay 6 months and leave in the summer.
    As for Ajax, I have to say the more I watch them the more impressed I am. Vermeer is for me the best GK in Holland and should be number 1 for the national team. Van Rhin was unjustly sent off as he actually tried to get away. But what was most glaring to me was the glaring weaknesses of some of our Dutch international players. Clasie, Janmaat, Mathijsen of course, and more suprisingly de Vrij and even BMI. Very concerning. I feel that Feyenoord forms good national level players but no superstars. I hope Boetius and Vilhena will be the exceptions. What a shame Eriksen and Fischer are not Dutch. They would fit right in.

  37. This feels surreal. I still remember the young Sneijder’s debut against Scotland in the EC’04 Qualifier. He was a star in the making. Even though Oranje had all the big names at the time, every one saw the talent this young guy has and he was all over the pitch.

    It makes me sad to see his decline right after the WC 2010 final. He has been in free fall mode. Maybe he felt robbed from getting the ballon d’Or- not even making it to the last 3 finalists! Maybe it is due to family commitments- his wife living in the fashion capital of the world and he’s just enjoying the luxury life. For whatever reason, I don’t think that he cares as much any more. We, the fans, are more passionate about the game than many of the players. Sad but true. While he still showed a few moments of brightness over the past couple of years, he has been getting fat, lazy, and unmotivated 🙁

    I think Sneijder’s career is over. We shouldn’t count on him for the WC 2014 and LVG better find good replacement for him in the midfield. I hope it is not too late to replace him!

    Good bye, Sneijder and thanks for the memories. You’ll be remembered for a beautiful WC 2010, but you’ll never be remembered as one of the greatest of all time who kept fighting till their career was over due to age or injury, e.g. Cruijff, Van Basten, Rijkard, Bergkamp, Van der Sar, Davids, Overmars, RVN, etc.

  38. hey guys dont be pathetic about Wesly transfer..Only issue am seeing in hime is about his physical condition ,his body is a type of body which can easily get fat.thats the worrying point.I know as you all said turkish league or players doesnt have the intelligence of dutch or german or even English players.But their spirit for fighting is so HIGH.I just pray that Wesly stays extream fit like a 22/23 year old,then you will see magic from him for national team.Wesly is proven class intelligent footballer.But LVG should not select him if he is not fit.even he is fit for 60 minutes.
    I am really worried about fitness leavel of Roben,Joris,Vaart,heitinga and wesly.I think Joris and Vaart should be dropped and rest should play as subs according to their current physical fitness.

  40. It is not the end of the world, Sneijder will get his top form back and then a top club will come for him so don’t worry guys.

    Galatasaray’s coach is a very good coach, he will play more than he did at Inter so for the time being it’s an OK move but hopefully he’ll go somewhere else during the summer.

  42. As a bleeding Oranje fan, Sneijder’s move to the Turkish League is humiliating. It’s like a fall from grace. Sort of like a beauty queen turns transvestite… you’d think..wtf how did that happen?

  43. I feel bad for sneijder…he is over fat and having to play in a hooligan country due to his greed…no one wants him and i think he has just realized that….but still he cudnt get rid of his greed…or maybe yolanthe wudnt let him?

      1. wow thanks amazing quality….any idea when nicolai boilesen will be back…does anyone else agree that Denmark and Belgium will be big contenders in Brazil 2014…

        Denmark has upcoming superstars in

        Kasper Schemichel
        Fredrik Sorensen
        Andreas Laudrup
        Viktor Fischer
        Christian Eriksen
        Nicklas Bendtner

        2. no Srinjoy,i disagree with you – argentina,germany,oranje and spain (in alphabetical order 😀 )will be the big contenders. if they are lucky,denmark and belgium might reach the qwuarters,but not the semis ,etc.

  45. I dont think it is that bad for Sneijder.
    The most important thing for him is to get more playing time. Given his current fitness I am afrid he will be another super benchwarmer again in, let’s say, Liverpool.
    While in Galatasary he will be the core of the team.
    With his class I am sure once he fight back he will move back to main competitions.

    1. Actually It has come to me that Gala will play 4-4-2 and that Sneijder won’t fit in the system. I also heard that this move was one from the owner of the club, not the manager. The manager did not even want him. On top of that there is the rule in Turkey that every team must have at least 6 Turks on the field. This means somebody like Melo needs to be taken off for Sneijder to play. They have like 10 foreigners now at Gala under contract and only 6 can play in a game. Then there is the thing of the Turkish Liga being pretty nasty, meaning that his technical ability will not necessarily translate into producing good games. In Spain he would get more protection and his football ability would make him shine more.

      Apart from all these points, what bother me most, is that he goes to a league that is even under the Netherlands if we look at Europe:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient#Current_ranking

      The big names in that competition are the ones on the path of retirement. Gala only advanced to the last 16 in CL because they were in an easy group to qualify from. I bet they would not have finished third in the group Ajax was in, beating City almost 2 times.

      That league will not challenge him to become the best he can be. I can’t even get a proper subscription for that league, as nobody is interested to broadcast it. Here I was hoping to see him wearing the shirt of Liverpool in a league like the EPL and he pulls this off. Not 1 Turkish team has ever won the CL. Liverpool has won 5. Liverpool has more history than the whole Turkish competition combined.

      What he has done is mind boggling from the football perspective.

  47. What exactly happened with Sneijder at Inter? I agree the big issue with him is fitness–not sure if he’s been fit the last two plus years; the guy doesn’t have a huge work rate to begin with. Midfield is a big issue for the Dutch NT right now.

    1. @Richard..Past 2 years Wesly’s fitness was not that good.his workrate was not great,which is very important for the balnce of the team.If Wes,Vaart,Joris,Johny are not fit they should be dropped and it would be better to take some young talents.Maher,clasie,Acahbar and ginkel can play wesly’s role in team with better worak rate.they may have reached the leavel of Wes but,i think they would be more suitable for a fluent play.

  49. the most impressive about barca is their stamina. I don’t care if they have possession they are still running around the whole game, look at the statistics of how much distance they covered, and it is often more than their opponents, and they never seem to tire throughout the whole game, they pressure high and it groups even at 90 min. So STAMINA IS IMPORTANT FOR FLUID GAME.

    1. ‘the most impressive about barca is their stamina.’

      missing word aside, this is actually the smartest thing you have posted here.
      more like this please.
      less foolish nonsense about Van Marwijk, Van Bommel, Kuyt, De Jong and our other heroes of yesterday please.

  51. “And players who have distractions in their private life, whether it’s marital issues or transfer issues, will not be selected either.
    So
    Rafael, sneijder, affelay won’t be available in italy friendly, I wonder whos gonna start as playmaker, guzman, maher, or van ginkel?
    Numbers of key players will not be available due to injury? Pieters, narsingh, robben, huntelaar, nigel, vlaar, luuk, willems. Several players are not playing that much actually dont deserve a call, heitinga, mathijsen, urby. This will be almost new team plus RVP. Will kuyt be given playing team again to add more experience.
    Possible debut for guzman, douglass?, ola john?, dost?
    There is no other period in the past we have that many injuries, this also become interesting to see LVG moves on with new players.

  52. De guzman,Van aanholt,Ola john,Basdost,Maher,Clasie,Ginkel,leory all play regular and well for their teams.they play extreamly well.Joris is the weakest link in Feynoord ,because of him all defence looks crap,he doesnt deserve a call..
    —————————————————–
    ————Velthuizen/Vermeer/Krul——————-
    ———Douglas/De vrij—–BMI/Bruma—————–
    Janmaat/Rhijn—————————-Buttner/Aanholt
    ——Strootman/Anita———Leroyfer/Deguzman————-Van ginkel/Ola john—–Clasie/Maher——-Roben/Urby–
    ——————Van persie/Basdost——————-

  54. I don’t feel sorry for Sneijder. He had plenty of options to go for football or money. He chose money over football. Someone who loves money so much does not deserve my sympathy. N I doubt if he will pass the physical at Gala. He looks like a big fat mortadella stick. Not a loss for Holland. This is a good chance for a youngster to step in and define his career.
    Farewell Wesley. Such a shame.

  55. I have to agree with Balkan, sneijder has no longer desire to win, his self-complacency after 2010, has let me down, I would not think sneijder would opt for money than football. i still hope he understands he has few years to make big things at least for NT. He will be great super subs for this new generation.

      1. http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/jose-mourinho-told-me-to-sign-for-galatasaray-says-wesley-sneijder-3361973.html

        Jose Mourinho told me to sign for Galatasaray, says Wesley Sneijder

        Wesley Sneijder has revealed that he sought advice from Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal before finally deciding to join Galatasaray.

        The 28-year-old enjoyed a hero’s welcome when he flew into Istanbul to seal his €10m move from Inter Milan.

        Speaking before undergoing a medical which would rubber-stamp his move to Turkey, Sneijder revealed he had spoken to both his former boss at Inter, Mourinho, and van Gaal, the Holland coach.

        He said: “I’ve been very well briefed on all sides, very well briefed.

        “I called Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal because they have been key figures in my football career and I think their opinion is important.

        “They both said the same thing: do!

        “They gave me the final push, knowing how Turkish football is on the rise.”

        Sneijder also admits one of the reasons behind his move to Galatasaray was next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

        He said: “This is all important in view of the World Cup.”

        Press Association

  58. Great read Jan! As for Wesley the jury is still out, he may just find a new lease on life (voetbal) in Turkey and come back better than ever – Look at Van Persie!

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