It is clear from the response in the country and on this blog, that all Oranje fans are really happy with the way Louis van Gaal has started this campaign. As he said himself: “My start in 2000 was bad, because I didn’t bring in new blood. I won’t make that mistake now.”
Louis van Gaal made some big decisions.
He decided on a style of playing that is more fitting of Dutch school playing: 4-3-3, forward pressure, fast circulation, real wingers…
The next thing he did, was to write profile descriptions for the positions. And then he went on to find the right players for these spots.
The next decision he made, was to not select players who are not match fit. So players who just made a big move from one country to the next, would not be selected. Good decision.
Clarity for all.
The response we’re seeing on this blog is mirrored in the response we see in the Dutch media.
Five football experts gave their opinions….
1. Robbie “Snakeman” Rensenbrink; former left winger in Oranje ’74
“Finally we have a real left winger again. I never understood the positioning of Robben on the right. It was so predictable. Coming inside, and trying to shoot. I played on the right at times, but you’re always slower, as you want to take on a ball with your strong leg. Lens did well too, against Hungary. All the youngsters were great. We only have 4 or so of the old guard in it. As far as I’m concerned, the coach can stick to his plan. Let this group have a go. We got a lot of criticism when we started in 1974. The friendlies we played were horrendous. But briefly before the World Cup we had a practice game against Argentina and suddenly, it all came together….”
2 Gertjan Verbeek; no international caps, coach of AZ
“Something had to change. And making tough decisions was key. Van Gaal showed his courage. It could have gone against him. We could have lost against Turkey. But we got lucky. Against Hungary, the team played well. Solid. But don’t forget, Hungary is a weak opponent. If you saw what these guys were doing when Clasie took that free kick. That was pathetic. But Louis started really well. Great for him, the national team and for Dutch football. The points are in the bag and the 1-4 is a good result internationally. Well done!”
3. Gaston Taument; former Oranje international and current Feyenoord youth coach
“I thought Oranje was fresh and fun to watch. Van Gaal has given a couple of youngsters a chance, but I do believe these guys are stayers. Hungary wasn’t too strong, that is true, but we shouldn’t emphasize that too much. We won twice. That is great. I watched the Feyenoord lads, in particular. Clasie and Martins Indi. The latter had to really work hard, very hard, to get to this level. But he is developing so well. The big clubs abroad will have him on the radar now. He played great against Hungary and that goal really did something to me. Scoring for Oranje is special. I once scored with my head ( World Cup 1994) but I wasn’t a stayer in Oranje. But I think Bruno will be….”
4. Hans “De Breuk” van Breukelen; former Oranje international, PSV Board member
“I am positively surprised by Oranje. The first win over Turkey was a bit lucky. We did create a lot but we also gave away too much. But against Hungary, it was great. I tip my hat to the staff and players. The staff had the guts and the vision to blend these youngsters in. And it’s been good. I was watching this with glee. It was fresh and playful. The latter is sometimes missing in a well oiled team. I do believe Van Gaal will definitely use players as Afellay, Van der Vaart, De Jong and Van der Wiel later on. But the message is clear. We do have younger and hungry players that will do the job too. That is clear. The old guard won’t have a permanent pass to get a starting position in this team, like it appeared to be under Van Marwijk, at times.”
5. Adri “Spijker” van Tiggelen, former Oranje international, Sparta scout
“There is a new regime at Oranje and that is fascinating. Van Gaal wants to make his mark and create his own group. Our luck is that we are in a very weak group. Turkey and Hungary are the strongest opponents but they’re not too good. We play Andorra soon and then we’ll have quite a gap, I guess. I am not sure if have so many great talents, to be honest. We call a player a talent very quickly. Willems is not yet the Oranje left back we need. He’s still vulnerable. The Feyenoord lads got a chance because the club was lacking money to spend. Ajax and PSV have lots of foreign lads in the youth developmment. It’s clear to me that Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie will still have to carry the weight. We will see Mathijsen and maybe Heitinga disappear, but whoever plays, we will always qualify of course as a result of the weak group we’re in. Louis can start to worry about the squad for 2014 World Cup… Ample time.”
Maarten Stekelenburg went through the wringer with Oranje. First Van Gaal bypassed him for the job between the sticks, but when Krul was out with an elbow injury, the Roma man was the Oranje no. 1 again.
“I was totally surprised Van Gaal benched me. And obviously, I wasn’t in agreement with it, but what can you do? You can sulk and whine or you get on with it. I decided to train hard and wait for my new chance. Luckily for me, unfortunately for Tim, it came very quick.”
Does Stekelenburg have feelings of revenge? “No, that is not me. The coach knows me, he knows what he can expect from me.”
What does Steks think of the criticism? “As a goalie, if you concede, you hardly ever look good, you know? When we were winning, no one criticised me. Now we lose a couple of games and people focus on all your little mistakes. It seems as if I played a lousy Euros, the more it is behind us…”
Rafael van der Vaart wants to fight back. He feels he has been overlooked, despite Van Gaal’s comments that he wanted to “spare” the lads who made a transfer…
“If you’ve played 100 international games and than you suddenly aren’t called up, it hurts….”, say Van der Vaart. The coach said I wouldn’t be fit enough, but I don’t think I agree.
The former Ajax, Madrid and Spurs player has returned to his second home in Hamburg and wants to get back in Oranje as soon as possible. “This is the good thing with Van Gaal. He will always give you a chance.”
Van der Vaart got the chance to make an impression on his new coach at HSV in two friendly games. Thorsten Fink: “He immediately demonstrated how important he can ben. We do need time to make the team gel, but I am very positive.”
Klaas Jan Huntelaar joined Cruyff and Abe Lenstra on the eternal topscoring list. He now has 33 and is still counting. “It’ a huge honour to see your name on that list, with all those legends. The Schalke striker had to – again – accept a role behind Van Persie. “The coach told me from day 1 in the trainings camp. So I knew. I want to play always, but Van Gaal gave me his tactical reasons, and I accepted it. I respect that approach.”
Hunter felt frustrated at the Euros under Van Marwijk as he felt he wasn’t treated in a fair way. “It is different now. I can handly clarity. I will fight my way back in. I always do. But the series are long and I’m sure I will contribute.”
Van Gaal has made it clear to both players that he is not in favour of a line up with both players in the team. Only one of them will play. “That is the coach prerogative. But it’s been clear from day 1. That to me, is important. The coach looks at it one a game by game basis. He will determine what is needed on that particular moment. And this is how we as players will deal with it.”
Arjen Robben wants to become more egotistical. Huh?? The Oranje and Bayern winger wants to regain his form in this way.
Robben: “I have struggled in the last months of last season and at the Euros. I wasn’t free in my head. There were different reasons, but mainly my injury but also the discussions at club level about my egotistical play. I started to adjust as a result. Subconsciously, of course, but still. I started to think about this, while I was playing. I would have a little debate “Should I pass, do I dribble…?”… That is not how I play. I am an intuitive player. My strength is my independence. And yes, I make mistakes or make the wrong decision…
By changing the way I naturally play, I think I wasn’t able to reach my normal level.”
Robben continues: “I spoke about it with people around me. I need to go back to my fundamentals. It will sound weird, I know, but I need to play more egotistical. Going for the action, have confidence and go for it. In the season prep and also in the game against Turkey, I felt: Yes! I’m back!”
What a great piece, Jan. Really enjoyed reading this… it’s just what a fan like me is looking for. Well done!
Buttner was fantastic today!! He is definitely more solid than Willems. His attacking prowess is something we can use with v.Rhijn on the right
I liked the way he stubbornly forced his way through 3 defenders and then shot. 😀
🙂 🙂 🙂
Great Summation on how most people feel about vGaal – I am the same – vGaal never my favourite but I like what he is doing :).
On Buttner – I am amazed going thru Rnglish Papers he is named “MOTM” – wow, wait till he really turns it on as in the first half he was quite subdued. Another interesting “headache” for vG.
no robben for Munich…injured me thinks. Great article as always.
I think, in the friendlies before the world cup, the team will finally completely gel and whatever happens we will see some exciting games with van gaal in charge.
For those who have not seen Buttner is his Vitesse Days, here’s a clip- note one goal scored with his right…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2irU5HH_pU&feature=related
Like most I was quite pessimistic after the poor showing at EK 12. BvM had to go and I actually thought LvG was a reasonable choice because the team needed to move in a different direction. Sure, there were reservations about him due to his past failure with Oranje and bedside manner. But I think his dictatorial style and at times confrontational approach with the media will win him the players (its us against the world mentality).
Viva Las Vegas!
I think the second half of the United game with Büttner in the starting line up, clouded the mediocrity of his crosses of the first half. He was lively, created opportunity’s to cross often by his own effort, but the end product was poor. The solo goal was dreamy stuff, but also poor defending and will not be a thing he can reproduce with any frequency. His assist was more of a shot, than a pass executed with vision, refinement and intend. When the honeymoon period is over, fans and the press will start to look at what remains below the line. That is offensively speaking, effective and accurate crosses. That is what you can reproduce with great repetition at a club like United. He better start improving on that level. That tackle in the box was too risky and had another defensive weak moment where he guessed the attacker would go right, but went left and had to let him pass. This was a weak opponent that did not test him defensively and that is what can expose him.
Having said that, I also want to note something positive. IMO he is one of the players at United who are pretty comfortable on the ball. At a certain moment I even thought Scholes passed it to him as he felt it was in secure hands and rightly so. High balls with an opponent coming in fast were easily picked out of the air and neatly passed to fellow defenders. Büttner is just a pretty good footballer. I also liked a moment in the second half where an attacker got a ball he needed to control somewhat with his chest, but Büttner anticipated how he would do that, choose the right intervention angle, could easily steal it from him as a result and moved on quickly to a counter opportunity. That is the stuff I love. Reading the game well and bringing speed and surprise to the game by proactive defending. More of that please!
All in all I have to say becoming MotM, playing from a left back position on your debut in a big foreign league in front of the Old Trafford crowd is not a small thing. That is quite an accomplishment. So, well done Büttner.
It is a good start for Buttner, but he is not a starter yet, still a sub for Evra. I hope by the end of this season or next Buttner can start and Evra can sub. “Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie will still have to carry the weight.” So true, until these youngsters become better and ready to shoulder the weight, and it looks promising so far. I still think the team has room for VDV, VDW and whoever plays his way into the national squad. You have to earn it now, no more automatic berth.
I have always liked Van Gaal as a coach. I will never forget what he did at Ajax. He built a team of youngsters with only Blind and Rijkaard as veterans and dominated Europe for almost 3 years with that team. Neither Mourinho, Del Bosque, Capello and many coaches would have been able to do that. That Ajax ruled and was Van Gaal’s masterpiece. I do not get along with the media because when LVG has failed they almost crucified him but his success in many clubs is huge.
And in his first spell as Bondscoach he was very unlucky. A tough draw, injured players since game one and suspended players. Now he has the chance to redeem himself and he is doing it perfectly. Van Gaal has something that few coaches have: he works in the mental strenght of the players very very Well. And mark my words, we will be in Brazil and we will be ready to beat any team. This new Oranje has talent everywhere, even in defence. Buttner? Hehe
great read Jan!!
Maduro was in the squad that beat Real Madrid. Anyone watch that game and could summarize how he performed? goal.com has a 3/5 rating on his performance but that doesn’t tell me much.
i only watched the second half because usually don’t watch madrid games,but when i read halftime that sevilla had taken the lead decided to watch the second half. maduro was good,didn’t make any mistake,his passes were precise. he didn’t do anything special,particularly brilliant but he fulfilled his duties, played in a very secure way. if i should to compare the maduro who played for valencia and the maduro playing at sevilla,i would say the now he’s better. ok,it’s only one game and i hope in two weeks maduro and the whole sevilla team will be less efficace:-) actually the whole sevilla team played well,navas was the man of the match (at least in the second half).
Thx Ferenc for the nice summary. i too hope maduro continues to play well. never hurts to give LVG more options in midfield
Impressive , Jan . just as usual 🙂 .
it’s really fantastic Buttner played that good in his first game . if he continues like that he will be a starter by the WC for sure .
however , i have to say he was lucky in the goal he scored 😛
Seedorf scores a wonder goal for his team
chosen as the goal of the week by goal.com
http://www.goal.com/en/news/3738/goal-show/2012/09/14/3375645/goal-of-the-week-clarence-seedorf-strike-wins-our-latest
PSV losing 0-1 v Utrecht, which went ahead on a free kick playing with 10 men. Now holding onto a lead with 9 men. PSV’s offense near the box is quite incompetent.
I thought Depay looked promising again. Sometimes outplaying 1 or 2 man, making good crosses and even proper shots. Too bad, that one ball at the end did not bend into the far upper corner of the goal. Narsingh came off the bench again. Hope he is able to fight himself back into the starting 11 as we need him with the NT.
Depay has good 1-on-1 skills but he gets bogged down trying to beat his man. He’s too egotistical in his play. But he’s young, he has plenty of time to figure it out.
HSV with VDV in the starting line up 2-0 down. Bruma is having a bit of a stinker, looking clumsy with both goals. The offensive players of HSV are not able to score, as they do create chances.
Dear o dear. I am not sure VDV has chosen the right club. VDV is too much of a quality player to be at a club having to fight against relegation. VDV is not supposed to be in these kind of struggles.
As I type this Mancienne is taken off and that means Bruma moving to center. If he could develop there this whole season, I can see him becoming a contender again for the senior NT.
super game for Buttner. super goal. he dribbles 3 player. i surprised.
No Seedorf in the national squad. We need to go younger and we have Sneijder, Van Persie, Robben to lead. I don’t see Seedorf bringing anything extradionairy. VDV, well, I think VDW has a better club although he has to fight for his position. I don’t see how VDV can lead Hamburg to anything by himself.
Alexander Büttner
Top of the Match
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Looked by no means out of his depth on his Old Trafford debut. The Dutchman was always a willing runner to provide an outlet on the left but never ignored his defensive duties, and made one crucial block on Di Santo in the first half. In the second half, he fired across goal to allow Chicharito to poke home before bustling his way past three defenders to open his own account. Only a booking for a late lunge on Boyce tarnished a fine debut.
Greetings from my honeymoon in Hawaii…great to read about Buttner! Also LDJ finally scored for MGB, good for him, even though the team lost. Terrible PSV result. ugh.
So far happy with LVG, he has taken HUGE risks, and gotten lucky, we will see how he progresses
In viplanet.nl Van der Vaart saying he would like to be back with Oranje. Asked if he watched last game and answered just this: No, I do not watch every game. Shit!! I was looking desperately for a link and this man doesn’t care. I would keep him at that mediocre Hamburg team, players like that just want to go to the NT for their egos, not because they are willing to play with their heart.
http://www.vi.nl/nieuws/227871/Van-der-Vaart-Van-Gaal-vindt-mijn-overstap-de-juiste.htm
kinda shocked he said that . however , i’m sure van gaal can get the best out of him . vdv sufferd with Marwijk as he felt he will be always no.2 after sneijder no matter what , this won’t be the case with van gaal . he can bench sneijder if he thinks vdv will be better and vice versa . actually he can bench them both and use de guzman for instance if he thinks de guzman is in a better form .
jeffery bruma was chosen flop of the game by goal.com .
Mario – I agree on VDV – How can you NOT watch your team after getting 100 caps. Sorry but we need serious “Slaves” who will do everything and anything to play and be interested in Oranje. I can’t believe he said that either – Schmuckkk !!
VDV can watch it anytime he wishes.
I’ll bet he does.
Don’t care if he does, what I care is his commitment. Oh, I don’t play, I don’t care. That is his attitude, I can imagine VDV creating unrest at the Euros when he got benched. LVG, enough with VDV, he never really rocked in Oranje and now he is getting older there is no reason to keep him in the team. With all the youngsters coming strong Oranje will find perfect replacements for Sneijder. Rafa, good bye!
Over the top.
I remember all the calls for Van Persie to hit the road. 😉
There’s a subtle difference between the two scenarios mate.
Van Persie bangs in goals every weekend while VDV performs poorly even for his club. I’m not justifying Villas-Boas’s decison to offload him by any means,but obviously he has seen something in the training sessions as well. VDV just doesn’t have that energy level any more and as a cosequence, his form has dipped drastically.
I remember his father once said “VDV and Sneijder are as good as Xavi and Iniesta”
I believed his words that day but today I’m convinced that VDV could have been a world class player, but he’ll never ever be of the same class as Xavi and Iniesta.He just doesn’t possess the killer instinct,the hunger and the passion(the much coveted qualities needed to sport that Orange jersey) anymore. He gets tired merely after spending 15 minutes on the pitch. You cannot say that both BVM and LVG were wrong in not including VDV in their starting line-ups. So, with a heavy heart, I must say that VDV has nothing more to offer in an Oranje jersey. Sad,but true!
Everytime VDV is benched or overlooked he says he has over 100 games under his belt for the national team and he “deserves” more…but if he has played over 100 games and he hasn’t won his place under any coach!!! that’s because he really has not done enough!.
It’s really a shame to know he (VDV) said that.
I played amateur football until I was 22 years old and I was always a starter but when I didn’t play because I was sick or by any other reason I always went to watch my team. I went because I wanted them to win but also to know how my replacement had played!!!.
VDV’s attitude must change. Experienced players must set the example for younger lads.
Exactly Miguel..The difference between VDV and Van persie’s attitude is enormous and I think it all accounts to their maturity level. Van persie was an arrogant prick, a maverick at Feyenoord and look at him now. He readily accepted the fact that under LVG’s new system, he would be the second choice striker behing the Hunter.
Respecfully accepts the challenge, scores a hat trick for his club and fights his way back in.That’s called class…
On the other hand, VDV gets dropped and whines about being one of the highest capped players in the history of the Dutch NT and doesn’t even make a significant difference for HSV in their matches. Let your boots do the talking VDV…
Except that RvP is the starter, not Hunter. Hunter only started the friendly because of RvP’s transfer.
http://goo.gl/im02v
people say clarence seedorf played something like 80-90 games for oranje and most of them cannot remember any briiliant game. i have the same feeling with vdv: he played 100 times for oranje,had some good games,but i can’t remember any of them. at the beginning of his career he was a big talent,maybe more talented than sneijder,in hamburg he became worldclass. in madrid he failed,he was good at tottenham,but i’m sceptical about his return to hamburg. hsv is one of the worst teams in the bundesliga… anyway,right now sneijder is better and fits more to oranje. bar real madrid vdv was always better in his clubs than with the national team. this is why i started with clarence. do oranje need vdv? maybe,but i’m not sure about it. he can be sneijder’s sub,but definitely not a starter. if he accepts it, fine. he looks a sympathetic guy,much more sympathetic than sneijder or robben,but football is not always about sympathy. if it was about sympathy,not the current team,but our blog would play in the national team 🙂
Ha ha ha ..well said buddy 🙂
” but football is not always about sympathy. if it was about sympathy,not the current team,but our blog would play in the national team :)”
Lol , so true 😀
I can’t wait for Memphis Depay, Shabir Isoufi, Annas Anachbar and Luc Castaignos to play for Holland
and what about Boerrigger..that guy is a classic winger 😀
and what about teen sensation vikto fischer ?
same as Neymar. Not Dutch 🙂
and neymar is not sensational 😀
He is a sensational diver 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ols38pfWI
I think this place is very unfair to Van Der Vaart. I can remember some great games in qualifications.
I remember this game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4spcvsKgqXo
I feel like you guys wanted him to play an amazing game at a major tournement but he never really gets the chance. Remember, he started one game this summer against portugal and I seem to remember a brilliant goal.
In euro 2008 he was a starter and played very well throughout the tournement aswell
I saw a little bit of Schalke’s game yesterday. At one moment midway through 2nd half Hunter had the ball and tried to dribble past 3 defenders with a wide open Farfan. It was ugly.
Also, Sneijder is having a mini crisis at Inter. I think it won’t go well if he tries to clash with coach. I hope LVG finds a decent replacement for Sneijder as I have a feeling he may have to start from bench sometime in the near future.
Please no more VdV. He did it to himself with his decision to play for a Bundesliga 2 bound team.
If Rafael van der Vaart would be open to some dietary advise from e.g. those that are looking after Arjen Robben he might get a bit sharper. I don’t think he has lost his technical abilities, it’s just that the soccer field has become too big for him and the matches are going on for too long. lol
I would love to see him frolic around with all these new youngsters but he might never get called up again because he doesn’t last for 90 minutes.
He will be called. But very soon will be axed because he is not the same VDV he used to be.
I am looking for a link about Buttner’s goal for MU (video). I want to see how he dribbles his opponents.
question for all of you guys. I decided I will go to watch in person the games versus Estonia and Romania in March 2013.
Where is the best place to get tickets online ?
also for those who have been to Amsterdam Arena, I want to sit within the sea of orange 🙂 where are the most orange fans? Or it depends on the game ..
I would appreciate any help …
bobotoh – just youtube “Buttner Wigan” and you will get enough clips 🙂
Friends, is Romania a tough team still?? With San Marco we beat them easily in the road to WC 2006 but in the road to Euro 2008 they managed to tie at The Kuip and beat us in Bucharest. I think LVG should not get over confident. What do you think of their current level? I hardly know who are the best players of the team.
Robben’s words really reflect his character. It is not that we don’t want you to be egoistic but we want you to be an egoistic productive player. I think the best Robben was during his Chelsea day, I would dare myself to make a head to head comparison with the current Messi with one disadvantage to Robben (less goals) but speed, dribbling, excitement, passing opponents I think they could have competed equally. Unfortunately, injuries killed Robben and every time he came back, he tried too hard and was like trying to prove something when he didn’t need to. I think Robben’s “downfall from the old Robben” was/is a psychological matter. The statement he made is proof that he is always trying to blame someone/something then looking inwards…
btw, a player who is what, around 28 maybe…shouldn’t be confused on whether to pass or dribble or make the shoot. If willems made that statement, I would understand. But not Robben. Again, it just shows how Robben wants to be understood then being understandable of others…
Robben is a key player in this new holland, but remember these are good days, I remember during the bad days he was number 1 enemy. So I conclude that the problem is within robben and not others (he had that supposed fight with Van Marwijk)…
Anyone knows how anita plays for newcastle ?
He will be very important player for Oranje if he plays there as he played for Ajax last season .
I watched the game yesterday a little. The first half he played at DMF and from what I saw he didnt look very good-a bit lost,insecure,rough…
In the second half he moved to the right back position,and then I stopped watching because I am not interested in how he plays there.
Thank you petrovic . I think van gaal should find a good DMF who can build-up from the back ” like clasie ” ,
__________ Clasie _________
Strootman __________ sneijder
We have fer and strootman for the holding mid position , i think de guzman can be excellent replacement for sneijder .
Perhaps maher , emanuelson , maduro or schaars can play in clasie’s position . Not sure .
I dom’t like de jong there , he is an excellent destroyer but average footballer . He can be great as a CB imo .
how about Roorda ? I remember he was a big talent in the DMF role .
My first choice would be Clasie for DMF. He has that potential to be dominant in midfield and to dictate the play. Strootman also,plus being physically strong,those two seem to have the brightest future and could complement each other great in the Oranje.
Fer is having a great beginning of the season,but besides the physical strenght,great work rate and air dominance I do not see much football skills in him and that is what I like to see in a dutch midfielder. He could play besides Clasie in midfield to give strenght.
I have to say Maher played a great game this weekend. He dictated the play,he has the technical skills and you could see that he is a great potential AMF with that pass to Altidore. I think that is his best position and I think Van Gaal sees him there,maybe to replace Van der Vaart in the selection.
The problem is Maher does not play AMF in AZ at the moment…
http://www.mopo.de/hsv/das-macht-dem-hsv-hoffnung-rafael-van-der-vaart-ist-fit-wie-nie,5067038,17276448.html
VDV has covered the most kilometers in his first Bundesliga game of any player in the match that day: 12,64 kilometers.
Furthermore:
http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga/matches/2012/index.php
(Click on the second option option behind the HSV game result that says “analyse” when hoovering with your mouse over it and then scroll down the page and click the third tab that says: “Spielerstatistik”.
The first 3 options say:
* “Laufdistanz”
* “Sprints”
* “Läufe”
So:
* He was third of his team with the high intensity walks/runs: 51
* He was sixth of his team with the number of sprints: 11
I also remember seeing a stat that last year VDV was the player who covered the most kms on the whole Tottenham squad over the course of the whole season (so a combination of km/game * #games played).
I think part of the misconception that he is not fit and can’t run comes because he can appear lazy at times in the game or tired, but that is because there are lots of other times in the game where he is going full out, so that on average he works pretty hard. For a player of his experience I would doubt this to be true, but it is almost as if he doesn’t manage his energy quite right, pushing too hard early in the match and appearing tired later on. Again, however, this has nothing to do with his fitness as is attested by the high kms that he runs during a match.
I watched a video for young Oranje , Maher was no. 6 and wijnaldum was no 10 . I think that maher can play every where in the midfield , just like xavi .
Btw it seems drenthe has no team atm . I feel sorry for this boy .
In 2007 he was the best u-21 player in europe , was the biggest dutch talent , now he has no team .
He is extremely talented but unfortunately , he is careless and lazy .
Perhaps a return to Eredevisie can revive him .
Ajax play a good first half. Does anyone know what happen to Van der Wiel? I check the line up of PSG and he is not even on the bench.
I dont think anything happened to him.He just did not adapt yet to his new team. And he will have a hard time trying to get into the line-up at PSG.
http://atdhe.tw/watch.php?id=414424
ajax match
A Goal in the 87 minute . well , the result is kinda expected 😕 ..
We screwed up. Dortmund was nowhere to be seen until we devoured three goals in the second half. Sana felt the pressure too much. Great game by Van Rhijn, the penalty was a blatant dive by Goetze! We failed lots of chances. Two times in front of the keeper in the first half and one in the second, an easy header by babel in the second half and a shot of his with the goalie out of the penalty area…. Should not have let Dortmund gain three undeserved points.
After watching Man city and Real madrid , i do hope our games against them won’t be too painful to watch 😐 . actually tonight’s game was the easiest game for Ajax in the group .
I really don’t think too much of Man C. Tonight they were so lucky, first half should have ended 3-0. Ajax only can do so much. With 1 point today they would be in a good position but they couldn’t hold on for 3 more minutes. I suspect they will get massacred by Real but can do well against Man C. 3rd place is not out of reach.
mohamed, the easiest game will be vs Dortmund at home 🙂
I missed the first half and basing on second half Ajax is just not good enough. I couldnt think of any goal attempts really. The ball couldn’t even go into the penalty area. Sana lacks experience and courage. Boerrigter cant run with the ball. Babel is headless. FDB shouldnt play him before getting his brain fixed.
And in this match we can learn how much we were hurt by losing Anita. Midfield could not link 3 passes together. Poulsen couldnt stop the opponents, indeed he gave away the ball in our back field! Why wasnt Sereno there?
The only reason we lost by just 1 goal was our defenders played really smart(and that weak penalty)!
@kelvin i agree with everything you said except for one:
Vermeer didn’t deserve to lose. he played extremely well
I didnt watch the game, but im hearing 1:0 to dortmund at home. Not a a bad result. I’ll take that anyday considering the gap b/w the dutch and german leagues atm.
Van Rhijn had a solid game.. Van der Wiel’s days as RB in the NT are numbered! I sincerely hope and pray that this guy(Van Rhijn) soon develops into a top footballer and he can be our permanent RB with Van der Wiel as backup.
Ajax played solidly at the back until the Alderweild blunder on the goal. They really look more solid than last year. The midfield shat the bed in the second half, they couldn’t move the ball up the pitch to save their life.
Ajax had a solid first half. They could be a contender if they continue to improve (which they will)
Losing to Dortmund 1:0 doesnt sound bad. But considering Dortmund is the weakest opponents in the group, chance for Ajax to proceed is slim. Let’s hope Ajax just had a bad day and WILL improve. The lack of finishing quality will cost the team even more I’m afraid.
How about Huntelaar and Afellay at Schalke? Huntelaar scored one goal for Schalke. Huntelaar can’t stop from scoring…:-)
And he also missed a penalty.
Couple of interesting Snippets
Ron Vlaar was handed the Captains armband for Villa and led the boys to their first Victory last weekend
Krul is being targetted by Barcelona !!
Krul to Barca ! Wow 🙂 . It’s getting more difficult for Stek .
I do hope Bruno Marins Indi moves to Barca . the guy is typical Barca player with his skills and building-up .Puyol is getting older and is injury-prone atm .
Good for Vlaar , although i’m still not a big fan of making him a starter with Oranje .
Unfortunately heitinga is still benched wih Everton .
i’m not sure krul should go to barca. the point is that pinto is 36,next year he’ll probably retire and the club needs a back-up for valdes. valdes will be 30 in 2013,it means he’ll have 5-6 good years. i don’t think krul would take valdes’place in the starting eleve,and he’s too good for warming the bench. i don’t want to go into any debate,in my opinion valdes fits better to barca,he’s part of the system,catalan and very good with his feet (can participate in the bulid-up). i wish krul succeed and this is why think he should go elsewhere. as a barca fan of course i would be happy with a topclass back up keeper,but as a oranje fan i wouild like to see krul playing on a regular basis.
bruno martins indi is different. actually barca have central defender crisis: puyi is 34 an more often injured than able to play. unfortunately pique is also injury-prone. it means for the role we only have mascherano (defensive midfielder converted into centre back) and the young bartra. in my opinion barca have tio sign someone in january. big guns have gone: thiago silva to psg,vertonghen to spurs,hummels is difficult to sign. in this case we only can get young talents who haven’t played cl games this seasson. but there is not too many young centre back who can play at this level. i have seen only twice bruno martins indi but he’s a promising prospect. his case is completely different. at he beginning he would be a benchwarmer,but with the rotation (tito rotates more than pep,at least until now),he would have time to prove he’s a real prospect for the future. for the long term he could be 3rd in the pecking order,just behind pique and mascherano.
someone noted barca should have sold adriano instead of affelay. i completely disagree. adriano is a left back,barca only have jordi alba for his position (and theoretically abidal). affelay’s position wasn’t clear – he was considered as a striker. with the rise of cristian tello (who was really impressive yesterday) he became sixth in the pecking order. messi,villa,pedro,alexis,tello – withouit talking about talents,all of them fit better to the barca-system. in my opinion barca shouldn’t have signed him,the only reason behind it was his price (3 millions or something). in my opinion cocu called pep “hey pep,we have ibi,if he stays until next summer he’ll be free agent. we would like to make some money,let’s say 3 millions. he’s talented,so do you want him?” the club made a good decision of keeping adriano.
http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/rumours-of-tim-krul-leaving-newcastle-united-show-how-some-transf
btw guys , did anyone watch Milan-anderlecht game yesterday ?
how was Nuytink performance ? I read he was a starter against Milan ?
Well , It Seems Vlaar is reaaly impressig 🙂 .
he has been chosen in the premier league team of the week aside with vermalen in the CB .
Damn ! where are you guys ?
LOL..not much going on as far as Dutchies abroad. Robben played today, so did RVP for most of the game, pretty much it. Ajax lost yesterday, showing the gap between the dutch and german leagues…AC Milan, not really a top quality team now, so not sure how NDJ will fair in the long term there.
How about the Barca comeback though. They were 1:2 down and i kept saying to myself selling Affellay is hunting them since they needed an impact player fast and instead of keeping him and selling Adriano they did the opposite. However, Messi is superhuman ….so there.
The Danish team Nordjaelland had an amazingly tricky and explosive Dutch forward called Joshua John…one to look out for? 😀 also they r is a danish sensation in midfield and i dunno how he missed the media attention…andreas LAUDRUP !!!
Interesting LvG has gone to Brazil to check out the Hotels available there for Holland – Super optimistic after 2 games – I like it 🙂 In fact he is there to rediscover Seedorf !!
Poor Drenthe .
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1686/eredivisie/2012/09/18/3385967/koeman-drenthe-wanted-feyenoord-return
I hope all of our young guns learn the lesson . never to leave eredivise before proving their worth for 3 consecutive seasons , like Sneijder with Ajax , Kuyt with Feynoord , Bommel with PSV , etc ..
Ola john , one of our biggest talents , wasn’t even on the bench for Benfica yesterday .
Mohamed, how is Ola John a big talent if he can’t even it to make Benfica bench?! I think we get carried away when it comes to Holland prospects.
can’t even make it
Intersting news ! Seedorf 😀 !!!
he is 36 years old now , 38 by 2014 . well , don’t know honestly how good is this idea 😀
Telegraaf sez Huntelaar has hip problems, may miss Bayern match.
I am watching PSV in Europa League and they are really terrible…Frustrating to watch.
PSV got their ass whupped by a Russian team. They keep kicking dutch teams out of competitions.
I hope Castagnios doesnt get called for the NT anytime. Hes awful. He missed two absolute sitters for Twente tonight. I’m absolutely vivid with the way Twente threw away the game.