Louis van Gaal always had a good sense of “entertainment”. People in Holland have compared him with certain dictatorial leaders from the past. His booming voice, his use of his own name in the third person when speaking about himself, his condescending approach of journalists, his domineering style of dealing with players.
And now, LVG decided to have a daily Van Gaal Show press conference to entertain the masses.
It was all about his choices. And he didn’t mince words.
About Wijnaldum.
“I am a big Georginio fan. I love the guy, I love how he can play. But…. he hasn’t delivered. In the time I am coach, I have subbed him three times! And Louis van Gaal doesn’t sub players for nothing. He didn’t deliver. He also doesn’t deliver at his club. He is playing in a team where he doesn’t seem to fit. So it is up to him. Once he starts to deliver, he will find himself back in Oranje, because I know how important he can be.”
“Yes, other players played even less minutes than Wijnaldum, like Bergwijn. I know that. But, when he was called up, whether at Spurs or in Oranje, he delivered. That is the difference.”
About Martins Indi
“I was not overall happy with the way our left central defenders played, particularly in the press. We need to do better. I have limited options and when I am confronted with two or three major injuries in November, who knows, I need to be prepared. Martins Indi has grown significantly, particularly in his forward passing and his pressing. Exactly what I need. Sure, Mathijs de Ligt played there for us and Juve and he can do it. It’s not that we don’t have options in the squad. But I need to know what we have available further down the line. And for me, it is important to see Martins Indi at work, up close.”
About Vincent Janssen
“It is simple. Danny Blind has had a lot of joy from Janssen. Yes, he has limitations. He’s not the most explosive, he can have hard feet, all true. But he also does a lot of things right. He uses his body well, he can play with his back to goal and he has eye for the movement around him. Danny pointed this out, and we both watched some of his recent games and I saw it: That is what I want from a Van Gaal striker. Can he do it in Oranje again? That is what we will find out.”
About his wedding
“Yes, he had a wedding planned. It happens. Do I need to tell him to cancel it? Of course not. He is a human being. He has a right to get married and I want him to have a nice wedding night with his lovely little woman. And then he’ll fly in. Simple.”
About Edgar Davids, the new Oranje assistant
“I am thrilled to have him with us. He was unique as a player. I called him my pitbull, because he was the only one with that fierce mentality. I see this in two of my current players too, in Dumfries and in Malacia. Davids was tactically stronger, a better defender, but all my players can learn this from him.”
Leaving players out of the squad
“Yes I am coach of the National Team but I also a guardian of Dutch football. And Young Oranje is also on the verge of doing big things and it is in everyone’s interest that Young Oranje performs well. So players like Brobbey, Gravenberch, Rensch, Geertruida, Botman and Bakker need to be there for Young Oranje. I know what they can bring and their time will come. But I have to juggle all the interests of Dutch football. Clasie wasn’t left out by me. Clasie called me to say he’s been playing with a bad knee for months. After a match, he can’t drive, he can’t train. He needs to get that operation and he’ll get back in the mix once he’s playing again.”
It will be an exciting summer for some Oranje players. The window is opening and there is a lot of interest in the Dutchies.
And overview:
Steven Bergwijn was not allowed to leave Spurs during the season, to return to Ajax. The Amsterdam club has tried three times now, and will probably try again this window. Conte proclaimed he needed Bergwijn, but he never ended up using him for more than 10 mins per sub turn. Time to leave.
Jasper Cillesen is not the 100% numero uno at Valencia and PSV is keen to sign the 33 year old. Cillesen’s agent happens to be the son of the former PSV general manager Ploegsma so 1 and 1 can be 2, quite easily. But Cillesen doesn’t come cheap and Valencia will want their pound of flesh too.
Memphis Depay is 28 years old, in the peak of his career. Despite a somewhat disappointing season at Barca, his stats are still pretty good. He’s versatile, and quite unique in his style, with clubs like Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Juventus sniffing him out. Xavi has said he doesn’t want him to leave, as his versatility is a strength, but in Barcelona money talks.
Mark Flekken put his name on many lists by getting a spot in the LVG squad. Ajax is the club with the biggest goalie issue, with Pasveer (38 ) and Stekelenburg (39) as main goalies. It seems a matter of time before Flekken lands in Amsterdam.
Cody Gakpo is the hottest talent for the Dutch and every big club is keeping tabs. PSV is doing what they can to keep him one more year, like they did with Memphis and Wijnaldum. They hope Gakpo will bring them the title next season and they’ll limit his transfer fee.
Frenkie de Jong is one of the players Xavi doesn’t want to lose, but he simply might have to. He is one of the few Barca players for whom other clubs are willing to sign a big check. Ten Hag’s Manchester United is mentioned a lot. Xavi calls it “the economical aspect” in his press conferences.
Teun Koopmeiners has had a good season at Atalanta and doesn’t need to leave there. But Ajax have been a big fan of the player ever since they saw him and with Gravenberch out to Munich, Teun could be their ideal left midfielder.
Noa Lang is on his way to AC Milan, so say the Italian football experts. The former Feyenoord product is ready for a next step after Club Brugge. The price tag is firm though: 22 million euros.
The question is not: will Malacia make a big move but when. The left back is on many a scouting list but Feyenoord has not received an offer yet. It is said that Man United is also on the prowl but Ten Hag’s priorities are a striker and midfielder. Malacia’s price tag is 20 million euros.
Guus Til is officially a Spartak Moscow player but he will most likely not play in Russia next season. His financial wishes are steep though and Feyenoord is cash poor so the chance that Til will play in Germany or Spain next season are significant.
Jurrien Timber’s management team was spotted at 5 Stratton Street in London. The international HQ of Man United. Timber is one of the key signings for Ten Hag who believes he can only play his style of football with the proper centre backs in the team. Bye Maguire, Hello Timber. The transfer fee will be north of 40 million euros.
Wout Weghorst wanted to play EPL football and signed a 3,5 year deal with Burnley. After half a season, the former AZ striker will play Championship football next season, if Burnley will keep the expensive forward. He couldn’t make the difference for Burnley and new coach Kompany might not need the tall Dutchman.
Gini Wijnaldum finds himself in a tough situation. The 31 year old is on a super salary in Paris but doesn’t get playing time. Leaving the club will not be easy. For starters, PSG will want a transfer fee. And what club will offer Gini what he gets in Paris? The midfielder doesn’t want to be forced to sign elsewhere and will have to make sure his season start will be great for him to get his spot in Oranje back.
Virgil van Dijk is allowed to take an early break. Van Gaal wants the Liverpool CB to join at the start of the campaign, so he can join in the post Germany debriefing (” we didn’t press in the right way and Virgil was co responsible for this, so I want him to be there for it”) but is allowed to leave after the Belgium game and take a break from football. LVG: “Virgil has had a massive injury in 2021 and came back to play 60 matches in a row, at full intensity. I think he deserves some time off. He is the type of guy that wants to play everything, it’s not him. It’s me.”
Your views on the views of LVG?
Most of the Dutch pundits believe LVG made an error with the way he treated Gini Wijnaldum. They believe the PSG midfielder deserve more credit and they fear the backlash it might cause in the squad.
Other voices say that Wijnaldum is not a “positive force” on the bench and does not support the ones who do play (unlike De Roon for instance, who is considered positive factor even if he doesn’t play)…. Your views?
Thanks Jan…i saw it on you tube(LVG Vs press) but could not understand dutch…
LVg is crystal claer on what he is doing i felt for botman ,Brobbey ,as i feel they were too cloase for call…He said Michal bakker is also on list…Omission of wijnaldum is what every coach should learn from LVG….it deosnt matter how big player is if you dont deliver to are out….he gave chance to nerjwin who was not regular at spurs,but he delivered….Gini was sitting in becnh ,got chnace but he did not delivered…plain and simple…great approach…Jordan teze is getting groomed for dumfries back up…
I do not believe Teun will come to Ajax. Historically, Ajax have been a “graveyard” for AZ players. Why should he change Seria A to Eredivisie? In my view it is going to be a terrible move for Teun. I am sure he is a smart young man and will not move to Ajax.
If anyone wants to watch the U17 Euro Final, they can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXz0WLlWlrY
Watched Argentina vs Italy and must say Argentina will go a long way in the world cup and Only some major injuries to their big names would hinder their progress to the very last stage. Their bench also looks promising and with quality depth.
They really used the Copa America to polish the team up, building on the chemistry in the team and including that of their back up players and again their victory over Brazil signified their credibility as a team that is ready to deliver.
You hardly see a team at this level months before the WC and from now to the WC, it will be just gonna be formalities for them and final touches here and there. This are the traits of a winning team.
I was also looking at the pool draws. If there is not upsets then Argentina will meet NT in the quarters.
France,Germany,holland perhaps spain and england will rip apart arjentina…i am happy arjentines should feel they are the favorites…
right after the foul messi rceives the ball…1 st goal was result of clean foul..refree didint call it…Messi and arjentines are allowed to foul…you cannot touch messi…He is having God status for FGHH#%5k sake..the 1st goal spoiled everythin for italy,,when they tried for equal they got hammered(Which is obivious)…Italy opend themselves after 1st goal….
If any team wants to beaT ARJENTINA ,they will have to beat Latin american ,Asian refrees to win against arjentina…
Same i have seen with barca/Real as well…i dont tolerate that…so i dont watch them any more
The Belgium match will be interesting. Both nations are not really happy with the matches, after a long season but LVB and RM will want to use these as prep for the World Cup.
I think we will see
Flekken
Dumfries – De Ligt – Van Dijk – Blind – Malacia
Frenkie – Koopmeiners
Memphis
Bergwijn – Lang
Good lineup but I would put De Vrij in there unless he is injured.
Yes I think he’s not with the group, is he?
He certainly was in the training video.
Kudos to LVG for showing the door to Wijnaldum. I think he was our engine and was great for the NT before he decided to become a social warrior. It was almost exactly this time last year when our fearless leader wearing a rainbow captain band decided to threat Hungarian fans with a walk out right before the critical game against Czech Republic. A dumb move that was meaningless and hurt the team. Most importantly this “leader” didn’t even show up in that game. Then next came the move to PSG which was clear as the light of day that he wouldn’t make the first 11 yet he wants to still be in NT. His career is done. Not a smart guy and I lost respect for him. I am sure he will be busy promoting himself on social media during the “pride” month.
Blind,Timber,Ake starting..berjwin,berghuis,depay upfront…
I looking at the starting lineup and thinking what have both smoked that they have come up with this line-up.
I just hate back passes.ake and blind is not a good combo on that left
You see left flank is already dead
Hazard is starting to open them up
Belgium has really settled down with hazard pulling the strings
Nice shot nice goal.
Berwijn.
Lukaku sub has changed the complexion of the game
Koops- klaassen
Malacia- Blind
Gakpo- berghuis
Depay drops back
Lang – bergwijn
Good 1st half, actually a bit too easy considering that we play with 10.5 players. Berghuis is 0.5 of a full NT player. Useless most of the time.
Lol
Berghuis was one of the key players, Balkan. Which match did you watch??
Klaassen is lost as well.
Berghuis is indeed pretty bad today.
2-0. Another nice goal
Yes very nice. He completely outran Belgium defense. Very impressive. If he did not cheer his goal that way, it would have been even better.
This reminds me a bit of the 2004 Euro opening matches. We absolutely crushed France and Italy. But we all know how that turned out.
4- 0
Martinez will get a sack after this.
You have to admit Wilson that it was a sweet cross from Blind that put us up 3-0.
We all know what happens when gets those space to go forward. Dortmund Vs Ajax. Cross was good which again we all know he is good at.
Agreed. He is long in the tooth and is obviously not the player he once was.
I also saw something in the midfield in the first half that I have not seen from a Dutch team against a quality opponent in a while. They were hunting down the ball in packs. Briefly reminded of some of the ‘74 team’s moments.
Belgium basically has collapsed
Central area specially
This gives Blind the freedom to go high up.exactky like in that Dortmund game
Fun to watch this,, last 15 minutes lots of pressure but still holding on
i esp liked Timber, Bergwijn and Berghuis on midfiel a lot
Dang. Was hoping for a shut out. Cillissen was actually somewhat impressive.
Entire team looked impressive.
They did. I always laugh at Lalas after an Oranje win when he whines like a little beeyatch on ESPN. Since before the 2010 WK he always trashes the Dutch teams. He never says we win because we win. He always whines about how the other team collapsed and gave away the game. Did a Dutch player steal his girlfriend way back when? Is that why that POS always trashes the Netherlands?
The team was impressive only after lukaku especially and hazard got injured. The Belgian simply collapsed after that. You can take this as positive win but again the deficiencies in the team still exists in long run.
France also lost Denmark. Wow
What happened on the Belgian goal. I had switched off
Belgium had a free kick just outside the box and a Belgian player slipped behind unmarked and scored easily.
It is also a great mental boost for NED and mental blow for Belgium.
Ddont wanna to sound like a Belgium fan here but how witsel got the nod above Tielemans is beyond explained. The guy is overrated and surpassed his use by date. Martinez got it wrong from the starting with vanaken as holding mid when he is more a forward player. This is where it all collapse after lukaku injury. Then Trossard sub for lukaku when it should have been Batshuayi. Eventually when it was all but over then he decides to sub on Batshuayi. Clear indication he doesn’t know what he is doing.
https://youtu.be/l-gngJ8Qq9o
Rightfully picked up
Berghuis was excellent compared to Danjuma.(danjuma who walks arround box and no involvemnet in tatal game hence we create less chance)..he was everywhere,like nuisense for Blegians….though he lost possession more often….with him Berjwin,Dejong,Depay has better connectivity…
Lukkaku injury was blessing in disguise for Belgians…He was unfit,was struggling….Troossad was faster and energetic,,,,after lukkau sub for shor peiod belgians got better time at first half..
The unsung hero is klassen..Very effective,super intelligent..
I cannot understand why u say after lukaku. What is he doing before that in this game? Is belgium totally based on lukako. If it is right there r a shit team. Don’t talk about hazard becoz he is really nothing
Did you watch the games?
They were using him to punch through the middle and then hazard was also exploiting spaces in between the lines looking to service lukaku.
Till the time he played Belgian looked dangerous even though Ake had him all covered. Especially on few counters which they manage in that space of time. The question ,well you can ask is how long would he have done it if not for the injury. Without a doubt that looked liked to be tatic deployed by Martinez and again it all collapsed when he went off.
A timely reminder of how things can get from good to worse with one major injury. This can happen to Depay, Frenkie as well and while the CBs are covered I dont think nobody is there to effectively replace frenkie and Depay.
Am I in a nightmare? Do people here think Berghuis was shite?
Are you guys kidding me? The pass for Memphis for the 0-2? There was the pass first half on Memphis for the Blind chance (just passed the post). Berghuis was killer!
But, I will prepare for the usual Memphis, Blind and Berghuis bashing.
Blind had two assists but he is crap and he is only in the team because of Danny Blind.
I think some of you are beyond help hahahaha
Cant really pick one player who was bad yesterday. If i wud have to give notes…here they are haha
Cillessen: 8 not biggest fan of this man but he did very well. I wud think vGaal will now pick him as his nr 1 keeper (although he denied that during the post-game interview)
Dumfries: 7,5 great player to have in the team due to his running
Timber; 8,5 i really liked him yesterday, very strong, didnt see him do anything wrong the whole 90 mins
vDijk; 7 not the biggest vDijk fan, didnt do anything wrong looked a lil tired last 15 mins
Ake; 8 seems to do very well in this system..loved how he agressive he played Lukaku
Blind; 8 not a Blind fan but he did very well..intelligent player who prob knows his limitations
Klaassen; 8,5 played so good,,had no idea he played at all! doing all the dirty work
De Jong; 8,5 one of his better games in Oranje
Berghuis; 8 maybe his best game in Oranje that i can remember. Brought creativity at midfield. His pass for the 2nd goal was pure perfection
Depay; 8 for me personally very unlikeable but have to say that he is a great, great striker. Numbers dont lie
Bergwijn; 8,5 strange how confidence can shift between teams, i dont know much about Spurs but seems to be a different player in Oranje
all in all a perfect night that at least shows that we have players who can play this system.
As much as you wanna give credit to the NT which off course is well and good but then this was suppose to be crunch match given Belgium being no 2 best team in the world and like we have seen in last few outings where the encounters has being very tight.
Certainly that was not the case this time around and dutch steam rolled over them, casting a shadow of doubt on their status being a power house and above all on their of golden generation whom like any other have surely reached their pinnacle point and on the brink of phasing out.
Alot of experts had to say the same thing, this Belgian side is done and there is nothing much you can do. Their next generation players are no where near to older compatriots and perhaps for this reason Martintez is still dragging with them.
Belgium is a victim of bad coaching selection we had in 2016 and 2018 and FDB at 2020EC…i am sure we would su@#$$4k with FDB…an intelligent,charismatic coach who knows what he is doing will do miracle with even with bunch of sheeps..This is wat LVG,Ten haag and perhaps Slot also will join them..
Mark wilmots was one of stupidest caoch i have ever seen,now and average Martinez…
My sincere thanks goes to Czec republic and shick for kicking out FDB…He lost to an average turkey team and almost showwed the the way out of WC…
4–0 montengro
6-1..turkey
4-1 belgium
4-2 Denmark
Only team that with stood us was HANSI FLICK germany…Flick is another master brain like LVG..i see spain with luis enrique,Hansi with Germany,LVg with dutch are the real contenders from europe for WC…yes france ,Portugal has better squads or stars…but they su$%5k with coach…
We score bunch of gaols and create more than 10 chances with out Danjuma…We play better with Berghuis than Danjuma,Berghuis missed two chances yesterday..i want to see brobbey and Botman to be called…May be Bazoer too..
I think regardless of any analysis we do and regardless of how good or how easy Belgium made it for us in this match to make us appear this strong but still these great results against top nations in the world will always do so good to the momentum of the team and the mental strength and confidence. this team will be excited now to continue this nice stretch they have and they will want to prove more and more how good they are. we have three more games against Poland and Wales, if I take a wild guess I would say we get two more wins and one draw and go to the last two games of nations league in September full of confidence, then we reach to the world cup ready and confident.
This is a very nice win. I enjoyed the football we played. I liked how Timber pushed up and played like defensive mid, he was really good in ball control and passing.
Guys, we just demolished number 2 in the world. If you could not be happy with this result, when can you be? If you think about winning the WC then I am sorry there are > 90% chance that will not happen. Look at who won recently? France, Spain and Germany. Now compare their squad to our current squad and you will see. We should aim for quarter final or semi final and based on our current form, we can achieve that goal. Belgium is old, yes, but they top their qualification group, guess who is in that group? Czech Republic, the same team that beat us last Euro. So I will take this win.
Well said Kevin
Fantastic game with a fantastic score. I wish we kept it at 4-0. I know NT will never win a major tournament in my lifetime but I can certainly enjoy some of the games and results. LVG is magical, but a dying breed in today’s used car salesmen type of soccer coaches who try to be diplomatic even when talking about the air. I shudder what happens after him but for now I will enjoy the beauty of the old dutch way football.
Unfortunately I missed the last half hour is the game but caught the last 5 mins.
@Jan, Berghuis was nothing special in the 1st half, I can’t speak about the 2nd. All I remember were a few misplaced easy passes, shooting on goal from impossible positions etc. However when the whole team clicks even the water boy will excel, nothing personal against him, I just don’t think he belongs there but if LVG believes in him who am I to question the King 😃 ?
@ Kevin
I think with a coach like Van Gaal it possible to win the WC but you have to be spot on with your selection and if I rate this selection I can only see them reaching the QF based on the draws. I have always said this and I’m saying this again players like klaassen, berghuis and Blind are no big games players especially when it will come to the business end of the tournament or big competitions where player head to head becomes absolutely critical with equal or more suppressing oponents. This is what I always look forward to see when NT plays big guns and was expecting from this game. Simply because it’s only in more suppressing games that you will see the weak areas being exploited and players that I have mentioned fading out which again takes its toll on the team. I mean you look back at the Germany game and try and compare that game to the Begluim game. Apples to bananas you can say and again saying that after this game the team should be rated highly in my views is an exaggeration and dump. You have to look at the flip side of the coin always.
Note I’m not saying here NT are straight out weak, Memphis and Bergwijn are building on traffic partnership, but whats happens on day or in a game if either is unavaliable or frenkie for that matter, its simply just gonna collapse because spinal team players complement the average players in the team and contextually this is the current story of NT. This is why efforts has to be made that you have proven backup players as well who can fill the shoes EFFECTIVELY if somebody gets injured.The equation is Simply, the team that brings this menu on the table is highly like will win the WC and the teams right now I see having this is Brazil,Argentina, Germany and Portgual. France also has it but not this time around and especially under Deschamps. Unless he stops accommodating big names who are out of form.
“Equation is simple”
Watched Germany vs Italy and finally Mancini reshuffles the whole team after getting thrashed by Argentina. Finally game for the Roma contingent and they deliver. No jorginho, veratti, barella immobile, belotti. Though their backline still needs alot of work to be done which will take time.
This is what I like about Mancini he never backs away from trying new things and this is how he brought up Italy from the slump when he took over. Their new boy scamacca whom If I recall correctly had few season in eredivisie could be next break out star and whom a lot of clubs are tracking. Again credit to mancini for giving him the benfit of doubt.
Germany just look to be be there from where they left off. They will go far as well in the WC.