Category: WC2018

by Jan

How Oranje can beat Belarus

This coming away game vs Belarus could well be the one cementing our spot at the Euros 2020.

What a new sensation that will be. Talisman Memphis Depay will not be there to guide us. The Lyon forward with the dazzling stats has a hamstring scare in his thigh and decided to let this one go. Koeman: “It’s not good. He simply can’t play. It’s not a serious injury but we can’t risk it.”

And despite the importance of the former Sparta talent in previous games, we all think that Oranje should be able to beat Belarus without him, as we do have enough goals in the team anyway.

On Sunday, we’ll be playing against the sturdy and rugged Belarussians and against the pitch. Koeman decided not to train in the stadion to protect the pitch as it is in pretty bad shape. “October is typically a month where more rainfall and colder temperatures affect the circumstances here,” Koeman knew.

We might also be playing against ourselves again, as we did against Northern Ireland. Ronald Koeman has been able to repair the issues again, as he did before, but the former Everton coach admitted after the match that when the Northern Irish scored, he didn’t think a win was possible. He also gave credit to assistant coach Kees van Wonderen as he was the one who suggested some changes. Apparently, former Feyenoord captain Van Wonderen is focusing on Oranje’s play without the ball while Dwight Lodeweges focuses on Oranje with the ball. Van Wonderen found the subtle changes needed to regain control, last Thursday.

Koeman will need to find a replacement for Memphis and it’s not likely that he’ll start with Luuk de Jong. Sure, the Sevilla striker broke the deadlock for us but bringing him into the starting line up will mean Koeman foregoes Plan A and goes straight to Plan B. I don’t think he will.

He will either use Promes in the striker role (as the former Ajax talent did for Spartak Moscow and Sevilla) and keep Babel on the left, enabling him to bring Malen off the bench as impact player. Or he will bring Babel to the centre in Memphis spot and start with Malen on the left flank, rewarding the former Arsenal talent for his wonderful turns in Orange.

Ronald Koeman might not change much more. As Koeman isn’t one to change quickly. “I don’t have a lot of time before matches to try out different things. These qualification games are played to win. Not to try out stuff, or to experiment or to give another player a chance. We are playing these games to qualify and once we qualified, another situation starts. People who know me, know I won’t be changing for the sake of change. I trust the core group we have and I also look at – what I call – couples. It’s never about one player vs another player. It’s about the specific qualities of a player in combination with his team mates. That whole De Roon – Van de Beek discussion for instances. It’s rubbish, but it’s what the media do. I don’t mind, but I am not playing along. For starters, I don’t want to take the coupling of Memphis and Wijnaldum apart. So these two are in the team. Frenkie is a midfielder who wants to dribble and who wants to find space to roam into. With him, I simply want the other midfielder to hold the space. De Roon is very disciplined like this, like Propper. Propper is also a very good passer of the ball, while De Roon is better in the personal duels. Van de Beek however, is a different player. He also wants to penetrate and run forward. I can’t have this with Frenkie exposed. It is that simple.”

People here think Nathan Ake could be a better alternative than Blind. Could be. There is no evidence that he will. Ake is a strong header of the ball and a good defender. Blind is not a strong header of the ball, but a tremendous passer of the ball. Here we are comparing apples with pears. Blind is in the team, also because he is used to playing alongside Mathijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong (and Donny van de Beek or Promes should they play). That coupling, as Koeman calls it, is important for the coach.

Stefan de Vrij is seen as a top defender in Italy and the media there can’t understand why he doesn’t play. But Koeman will not bench De Ligt for one bad touch, and select De Vrij. Because if he does this, Koeman will have to be changing the team constantly.

So, Koeman is not going to replace Blind for Ake “because that could work”. Or De Vrij for De Ligt. That is not good enough. Blind is the experienced defender who has played most matches since 2014 and that experience will not be foregone by Koeman because he made an error. I think we only had one player in Oranje who hasn’t made an obvious error. That is Frenkie de Jong. De Ligt had a number of howlers.  Virgil van Dijk had one vs France (Giroud’s goal) and so has Dumfries, Babel and all others. Koeman will not replace a player for making a mistake. Football is a game of mistakes. Koeman will replace players only if an alternative has been significantly better for games on end than the existing player.

Now Koeman has to replace Memphis. This will probably make the odds that De Roon doesn’t play smaller. Koeman doesn’t like to change much. I do hope Dumfries will make way for Promes as wing back. Against Belarus (and Northern Ireland) we really don’t need a fourth defender. The space will be limited so Dumfries will not be able to play to his strength.

I would go for the following line up:

Cillesen

Promes – De Ligt – Van Dijk – Blind

Van de Beek – Frenkie de Jong – Wijnaldum

Bergwijn – Babel – Malen

Although I do think Koeman will play De Roon and start with Van de Beek from the bench. Wijnaldum will be #10, but with Memphis missing, I would opt for Wijnaldum in his Liverpool role as holding mid and Van de Beek behind the striker on #10.

The former Barca centre back said recently he does like to have options on the bench to bring in, so if Malen starts, I think Van de Beek will be used as impact player.

Tell me how you would want to see it?

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by Jan

Weak Oranje bullied by Northern Irish

We saw our beloved Oranje in the doldrums for a couple of years, and we had to sit out two major tournaments. Our newly found confidence, the string of new players, Ronald Koeman as the new NT Manager, the sun started to shine again.

We played “Dutch football” again, we won vs France, Germany, England and we reached the finals of the Nations League.

And right at the time when Frenkie claims “there is a lot of growth still in the team” our Oranje crashes through the floor in terms of quality level.

Of course, a team can never be an “8” every match. There will be games where we are an “9” in one half and a “6” in another half. But yesterday vs a very average Northern Ireland, we dropped below the level that I would call acceptable. I’d say every single player from the starting line up except for Virgil van Dijk deserved a bad mark on their report card.

And yes, Mathijs de Ligt, Daley Blind and Jasper Cillesen all had a howler in a comedy caper sequence leading up to the goal. But it was the whole team that disappointed. From Dumfries, to Wijnaldum, from Memphis to Babel. But the biggest disappointment for me, was Frenkie de Jong.

I would like to start by saying that Northern Ireland is completely entitled to play the way they do. They cheat for seconds, they don’t play to score but they play to destroy. And why wouldn’t they. They play Klopp-Liverpool style football but without the amazing forwards.

It’s annoying, it’s negative, it’s anti-football but…it’s their prerogative to do this and it’s up to us to break them down.

I believe it all started to go wrong with the starting eleven. This is typical a game where you need Donny van de Beek and you don’t need Martin de Roon. De Roon is our destroyer, but we didn’t need to destroy. We needed to create. And move. And stretch the opponent. Something Donny does in spades.

So why didn’t Koeman start with Donny? Unclear. “So he could bring him in when the team needs him”. BS.

Also Dumfries. A great athlete, good runner. But hard feet. Doesn’t have the subtlety in his game to play along in this pass and move game we needed. We could have used Veltman better in this match, I feel. A good cross, solid passing and experience and physical strength.

I can imagine Koeman didn’t want to start with Malen as you do want to be able to bring an explosive attacker in from the bench, and Babel did have some good games before, but Van de Beek vs De Roon… I can’t understand it. When you play a strong opponent, maybe De Roon is better, allowing Frenkie some support, but against this type of opponent, you do need a runner like Van de Beek.

But lets not kid ourselves. Koeman made mistakes but the eleven on the pitch simply were terrible. Touches, passing, understanding, pace, moving without the ball, it was all sub par.

In these type of matches, you need to pass and move. At pace. One or two touches. Don’t play backheels or funny shimmies or don’t try and dribble. They won most one on one duels and most second balls. Stay out of the duels and pass the fricking ball!

You also need to keep the pitch wide, and use the half spaces to reach the byline and cross the ball in low and hard (like Malen did!).

Northern Ireland wanted to suck the oxygen out of the game and sadly, our playmaker Frenkie de Jong helped them but taking so many touches of the ball. Trying to dribble, trying to turn, left, back to right, back to left again. And all to no avail. There wasn’t enough movement up front, yes, I’ll give him that, but when you are being man-marked (as he was) you know another player gets some freedom. Pass the fricking ball!

This is where Ronald Koeman could and should have changed his team, even 10 mins in. Take De Roon out and bring a player with ball skills. Even Steven Berghuis on that right midfield position would have done better than De Roon as Berghuis can pass a ball and take on a player.

And our wing play? In the first half you could see ever so clearly that Dumfries isn’t trusted by his team mates. Frenkie de Jong, Bergwijn, Van Dijk, they all prefer to open on the left – to Babel – instead of using Dumfries, no matter how open Dumfries was. Reason why? They don’t trust him to do the right thing! And they were right!

Can’t wait for Karsdorp to be 100% fit!

Second half, it all started to get a bit better. Northern Ireland was getting more fatigues and there was more pace and more grit in our team in the second half. When Van de Beek was introduced he received a thundering ovation.

But for the first time in 19 years, Oranje faced a 0-1 score line in De Kuip, when the first and only attempt on goal by the Northern Irish got promoted to a goal thanks to the 3 Stooges: De Ligt, Blind, Cillesen.

The first time we reached Malen in the half space on the left resulted in his low cross and a magical Memphis touch resulted in the 1-1.

Another freak goal got Luuk de Jong the hero status in the dying minutes, when a deflected defensive header got onto his stretched out leg and the ball went high up, only to land just in front of the goal line. L de Jong quickly grabbed the post and was able to flick the ball over the line.

And finally, when the game was played, Frenkie got his chance to dribble forward and that immediately resulted in Memphis’ 3-1.

They crucial game in our group was won. And after the game, a lot of relief and optimism about the future, but it was merely the result that we should be happy about.

Lots and lots of things to think about. For Koeman and his staff, yes. But also for Frenkie, Mathijs, Daley, Gini and the rest.

As the whole team, including technical staff, failed. Despite the win.

 

 

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by Jan

Frenkie: “We have so much room to grow!”

The competitions have started again. And with a focus on the Dutchies, it’s clear that we are seeing – mostly – pretty decent developments. Yes, Mathijs de Ligt might need a tad more time to get used to Sarri’s new way of playing for Juve. Even Bonucci says in interviews he needs more time himself! And yes, Luuk de Jong hasn’t scored yet (but don’t worry: he will). Cillesen is allowing goals, yes, and maybe he’s not as good as Neuer or Kapa or De Gea but he’s still good enough for Oranje.

It’s all good news. PSV’s forwards, Ajax’ continuous run, AZ’s talents knocking on the door, but also the return to fitness of Danjuma, the goals of Weghorst, the minutes made by Chong and most importantly the key role Frenkie is playing already in this Barcelona. Only Feyenoord is a bit of an up and down team at the moment… Epically beating Porto and then losing horrifically against Fortuna Sittard? But all good lessons for the players and hopefully they’ll find their spine soon.

Frenkie oozes confidence: “We have made a good run with Oranje, but now we really need to win the next two matches as we will make a giant leap forward to qualification. Northern Ireland is the key game, and away against Belarus, well…with all due respect, we really should win that. We will have the upperhand vs Germany and Northern Ireland in terms of 1v1 result and we have it all in our own hands.” Frenkie has a right to be cocky. He started in 10 of Barca’s 11 official matches and the media can’t stop talking him up. He’s seen as a real asset, providing creativity and solutions from midfield and accelerating the game where possible. Some media even claim that the current Barcelona team is struggling to keep up with Frenkie’s game!

“Yes its going well, but I never worried about that. For me, it’s new team mates and a new stadium and a new country and language, but the football for me is always the same. I wouldn’t know how to play differently. Barca signed me with their full brain, as we say in Holland, and they know what they’re getting. And to be honest, we’re not playing that well. We can still do so much better. But a Barca that plays average, always has a Suarez or a Messi to break the deadlock. That bycicle kick of Suarez? He doesn’t it constantly in training. That was meant to happen like this, I can tell you. And I am as surprised by what he does as the fans are, hahaha. We have so much quality, we can always find an opening.”

Oranje is not that far progressed. “Not yet!”, Frenkie smiles. “But we will work towards this. I believe we can play better but if you see how we played partly during the Nations League semi finals and the second half vs Germany… That is the level we need to hold on to. We can still improve and that is a good thing! We all sense there is room to grow.”

The goal is reaching the Euro2020 tournament. “I did play final tournaments in the youth system. It’s really good fun to play at those, but this one is the real deal! It’s a disgrace in a way that The Netherlands missed out twice! I really want to be part of the group that will qualify again.”

Another player who entered the trainings camp for Oranje with his chest out is skipper Virgil van Dijk. “We’re now 8 points ahead of Man City with Liverpool! Who would have thought that so early in the season. Wow! Winning the CL with Liverpool was huge, but winning the title in England will be even bigger. We want to win everything now, the title, the FA Cup, the World Cup for clubs, everything!”

Van Dijk never played a final tournament. Not even in the youth. “Four years ago, I made my debut vs Kazachstan. Boy, what a difference. Things didn’t go so smoothly, to say the least. And if you look at the steps we made since then? It can go quickly and it all is based on the talent coming through. It’s cyclic I think and we’re on a good run now.”

Van Dijk wants to temper the euphoria. “We haven’t won a single thing yet. Yes it’s going well but Thursday, Northern Ireland…it will be tough. Yes, it’s a full Kuip and all this, but I know the Northern Ireland team and I know most of their players and I’m telling you: it will be a tough match! But no matter how you look at it: we want to win and we will qualify because we are ready. We have the players, the technical staff, the history, the fans, we simply belong at that stage.”

Ronald Koeman was asked about this new look Oranje. His analysis. “It all comes in waves. I was also part of a young group in the 1980s that had to be brought in because Oranje was disappointing on all levels. With Vanenburg, Van Basten, Gullit… And we were kids. But we had the pizzazz, we had the courage and some luck. Now, we see another tremendous generation knocking on the doors of the top. Frenkie de Jong, two seasons ago, was not yet a certainty. Virgil was overlooked by most clubs, Dumfries, Ake, Van De Beek… And there is more coming and that is wonderful. I also believe we changed things at club level. Today most clubs have their players 8 hours per day. In the years before, other countries trained harder. Longer. Players were fitter. Today, I think we can compete.”

Asked why Koeman is not open to make changes in his squad (think Weghorst vs Luuk or bringing in Stengs instead of Berghuis), he said: “You have to understand that I have been working with these lads for 1,5 years now and we don’t have a lot of time before matches to fit in new players. There is always that urge to give younger talents chances, but we need to win Thursday. I don’t have time to focus on a young player coming in and getting him into the system. It’s definitely something I long to do, I can also see we have some good players coming through, but I want to do it slowly but surely. I selected Berghuis over Stengs, both left footed forwards, because Steven has the experience within Oranje. He has been part of Oranje for years, on and off. But Stengs is definitely knocking on the door. Koopmeiners too, a player I am following. He has leadership skills, great feet, mentally strong, so yes. And there are more options, I am aware but we will find the right time to start to include these new lads.”

Asked about the Weghorst / Luuk de Jong debate. “Weghorst scores easily and now he has a number of goals while Luuk hasn’t, but I don’t look at that only. I look at what they do without the ball and how they can be of use for the team. As a pinch hitter, I think Luuk offers more. More “gogme”, more smarts and experience. Luuk is great in holding up the ball and finding team mates, with his head or chest or feet. Wout is more a finisher. But you can’t claim Luuk doesn’t know how to score, right? He was Eredivisie top scorer so he knows how to do it.”

Asked about Mo Ihattaren. “It’s clear that he will become a European top player. No doubt. We really want him to play for Oranje, but considering his private situation (Mo’s dad recently died) we have said we would give him time. I am not going to stalk him, particularly not now. He is only 17 years old and he needs to decide on his own time.”

He did have to drop players, as for instance Donny van de Beek is back to full fitness. “I decided to drop a midfielder extra as Davy Propper isn’t fit either. We now have one extra forward. I think it’s legit, as we will be playing opponents who will want us to have the ball. Tonny Vilhena was part of Oranje for years now, so it’s hard on him, but things will keep changing, I’m sure. Players get injured, or we need more midfielders maybe against other opponents. The least fun thing for a team manager is calling players who are loyal and have had contributions to tell them they are not needed. I do look at how polyvalent a player actually is, of course, and with the likes of Donny but also Malen we have players who can play on more than one spot. I think Malen can play on 4 positions… That is rich.”

The Northern Ireland match is seen as a key match and a difficult one.

I think Holland will thrash them: 4-0. The Belarus away game will probably prove to be more difficult… Malen, Memphis, Donny and De Ligt on the score sheet.

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by Jan

Player Ratings and Future Stars

I had this post on future Oranje players getting ready to go and decided to start with some Player Ratings for y’all, as I am seeing so many Anti Blind comments…. I simply have to respond to that.

Thanks to all for joining in and I am totally ok with discussions and differences of opinions. That is all fine.

But some of you (Wilson being one, Tiju being another) simply keep harping on against – usually – one player. Like a hate campaign. As if that player can’t do anything right. Wilson has it with Daley, Tiju had it with Dirk. I think both had it with Memphis.

We can all safely say that Dirk Kuyt is a Dutch icon. Memphis’ stats are through the roof and Daley is the connaisseur’s player.

Yes, Daley made a defensive error this weekend vs Heerenveen (and they scored) but he also had an array of superb passes. Any coach will take the defensive weakness, as no defender is 100% tight. Look at De Ligt at Juve. Or this weekend Pique allowing two goals at Barca. Just score one more up front, guys!

Again, I am fine with people pointing out the negatives, but I believe it becomes a witch hunt when:

  1. they can’t add anything positive, but just keep on repeating the same old stuff… Wilson on Blind’s defensive weaknesses and Tiju did this with Kuyt’s lack of technique (both are wrong, by the way… Blind is a tremendous defender, but simply slow… Kuyt had magnificent match technique, but he wasn’t a circus artist, like Vanenburg or Davids)
  2. irrelevant things are brought into the discussion (like Danny Blind protecting son Daley)
  3. disrespectful arguments are used (“Sonny Boy” which points to the Danny – Daley family link)

Every player has negatives, apart from a couple world class players we have… That – for me – applies to Virgil and Frenkie. All other Oranje players do have some weaknesses… Memphis, Gini, De Ligt, Blind…all of them.

Coaches tend to pick the team which is able to 1)strengthen each other strengths and 2) compensate each others weaknesses… This is probably why all Dutch NT coaches pick Blind. His weaknesses can be compensated, while his strengths are really needed.

Frank de Boer, Louis van Gaal, Guus Hiddink, Ronald Koeman, Erik Ten Hag… what connects these coaches? Answer: They all rate Daley Blind really high.

Why? Because of his speed and his goals!

Just kidding. They rate Daley really high because of his 1) ability to read the game, 2) his exquisite passing range, 3) his thrifty possession, 4) his positioning.

Erik Ten Hag: “Daley Blind is my extension on the pitch. He sees what needs to happen first and gets the message across to the other players.”

Dusan Tadic (Ajax #9): “I love Daley Blind behind me. He is our Beckenbauer.”

Blind’s last season at Ajax (centre back) is considered to be one of the key performers for the Amsterdam club. By analysts, football commentators, supporters, ex-players and by coaches. The only two people who don’t seem to see this are Wilson and Tiju. Apparently. But who knows? They might have way better insights in football than Van Gaal, Ten Hag and Koeman….

Complaining about Blind’s lack of speed is like complaining about Overmars’ lack of header goals. Or complaining about Bergkamp not stopping any penalties. Or complaining about Dumfries not being able to dribble past 3 opponents. Or complaining about Memphis weak sliding tackles.

We should be grateful to have Blind in our squad, like the coaches are all grateful and most of the Oranje fans are. I’m fine with people not “liking” a certain player… I’m personally not a big fan of Strootman, but I am a huge Oranje fan and I support the lads and the coaches and I would never vomit all this negativity about players without any real substance.

So, lets have a look at our squad.

Jasper Cillesen

Maybe not world class (like Neuer, De Gea or Ellison) but definitely a top notch goalie. Good enough for Oranje. And with Vermeer, Krul, Bizot and Zoet all at the right age and a couple of youngster making their name (Bijlow, Scherpen, Kelle Roos) we should be ok for shot stoppers.

Daley Blind

World class versatile player. Master in reading the game and positioning. Great passing and distribution. He sent Memphis away for a corner and delivered it on Van Dijk’s head, leading up to the 1-2.

Virgil Van Dijk

Needs no further kudos. World Class with capital letters. Will win the Ballon D’Or. Strong. Tall. Quick. Composed. Leader. Concrete. Tower. Goal threat in the opponent box.

Matthijs De Ligt

On his way to become Virgil Mark II. Only 19 years old. Courageous. Tall and strong and quicker than you think. Great build up pass. Needs to develop tactically and in terms of positioning. Looked great at Ajax thanks to mentor Blind (something he’ll miss at Juve).

Denzel Dumfries

Still in development. Late bloomer. Strong body, quick, athletic, tall and good header. Still lacks smooth technique and is probably the weak spot in the current team. Alternatives Veltman and Tete lack the forward thrust Denzel offers. Karsdorp is probably a better option on all counts, bar the header capabilities.

Frenkie de Jong

The brains in midfield. Oozes class. Velvet touches, great dribbles and that winner mentality allowing him to win balls back. Explosive speed. Tremendous vision and courage.

Marten de Roon

Strongholder in midfield. More destroyer than creator. Has had great moments and has had terrible moments. Passing and technique are average. Work rate and tackling is top notch. A water bearer in the team. Good to have in the squad but we should have a player on his spot who can do it all (like Davids, Cocu or Van Bommel before him).

Gini Wijnaldum

Marathon Man. Strong in possession. Fierce without the ball. Amazing mentality and wonderful technique. Works and sacrifices himself without a problem. Needs a cooler head in the box and should score more. Does need too many chances for a goal. Could use a bit more vision to aid the team in the build up, Frenkie-style. When on fire, good for 1,5 player.

Quincy Promes

Jack-of-all-Trades. Good runner with and without the ball. Can score goals. Can assist. Can play alsmost everywhere on the pitch and never complaining when moved from left winger to right winger to right full back. Positive mentality and unpredictable. He is the first to have to worry for his spot with Bergwijn and Malen on the up and up.

Memphis Depay

World class potential, suffering a bit from ego and overconfidence. Can work magic if all goes his way and can be agitatingly annoying when things don’t work out. Sensational right foot. Confident. Cheeky. Wonderful vision and superb ball skills. Strong body as well.

Ryan Babel

The Come Back Kid. Had a great spell in his younger days, with his speed, his hip-shot and opportunistic playing style. Came back from the cold and is more a team player now. Covering the left flank, tracking back, supporting players with dummy runs and scoring important goals. Tremendous work rate and the wise old mentor in the squad. Might lose his spot in the starting eleven but Koeman will probably keep on selecting him due to his off-pitch qualities in the group.

Davy Propper

A light version of Frenkie de Jong. Has similar ball capabilities, has tremendous vision as well and great in the build up. Should score more (like Frenkie!) and lacks Frenkie’s explosiveness and speed. Should be player at a better club as he will definitely play better in a stronger team. Quiet achiever and in my view a better player to start with than De Roon.

Nathan Ake

The perfect 12th man. Can slot into midfield, central defence or left back. Perfect mentality, focused, more than average ball skills, strong header of the ball and great team player. Won’t get into the team as long as De Ligt and Van Dijk are ahead of him but a great utility player to have.

Donyell Malen

Brings something fresh and new. Very quick, with and without ball. The ability, smarts and willingess to make dummy runs and keep the opponent busy. Cold as ice in the box and has eye for the team mate in a better position.

Steven Bergwijn

All round attacker. Quick, good ball skills, dribbling ability and knows how to score a goal. Used as a winger, striker and #10 at PSV, and still looking for his best position. Might be the ideal stand-in for Memphis, or he might push Promes out of the team.

Patrick van Aanholt

Highly athletic full back, covering the whole flank. Defensively vulnerable but strong going forward and the ability to score. Has a canon of a left foot but tactically naive.

Joel Veltman

Versatile player, able to play right back, left back and centre back. Lacks length for the centre back role but still a strong header of the ball. Overall a good player, without any real apparent strengths. Focused and mentally strong. Lacks speed and won’t cover the whole flank. Tough in the personal duels.

Luuk de Jong

Wonderful header of the ball. Courageous and a real leader. Can score goals, but lacks speed and technical skills in the smaller spaces. Useful as pinch hitter, not as a starter. Beats Weghorst in the pinch hitter category. Good in hold up play too.

Stefan de Vrij

No nonsense defender. Fully focussed and mentally strong. Good build up pass and great header of the ball. Not the quickest but also not the slowest. Lacks the “Virgil” charisma but could well be a starter in the Oranje eleven. Keeps head above water as a defender, in the Land of Defenders.

Tonny Vilhena

Again, multi functional player. Can play in all positions in midfield and left full back or wing back. Will warm the bench (like Ake) without complaining. Will always earn his Heineken. Amazing energy and work ethic. Good left foot and tremendous drive. Sometimes over does things with his abundant energy and tends to run with the ball too much. Perfect team player.

Steven Berghuis

Top technical skills, wonderful vision and winner mentality. Lacks speed and wants the ball in his feet. Has a wand of a left foot and tremendous goal scoring and assisting abilities as a result. Lacks body and power at times and loses his temper easily. Still looking to find his ideal spot in the team. Not an out and out winger, but also not a real midfielder. Ideal #10 in a 4-3-3 with two holding mids. Probably never headed a ball in his life.

Justin Kluivert

Prodigal son. Wonderful speed and almost perfectly two footed. Can play left and right up front. Needs to play more consistently and decision making needs to improve (quite normal for a young player). Still a lot to develop but unpredictable and has great confidence and composure. This needs to be his season with Roma.

Kevin Strootman

At times a pitiful picture. Was considered the natural successor to Mark van Bommel and even given the captains armband at some point but two massive knee injuries took the sharpness away and Strootman without the legs to do what Strootman does best is not a good Strootman anymore. Lost his starting spot and might lose his spot in the squad once Van de Beek and players like Rosario or Eijting, Ihattaren and/or Stengs make their way into the squad. With De Roon, De Jong and Propper in the midfield, Strootman will not much longer be needed… Koeman does hail his attitude and leadership off the pitch and will probably not write him off until after the EC2020.

Are there players out there that should be in the squad in place of some player above?

I don’t think so. Wout Weghorst, some say. He would be used as pinch hitter, I don’t think Koeman will pick a team that would suit his “normal” game. And for pinch hitting tasks, I agree with Koeman: Luuk de Jong is better.

Obviously, I am not in favour of taking Daley Blind out. Within months, I do expect Stengs to take Berghuis position soon, while Van de Beek will push Strootman out, I think.

But it takes more than a list of names… It’s up to Koeman to pick the players that form the best team, not necessarily the eleven best players. And to concoct a tactics that works with the players, and offers us the best chance to win, while playing attractive football.

Future Stars of Oranje

We were so spoilt for choice in the past. We had Ruud Geels, Dick van Dijk, Johan Cruyff, Cor van der Gijp and other going for the striker role in the 70s. Or we had Van Basten, Boskamp, Kieft, Gilhaus in the 80, Makaay, Kluivert, Van Hooijdonk, Hasselbaink, Van Nistelrooy in the 90s and the likes of Huntelaar, Van Persie, Kuyt, Robben and more in the 00’s… Where are the world class strikers of today? Weghorst, Dost, Luuk de Jong? Nah… not world class.

Vincent Janssen? Nope. But we do see some amazing talent coming up, able to take some pressure of golden wonder boy Memphis Depay (just look at his stats).

Donyell Malen PSV (20 years old)

The obvious choice, after his amazing run in his first two matches for Oranje and the 5 goals he scored last weekend! Boom! Developed at Ajax, made his way to Arsenal and returned to Holland (PSV) to get some playing time. His key quality: skill in confined spaces, speed and the willingness (!) to keep on making the dummy runs!

Cody Gakpo PSV (20 years old)

Blessed with a right foot like David Beckham. Long legs, good stride. Amazing vision and a cool head. Like with Robben, you know he cuts back to his fave foot but he’ll keep on doing it and he’ll get away with it. Very elegant player, who could well go the same route as Phillip Cocu (from left winger to strong holder in midfield and ending up as skipper at Barca).

Myron Boadu AZ Alkmaar (18 years old)

Lightning quick player at AZ. returning from tough injury, but scoring easily again. Nose for the right spot and cool as ice in the box. Still missed easy chances so needs to work on his decision making. Very likeable chap too. Down to Earth. The real deal, this one!

Mitchell van Bergen Heerenveen (19 years old)

Was 16 years old when making his debut for Vitesse, the youngest player ever (for Vitesse). He ended up warming the bench and made a move to Heerenveen where he is a starter and he plays for Young Oranje. Compared to Robben when he broke through but his key strength is his speed. Mitch is one of the quickest players you’ll see, capable of scoring and providing the assist.

Calvin Stengs – AZ Alkmaar (20 years old)

A highly playful winger, a one-of-a-kind player whose perfect position needs to be found, as Stengs can play central striker (and score), play winger and provide and play midfielder and make the play. Very gifted, great vision, athletic and effective. Missed the Young AZ experience due to a terrible injury keeping him out a full season. Everything is effortless with Stengs and it’s only a matter of time or he’ll claim the right winger role in Oranje, like Ziyech plays that role for Ajax.

Mo Ihattaren PSV (17 years old)

Not a real forward, but an offensive midfielder / playmaker but for me, the most impressive talent since…well…Frenkie de Jong. Ihattaren’s name presented itself already some years ago when he impressed in Oranje under 15 and his reputation keeps on building. Once you have watched him play 45 minutes, you can see what a potential world class player he is. He is young, but he reads the game, plays without fear, has the physique of a 24 year old and has everything to end up at Real Madrid or Man City within 2 years and be a force at those clubs to be reckoned with. The only issues with him: 1) keeping him healthy, 2) keeping him grounded and 3) making sure he will pick Oranje to play for, as Morocco is very keen to enlist his services.

The next pack is on its way….

And there is more coming, in the group just below the lads described above. We know the names: Tahith Chong (19) at ManU. Joshua Zirkzee at Bayern (18), Daishawn Redan (18) at Hertha. Brian Brobbey (17, Ajax) and Naoufal Bannis (17, Feyenoord) impress as well and are on the verge of making more minutes in the first teams.

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by Jan

Oranje nicely on track for Euro qualification

Well, that title had to wait for years to be written again. After a failed Euros in 2012 and a missed one in 2016 (and a no-show at the 2018 World Cup), finally Oranje seems on track to qualify for a big tournament again.

This is mostly good news, but keep reading until the end, as I will finish this post with a horror scenario….

We lost vs Germany at home but got the points back by beating them even better in Hamburg (last Friday).

There’s a couple of smaller footballing nations in our group and every one knows, you can’t win trophies if you don’t beat the small opponents.

And Estonia away is one of those matches. We drew twice against them before (and those were the big highlights in their football history) and Koeman and Co were warned for another deception. Imagine grabbing 3 points in an epic match in Germany and spilling the points vs Estonia!?

The 0-4 was the result of a patient, focused and at times lethal Oranje, with Ryan Babel and Memphis as Men of the Match and special mention for Donyell Malen!

The PSV youngster got his first starting spot, after scoring as a sub versus the Teutons.

Koeman: “When you play the smaller nations, they will make the space limited and we’ll need extra depth and speed to break open their defensive structures. Malen is a player who can do this.”

Malen came in for Promes.

He also selected Propper for the midfield spot, over Marten de Roon: “Davy was a starter before he got injured and he’s proven himself to be a potential starter, like a couple of others in the squad. De Roon’s strength is repossessing the ball. That is what does so well. But vs Estonia this quality is less relevant as we will have most of the possession anyway and I can use a player like Propper more, as he has the same passing qualities and fleet of footness of Frenkie de Jong. Davy plays simple, but he also has an eye for the forward pass.” Propper for De Roon in other words.

The last member of the right flank – Dumfries – was also sacrificed for Joel Veltman. “Veltman has better ball control. Denzel lost possession a tad easy and got us in trouble as a result. We won’t be needing Denzel’s runs forward, as we won’t have the space vs Estonia. So I prefer a more thrifty player, who also has a very good cross, which could be useful.”

Tactically, Oranje set up differently to the Germany start line up. Ryan playing more to the left, keeping the field wide, while Malen was the ideal distractor with his runs, contribution in particular to Babel’s second goal, with a superb run.

It was two defenders with the first opportunities to score, early on. Virgil tried it with a blistering shot from distance, just sailing past the post and Joel Veltman broke the line once but ended up in offside and a second chance came to him when the goalie boxed the ball right towards him. His side-footed attempt sailed over the bar.

It was Frenkie in the 16th minute who found Daley Blind on the left winger position with a nice pass, and the left footed Blind placed the ball with a curve right in that danger zone between defence and goalie, allowing for any hungry forward to have a tap in. It was Ryan Babel, 32 years old but playing like a 22 year old, who was first at the scene: 0-1.

The Galatasaray forward was already one of the better players vs Germany, this time he got his reward. All the potential excitement about the game was gone early in the second half, when Babel scored his second after a great attacking move. Malen set it up, and made a forward run into the box, pulling a central defender away from Babel… Memphis got the ball on the right flank and crossed it in sharply in one go. Babel is not known for his heading skills but he nodded the ball with great composure into the corner: 0-2.

Great stats for the former Liverpool winger, but the King of Stats is still Memphis, who played a super game yet again. He saw a gap, ran into the space while De Ligt carried the ball forward. The former Ajax skipper recognised the opportunity and passed the ball perfectly into Depay’s stride. His first touch was brilliant, the turn was as well and with his left, curled the ball into the corner: 0-3.

The objective was reached. And from that moment on it was important for all to keep their ankles and knees healthy. Late in the game, a fourth goal was scored, Memphis with the assist from a set piece and Wijnaldum nicking the ball from Virgil’s forehead and heading in the final goal: 0-4.

Memphis could have had 2 assists AND 2 goals but he kicked a sitter just next to the post, otherwise his stats would have been even better!

Koeman allowed Berghuis 15 minutes, with Strootman and Luuk de Jong getting playing time as well.

Donyell Malen does deserve a special mention even though he didn’t score and didn’t have an assist. From the first minute onwards, Malen did exactly what Koeman required from him: making runs in behind, even if only 10% of these runs get rewarded with a pass his way.

Usually, the forwards will be facing their own goal (and back to opponents goal) when the opponent parks the bus. Memphis will make runs in behind, and Wijnaldum will attempt this now and then, but with Malen we have a player who will do this all day long. And his running actions will add to the chaos at the back of Estonia and in particular with the 0-2 you can see what the value is of an unselfish dummy run.

There is one aspect though, that will potentially give us all a headache!

Koeman’s contract ends formally in 2020, after the Euros. There is an evaluation moment in the contract, allowing both Koeman and the KNVB to part ways. With all the successes Koeman is having and with the fact that he still has Barca blood in his veins AND the fact he knows exactly how to use Frenkie de Jong, it’s quite likely that Barcelona will knock on his door once Valverde is done and dusted in the Camp Nou.

Examples above and below of the typical runs Donyell Malen kept on making….

And will Ronald Koeman have the strength to say no? Probably not.

He had two dreams as a coach. One, to coach Holland (tick!). And the other, to coach Barca.

Should that second dream be close, he might accept abandoning dream 1 (with a Euro title?) and hop on the Barca-train (to use Koeman’s expression).

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by Jan

Resilient Oranje thrashes Germany

This post is dedicated with gratitude to my dear friend Bob. You know why :-).

NOTE: English highlights at the bottom of this post!

We all like to say and think that Dutch football is on the way up, but at the same time…we’re all still quite vulnerable… Frenkie isn’t playing on his favorite spot at Barca, De Ligt makes a number of obvious mistakes at Juve, Memphis wasn’t able to make a move to a top club, Promes isn’t really making it hard for Ten Hag at Ajax and has to work his way into the Ajax team, and more.

So when Arch Enemy #1 Germany is on the roster, a lot of people would watch the match with an extra set of diapers on… The Germans… they always have a tough team to beat, they always develop talent and they know how to win games…

In the Volkspark Stadium in Hamburg, where Oranje dealt with West Germany back in 1988, Holland started sparkling. Forward pressure, high up the park, quick pass and move play while Germany clearly was playing compact from a more deeper position.

Germany playing counter football in their own home? Deja Vu to the 1980s?

Marathon Man Gini

But despite Holland getting the first shooting opportunity (Memphis testing the fists of Neuer), it’s Germany again, countering to 1-0 in the first 10 mins of the game.

A series of “mistakes” allow this to happen… No pressure from Wijnaldum on the ball (Toni Kroos!), Blind and De Ligt pressing forward – even with Koeman explicitly telling them not to “bite” to early – while Van Dijk drops back a bit and blocks the offside trap!

And Promes not realising Kloostermann was sprinting away from him, just on-side, and preparing the Gnabry goal… Cillesen did his best but the rebound was too much.

With the 1-0, Germany even sat deeper still waiting for more counter opportunities (which did come and Cillesen had to act with a strong hand to keep Werner from scoring their second).

Oranje had the ball but failed to really create chances. The flow wasn’t there. Reasons? For starters, Koeman’s tactical trick didn’t work.

The idea was to have Babel as centre striker (like he did at Galatasaray) and Memphis in a free role. Promes was supposed to cover the left flank – as Blind doesn’t do wingback – while Dumfries was supposed to cover the right flank – he does do wingback. De Roon would drop into the right back zone to cover for Denzel and to assist in the build up.

Blissful contributions by Babel

This is where it went wrong. The Germans were happy for De Roon to build up and allowed him the ball. And De Roon is a good player, but not a great play maker or passer. What definitely didn’t help either, was Dumfries inability to keep the ball and/or do something solid with it.

The PSV right back is lauded for his strength, his mentality, his legs/lungs, and his fighting spirit… But he is also known to have “hard feet”. Meaning…lack of technique. And it showed.

Dumfries was launched into a very promising opportunity by Memphis, getting into the box but almost stumbling over his own feet. Most of his actions failed on the flank, and it was clear Oranje’s right flank (De Roon, Dumfries, Babel) wasn’t working.

Orange jersey suits Malen really well

It happens. We’re not going to suddenly crucify Dumfries for being who he is. But we do need better quality. If Holland wants to win trophies, we do need top notch players on all positions. De Roon and Dumfries might just be lacking in that. They’re good, but not world class (like Memphis, Wijnaldum, Frenkie and Van Dijk).

When Propper and Malen came on (and Promes moved to the right) in the second half, there simply was more pizzazz and class in the team. And with De Roon suspended for the next game, I expect Propper to come in and stay in (maybe until Van de Beek is fit again).

The switch in the second half to bring Babel back to the left worked, with Wijnaldum now having more space to work with.

What a photo! Memphis at the top of his game!

Oranje remained patience and was fully focussed on attacking Germany when they looked vulnerable, with Babel and Wijnaldum setting traps all the time. And it was Babel who was instrumental in getting Holland back in the game, with a cross that was finished by Frenkie in perfect style. A wonderful first touch, followed by a side footed controlled finish: 1-1.

We love emphasising how good we are, but truth be told, Germany defended horrifically. New central defender pairing Ginter and Tah made a mess of most situations and a corner and Virgil header was the prologue to another howler. Memphis brought the ball back into the 5 yard zone, Babel did some silly step over – back heel trick (that failed) and Tah decided to stick his leg out: 1-2. Babel walked away with a sheepish grin on his face.

I was personally confident that my 1-3 prediction was going to make it, but not long after the 1-2 the ref decided to help the poor Germans a bit, with the execution of a poor new hand ball rule.

Part of the problem. Five Oranje players high up the pitch against a compact Germany… Hardly any space to operate in, with a disappointing partnership between Babel, Gini and Memphis.

“Every hand ball in the box is now a penalty” is the new rule, apparently.

So Matthijs de Ligt blocks a cross successfully. The ball goes up in the air. De Ligt loses sight. The ball drops on the ground but brushes past De Ligt’s arm. There is no way the German player could have re-capture the ball. There was no threat, danger, whatsoever, but the ref decided: penalty.

Cillesen is starting to become a better penalty killer, but there was no stopping Kroos’ decisive spot kick: 2-2.

Germany seemed to think the 2-2 was fine. The pace was slow, they were sloppy and Holland simply wanted the win more. And did more to force the win.

And boy, did we have another trap ready for them. We took the ball high up the park, on the left hand side, again. Babel playing his part, Memphis slotted the ball through to Wijnaldum who – under pressure – was able to flick the ball perfectly to Donyell Malen who was able to celebrate his first goal in his debut game for Oranje: 2-3. A brilliantly worked goal!

The German goal: no pressure on the ball, Blind/De Ligt pressing forward while Virgil drops back and ruins the offside trap while Promes is surprised by the run of the full back….

Germany needed to find a third wind, to salvage a point and in doing so was vulnerable even more.

Koeman felt 2-3 was good enough and took Babel off. The veteran did his job and Nathan Ake was brought in to secure the win. Blind moved further to the left and Malen and Memphis played upfront, with Frenkie, Propper and Gini Wijnaldum in midfield.

A wonderful interception by the fresh Ake resulted in a wonderful pass to Memphis, who saw in his peripheral vision one of the strongholders of Oranje making a 60 meter dash – we are talking the last minute of the game!! – into the box. Memphis pass was pitch perfect and Wijnaldum only needed to put his side foot to the ball: 2-4.

A perfect final chord from one of Oranje’s key performers.

Eat this!

And the result of all of this is quite good…

The result is perfect: 3 points and in the bilateral match up, Holland now edges Germany and might win the qualification.

We also demonstrated to the world that we are a team to be reckoned with.

We worked on our confidence and flow.

Koeman will have seen that it’s time for a better right back and time to have a player like Propper back in the starting line up, versus workman De Roon.

Oranje under Koeman seems to be strong in coming back into the game after conceding and Koeman impresses with his subs, but…one could also say: stop coming back from behind by not conceding in the first place and start the game with the right eleven! Hahahaha :-).

The future is bright, with Rick Karsdorp getting back into full fitness (my preferred RB option), while Kenny Tete will also be back soon. Hateboer and Janmaat (when back in the starting eleven for Watford) will also be options, as is Hoeve.

As for the midfield, Van de Beek will make his return, Ihattaren will be a great prospect  to have and on top we also have Eijting, Stengs and even Adam Maher as options.

I will post more on the talent coming up soon!

For now, lets enjoy this one more day and then focus on that ever difficult away game vs Estonia!

And share your thoughts below!

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by Jan

Another Germany – Oranje…

Dutch football is on the rise. Ajax’ campaign in Europe last season was unheard of. And the resulting interest in some of the Dutch top players a logical next step, with big moves for De Ligt and De Jong, Champions League football for De Roon and Babel, a new adventure for Cillesen in Spain… In the usually so challenging August month, 4 Dutch clubs impressively reached the group stages of the European competitions and Virgil van Dijk was awarded the European Footballer of the Year award… ahead of Messi and C Ronaldo.

All wonderful news. And on top of that, Ajax managed to keep Onana, Mazraoui, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Tadic, Neres and Blind on board with disappointing striker Kasper Dolberg leaving for Nice. Lasse Schone, for years a loyal key part of the different Ajax teams was allowed a final money move to Genua. Ajax’ investments in new players will definitely prove to be a gift for the Eredivisie, with Dutch international Quincy Promes amongst the new signings.

PSV is looking sharp (and young) with Malen, Gakpo, Ihatarren, Dumfries and Bergwijn as regular starters while Feyenoord seems to take shape too, slowly but surely, under Jaap Stam with Steven Berghuis in the leader role and former Oranje players Karsdorp, Narsingh and Leroy Fer back in Holland to revitalise their careers.

And the Dutch flag ship team, the Lions, are set to start their season as well. And why not against Germany? A good opponent to kick the season off with….

It’s the fourth meeting in eleven months. The games were all considered “tactical matches” by Ronald Koeman and in the third edition (2-3 loss), it was Joachim Low who outsmarted his Dutch counterpart.

Koeman is not all too relaxed when faced with Germany again. “They are problably one of the strongest teams around. Forget their abysmal World Cup campaign and forget the victories we had over them in the Nations League. This Germany oozes quality.” Their strength is, their flexibility and ability to change their style mid-game. They have speed and guile upfront, a couple of killer strikers and a lot of movement.

In the last meeting, Koeman went for a 4-2-3-1 system, with Babel and Promes on as striker partners for Memphis.

Holland doesn’t get a grip on the game, though, as Gozetzka is successful in shielding Frenkie de Jong. The movement is too much for Holland’s midfield and Koeman goes back to the 5-4-1 he used in the first victory over Germany.

Quincy Promes played on the wing back spot (as did Babel) and the former generates to opportunities for Babel at the start of the second half. The Germans seem rattled but soon find out that now the space is to found in the axis of the field.

Koeman brings Bergwijn for Promes and changes again: this time to a 5-3-2 and the two striking partners (Memphis and Bergwijn) keep pressure on the German defence and allow the midfield to take more control. Wijnaldum takes on the job to cover Kroos from De Roon and the Liverpool midfielder manages to contain the Real Madrid playmaker. The result is that Germany starts to play the long ball to bypass midfield and as a result, Virgil and Matthijs can play to their strength, winning the aerial battles.

Oranje fights back from 0-2 to 2-2 and it seems another draw is on the cards. A series of communication errors after a number of subs results in players being unmarked allowing the Germans one more attempt at goal: 2-3.

The infamous note of assistant Dwight Lodeweges for coach Koeman

Koeman is fuming after the match: why didn’t he make a final change to make sure the 2-2 wasn’t further endangered. He concluded that the number of players in defensive roles wasn’t the issue, but more the series of wrong decisions made….

A key conclusion after that game is: Holland isn’t as good as we hope / think we are. We still have steps to take. The coach is still important in the changes he makes. When the team gets stuck, it needs the changes from the bench to repair the problem. The next step is that this team (De Jong, Propper, Van Dijk, Memphis) will see what needs to be done for themselves.

For the match coming Friday, Leroy Sane – one of the trouble makers in the last match – is missing with injury. But on the other hand,  Germany has multiple options to deal with this omission as Low is able to use Reus, Brandt, Havertz and Werner he could use to good effect coming from the flanks. We’ll know it 30 mins before the match…

Eight internationals made a move this summer. Lets zoom in and see how they faired.

Ryan Babel – Galatasaray

Babel went from Fulham in the EPL back to Turkey, to play for Galatasaray. After 6 years without a call up, he made his way back into the orange jersey under Koeman. On the left, Babel covers the whole flank, doing his defensive duties and supporting Memphis in attack. Babel played central striker in the first competitive matches and has his first goal already too.

Jesper Cillesen – Valencia

Cillesen was a highly regarded goalie for Barca for 3 seasons but wanted to play every week. And with Valencia, it seems he has that opportunity. His new employer hasn’t started too good but Cillesen was able to stop a spotkick by Denis Suarez and secured the #1 spot (for now).

Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld – Bournemouth

The youngster went from the PSV Academy to NEC in the second tier, because he wanted playing time. After one season, Club Brugge picked him up and now Danjuma made his debut for Oranje and signed a super deal with Bournemouth. Danjuma hasn’t played a minute for Bournemouth as a result of a foot injury. Eddie Howe is frustrated: “We did every single test on him and didn’t find a thing. And now this. We don’t even know how serious it is!”

Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona

The most talked about transfer of the summer. Frenkie had a super pre-season with the club, making an impression. In his first Liga game, Barca loses, partly due to the man marking Bilbao had for Frenkie. He can’t get rid of the marker and needs the help of Rakitic to get some joy on the ball. In the second game Frenkie is the left midfielder in the Betis game where his contributions on midfield resulted in three Barca goals. In his last game for Barca, he plays on the left again but can’t avoid a draw. He had the least contacts of the whole team in that match, a strong indicator that he is not yet firing on all cylinders.

Luuk de Jong – Sevilla

PSV attacking leader and goal scorer Luuk de Jong tried in a bigger competition for the third time. Failed at Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany and Newcastle in England, the Spanish are quite taken with the header specialist. De Jong hasn’t scored yet but was crucial in two instances, and two goals. The Sevilla fans have seen the value Luuk can bring.

Matthijs de Ligt – Juventus

What appeared to be a longwinded transfer soap opera ended with a move to Juventus. Not as predictable as Frenkie’s move, but the young Ajax skipper proclaimed to have been a Juve fan from childhood and a big follower of Italian defenders. Surely, Cristiano whispering in his ear will have helped too. His pre-season wasn’t too great, with some clear adaption issues (and an own goal). He didn’t play in Juve’s first match but got the nod when Chiellini got seriously injured for the top match vs Napoli. His direct opponent scored and according to the ruthless media, De Ligt defended as a girl and was guilty of three goals. Juve did win that match, to soften the blow. Ronald Koeman laughed the criticism away: “I had a horrific start at Barca as well and if you ask the people there today about me, I don’t think anyway will mention my start. Matthijs was at fault of one goal, not three. I am not worried.”

Quincy Promes – Ajax

The young former Ajax talent made his way to the top via FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles, making his name at Spartak Moscow. His move to Seville wasn’t a success as he was mainly used as stand in for the wing backs. In Amsterdam, they expected the exit of Ziyech, Neres and Van de Beek and they signed the former Russian top scorer early. Now, with the Ajax three signing on for more, Promes started on the bench and even getting a nasty foot injury. He started for Ajax last weekend and managed his first Eredivisie goal vs Sparta.

Tonny Vilhena – Krasnodar

The Feyenoord version of Edgar Davids was named in transfer rumours for years. Bundesliga, Serie A, EPL (Leicester City), they all came and went. For personal reasons (his mom was very ill), Tonny didn’t move away from Rotterdam until this summer and brows were raised when it was Krasnodar. Vilhena scored and assisted one in the shock win over FC Porto in the CL-qualification game. Vilhena plays either left or right midfield for his new club and Koeman knows the youngster can also play left back or left wing back. That versatility is a big plus for Koeman who loves players like him, Ake and Daley Blind who can offer the coach options.

Ronald Koeman claims he has the ideal eleven in his head for the match tomorrow. The full squad is fit as it is and it is expected he won’t change anything in his defence and midfield. The injured Bergwijn needs to be replaced and the experienced Promes is the most logical option.

Oranje is way behind the leaders in the group but this is because of Holland’s Nation League campaign. Winning or drawing vs Germany is not essential but losing does mean Oranje can’t afford a single misstep.

I believe we’ll win this match 1-3, hitting the Germans on the counter, with a key role for playmaker Frenkie and goals for Memphis, Promes and sub Donyell Malen.

 

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by Jan

Feyenoord Phoenix??

The Phoenix rises from the ashes. The question is: will Feyenoord? While Ajax and PSV both are facing issues, Feyenoord must be in crisis. Ajax is struggling with the exit of De Ligt and De Jong and the fact that most of the other lads who were believed to leave, aren’t leaving… It’s luxury issues, for Ten Hag. He’ll fix it.

And it might not be in time or enough, for another huge CL campaign, but Ajax will win the Dutch title with one hand tied behind their back, one foot in a cast, two fingers in the nose and a blind fold.

PSV has issues too. It needs to reshuffle and re-invent themselves with the exit of Luuk de Jong, Angelino and now also Lozano.

But Van Bommel will. Business as usual for any coach. And yes, Mark is young, but he will most certainly become a great coach. And with Gakpo, Malen, Guti, Ihattaren and others (and Schwaab returning) PSV will be able to secure the second spot (and another shot at CL football next season).

But Feyenoord. Once the pride of The Netherlands…. The first Dutch club to win the European Cup in 197o. The first club to win the World Cup for clubs. The last club to actually win a European Cup as well… Once, the Richest Club of the World (c).

Feyenoord’s biggest prospect: Kokcu (sadly decided to play international for Turkey)

Today, the club is not well. To say the least.

There are no amazing talents coming through (Kokcu is the only real talent)

The two centre backs are getting on and not getting any quicker

The main striker (Jorgensen) is injured

The newcomers are either pint sized players from the Championship (Kelly), or rejects from the Championship (Narsingh, Fer – both not match fit) or failed former stars on loan (Karsdorp).

Narsingh (right) and Leroy Fer (left)

Striker target Ricky van Wolfswinkel is injured. They discovered a brain aneurism, by chance, when they treated him for concussion. Ricky is 6 months out, at least.

But more important than all these typical football things, there are bigger problems to deal with:

There is hardly any cash (compare that to Ajax!).

The technical manager Martin van Geel left and is replaced by inexperienced part time ex-player Sjaak Troost, who engaged the services of player manager (!) Rob Janssen… The fox in the hen house?

The general manager Jan de Jong asked to be relieved form duties as he doesn’t agree with the long term vision of the board.

So, Feyenoord is facing some serious issues (financial, new stadium, new players, youth development and entrance into the football pyramid) but there is no management team (other than a commercial manager).

Jaap Stam, the coach, was surprised to hear that right back Jerry St Juste was going to be sold to Mainz,  one day before the important EL qualification game vs Dynamo Tiblisi. And yes, this meant money would come in (8 mio euros) for replacements but there was no replacement ready for that important match. Karsdorp would come in later.

Fortunately for Feyenoord, Tiblisi didn’t seem too good and Feyenoord won 4-0, but with Karsdorp the Rotterdam Pride dropped 2 more points in the competition vs Heerenveen 3 days later.

Left, AZ general manager Robert Eenhoorn (right, Max Huiberts, AZ technical manager)

Stam is scratching his head. He needs to deal with the inexperienced Troost and his agent friend Rob Janssen, while Stam prefers to work with his own manager and friend Henk van Ginkel (and former Feyenoord goalie Henk Timmer) who are both rivals of Rob Janssen. Nice one!

In their search for a new technical manager, all the usual suspects declined. Joris Matthijsen will stay with Willem II, Ferry de Haan with Excelsior, Henk van Stee with Sparta and Max Huibers at AZ. And with reason.

In search of the new general manager, AZ general manager Robert Eenhoorn is the dream candidate. Eenhoorn is from Rotterdam, and a life long Feyenoord supporter (!). He’s got experience in US pro sports (he played short stop for the New York Yankees) and has experience in leading a pro football club with success at AZ Alkmaar.

But Eenhoorn will be cautious. As Feyenoord is facing some strategic issues.

Steven Berghuis, the new talisman

One huge issue is Feyenoord’s new home. The current Kuip is still the most amazing place to watch football, but the stadium is really old and not equipped for the modern game (with sponsor boxes, restaurants, meeting spaces, toilets (!), etc). And it might not be the safest anymore… The new stadium plans are still in contention. Some people think the traditional Kuip needs to be renovated, others believe Feyenoord needs to build from scratch someplace else. The finances for this adventure are still not secured.

Another huge issue is the influx of new money (and not just for the stadium). Feyenoord is rapidly losing ground on Ajax and PSV and some people in the club want to bring in an investor. Some US based investors were/are interested but Feyenoord will have to let go of their autonomy. Rumour has it they demand a seat on the board and want to be in on the decision which coach will be appointed. Conditions most of the Feyenoord die-hards aren’t too happy with. So for now, the investors will be kept out, but for how long?

Centre, with Stam, Wouter Burger, another young talented midfielder

Another problem Feyenoord has is their position in the so-called football pyramid. The Feyenoord 2 team does not play competitive football, like Ajax 2, PSV 2, AZ 2 and most other pro clubs. Not only are Feyenoord’s talents tested less as a result, some talents have decided to leave the club for a different club where they can play on a weekly basis and some talents simply won’t consider signing for Feyenoord due to this situation. This was a massive mistake by Feyenoord’s previous management (not entering the Feyenoord 2 team) and now it’s hard for Feyenoord to enter into the pyramid.

Add to all this, the fact that Jaap Stam was selected as the head coach due to his attacking vision of football, a vision he hardly can translate to the pitch as the foundation of last year’s team is gone. Three key players are gone (Vilhena, St Juste, Van Persie) and three key players are injured (Jorgensen, Toornstra, Van Beek). This means Stam needs to work with a team that is half new, with players who have yet to learn to play together and some of these players like rhythm / match fitness (Narsingh, Fer, Karsdorp). Not a great situation for Stam to try to play his dominant style of play, with a high press and precise passing.

Sven van Beek’s comedy capers moment vs Southampton in the pre-season

But, on the bright side, PSV and Ajax dropped points as well. It seems that this season, the third spot should be Feyenoord’s, at least. And depending on how PSV fares, it might even reach the 2nd spot. Tibisli was not a tough opponent either and Feyenoord should be able to reach the Europa League group stages and give the season some more flair.

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by Jan

PSV needs to renovate

The season has started in Holland. Belgium was even earlier and the qualification games for the European competitions is upon us too, while Spanish and English clubs still have weeks of prep ahead of them. Weird.

The issues have been widely discussed already. Ajax is playing their CL qualification game tomorrow, while David Neres only returned to the club some days ago. And with the transfer window still open, Ajax might well end up having to deal with the exit of players like Ziyech, Neres and Van de Beek while Lasse Schone already took the bus to Genoa earlier last week. Strange times.

In England they will close the transfer window in the coming week! Well done Poms. Why can’t we do this in Holland too? It’s frantic for the clubs and highly annoying for the supporters. And it’s competition fraude too, in a way!

It really annoys me, every year again.

And thus, Ajax and PSV dropped points already in their first match of the competition while PSV couldn’t get past Basel and will have to forget playing Champions League football this season.

In a way, I don’t think it should be considered to be too negative for PSV though. They do seem a tad light this season and might do much better in the Europa League.

After all the news from Amsterdam in the past months, it’s time to focus a bit on that other big club in Holland. Mark van Bommel’s PSV.

Guti is in charge

PSV over the past seasons (5 under Cocu) used different midfield players and different midfield systems to find the ideal structure. In Cocu’s title winning last season he used 7 players for the 3 spots: Siem de Jong, Pereiro, Van Ginkel, Hendrix, Ramselaar, Propper and Guardado.

Van Bommel directly went for a 4-2-3-1 system with two defensive / holding mids. Pablo Rosario and Jorrit Hendrix were Van Bommel’s go to guys, but they copped a lot of criticism for not offering up enough creativity. Rosario seems to be above criticism with the former Bayern midfielder as he is made one of the captains (with Afellay Van Bommel’s first choice, but the former Barca man is still not 100% fit). Hendrix might be on his way out (with Bologna from the Serie A close to a deal) and it seems Erick Gutierrez (Guti) will claim his spot, finally. The Mexican midfielder needed a full season in Holland to adapt to Van Bommel’s style of play but he’s with the pace now it seems and was one of the more positive players in the past weeks.

Gutierrez and Rosario have developed a good understanding while his passing capabilities work well with the dynamic trio / quartet up front. The question is: will his old friend Lozano be part of that? Luuk de Jong made a move to Spain and Lozano would love to follow him to either Spain or Italy. Rumours abound that the Mexican forward will move to Napoli soon.

Skipper Pablo Rosario against his old club

The PSV fans won’t be too disappointed as the Mexican winger has agitated most of them with his petty behaviour at times, his egotistical performances and his spoilt brat behaviour and ridiculous red cards.

And with Portuguese rocket Bruma in the team, Lozano might not be needed anymore. The left winger demonstrated his skills in the pre-season and does seem to be more lethal in front of goal than – for instance – Malen who does miss more chances than needed.

The analyses and passing maps show clearly that with Guti in midfield, PSV does get to play more football. The forward pass is coming quicker and more precise and with Malen on the #9 position, PSV aims to have 3 quick artists up front with Sam Lammers in the false striker role behind Malen, that used to be Luuk de Jong’s.

Lammers is sadly injured for a while (operated on his knee already) but Malen will stay in the 9 spot with Pereiro coming in as the #10 shadow striker.

Michal Sadilek normally is also a contender for a midfield spot. The young Czech international is seen as a carbon copy of Mark van Bommel and not coincidentally, Van Bommel is a fan of the terrier. With Angelino back to Man City and no real replacement for him at left back, Sadilek is currently a place holder on that position but probably not for long. Van Bommel will be making some tough decisions soon but it seems Guti / Rosario will form the engine room with young Ihattaren a potential dark horse even.

Michal Sadilek – Mark van Bommel Mark 2

Van Bommel will be headstrong in his vision. This much we know. “Football is a game of space. We need to have dominance in the key spaces. I don’t care who takes the space. As long as it’s one of my players.”

Van Bommel wants to see less predictability and he wants to see a mentality of unperturbedness (if that is English). He wants his team to stick to the fundaments and work from that perspective, while at the same time being able to add some variance to the team. “Gakpo can play left wing, but also #10. Bergwijn can play #10 and winger, but also out and out striker, like Malen.”

With the transfer market still open, Mark van Bommel will not sleep too well. The former AC Milan midfielder knows that scouts are still keen to check out Bergwijn and Dumfries, while Jeroen Zoet has announced he will be ready to leave PSV at some stage. The latter doesn’t seem to be in top form by the way, so an exit might not even be that bad (with Unerstahl now as second goalie).

PSV wanted to lure Steven Berghuis from Feyenoord to Eindhoven (as they did successfully in the past with Ruud Gullit and Gini Wijnaldum) but the Feyenoord star has signed a new deal in Rotterdam this weekend and was never seriously considering a move to Eindhoven.

Donyell Malen

Toni Lato is the new left back who will replace Sadilek at some stage, while Derrick Luckassen gets the chance to prove his worth as centre back. Obviously, Van Bommel does have a spot in mind for Ibi Afellay too, once he’s fit. We might see Guti move a spot up to the #10 role potentially, with Rosario and Afellay taking the engine room. Lots of options for PSV but they might still want to make a move or two on the transfer market. A central defender would not be an overly luxurious thought, while an extra striker is definitely needed, even if just as a pinch hitter.

 

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by Jan

Matthijs De Ligt: The Wonder

Matthijs De Ligt. Dutch Delight. The Wonder. There will be more nicknames for him, for sure. The most discussed player of the Netherlands after Frenkie signed for Barcelona. Everyone wanted to know where Matthijs would move to. Every club wanted him. Would he follow Frenkie to Barca, or did Matthijs have his own dream club?

Well, clearly he did. The youngest Ajax skipper to win a trophy, to play Champions League knew exactly where he wanted to go to. And he told his agent: “Get me a deal there. But keep it all secret until after the Nations League finals. I want to focus on football and will announce my future after.”

Ajax did well in replacing both players by the way and they added more silverware by beating PSV 2-0 in the Johan Cruyff Schaal this weekend. The start of the season. With PSV somewhat pressed and stressed as they play a key match on Tuesday again vs Basel for the Champions League.

Both teams still couldn’t field the strongest teams, with Ziyech, Tagliafico, Mazraoui and Neres still not fully match fit. PSV was cautious with Lozano and Bruma. The result? A weird game, with a very early Ajax goal (Dolberg) taking advantage of a PSV defensive error, PSV playing decent but lacking oomph and missing that brilliance in the final third. Some discussion points too with Jorrit Hendrix getting away with murder and a superb goal by Man of the Match Daley Blind which was contested due to an alleged foul in the build up. But the ref didn’t budge and allowed the goal, making it Daley’s game. The son of Danny played in the Frenkie role and did ever so well.

De Ligt is gone, long live Perr Schuurs

Another name to remember is Perr Schuurs, the tall central defender demonstrated pure class on the ball and might well be the next Ajax defender moving on to bigger things. Schuurs came from Fortuna Sittard a summer ago and worked under the radar on his speed of execution and his build up pass. He demonstrated to be courageous in the challenges and his build up play was excellent!

Finding strong, powerful central defenders is not easy. It’s probably the toughest position on the pitch (arguably). You need to be tall, fast, be able to read the game, lead the defence and act from a tactical perspective, you need to be tough, you need to be able to head a ball, you need balls to put your body on the line but also the skills to set up that attack… the through ball, the dribble, the long pass… All these aspects. And Matthijs de Ligt has it all in spades.

And when you can find him as a product of the famous Ajax school and he’s only 19 years old, well…. Break that piggy bank and sign him!

Man City, Man United, Liverpool and all other EPL clubs decided to let it go, once they found out PSG, Juve and Barca were highly keen to go to the max.

Barca wasn’t able to compete and walked away. It was between PSG and Juve, so it seems, but after signing for the Grand Ol’ Dame De Ligt declared it was always Juventus for him. “I have been a Juve fan for years. The jersey, their history, the players who played there. And as a defender, I am really in awe of Italian defenders and the way Juventus can dominate matches on the basis of that. As a kid, I had a Man U jersey with 7, for C Ronaldo, so the fact that he’s there made it even better. ”

Playing and practicing with C Ronaldo is the cherry on the cake for De Ligt, but the central defender says that Ronaldo’s courting of him after the Juve – Ajax game didn’t really impact his decision. “Hahaha, I actually didn’t know what he said, to be honest. It all went so quick. Only later did I realise he was telling me to join Juve, haha. But I had made my mind up already. I was keen to go to Turin.”

His start with the Italian champs might not have been too great. Spurs took the win (again from De Ligt’s perspective) and De Ligt even made an own goal in the pre-season but just like with his Oranje debut (making two howlers), he will definitely get up again and soldier on.

As all media will tell you everything you need to know about De Ligt today, we’ll go into the photo books and discuss his roots.

Matthijs was born in Leidschendam (closer to Rotterdam than Amsterdam – sic) but the family moved to Abcoude (just south of Amsterdam) when he was 1 year old, due to his dad’s work. He’s the oldest of three kids. His younger brother Wouter would become his best mate.

The De Ligt family was not your typical football family. Mum and dad played hockey and tennis and when 5 years old, Matthijs took up tennis and ended up being a tremendous talent and would become one of the club’s best youth players. “He had a natural eye for the ball and good reflexes. It was when a school mate had a football match and Matthijs decided to go and watch that he got the football bug,” his dad Frank says.

Matthijs played 3 years for FC Abcoude and was a different type of kid than others. “He wasn’t one of those players that hogged the bal or tried to dribble all the way to the other goal. He played defence and he passed the ball. He was strong already and had a good shot for a young kid. When FC Abcoude had a game vs Ajax (E-youth), the Ajax youth coach immediately saw his talent and made a play for him. It was bound to happen,” says the Abcoude youth coach now.

Initially, Ajax hesitated. Matthijs had some baby fat still and was heavier than the other kids. But when he dribbled across the pitch and fired a rocket in the top corner – against Ajax again – the Ajax youth coordinator predicted: “This kid is going to go far!” and Ajax invited him in.

Dad Frank: “He had 4 or 5 practice sessions with Ajax and we got the call that they wanted him.”

Matthijs was not your typical Amsterdam street kid. He was shy, quiet. He distanced himself a bit from the bravado types and just did his thing. When the youth coach wanted to make him the captain of his team, Matthijs declined. He just wanted to do this thing.

Dad Frank: “He was only focusing on the football itself. He was always with a ball and he was always training. He was working out at home with weights, he would come up with skills practices in the back yard with his little brother. Always perfecting his game.”

Matthijs before his growth spurt (next to goalie)

His dedication and focus were rare. “He never really went out with friends and was always happy to be alone. He likes structure and patterns to be fall back on. And he always got agitated if we started to ask too many questions. Asking him if all was well, and all this. He loves to be left alone to deal with things. When he turned 18 and could get his drivers license (and as a result a lease car from Ajax) he said he didn’t want to. He wasn’t interested in cars. “I want to focus on football, this driving lessons thing is distracting. It will come later!”. Matthijs knew exactly what he wanted.

At Ajax, in the youth system, most kids would be on their iPhone or play PlayStation games. Not Matthijs. One could call him old-fashioned. An old soul maybe. Matthijs played cards. Like all the stars from the past (Suurbier, Krol, Cruyff, Neeskens), Matthijs loves klaverjassen. And he was always different like that. If a kid was bullied at school, he wouldn’t join in with the group, but protect and support the weaker kid. Old fashioned values.

He was already mature when he was 15 years old and his character was definitely further polished by his Ajax adventures.

Matthijs is loath of the attention football players get. He wants to be normal. He wants to be able to go to a restaurant with his family and just have a nice dinner. So when several agents and managers started knocking on the door of the De Ligt family, dad Frank made a move. “I think we all realised that all the wonderful opportunities would come in due time. We wanted Matthijs to be coached or mentored by a man with an Ajax heart, someone who was about the art of defending. Barry Hulshoff was our man!”.

Barry Hulshoff, former Ajax central defender in the Cruyff era. Dutch international too (but injured during the World Cup 1974). But mostly, a decent human being. Dad Frank called Hulshoff and since 2014, Barry meets with Matthijs once a month. Not to talk money, contracts, percentages or cars, but talking about match situations, about defending, about preparation for a game.

Hulshoff: “There was a lot to work on. Little things, ok, but enough to work on to make his much better. Examples…? We worked on his speed on the first meters. His explosiveness. I found him an athletics coach who worked on this. Also, his long pass with his left. It’s key to be able to play the cross pass with left and right. What a weapon. And the key thing for me: being able to execute a sliding tackle with his left and right. He conceded a penalty vs Volendam 2 with Ajax 2, when he had to tackle with his left, but he tried to do it with his right. Penalty! Also, you need to be able to see when you need to go to ground for a sliding and when you don’t. And Matthijs has this down pat for 90% I think. He’s very intuitive.”

Left: with little bro and right with his family a couple of years ago

Hulshoff was key in measuring De Ligt’s progress. Measuring body fat, muscle strength and preparing him for life at the top, as a defender.

Barry: “I also let him decide and organise a lot of things for himself. When he’s injured, I want him to research it himself, to take responsibility. He is very good with criticism too, he simply wants to get better and better. Losing is something he hates and when he was in Ajax 2 he started to become more vocal. Coaching team mates or scolding them if they screwed up. The skipper was showing up for work.”

The new Juve central defender is also a historian. Hulshoff: “Matthijs is a real Ajax fan. I gave him a book about the first success period of the club, from 1966 till 1973. He studied it in details and was able to tell me more about the matches than I knew. Line ups, who gave the assists, in what minute did who score… And I played in those games!!”

Matthijs remembers his period in the Ajax youth really well. “My first season in the E youth was great. The level was much better than what I was used to and I played with lads that made it big, like Justin Kluivert, Donyell Malen and Bobby Adekanye. I played midfield in those days. We played some international tournaments even, in Spain and in the Czech Republic. Was cool.”

With a laugh: “They called me Dikkie, in those days. Fatty. Look at my face, I had some surplus fat, hahaha. I had this tremendous growth spurt at some stage and I was supposed to be the best player and the leader. I was also going to high school then and the pressure was on. I didn’t feel to comfortable about it all, it was quite tough, but I came through alright.”

“The C1 team was really really good. I think we had the best Dutch youth player on every position. We played the cup final against PSV and Bakboord was usually our central defender, but he was injured, so the coach put me there. We won 4-1 and I never played midfield since.”

In 2015/2016 I got the “Talent of the Future” award at Ajax. That started off a lot of things. My name became known. Media started to see me and I was also the best player of the Future Cup. This is when I started to realise that I was on a good trajectory…

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