1988 anti-hero, Berry van Aerle

Berry with skipper Gullit (with cup) and Ronald Koeman

The Class of 1988 had some sensational players. Known all over the world. Some. They became cosmopolitan superstars. Ruud Gullit’s face and hairdo are known over the globe. San Marco lived in Milan, lived in Monaco, has coached the Dutch team… And icon. Frank Rijkaard is still living the high life.

There is that category of world class players who moved to the highest echelons in their field, without becoming moviestars. We’re talking the likes of Ronald Koeman ( Barcelona) and Jan Wouters (Bayern Munich) for instance, Hans van Breukelen and Aron Winter (Lazio).

Adrie van Tiggelen, John van ‘t Schip, Gerald Vanenburg, Erwin Koeman, John Bosman, Wim Kieft, they all become valuable players at mid-level European teams. Kieft had a great career at PSV after his Italian adventure while Van Tiggelen became invaluable for Anderlecht.

One player never really set the world on fire. Although he played every minute of that Euro. And won numerous titles with PSV. And won the European Cup I.

And while almost all others became coach at some stage (most still are), this lad remained in football but for a long time as unpaid supporter coordinator. Not the coolest job, compared to Marco’s national team manager role or Van Breukelen’s management position at Utrecht.

We are talking about anti-hero Van Aerle. The simple rural kid from Brabant. “I’m simply Berry”.

Oh how he was the butt of many a joke. They made him pay contribution at PSV. When he was winning the European Cup! Some more worldly chaps ( Kieft? Lerby? Gerets? Breuk?) told him that they found out he had never paid his club membership fee. The poor Van Aerle was in shock and raced to the admin with his wallet in hand to pay his membership fee hahahahaha….

We know everything about San Marco, Ruud Gullit, de Breuk, Vaantje, but what do we know about Van Aerle?

Was he in the team because he was so funny? So handsome? So great a card player? No! He was in the team because he was an awesome defender. A block of granite. A rock. And fast. Strong. Tenacious. Relentless. And his biggest strength was that he knew exactly what his weakness was.

The NRC Handelsblad published this article, which I will harvest and use for your pleasure.

berry-met-beker

Berry with the cup

Van Aerle is all no nonsense. No frills. He wakes up on the morning of June 25, 1988. In the room he shares with Wim Kieft. A small room, this time. In the rooms he visited earlier in the year ( in Istanbul, Vienna, Bordeaux, Madrid and Stuttgart) it was possible to play keepie-up. Well, not for Berry so much. As he was never able to play keepie up. But Marco and Gerald could play keepie-up. Not in this room. There is the knock on the door. Michels likes discipline. 9 am breakfast time.

Berry is a simple lad. No superstition. No women underwear. No rituals. The jersey number means nothing to him and the spot in the dressing room? He can’t be bothered.

The only time he could be bothered was when PSV came to scout him in Helmond. He somehow fumbled his words and coach Jan Reker thought he was a left winger instead of right back. Reker shrugged his shoulders and put turbo Berry on the left flank. The speedy Van Aerle was sick of nerves but scored twice.

 

Van Aerle’s dad works at Philips (naturally) and sells flowers on Saturdays to be able to buy Berry his boots. When he makes his debut at PSV he starts out well, but when PSV snatches up Eric Gerets, the young back is benched and later loaned out to FC Antwerp. Van Aerle has a top season there and PSV demands him back. Van Aerle actually refuses to go. He loves it in Belgium. Mocking, the little back returns to start a successful period in Eindhoven. He plays in midfield in the 87/88 season, in front of Gerets, and wins the treble. The third club ever to do so. National Cup, title and Europa Cup 1.

In his debut for Oranje in 1987, he breaks out twice on the right flank to cross twice on Gullit who scores twice against Poland. Nice.

Van Aerle remembers the preparation for the Euro1988 as “troubled”. The PSV players all arrived late at the training camp, due to the European finals. Van Basten had injuries in his face ( cheek bone, brow, ankel) as a result of a “friendly” between Milan and Real Madrid. Frank Rijkaard was still at Zaragoza in Spain and Gullit was exhausted after his Milan season. Jan Wouters was injured.

But we all know what happened next. Berry did feel responsible for the USSR goal in the first game, but San Marco and Lady Luck helped Oranje reach the finals, to play the USSR again.

Michels had the players sitting in a U shape. He sat in front of them. They talked briefly about the tactical topics for this match. A tighter team, 2 players up front. 8 players playing closer together. Assistant coach Nol de Ruiter talked through the set pieces. And gave relevant info on the opponent.

Michels would then walk past all players to look ‘m in the eye and convey some words. When he stood in front of Berry, he called him “Barry” (Berry was used to that) and merely looked him in the eye. Berry didn’t need more.

Before the tournament, the players had given Michels an expensive watch, as the coach would retire after this stint. Michels told the players: “Guys, if you lose this finals, I will hand you back the watch.”

Berry now

Berry now

The players go back to their room after having had their lunch. Berry lies on his bed, to listen to his favorite band, the Golden Earring, playing his favorite song: Radar Love. Live. The 17 minute version…

In the Munich Stadium, Berry inspects the field. The two right flanks. He is impressed with the Oranje fans on the stands. In the dressing room, he slips on the jersey. It is a very smooth material, this time. Most people don’t like this particular Oranje jersey.

Van ‘t Schip said: “We look like gold fish. But as long as we are winning, we will wear it.”

Van Aerle likes the shirt. It’s the Dutch colours, it’s the Dutch shirt. Ergo: it’s beautiful.

Van Aerle listens to the national anthem. He doesn’t sing. Gullit is standing next to him and Gullit does sing it. Loud. Van Aerle adores his skipper. The Amsterdam born and bred who played in Rotterdam and Eindhoven. Never for Ajax. Gullit keeps the group together, Gullit deals with the media and the football association. And more than anything, Gullit “manages” the dynamics between the city boys (Bassie, Schippie, Rijkaard, Wouters, Vaantje, Breuk) and the rural kids ( Suvrijn, Van Aerle, Van Tiggelen)…

The game starts and the normally so cool and collected Berry started badly. Let a ball slip under his foot, and like his mates, he loses possession to easily. USSR is stronger, again, and plays attacking football, putting Holland on the backfoot.

Then, the 31st minute. Erwin Koeman corner kick. The ball is cleared, back at Koeman. The Russians open up the off side trap, but it fails. The ball is swung in from Koeman’s left, Van Basten flicks on and Gullit heads, no SMACKS the ball behind Dassaev (nickname The Iron Curtain). The game changes. Oranje get more confident. And the game becomes more aggressive.

In the second half, Van Aerle gets a yellow. He still doesn’t know why. He is the most rightsided guy in the Dutch wall and most likely the ref feels the players are stalling. Van Aerle wants to have a go at the ref but remembers De Ruiter’s words: this ref doesn’t like being talked to. So Berry swallows his frustration.

54th minute. The Russians come forward yet again, but Van Tiggelen moves in front of the defence and intercepts. A simple pass on Muhren. Whose pass is overhit. Michels is captured by another camera, mumbling “what the hell…” to De Ruiter. But the infamous ankle, the Van Basten ankle, taped in… Taped fixed to the boot almost. The ankle that will stop Van Basten’s career before his 30st birthday, that ankle lifts the foot…. And he hits the ball. While Dassaev makes a step forward, expecting a cross… And the roar from the stands is deafening.

aerle action

One of the few action pics of Berry. Most photographers focused on the more charismatic Gullit and Van Basten

Van Aerle sees Vanenburg with a hand in front of his open mouth. Van Basten runs victorious towards Van Aerle’s right flank. Berry wants to grab Bassie’s jersey but misses him. Rijkaard catches Marco, followed by Wouters. Van Aerle and Vaantje arrive together. Wouters says something, but Van Aerle can’t hear him. When Bassie replies: “I don’t know, I don’t know…” he can deduce what the midfielder wanted to know…

When the USSR is able to come back into it, it’s Van Breukelen who adds heroics to the already heroic day. After 90 minutes, finally, Oranje has its trophy. Michels, loser in the same venue in 1974, can retire.

Van Aerle was never “the first” or “the one”. Van Aerle is Buzz Aldrin. He was the second player to congratulate San Marco against West Germany.

 

He was the second to come onto the field in the finals, Michels was not lifted on his shoulders at the end of the campaign and the cup was not between his legs on that famous “This is a good bunch” photo but between Wouters’ legs, right next to him.

He was also the second to go up to the stands, behind Gullit, to collect his medal and the cup. When Gullit raised the cup, the stadium exploded. And when Gullit turned around, the cup moved smoothly into Berry’s hands. Right at the moment most photographers were ready after applauding the Dutch captain. And so, it was Berry’s finest moment. Raising the cup next to skipper and friend Gullit.

Berry van Aerle was European Champion.

Postscript:

After the EC, Berry played 24 more international games for Holland. He also won 3 more league titles with PSV. In 1994, he left PSV and played one more season for Helmond Sport in the Jupiler League, allowing him to ride his bike to games. A bad knee ended his career at 33 years of age. After playing football he became a mailman in his hometown. He seemed to be the only Generation 88 player not to do anything in football, until PSV asked him to come and do supporter coordination in 2001. Since 2008, Van Aerle operates as scout for PSV.

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  1. Heard a cool story re: Ajax icon Sjaak Swart. He turns 75 years old and Ajax organises another celebration game for him (his third: he had his farewell game in 1973, then his 50 year celebration and now he gets this one. He believes he’ll get another one in 25 years :-).

    He said: who can say that people like Cruyff, Kluivert, Van der Sar, Overmars, Van der Vaart, Krol, Hiddink, Rep, Haan, Blind and Rijkaard come to their birthday party, eh?

    Van der Vaart needed special approval as he is in trainings camp with HSV. “He said, Swart is like Uwe Seeler in Holland. A legend. You got to let me go.” And his coach approved it.

    Swart plays with a strong team against the other luminaries. And Swart expects to play the full 90 minutes. ” I am still fit. I play 40 games a year. I intend to finish the game.”

    Swart’s team: Van der Sar; Kreek, Stam, Rijkaard, De Boer, Jonk, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Overmars, Bergkamp and Van ‘t Schip.

    “Not bad eh?” he laughed….

  2. PSV are all set to sell Pieters to Stoke City and buy Hereuhlo Gomez from Tottenham Hotspur (Zoet wont be first choice) and Stijn Schaars from Sporting Lisbon

  3. I like new PSV with cocu next season

    Map of possible NT line-up with PSV Based

    GKS
    RB(Janmaat) – PSV (Bruma) – PSV (Pieters) – PSV (Willems)
    PSV (Wijnaldum) – PSV (Maher) – PSV (Strootman)
    PSV (Narsingh) – former PSV (Lens)/ locadia – PSV (Depay)

  4. Sporting Lisbon midfielder Stijn Schaars may soon find himself returning to his home country of Holland as Eredivisie stalwarts PSV Eindhoven are pondering a swoop for the player.

    The 29-year-old Dutch international has found himself out of the first team at the Estadio Jose Alvalade because of persistent injuries through the 2012/13 campaign, resulting in him getting only seven league starts for the Portuguese club.

    But it is believed that PSV Eindhoven have a plan in rescuing Schaars’ declining career by giving him a chance to reboot his game at the Phillips Stadion, with Portuguese daily A Bola saying a deal between the two clubs is near completion.

    PSV Eindhoven’s offer, should Sporting Lisbon agree to it and Schaars subsequently accept it, will see the midfielder play for the Dutch heavyweights for three years.
    RELATED NEWS STORIES:
    PSV Eindhoven Spy Capture of Tottenham Hotspur Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes
    Ajax Actively Plan for Departure of Liverpool Linked Defender Toby Alderweireld
    Fenerbahce Europe Ban Rules Out Oscar Cardozo Switch with England New Potential Destination for Benfica Striker
    AZ Alkmaar Reaffirm Adam Maher Asking Price Must Be Met
    Marco van Ginkel’s Agent Plays Down Talk Move to Chelsea Done and Dusted
    Schaars would be no greenhorn when he returns to Holland. Indeed, he made his name there, playing under the colours of mainstay Dutch top flight clubs Vitesse and AZ Alkmaar, making a total 216 appearances in his time at the Eredivisie, scoring 16 goals along the way.

    Schaars’ current deal with Sporting Lisbon is set to expire in 2014.

    Read more at http://www.insidefutbol.com/2013/06/26/psv-eindhoven-closing-on-sporting-lisbon-midfielder-stijn-schaars/90341/#ftKRgbHOHzPmRwiG.99

  5. This is another very cool article, as is the first post you made, Jan. it’s nice to get a look at some of this fine texture /history / character of Dutch football.

    As for Affelay, I’d only seen the Tottenham rumors recently- where does this PAOK thing come from?

  6. Jake, it is time for you to get with the program. Strootman and Pieters are about to leave. And now PSV just bought Josefson. Not sure how the light bulbs are doing it every year, but they managed to buy every player they can find. I am not like you though and don’t think highly of Cocu at all. He tried before and was far from convinicing. They are simply trying to copy Ajax. But clearly without the same qualities.

  7. Cocu is a follower and Deboer is leader.thats a huge differnce.Cocu’s attitude as professional is awesome,but mentally he is weak..and that counts a lot..

      1. some how i feel like that..another hypothesis..jeff has written it more elaborately.When ever i saw cocu he was down to earth and obedient follower.Bleed for the team and has an unselfish heart.But Deboer has charisma and leads wherever he goes.leader should faster,brave than others deboer has it.i hope Cocu does a wonderful job for NT by forming super team for PSV with Reikik,bruma,maher,Wijnaldum etc..but as long as Deboer leads ajax ,cocu will hav a tough time to overcome ajax.But overall i feel for NT2014WC,cocu will be contributing more.

        1. ‘When ever i saw cocu’
          I guess this says everything.

          Having met the man in person, I can tell you that you couldn’t be more INCORRECT. As usual.

  8. I think PSV and Cocu really want to be in the CL this season . Well done.

    They are after karim rekik now , they brought Maher , and will bring Schaars in case Strootman leaves the team.
    Very good young team .
    Cocu is not a good tactician as FdB but i think he has a great personality with the players and may be able to get the best out of them “which is very important”.
    He was a verstile player who played almost in every spot on the pitch and this should make him a very good coach.
    I still hope Ajax can get MVG. The guy really wants to come and he will be fantastic with the team . I believe it’s ok if Ajax paid 7 million to bring him now and get more than 20 million from him 2-3 seasons later.

  9. I may agree with Ajax policy by not paying more than 5 million for any player only in case they will keep all their players .
    Giving up your best players and not replacing them with Eredivisie best talents is just destroying the team. How will the team go far in the CL by this policy ?
    It’s just impossible.

    1. And how many of those “best players” that they’re losing came from other Eredivisie teams to begin with? By my count, none of them. Ajax’s top players this year were either Academy products, or players that they brought in at a young enough age to cost next to nothing. Why would they abandon that model – that’s working already in it’s infancy – in favour of a model that’s brought them nothing but financial instability that took three years of CL football to recover from.

      Ajax will lose Alderweireld, and probably de Jong and Eriksen. But they have in their wings replacements already in Veltman, Denswil, and behind that Tete and Bazoer for Alderweireld; Lucas Andersen, Dejan Meleg and Fischer for Eriksen (and can play wing); and Ilan Boccara in DM will allow Schone to play de Jong’s position. And Schone is a better midfielder than de Jong BTW.

      But there’s also a good chance that Eriksen stays another year (and extend his contract) since he’s pretty picky about what type of club he would go to. That would leave Alderweireld as the only big loss, and like I said, we have our own replacements that I think are at least as good as the options from other Eredivisie teams.

      1. BTW Ajax did try to get van Ginkel as de Jong’s replacement (a move I agree with), but Vitesse refuse to sell him to them, which I think is highly despicable considering we pretty much gave them Theo Janssen less than a year ago. And not because we didn’t want him anymore, but because HE wanted to go there and we honoured the wishes of the player

      2. “And how many of those “best players” that they’re losing came from other Eredivisie teams to begin with? By my count, none of them.”
        I think you forgot about Huntealaar 🙂 . He scored 76 goals with Ajax in 92 goals coming from Herenveen.

        1. But Huntelaar was replaced by an Eredivisie top talent. He went by the name of Miralem Sulejmani, came at a cost of 16 million, under-performed for years, and left for free after a season in the reserves.

  10. Mohamed, I agree with you. Van Ginkel is worth the 7M Ajax was willing to pay. But I am not so sure about Maher. I really think that Ajax is on the right track. They are not panicking and buying as PSV is doing. There is no frenzy. I agree with Tiju. De Boer is a leader and Cocu a follower. He does not have the mental toughness and intelligence of De Boer. Again look at the coaching staff Ajax has assembled. It is absolutely top class. In addition, don’t forget Ajax has Bazoer who is supposed to be the real deal. But yes I would love to see Van Ginkel as Ajax. By the way during the euro u21 I spoke to one of the KNVB staff members -the guy was in charge of security of the Dutch team and has been Ajax’s main security guy for years. He is really close to the players. I asked him about MAher and he told me then that he was sure Maher would not go to Ajax because he was not good enough although Maher himself was dying to come to Ajax. At the time I thought the guy was a bloke but in retrospect he may have known something from within the club that most of us did not know. Just the way he said it indicated that his information was from within the club. Again much easier for me to believe him now that we know he won’t be an Ajacied next year.

    1. @jeff is it true that Ajax is trying Vanderhoorn???.
      b/w Vanginkle is making huge mistake if he is goin to Chelsea…Mata,Oscar,hazard,mozes,lampard,shurle…its not good for him…he must stay in eredivise and should go to brazil in june2014.

  11. I’m not sure about this , Jeff. FdB himself said that Maher was his priority no.1 and the reasons they didn’t get him are purely financial , which makes me more annoyed 😐 .
    I read that christian chivu may return to Ajax , which sounds great to me .
    Imagine a midfield with Chivu , Van Ginkel and Maher . It can do wonders for Ajax in the CL.
    I think Ajax should also go for Douglas . He will be free in 1 month , will be a great addition to the defense and is a good replacement for Alderwild if he leaves.

  12. I think that is very silly from Ajax not to buy Maher. He dont have the quality? WTF?? He is pretty good for a 19 years old boy, I am a huuuge fan of Wesley and I dont remember seeing wesley do it like Maher does with 19 teen. Maher will be better than eriksen, for sure, he has glimpses of a brilliant player, Eriksen dont.

    1. Didn’t Sneijder dismantle Scotland in his second international game as a 19 year old? So far Maher hasn’t done anything at an international level.

      There’s no doubt he has lots of quality, but that doesn’t always pan out in the end. 10m is a pretty big risk on a player who so far just has a bunch of potential and a long ways to go before being a fully developed footballer. Ajax can’t afford to lose a bet like that. They’re far better off spending money on 15-17 year olds with loads of quality and potential. They don’t cost nearly as much, and the potential payback is just as good, albeit slightly further down the road.

  13. Real Madrid interested in Robin Van Persie according to what people are saying on espnfc.com.

    I don’t know how much truth there is in that, but I dont want any dutch player to go to Madrid. It’s the place where shining stars go to burn out.

  14. Gabriel, no way. Eriksen is far better than Maher. No question.
    Ferenc, I was just in Budapest and thought about you but did not want to bother you. Maybe next time.

      1. That’s exactly how I think. I think Maher can be better than Wesley.
        Anyway i feal great about dutch teams next season in Europe.
        Ajax and PSV in the CL , feyenoord in europa league.

          1. Sneijder is simply a better finisher of the ball. He also has better vision and delivery of the long pass. Maher is faster and that makes him better in small spaces.

  15. Thanks Ferenc. I regret it now. It was my first time visiting Hungary. I hope there is another meeting there soon. I will be in Vienna in early March 2014 for sure so maybe we could meet there and discuss teh WC 2014! Would be great since it is so close. Nice city by the way and very friendly people.

    Gabriel, I would not worry too much. Yes Maher is good but I don’t think he is big time…yet. So PSV may have him for 2 years but it won’t change anything. Eriksen is only 1 year older and much more polished than Maher. Maybe Eriksen decided to stay. What I would hate however is for Eriksen to start the season and leave at the last minute. It always happen with Ajax and I resent it. Last year we lost Anita the same way and it took 3 months before Frankie figured out how to play.

  16. PSV are behind Rekik and Assaiddi.

    I don´t understand why they singed Jozefzoon if they have Narshing and Wijnaldum. Maybe because Wijnaldum will play OM because Maher will go to Ajax? ajajajaj

    PSV agreed a €3 million deal for 21 year old Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma, who will join on a four year deal, but the English club have a buy back option in the contract.

    Dutch U-21 international, Jozefzoon, 22, will join from RKC Waalwijk on a three year deal, with an option of a further year. The ex-Ajax youth player, was expected to join Twente, but PSV have surprised them, by winning the race for his signature.

    PSV director Marcel Brands told the official site, “They are talented footballers with the necessary experience.”

    “Jeffrey is 21 years old and Florian 22. They are footballers that PSV can have fun with. They fit the philosophy that PSV wants to have, the best young Dutch talent in their ranks, along with talents from their own academy.”

    Both players are expected to be officially presented by the club on Monday after training, and could be joined by Adam Maher, who is expected to hold talks with PSV this weekend.

    New coach Phillip Cocu is strengthening his squad after losing both Jeremain Lens, and Dries Mertens, while Erik Pieters, Ola Toivonen, and Kevin Strootman could all be on their way out of the club.

    PSV have also today been linked with moves for Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi, and Manchester City’s Karim Rekik.

      1. @Gabriel ..time will say..I feel something is wrong with Depay,he has talent,but lacks something,getting bulky.etc.Maximum he will reach of of afellay level not beyond that,and he is much better than jozefoon…….i have nothing aginst Depay ,but dont get dissappointed if he doesnt flurish as per the expectation.

  17. Coach Wim van Zwam has announced his provisional 35 man squad for next months European U-19 Championships.

    The tournament takes place between July 20th to August 1st in Lithuania, with the Netherlands paired with the hosts, Spain, and Portugal in their Group.

    The preliminary squad includes Chelsea’s Nathan Ake, Manchester City’s Karim Rekik, Twente’s Kyle Ebecilio, and Feyenoord striker Anass Achahbar.

    Some of the names that will miss the tournament include Feyenoord pair Tonny Vilhena, and Jean Paul Boetiuse, while Memphis Depay will also play no part.

    The players are set to meet up on July 10th to prepare for the tournament, with the final squad being named a week before the tournament begins.

    Netherlands 35 man squad is as follows:

    Mickey van der Hart (Ajax), Nils den Hartog (RKC Waalwijk), Boy de Jong (Excelsior), Peter Leeuwenburgh (Ajax), Sven van Beek (Feyenoord), Peet Bijen (FC Twente), Daan Disveld (NEC), Danzell Gravenberch (Ajax), Sander Heesakkers (PSV), Jorrit Hendrix (PSV), Wesley Hoedt (AZ), Menno Koch (PSV), Terence Kongolo (Feyenoord), Rewien Ramlal (FC Oss), Karim Rekik (Manchester City), Kenny Tete (Ajax), Lucas Woudenberg (Feyenoord), Nathan Aké (Chelsea), Yassine Ayoub (FC Utrecht), Michael Chacon (SC Heerenveen), Huseyin Dogan (Sparta Rotterdam), Kyle Ebecilio (FC Twente), Thom Haye (AZ), Thomas Horsten (PSV), Clint Leemans (PSV), Joris van Overeem (AZ), Rai Vloet (PSV), Anass Achahbar (Feyenoord), Bilal Basacikoglu (SC Heerenveen), Nick de Bondt (Ajax), Brahim Darri (Vitesse), Arjen Hagenauw (FC Groningen), Mimoun Mahi (Sparta Rotterdam), Elvio van Overbeek (PSV), Roy Talsma (Vitesse).

  18. The team which is doing good in the market is AZ. Since 10 years, AZ always follow the same cycle with two good years where they finish in top 5 and have brillant european aventure, and a third year where they go out quickly in europe and finish quite low in eredivisie. They had a difficult year especially in defense where a joke like Reijnen has been too often used. It was a big mistake that Moisander wasnt replaced.

    This summer, they already took Wuytens from Utrecht who is a respected defender for years, Gouweleeuw and Gudelj the serbian from NAC who was close to many good italian clubs. With selling Altidore, Maher and Viergever, they re probably earn 18/20mo and will use some to get good other players.

    Their current team is already quite good :

    ——————–Esteban———————-

    –??————-Wuytens—-Gouweleeuw——–??

    —————-Gudelj—–Henriksen————-

    –Beerens————-Overtoom————-Martens

    ———————-Johansson—————-

    And it will probably be better with new players, I believe they can do good things in europe, don t forget that they reached europa league semi finals in 2005, the best performance of a dutch club since that period.

  19. Bruma to PSV is good news for NT especially when they are in CL. Van der Hoon at Ajax and Bruma will ge much needed expoure at CL level and which will mould them for WC 2014. douglas to Ajax will aslo be perfect as one might imagine how intense the completion will for the centre halves come WC 2014 especially with De Vrij -BMI at Feyenoord and Virgil Van Dijik.

  20. Great articles.Great remembers and(even)very important things for today times 2013/14…..In my opinion the best Oranje team was in 1974.But they had one weak day,”wrong leg”,Cruyff,s unselfish gave the ball to Johnny Rep(?) (instead “to kill” Beckenbauer with dribbling ,score goal for 2:0 and say:” I,m the boss in this match”), and,on the end, the team hadn,t winner,s mentally, etc,etc.It was some shadow.Team 1988 had winner,s mentally .That,s it.For many people NT was the best 1998,2000.(Ruud van Goal missed)I don,t know.Everybody there are ownself taste.For me teams 74 and 88 had something deeper.And on the end ,unseen , bad thing , for team 98,oo was that they start to go ,step by step, under Spain will and brain.Many dutch players and coaches after 1996/97 go to Barcelona and start “to build” Spain..On symbolic way:”Sauron,s will start to atack Frodo,s will and put his will under self” and culmination these things was in in the final Holland-Spain 2010.Because I think it was heroic game for Holland(not ugly).And,almost whole the world expected or wanted Spanish victory. In first 30 minutes ,”huge energy” atack on Holland.Later,match was for draw.. Spain wanted to kill Holland in the beginning with 2-3 goals.I think,maybe, they wanted to made the biggest victory in final history.They were much faster, better one on one,tricky passes.. But ,only,Holland had better “geometry”.In the second half this “geometry” made chances for Robben. But Holland lost.Ha,maybe ,triumph would be sure if Gullit… 86,87,88( he was player who know” read and eat” space and has music in his soul,intuition too) would be played instead Kuyt.With ready RvP.Enough for goodby Spain. And Holland team 2008 was better than Spain .But one weak day ,once Laurent good explain it( in the game against Russia),and Boularouge,s tragedy ,and “head in the air” and, and ..many bad things in one day and 1:1 (regular time)and defeat on the end. And ,today situation is not good.Too much fear from Spain clubs(and Portugal).Real-Ajax,Valencia-AZ 4:0.You can touch this fear.Now u21.(Cor Pot had to play in Oranje shirts) It is not good.Worse and worse.Because these articles are important.This team 1988, especially 74(Holland-South America 8:0!) hadn,t fear from anybody and their brains and wills were not under Spain (and others)will.Because.They were free.Remember and example.(ha,Louis van Gaal born in month august,Lion(astrology)sign,no fear..good hopes and my wishes).And on the end about Portugal.Portugal have problems with Danemark or Luxembourg sometimes,but enjoy to beat Holland.Why?Portugal coaches many, many times and years(as same as many others foreigners coaches) follow Holland as a sharks and better know Holland than Holland know about self.There are some song from the Beatles-Lennon:”Everybody,s got something to hide except me and my monkey”.Portugal simply know weakness of the dutch clubs and NT.Then, they know special good things at the dutch teams and very weak things too.And atack on very weak things like sharks , made crowd and made holes ,and give goals.Solution is in the example AZ-Sporting 2005 ,good geometry ,with warrior,s will and heart, and added( 2007 . u21 Holland-Portugal 2-1) match when Drenthe and Babel and co… maked panic in their defence (individual).AZ showed these things too.But it was 2005.They beat even Villareal!!But older AZ 67 Alkmaar with Georg Kessler(and 442 system)was better (1978-82)and play too much beautifull football.They were better than Ipswich(1981) in my opinion ,but England players were better better warriors.(same thing maybe Liverpool -Monchengladbach)And today ,van Basten,s Heerenveen play beautiful.Beat Ajax 1-0 this spring…

    1. jesus man, learn to use PARAGRAPHS and punctuation.

      the RETURN key? you see it? yeah? on the right of your keyboard? Just hit that every so often.

      good comment though.

  21. If Ajax do not buy any foreign talents this summer, this summer should be considered a huge success. Ajax’ high-sum transfers in the last past 4 years include Lodeiro (2009), El Hamdaoui (2010), Siggie (2011), and Moisander (2012). Nothing against the foreigners, but such an iconic club with perhaps the best youth academy in the world should trust their own system, promote as many Dutch youngsters as possible to the first team, and prepare them to wear the Oranje shirt. Ajax “contribution” to the Dutch NT has been in an embarrassing downtrend. Unbelievable quality drop from the likes of Sneijder, Vaart, Nigel De Jong to Van Rhijn, and Siem de Jong.

  22. What a great article – Guys so much talk about transfers etc and little comment on what is probably one of the top and in depth articles I have read here for a LONG time. Thanks Jan !
    and I also like Radar Love by GE but prefer “She flies on Strange Wings”
    Looking forward to the U/19s

  23. Jeff,
    Like you, I’m also Ajax’s biggest fan too and think Ajax will lead Eredivisie for quite long as long as FDB on board, however IMO, Cocu are the best man we can find to improved PSV, create competition to Ajax and at the end will only do good for NT.

    Definitely FDB is more charismatic leader as a player and as a person, a student of Ajax’ philosophy and JC’s total football, he will do everything to promote his philosophy no matter what, he will recruit players who able to play ajax style, even if there is no Dutch’s talent available to do that, they scout to Denmark, etc. In contrary, Cocu is a servant of Dutch football as a player or as a coach, he will do everything for the sake of NT, as what he has done in the past as a player, he served well no matter he was assigned to. As far as I’m concerned, now PSV along with Feyenoord are nurturing most of our young players, potentially the main squad for next 5-10years. He successfully put together Bruma-Maher into already assembled Mini NT (Locadia-Depay-Narsingh-Willems) and Pieters-Strootman if they are staying one more year. PSV just got 16£ from mertens and lens, Cocu didn’t sign foreigners Chadli or elm or martens or djuricic, I don’t know if they were available, my point is you can read Cocu’s intention to serve for future NT.

    FDB should have done more to show his willingness to serve NT.

    As go_orange said Ajax “contribution” to the Dutch NT has been in an embarrassing downtrend

  24. To my opinion, emphasis and main focus should always be with nurturing local talents. It’s cheap, it’s good advertisement towards supporters and it often makes for a better team than a bunch of mediocre mercenaries bought from around the globe.

    1. What if Ajax or any club targeting a bigmarket.like Madrid’s policy of selling shirts?…Barca has started football school in india and its bigmarket.i agree the point with you,but i think they are doing business…by taking aboard average players…

      1. That strategy does not do much unless it is a big name. Ajax does not have the money for big names, so I would advise against spending big for mediocre foreigners.

  25. Chelsea’s move for Marco van Ginkel has stalled as the Holland international looks to preserve his World Cup dream.

    Jose Mourinho had hoped to make the Vitesse midfielder one of his first signings since heading back to Stamford Bridge.

    Dutch of class: Marco van Ginkel is being chased by Manchester United and Chelsea

    The Portuguese manager was confident of completing a £9million swoop before the start of pre-season, but the move has hit a stumbling block.

    Van Ginkel wants assurances from Mourinho that he will play a significant first-team role next season.

    Having broken into the the Dutch national team last season, Van Ginkel feels he has a realistic chance of featuring in Brazil 2014.

    And the 20-year-old knows a season of sitting on the bench would end his hopes of going to next summer’s World Cup.

    Blues chiefs remain confident they can conclude a move for Van Ginkel, though.

  26. I WAs wathcing games of brazil,italy,spain and uruguay these days.all i felt was orange must have a watertight defense to have any hope,i think we are poor in defense ever since Bommel-dejong partnership separated by age.If dutch wants to beat spain,italy,brazil they must do it before 90 min or by 120 min.it seems impossible to beat these teams on penalties though italy lost to spain…

    1. The Bommel/De Jong partnership you spent 2 years ridiculing? That one? Hahaha, and now you suddenly change your mind to suit a new argument?? Do you think we won’t notice? Hahaha!

      If Holland are so shit, as you keep saying, why are you here on a fansite for people who SUPPORT our National team? I’m sure your comments would go down better on the Germany football fansite. Jog on.

      You are correct about one thing here:
      Holland must beat the other teams in normal time – 90 mins. We do not have a history of stamina, and the heat WILL kill us in Brasil. That will be our undoing, not penalties.

      1. FYI.Bomme-dejong partnership was done after 2010,it should have been stroot the pair of Dejong in 2012.Biased BVM didnt do that,i didnt liked it.what ur point?if holland didnt created much chances then it was due to Bommel-Dejong and kuyt.the ultimate duty of bommel-Dejong was security,they did that well,so didnt blamed untill bommel workrate significantly reduced.
        Just watch Giacherini sided Jordy alba this time.Ramos was bombing against kuyt and Maicon to was bombing against kuyt.sure we were handicapped in attack WC2010 thats why Wesly had to score 5.

  27. After qualification, wonder where NT will play friendly. Boff mentioned the heat in Brasil may affect us. I recalled Jan also reported that the players did not adapt well to Indonesia due to heat and humidity. Perhaps this is why it is tough for European team to win in S. America. The only time NT was in S.America, we went to final and almost win.

  28. Guys,

    I live in the south of México and the weather here is very humid and hot just like in Brazil. This week I played a football game with some friends and after 10 minutes I was done and I am only 31years old….I am not such and athletic man now like in my youth but certainly european teams have a big disadvantage when playing in LATAM.

    I think this can be an issue and Brazil and Argentina will benefit from that.

    Changing the topic….look how Spain has won it’s tournaments. Euro 2008 tied 0-0 vs Italy beating them on PK and then reach the final game to win 1-0. WC 2010 scoring in the last minutes of extra time against Holland with Oranje playing 10 men and winning by 1-0 scores many games in the road. Euro 2012 they beat Portugal in the semis after a close game tied 0-0 and beat them in PK. And yesterday the same against the Italians without missing one single PK…what I am trying to say here is that they really have not been that impressive during the tournaments, some games they play impressive, some games not that much but in the end THEY DO NOT LOSE, THEY WIN AND NOW THEY ARE USED TO WIN!!!

    Before Spain was ranked even lower than Oranje…they even had trouble reaching the semis of every tournament but since Euro2008 their mentality changed and now it is very complicated to beat them. That has been achieved because of a great youth development in the last decades and youth coaches have made the Spaniards to believe in themselves.

    I hope Oranje can learn from that because we have had better generations of players and only one title is very little for Oranje…during the period 74′-78′ at least we should have collected one WC. The era of 88′-90’92’ at least we won an Euro but in the World Cup the team played without passion…playing a bit better and we could have avoided Germany so early in that World Cup. They did not want it badly like Spain wants everything now. And lastly, the era of 98-2000-2002 was another Golden generation that should have won a coup…not winning Euro 2000 now zooming into the past seems to me unforgivable!!! Spain wins even in penalties against every team and you know Oranje history in penalty kicks. How many tournaments has Oranje lost because of that….if we would have reached the penalties vs Spain in 2010 they would have won too.

    Anyway, I am making this comparison just so you see how the mental aspect of the game can make you Champions and that is why Spain today exploded from being a good team to being a great team that knows how to compete in all categories and under any circunstances.

    Greetings from México.

    1. Besides just the mentality that you mention (which I agree with), I think your post also underscores the issue of the ‘narrative’, particularly in the press, which is then perpetuated. The narrative is that Spain is far and away the dominant and virtually unbeatable team in world football. But if looked at in the way you’ve described instead of looking at the huge amount of hardware that they’ve collected recently, it shows how close to being beaten they were so many times. If the narrative and general attitude were a bit different, this could be written as ‘Spain manages to squeak through another tough tournament battle, needing till the last seconds of extra time to do it ‘.

      As much as it kills me to do do, I give the Spanish full kudos for their performance and their record over the past few major tournaments. I just think that the idea of them as inevitable champions who decimate all opponents is a bit overhyped. There aren’t that many goals difference between perpetual champs and perpetual losers/ runners up in this game. Any team can be beaten and there are a handful of nations that could carry away the trophy at any of these tournaments. The Netherlands NT just needs to be truly convicted that they are one of those teams then force it to happen.

  29. Other thing…to score against Spain is quite difficult…they manage to keep the ZERO and Ramos-Pique partnership as CD is amazing!

    I am positive about De Vrij-Martins Indi, I think Van Gaal has made up his mind and will use them in many games as possible before the WC so they gain more international experiencie and they know each other perfectly because they play and train at Feyenoord. They are very young but both have huge talent, much better than Heitinga-Mathijsen…you will see.

  30. Hughes completes first signing as Stoke boss with capture of PSV defender Pieters
    By JOE BERNSTEIN
    PUBLISHED: 17:37 GMT, 28 June 2013 | UPDATED: 17:50 GMT, 28 June 2013
    14 shares 5 View
    comments
    New Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has landed his first signing at the club by completing the £3million capture of Dutch international defender Erik Pieters from PSV Eindhoven.
    A deal for the 24-year-old left-back was thrashed out between The Potteries club and their Dutch counterparts on Friday afternoon in the first major move of the post-Tony Pulis era at The Britannia Stadium.
    Hughes, appointed at the end of last month, joined without the club having a natural left-back and turned his attentions quickly to Pieters.

    New man: Dutch international Pieters is Stoke manager Mark Hughes’ first signing of the summer
    The player has won 17 caps for Holland and made around 100 appearances for PSV. He was linked with a move to Newcastle United last season.
    His signing heralds the start of a new policy for Stoke who will cast their net wider looking for value-for-money signings.
    But Pieters should fit in with the team’s traditional up-and-at-’em style – in January he sliced his arm open after punching a window in rage after being sent off.

    International: Pieters challenging Daniel Sturridge for the ball during Holland’s friendly with England back in February

    More…
    Cardiff make great Dane Cornelius their first summer signing, beating Stoke and Everton to his signature
    Transfer window: Club-by-club guide to all the summer 2013 Premier League deals
    Stoke star Shea follows Bassong on to shameful list of gun-toting footballers
    PSV defender Pieters could be Hughes’ first capture at Stoke to solve left-back shortage

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    Add your comments Comments (5)
    The comments below have not been moderated.
    NewestOldestBest ratedWorst rated
    Skull crusher change the record. the potters will still be around in the premier for many years,probably not as long though until a London club wins it again !
    – Alan Hudson , Wetherspoons, United Kingdom, 28/6/2013 19:50
    Click to rate Rating (0) Report abuse
    Hope he has a relegation release clause in his contract! : )
    – calzer01 , Glasgow, 28/6/2013 19:41
    Click to rate Rating 1 Report abuse
    Hopefully their style of play will change, disgraceful the current football they play.
    – Michael James Law , London, England, 28/6/2013 19:36
    Click to rate Rating (0) Report abuse
    Good signing for Stoke City and shows that they are looking towards footballing defenders. Seems to me that £3m for a 24 year old current Dutch international player is very good business indeed. Lets see if Hughes can take them up another level, and maybe a cup or two!
    – Richard Allen , Bedford, 28/6/2013 19:29

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2350919/Stoke-City-boss-Mark-Hughes-signs-PSV-defender-Erik-Pieters.html#ixzz2XXcfi7Am
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    1. Wait… Seriously? You seem to be the king of cut and paste around here but virtually an entire webpage? How could you not notice you were posting an entire webpage?

  31. I hope so Mohamed. I hope we get to sign Van Ginkel. He would be great. This is the chance. I also saw that Marin was loaned to Sevilla so if that is the case why on earth would Chelsea want Van Ginkel?

    1. Yeah Jeff you’re right . It also seems MVG is a smart lad who cares about his spot in his national team and has a winner mentality. He can learn a lot from Frank and Bergkamp if he goea to Ajax and become a real worldclass player.

  32. In EC the partnership of De- Virij and BMI was exposed, I dont think Van Gaal is blind fool see that. if he still insist to use them then we realy have a problem.I think its time now he gives bruma/douglas a chance to prove themselves. Pieters to stroke city great news for NT .He will be sure starter for NT in 2014.He is also versatile at CB given if he is at his best. If van der wiel can force his way back, then we can have a brilliant Back 4.

    Van der wiel – Jammant – Pieters – Blind
    or
    Van der Wiel-Jammant- BMI – Pieters

    1. @wilson only worry with me about Blind and Peiters are their speed.They will be facing some usain bolts in leftwings.will have a torrid time aginst speedy ones.i think it would be more wise that we take Annholt for speed and either peiters or Blind for other areas.

  33. Wilson, honestly this is ridiculous. Douglas has never played an international match so forget about him. The fact LVG did not call him for the Asia trip means he will not play for Holland under him. But on the other point I agree with you that the partnership de vrij-BMI is suspect and not world class. We have no better at the moment unfortunately.

  34. Our backfour are u21 + janmaat which is only slightly upgrade of those 4, if sneijder and vaart fail to get their fitness back, we also have midfields of u21 + guzman who not a world class player yet. A lot to catch up from a team that lost to italian junior (who one class below spainu21) to beat Spain who keep their winning rows from 2008 to now (noted couple of lost in friendlies). That is to say our only ace is the attacks of RVP+robben?
    Lots of work for LVG

  35. I want to have Nigel de Jong in the back four in the WC. CB, RB, LB, doesn’t matter (wherever we’re weakest come next summer) he’ll add some serious defensive metal, and wont suffer from the same brain farts and lapses in concentration that pretty much all our decent defenders do. I think a de Jong – Martins-Indi CB pairing would be awesome.

    1. Nijel is like Cannvaro of Italy.Short but a superman in defense.Fit Nijel is a fear factor for any opponent.I will have more fantasy aginst a tough attacking team.
      Janmaat—Nijel—Bruma–BMI
      ———Stroot—Fer——–

  36. Some of these so called contenders do have flaws. I think if Oranje can sort their defense and midfield out they can surprise.

    I know some don’t like De Jong, but he is a rock as a DM. I hope he gets healthy. Its not like it would have a made huge difference, but I wish we could have seen him and Strootman paired up at Euro 2012 just to see how they work as a duo in MF.

    I’m optimistic for 2014, but Sneijder needs to regain form, these young pups like Maher need to make their next leap as players and guys like VDW and Elia need to step up and start playing good football again.

    1. Stroot-Nijel played aginst brazil in brazil frindely.it was superb and we were watertight with Peiters-Joris-Johny-Weil with stroot and Nijel…

    1. Check out this site under videos.

      There are many old 1974 and 1978 games on YouTube and if you google it correctly you can find a site where you can buy all the Oranje 1974 games on dvd….

  37. I do think De Vril sometimes is too casual on the ball and in his tackles. He relies on his awareness and positioning and little shown in terms of strength and speed in recovery.
    De Jong-BMI partnership is worth experimenting. De Jong = Javier Mescharano?
    A lineup of Janmaat-De Jong-BMI-Blind looks good. At least a old hand at helm in defence.

  38. PSV want Nick Viergever to replace Pieters .
    De Guzman returns to Swansea again on loan from Villareal for one more season . Very good news imo.

  39. I personally do think that Van Ginkel should sign with Chelsea, but I think he should have an agreement where he goes back on loan to Vitesse for the season. I think the trick to being a top player out of the Eredivisie is that you need to have more than 1 good season there. Sneijder had 2 all-star seasons before he moved, even though he probably could have moved after the first, same with Huntelaar. Afonso Alves moved after 1 good year, and look where he is now.

  40. Personally I do not like young players moving to team like Chelsea, ManCity, Real. I feel that they buy too many players for one position. It does not hurt established player much like young players who most tend to be loaned off to other team. I do not mind the idea of Van Ginkel stay or on loan to Vitesse for another season. He needs to play first team to learn/improve rather than warm benching somewhere else.
    One year ago we probably hit bottom after Euro. Tim Daniels wrote this column (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1225749-what-netherlands-must-do-to-return-to-international-glory). Nothing new as many of you has pointed out. I just want to say that one year later, 3 out of 3 are accomplished. We have LVG replacing BVM. The team is much younger and we play 4-3-3. Next year we return to international glory. The CB pairing is not top class yet, but I think LVG is much better than Cor Pots. Let’s hope that we get a very good draw, play well and win the deserved-long-waiting Cup.

  41. Personally I do not like young players moving to team like Chelsea, ManCity, Real. I feel that they buy too many players for one position. It does not hurt established player much like young players who most tend to be loaned off to other team. I do not mind the idea of Van Ginkel stay or on loan to Vitesse for another season. He needs to play first team to learn/improve rather than warm benching somewhere else.
    One year ago we probably hit bottom after Euro. Tim Daniels wrote this column (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1225749-what-netherlands-must-do-to-return-to-international-glory). Nothing new as many of you has pointed out. I just want to say that one year later, 3 out of 3 are accomplished. We have LVG replacing BVM. The team is much younger and we play 4-3-3. Next year we return to international glory. The CB pairing is not top class yet and still many weak points in the system plus U21 was disappointed. I think LVG is much better than Cor Pots and we still have one year to refine/improve the team/system. Let’s hope that we get a very good draw, play well and win the deserved-long-waiting Cup. Next test will be against Portugal in August.

  42. We only have 2 world class players in RVP and Robben. The opponents will pay a lot of attention to these 2. Without Sneijder and VDV return to top form, the rest of the teams need to find a way to contribute to offense. So far we have done that but only to a relative weak WC qualification group. Portugal will be a first good test.

  43. I dont mind if van ginkel signed to chealse or manU, he is such a confident bloke who working under superior environment only make him better, anyway there is no guarantee he will get a spot in wc if he stays with vitesse. if he makes breakthrough in chealse even play 10-15 games till wc, he would be a great addition as subs and preferable than fer who will be with midtable epl, or clasie who play everyweek in eredivisie.

  44. Cardiff City have smashed their transfer record to land FC Copenhagen striker Andreas Cornelius.

    The Bluebirds will splash out £8.5m for the 20-year-old, who was top scorer in the Danish Superliga last season with FC Copenhagen.

    Michael Chopra was the club’s previous record signing, when they paid £4m to Sunderland in 2010.

    A Cardiff spokesman said: “We have reached an agreement with FC Copenhagen for the services of Andreas Cornelius.

    “He will join for an undisclosed fee on completion of his medical but it will be a club transfer record.”

  45. That’s assumed LVG will retain sneijder/ maher, vaart, strootman, Guzman and leave 2 spots of midfielders to grab between van ginkel, fer, classie, and Nigel.

    1. @Jake..it would be a sin to drop any of them i mean Ginkel,Fer,Clasie and fit Nijel).i think some injury will solve the porblem of LVG.
      then how the suqad will look like?The players like Fer,Maher,Stroot,Deguzman and Ginkel are good runners and they will give more balance to team than the oldies.We wont feel gap between like we felt in Euro12,if we take these youngsters.we need 2/3 oldies+7/8 younsgers to be in feild to have a balanced team.Those should be Robben+Persie+Fit Nijel.if Nijel is not in feild then we have Deguzman or in defense we must have heitinga/vlaar in defense.
      The big loss for national team is vaart than wesly i would say.he missed 2006 Wc due to injury and after that most of the time wesly played instead and now he is aged and become slow and reduced his stamina.i think it is more wise that we pick only one either Vaart or WEsly.
      I am highly pessimistic about Persie-Robben-Wesly combination.off course it can carry us against medium teams and lesserones.But would be dried against a strong defensive team with good attack.Robben works some what ok with persie and viceversa.But persie-Wesly combination is not fruitful as expected.Persie needs a runner come passer with him not a sharp shooter with him.Wesly is more a shooter and less runner compared to Rooney/Maher/Van Ginkel.Team should be built arround persie as primary plan if persie is injured then team should be built arround Robben-lenz strikers supported by wesly.like Jose did for inter.
      The ideal would be
      ———-Persie———–
      Robben—————Maher—
      ——-Stroot-Ginkel———
      ———–Deguzman———-
      Blind——————-Janmaat
      ——–BMI—–Bruma———
      ———–Krul/steke———
      on bench
      Ola———-Seim———-Lenz—-
      —Leroy——Wesly——Clasie—
      ————–Nijel————–
      —–Vlaar–Douglas—-Rhijn——
      ———Krul/steke/Vermeer——

  46. Dear friends,

    do you think now our defence is better than 2010 WC team, we always have the good players in forward and midfield, but our defence always preventing us in winning the silverware don’t you agree?

    1. @Jad..Defense is a collective effort,We didnt had glamour defenders in 2010.But the core defense unit was superb together,they covered others weakness.Gio Was the leader with plenty of experience and class.young25 year old everrunning beast Nijel,Bommel30 and captian of Bayern heitinga26,Joris28/29 with younfast Vanderweil and Gio as fullbacks.We had the best defense when Nijel on the feild only time we conceded when Nijel was on feild play was against when joris was replaced by ooiger bar final f#$4king ineaesta goal.there was no big flaws in that defense.Over all what i felt was attack never created much chances aginst any team,we scored some goals due to individual quality of players like Wesly,Roben.u know 5 goals scored by our midfeilder.that says a lot.our left wing was joke and not threatening,most of wing backs were bombing from that side.while roben put Capdevilla and Bastos in check always,where as Maicon and Ramos were bombing.
      But now defense under LVG is a big big question mark.
      Nijel becmae 29 and Johny,Vlaar all getting ageed and new guys Devrij looks slow..etc ,bigtrouble waiting for us in brazil.I have little faith in Devrij against fast players.Stroot is no bommel or Nijel.but let us see..
      My point as a unit that defnse was better than current defense.

  47. In life there are no solutions only trade-offs.

    The modern game has players who are so fast, and physically fit. Luckily for holland, training should begin in curacao or aruba. But really best place would be suriname. You want heat and humidity. Go there, or come over to where I live in miami!

    The tactical formations have quick dutch solutions. You know, I’m not that worried because at AZ lvg had a quick counter attacking team that in 2 or 3 passes had a run at goal.

    The opposition will be playing 4-2-3-1 brazil will, uruguay, england, germany, hell even spain might play that. What’s the benefit of this formations.

    Pros: allows cover for fullbacks to go forward, allows even distribution on the field, a defensive block that makes it difficult to pass. Meaning guys like messi have to run through 2 lines of defenders or pass there way through.
    Cons: defensive midfielders pass the ball slower (strootman, ndj,) meaning its very predictable. A smart intelligent winger can exploit it (robinho first half against holland, robben against spain)

    So we need to be honest about our abilities. For me nigel de jong has to be a sweeper, we could play him as such. The real issue is louis van gaal said we playing 4-3-3 period. That’s what he’s getting paid to do, and he said the goal was semi-finals.

    I would prefer a back four of pieters, strootman, de jong, janmaat
    But most likely that won’t happen. I think in the end not having lvg getting interaction with the players daily will hurt.

    Most likely lens will be the winger next to robben, why because what he offers defensively, never see this guy lose a battle.

    Its funny my formation would be robben in false 9, vp and lens as wingers

    Van persie————————lens
    —————robben—————–
    —————————————
    ———sneijder——-vdv———–
    —————–clasie—————–
    Pieters————————janmaat
    ———–stroot——–ndj————–
    ————–vorm——————–

  48. The Uruguay-Italy game was quite entertaining. In a way Italy is similar to NT, many young players with a few experienced players left to lead. Italy does not have world class forwards like Robben, RVP but they play well as one unit plus a world class goalkeeper in Buffon. Italy was a bit unlucky to lose to Spain in penalty shoot out. I think NT should be able to beat them and of course we need NT players to be at their best. One thing I learn from Confed Cup so far, NT should practice PK (I don’t like PK but I accept it is part of the game).
    Now on to the final, Brazil just scored like 2 min in the game. Home field + crowds = 12th player.

    1. 2010.WC victory was fluke by all means.we didnt create ample chances aginst brazil and we got out played in first half.Well our defense was oraganized and wesly scored 2 goals.And roben give Bastos yellow card.and Melo got red.thast how we won..that didnt happen against spain wjo kept ball in their feet.

  49. Strong Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord = good competition for Eredivisie and benefit NT.
    I’m impressed with the way Brazilian players hustle, tackle, win 1-on-1 battle vs Spanish players. When Ramos faulted Gustavo and Casillas saved from Fred, reminding me Puyol faulted Robben or Casillas saved from Robben. I like the way Brazil counter attack using speed when Spain turn the ball over. Had Pedro scored perhaps the game’s momentum could be changed but Luis Silva said no way. Brazil CB pairs T.Silva and David Luiz were very good. For the WC, perhaps it is easier for NT to play Spain than Brazil with almost 100,000 fans behind them at Maracana. I also noticed sometimes Spain leaving both posted unguarded for corner. I think the final is over.

  50. What Brazil is doing is exactly what I wanted Holland to do when i said we should use more counter attacks and forget about possession. The brazilian midfielders are doing an excellent pressing on spanish players and they re well helped by their wingers and lateral backs. Spain loses many balls due to that.

    Brazil is doing it with Gustavo-Paulinho, i m sure we can do it with players among N De Jong, De Guzman, Van Ginkel, Clasie…I also believe Blind, Janmaat can do a good pressing like are doing Alves and Marcelo, they have the stamina for.

    1. You and hien both seem right to me: the pressing Brazil did was… risky… requiring fast adjustment from the team. Early, fast attacks — and swarming coverage — beat tika taka. Sweet. I’m sure LVG was watching closely.

    1. In my opinion a lot of credit goes to the referee who let the teams play and didn’t see a need to overprotect the floppers. (Dutch referee, by the way.) When Spain are forced to play a physical game and the referee is neutral, they struggle. But good tactics by Brazil as well to play high up the pitch. In WC2010 we tried to pressure but did not play a high enough line. Hopefully that will change now with the turnover, and we’ll have the players who can employ these tactics when necessary.

  51. The promising youngster will continue his career at the Eindhoven side and will ink a contract until June 2018 with his new club

    PSV have announced the signing of Netherlands international Adam Maher from AZ for an undisclosed fee.

    The 19-year-old will sign a five-year deal with the Eredivisie giants upon the completion of his medical on Monday, with the fee believed to be in the region of €8 million.

    The Eindhoven side were in the market for a new attacking midfielder due to the expected departure of Ola Toivonen this summer and identified Maher as the ideal candidate to replace him.

    “It had been our wish to lure him to PSV for quite some time. I am very pleased with his arrival, because we really wanted him,” sporting director Marcel Brands commented on the transfer.

    “We have signed yet another talented Dutchman, which suits our philosophy.”

    Maher came through the ranks of the AZ youth academy and has developed into a key player at the Alkmaar side in the past two seasons.

    He had also caught the attention of clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Ajax, but will continue his career at PSV instead.

    Maher becomes PSV’s third signing of the summer transfer window after the previous arrival of Jeffrey Bruma and Florian Jozefzoon.

  52. Spain can’t survive without Tika Taka.They don’t have indiviual giant killer like Robben,Ronaldo or Messi.So once the lost of Tika Taka,Spain is really nothing.Well done to Brazil,congratulations……

    1. especially with neymar playing with barcelona, its not that I rate him highly, but messi and neymar in the team, mean less change for Spanish forwards to develop there and will be detremental to Spanish attackers which are already weak imo.

        1. Well said,good observation,Jake.I agreed that and furthermore Puyol is no longer playing.Their defend is weakened alots…alots…(if not of Puyol,Robben should have make the goal…)

  53. Brazil still unbeaten in Maracana since 1950, I wish spain – brazil meet each other in SF.
    How it sounds, Netherlands, the first European team to win WC in South America and first team to beat Brazil in Maracana.

    1. brazil won’t reach the semis. they are the only one team who takes seriously this kind of cups and friendly games. both spain and italy were tired and not too much interested in the confederation cup. in real competitive games spain,argentina,oranje,germany and italy all are better than brazil

      1. That seems to be the consensus, ferenc… but Brazil sure ate Spain’s lunch today. 😉

        A drubbing like this leaves a certain stench behind, whether they take it seriously or no. The world can see it for what it is: a humbling defeat.

        All the teams you mentioned, by the way, are European, except one. The consensus also dictates that European teams can’t win WCs in South America.

        1. if you ask my opinion,i think argentina will win the world cup…

          i didn’t say that brazil weren’t better,just say they were far more determined than spain.

      2. there are team who can beat brazil those are Belgium,Netherlands(with some players).Germany and Arjentina and if spain takes their younger ones..they are ther too.i hope they will..if they face any of these teams they will have hard time before final.i think spain choked becoz of old legs.Alonso absnce has affected them with players are getting old and slow,i was expecting this result.but this is not the end of spain,if they take their younger ones they have very very chance and they will be hard to beat..Arjentina backline is some what like us,they wont go further due to weak defense.still teams look balanced are Italy,Spain,Brazil,Belgium and Germany,Close to this are Portugal and dutch….Dutch have everychance opf beating these teams if they dont play some mediocre dutch players.

      3. Did we watch the same game? Spain was quite motivated (at least some players were, Iniesta for instance). Also they had repeatedly said that they wanted that one line missing from their collection 😉

        What I find amazing is their ineptitude at doing anything good with a corner kick.

        OTOH, @ferenc, if I were you I’d be worried about Barcelona: both Jordi Alba and Dani Alves looked very bad, missed passes, slow and the like.

  54. I really think 2018 will be the year for NT. As for the current squad, I think time will be our nemesis leading up to the WC.We do have talents , but the question is whether they will be ready in time for WC especially those who are on the verge of joining new clubs.It will all come down to the end of 2013-2014 season after which the coach hav to go to the drawing board and analyze the performance of players. one might wonder will their be enough time then. The 1994 NT had the young De Boer brother, Berkamp, Overmars, Numan, Van der Sar, Winter, but it was in 1998 when they hit their full potential an showcased their ultimate talent.

  55. Im sure Huntelaar will be recalled for the friendly against Portugal. the friendly against china and Indonesia was just of another of those games that shows RVP sucks in orange. Huntelaar will show him how to score goals.

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