My friends, it has been too long… Happy New Year to all of you!
May 2016 be a great year for you all. I hope most wishes will come true. Not all, as we need some wishes for 2017 and beyond. I do know we won’t win the Euros this year. Sorry to bring that up….
My 2015 was rocky. A rollercoaster ride. Mostly all tremendous lessons and learning. Can’t have the peaks without the troughs, right?
I won’t bore you with the details of my journey. Unless you really want to know :-).
From a Dutch Football perspective, it was a terrible year. Downright awful!
I am still not over it and it’s part of the reason why I needed a break after the last friendly games we played.
Or should I say: game. The Germany game not being played. Saved us another defeat probably….
Dutch football is sick. And for this reason, I did not find a lot of motivation to write a lot. I do apologise. It’s part of the reason, but an important one.
However, this year, we’ll pick up the pace. End of year in Holland always gives us lots of good interviews in several Dutch media and I will bring you some of those in the coming weeks.
A new year does call for a look back at the previous year. 2015, the year Dutch football got egg on its face. And we saw it coming, didn’t we?
In 2010, we reached the finals of the World Cup. With players under contract at Inter Milan, Arsenal, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Man City. We lost by a Casillas toe and a Webb fuck up.
In 2012, we had our first massive warning, but under the guidance of Louis van Gaal we almost repeated the 2010 result. With players under contract at Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Feyenoord, AC Milan, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
Playing an un-Dutch style of game. Covering up our weaknesses and utilising the skills of the likes or Robben, Robin, Sneijder, Vlaar and Depay.
It resulted in some good moves for players like Janmaat, Blind and De Vrij.
But you know what happened….
The Dutch Federation felt it was smart to hire a totally different style of coach than success bringer LVG. Focusing on bringing Dutch School football back to the fore.
Without Robben and Van Persie we failed to dazzle. We failed to score. We failed to stop goals from dropping in and we ended up without Dutch School football and without results.
Albania, Luxembourg and Andorra qualified for the Euros. Holland didn’t.
Exit Hiddink, but Bert van Oostveen stayed and so did Danny Blind.
Time will tell if Blind is the right man for the job.
The debacle of Oranje is not an isolated issue.
This year, Frank de Boer claimed Ajax could go all the way to the semis in the Europa League. They didn’t even survive their group. With Molde. And Celtic.
Feyenoord didn’t register. AZ and Groningen were bit part actors on the European scene and only PSV was able to impress. But, at the expense of their domestic results.
While we had players at Real Madrid, Inter and Arsenal in 2010, in 2015 our only top notch players were Arjen Robben at Bayern and Daley Blind at Man United. But Blind is a utility player at a club struggling to sustain their status in the EPL.
All other players seem to be fringe players. Janmaat, Anita and Wijnaldum are playing relegation football, Bacuna will probably get relegated this season. Martins Indi is struggling at Porto. Memphis is not performing yet for Man United. Nigel de Jong, Raf van der Vaart. Klaas Jan Huntelaar…all disappointing in the autumn/winter of their careers.
Steven Berghuis disappeared, Vlaar is back at AZ, De Vrij is injured and Lens can’t get a look in at Sunderland. Nor can Clasie at Southampton. Siem de Jong got his chance at Newcastle and blew it while his younger brother Luuk does well in the Eredivisie but failed at Gladbach and Newcastle. The list goes on. Van Wolfswinkel… Eemnes….Biseswar…Babel….
It doesn’t look good.
And it’s not just the senior team of Oranje, the youth teams have disappointed also. I will give you my analysis at the end of this post.
Erik Pieters is a high light and that means we are in trouble. Krul is injured, Vorm is happy as a sub in London but Stekelenburg seems on the way back.
We are still developing talent, but our biggest prospect – Zyiech – decided to play for Morroco while El Ghazi, Boetius, Maher, Klaassen and Vilhena don’t really make a dent internationally.
Still, I am not without hope. We do develop good players, with grit even. Davy Propper is one to watch. Against Man United and Wolfsburg he showed his class and talent. Rick Karsdorp, Sven van Beek and Terence Kongolo have quite some growth and Bazoer will most likely become a world class midfielder. Kenny Tete and Riedewald have a lot of future too, as has young midfielder Donny van de Beek.
Once Jetro Willems is back from injury and Stefan de Vrij returns, we do seem to have a couple of good youngsters who could give impetus to Oranje.
The developments of said Pieters, Afellay and Van Ginkel at Stoke City is also quite hopeful.
We need to accept reality as it is. Which for me means that Danny Blind will have to be realistic about our capabilities. He is in charge of the senior team and needs to get us to qualify for the World Cup.
How he does it is up to him. 5-3-2 is an option but all hinges on the availability of our players. I’m talking Robben and Sneijder, in particular.
We can play 4-3-3 against certain opponents if the big names are available. We can play 3-4-3 and 5-3-2. Depending on opponent and players fit and in form.
But we do need to add grit and desire and clarity of our tactics. Trying to dazzle with a team lacking quality and what I call “automatisms” is shear suicide.
The reason why Spain and Germany can play their football as they do has all to do with the fact that the spine of these teams is made up of players that have played together a lot and for a long time.
We are in the process of mixing the old with the new. The very gifted with the less so gifted.
Bas Dost is no Van Persie. Jeremain Lens or Luciano Narsingh or El Ghazi is no Arjen Robben. And Davy Klaassen is no Rafa van der Vaart. Hell, Cillesen is no Van der Sar.
So, we need to adapt our tactics to these realities.
At the same time, the clubs and the KNVB need to have learned from our woeful descent.
And here is my analysis.
In the 1960s and 1970s, all national teams had their own “identity”. They played according to the nation’s culture. Now, I will be generalising for a spell here, but please endulge me.
Coz I know West Germany actually had great players in the 1970s, just like Hungary had a superb team in the 1950s. Like the Austrians. But overall, the nations developed their football in a certain way.
England was all kick and rush. Lots of running, phyiscal strength, opportunistic play and tactically “undeveloped”.
Italy leaned on their defence. Catenaccio was the key tactics. They had great players in Mazzola and Rivera to name a few, but they played with 7 behind the ball.
West and East Germany were teams with lots of lungs and discipline. Athletes, never give up, but tactically predictable.
Spain was always full of gifted players but lacked confidence and lacked team spirit.
Brazil was playful but not always disciplined and for a spell in the mid 1970s very physically tough and even mean, like other South American nations (Argentina, Uruguay).
The Scandinavians played like England, with less talent. In the 1980s, Denmark had a period with sensational players but weren’t able to sustain that level.
The USSR, leaning on the Dynamo Kiev style, had magnificently fit players who played a programmed style of football, very much in sync with the communism of that day. The team is everything, the individual has to make way for the team. Most players wanted to reach the top so they could defect to the west whenever their chances came up.
And the Dutch, well we sort of invented Total Football. We had tactical and technical advantages. We analysed the game played by the other nations and we were usually able to outsmart them. We had players all over the pitch with superb ball skills. Players like Ruud Krol, Rinus Israel, Willem van Hanegem and Piet Keizer could do anything with a ball. From 45 meter passes to reverse through passes to scoring goals.
And herein lies the problem. We also brought arrogance to the pitch. The 1974 squad looked like rock stars and the likes of Gullit and Van Basten wouldn’t be much different in 1988.
However, the other nations all took a page from the Oranje book. In the 1980s, Johan Cruyff injected some Dutch tactics and development systems into Barca which has fueled the Spanish national team. In 2000, the German federation copied the development systems of the KNVB and in 2006 the world watched Ozil, Muller and Kroos come to the fore.
Arsene Wenger is a renowned fan of Dutch football and Jose Mourinho used what he learned from Van Gaal in his early career in Portugal. As did Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello at AC Milan in Italy.
In England, the likes of Rene Meulensteen, Dean Gorre and Andries Jonker work in academies of big clubs while our KNVB coaches have gone to Australia, South Korea and even India and China to teach their principles.
This means, that most nations around us have used the Dutch total football style into their existing playing styles. So the English still play physical and in a high pace, but using Dutch styles in their game. Germany still have mental strength and focus, but they have added our tactical and technical skills. Same for Italy and Spain and other nations….
And the Dutch? Did we incorporate English grit? German mentality? Italian defensive qualities?
No we did not. We believe(d) that being able to control the ball was all it took.
Ad this is why our top talents, such as Memphis, Berghuis, Boetius, Raymond Beerens and others (Babel, Drenthe, Maduro, De Ridder) were never able to bring their level of quality to other competitions. Nice and playful in de Eredivisie. Lacking everything in other areas of the game.
Only a few can rise above it. Only the sensationally talented (Robben, Van der Vaart, Sneijder) or the very committed ones (De Vrij, Anita, Nigel de Jong)….
Will it be enough? Probably not.
But hopefully, the failure to reach the Euros might have woken up some people. With coaches like Frank de Boer, Gio van Bronckhorst, Phillip Cocu, Peter Bosz, Ronald Koeman and Henk Fraser sticking to their guns, we might see the impetus needed to change things.
Whether the current board and management team of the KNVB will usher us into this New Realism, remains to be seen….
Coming up…. Interviews with Dennis Bergkamp, Guus Hiddink and Danny Blind!!
Danke Jan – and happy new year to you!
Fantastic post, Jan. Your analysis feels spot on to me. Here’s to a great 2016 for you, dutchsoccersite, and oranje.
Great piece, as usual, Jan. Looking forward to more.
Curious, though, why do you think the conveyer belt of talent has shut down. I understand that some players are just generational talents (Robben, Bergkamp, RVN, MVB, Gullitt, etc.) but they are not even producing the guys who, while great talents, were maybe a rung below—the DeBoer’s, Stam, Seedorf, Davids, Overmars, Reizinger, etc.
Is it that NL has a comparatively small population and the percentages are that you can expect a dip once in awhile, or is it a flaw in the system? (I suppose the logical explanation is, like most things, its a combination of both, but am curious as to your take.)
I think it indeed is a combination of things. Culturally the Dutch are spoilt and somewhat arrogant. The Ajax youth beat Liverpool and Real Madrid in the youth team CL competition. With good football. This is some years ago now. That gives these lads the idea they can do the same when they’re seniors. But while we keep relying on “skill” and “tactical smarts”. But we forget about other elements of the game. Our independent nature also results in young players being difficult. El Ghazi, Kishna, Vilhena, Memphis, Drenthe…they think that some good games in the youth will pave their way to become C Ronaldo.
I think it boils down to 1) fewer players than big nations, 2) mentality issues, 3) lacking development focus (mental, defending, sheer physical strength, 4) lack of resistance.
The latter is a result of all talents being scooped up by the big clubs. Players like Memphis and Boetius hardly get any resistance until they reach the senior squad. They win titles in the youth and win games 12-0. This doesn’t help.
It is no surprise that players like Wouters, Virgil van Dijk, Jaap Stam and Nigel de Jong were not really rated high in their days. Stam was overlooked until his 22nd. Wouters was brought to Ajax by Cruyff and Marco van Basten was gobsmacked “why buy a butcher? We are Ajax?”
Players like Reiziger, Bogarde, Numan, Cocu and Van Bronckhorst all started as forwards. All of them wingers. Reiziger and Bogarde were converted to wing backs by LVG. Cocu and Van Bronckhorst did the work themselves. Cocu going from hot-cold winger to rock solid midfielder. Gio going from most talented Feyenoord player from the 1990s to left back at Barca and Oranje.
It took mentality and sheer will for them to get there. This is what is mostly lacking now.
Kishna didn’t succeed at Ajax, really, and made a big move to Italy. Making good money. Berghuis was a talent at AZ. Could have gone to Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord but went for glory in the EPL. He is now selling pies in Watford, during the half time break….
Thanks, Jan. Thoughtful, informative, interesting, as always.
I think to your list of players who transformed themselves—changed positions to fight for playing time–you can add Dirk Kuyt, and, if I’m not mistaken, Edgar Davids; first time I saw him play was as a sub for Overmars as a left winger in an Ajax-Real Madrid friendly.
It seems to me though that for Oranje to get back to where we’d like, Feyenoord, PSV and Ajax have to lead the way. After some lean years Feyenoord is moving in that direction, there is a lot to like about the way PSV conducts itself and the players that are coming through that team (Cocu impresses me as a coach), but Ajax, of who I’ve always been a fan kind of leaves me cold these days. I sometimes get the feeling that even DeBoer isn’t too excited about their mentality.
Looking forward to your upcoming posts. Thank you again.
Happy new year Everyone,thanks Jan for the new post realistic..
I am not at all impressed with Danny blind coaching.
He is so slow to react over changes
He sticks with same players which hiddink selected for Ecq2016.which cost Hiddink his Job
He finds a a way to play his son blind over Hendrix.Ake,bazoer, and wijnaldum..THATS a sin AND WHEN U DO SIN U R GOING TO GET PUNISHED..its like BVM with bommel over siting strootman on bench and not calling younger ones..
if he thinks that Roben and Snijder would save him every time like a miracle,then he is in delusion..
“””He is now selling pies in Watford, during the half time break….”””””its not just with berghuis its the situation with many who made stupid decisions..if they have common sense then they will look in to Luuk Dejong and Jeffry bruma..
Happy New year Jan.was expecting a new post. What do you think of Oussama Tannane. Maybe it would be foolish to compare him with Robben now but I think he is special and also talented.Given that teams apart from Ajax, PSV,Feyenoord are always shadows in eredivisie,m keeping fingers crossed his move abroad will not hinder his development.
Ousamam could definitely surpass Depay.(hE WILL)..But surpassing or even Equalizing Roben is IMPOSSIBLE.
Hi Wilson, yes I rate Tannane! He is one of those special players. He is not very consistent and had massive discipiine issues when at Ajax, in the youth. But as he is performing now he is special alright
Looks like FDB is tracking Jeremine Lens.
FACT
Happy New Year to you Jan! I’m very pleased to read a new post from you and I pretty much agree with what you have said, “Dutch Arrogance” has been a sticking point for decades now but maybe things will change whilst we are all watching Iceland in the 2016 Euros!
I think injury has played a big part in our downfall over the past 3 seasons, in particular Strootman and Van Ginkle, if they could have been our set 6&8 with Wes at 10 things could have been very different. We need a consistent spine in our team (3,4,6,8,10,9) the other positions can allow for minor changes. Until we get stability we will struggle, coach included!
I can’t help but smile when I read the names of Cocu and Van Bronkhorst, they really did play for the badge and not the name.
But I’m going to be optimistic and get behind the players and the coach and this current setback will just become a small blimp on our historical radar that will be forgotten when we hold aloft the Cup in 2018!
Some of my family from Holland have been with me over the Christmas period and it has been interesting to hear that they are switching off the Eredvise and switching on the EPL due to the quality of game, and they are all mad Ajax fans, it’s a shame but reality.
Anyhow let’s hope for a great 2016 on this blog and on the pitch !
@Vanbanger…Stroot was spoiled by injury and ginkel was spoiled by chelsea…they need little time to recover…But Now we have Wijnaldu,Bazoer,Hendrix,Proper and Ake…they are also capbale of that..the problem is non qulaity players is been ferquently getting selected..with a horrendous hole in defense with weil,BMI,Vrijil and Blind(daley)..
This switch from Eredivisie to EPL is mainly caused by the Dutch media. In Holland, you couldn’t really watch the EPL games unless you watched BBC, in the past. Now, Dutch media (Fox) is presenting full games every weekend incl highlights etc and the Dutch foorball programs discuss English games in similar detail as they do Dutch games.
I think if they did this with Turkish games in the same way, people will get more interested in that competition. It is all about what the media serve up to the viewers. But obviously, the EPL standards are high and the games great and the excitement of the competition is top drawer. I follow the EPL more than the Eredivisie as well.
Augsburg have snapped up Jeffery
Gouweleeuw from Alkmaar. Another Centre back with immense potential but again gone unnoticed playing for shadow team in eredivisie. Augsburg are up against Liverpool in EL,hopefully he will be able to develop more with superior level of football than eredivise.
Great news for the 24 year old.
But not being picked for the NT does not mean he was unnoticed. Or do you mean unnoticed by yourself? haha
Well you have consider when was the last time any player apart from PSV,Feyenoord, Ajax was selected for NT and actually started the game. This bascially shows how players from other teams in eredivisie will always have to move elsewhere to prove their credentials and get a shot at NT.I will take Hakim Ziyech as a example here. He was never considered for U21s until now when KNVB is relishing about his potential but unfortunately he has opted to against that. Now why he was wasn’t considered for the U21s, maybe you can answer.
Well that has nothing to do with what I said..
I would normally ignore your theories wilson because you seem to ignore logic and usually ignore any of the questions which I present to you – but since you ask, if I am honest I think you’re wrong here again.
“players from other teams in eredivisie will always have to move elsewhere to prove their credentials and get a shot at NT”
First this does not have much significance even if it is true because you want winners on your team, second, it is not true anyways!
Here is what I consider,9 thanks for asking and maybe I can answer. 😉
By the way, the KNVB does not select players at any level, managers they hire do that.
Also Ziyech is not a very good example for your case at all. He has had potential long before now. Also I don’t know why you would say he was not considered for the U21s when he has actually played for them, and also U20 and U19.. Also he has been selected for the Dutch senior squad even tho not deemed good enough to start then pulled out himself with injury, but now he himself has chosen Morocco when he would certainly have made the senior team and started, if he was a little more patient (probably even this last fall).
With Gouweleeuw it is a completely different situation IMO he has not deserved that call yet (but that doesn’t mean he cannot improve to the level)..
“Well you have consider when was the last time any player apart from PSV,Feyenoord, Ajax was selected for NT and actually started the game.”
How about Luuk de Jong and Leroy Fer, both I think was playing for Twente when they first started, Promes with Twente too, and also I think Propper was not yet at PSV when he made his debut. Plus both van Ginkel and van Aanholt on loan at Vitesse also when they made their debuts? Maher and Viergever at AZ. Narsingh was at Heerenveen, Toornstra from Den Haag.
And then of course (but I don’t recall if they started) there is also Berghuis at AZ, Chery at Groningen, and of course Ziyech at Twente who have been selected because of good Eredivisie form without the help of Ajax PSV and Feyenoord…
Any example besides Ziyech who should have been called up?
I try to think of anyone now who deserves a call from Dutch league but not ‘the big 3’ and the best one is maybe Kevin Diks from Vitesse or Hans Hateboer at Groningen, 2 good young RBs with loads of potential but still I prefer Karsdorp Tete Janmaat van der Wiel and maybe van Rhijn too.
What do you think?
OK Pals I will start with Hakim Ziyech. He played only three games for U21s and that was under Albert Stuivenberg. vs Scotland in which he scored twice,vs Luxembourg and vs Israel. He never came up the youth ranks as what you have mentioned as he represented Morocco at U 15
level.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakim_Ziyech
After Stuivenverg joined Van Gaal at Man United,Adrie coster came on board and this was the end of his chapter at U21 level. In other words he never received a Call up from him and eventually they bombed out of the qualification. This is why I said he was not considered.but again looking at 3 caps you can always base your argument on.
Going back Jefferey Gouweleeuw though he had great debut season with AZ he also featured only 3 times for U 21s. Yet If you consider defenders like Mike Van Hoorn and Bram
Nuytinck who went to the Euros,jus look at them now and compare Gouweleeuw to them in terms of their development where ever they are todate Anderlecht, Ajax and Alkmaar.
Coming back to NT selection Virgil Van Dijik was named as best CB in eredivisie team of the year 2012- 2013 season, yet he had to move to Celtic and then Southampton to get a his first call up. So by saying Jeffery Gouweleeuw hasn’t deserve the call up is kind of lime and baseless. If you look at 2014 – 2015 season when they beat Feyenoord to 3rd place,this was also due to the formidable CB partnership of Hoedt and him. I havnt checked the stats here but it would be intresting to compare their stats to that of Feyenoord pair who were named in the eredivisie team of the year 2014-2015.
Coming back to Hakim Ziyech selection in NT. In all the qualifications who was sneijders backup.??? Ziyech was called after Hiddink had already announced 30 member provisional squad. The team already had Wesley Sneijder, Tjarron Chery, Wijnaldum,Clasie and Blind in the midfield. Mind you no way he would have gotten any game time
and as a result he pulled out with injury. I mean looking at both games NT played. Sneijder and Chery were both on the bench vs USA while Sneijder played whole 90 vs Lativa. So there you this just justifies why he pulled out in the training.
Now to the KNVB. When Ziyech announced his interest to play for Morocco, the Moroccan FA also wanted to move in for El Ghazi,which resulted in his selection in the next set of qualifications. Now definetly the KNVB must have assessed this issue with the coaches given his talents before making the decision to select him because as I remember there was no way he deserved that Call up. It was pre planned and I don’t think it was the coaches decision but a polictial one just to nail him down.
Lastly the players you mentioned. If I recall correctly yes Viergever during the south American tour and Toornstra during the Asian Tour did start but the rest you might wanna check again.
I didn’t say Ziyech came up through the youth ranks. Maybe you misread, otherwise you put words in my mouth once again.
I simply mentioned to you that he did indeed play for U21 (and also U19 and U20), only because you has already said he was ‘never considered’. But now you mean something different than the word considered, maybe you just meant ‘never preferred’?
Do you understand that words you use have meaning? Seems like an important step to communicating with people.. 🙂
Actually, I agree with you that Ziyech should have been locked up earlier but still that is not the point I wanted to discuss either! I only argue with your idea that only Ajax Feye and PSV players get chosen…
I don’t think you should use Ziyech as an example for this, since he would have played for Netherlands had he not chosen to represent Morocco himself, and he would have then done it without the help of the ‘big 3’ dutch clubs.
So I gave you a list of 10 examples of players, who did not play with Ajax Feyenoord or PSV, and were chosen for the NT based on their Eredivisie form (and only just from the last few years), and that was after I looked it up – so no, I will not go look it all up again. Haha
Besides Ziyech, you give Gouweleeuw and van Dijk as examples for this theory of yours.
Well, all 3 are arguable (Ziyech as I mentioned my opinion already, and for the 2 D, whether they deserved the call before leaving Eredivisie) but if we give them to you anyways – still it looks like I win, 10-3 😉
Hey pals congrulations on you win.
Without exaggerating much here I will just point out some of the things I said which you failed to note.
Selected and STARTED for NT.
The reference here was basically
as to what Blind did with Tete and Riedewald giving them the benefit of doubt after making some phone calls but regardless of that my point here was why can’t it be players who are performing well in minor teams.
Well I’m not saying this but as what I have read in some blogs this was why Ziyech decided to ditch NT. Never the less that’s is own choice but the reality check here is when will this system change and under which coach.yeah only under Van Gaal was the last time this happened when he took a experimental side to Asian tour after which he ditched most if them.
As for the list of players you gave most of them were used as subs , late cameos or brought in because of injuries.
You’re right there are a lot of reasons that spots become available on the NT which is why any players need to perform consistently.
Thanks for finally conceding that there is no conspiracy or system in place to keep players from lesser clubs away.
Curious, why didn’t you bring up Tete and Riedewald in the first place if that’s what you meant, or if that’s what you were trying to reference?
So if those 2 get the ‘benefit of the doubt’, as you say, then are you saying Gouweleeuw should have been chosen over Riedewald?
I think Tete and Riedewald selections can be justified as Ajax had the best defensive form in the beginning of the Eredivisie season. AZ let 5 goals in their first 2 matches, Ajax took 10 games to let in 5.
I should add, I’m not even saying I would have picked them either, necessarily, but it seems there was reason at least.
Jan what do you think of the idea of merging of eredivise and Pro league as in the pipeline for 2018.do reckon both countries will be able to yield from it.
Ah really? interesting
The Benelux league idea may happen? Too bad Alex doesn’t post much here any longer he was always talking of this idea
I can’t see a problem with trying a hybrid league, if it turns out not to work then you just go back to how it was. Remember the EPL is not that old and they had lots of different systems and split leagues in England in the early days, so I see trial and error as a good way forward.
I wish I could watch more Eredivisie games so I could get a better understanding of the players and the league itself, but time and geographic’s make that a little difficult for me, a lot of you bring up names that I have no idea about so I can’t comment, hopefully your assessments are accurate so I can trust your judgements!
Hey Van Banger as Jan gave the link earlier.Klaassdat.net shows the weekly highlights of eredivisie. Almost same as the weekly epl review. Check it out.
Oops it’s kaassoldaat.net.
Thanks Wilson I will make the effort from now to check it out, I used to get it on Setanta but there is nothing now.
what do you think, can he do it?
Either way you have to love Robben!
http://www.football-oranje.com/robben-targeting-2018-world-cup/
Yep I’m backing him all the way to lead us to Qualification at least !
Happy New Year once again for all….
(in Serbia we are celebrating two times New Year…31 December, and 13 January ) Because I have always one in reserve.
Good text and words “keep calm and support”.Might be missing SFR Yugoslavia(1943-1991)(Croatia,Bosnia and Hercegovina,Slovenia,Serbia(Kosovo,Vojvodina),Montenegro and Macedonia)
They had two disadvantages…1.Not professional discipline that is required for the football tops…and 2. blabla questions : ” why they (Croatia,Serbia……)have 3,4 players in NT and we only 1,2″..etc…it is bad for team…
But Yugoslavia had a couple of good matches in 1970s.(even against Netherland)
1971. Netherland-Yugoslavia 1-1,o-2.
1.June 1975.Yugoslavia-Netherland 3-0(friendly)(Kees Kist and Bert Van Marwijk played instead Cruyff and Neeskens)
1979 Yugoslavia-Argentina 4-2(friendly)…..
And I am not sure that Ajax would won Red Star Belgrade in the final Cup European champions,Wembley 1971.Cruyff was(in my opinion) the best player of all time (except situation Vogts ,Cruyff,Beckenbauer in final 1974-dark shadow)..but,who know…Velibor Vasović(Ajax) was slow and old ..against quick dribblers of Red Star.(Panathinaikos,God or something else saved Ajax maybe)
AZ Alkmaar -Partizan ..perhaps Vasović would played like Brežančić….ok I am kidding.(PS Partizan coach has played in Portugal and his assistant was Portuguese …there lies the secret…probably)..But “victory comes from Alkmaar”said old proverb.
Maybe it means that Netherland must to find answer for Portugal ….the rest will be easy…
Van Gaal for technical director of Dutch side…Danny Blind said sugestion…It would be a good idea…
Chicharito,Riquelme(Barcelona),Di Maria …he do not know to make instant teams…
hugh..I do not know to put this video on link..but try to find it…not bad..Serbian Cruyff
Dragan Stojković “Piksi”(Dribbling skills)-YouTube
“Pixie”against Argentines,Spaniards ,Brasilians…French league..Gullit ,Rijkaard,Brehme,Matthaus etc…After a serious injury (of those early 1990s)he went to Japan…
http://www.thinkfootball.co.uk/jeffrey-bruma-coming-of-age-at-psv/?…….
Bruma is turning in to a beast…Devrij+Bruma or Bruma+Raidwald..with Kongolo.Reikik,vanbeek and vetlman is the future CBs for NT.they are maturing fast..hope Reikik comes back to eredivise soon or else he will be lost..
Bruma is prime exmaple of how u ca hamper ur development if u move to plastic money club and if come back then u have a chance..
Agree about the risks of moving to money clubs, but I think these guys know what they are doing.
Sometimes a player as a sportsman wants to take on a challenge and really believes he can do it. Hard to blame a guy for that really.
These young defenders coming around could not come soon enough!
YES THATS were needed guidance from WISE PEOPLE..Look at Wijnaldum..he left at 24…well grounded guy..while Depay is mentally unfit too.at the age of 13-22 every ones makes stupid decisions..its natural for me…but thats were u need to listen to Wise people..or at least they should look in to the past failed players…
Very interesting analysis Jan. It’s been a truly demoralizing period since the World Cup and we’ve missed your posts.
It seems that the best teams in the world have learned to play Dutch football, but the Dutch themselves no longer do so. We’ve either taught them too well or we’ve failed to continue to advance ourselves.
At this low point, I’m in favor of starting fresh with an entirely new generation of players, determining their existing strengths and weakness, and devising a system that best suits them. If Belgium can develop such quality players and play attacking football, there’s no reason we cannot once again begin to do so. The future is only forward.
intresting…..
Kind of disappointed with Oussama Tannane move to St Etienne.Serie A would have been a better option for him to enhance his development rather than Ligue 1 where it’s always one horse race and rest follow after. I just hope this doesn’t ruin his career.
Agree weird decision, hopefully it wasn’t for a bigger paycheck.
The competitiveness of the French league def took a hit with the PSG money explosion.. sad.
Used to be great to watch a few years ago. Very tactical, very even.
But clearly the state of the French NT is not linked with my opinion of their league, haha
Man United 3-3 Newcastle.I missed the game.any comments.
Wonderful game. Slow start, Man U much better. Nice attacking play. Early Rooney goal after hands in the box (penalty) and beautiful counter attack with Lindgard scoring 2-0. Second half Wijnaldum scores 2-1 and quite a silly penalty conceded by Smalling meant 2-2.
Lindgard missed a sitter (as did Rooney) and Memphis came on for Lindgard. Good Memphis solo ended up 3-2 for ManU thanks to Rooney taking the blocked Depay shot on his inside boot. Scorcher. Memphis sets up Felainy missing another sitter and in the dying minutes, deflected shot by Dummett ends in top corner. 3-3. Great game. Man U should have scored two more (Janmaat denied a penalty)
Does any one think Riedewald can be a DM.im not sure about his dribbling skills but he is certainly fast with good defensive attributes given his debut in NT at LB.
He is also not too tall as normal defenders and not too short either. He has got that right height to complement his built and speed. Could be interesting.
Cannavaro???
Disaster was inevitable for Hiddink and Blind..since they stuck with BMi,weil,Depay,Afellay,RVP and Hunter..i mean team had no pace,no chances created,poor workrates,poor stretgh,poor stamina…So they were inviting defeat.
.i think KNVB is doing another gambling with Danny blind..2 coaches who terribly failed to qualify for EC with 3 berths avaibale…its unpardonable mistake form blind to slecet flop players even after seeing with naked eye under hiddink at the expense of real talented ones..
if Blind wants to build a team then his pool should be
Dost—Luuk—Locadia—–3
Wijnaldum–Abdelhk Naouri–Williams–Annholt-Vanrhijn-promes-,elghazi-8
Clasie–Vanginkel–Proper—-3
Hendrix-Ake-Bazoer-Anita—-3
kongolo-Peiters-raidwald—3
Reikik-Vanbeek-Devrij-Bruma-veltman-5
Karsdrop–kevin dijks-janmaat-tete-4
krul–zoet-Cillessen-vermeer–4
total–33 players..this should be our pool
its simple unless there is player rotation and positional competition there is no way out this dilemma for NT. with Euro Failure, Danny needs to step and start rotating players jus like what JB said “starting fresh with an entirely new generation of players, determining their existing strengths and weakness, and devising a system that best suits them.”
If Danny doesn’t change his style and sticks to the same mentality and approach in next friendlys, NT will again bomb out of WCQ as well thats for sure.
you look at team like Italy, Spain, France, England, they had so many player rotation done in the EC qualifers and yet they are building on it. when it comes to NT they want to build the foundation on Robben which is jus catastrophic in case if he gets injured or is not fit.it is also not looking good for him getting injured frequently at Bayern.
yet again Robben is targeting 2018 and I jus hope the coaches will again not use him as focal point with no balance in the team. I mean looking at this situation if supposingly if it does happen what will happen after 2018, it will be back to square 1.
I think U21s is a good place to start to building the foundation on.
“you look at team like Italy, Spain, France, England, they had so many player rotation done in the EC qualifers and yet they are building on it.”
Have you got any actual information to support this? Like, # of players each team used (including Netherlands)?
Are there any examples of teams who gain success by starting fresh with an entirely new generation of players?
I just don’t think it’s so simple as switching players in and out. Roster is only one of many ingredients to make success..
I am hurt and disappointed too but, even with all of the weakest players we had play for us for the qualifiers, I do believe we should have had a squad that could qualify.
Hey Pals you are missing the point here. It’s obvious the instant sucess that you are talking about can not be achieved overnight. The main idea here was “determining their existing strengths and weakness, and devising a system that best suits them.” for starters as what JB said and than building on it.I hope the picture is clear here. I mean by par Robben, nobody else has been able to show the Authority at NT level, so why not start fresh. As for Sneijder I think if he doesn’t move from Turkey,his time is coming to a end.
I think this is what they should do. Everybody should sit on the table and say hey look this is not the time to pin point at each other but the time to move on. I mean if they are confident in Danny Blind then might well as start fresh with new faces and look towards a new horizon. Well since they are out of the EC,why not go for a tour with a extended squad and………..as what JB said.
I don’t think you read the questions. I am not saying anything about instant success haha
Simply asking you about what you had written (you quoted the only thing I disagreed from JB) and what you added about the other countries didn’t make sense to me.. I am open to learn
You have no answers to these questions?
Not debating the main idea at all. I see your main point so I did not question it.
And I guarantee you they plan to do the things you wrote in your last paragraph. Who wouldn’t want those things? I want fresh blood too! who doesn’t? I don’t see anyone disagreeing about keeping the same players and def not me.. So you’re sort of bringing water to the ocean on the rest of that.
But that’s not what I ask about, I just disagree with going with an entirely new squad.
Was I wrong to think ‘entirely new generation’ actually meant ‘entirely’? So I asked the question.
But now Robben should be involved and maybe Sneijder! Haha
http://www.goal.com/en/news/7180/galleries/2016/01/14/19320492/rooney-back-to-his-best-giroud-on-fire-premier-league-team/team-of-the-week-patrick-van-aanholt-sunderland/5#photo
ANNHOLT AND WIJNALDUM ARE ON GOAL epl TEAM…OF THE WEEK…
They speak high about both but Depay never showed up in line even after he plays for Manu…Blind and Hiddink sticks with Depay and sucks…and they make whole nation suck…are we destined for this humiliation whic happend due to arraogance and stubornness?
Great for Wijnaldum and van Aanholt!
Let’s hope they do it consistently
Interesting that you take what could have been a positive review of 2 players to make such a negative review on another.
Sour grapes for United fans I guess
Actually Blind did leave Memphis out of his last selection and was only brought back because of injury but did not play…
Finally Koeman rotated Van Dijik to right with Fonte on the left. It will be interesting to see him in his preferred natural position.
Klopp again showing strong interest in Anwar EL Ghazi.
What makes me more anoying is that Danny blind blindness towards certain players..Only senior players who can play for NT now are Roben and Snijder..We need to forget the rest.Wait if u go with Roben and Sneijder in 23 man squad for a tournament u probably ending with 21 layers as both are getting old old and they will catch injury easily than the younger boys…
Footballers has immense stamina at 23/24/25 time..So we need to include more from this age.
in my Analysis what we lack are (from ECQ games)..
1-We lacked goals,Quality,creativity and speed(which gives u edge to create goals and chances)..The cultprits are RVP,Hunter,Depay,Afellay,Narsingh..So they all should be dropped forever…but that is not hapening with Blind which is a badsign…
2-Our midefeild was light weight and ,lacked ruthless ness and rigidity,and work rate…Culprits are klassen,Afellay,Snijder(partially not evry time)Dejong(one diamentional)and daley blind.(partially)…over all they look ok but we need Combinations and young and strong guys over here who can run box to box with natural strength and speed…this will give team huge balance if danny can bring hendrix-bazoer-ake-wijnaldum,snijder and vanginkel can bring that…
3..Defense was artocious with BMI,weil and later with Vrijil vandijk…So bring on karsdorp,Williams, Reikik,kongolo,Raidwald,bruma and tete on feild u will see the difference..
So my point is all about quality of the player…which is not with NT now ..our good talenst are in defense and midfeild..So select more of them and avoid crap ones like Depay,narsingh,anwar elghazi etc
come on Danny blind its the time to forget reasons are in brackets..
Afellay(quality+workrate),Dejong(old and slow),klassen(light weight and we have better options),Elghazi(overrated going to be another Depay),narsingh(no quality),RVP(old and done),hunter(old and done),depay(very hyped but of no use ),BMI(mediocre),weil(mediocre),virjil.(Liberty statue)..
@Wilson – I watched ManU v Newc very entertaining game it went from end to end not slow at all. ManU went up 2 -0 , Rooney pen (not a pen IMO ) and then he set up Lindegaard for a really nice goal, they had a few chances to score more goals but missed Rooney was playing at his best this season. Newc hit back with a nice volley from Wjynaldum just before the break but he had a 1on 1 earlier with the keeper which he should have buried. De Gea as usual was saving ManU ‘ s bacon.
Second half pen for Newc as Smalling made a league tackle in the box to concede a pen 2 all, Rooney then hits a cracker off a Depay shot block to score top corner from distance, but Dummet blasts a late equaliser with a slight deflection to finish a great game 3 All!
Depay coming on late seems to be working as he is having a great impact in attack with fresh legs, hopefully his confidence is growing.
Overall ManU should have won Fellani missed a certain goal late in the game header from 6yards straight at keeper, he is really struggling to make an impact for ManU. Fun game to watch though!
i still remember Moyes ignores kevin strootman and buys Fellaini…thats y he had to be sacked for doing such stupidity..
Strootman wouldn’t have played for two years ??
they ignored stroot and went for Fellaini when strooot was at PSV….Moyes was incharge at that point of time…May stroot wouldnt have had that injury had he joined Manu.