New member of dutchsoccersite.org

blog
by Johan

Hi all

Let me introduce myself briefly, I am Johan, new member of the dutchsoccersite.org community. Like Jan I am Dutch, living abroad (Brazil). Passionated for Dutch football I will take control of the technical part of the website and try to implement improvements. I am starting to learn more about the community and would like to know where you all are connecting from ?

Could you please respond to this message and share from which country you visit the website. Also share how you know if there are new posts? Do you visit the website daily to check if there is something new? Facebook ?

Are you a big Dutch club soccer fan as well, let us know which is your team in the Netherlands (and abroad)….

20 comments

  1. From SoCal, now living in Arizona. My father was born and raised in “de Nederland”, out of Rotterdam. Lifelong Feyenoord fanatic. Was able to see the 2009 KNVB Beker against Roda JC (2-0 win) at de Kuip. My great uncle played for Sparta in the 40’s and 50’s.
    Have lived and died (more often died) with Oranje starting with the ‘74 WK, but really did not understand the trauma until Rensenbrink hit the post in ‘78. Oranje remains the voetbal version of the Boston Red Sox from 1919-2004. The ‘78 team remains my favorite all time team. Rensenbrink (the Snake Man) was, is, and will always be “my guy”. My cherished sports artifact is a signed photo from him from the ‘78 match versus Italy. Props to Cruijff (also have a signed photo from him from the ‘74 Final) aside, I still am a Rensenbrink guy.
    I enjoy the banter on here, but it sometimes becomes tedious. It seems the saying is true that everyone in the Netherlands is a better coach than the guy on the sidelines. I especially enjoy Jan’s breakdown of tactics.

    1. Hi Bret, thanks for your reply and nice to see the Dutch connection. Yes the ball on the post will for always be in our memories, I am from 1965 and it is one of my first memories about the National team. Haha, people in general and the Dutch is special like to share their opinion…. Maybe that is what makes this blog so interesting….

  2. Hi Johan,

    I am from Northern California. I learn of new posts by checking the website; maybe not daily, but often. Like Bret, it was the ’78 team that drew me in. Because of my age, the ’74 team was kind of a novelty, but it was after ’78 that I left no stone unturned in trying to follow the Dutch national team. Not easy considering where I was from—I discovered “World Soccer,” and would live for the half page or so write about them every month, and I saw way more of their games on Spanish and Italian TV stations from broadcasting out of the Bay Area, than I saw in English. And yes, the heartbreak has been real and at times devastating. But every moment has been worth it.

    Welcome.

  4. Hi Johan, I am an Indian based in Dubai. Huge fan of Oranje since 1990. Many heartbreaks….2010 in particular. Hope 2026 is different. I learn of new posts by checking the website couple of times a week, more frequently during any event such as recent Euros

    1. Yes 2010 should have been ours, Robben that missed and in the counter attack Spain won.

      Lets see what 2026 will bring us, still high hopes, but we need a striker that will make goals. Hopefully Brobbey will start to deliver.

  5. Hi Johan

    I am Australian of part-Dutch heritage. Have close relatives in Rotterdam, Den Haag and Axel. Have been following this blog since its predecessor (Netherlands World Cup Blog). I probably check this blog once a week on average between tournaments but several times a day during tournaments.

    My Oranje journey began around 1987 after my Dad returned from a visit to Holland with posters and t-shirts from that era. I was too young to see Cruijff the player, but feel blessed that I got to experience Gullit, Rijkaard, van Basten and co in their pomp.

    Thanks for helping to keep this blog alive. It is especially informative for those of us who do not speak Dutch!

    1. Hi Julian, thanks for your reply, I already saw some of your comments in previous postings. Gullit, Rijkaard and van Basten had their hights at AC Milan, what a team was that….

  7. Hi Johan (named after Cruyff??) thanks for keeping it all going.

    I’ll be happy to keep on contributing when time allows.

    My story is like most of yours. Grew up living in HI Ambacht, the town where Willem van Hanegem, Wim Jansen and Dick Schneider lived, to name a few. Schneider gifted me a seasons ticket when I was 14 years old or so and I had the pleasure to play football with Willem van Hanegem ( occasionally) and his son Gert ( often).

    My love affair with Oranje started in 1974, when I was 12 and I thought that the way we played was normal. Until I found out later that many people couldn’t believe what they saw.

    I believe JC was the star man for Oranje but I personally felt Van Hanegem was the driving force of that team in 1974. I have been an avid fan ever since (apart from being a Feyenoord fan). I am not that religious as I do enjoy Ajax too (through family connections I got my in with Ajax) and that only intensified when I was working on a sports marketing project (with 3 blog members actually) back in the day, which got us talking to the UEFA, Arsenal, Ajax and more. Sadly, that project died from a cancer within.

    I saw Oranje play live often. Mostly disappointing ( the Belgium game in Rotterdam qualifying for the Mexico World Cup and the late George Grun goal: 2-1), but sometimes really magical ( semi finals and finals in 1988 for the Euros).

    I started the blog when I immigrated to Australia and in 2004, there was zero broadcast of the Euros, so I imported video tapes and started writing to get my “Oranje kick”. The blog was a joke at first, but when the Dutch reached the finals in 2010, I ended up on several international football vlogs and podcasts and in the international media. Sadly, we couldn’t sustain the success although Van Gaal came close in 2014.

    Life is becoming very busy for me this is why I had to abandon my role for the blog and I’m super grateful for Johan for taking the reins.

    1. Thanks Jan, we are already talking for some months, me trying to keep the conversations going with Tarcisio. Stepped up since I have the experience and wanted to keep the site online and see how things will go from here. I know things can get very busy, luckily I have a little more time to spend on it.

      Definitely not called after Johan Cruyff, I am from Brabant and my parents were PSV fans, as I am still up to today. Although when Dutch teams play in Europe I also cheer for Feyenoord and Ajax, AZ and Twente this year.

      Its funny that you started the blog after immigrating to Australia, I started my first website/blog after immigrating to Brazil.

      Will try to cover also a little bit about Champions League and Europa League as well, see how that goes. I feel that people want a place to post their comments, and structuring it into subjects it is easier for the community to have on topic comments, lets see how that goes.

      I saw Louis van Gaals team playing here in Brazil, including visited the games against Australia (3-2 win) and Chili (2-0).

      My hero is not Johan Cruyff, I liked lots of Brazilian players that played at PSV, saw Romario playing in 1988 when I was a you guy. I remember I asked the guy beside me who was that baixinho/short guy with the extra clothes on (it was cold, December). Romario was hardly moving but made 3 goals that time.

      I saw Ruud van Nistelrooy several times, including a game in the JC Arena in Amsterdam where he made 3 goals. My other Dutch heroes, Kieft, Cocu, Luc Nilis (best teammate ever of Ronaldo/his words) van der Kuylen and Jan van Beveren offcourse.

  8. Hi Johan

    As for me, long time visitor in these parts (and the original blog). I’ve a Dutch last name, courtesy of an (otherwise absent) grandfather who came through Switzerland during WWII, and left, ahem, a trace here.

    Although my primary school friends called me van Basten around 1988, as my last name is almost the same as his, I only got interested in football (and dutch football) around 1998. Been a big fan ever since…

      1. Nope! From French speaking part of Switzerland. We hate the French team with a passion, here. Jealous neighbor syndrome, I guess. 🤣

        I’m actually connected to the rss feed to get new articles…

  9. Hi Johan,

    I saw your mention of Van Beveren. I never saw him play. But I’ve heard him discussed in almost reverential terms by a number of commentators and journalists. Onne older English commentator said flatly, if he’d been the Dutch GK, they would have one the ’74 and ’78 World Cups. All speculation, of course, and you always have to take these things with (more than) one grain of salt. But was he that good?

    1. The coaches of the Dutch national team in the 1970s always chose the wrong goalkeepers. Van Beveren should have been the first choice at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

      It became Jan Jongbloed because Michels and Cruijff were looking for a goalkeeper who could play along with the “total soccer”. Van Beveren is the best Dutch line goalkeeper ever.

      But Van Beveren also would not have resigned himself to the distribution of premiums, especially since players of Ajax were better off thanks to Cruijff’s business agent Cor Coster.

      Jan Jongbloed had less qualities but was the goalkeeper of two World Cup finals. If Van Beveren would had played in ’74 or ’78, we would have become world champions at least once.

Join the Conversation

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.