Oranje Squad slowly coming together – Ego has landed

I love that expression: the Ego has landed. I’m pretty sure I used it here before – referring to Van Gaal of course – and the Daily Mail has used it as well. Amidst all the news (and work) re: Oranje, the big news finally broke… Van Gaal will be the first manager from the continent to take on the biggest club of the world (according to Louis himself…he probably never heard of Feyenoord???).

I don’t want to go into this too much. As Man United is not Oranje. And we don’t want Louis to be distracted, so why would we get distracted by all this? But it might still be interesting and entertaining to watch it all a bit. Louis is signed, to bring Man U back to the top in England and Europe and to develop the foundation of a good and solid youth development program.

He will take Wilfred Bout and Frans Hoek along to Manchester, but Kluivert will stay at home. The failed predecessor of Van Gaal – David Moyes – made the mistake of bringing his own staff without any ManU DNA in it and Louis was strongly advised to take Giggs as his assistant. Louis’ role will also be to prep the club legend for a future management role. Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville will also be part of the support team.

louis man u

I personally can’t wait to see how this will all go. Partly because they never dealt with someone like Van Gaal in England, partly because of his hilarious English with a Dutch accent and partly because it is a hell of a job but Louis might be the right guy to pull it of.

What one can expect is already happening. A whole list of players that the Dutch team manager will bring to Old Trafford. From Robben to Martins Indi, from Clasie to Strootman, from Kroos to Badstuber… We’ll see….

What annoyed me by the way, is that the first thing Louis had to say after his appointment was that his buddy Jose (Mourinho) immediately sent him an sms. To say he was jealous of Louis’ club list on his resume. And this is exactly what I don’t like about both Mourinho and Van Gaal: they are both narcissistic ego maniacs. It’s all about “look at my list!” “NO! Look at MY list!!”…..

Anyway, Oranje… More important (sorry Louis).

The 1-1 versus Ecuador brought some criticism down on Oranje. Is playing 5-3-2 smart? Didn’t Louis say himself months ago that getting a team to play a new system will take months to to perfect… With only a couple of weeks to go (and with key proponent Janmaat injured!), is it wise to push for this system?

Even Van Gaal seems to doubt it at times, as he let slip in a press interview that “he could always fall back on 4-3-3″… True of course, but why abandon it if you think that might work?

Van Gaal likes to use the Argentina 1986 team as an example. That team won the World Cup and it had only two big name players: one Diego Maradona and Jorge Valdano. Carlos Bilardo’s team did not have many more great players. Most of the others were simple waterbearers. Burruchaga was above average but Hector Enrique, Sergio Batista, Cucciuffo and Ruggeri were no world beaters. But the system worked. Maradona was in top form. And Arjen Robben could be our Maradona this time around, with Van Persie as Valdano.

The rest of the team should all play in service of these two. They will serve as a safety net behind the two top guns. Ronald Koeman thinks 5-3-2 is not necessarily more defensive. “It’s depends on how you execute it. If you keep 5 defenders back, then it is more defensive but with players like Janmaat, Kongolo and Van Aanholt, it will be easy to switch to 3-5-2 or even 3-4-3. Van Gaal is capable of making this system offensive as well.”

Van Gaal is not worried about the lack of experience. “I know some of the players lack experience, but it is also my first World Cup. And I think that will give them a lot of extra energy. It’s unique! And passion combined with discipline can do a lot. These young turks, they have done pretty good up to now.”

daley blind

One young lad that is high on Louis’ list is Daley Blind. The son of assistant coach Danny Blind who happens to be Louis’ best friend since the 1980s. Daley probably sat on Louis’ lap as a baby. But it’s not nepotism. Daley was spotted as a huge talent when he was little and it was well known within Ajax and scouting land that he would end up an Oranje player one day. Although his move from the youth team to Ajax 1 was a bit topsy turvy, the all rounder was Ajax’ best player last season.

Van Gaal said recently: “Daley is definitely not an ideal left back but he was the best of the rest in a 4-3-3. Now with Strootman absent for the left midfield spot, I am seriously considering Daley to play on Kevin’s position.” Van Gaal also said he scouted Emanuelson, Pieters and Buttner for the left back spot but felt Kongolo, Van Aanholt and Daley Blind offer more on that spot.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar seems happy with the 5-3-2 system. “Two strikers, this means Robin and I could play together!” Asked if he actually could play with Robin, he answered a bit annoyed: “Why not? Silly question! I can play with anyone and I have.”

Huntelaar is happy with the entrance of all the young lads. “It’s great to have a mix. We have players from the top clubs of Europe mixed with super talents from the Eredivisie. I believe this is a great way to manage the transition to a new Oranje. It’s going to be tought either way. We don’t like to play Spain so early but believe me: neither do they!”.

rvp hunter

Arjen Robben, the big man of Munich, will receive a couple of extra days off. He will remain longer in Germany with his family and will join the group on Thursday. Robben played the German Cup final on Saturday (and scored the key first goal).

And last but not least: the $ value of the national teams was announced. And Spain is the most valuable squad, with a value of close to 750 Mio euros. The list is quite predictable, with Brazil number 2, Argentina 3, Germany 4. The number 5 is less predictable but with players like Fellaini, Vertonghen, Hazard and Vermaelen it’s Belgium before France and England. Holland is number 14 (!) on the list and has nations like Portugal, Colombia and Italy before them.

 

130 comments

  1. “Why not? Silly question! I can play with anyone and I have.”

    I agree with this, and can see LvG’s influence in Hunters answer.

    Status of Janmaat anyone? It seems the news of his possible transfer has replaced his injury, unless that is the injury is very minor?

    1. It was quite amateur to be honest. He got the ball back with using his body against a weak defender but his dribble was n that good.

      His backheel pass for Van Aanholt was much better.

      But Elia was a way more impressive than Depay. That s why I dont like to read people here saying that Depay will be a king in few years, Elia was very rated but failed. People were talking about Bayern offering 20 Mo for him after his first season with HSV.

      Remember that

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBFv01K7wYk

          1. The trolls (Laurent and his girlfriend Tiju) just can’t stay away!!

            They must LOVE the abuse.
            …or genuinely believe that we give a shit about their schoolboy theories.

            The shame is that, for a blissful few days, this site was BRILLIANT once again. We talked about football.

            And now they’re back to rain on the party.

        1. too much hype?

          Here’s undeserved hype for ye, from this article by Jan:

          “Arjen Robben could be our Maradona this time around, with Van Persie as Valdano.” [we shouldn’t hype 2 players so much and become dependent on them or use them as an excuse if they get injured, Promes and Huntelaar are just as or almost as good, Robben and vPersie can really suck sometimes, like in 2012, this year a couple of times, and vPersie with that huge chance he got from van Aanholt vs Ecuador to name the latest blunder, not to mention he still needs to prove his worth at a WC in terms of goals]

          even more undeserved hype from the article concerning Blind:

          “the all rounder was Ajax’ best player last season.” [no way, not even close, I’ll make my list of best players based on the Champions League, Europa league and few of the biggest eredivisie encounters for them I’ve seen right now just to show where he’s at for me:

          1. Klaassen
          2. Serero
          3. Veltman
          4. Schöne
          5. Moisander
          6. Fischer
          7. van Rhijn
          8. Blind
          9. Boilesen
          10. Sigthorsson
          11. S. de Jong
          12. Bojan
          13. Poulsen
          14. Cillessen (only holding them back in Europe)
          15. Denswil
          16. Kishna (hardly seen this season, remember, Jan’s comment was about this whole season, so that’s what I was looking at, which brings me to some other guys who hardly played or I just not noticed so I’ll just stop here)

        2. and what’s so allround about someone who can neither defend nor attack? Perhaps you should try explaining it to me one day Jan. No rush, we can wait for Blind to do something useful in Oranje first instead of providing some fans with a nice excuse as to why we should lose at the WC so they can all cope with it before it happens and move on to the next tournament and continue to buy those orange shirts and tickets for games and the TV-rating don’t drop as much as when people expect to win instead and end up doing horribly.

          David Icke called it “revelation of the method”. Getting people used to an idea so they swallow it a little easier once it comes around without thinking conspiracy, foulplay, deception, something’s up, I’m being played. Of course I wouldn’t suggest listening to David Icke for too long, he just copied the term from someone else probably anyway. But it’s something that IS in heavy use by politicians/propagandizers.

          1. as soon as someone does well in our defence (like Bruma vs Hungary and Turkey), they get completely bombarded by negativity in the media.

            We can’t have people thinking that it isn’t normal that we go out early at the WC now. If they are used to the idea that the Netherlands is not good enough, they accept losses much more easily and move on.

            We need out little scapegoat excuses, inexperienced Kongolo, average Blind, easy to overrun Clasie, de Vrij’s dissapearance act, blundering Cillessen, vPersie missing in big moments, Robben getting stuck in 1 mode and stuck on the side, slowturning Vlaar, half-fit/half-injured/no season rythm Wijnaldum, no control/hothead Lens, whining Hunter that he can’t play, Sneijder and vPersie+vGaal friction, the weather, van Gaal’s crazyness, the excuses have all been prepared and go on and on. Everybody will be given something they can use to cope with defeat, someone they can blame, most of which directed towards van Gaal.

            All BS, let’s just play football and I’ll shut up.

          2. if I watch Chile, Spain and Brazil a little longer, I could probably make a list of excuses there too. Ever seen that Chilean defence and their keeper? Not much better than Ecuador.

            Spain has way too many overrated, overvalued, overhyped and overconfident players. The only one we need to worry about is not Spanish but only playing in Spain and for Spain because of where the money is at, Costa (i.e. he wouldn’t be in Spain and naturalized/hired by Spain if it weren’t for the fact that Spanish clubs have so many Brazilian/South American players playing for their rich clubs, he’s in Spain for the football, not because of coincidence, he was bought, that’s not saying I wouldn’t do the exact same thing if I were him or a complaint in Costa’s direction, it’s a complaint that I fear that clubfootball is beginning to influence national team football a bit too much, it’s bad enough that with clubfootball you only have a chance if you become fan of one of the rich clubs from one of the 4 big leagues, if you want Champions League success that is and want to pick a favorite for when you want to watch Champions League, are the Dutch supposed to be happy every time a German club wins the Champions League just because Robben is playing there? more BS, but it seems to be working based on TV-ratings and my own experience, still doesn’t feel right whenever I’m happy when Robben scores for Bayern, one of the reasons I pretended that Robben scored his last goal for us in our game vs Ecuador).

          3. luckily in that game I saw where Robben’s priorities and thoughts really are, the WC.

            Glad to see him pull away from the keeper (you don’t want to have that assasination shit happening again like earlier in the season with a similar situation).

          4. edit: “No rush, we can wait for Blind to do something useful in Oranje first instead of providing some fans with a nice excuse as to why we should lose at the WC so they can all cope with it before it happens and move on to the next tournament and continue to buy those orange shirts and tickets for games and the TV-rating don’t drop as much as when people expect to win instead and end up doing horribly.”

            This sentence had nothing to do with Jan in the previous sentence. Just to be clear. It was just me being cynical about not wanting to accept any excuses later on about Blind not being good enough after a lost game when that choice can be made before the game, or he just has to be good enough so we win the WC. If he doesn’t like it, tough luck, the spell has been cast, he will be good enough. 😛

  2. The one thing that I didn’t like about the 5-3-2 is that it made our RB and LB key figures in our attack. There were 2 chances, one that fell to Janmaat, and the great through ball from Depay that fell to van Aanholt, and both did nothing with either chance. I can’t help but feel if we played a 3-4-3 and had a true Left mid or Right midfielder in that situation that both of those could have been goals.

    Without wingers, we are relying on our wing-backs to provide the offense there, and they are all Eredivisie players who lack the resolve currently to be in that situation.

  3. Breaking news, the chilean Matías Fernández midfielder from Fiorentina is out of the world cup too.
    It seems that the chilean midfielder is breaking to pieces since Fernandez is a starter with Vidal, more chance to get to the group stages for us!!
    Cheers!

  4. Breaking news, the chilean Matías Fernández midfielder from Fiorentina is out of the world cup too.
    It seems that the chilean midfield is breaking to pieces since Fernandez is a starter with Vidal, more chance to get to the group stages for us!!
    Cheers!

  5. No team’s strategy should rest on ONE player. Ridiculous that LVG has to change his whole team because 1 guy is injured. Are you kidding me?

    Do 5-3-2 because you prefer the strategy not because we need to go to Plan B now that Kevin is unavailable.

    We are ORANJE, we attack. It would definitely serve us well if we learned how to defend better but I don’t believe reverting to a new strategy because the ‘alarm bells were sounded’ is wise.

    Call me crazy but I am all for 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 depending on the opponent. And our defenders need to defend first and foremost.

    1. Dutch coaches always kidding everyone,LVg is not different,
      van basten–2006-2008,nestel-kuyt
      2010-12–Vaart–kuyt always blunder mistakes costin trophies and hugly talented guys like rvp,roben,nestel ened ed up in empty poket for NT.

      1. agreed, the 5-3-2 tactics used against Ecuador was one of the most offensive executions of a 5-3-2 I’ve seen in a long time. Regardless of van Gaal calling it a 3-4-3. 4-2-3-1 changes it’s shape too on offence with wingbacks attacking, and there we don’t say 2-4-4 either using van Gaal’s interpretation of attacking wingbacks, def.midfielders and the nr.10 being an attacker.

        5-3-2 just boils down to giving up a winger for an extra CB. Doesn’t mean CB’s aren’t allowed to attack too. It’s just that, is it a wise choice when your CB’s aren’t as great as the winger you’re going to bench? Depay. And is it a fix for a defensive problem that is caused by the choice in def.midfielders and keeper? A defensive problem that would have never been noticed if Krul had just stopped all or most of those goals and we hadn’t started playing Clasie and Blind in midfield? Including the time where de Vrij messed up against Estonia and a savable long distance shot was not saved.

        1. the 5-3-2 did give us and van Gaal a good look at a bunch of CB’s at once though. I think what we can take away from this is that with a Vlaar+BMI combi in the middle we aren’t much different than with Veltman+de Vrij+BMI, so I say, back to 4-3-3, put the right keeper in and let Depay play, he’s earned it after Ecuador. If our opponents are too busy worrying about and dealing with Depay they might forget about attacking on that side alltogether. Or just not be capable of it (their RB in particular who is pushed back by Depay’s threat).

          Our right side is tight anyway with either Janmaat or Verhaegh, de Jong in front and Vlaar behind.

      2. that leads us to the following formation btw if you haven’t figured out what I had in mind:

        *****Krul*****
        Janmaat*Vlaar*BMI*van Aanholt
        **de Jong**Sneijder**Fer**
        **Robben**vPersie**Depay

        Which you can also call a 4-2-3-1, or using van Gaal’s interpretation 😛 a 2-4-4. Same way we played under van Marwijk. Point forward. Sneijder is the point. Fer replaces van Bommel. Depay is way better than Kuyt ever was or will be. Janmaat is no less than vdWiel. Krul is no less than Stekelenburg (I actually already wanted him in 2010 I think, or shortly thereafter). Vlaar and BMI are giants compared to Heitinga and Mathijssen (big issue for us in 2010, somehow we managed/got lucky it wasn’t exploited), van Aanholt will not do what vBrockhorst did, but at least he’ll be a lot quicker with tracking back and keeping up with his opponent, which was a problem for vBronckhorst. The rest are all a bit older and wiser, they’ll be less nervous as well.

        We’re in good shape, IF the right pieces are put in the clock and the batteries go in we’re good to go. Should be able to do better than in 2010, no garantuees, but the potential is there. Up to van Gaal to use it, lubricate it, and keep the batteries charged and it will tick on its own. Orange Clockwork. It already ticked vs Hungary and a few other moments and games during qualifying. A few adjustments and we should be good to go again.

        1. This line-up also puts our fittest youngest players all on the left, where our defence has been weakest lately (Estonia’s first goal came from that area, Japan’s 1st the whole setup through that area, the totally unnecessary Benzema goal, the Ecuador goal, all in general through our left defences, not always the same people equally at fault, usually things start going wrong in the midfield positionally wise, pushing too far up vs France for example).

          Our experienced older players, some with shorter legs that might experience some fitness issues especially towards the latter stages of the game are all on the ‘right’ (in general), where our defences have been tight.

          If you still have problems winning the midfield, you have players like Wijnaldum and deGuzman to put on the right or even the middle to introduce some longer and fresh legs and more running capacity.

    2. Agree with u there …..Our best defence is Attack. Drop the 5-3-2 and Attack Attack Attack….I remember bert van marryk once said…”The first thing i will concentrate on the team is how to defend better” and once you get it right in the players head…then you attack ….and he prove it in a very long undefeated record home & away and all the way to WC final.

  6. Even now LVG can go for
    ———Persie———–
    Lenz——Roben——Wijnaldum
    ——-Blind—Dejong———-
    Van annholt–Reikik–Vlaar—Janmaat
    ————–krul—————–
    second 11
    ————-Hunter————–
    Sneider———Vaart——Depay
    ——–Fer——-Clasie———
    BMI——Veltman–Devrij—–Verhage
    ————-Cilelsen/vorm———–

    1. Thank you tiju. Is this your final list? I will write it down.. now please please stop changing it.

      Also tiju… what other advice do you have for me to manage the team?

      Also can you tell me which players I need to buy at Manchester United?

      Thank you very much.
      Sincerely LvG

    2. Son of pussy of Judah
      May 20, 2014 at 6:36 pm

      Even now LVG can go for
      ———Huntelaar———–
      Kuyt——Kuyt——Kuyt
      ——-Affelay—Affelay———-
      Blind–Blind–Blind—Blind
      ————–Kuyt—————–

      (…….fixed)

  7. Is Blind really a “great talent”? I don’t think so–he’s neither athletic nor physical enough to be great. He knows the game, for sure, but there is football IQ plus technical skills plus athleticism. I think nepotism is a factor with him–he’s the son of an assistant NT coach who is LVG’s best friend, how could it not be? Maybe I underestimate him. I optimistically think that the Holland back four or five will be OK–and that the selections for midfield will determine the team’s performance…and fate.

    1. I think the same about Blind. He doesn’t strike me as a phenomenon unless of course I am blind 🙂
      And Danny Blind was a good, solid defender but nothing great.
      Referring to Argentina 86 is nonsense. They had Maradona who could win games on his own as he did the whole tournament. We have no phenomenons in our squad regardless how good Robben and RVP are.
      Anyway I am looking forward to WC and hoping that LVG will surprise me. Nothing to lose.

    2. In youth football, the dynamics are different. THis is why many “great talents” never made it big (in Holland). Blind might be one of them. Dominant in youth football but maybe lacking physical strength in top flight football. Could be. But he is very gifted. Perfectly two footed, velvet touch, great vision, good mentality. But he’s not Pogba or Ramires.

      But Blind wouldn’t fail at Barcelona. He’s got the footballing goods for this.

      1. Midfield and Forwards/Wingers born between 1990-1992 are weaker than generation born after 1993. If you compare Blind and the current U17 Midfield Van De Beek at the same age, you can see the difference. Blind has the understanding of the game but lacks the physicality(basically too slow). Van De Beek has both good football IQ and body. I even think Branco Van Den Boomen was better than Blind at the same age.

    3. i used to think he was overrated, but now watching him more and more, i see that blind is a special talent but he needs certain types of teams and formations to be successful though, he’s not a pogba type who can play any formation.

      he fits best as a recycler of the ball, possession oriented teams.

      his weaknesses are crossing and the angles he takes to get the ball.

      his strengths are that he can intercept, pass, layoffs, tackles.

      if he was scoring his shots from distance he would be the most wanted superstar. thats the only thing stopping him.

  8. Hunter and RVP is the way to go go.

    we still dont what form Lens, Sneijder and Vaart is in and I dont know whether games vs Ghana and Wales will reveal their true picture. it will be in crunch matches that will expose their form and again if there are out of form it will come to late .

    1. Sneijder looks fit an lively in his games lately, probably one of the reasons he’s scoring hattricks, long distance goals, tap-ins, cheeky goals and getting assists.

      Have heard or seen very little concerning Lens (not a good sign since he also didn’t score so nothing to watch from him, I saw some European matches earlier on in the season and he didn’t look great, also remember a substitution in one of those games which was a very poor game by his team and him).

      VDV is a mystery, trying to make a comeback from his injury vs Colombia has been hard. The last few things I saw was a shot on goal that was saved by the keeper and then bounced back and converted by a teammate, after that I heard he got an assist in the last relegation match. He should probably still be ahead of Kuyt because of his results in qualifying.

  9. @Bitterballen: I love what you said man!!!

    “No team’s strategy should rest on ONE player. Ridiculous that LVG has to change his whole team because 1 guy is injured. Are you kidding me?”

    “We are ORANJE, we attack”.

    Just imagine if Strootman went to the WC and got injured in the 1st game LVG wouldn’t have a plan B!. At least he got injured before the tournament and that gave LVG the opportunity to work with different systems.

    I also think WE ARE ORANJE we must play attacking football, we have the players to do so.

  10. ———————–Krul—————————-

    ————-DeVrij—-Vlaar—-BMI——————–

    —-Janmaat————————–V.Aanholt———

    ————-Clasie—–Nigel—–Blind—————-

    —————–Robben——V.Persie——————

    This is how I think LVG will play vs Spain

    1. not that bad, at least you’ve got some legs with Blind in midfield, but if you’re going to use Clasie, you might as well use Sneijder. A scoring Sneijder is just worth that litle bit more I think. And we’ve got no idea how Clasie is going to perform under real pressure (a WC-game), whereas with Sneijder we know he starts scoring, so I don’t even see a difficult choice before me.

  11. I hope we can improve in our finish. Against Spain who likes to keep possession, we may not have many chances. I hope we can score first and then increase the lead with a quick counter attack.
    I’m not impressed with Blind in the Ecuador game, but he is not bad either. Perhaps I expect more from him as he is the Eredivise Player of the year.
    Does anyone know when Rekik, Vilhena, Boetius and Promes rejoin the NT? I hope to see them in the 2nd game after which the picture of who will make the final 23 will be clearer.

    1. U21 plays on May 28th. So after May 28th that only gives them two days to get ready for the Ghana game. They have a very slim chance making the 23 player squad.

  12. @ Hien….. Perhaps I expect more from him as he is the Eredivise Player of the year. thats the biggest crap of the year. if they are considering his role in the midfield than I have a whole list of midfielders who were far more better than him. I wonder what was the criteria they used to select the EPY.

    I think he will out of contention under Hiddink given in the midfield. Van Ginkle/Strootman/Ake/Fer/Wijnaldum/Maher/Clasie/Vilhnea/Ziyech/ Anita

    I have just watched Ake once with Chelsea and he looked very composed at that level and I think he will definitely break through in 2016 if he goes to a good club.

    1. Horses for courses. Van Ginkel, Strootman and Fer are similar types. Lots of fight, legs and lungs. But missing the finer touch.

      Wijnaldum, Maher, Ziyech are similar types. Playmaker type midfielders. Lots of creativity, not a lot of defensive awareness. More individualists.

      Clasie, Anita, Ake and Blind are what LVG calls “game accelerators”. They don’t dribble, they let the ball do the work. Good vision and ball skills.

      And a word of warning: Ake looks good in an youth team, so what? This is exactly why Blind, Clasie, Maher and others are hyped. Once Ake comes at top level, we will need to really assess him.

      1. Blind are what LVG calls “game accelerators”.
        Blind and game accelerator in the same sentence I think is a very bad joke!! He didnt “accelerate” anything against a very weak Ecuador!

        1. he had a nice pass on Depay that certainly accelerated things, I think that was v. Aanholt’s chance.

          See, I can say positive things about Blind, he hasn’t been all bad lately, that’s why I called him average earlier.

          But I think we have sufficient reason to try Fer or Kongolo, or just a right-footer so we can use guys like Wijnaldum or Deguzman on the other side.

    2. quote: ” if they are considering his role in the midfield”

      talking about roles for Blind, van Aanholt has already produced more threat in 45 minutes at LB than Blind in all his games at LB for Oranje.

      Of course he hasn’t really been tested defensively yet.

  13. Why Boetius is still in the team is beyond me!

    The guy didn’t do diddly squat in the last friendly he played and does not have the strength for international football yet !

    He still wears braces! Come on now,he’s a child !

  14. @ You are a joke: I think you are right that it is likely that Rekik, Vilhena, Boetius, Promes and Zoet will be cut. That leave 2 more spots to be cut. I think the 2 cut are from Fer, Verhaegh, Kongolo, PVA, De Guzman, Veltman, Clasie and Wijnaldum.
    @Wilson: Blind is versatile. I guess he is still improving but he is not a clear best at either LB or DM. However I still see him as part of NT after this WC.

    1. One of Kongolo/PVA will be cut since Blind Indi both can play LB, it is very likely it is going to be Kongolo if he still don’t show anything impressive in the next game. The next cut will be between Fer De Guzman Clasie Wijnaldum. Wijnaldum is versatile but not fully fit, Clasie showed something in the last game. Fer definitely will be given with a chance to shine in the next game. His header is useful. We need his header against Chile. My guess it is going to be De Guzman/Wijnaldum. Wijnaldum has the upper hand now. Van Gaal is a fan of Clasie, I do not think he will be cut.

  15. I think there is a pattern. Young kids tend to play better after 5 to 10 games for NT. Fer Clasie Janmaat Indi De Vrij Depay all improved progressively in this pattern. So we should not be too harsh towards those young talents. We will see Blind (switch to a new position), Cillessen, Veltman, Kongolo, PVA, Wijnaldum, Rekik, Promes, Boetius improve after they get used to play for NT.However, we might need to wait till after the world cup to see this. I think these kids will get good experience during Euro qualification and improve afterwards.

    1. you forget that Blind has now played almost every game (if not every) under van Gaal and has not improved all that much (same with Ajax), a bit up and down again (he did have a period where he was pretty decent, but that period is long gone again).

      So to put him in that list of talents that we should be patient on for at least 5 to 10 games as you implied, he’s long past that. I’ve got no problem with the other names in that list except that we can’t afford to wait around for our keeper to get better through experience, not with Krul available (even Vorm is better).

      Now if Fer is worse, and you don’t want to use a right-footer there, I’m still looking at Kongolo first, cause I’ve really seen enough of Blind for now. It was less of a problem when he was nicely tucked away at LB, but now he becomes part of the centre, how wonderful.

  16. Louis van Gaal is a top coach. He works with the players and he knows what he’s looking for. That’s a good starting point for me. Then we get the super strong opinionated bullahit on here from people who watch a few highlight reels. Take a step back and assume the guy who has just been given the Man Utd job knows a bit more than you.
    Oh, and give Jan a break – he does a great job!

    1. Coachs don t always know better than fans. He probably knows better about the tactical aspect of football as none of us here has played in a professionnal level, but don t think coachs have time to watch as many games as some of us here. They have scouts who give them informations about players.

      1. Same about players, ask to most of dutch players to mention 8 clubs in Russia, I m sure half of them will fail.

        Fans and true football manager players know better than players and coachs about such things.

        1. ‘Fans and true football manager players know better than players and coachs about such things.’

          Holy fucking what the fuck?
          Did I actually just read this? Or are my eyes shitting in my brain?
          Do you REALLY think that all those hours you spent masturbating to Football Manager 5 wearing your stepmother’s floral dresses has made you an authority on the beautiful game??

          Wow! I seen some wronguns on this site, but you… wow… you got issues, kid.
          Issues.

          1. They know better about tactics and economy but that s all ask van persie or van gaal to give you three names from kuban krasnodar and you will see. People like DRB here know much better about dutch football than many of them Dont think that van gaal was watching clasie with u17 five years ago like people are following u17 here now

      2. I think you are very wrong. They may not watch as much as some of us, but they watch differently. They don’t follow the ball like most of us, but they follow players and they consider their choices and decision making.

        If I am a scout and I go watch Ajax 2 play, I do not have to worry whether the player can hit a ball or dribble. Trust me, he is able to. I will look for his decision making, his positioning and his mental strength. This is how LVG watches football.

        LVG uses statistics too. He analyses players. You probably watch a game of football.

    2. There is always a subject element to coaching and, more specifically, to player evaluation and selection. Even the most brilliant coaches have their biases–the value certain skill sets, or even personalities or physical qualities, more than others. This is what makes NT player selection so interesting. You have 35 guys–each with different qualities and characteristics– who could make the team, but many don’t. All we can really do is watch–and opine after the fact on forums like this, of course!

  17. I think van gaal will also be watching vaart and sneijder closely in the next two friendly and if they dont impress him they might also face the cut. I mean jus look at Samir Nasri. He had a tremendous season for Man City but yet was left out of France squad.

    Clasie will definitely start that for sure at WC.

  18. Dear Mr Van Gaal..

    I know you think im best suited to sitting on the bench but I feel I can offer more if you give me the chance. My form this season will show you that im very good at kicking the ball into the back net
    dont listen to tiji he works at mcdonalds
    mayby a full game against Ghana and I can show you what trouble I can cause these guys
    btw congrats on the man u gig

    Hup hup holland

  19. @Jan…….Fer, strootman and van GInkle are similar types.Lots of fights, legs and lungs.But missing finer touchers……….I hope you watched all his games he played for Chelsea……accurate….pinpoint….precise and yet he was playing at DM. When he was playing behind Bony in 2013 at VItesse he had considrable number assists and goal at the same time which cuaght the eyes of Chelsea and yet you are saying he doesnt have fine touches. I think him and strootman are our next best thing in the midfield. Pity his injury has let him down.

    1. Van Ginkel is a good passer of the game. But he doesn’t have the ball skills a Depay or Maher or Clasie has. That is fine. I like Van Ginkel and Strootman and don’t mean anything bad. Just different types of players.

      Maher can dance past three defenders, Van Ginkel will use his speed and power to do this. Both are great (in potential)

  20. what went wrong defensively so far (I’ll skip Estonia and start with Japan):

    1st goal Japan.

    – de Jong ends up on the wrong side of his opponent as he tries to take the ball from him

    – Vlaar doesn’t react very quickly and is backpeddling for too long allowing too much space and time (he does react and close the space a fraction later, which btw also makes it harder to play the offside trap)

    – de Vrij completely ignores the possibility of an offside trap and runs back to his keeper like a little girl being chased by the boogeyman, ignores the ball, ignores the Japanese player in his back, ignores any possibility of intercepting the pass until it’s actually underway and then probably turns the wrong way as well with no intent to intercept, again allowing too much space and time for his opponent

    – Cillessen hasn’t been paying attention all this time apparently cause he seems intent on staying as far to the left of his goal as is possible without being accused of doing it on purpose to leave open the whole right side of his goal, for which he then obviously comes up short once the shot comes in

    2nd goal Japan.

    – Blind is out of position as the long ball comes in, not running at full speed to make up for it, comes up short several times later on because of it, agility and reaction problem as well, too late everywhere causing Vlaar to have to step out

    – Vlaar doesn’t step out with an intent to get the ball, going in the wrong direction, leaving a gap

    – Blind has given up completely

    – de Vrij and Willemsen do their best to save the situation

    – Cillessen reacts way too late, anticipates wrong, almost completely wrongfooted, still manages to dive but just for the looks, cause he’s too short anyway to reach the corner of his goal apparently

    1st goal France

    – Blind not quick enough for Benzema, BMI might try to get a little closer next time, but really, this ball should be for Cillessen, only one way to go for Benzema and his execution is not that brilliant, how can you not be ready for that one?

    2nd goal France

    – missed attempt by Vlaar at an interception

    – Blind running the wrong way (what did you expect with a guy with a name like that? He’s running towards the right corner flag before he finally turns around and guess what, comes up short again just like the 2nd goal of Japan)

    – BMI slows down for some inexplicable reason (you can try on purpose if you’re paranoid, otherwise, try tired or not understanding what’s going on)

    – vdWiel stays as far away from Pogba as is possible without being accused of doing it on purpose

    Xuse the cynicism.

    – another chance for Cillessen to redeem himself…
    he jumps…
    he fails!

    I should probably make my next comment about the things that went right, I’m sure there’s a lot less cynisism in that one and a lot more bravado.

    I already did the Ecuador goal after the game.

    1. ah, BMI is covering their nr.10 for the 2nd French goal, now I see, OK, ignore that line (or ignore the whole comment if you like, I’m just rambling on waiting for this thing to get going anyway, showing my own nerves, doubts, hopes, fears, possibly misplaced confidence and a bit of bravado thrown in here and there, I do feel we can win this, others have issued too, no team has ever been perfect).

      1. Hey, Sol. Did you know that Ronaldo is a reptoid? True story, man. My brother’s sister’s cousin works for calvin klein and when ronaldo did a magazine shoot for them they had to photoshop out his tail! True story. Icke was right. Master race of footballing circus lizards from planet X, man, nibiru and shit yo.
        And that encrusted social dragon monarchy is all true also, i know, it’s all out there but nobody cares, or seems to. secret secret cabals and enclaves, twisting humanity to their will, bending the planet to their hot heavy habitat. And everyone accepts the lunar landings and doesn’t question the question.it’s all backwards.sometimes i wonder if we will ever rellay know. i mean KNOW know. you know what i mean? but icke is definitely true, all about the OWL and he totally knows and he gets a bad deal, man. and you have to wonder why. if there’s like some other sort of influence involved. there’s no coincidence none at all bro – it’s ALL part of the plan and they are so awesomely intelligent that they can even make us believe that we accept their cruel rule as freedom, and that we believed it because we wanted to and not because we were enslaved to.
        so fuck ronaldo. fuck his lizard tail. he may be good with a football but i am sure with the intelligences of this aliens there can be photoshop in real life also, like magics, and wizardry, and harry pooter is also just another construct of the ethereal flangelance of society, the cabal of witches what controls out thoughts and deeds and hell is on earth already but we have not seen it yet and so i trust in jesus, the one and true magic and i KNOW he will be a saviour for us come the end times, and the destruction and collision and small bang. for tis not the end, said the burning bush, tis only the middle, as was and will be forever amen. and there is no reptoid mottherfucker alive in this galaxy that can denounce the glory of the bush who burned so bright, and in the brasilian summer will the whole world see the shining burning of the orange bush, and also the tail of romaldo.
        because never until humanity accepts the secret 12th dimensional visitors, can they escape from this corporate governemant of neo-democracy, which is flawed in and of itself, wouldn;t you agree? as the richest and most powerful elect themsleves through the medias and the whispers of winds, and the real man, you and i, and not the lizard ronaldo, we are not rewarded but with fiscal chains, and rules of death and punishment to tow the line or die in suffering like a saviour, but for nothing but the goal of the enemy. and then there’s the owl again, see?
        it’s all connected, like a loop. it would drive you mad if you couldnt see it from above. and we have this position and from here we can see these encrustations, and they form a loop, which curls back on itself like a snake, and we know the snake, right? exactly, the DEVIL! the serpent lord, the smartest creature in all the known universes – he who cheated the father, and was punished for his perfect perfect beauty – this is the way they hide him from sight, with banks and inflation, and that is truly the ‘smoking gun’ which killed the lion.
        and it is the owl holding it. owl>lion>lizard>peacock – see? all connected!
        and there’s more.
        elvis, the beatles, angela lansbury, all reptoids.
        jim henson, george lucas, obama, bush, blair, and the kid who wasn’t really a kid in diffrent strokes – all reptoids.
        the guy who invented velcro – reptoid.
        the slightly better looking olsen twin – reptoid.
        so many of them, man, everywhere.and if you go back and rewatch Ghostbusters 2 man IT’S SO OBVIOUS!
        and prophecy is born from the obvious, which means that Belgium and France will do badly at this world cup, whereas Germany and Italy will do well – MARK MY WORDS! and this has nothing ot do with the number of Premier League players in the squad. NOTHING. because look! Spain has 8, and Holland 6 i think which is less than many others, but not the eventual losers. It’s all about the buck, the bottom dollar $
        and the lizards like money almost as much as they like the sun.

    2. the more I look at these previous games, the more I disagree with what the statement in this article implies concerning Blind’s qualities (even though that statement is concerning Ajax, but it implies he’s somehow important in our starting line-up or encourages him being picked or otherwise sometimes referred to as hyping players).

      For me, he’s still got a lot to prove to warrant a starting spot, regardless of Strootman’s injury.

  21. recent rumours:
    Feyenoord after Beerens
    Arsenal after Van Der Vaart, Stekelenberg
    Man United after Vlaar,Fer,Rekik
    Roma rejected Man United 30m euro bid for Strootman
    Liverpool after Afellay
    Spurs after Sneijder
    Athletic Madrid after Krul
    Napoli after Toornstra
    Lazio after Viergever
    Blackpool Rotherham United after Beugelesdijk
    Wolves after Van La Parra
    AZ after Hupperts
    Newcastle after De Vrij
    Moscow Dynamo after Van Dijk, Celtic ask for 10m euro
    Morroco interested in signing Advocaat as their coach and trying to lure Ziyech to play for them
    Ajax Feyenoord Twente after Ziyech
    Fenerbache after Basacicoglu
    Galatasary interested in bidding 5m euro for Promes

    1. Beerens to Feyenoord would be great
      Van der Vaart to Arsenal will be for a spot on the bench
      Vlaar and Fer to Man U is probably not true
      Afellay to Pool would be outstanding
      Spurs and Sneijder would be good too
      Krul to Atleti, I am not sure. Their goalie is quite good
      The italian interest for our B-players…? Not sure…
      De Vrij to Newcastle, could work
      Van Dijk should go to the EPL
      Ziyech is welcome in Rotterdam 🙂
      Promes to Gala could be good for him

      1. When I read about Napoli after Toornstra I suddenly noticed how similar is Toornstra and Hamsik’s playing style. Of course Toornstra is not at Hamsik’s level.
        Lazio is in need of a resurgence,their backline is old and I think Viegerver has a future in NT.

  22. From an ESPN Insider article on the top 5 attacking teams in the World Cup:

    “5. Netherlands

    This will likely be the last significant World Cup for Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, whose 11 goals throughout World Cup qualifying led all players in the UEFA region. The 30-year-old striker is allegedly on the path to full fitness after a knee injury prematurely ended his season, but even if he is not at full strength in Brazil, van Persie is part of a Netherlands team that ranked second in the region with 34 goals scored throughout qualifying.

    The supporting cast behind van Persie includes Bayern Munich midfielder Arjen Robben, who led the team with 3.9 shots per 90 minutes and ranked third on Bayern with 27 chances created. The midfielder also includes Hamburg catalyst Rafael van der Vaart, who led his team with 2.7 chances created per 90 minutes, and added five goals for the Netherlands throughout World Cup qualifying. The experience of this attack gives it a slight edge over an up-and-coming team like Belgium, which managed just 18 goals throughout qualifying, and the fact the core group of this Netherlands club was also a part of the 2010 World Cup team that scored 12 goals in the tournament (second most in 2010 World Cup) should be a sign that the team will be prepared heading into Brazil.”

    The other four were Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.

  23. ego is part of a dutch footballer dna becoz we know we can play better beautiful football. the next 2 friendly game will conclude the 5-3-2 chaos.

  24. What a brilliant goal by U17. The English are strong but that’s it. They have almost no quality but just physicality.Once our talents grow taller we will beat them much easier than this.

      1. It’s Ter Avest not him, he is constantly playing against 2-3 players the English knows he is good from the first game. Ter Avest barely offers anything in offense.

  25. This coach made weird subs, Sub out Bergwijn who was dangerous at the front 5 minutes after half time. Sub out Nouri later. These two guys set up the goal for us. We should have finished the game, Slab is not fit, too slow in the penalty area. Owobowale should have finished the header before the end of the game. Choosing Van Der Moot who subs in to take the first penalty was bad decision as well why nod Verdonk who took two penalties for us to start. Van Der Moot clearly looks unconfident, can not even look at the goal. Anyway, this team has good skills good quality, when their body grows they will be much better than now.

      1. Cor Pot is not the worst haha. Go Check the U19 coach Mushroom. Our U19 always suck and it seems like a lot of players do not want to play for U19 as well.

  26. Sneijder is very happy with the 5-3-2 system. he says that he is sure now of his place with Oranje in the WC in the new system as it fits his qualities.

  27. I live in Malta. Just returned from the stadium, disappointed but there are some promising players. England were physically stonger – they looked like a higher age category – but Holland are better technically. Penalties are penalties no need to comment further !!

  28. Oke so England were better in penalty’s, which is a good development for them. Their senior NT has a history with that, just like Orange by the way. 1-1 after 90 minutes, there was no extra time and penalty’s were converted better by England. As their keeper had horrible distribution I was curious to see how good his line keeping was with penalty’s, but he looked more imposing that van Osch. Went aggressive to the corners of the goal and van Osch even stood wrong with one of the penalty’s (I think the third). To the right of the middle if you look at it from the takers perspective. I did not think he was bad during this tournament, but I felt he was a weakness with the penalty’s. He also lacked height and width from his arms.

    The key moment in this match was the sub of Slabbekoorn for Bergwijn, the one giving that wonderful spin ball over English defense from which Schuurman converted from. Sure he was not pressing that hard or involved all the time, but Bergwijn has been consistently vital for this team from the Elite round on. Slabbekoorn has been a lazy overweight kid in Malta. He did made 1 defensive run in the half he got, but other than that he had no impact and I dare to say that the chance in the final minutes where he could freely run into space to score the goal would have been bridged and converted by a Bergwijn. I always wanted Slab for Moot aka a poor mans Huntelaar, but not Bergwijn. Now the coach pulled off something like this, while Bergwijn is exactly answering to the complete player profile that I want to see as a striker for the Dutch NT. Why suddenly now Slab as striker? In a final? Go experiment with that in friendly’s, not in a final.

    Doing a player by player analyses is almost pointless as I saw few things that were new to me. I will just share some general contemplations about some players.

    Put the mentality of Obowale into any forward like Bergwijn or especially Slab and they would reach world class. What a worker is that and we know from Kuyt that hard work can bring a footballer really far. Like him more than Castaignos.

    I will say that Nouri somehow is growing on me. When he left the pitch I suddenly thought that I would really miss his control on midfield. I have said that he is much better as a real 10, rather than from a withdrawn position. Nouri really played in front of his defense at times, but also joined attack here and there. I miss his genius too much if he plays so dry in that withdrawn role (he did give the pass on Bergwijn for the spinning over the top ball mind you). However imagine such a player really being able to carry that role in time. Impossible to dispossess. Not by size, but by his agility, turns, handling speed, and general football ability. The contrast with the English giants was amusing (I hope I can show a pic of Verloo against Brown, which takes the cake). Don’t think there are (m)any country’s that will play a midget as an almost DM. I think it is interesting that such a project is going on. Nouri is developed at Ajax as a half player at the side where Serero also plays for the first team. If you then know that Ake is a true pass and mover, Ayoub being just that on top of being very technical also, then we could be looking at a future midfield that would be really good at ball possession. The more a Nouri kind of player is surrounded with equal minded players, the stronger he and it becomes. What I am saying is that vdV and Sneijder could never work on midfield together as they were not able to really control midfield with their pass and movement and as a result of that felt short by their physical limitations (they are also not fast) in a true midfield role. They are vertical geniuses, not so much control experts. Nouri shows some signs IMO that he is a player that might be able to control midfield with pass and move. That in connection with his creativity could be gold in the NT configuration of the future. It also means that in time the endless passing between CB’s will be over and build up will become more and more a responsibility of the midfielders. Like it should be.

    I also liked Paal when he came in. Contrary to Slab, he works hard. He is a good footballer. If he ends up as a 10, he will not be a lazy one that does not carry his own weight.

    Ould-Chikh has me puzzled. When he unleashed that shot against Turkey it was really hard and almost a goal. This time against England there was also one that got me thinking, looking at the trajectory, that it could have become something close to a goal, had it not been blocked. The guy does not fall short in power or direction to take the chance more often. I think that with better free making running patterns from himself and the players around him he is able to get his shot off more often. There is no reason why a Robben or Depay can shoot every game multiple balls on goal, while he barely done that. There is a potential in that player that has not been exploited properly. That shot vs Turkey was possible after Schuurman made a run outside of him and he then could go inside. I missed this pattern and other patterns for him to take some shots. FC Twente has a pretty good winger development. They make them effective for their first team (Elia, Arnautovic, Ola John, Promes). Does not mean they succeed later on, but how they make wingers work at that club is worth to study. I hope they drill deep into this quality of him and teach him how to free himself up to take some more shots, by going inside a la Robben.

    Bergwijn is the surprise of the tourney for me. I detect some lethargic behavior from him, but not even severe or something. Everything is pretty oke with him. Speed, technique, mentality on the field, scoring ability, being there on important moments and not only against the weak teams. There is something to build on with every box he ticks off and I want this guy to be developed as a striker. Not Moot, who is in the same PSV team, but this guy. Put Bergwijn in A1 and Moot in A2 next season, so that they are not in each others way. I know what type of striker I would prefer. Bergwijn can even head a ball properly. What is there more to want from a striker? Is it forbidden for Netherlands to a have an all round player on top? Who had to fight off 2 butchers from England and then came up with a lovely spin ball over these gentlemen? Bergwijn is allowed to be royally pissed. Should not have come off. Decided for us games from the elite round against France all the way to this final with a lovely assist. I back this guy 100% if he wants to leave PSV for wanting to play striker position. The striker profile sketch (to speak with van Gaal) in the Netherlands has become retarded.

    I liked Schuurman after his penalty. Tried to lift his team up with a bit of arrogance. That results in being disliked by many, but I think he did it for the team. Like Pirlo in the penalty serie vs England at the Euro did a Panenka to lift his teams moral. Very good and functional rather than an example of misplaced behavior. The team needed a lift. Did not work. Even Verdonk missed.

    I love van de Beek. He was not perfect and even was beaten in a midfield sprint one time, his ball retention skills are not impeccable either, but he battles and is a guy really balancing things out, while not falling behind with his football for me. Him an Nouri do have chemistry at times. One for the future and it is already guaranteed that he will become a de Boer favorite.

    This team has not been beaten from the Elite round on over 90 minutes. Not by the physical stronger players of France. Not when they came behind against Turkey. Not when they came behind against this England, while when that happens they tend to be good at waiting and striking the opponent on the counter (they did sit back after they scored). Like their goals vs Portugal. All W’s and 1 draw over 90 minutes. England’s danger came mostly from set pieces and from their size, while this team sucks at defending them. There was some pressure at times in the second half, but where was the narrow save from the Dutch keeper to stop England from scoring. Their only goal was after a corner. Out muscled at times yes and that also translated into some spells of England being stronger on the field, yet I feel that the Dutch team had the best periods of letting the ball go from feet to feet. Netherlands also had the biggest score of the tourney, doing that in semi final. We were perfectly able to outplay a defensive team like Scotland. That tells us something about the attacking flair and quality in this team, like the goal vs England showed as well.

    The past 2 Euro Champs should deliver some good defenders, this generation should deliver attacking quality and I think there is. Then there is an interesting team to fabricate from all those complementary years.

    We have Depay and Boëtius coming up at the left wing now. Ould-Chikh and Nunnelly at the right side. Paal, Nouri as dynamic 10 players or the last one could even go from a more controlling midfield position. Bergwijn could be the answer for the Dutch striker position. Beek a strong midfielder in the making. Schuurman is interesting as not everybody can have the ball and he has showed us that he will focus on one thing and one thing only and that is scoring goals as an “arriving” midfielder. Obowale should keep being selected all the time in the future, just to show the others what hard work really means. Nice prospects.

    Cheers

  29. According to AD, the team practised 5-3-2 today with:

    ———–Cillessen————
    —-De Vrij–Vlaar–M.Indi——
    Verhaegh—————v.Aanholt
    ——-De Jong—Blind———-
    ————Sneijder————
    —–v.Persie——–Lens——-

    1. Once Janmaat is healthy he will take Verhaegh’s place, and Robben will take Lens’s place, then these 11 will be our starting 11 vs Spain. It seems LVG or one of his staff reading this blog.

          1. basicly de Vrij is playing instead of Depay, like I said earlier. 5-3-2 drops one winger for an extra CB, which begs the question:

            Is it worth dropping a winger like Depay over a CB like de Vrij who is supposed to fix our defensive problem which is caused by Cillessen primarily, and Blind secondary most of the times? See my analysis of what went wrong with the goals for my argumentation as to what the likely answer to this rhetorical question would be in my opinion.

  30. Guys, the one posting about Laurent is actually Laurent. He is using different handles again and trying to upset people.

    My question to you is to disregard and ignore all he says.

    I will do what I can to stop him here and I will report this to the higher ups.

    But please do not start fights on the blog, as anyone who starts something will be exited

  31. According to Bloomberg Sports, Kevin Strootman is in the Top 5 best players of Europe, with only Suarez, Messi, Zlatan and C Ronaldo before him!!

    RVP and Robben are not part of the top 10…

    THis is a scientifically supported list of players, probably to complicated for us mere mortals to understand.

    Beats me why Blind didn’t make the cut.

    KIDDIN!!!!

  32. Verhaegh is not a wing – back material. more defensive minded. Van Rhijn would have been a more better option for the wing back option. Rhijn is more like weil but his offensive and defensive play is well balanced.

    how about Verhaegh at CB

  33. I agree with Tiju, Bruma should have been selected ahead of De Vrij and Veltman. He is more experienced and composed in tackling rather than Vrij and Veltman who only watch the shadows go by.

    Janmaat – Bruma- Van Dijik -BMI – Van Annholt

  34. Why do you mention players that will not go to Brazil?????

    Netherlands eleven will be:

    1 Cillessen
    2 Vlaar
    3 De Vrij
    4 Martins Indi
    5 Van Annholt (Depay-Lens???)
    6 De Jong
    7 Janmaat
    8 Blind
    9 Van Persie
    10 Sneijder
    11 Robben

    I have faith in Louis van Gaal and this team!!!

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