Tag: Adam Maher

by Jan

Dutch Transfers…

Here is my update on transfers. I will not even try to be “complete” in my analysis as I am a bit far removed from the actions and people like DRB and Alex and others will have much more insights than me.

So, I will start this thread and you guys can add to it, ok?

In general, the transfer market is a bit timid at the moment. It’s still early days, as the actions will go onto September 1 and some clubs will pounce late in the process.

New coaches usually bring new names. We have seen some action already by some high profile coaches, like Mourinho, Moyes, Cocu and Blanc. Cavani’s move to PSG and Neymar’s move to Barca are the biggest headlines. Barca is eager to sign Brazilian PSG defender Silva, but the PSG chairman said that if Barca approaches the player, they (PSG) will make an offer for Lionel Messi… And pay the 250 Mio euros which is in the contract.

The economic downturn will most likely have its impact. Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Man City, Man United, Liverpool…they are all doing some business but major signings have not yet been done. ManU might sign Fabregas and Chelsea might sign Rooney, and once these things start to happen, the co-called caroussel will really kick into gear.

It always starts at the top. Napoli is spending their money and PSV is another big spender, what with the exit of Strootman, Mertens, Lens, Pieters and Toivonen.

The actions is limited in Holland though. PSV is changing tactics and is an exception to the rule. Most of you know I don’t have anything with PSV, but I have always been a big fan of Cocu and I think he might well be the real deal as a coach, like Frank de Boer. PSV got it wrong a number of times in the past and their sterile and elitist profile has always put me off. But their current actions on the transfer market are inspired (by Cocu no doubt). Signing Advocaat as coach last year was a coward’s act. Placing Cocu at the helm is more like it.

 

rekik psvKarim Rekik gets playing time as a loanie at PSV

And as PSV will allow young talents to shine (most likely) and support the Dutch cause, I am happy to give them the benefit of the doubt. Players like Wijnaldum, Depay, Jozefzoon, Narsignh, Maher and Schaars are always good value to watch.

PSV is also keen to score Jens Toornstra of Utrecht. The dynamic midfielder recently got his first Oranje cap in Asia. But Jan Wouters does not want to sell the midfielder so PSV will have to wait a bit.

Ajax is remarkably silent on the transfer market. Both in selling and in signing. Marc Overmars said it early on in this transfer period: we will not join in this madness (referring to the Maher option). Frank de Boer agrees: as long as no one leaves, we will not buy new names.
Siem de Jong gave a huge signal when he announced to want to stay in Amsterdam. His chances for the Oranje Brazil squad are obviously a factor. Frank de Boer hopes this will motivate Eriksen and Alderweireld to stay to. When Babel left, De Boer opted for Krkic and De Boer picked up Utrecht defender van Hoorn to cover for Alderweireld’s potential move. But as it stands, Alderweireld and Eriksen remain in Amsterdam. Eriksen could sign a massive deal with Leverkusen, but he aims high. And if the Barcelona’s or Man Uniteds do not bite, he will stay in Amsterdam. Should Eriksen leave Ajax, it seems Duarte will be his successor. De Boer and co popped the champagne when expensive Sulejmani left for Benfica, creating some space in the salary-budget.

Ajax does need to fear for Liverpool, as the Reds have followed both Eriksen and Alderweireld extensively. Brendan Rogers is only allowed to spend money when Suarez is sold, though, who is on the list of Real Madrid and Arsenal. De Boer wants to go for an internal option if Eriksen goes. Victor Fischer, Davy Klaassen or Lasse Schone can play in that role. Lerin Duarte of Heracles is an option too, although Ajax has some competition here from PSV.

SIEM stays

The Ajax skipper stays in Amsterdam

AC Milan is another club to follow Eriksen. They have offered the Dane 2mio Euros nett per season and are preparing a 16 mio Euro deal for Ajax.

The Oranje Selection for Brazil is also what keeps the Feyenoord talent in Rotterdam. Martins Indi and Clasie were both rumoured to move to London (Arsenal) but it appears that interest was not solid. Both players (and add Janmaat and de Vrij to that list) can count on a role in Brazil provided they will keep their starting berth. Italian striker Graziano Pelle might well leave. Italian, English and Russian clubs are on the prowl and if a good offer comes, I’m sure Feyenoord will let him go. One John Guidetti might well be his successor. Feyenoord does not have the funds to go berserk and Koeman will have to wait until a player leaves before he can move in. With Boetius, the left winger injured, Koeman does want to add Assaidi (not longer needed in Liverpool) to his squad and for now, that’s about it.

Darryl Janmaat frequents many lists in Europe, with Inter being keen to make a move. Feyenoord hopes that his Oranje ambitions will keep him for one more year in Rotterdam, and Feyenoord is preparing a new deal for the right full back, to extort a higher transfer fee, in case the player has a great World Cup campaign.

AZ and Heerenveen are the most active on the market, of the sub top. AZ has lost quite some good players over the last years and this summer prolific goal scorer Altidore (Sunderland) left, while playmaker Maher wears the colours of PSV. Verbeek is known to be a good picker of talent and with Jeffrey Gouweleeuw in Alkmaar and Nemanja Gudelj from NAC and Wuytens from Utrecht, Verbeek is creating his new team nicely.

At FC Twente, they refuse to play along in the game of expensive transfers. Top players Chadli and Tadic are still in Enschede, although the French media report that the Belgian winger might join his fellow countrymen Vertonghen and Dembele at Spurs. Central defender Douglas left for Russia, while Fer got his EPL transfer. The biggest signing is ex Feyenoord talent Ebicilio, who came on a free transfer from Arsenal.

kyle twente

Another young Dutch talent to be watched in the Eredivisie

Some remarkable news… With Royston Drenthe in the Championship to help Reading return to the EPL, we also see Quincy resurfacing after a Russian and Greek adverture. The former Arsenal youngster was one of the hot players in the Under20 Oranje squad in 2005.

Anderlecht is seriously eyeing Hedwiges Maduro. The former Ajax and Valencia player knows Anderlecht coach John van den Brom from his Ajax days.

The biggest “deals” till now is Kevin Strootman’s move to Italy and Van Ginkel to Chelsea.

His name was linked to Man United and Tottenham Hotspur for a while, but there was no offer coming from Albion so Roma picked him up.

Strootman: “I was always keen to move to England and I simply don’t know the Italian competition that well. But Mark van Bommel had a wonderful time in Milan and he told me a lot about the serie A and life and work in Italy. I kinda like the passion in Italian football and I think the lifestyle and playing style suits me.”

The midfielder doesn’t fear his spot in Oranje with this move. “Roma is a very strong team and the Serie A is a strong competition. I was really ready to move and I discussed it with Mr Van Gaal.”

Man City full back Maicon, deadly unhappy in England, will become Strootman’s colleague. Strootman was heralded as the new hero when he arrived at Roma Airport and if he ever returns to Sparta, he will be given a similar welcome as his transfer will add some much needed euros to the war chest of Sparta as well.

Marco van Ginkel to Chelsea is also a transfer that got people’s interest up. Who the hell is Van Ginkel and who the hell is Vitesse? In England, it’s only Ajax, PSV and maybe Feyenoord that have solid names. Although Twente and AZ have done well to establish their names. But Vitesse is like a branch or subsidiary of Chelsea these days. Vitesse puts players not longer wanted by Chelsea in the shopwindow and allows young talents to play regular games. So it’s quite simple for Chelsea to “scout” in Arnhem.

van-ginkel

Marco van Ginkel clearly still in shock

Bony, the prolific striker, apparently wasn’t interesting enough for Chelsea (who have Lukaku already) but box-to-box midfielder Van Ginkel was high up on the Blues’ wishlist.

And why not? A diamond in the raw, the young midfielder. Tremendous athlete, in the Michael Ballack / Steve Gerrard mould. Good mentality, all round in skills. The only thing Van Ginkel needs to learn is tactics. He can be a bit rambunctious. Picking the right moment is key. Knowing when to take the pace out. Knowing when to go and when to stay (he should listen to the Clash).

With this season leading up to the World Cup in Brazil (excited already???), it’s key for our lads to have a solid spot in their teams. I prefer Sneijder to be a starter at Gala, than a benchwarmer at Chelsea, for instance. I believe Wes will have a cracker of a season, as will Rafa at Hamburg.

Van Persie, Robben, Vorm, Krul, De Guzman… I can’t see any problems there. Just as De Vrij, Maher, Janmaat, BMI, Blind, Vermeer, Huntelaar will have secured their spots at their respective clubs.

It will be less certain for Lens, Strootman, Elia, Fer and Van Ginkel, to name a few, but Lens and Strootman should be doing well.

We will be following the lads as per usual in the coming months but before the season starts, we will look just one more time at the 1988 Victory. After that, an indepth analysis of Oranje TODAY is in the planning and after that, we’ll see what pops up…

largestAssaidiDespite some promising performances it didn’t work out for Assaidi at Liverpool. Feyenoord wants the former Heerenveen winger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I am really excited for next season.

And I am grateful to PSV and Twente among others for being able to keep or attract talent back to the home soil or keep them in Holland. Really keen to see Rekik, Ebecilio, Krkic, Maher and hopefully Assaidi perform….

by Jan

Why Robin van Persie will ROCK this coming summer

There is and always has been debate around Robin van Persie in Holland.

It seems like we – Dutch – don’t understand players like him. We like two types of players: players that perform (and we don’t care if they’re arrogant or annoying) and players that are humble and work their arse off.

In category one, we have Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Willem van Hanegem, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart…. Cruyff was very egotistical, Willem cynical, Marco aloof, Dennis didn’t fly, Wesley is cocky, Rafa overweight, etc etc. We don’t care. Actually, we love them all for it.

cruyff-bergkamp-van P

Three characters: RVP, JC and The Iceman

The humble ones? Jaap Stam, Jan Wouters, Phillip Cocu, Wim Jansen, Johan Neeskens, Gio van Bronckhorst, Edwin van der Sar, Aron Winter.

And there is a huge category we do not really warm too. The ones that think they’re better than they are. And the ones who rap. Although this second category is basically a subgroup of the first one :-). Drenthe, Babel, Elia, Kuyt, you know who you are.

In that category players who over-estimate themselves are the ones that leave for greener pastures early in their career. Again, Drenthe, Babel, De Ridder…all those players who disappear.

Robin van Persie was one of those lads, almost.

Terribly annoying at Feyenoord (sure, very gifted too), headstrong, streetwise (talking with a Moroccan accent as a result of hanging out mostly with Moroccan kids… Robin ended up marrying a Moroccan wife and according to some converted to Islam).

Bert van Marwijk (and his staff and senior players) couldn’t contain the young prodigy. He was amazingly talented, although Bert didn’t really know how to use the youngster best. Was he a winger? Was he a playmaker? A striker? Whatever he was, the playmaker role didn’t exist in Feyenoord ( Bosvelt played from deep, with runner Tomasson upfront behind Van Hooijdonk). Pi-Air was untouchable of course so left wing was to Robin’s spot.

When he moved to Arsenal, it still took some time for Robin to make it in the first team, as a starter. Sure, he had his games in his first seasons, but also his fair share of run ins with team mates and coach Wenger and even got a red card for a lunge, which resulted in Wenger yelling obscenities at Van Persie from the side line. Van Persie played a wide role for Arsenal for quite a while and had a number of goes as midfielder behind Adabayor. In the 2008/09 season, he took the role of Henry as main striker, when the Frenchman left for Barca.

It would take a bit of time for Van Persie to shine in that role due to injuries.

Robin has quite a reputation from his early days in Holland. He was known to be a misbehaved streetkid who was sent away from school many times. Later on, after a Dutch World Cup qualification game in 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of rape. He was held in custody for 14 days and circumstances were so bad in the little holding cell that RVP passed out at a certain point. The case was dropped as there was no proof that sexual contact with coercion happened and the “victim” – a former Miss Nigeria/Holland – admitted she claimed to be rape to “gain publicity”. RVP did have sex with her and cheated on his wife, in other words, which didn’t help his public reputation. It later emerged that over 200 police officers had had access to the case file, most of them not authorised to do so.

RVP was always seen as a tremendous talent but his personality and his vulnerable physique made it hard for him to be the dominant player he wanted to be. In 2008/09 he reached the 20 goals per season at Arsenal for the first time, but the season after, he dropped back to 10 (in 19 games) as as result of injuries. In 2010/11, his last season for the Gunners he produced a whopping 22 goals in 33 games, a feat he’d better last season for ManU when he scored 37 out 48 games. This is basically 0,8 goals per game!

RVP Bert

Here’s a tip for you: don’t sub me!

In the Dutch team, he scores once every second game (this year, he is on 4 goals in 5 games, which is as good as his ManU stat, by the way). This is certainly not bad for a striker. But somehow, the perception is, that RVP doesn’t deliver in Orange.

The reason being, of course, that he scores easily and prolifically against smaller nations (qualifications and friendlies) but hardly in big games or big tournaments.

In 2006, the World Cup in Germany, he scored one goal at group stage.

In 2008, RVP didn’t start until Romania and he scored two goals before Russia ousted Holland. Robin played as a winger, supporting Van Nistelrooy.

In 2010, RVP played as central striker, but only scored one goal (Cameroon) in a successful campaign.

Sadly, RVP’s performance stood out like a sore nail during that campaign. Sneijder and Robben were the heroes of the World Cup, with Kuyt, Elia, Van der Vaart and Stekelenburg getting headlines as well.

In 2012, the world expected more from him at the Euros, but a disastrous game against Denmark (in which he missed a number of good chances) resulted in a downward spiral. RVP only scored one goal, with his right, against Germany. A game in which he could have had a second one (and maybe saving Holland from disgrace).

The widely heralded striker can not look back on an international career like Ruud van Gol, San Marco, Patrick Kluivert or Johan Cruyff can in a similar position.

But…is it because he is not good enough? Is it because he chokes in big games?

I don’t believe that. To be able to play at this high level for so long (EPL, ManU, CL, etc) your mental state is totally fine. You will NOT survive one week at ManU if you are not mentally strong.

I would call that evidence #1.

Not good enough? There are many YouTube clips demonstrating how good Van Persie really is. His athleticism, his speed (both with his feet and his brain/vision), his ability in his left foot, his ability as a header of the ball, his ever improving right foot, his finishing ability, his ability to set a goal up…. There is nothing he can not do. I believe he’d even make a good goalkeeper.

Messi is probably faster with the ball and a better dribbler, C Ronaldo might be stronger, but other than that, RVP is the complete package.

So what is it then, that held the former Excelsior player back?

I believe it has to do with team-dynamics and hierarchy on the one hand, and team tactics on the other.

I believe Robin and Bert did not have the best of working relationship. I believe Robin may have genuinely liked Bert as a person, but I believe Robin thrives with a coach who really emerges into the team… Someone like Wenger, Mourinho, Guardiola, Ferguson and Van Gaal.

Van Marwijk is more distant. More like Mancini, Benitez, Capello, I’d say. Van Marwijk was very laissez-fair.

Let the alpha dogs sort it out.

We all remember how the Sneijder clan ( Robben, Van der Vaart, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Stekelenburg, Kuyt) knotted together while the RVP clan ( Van Persie, Afellay, Boulahrouz) had their own little circle.

Bert made Wes the man. Kuyt was his #2. And in the team, despite RVP’s role as central striker, it was Sneijder who dominated the game and would always look for Robben as an outlet, as these two complement each other so well.

I am not saying Sneijder did it on purpose to spite Robin. Playing the ball deep to Robben in space behind the defence of the opponent was simply how Sneijder could contribute best. RVP prefers the ball in his feet and Sneijder and RVP would frequently block each other’s space.

But Bert didn’t care about whether Robin shone or not. He cared about winning. When Bert started the WC2010 campaign he did so wanting to play attractive and attacking football. Like Holland did in the qualifications. He was happy to go with the Fab Four (Wes, Raf, Robben, Robin) but Robben’s injury changed those plans. The way we started at the WC (Denmark and Japan both parking numerous busses) determined how we proceeded.

Robin van Persie

“No, that is where the problem is, Louis….”

Louis van Gaal is also all about results but more so about execution and using the weapons you have at your disposal best. Van Gaal knows that results are the result of something. You focus on execution and the results will come.

The system we played in 2010 was not suited for any center striker. Our 4-2-3-1 was executed from a counter football perspective. You can play 4-2-3-1 in a forward pressing mode, which would definitely result in many opportunities for the center striker. But the way we played, sitting deep, allowing space behind the opponents back line, results immediately in a difficult role for the striker. In our case: Robin van Persie.

His tasks, in that set-up, are putting pressure on the opposing defender with the ball and making himself available once they lose the ball. The first pass would go to Sneijder or RVP, the most forward man, who holds the ball up and redistributes towards the midfielders coming forward who then pass to the fast wingers exploiting space. The Robbens, Narsinghs, Lenses and Elias…

It is no coincidence that Elia, Kuyt, Robben and Sneijder were the goal scorers, as rthe wingers would move inwards towards the center position. Robin hardly got a real chance at the World Cup.

Again, playing 4-2-3-1 in an attacking mode would change this significantly, but in 2010 we were not able to do so, unfortunately.

Now, LVG will not play 4-2-3-1.

His 4-3-3 is set up in a very strict, almost rigid way.

People execute 4-3-3 in several ways. With two sitting midfielders (Bayern) and one forward midfielder, or with two creative forwards and one holder ( Barcelona)…

Louis has distinct roles for his players. One holding mid (De Jong, Clasie, De Guzman, Strootman, Fer), one box-to-box runner (Strootman, Fer, Van Ginkel) and one creative forward, playing as a false striker close to the striker (RVP, Lens, Huntelaar). For this role Louis thinks Wesley, Rafael, Maher and Siem de Jong are his candidates.

As long as Robben and the right winger keep it wide, or allow the full backs to overlap, the field will be wide.

It will allow space for Robin and the playmaker to play off each other.

At the same time, we do need to realise that the time the oft scoring striker are over, in modern football.

robben rvp

“Trust me Robin, in the next game I will pass the ball to you…”

Adabayor at Spurs, Benzema at Real Madrid, Torres at Chelsea, Carrol when at Liverpool, the French dude at Arsenal (forgot his name)…. It is less and less their role to be the final stage of the attack. These lads are all key in allowing the runners around them to take position (the coming man vs the player who is already there) and become the most forward playmakers in the box.

Against lesser teams, sure, these guys will score their goals. But against tougher opponents, even in this 4-3-3 I do expect the Sneijder role, the Van Ginkel role and the wingers to be scoring more. Simply because the central striker already is in position (and easier to mark) while the others will jack-in-the-box into the box…

But whether RVP scores or not, I am convinced that (if he is fit etc etc) he will be of the utmost importance to us.

And I do hope Arjen Robben will finally with the Ballon D’Or this year, allowing Robin to snatch it up next year, after winning the EPL title again and the World Cup with Holland. ( He won’t win the CL, as Frank de Boer will claim it this time around….)

by Jan

Oranje 2014

So Louis van Gaal will stop after the World Cup 2014.

What does that mean? That he doesn’t really like the job? Or is he so confident we can win it that he won’t be keen to go on?

Or is he all about “Louis me me me” and only cares about him experiencing the World Cup as a coach (as he said so often).

I don’t know the answer. What I do know, is that we will have a real chance on the title. No matter what whoever says. Even no matter what Louis says.

He said: there are eight other teams with as much or more chance on winning it. Of course. On paper, that is true.

But England? Really? I believe the traditional nations will be on the list: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Holland.

France? Belgium? Portugal? Mexico? England? Outsiders….

I think Holland will be a candidate for the title, because of the following names: Louis van Gaal, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie.

Maybe we can add Wesley Sneijder to the list. Maybe Rafael van der Vaart. Maybe.

Add a mix of Stekelenburg/Vorm, Strootman, Huntelaar and a couple of young talents and people will look at us as an exciting team.

And Louis will make sure we will play exciting. Maybe not as good as his Ajax 1995, but with the right intentions.

And yes, our squad will be young. Our defensive four will probably be on average 23 years old or so.

NL Brazil

Oranje scored prolifically last time in Brazil

And it’s quite likely that our midfield will have a 22 year old or younger (Fer, Maher, Van Ginkel, Clasie). Just like we will have a couple of young bucks up front.

And it is ALL good. Louis van Gaal has demonstrated a couple of things. 1) he is a very good coach, 2) he is a difficult bloke to work with, 3) he will clash with experienced players and 4) has reached his best results with young players he can mould.

And don’t forget: our only real prize we won in 1988 was won with a young and relatively inexperienced squad. The Milan Three only played in Italy for one season and one Marco van Basten sat most of the Milan games on the bench or in sickbay. Koeman was not yet in Spain. Arnold Muhren was 37 years old and Van Breukelen wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, but players like Van Aerle, Rijkaard, Koeman (2x), Vanenburg, Kieft, Bosman and Van ‘t Schip were not seen as world beaters, outside of Holland. Talents, for sure, but not much more. Tiggelen played in Belgium, Kieft was with a second rate Italian club, Erwin Koeman in Belgium, Vaantje at PSV, Schippie at Ajax….

And they won it.

Just like we can win it.

We have two of the best forwards. We have a couple of great goalies. Talented defenders and razorsharp midfielders.

If someone can make it work, it is Louis.

I am positive!

kuyt brazilKuyt even scored a brace!

 

by Jan

RVP gets 20 points out of 10

This post was produced a week ago already but due to crash of blog site, is only published now. Apologies…

Robin van Persie is seen as the reason why Man United won the 20est title in the EPL. Mancini said it months ago already, the Man City coach stating that if RVP would have picked the noisy neighbours, they would have run away with the title.

Scoring a hattrick in style with that blistering volley resulted in the local Manchester newspaper to award Van Persie with 20 out 10 (see pic).

A beautiful tribute to the man who came to Old Trafford with only one aim: to win silverware.

Sir Alex: “We had high expectations of Robin as he is clearly one of the world’s best but that he would be this good and would adapt so smoothly and quickly was a surprise to us all…”

The 29 year old is probably the most exciting striker (not counting Messi as a striker) on the planet today. And it didn’t look like this would happen, when RVP started his career in Rotterdam.

The son of an artist couple was always known to be “unadapted”. He spent most of his days playing football in the streets of Rotterdam, with lads like Luigi Bruins (ex-Feyenoord), El Hamdaoui (ex-Ajax and ex-Spurs) and Said Bouhatar ( ex-Feyenoord). Cocky, arrogant and oozing of talent.

He moved from his first club Excelsior to Feyenoord when 14 years old, as a result of a ‘situation’ between his youth coach and his mom. At Feyenoord, the youngster developed into a successful playmaker, only to allow Raf van der Vaart to eclips him in the pecking order in the Oranje youth teams.

His name went round in Rotterdam, amongst Feyenoord fans and I saw him make his debut in the first team at 17 years old, as a winger. He was fast, full of trickery and with a beautiful left foot. Lanky, gutsy and very confident. The problem with RVP in those days, was that everyone around him saw him as the biggest talent Feyenoord ever developed and told him so, day and night. His parents didn’t “get” football and were not able to ground him.

This resulted in that infamous row with Pierre van Hooijdonk on the pitch. It was against RKC. Feyenoord was 1-0 down. RVP came on in the second half.

Van Hooijdonk: “The hierarchy was crystal clear. I was the set piece man. Whenever I didn’t feel it was my angle or distance, I could appoint another player. When Robin took the ball and repositioned it a bit, I thought he was trying to confuse the wall. And I expected him to take the run and step over the ball. To my horror, he hit the ball. I was furious. I couldn’t repeat here what I said to him. Van Marwijk was flabbergasted!”

The Feyenoord coach was never able to control the youngster. Another low in their relationship was the Super Cup game between Feyenoord – UEFA Cup winners – and Real Madrid (CL winners). This was clearly a game RVP relished but Bert used this game to punish Van Persie for his lacklustre performances and excluded the winger from the squad.

Something broke and RVP knew his future would not be in Rotterdam, as he was not “valued” as he should have been. In those days, there were not takers though. Most clubs seemed to think he was poison. Guus Hiddink and PSV and Wenger and Arsenal informed in the winter of 2004 but it wouldn’t be until the spring of 2004 that Arsenal decided to sign him. Wenger knew of Van Persie’s talents and was adamant to have his “assistants” (Henry, Bergkamp, Adams) to educate the youngster.

Van Persie knew he has to adapt. He was no longer the protected lad in a club he knew well. He was now a no-name in a big football nation in a club with players that would eat him for breakfast.

He changed. He worked hard. He listened and he learned.

And when his mentors Bergkamp and Henry left and other top talents like Nasri and Fabregas departed, Robin took the leadership role. With responsibility, his egotistical personality changed into the personality of a leader, a role model…a guy delivering the goods.

Funnily enough, his injury proneness also changed. In his first years, he wasn’t able to stay fit for longer than a couple of months, over the last years he has been fit like Superman.

Robin will probably have 3 more great seasons in him. And once age starts to hit him, he is a player that can play one line back without a problem. Maybe Ryan Giggs will inspire him to play for another 10 years in a playmaker role from the back?

Sir Alex names Robin in the same sentence as David Beckham, Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy. ManU Legends. A wonderful honour, when you take into account his first season hasn’t even ended yet.

What does tickle the mind of the Dutch National Team fan is, how can we make sure he performs at this level in the orange jersey??

His Oranje career was a bit stop and start? Was it Bert van Marwijk’s influence? Was it the fact that wasn’t always used as a striker? Was it the dreaded hierarchy again (Raf and Wes vs Robin)?

Fact is, he never shone as he does and did with Arsenal/Man U.

Under San Marco, he has a good two games at the WC2006. An assist on Robben and a scorching goal from a free kick.

In 2008, coming back from injury, he scored and was important, but still in the shadow of Sneijder, Van Nistelrooy, Van der Sar and Kuyt.

In 2010, he scored one goal. As a striker. In a campaign that took us to the finals. The main roles were for Sneijder and Robben. The most memorable image of Van Persie of that tournament was his complaining and whinging with Van Marwijk for being subbed…

Did Robben and Van der Vaart cramp his space when playing as wingers? Did Sneijder ignore Van Persie and only try to find Robben? Was it the Bert van Marwijk connection?

In 2012, the main image is that of Van Persie missing the ball completely against Denmark. Holland had at least 20 chances and the top forwards of Arsenal and Bayern Munich were not able to score.

RVP did score a great goal with his right against Germany and had a good chance to score a second even…. But other than that ( and other than an ok game as shadow striker vs Portugal behind Klaas Jan), the 2012 campaign was a disaster.

So, with Wenger and Sir Alex getting the best out of him and Bert van Marwijk not being able to do so (twice), it might be that our new coach Van Gaal is capable of making RVP important.

Making him the first name on the team sheet. With Sneijder not at his best and with Robben instructed to keep the playing field wide, we might see a different Van Persie.

His connection with Raf on the playmaker spot was quite good in recent matches (the two highly respect one another) and we saw some good interplay between Robben and Robin and RVP and Maher in recent games too.

Lets hope Van Gaal knows how to “touch” RVP like Wenger and Sir Alex have clearly done. And with a more dynamic player behind RVP (sorry Wes), we might see the interplay Robin so desperately needs. With Maher and Van der Vaart, we seem to have those players and I have personally not given up yet on Afellay either.

Lets hope that RVP20 is capable of working his magic even when he’s 30 years old.

And lets hope he will win us the World Cup title (with the other 22 players of course) next summer.

by Jan

LVG keeps on making progress with Oranje

The title young Oranje will confuse a bit, so I decided to leave the “young’ out of the title but despite my criticism on LVG, one has to admit that less than 12 months after the Euro 2012 debacle, we have a renewed, rejuvenated and exciting Oranje!

Against Estonia, we didn’t play great for a long spell but didn’t give anything away and scored three goals in an improved second half.

Against Romania, Oranje had flashes of brilliance again and Oranje clearly had its gloss back. Oranje’s best performance under Van Gaal.

Four goals and nothing conceded, nothing given away.

And one has to say: with a new young goalie (with Krul and Vorm and Stekelenburg all available as well) and a new, young but highly talented back four.

Blind, Janmaat, De Vrij and Martins Indi. Add Van Aanholt, Willems, Pieters, Buttner, Bruma, Van Rhijn and Van der Wiel to the mix and we have quite a nice little group to work with for defence.

And with Janmaat and Blind, we also have two players (like Willems, Van Aanholt, Buttner by the way) who can contribute massively in offence.

Janmaat was essential against Estonia and pretty impressive against Romania again. Playing with the confidence of a veteran.

Our midfield is improving too. The mediocre De Guzman and Strootman played a good match against Romania and it must be sweet for Van Gaal to know that whenever he brings Clasie, Maher or Fer, this team will not lose any quality.

Van der Vaart showed enough class to warrant a spot in the squad and his ability to score when we need a goal is something to cherish.

Van Persie and Robben are all class (when in top form or even when they’re not) while Lens is truly an asset whenever he decides to work hard and be focused.

Against Romania, we got the early goal and kept dominating. The 4-0 win was not a surprise, taking the run of play into account. Although we could have had 7 goals if Van Persie and Robben were a tad more sharp in the box and if the linesman wasn’t that eager to use his flag.

And I keep saying: Romania is certainly not a bad side.

So we struggle against teams that park the bus. We know this. Every team does. But we have shown a number of times now, that we can break open their defences if we are patient.

And against teams that leave more space and open up the game, we can play good football and outplay them.

Louis van Gaal must be really pleased.

The team was spirited, worked hard, there was great understanding between most of the lads and they looked like…well….a team.

Raf seems to enjoy his football, as does Robin van Persie. This is another RVP altogether. This is what playing with a number 10 in his back does for him. With Robben, it’s hard to say. His body language and facial expression are hard to read at times, but you read it here first: This team has a shot at the gold in 2014.

This squad, plus Sneijder, Afellay, Huntelaar, Narsingh, Pieters… Pretty strong!

Oranje took the second spot in the world record ranking of national teams without a loss. Mexico (1949-1957) has been overtaken.

Only West Germany is left. They won 16 games in a row in World Cup qualifications from 1969 to 1985. We can equal this record when we win the away game at Estonia and Andorra.

We play Hungary at home still and lastly Turkey away.

Start saving for the 2014 jersey people!!