Tag: Buttner

How do the Dutch coaches do?

In a week in which I had some pleasant Dutch football surprises and some Dutch football shocks, I think it is time to look at the future of Dutch football. Yet again :-).

But this time from the coaching angle.

But lets first pick up the little tidbits of the week.

In which Alexander Buttner impressed (last week), Arjen Robben started in the 9-2 HSV whipping and came on quick against Juve for Kroos. And Wes Sneijder underwhelmed vs Real Madrid and got subbed. While Van der Wiel didn’t even play (for PSG vs Barca).

Alex Buttner is seen as a “fresh” player, by Sir Alex, in the business end of the season. And the way he played last week makes it clear that Evra can rest assured he can be missed. Strong in defence, working hard, and always a factor going forward. Buttner even showed he had a good right foot as well.

A high. And Arjen Robben was impressive too. Although not always for the right reasons. He works hard, he is keen to show Heynckes he belongs in the starting line up and against HSV he clearly did.

Against Juve though, he could have two goals in the first half of the game, but the CL curse keeps on bugging the former PSV winger, as he two shots were not well placed. With Kroos injured, Robben might see more action this season but one does wonder whether he needs to use that to play himself in the picture for a lesser team (Galatasaray? Inter Milan?).

Wes Sneijder looked forward to meeting his old chums in the Bernabeu but was sadly subbed after a mediocre first half.

Truth be told, I don’t think Sneijder played that bad. I watched him intensely and he does a lot of good without the ball. He is constantly available for the quick pass. Which would allow him to turn and find space for the forwards. But the rest of the team isn’t equipped to play like that. The Altintops of Gala are all keen to run with the ball themselves, till the cows come home and then they look up. Leaving a sad sack figure – Sneijder – in midfield. Chance gone.

I am not sure if it is just the team or also the coach who don’t see how to utilise Sneijder. I do know that if Galatasaray wants some yield from the former Ajax midfielder, they will need to play the ball to him early and they need runners who will explore the space for the through ball.

I have yet to watch Benfica play Newcastle so I will refrain from commenting on John and Anita (if they played), but I did see Feyenoord this morning with their clumsy and doubtful win over a fresh VVV.

Koeman used some harsh words after the game (Pelle wasn’t working hard enough and Boetius was subbed “because he was rubbish”… When the interviewer asked him what Boetius said about it, Koeman bit: “Nothing of course! An 18 year old is supposed to keep his mouth shut against the coach…”…. Well, well, well….

So lets look at our coaches. We do know by now that in terms of playing talent, we need not worry.

But in terms of coaches, we do have a category of top coaches, but they are all getting on age-wise.

Cruyff and Van Hanegem don’t coach anymore. Co Adriaanse is also in semi-retirement. I can’t see him moving down the Austrian mountain for just any club. Guus Hiddink is most likely working on his last gig, while Louis van Gaal might have the ambition for one more big gig after the Dutch team.

I don’t rate Dick Advocaat, as you might know, but he does belong in some list of coaches, but he will not be active too much longer either. Martin Jol doesn’t “have” it either, while Henk ten Cate is also back at the Jupiler level of Sparta Rotterdam.

The 1988 generation has a couple of active coaches left. Van Tiggelen, Muhren, Witschge, Vanenburg all seem to work at youth level and enjoying it.

Van ‘t Schip had his adventures in Australia and Mexico and is currently in between jobs.

We won’t mention Ruud Gullit, I guess…

Marco van Basten is impressing with Heerenveen, this second season half, but the jury is still out on him, I guess. He had a good spell with Oranje – despite some personnel issues with RVN and MVB – but a not so good experience at Ajax.

Frank Rijkaard won the CL with Barca but is now relatively anonymous in the Middle East.

It leaves Jan Wouters (Utrecht), Ronald Koeman (Feyenoord) and non-1988 Oranje player Fred Rutten (FC Twente) at the (sub)top of the Eredivisie.

Rutten was an exciting up and coming coach at Twente, but he didn’t deliver at Schalke 04 and didn’t win big trophies at PSV either. He is making an impression as Vitesse coach though.

Jan Wouters, a similar trajectory. Was hailed as the next big thing. Took on Ajax in a dreadful period. His demise there was documented in the Ajax documentary “Daar hoorden zij Engelen zingen…” ( “And hark the angels sang…” ). He left Holland for a spell and went to work for Glasgow Rangers, as the assistant coach. And the players and staff at Rangers couldn’t say enough great things about him, just like his mentors Cruyff and Van Hanegem did. After 5 years in Scotland, he returned to work as assistant coach at PSV, before returning to his first club FC Utrecht. First as assistant, and from 2011 onwards as head coach.

And Wouters is doing exceptionally well at the moment.

Ronald Koeman likes to see himself as the crown prince of coaches, but after somewhat questionable tenures at Ajax (clash with Van Gaal), PSV (exit during the season to hop on the Valencia train), Valencia (fired after abysmal results and clashes with key players) and an explicable early exit at AZ (“I still don’t know what happened…”) he is back in the limelight.

Koeman is leading a young Feyenoord potentially to the first title in 14 years. And as he likes to say “One day Oranje, one day Barcelona…”.

But, in all honesty, Feyenoord is waivering the last weeks. Playing with fear. Playing slow. No confidence and certainly not enough goals…

In this stage of the competition, it is key to see how the coach is able to keep the team together, motivate and take pressure off players and make sure they keep playing football.

After the VVV win, yesterday, he said “I don’t get it. They play as if they afraid.”

Well Ronald, this is the problem. This is something you should get. It’s your job. In this particular stage, to take your team by the hand. To keep the pressure away. To talk to them. To understand what is going on… Saying “I don’t get it” sums it for me. Koeman is not of the same level as Van Gaal or Hiddink.

Then there is the 1998 generation.

The man who shines brighter than anyone else, is currently Frank de Boer. Cool, calm and collected. Passionate on the byline, like he was on the pitch. Always in control. Always there for his team. And non withstanding the pressure of an Ajax organisation out of control, he won the title twice now, and is likely to be the first Ajax coach to win it three times in a row!

Young coaches to watch, are Jaap Stam (assistant at Zwolle, but joining the Ajax staff next season), Phillip Cocu (most likely taking the reigns at PSV next season), Alex Pastoor ( now at NEC, most likely the new man at AZ next season), Patrick Kluivert (asisstant coach to Louis van Gaal), Ajax youth coach Alphons Groenendijk and John van de Brom (Anderlecht).

Alfred Schreuder has been named as potential top coach but he has yet to prove at Twente that he is actually better than the man he replaced ( McLaren).

Another name that comes up is Nebo Gudelj, the Bosnian ex-NAC player who currently is guiding NAC out of the danger zone.

Enough options for the Dutch, I suppose. With JP van Gastel at Feyenoord even, ready to take control once Koeman moves to Barcelona.

Dutch eleven lose important game….

Feyenoord’s youth system architect Wim Jansen with inspiration Johan Cruyff

Dutch Eleven? I can hear you think? Did the Dutch team lose?

No, Feyenoord lost. Against Marco van Basten’s Heerenveen. But quite unique, Ronald Koeman fielded 11 Dutch players. Quite a remarkable fact. And when he had to sub Immers and later Martins Indi, two Dutch subs came on. Boetius was subbed by Ivorian Cissee though, so the all-Dutch team got an international character then…

With Graziano Pelle in the team (the first name on the team sheet), this will never be possible, but as the Italian striker was suspended, Louis van Gaal looked on while his 7 internationals took on Heerenveen’s in form side.

Winning was key to remain a title contender, for Feyenoord and like Carlos, Louis van Gaal wants Feyenoord to win it. The National Team coach told Clasie last week: Go and win the title!!

Knowing, that if Feyenoord does win it, CL football is on the cards next season. What better foundation for the Feyenoord Seven, preparing for the World Cup.

Also, most Feyenoord players have stated to stay in Rotterdam if CL football is secured.

Players like Clasie, De Vrij and Janmaat will most certainly be able to sign lucrative deals for next season, but….will they get playing time? If they move to Liverpool, Arsenal or Fiorentina, they might be brought “slowly” by their new coaches, which will cost them their WC spot.

But Feyenoord didn’t win. Heerenveen was better, more aggressive and more hungry. A big mistake by Stefan de Vrij, otherwise very strong with Mathijsen in the central defender spot, secured the 2-0 win for Van Basten’s team. The former team manager of Oranje started very poorly this season. He lost the Heerenveen forwards Assaidi (Liverpool), Dost ( Wolfsburg) and Narsignh (PSV) but his Dost replacement Finnbogasson can’t stop scoring (21 goals for the Icelandic striker), while Djuricic is playing so well this season that Benfica snapped him up.

Van Basten has been able to turn his team around and with great results at home against the Top 5, Heerenveen is now sneaking back into the European football qualifications position of the league.

Feyenoord will have to take a backseat to Ajax and PSV. These two are also not impressing to heavily. PSV in particular, with that tremendous squad, keeps on underwhelming. By now, it is fairly certain that Advocaat will not extend his deal which means Philip Cocu will step up and take the reigns.

Arjen Robben played a key role in Bayern’s massive win over HSV (two goals and two assists in the 9-2 dressing down) but might consider a move (Inter Milan or Galatasaray are reported to make a move) as the ex-Groningen player wants security of a starting spot (for the World Cup, of course).

Wes Sneijder is fit to play with Galatasaray against Real Madrid, while Robin van Persie keeps on leading the line for Man United.

Rumours persist that Christian Eriksen will move to Liverpool this summer and Ajax will sign super talent Adam Maher to replace him.

Feyenoord may not win it this season, but they surely look bright.

Another club that seems to fly high thanks to Johan Cruyff’s insights. It is no secret that once Wim Jansen (former 1974 midfielder and Feyenoord icon) started to meddle with the youth system (with his son in law Stanley Brard), based on Johan Cruyff’s philosophy: 4-3-3 as the system and individual trainings plans for the players.

The Dust is settling….

With Oranje’s and Louis’ first defeat behind us, the most important competitions have started… Eredivisie had weekend #2, the EPL has started (it takes time for me to get used to this…) and the Bundesliga and La Liga as well.

Game on!

Bring it on!

Breaking news: Alexander Buttner, the man who could have been Oranje’s left back at the Euros (ex-Ajax, now Vitesse), signed a 5 year deal with Man United!! Obviously, Robin van Persie’s signature overpowered the news of Buttner talking to the Mancunians, but Sir Alex (and Rene Meulensteen) believe Buttner is one of the best left backs in Europe. I’m sure he’ll be nicknamed Nicky ( after Nicky Butt).


The other BIG Dutch signing by Sir Alex: Buttner…

Interesting developments in Eindhoven, where PSV coach Dick Advocaat lost his first game, as a result of a lacklustre performance, and drilled a thunderous response from his team in the second game. But PSV might lose two key players before the end of the month, as Toivonen is put in the shop window and striker Matavz might go to Benfica. Good news for Wijnaldum if this happens, as the ex-Feyenoord talent will claim the number 10 position.

Ajax had an easy afternoon away at NEC, with the hosts gifting three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game. Impressive performances by some youngsters in the Ajax’ team (Ricardo van Rhijn, Mitchell Dijks’ debut) and a brace by new Swedish forward Sana.

Feyenoord and Joris Mathijsen look back at a disappointing debut together. Against Heerenveen, the ex-Hamburg defender got red-carded after a tackle in the area on the Heerenveen center forward. Despite Mathijsen playing the ball, the ref judged it to be a tackle on the legs of the opponent and gave Heerenveen a spot kick (and Joris a red). Earlier on in the game, the ref should have given Feyenoord a penalty kick for a blatant hand ball but didn’t. Ruben Schaken bulldozered his way through the Heerenveen defence in the last minutes and equalised so the match between mates Koeman – Van Basten ended in 1-1.


To quote my late friend Finnster: “A football player called Anita…??”

With PSV, Ajax, AZ and now Feyenoord dropping points, FC Twente leads the way as the only club with 6 points after two games. I saw all the top teams play this weekend and have to say: AZ looks REALLY good… They could won their game 9-0, with ease (only won 3-1 as it was). Altidore is a decent striker, he scores goals ( a brace this time) but misses a lot of opportunities as well. But so did Martens and Maher, to name two.

In Spain, excitement on day 1. Barca winning with Villa and Messi on target while Real Madrid ( sans Modric still) couldn’t get past Valencia. It’s game on there!

In Germany, Dutch goals. Luuk de Jong scoring against his own club in the European game vs Kiev… And Elia scoring for Werder Bremen last weekend.

In England, the first weekend is behind us and it does take some time for me to get used to Spurs without Modric, Van Persie in a ManU jersey and Liverpool without Kuyt. Everton doesn’t seem to miss Cahill and Drenthe, but I do… NY Red Bulls benefitted from Cahill’s goalscoring already and West Ham United apparently is out to sign Royston Drenthe.

Martin Jol’s Fulham and Newcastle (the new club of Vernon Anita) want to sign Twente’s Douglas while Assaidi received jersey number 11 at Liverpool.

All these movements will turn out for the best. Elia, Anita, Drenthe, Buttner…

I’m sure Oranje will benefit from all of this…


Elia in Bremen