Tag: Gullit

by Jan

Denzel Dumfries: a proud bull!

We all know the story. A 17 year old Barendrecht player watched the adventures of Oranje in 2014 Brazil with his mates in Amsterdam. And at some stage, the athletic and extraverted lad says: “I am going to go for this. I am going to be an Oranje player one day!” And so it went. Made his way to Sparta Rotterdam that year, where he thundered on the right flank in the second tier. Heerenveen swooped him up after two seasons and it took only one season at Heerenveen for him to land a transfer to PSV, where he got his first invite for Oranje in his first season.

His secrets? Dedication, mental strength, focus, physical strength and speed.

Sure, his basic skills, his touch, his vision… All lacking a bit mainly due to a lack of solid foundational work in his early days at Smitshoek. He grew up in a small town club, not much pressure, and Denzel played as a striker. His new club Barendrecht (top amateurs in Holland) got him switching to defender. Feyenoord tested the lad in these Barendrecht days (it’s a village close to Rotterdam) but Feyenoord decided he wasn’t good enough. Well…

And here were, looking back at 2021, a watershed year for the tall Dumfries. He was Oranje’s danger man at the Euros, he made a big transfer to Inter Milan and sired his second kid.

Denzel is just settling into his new apartment in the city centre of Milan and when the interviewer asks him why he decided to live smack in the middle of the city, Dumfries smiles and says: “Look around you…”. And yes, Milan at night, in Xmas times, looks amazing indeed! Christmas markets, candle lights, music…

Dumfries is still living at the Milan Hilton, but not for long. “I love walking through the city. It’s such an amazing city, and the people… I am never hassled, or stared at. Sometimes a photo, ok, but that is cool. And I’m happy because yes, I came here to play football, but I also like to enjoy my life. And the food here, the fashion, the lifestyle, it’s amazing.”

His start was not so easy. He had to prove his worth and fight himself into the starting line up, but in the Serie A and in the CL: Dumfries is the go to guy. He scored his first goal with a diving header and his joyful celebrations in front of the fans shows how much that goal meant. “I could understand my bench position with my head, but not with my heart. I knew it was going to be a transition… I mean, moving to another country, another language, different team mates, coach, systems and principles. I was prepared for that. But I did expect more game time. However, they had a plan with me and they needed to bring me step by step and in a way, I felt less pressure this way. The step from parochial PSV to cosmopolitan Inter is a big one. And it wasn’t all complete for me, I was living in a hotel room… Now we have the apartment, now I can really settle and focus on football.”

The language is still a challenge for Denzel, but the weekly intense lessons do pay off. “The Inter football, or actually, Italian football is very tactical. Completely different for me. I play on intuition. I want to leave everything on the pitch, but here it is not needed, not even desired. I am the wide back in a 3-5-2 and I actually play more like a midfielder. Perisic helps me a lot, he plays in my role on the left. And all these guys, they’ve been in Italy for a while now, they all understand the Inter tactics to the T. It helps me, all the players can explain to me what is needed.” The typical decisions a wing back are dealing with? “When to squeeze inside, when to stay away. In Holland, when the ball is on the left flank, you squeeze inside. I have been doing that for 20 years! Now, in Italy, they want me to stay wide. Don’t come in. I am working hard with the assistant coaches to get my decision making right.”

The Inter games and tactical plays are all based on patterns. “We practice this to the nth degree. Is it boring? Sometimes yes. We sometimes practice with eleven versus zero. It’s almost computer-directed football. You know exactly where to play the ball when. Every player is programmed like this. It’s totally different to the Dutch approach and I will have to adjust. I do notice I am getting smarter in situations, I do have more ease on the ball and that is the way they want me to play.”

So when are the training wheels off? “Hahaha, for me, I think after the winter break. I want to present myself fully. I am now used to the team, the tactics, the coaches, the opponents… I feel I am ready to be the number one right winger for Inter. And I want it like that. The first months: adapting to the new world, but now I’m there.”

Asked what Denzel’s high point of 2021 was: “Ha, the Euros of course. I was in such a flow. Like a dream come true. My first goal for Oranje was against Ukraine. I had missed a sitter in the first half, so my winner was like orgastic wonderful, hahaha. I was so focused on success. I realised that 7 years before, I was in Amsterdam cheering them on and I remember thinking: this is what I want! I didn’t know it was going to be so amazing. I am playing with top notch players, like Gini, Frenkie, Memphis… so playing in Oranje is made easier because of this. And I am not of their level on the ball. But I have something different. I have my energy, my will and personality. I can help the team with that.”

Is getting ousted by the Czechs on that so favourable side of the draw still an open wound? “Ah no, I can talk about it. We noticed on the pitch that we weren’t playing our usual level. It was tough, hot, the pitch was slow and we didn’t have it. But we were in the game until the red card. I don’t blame De Ligt, I mean… we failed as a team, really. It’s such a waste, but what is there to say. We played in Budapest, a Euros match and literally 5 hours later I am standing in my living room again, thinking… “And now what??”. It just crashed dramatically, no one had expected this.”

And so Frank de Boer resigned. “Yes, and I get that. What he had to endure on social media and in those football programs… Lower than low. I thought it was terrible. He is very experienced. I thought he was a great guy. Crazy about football and very focused on the mission. He is a good man.”

And then Inter. “Yes, but it didn’t go smoothly. I was also talking to Everton. Also a top notch team but for me, Inter was the top. The best option for me. Champions League. Historical club. Those colours. The San Siro. Milan, Italy. I mean the whole package. But I had to call my agent (Raiola) daily at a certain point to push because I was getting a bit anxious. And then I was sitting in the Inter dressing room before the derby vs Milan and the roar of the crowd… I realised then and there: this is why I am here…. And to walk onto the pitch, where greats like Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten, Seedorf, Davids, Van Bommel, Bergkamp have played… goose bumps.”

And now, onwards and upwards with Oranje and Louis van Gaal. “Yes he is different. Unique, probably. He’s open, honest and truly interested. But he can be tough too. And that is needed. The qualifications went well, bar that away game against Montenegro. Up 2-0 and conceding two goals at the end of the game, I mean…those matches, you might play one of these in 20 years. And it happened to us right then and there. And we knew, it has to happen now versus Norway. The pressure was on and we felt it. I mean, Van Gaal in a wheelchair, Bijlow out, De Vrij out…. The signs were not good. We were vulnerable. I sat next to Frenkie in the dressing room and after the match we realised it was still a close call. We left it late. But now we can look ahead and prep for even bigger things.”

Denzel Dumfries: 30 international games. “Yes! And I’m only 25 years old! I mean, this is all a dream.”

Qatar, the World Cup. A dream too but for some a nightmare… “Yes, I am very aware. We all are. We have made a statement and we will speak out when we want to. We have a role model function, I get that. Other than that, I believe we can really do something at the World Cup. In terms of age and clubs represented, we can be proud: Inter, Juve, Barca, Liverpool, PSG, Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Spurs, Valencia, I mean… that is the level of players we can bring to Qatar. I’m super excited. But my biggest joy will actually be happening in the winter break: we’re expecting our second child, a girl this time! I want a big family, so yeah… we are well on our way. On all levels, hahahaha.”

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by Jan

Where are the Dutch top coaches?

It’s been another eventful week for the Dutch football fans. We are smashing the coefficiency ratios with our tremendous results in Europe (Ajax, Feyenoord, AZ, Vitesse, PSV) and we might see all teams surviving the usually devastating winter break!

Ajax got a bit lucky, Feyenoord was able to adapt to the muddy pitch best, PSV had to do without creative influx from Gotze, Propper and Gakpo while Vitesse was close to getting another result vs Spurs. AZ has found their mojo again and has been playing some excellent football (again). This weekend, it’s Arne Slot vs his old club…

And our master coach Louis van Gaal announced his definitive squad for this last World Cup qualification block, leaving Krul out (wouldn’t it be better to get an experienced goalie in, alongside young Bijlow and Drommel? Cillesen even?). Owen Wijndal loses out against Malacia and Luuk de Jong is not longer needed as pinch hitter as Louis has decided on Memphis as #9, knowing that Gakpo, Malen, Danjuma, Lang are excellent options on the left. Berghuis is still the only real right winger, (“real”) with Bergwijn also dropping out.

When van Gaal was announced as the new NT manager, his third stint, he said the following during a press conference: “Who else would there be to take this job?”. Telling words. And add to that the oft heard criticism here, by the Dutch Bleeders: “Why always a Dutch coach??” , “Blind and De Boer are useless, headless chickens who don’t deserve to be alive” and more of that :-).

Stam quit his job at Feyenoord when he realised he couldn’t play how he wanted…

This is inspired by a VI article by Pieter Zwart about the lack of Dutch coaches breaking through to the absolute top.

We used to have Beenhakker (Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid), Hiddink (PSV, Valencia, Real Madrid), Advocaat (PSV, Zenit), Van Gaal (Barca, Bayern, Man U), Van Marwijk (Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund), Ten Cate (Ajax, Chelsea, Barca) to name a few, while Cruyff and Van Hanegem and Wim Jansen at a certain point felt “enough was enough”.

I think it is fair enough to have a critical look at the Dutch trainers course. Very expensive, and very ineffective. The vision of this course by the KNVB has shifted through time and it has been further tainted by privileges for ex players.

Jaap Stam had enough. The class room lessons didn’t work for Jaap. He started to complain in interviews and the media pressure was such that the KNVB decided to offer him and other ex-players a custom course. And it’s probably “typically Dutch” to feel above and beyond these courses. When Van Hanegem was asked what he had picked up from the course, his typical sardonic response was “my cigarette butts after the course”. Cruyff even completely refused to take any course, saying that spending 20 years in a dressing room is worth more thn 2,000 diplomas. He was Ajax’ head coach but decided to call himself Technical Director so he could bypass the Dutch KNVB regulations.

Based on that feedback, the KNVB decided to offer short track courses to ex players, with 50 caps or more. Marco van Basten retired from football at 29. He took many years off and when he returned in 2002, he wanted to become a coach. The KNVB offered him a short course and within the year he had the highest diploma in Dutch coaching. After one season as coach of Ajax 2, with friend Van ‘t Schip, the KNVB appointed them both as NT managers.

Two national team managers

Now, Van Basten says: “And there I was. Boom. National Team manager. I wasn’t ready for that. I simply lacked the experience to be comfortable as a head coach.” In his autobiography he admits he missed hours and hours of sleep, purely from stress. In Sweden 2004, when he made his debut, he had completely forgotten to bring his analysis notes of the opponent. He was not particularly strong in communications with his players and decided in 2014 that coaching was really not his thing.

Frank Rijkaard won the Champions League with Barca, but got relegated with Sparta. Ronald Koeman had good (Ajax, Feyenoord, Southampton, Oranje) and bad spells (Valencia, Barcelona, Everton, AZ) while Cocu and Frank de Boer saw their reputations tarnished abroad. Jan Wouters, Ruud Gullit, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Clarence Seedorf, Jaap Stam and Edgar Davids all took blows in their careers. As Co Adriaanse said: “A good horse doesn’t make a good jockey!”

Bergkamp, Cocu and Kluivert with their diplomas

The KNVB created a kartel. Ex players were short tracked through the course while non-players had an extremely difficult time trying to get through to the course. Someone like Julian Nagelsmann or Jose Mourinho would have struggled to get their diploma in The Netherlands. Even Arne Slot and Danny Buijs struggled to get in, in 2017! In that year, the rules were re-considered, which als gave Sjors Ultee (Fortuna Sittard coach) the opportunity to snug in.

Our last biggest club success in the highest competition was Ajax’ Van Gaal in 1995. Now we look back and know that a change in rules in 1992 was key to Ajax’ success. The goalie was no longer allowed to pick up a back pass. Ajax was known to press high and that tactics resulted in a high number of goal keeper kicking errors, which Ajax could use to turn around possession. But that benefit has long dissipated into thin air.

The first coaching course, with Rijsbergen, Stafleu and Willem van Hanegem

Van Gaal was the last Dutch coach to be in a Champions League final, and to win a foreign title with Bayern. After Mark van Bommel and Ronald Koeman’s sacking, Peter Bosz is the only Dutch coach abroad, in a major competition.

Today’s Dutch School flag bearers are non Dutch. Like Pep Guardiola. Where his Dutch colleagues were short-tracked, Pep took the long way. He went to play in Mexico, to get a chance to work with Juanma Lillo, a Spanish coach with particular views on football. He also visiting football professor Bielsa in Argentina, to take his lessons. Bielsa was so obsessed with Van Gaal’s Ajax, that he would watch the games and he would stop the match when Van Gaal would make changes. And he would then try to second guess what the Ajax coach would do, assisted by his wife.

According to the Dutch coaching candidates, we have four issues with our coaching program. Firstly, the cost. A Dutch diploma costs twice as much as the equivalent in other European countries. These high rates are a stumbling block for many ex players to have a go. Secondly, the contents of the course is outdated. It’s talk, show, do. The coaching objective must be articulated in 5 Ws: What do we want? Where on the pitch? Who are the key players? When do we execute? What is the role of the opponent? Situational coaching, it is called. The Dutch coaches first explain the situation, then show it and then go and practice it, with the Dutch coach constantly stopping the play to go through the solution and practice that, almost in slow motion.

Rijkaard, Neeskens, Hiddink (NT coach in 1998), Gullit and Koeman (who received their diplomas)

This method doesn’t work in combination with the current standard of international football. Dutch coaches stop the play when a ball is turned over. Those are the moments to get the players attention in order to work on the situation. But subconsciously, that “stopping” at turn overs becomes part of the players’ behaviour!

Thirdly, the teachers at the coaching course. There has not been any new fresh blood. The coaches are theoretically strong but lack any real world consciousness around coaching and managing. The fourth issues, is that every student will graduate. You cannot fail. You pay, you get the diploma.

Marcel Lucassen is the new director football development at the KNVB and he will take his experience with the German DFB, Al-Nasr and Arsenal and inject his ideas into our coaching curriculum.

With the successful exploits of young coaches like Arne Slot, Danny Buijs (Groningen), Sjors Ultee, Kees van Wonderen (Go Ahead), Rogier Meijer (NEC), Johnny Jansen (Heerenveen), Pascal Jansen (AZ), Erik ten Hag, Wim Jonk (Volendam), Reinier Robbemond (De Graafschap), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Young PSV), John Heitinga (Young Ajax), we might see a new generation of “top coaches” emerge.

Success coach Sjors Ultee would not have been admitted in the old regime

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by Jan

Wilson’s questions re: Oranje

Hi all, most of you will have noticed some dynamics on the blog… There are some people who seem to want to bag the Dutch attempts to glory by putting emphasis on the negatives. It usually comes down to harsh criticism on the coach and on some of the current players.

Usually resulting in a strong call for untested players to come in, players who haven’t competed consistently at top level mostly. Like Joey Veerman and Zivkovic, as two examples.

I noticed that a number of Oranje fans here agree that it’s all a bit too easy, too negative and too repetitive and diminishes the positive experience of the blog, while a lot of the arguments used are typical arguments of people who have no clue how to manage a football team or how to kick a ball.

I called Wilson out earlier, he’s one of the vocal ones and he responded with some comments and questions.

I do need to applaud Wilson for the guts he demonstrated to stand up for himself and come out with his criticism and comments. He dares to be vulnerable and that is great. I do not wish him any disrespect and I am glad we can have this conversation. I hope you don’t mind reading this.

This photo is fun. This Jong Oranje team won their Euros. Typically, these would be the players to make it big in Oranje. It will be fun to walk through the tem to discover which of these lads actually made it big. 

Boy Waterman, Gianni Zuiverloon, Arnold Kruiswijk, Ryan Donk and Daniel de Ridder had decent, average careers. No big trophies, not the top of their class. Erik Pieters, Hedwiges Maduro and Ryan Babel reached the Big Oranje. Pieters disappeared courtesy of Jetro Willems and later Daley Blind. Maduro fell away due to injuries and Babel made a comeback late in his career. Rigters and Drenthe both had a remarkable run but despite bit transfer (Rigters played for Blackburn, Drenthe for Real Madrid), theirs will go into the books as onorthodox career. Other names from that squad: Luigi Bruins, Julian Jenner. Roy Beerens, Calvin Jong-a-Pin, Tim Janssen… Only Tim Krul and Ron Vlaar had a consistent Oranje career, with Ryan Babel.

So you know, being a talent doesn’t mean you can join the big guns. It’s frighteningly difficult.

I promised to respond to the criticasters. I would love for this to be a healthy and respectful thread. And any opinion is welcome.

Next post will be an analysis of Louis van Gaal’s tactics. But first this….

Wilson: What has evolved for NT in the last seven years?

Well, a lot! it is important to realise that the KNVB and their management play a super important part in all of this, more so than any coach or player.

We can all remember how Bert van Oostveen, the General Manager of the KNVB back in the day came out of the 2014 World Cup thinking Oranje was world class. And he decided to ignore the advice of many and installed Hiddink in the NT manager role, with as charter: bring Dutch football identity back!

Bert van Oostveen and Guus Hiddink

The second mistake was to already promise Danny Blind the job once Guus was done. Those things are never smart to do.

The biggest problems were born there.

As for the football, we need to go back a bit. In 2010, Bert van Marwijk was criticised for not playing 4-3-3. That system was sacred, according to many. When the 4-2-3-1 failed in the 2012 Euros, Bert was told to leave and Van Oostveen went straight for the messiah Van Gaal. But he concluded that 4-3-3 will not work for this squad of his in 2014 and he decided to implement the 5-3-2.

Again, there was some push back but reaching the semis has stifled the criticism and not much later, it was Ronald Koeman who also started to play 5-3-2 at Feyenoord, while other clubs (Ajax under Bosz) also started to deviate more and more.

But Hiddink was instructed to go back to 4-3-3 and he was unlucky to have to suffer the post World Cup blues (a lot of high performing teams at a World Cup have a disappointing follow up year in qualifications), the absence of big names and the burden to find new player.

Abandoning the 4-3-3 was sacrilege in the past, but in the past 7 years, Dutch football has accepted alternative systems. That is a big step forward.

It might be too late in the eyes of many, but at least it has happened. Now, PSV plays 4-2-2-2, as does Young Oranje!! Ajax plays 3-4-3. Vitesse plays 5-3-2 and coaches like Slot and Ten Hag have come up with innovative variations on the theme.

The result is that Oranje too can now play 5-3-2 without anyone making dogmatic complaint-noises.

Another aspect we evolved in: back in 2010 the idea was that we didn’t develop good defenders. We had multiple strikers/forwards but hardly any decent centre back. Hence the use of a couple of Feyenoord central defenders (Martins Indi, De Vrij) and a CB of Aston Villa: Vlaar (relegation candidate back then).

Today, we ooze top notch Central Back. De Vrij, Van Dijk, De Ligt, Schuurs, Botman, Timber, Geertruida, Van Beek, Struyk and I am pretty sure I am forgetting a couple… That too is a change, I would say?

Ron “Concrete Ron” Vlaar

I believe the KNVB has added further insult to injury by sacking Hiddink right when he was turning things around, and the way he was sacked (stabbed in the back by team manager Jorritsma) will have deflated the squad and technical staff and Danny Blind was placed in the role too early. He couldn’t fix the Euro qualifications and started his World Cup qualification journey as a wounded animal.

What a way to treat two Dutch football legends!

Ronald Koeman was able to pick things up give the nation some pride again by reaching the Nations League finals and by introducing some exciting new talents to the mix (one Frenkie de Jong would be the biggest plus for us all).

Wilson: *You tell me what has being the highlight of NT in the seven years?

Definitely the games we played in the Nations League, beating France and Germany. As you know, we didn’t play a big tournament in the past 7 years. Qualification game wins usually don’t count as highlights.

But the upsurge of players like Frenkie, Virgil, Memphis, Malen, Dumfries and more recently Bijlow will give many people a big smile on their face.

Funny story. Back in 2016, when we didn’t make the World Cup, Rene van der Gijp was asked: what is needed for this Oranje to get back to the top? He answered: “We need to pray that right now two people are getting it on in bed, in Gorinchem or something, and make a baby who will grow up to be the new Messi! That is all that can save us.” Ironically, Frenkie de Jong appeared a couple of years later to take Oranje by the hand. He was born in Arkel, just outside of Gorinchem… ( Don’t bother commenting on the fact that Frenkie is now 23 and not conceived in 2016. I know.)

Me: “Every coach in Holland would play Daley Blind as CB replacement for Van Dijk. You need a CB with passing and build up capabilities”

Wilson: Not every coach. You know which coaches will and which coach wont.

I actually don’t. This was taken out of context as I’m sure it was said in relation to a particular match / opponent.

Re: Daley Blind

Me: Every analyst or expert in Holland thinks Daley Blind is excellent

Can you name them for me? Is there any in there from outside of Ajax soccer fraternity.

Wilson: * Above all and again What has this yield in the last seven year? Has the team struggled in his absence if he such a intrsumental/important player?

Like any player, Daley Blind had good and bad games. But mostly good games. His World Cup campaign in 2014 was great. Spain’s Azpalicueta didn’t have a chance against him and he has a Man of the Match worthy performance with two assists in the 5-1 win over Spain.


He would play mostly good games for Holland, as left back, and as midfielder. The last game Robben played vs Sweden (3-0), was played with Daley Blind in the Frenkie role and he played impressive.

Analysts in the Netherlands as well as (ex) coaches have hailed him. The list is long: Johan Derksen (not an Ajax fan, ex player, ex chief editor of biggest football magazine), Rene van der Gijp (ex PSV), Wim Kieft (ex Ajax), Ruud Gullit (ex Feyenoord, ex PSV), Kenneth Perez (ex Ajax), Youri Mulder (ex Schalke 04), Jan Boskamp (ex Feyenoord), Arnold Bruggink (ex PSV), Ronald Koeman (ex Ajax, ex PSV), Aad de Mos (ex Ajax, ex PSV), Willem van Hanegem (ex Feyenoord)…. etc

Also ex players like Danny Murphy (ex Liverpool) called him “an unsung hero”, Gary Lineker hailed his vision and maybe the most impressive piece of praise: ex Man United legend Paul McGrath… The Irish defender was asked: with which Man U defender from the past or present would you want to have played alongside. His answer? Yes… And why? “Because it would be nice to play next to a guy who has good feet, has vision and the passing ability he has. He never panics.”

 

Wilson: Im also shocked to here Ake is not a passing CB. He has all the attributes of Blind including the ariel threat which he always brings in set pieces and which Blind doesnt. 

Me: You are not right. Ake is a great player. He is good at everything and exceptional in the air. His passing is ok. Not great. Good enough for a centre back. Probably better than average. Blind’s passing is beyond that. Blind’s passing is a combination of vision and passing skills.

Wilson: Thats also a very silly argument which you gave,” Van Gaal picks the team which he thinks will win”. In other words you are implying if Ake had started,NT would have lost.

Ok, I may have not said it correctly. “Van Gaal picks the team he thinks has the most chances of winning.” Of course we can win with Ake. We also won with Malacia. There will be a day when Daley Blind retires and we will be fine without him. But Van Gaal will not hesitate to put a fit Blind in there, because Blind is the brain on the pitch, alongside Frenkie de Jong. He is by far the most football-intelligent player, alongside Frenkie.

This is where I feel like taking my gum out. Also look at Van Gaals selection of Timber at RB vs Norway. Its all contradictory and like I always say they keep hitting the fork in their own foot.

How is this contradictory? You lost me. Timber has played well at Right Back before. The reason why Van Gaal sticks to Timber is because Timber was part of the squad at the Euros. Bringing in Karsdorp could have worked but again, if you do the analysis between Timber and Karsdorp, you have the following aspects to consider: Timber’s positions where he can play (3: centre back, central midfielder, right back) versus Karsdorp (1: right back). Secondly, Timber was part of the Euros campaign and Karsdorp wasn’t. So Louis picked Timber. Timber is also used to playing with Berghuis and Klaassen. Also a factor. I am a big Rick Karsdorp fan, but LVG’s decisions made sense to me.

Wilson: I also dont understand, how you conclude from training you are not good enough to start. Then why are you there in the first place.I have long said this the backup players need to have a strong grip and be on the same par as the starting 11 so when there is major injuries there is no disruption. In contrast this has always been the case for NT, when ever there is being a major injury, the team is in disarray. Ake has already played vs big teams like Italy, Portugal, Belgium, France, how on earth you can tell from training he is not good enough to start vs a team like Montenegro is beyond me.

My dear Wilson, this is what makes a coach a coach. Louis has 26 players. But he can only play 11 players. So he cannot play them all. So how do you think he chooses his best eleven? Do you think he picks cards, blindfolded? Or do you think he reads tea-leaves? No! He does the following: 1) what is my preferred system, 2) what are the job descriptions per position, 3) which players do I have available who are top fit and have match rhythm, 4) which player is the best suited for the role and 5) how does this player “work” with the others around him.

This is exactly what a coach does. If you don’t understand this, I am now clear on why you sometimes have those odd comments about football. At training, you can see if a player is focused, whether he has form.

No one is saying Ake can’t play against big teams. He is in the squad isn’t he?

Wilson: I will also say providing arguments with factual contents is not negativity.

There are not a lot of factual comments. It’s all opinion. Most people (you as well) follow the ball and will judge a player on how he plays with the ball. That is never more than 3 minutes per game. Only Messi will probably have the ball more than that, and Frenkie probably too. But a player like Dumfries, Klaassen, Bergwijn will not have the ball for more than 3 minutes. The other 87 minutes are not relevant for most fans, but coaches take these very seriously. Positioning, offering himself up as an option, making runs for the team, covering the positions, etc. Kuyt copped so much criticism, as did Nigel de Jong, and then it was Strootman and now it’s De Roon or Klaassen. It makes me sick. Because these lads represent Oranje and deserve support. And if Van Dijk, Frenkie, Memphis and Van Gaal are happy with De Roon in the team, who the F are you to pour that negativity over them all? Have some respect and accept that you may not see it properly.

And it also applies to the criticism on Hiddink, Danny Blind and Frank de Boer. It’s what Adriaanse calls: Scoreboard analysis. If a coach wins, he’s great. If he loses he is a dik, he is a loser, he needs to go and more of that. In The Netherlands, there is respect for these guys. Hiddink did well with PSV, Real Madrid, South Korea and The Netherlands. One bad spell doesn’t make him a loser. Danny Blind is one of the most awarded player we have. Won everything as captain. And worked in all sorts of roles in football. Considered one of the best analysts and scouts. Yes, he was not able to qualify for the World Cup but he doesn’t deserve the treatment he gave. He tried. He did his best. He didn’t have an inch of luck.

Frank de Boer, same story. Great player. A Dutch Legend. Wins title with Ajax four times! And don’t tell me that it is easy, because it is not. Then he goes to Inter, where he is stabbed in the back. Three successive coaches were not able to turn Inter around. Conte was able to, won the title and guess what: he is also gone!! Crystal Palace: same story. Frank was hired to change things. Four games into the EPL, the owners feel the heat from the fans and quickly sacrifice Frank de Boer.

If Malen would have scored his chance vs the Czechs, Frank would probably still be NT manager today.

Wilson: Sometimes the timing is such there is continuation of comments from previous blog it intrudes contexts of the new post but that doesnt mean we dont appreciate what you write.

I write this blog because of my love for Dutch football. I write it for others who feel the same about Oranje. When people like yourself only pour their hatred and disappointment and anger into it, I cannot see how you appreciate me, the blog or Dutch football. We are supporters. Not cricicasters.

When you feel a player misplaced a pass, or missed a sitter, simply say: this guy played a bad game. But don’t say: “this player is bad, he can’t play, he’s in the team because of daddy/Ajax/whatever, he needs to be sacked”. That is negative. That is vinegar pissing. What you could say is: he missed three passes, I wonder why that is? Is he the best option? Those are comments and questions we can work with and which will result in a positive thread of comments. Negativity leads to conflicts.

So, lets stay critical and lets call a spade a spade but lets try to be civil and supportive. “Malacia is a headless chicken” should be “Malacia played alright, except for one bad pass”. I want to see some love for the players, coaches and the game. Because they all work their asses of and deserve support. Even the “bad” players.

Your thoughts?

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by Jan

Introducing Henk Fraser: the Ghost

In a period within which Dutch clubs are making their massive come-back onto the European front! Sure, everybody knows Ajax and PSV has also had some recent smaller successes in Europe with Feyenoord lagging behind. But this time around, Vitesse and AZ have also found their way into the group stages of the various European cup competitions and that is great news for us! Well done.

Ajax is placed in the Champions League by virtue of their title, last season. And the Sons of Gods are lucky once again, this time with the draw. By all means doable, and with heaps of jealous glances from Paris, Manchester and Liverpool of course.

PSV had a real chance of getting there too, but after some impressive games vs Galatasaray and Midtjylland, Benfica appeared to tough to handle, despite a tremendous second half in Portugal and despite playing 10 men for 60 minutes or so. But the Philips team choked and their coach might not have made the proper chances when needed. Still, Europa League is their League and they will have a chance to go far.

Feyenoord impressed under coach Arne Slot with some impressive attacking play, and they sailed through the qualifications for the Conference League, with their easiest (but first) game vs FC Drita their toughest! Vitesse had some hurdles to overtake, in particular against Anderlecht, but they did it in the end. AZ Alkmaar wasn’t able to beat a mediocre Celtic for a spot in the Europa League but they will compete in the Conference League now, which is still a feat for a coach who had to say goodbye to a couple of mainstays (Stengs, Boadu, Midjo, Bizot).

Guus Til back in the squad too

We can prepare for a special season, both domestically and internationally.

Lets focus on the NT again, as the first matches under LVG III will commence sooner than you think.

Van Gaal presented the final squad selection and was happy to be able to welcome back Denzel Dumfries and Steven Bergwijn. The latter has had a good run in Spurs’ matches recently and impressed. Van Gaal really wants to have more options on the wings and with Bergwijn, he has a player who can play left and right wing.

We’ve spoken enough about Louis and his side-kick Danny Blind. Lets look at Henk Fraser. Who the H is Henk Fraser?

The older football fans will remember him as the tough-as-nails centre back of FC Utrecht, Roda JC and Feyenoord. He started out as a striker at Sparta Rotterdam, in the same time that Danny Blind and Louis van Gaal played there. Interestingly, Louis couldn’t remember it! The Sparta skipper was on his way out and Henkie was a shy sub who never got onto Louis’ radar. He never made it as a striker, was transferred as one to FC Utrecht, though, but his coach there immediately turned him into a very good centre back. You could compare him with Adri van Tiggelen (lanky, lean, mean, tough, fast) or with Portuguese defender Pepe. Fraser could also get red mist in front of his eyes. Mr Yellow was his nickname at FC Utrecht.

When at Roda JC, he got selected for Oranje in 1989 and made his debut vs Denmark, alongside Bryan Roy and Stanley Menzo. He played against Brian Laudrup and got the compliments from skipper Gullit after that game. Ajax, Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund wanted him but an injury and family circumstances put a stop to that.

A year later, Feyenoord would sign him, with a massive signing fee on top. Fraser would become Feyenoord’s most expensive signing at that moment.

He played 9 seasons for Feyenoord and in 1993 he won the title under coach Van Hanegem, with whom he’d build a strong relationship. His time at Feyenoord was successful but Fraser also suffered multiple injuries ( torn ankle ligaments, broken leg, and knee injuries). Officially he was also part of the 1999 squad that won the title, but he wouldn’t play that season. Not long after, he would retire from football. He won 4 National Cups, 2 titles, the first Johan Cruyff Shield and reached the semi finals of the Europa Cup II in 1991/92.

Fraser would end up playing 6 games in Oranje, as he was also part of the NT squad for the World Cup 1990. He would play 30 minutes in the last group match, subbing Richard Witschge. He would be called up way more, but never played any more in orange.

Coaching Sparta

His nickname Ghost came from Marco van Basten. During the 1990 World Cup, the three AC Milan stars and Ronald Koeman were the four dominant forces. Fraser, being new to the squad and one of the few Feyenoord players, stayed well in the background, shy as he used to be. He was so quiet, that Marco van Basten called him “The Ghost”. But at training, Fraser would play against Van Basten. Initially, Henk didn’t want to be too tough and Van Basten taunted him constantly with elbows and little knocks and nibbles. To the point where Fraser at some stage lost control and hacked Van Basten down. The AC Milan striker smiled and said “that is how you do it!”. But coach Beenhakker immediately stopped the session and scolded Fraser for endangering his top striker!

After the World Cup 1990, sometime in 1992, Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard were interviewed and were asked: who is the ideal defender in your eyes? They looked at each other and said in unison: “Henk Fraser is the perfect example of the most complete defender”. High praise indeed.

Fraser: “I think I haven’t gotten all out of my career, like many players… That emotional thing in me has not helped. I was not able to control myself. If I was ok, I would jump over a player who slid on the ground, but I was not my happy self and that opponent had kicked me or something, I would sneakily plant my studs on this thigh, you know? That sortathing. I learned all this later in life.”

About the World Cup 1990. “I never felt settled in Oranje. There was the Ajax – Feyenoord thing, of course. Back then, the rivalry was insane. Today, Ajax and Feyenoord players go on holidays together. In those days, unthinkable. I also didn’t have a click with the other players. I knew John van Loen, from Utrecht and Roda. Also Wouters and Winter were good guys, but the other players… they were happy with their own clique and never opened up to the lesser players. But that was how I thought back then. I might well have been very wrong, but I was a bit insecure and didn’t feel it. I was the room mate of Danny Blind, now my colleague at Oranje. We didn’t have anything together. Not that we didn’t like each other, or something. We simply didn’t have a relationship. It was probably as much me as him, or probably more me, even. I had the same issues later when playing for the Suriprofs (players born in Suriname), and I realised I was the problem. I need time to settle in, to find my comfort zone.”

Ruud Gullit mentioned Fraser recently, saying he never expected Henk to become a successful coach. Too quiet. “I had to learn to lead, learn to be vocal and speak my mind. Clarence Seedorf had it when he was 16 years old. With me, it came later.”

After his career, he became a successful youth coach at Feyenoord, hailed by the players but eventually needing to leave due to clashes with the club management. He went on to coach the PSV youth and worked extensively with Memphis. When he became assistant coach at ADO Den Haag, he got the chance to step up when Maurice Steijn – the head coach -was fired. He had to overcome his biggest fear: public speaking. “I had to learn to be comfortable and to have something to say. I learned a lot from my KNVB mentors, but Leo Beenhakker was also an inspiration. After his tactical talk, I was foaming at the mouth and ready to run onto the pitch, hahahaha.”

And after winning the first and only prize with Vitesse – the National Cup – everyone expected Feyenoord and Fraser to find each other again, but before Feyenoord could make a move, Sparta beat them to it. Last season’s play-off ticket was another calling card Fraser dropped and this time around, he did make it on the Van Gaal Radar.

It is funny: Louis didn’t remember having shared a dressing room with you?

“Hahaha, that was pretty confronting. But Louis is direct in his communication, eh? I was not a starter in those days. I did play in that infamous Europe Cup match vs HSV Hamburg, but probably not so good hehehe. But with a career like his, it’s impossible to remember all the youngsters you’ve met.”

One of the best Sparta squads, with Fraser, Van Gaal, Blind, Lengkeek, Olde Riekerink and Rene Eijer 

How was he as a player and colleague?

“You could recognise the coach in his playing style. He loves players with a good orientation and feel for the position and space. Louis was a highly intelligent player. Not the quickest with his legs, but fast with his brain. He was definitely the leader. And he’d only have to look at you at training and you knew: ok, I’m carrying the ball bag today… He was very social. We went on an international trip, to Spain one day. I was 17 years old and Louis took us under his wing. We went out and he gave me a Lumumba. A chocolate milk with rum cocktail. I have never been so drunk in my life.”

And then, 35 years later, he calls you up: do you want to be my assistant?

“He first messaged me: is it ok for me to call you? I thought I was being pranked, so I checked and double checked if this was indeed Louis’ mobile number. But it was him and he was very serious and to the point. I actually asked time to consider. A reflex I guess. I never take a decision just like that. I called my dad for advice and he’s like: mate! Be proud. Say yes. He was all emotional and that was the confirmation I needed.”

So how will you work week look now, in your double role as Sparta coach and NT assistant?

“Simple. I don’t have any days off anymore. My free day is now an NT day. I will not take any time away from Sparta of course.”

How will you divide the roles?

“I will focus on the Eredivisie players. And that is a bonus for Sparta too, as I’m constantly scouting and watching games, so Sparta will benefit from these insights too. We will do our meetings online, as Louis will work from his Portugal home. And he’s as impressive via Zoom as he is in face to face meetings, hahahaha.”

And were you offered the NT job after Louis leaves?

“I read that everywhere, but it’s not the case. I have not been informed, at least. Lets just focus on qualifying first and then we’ll see how things go. For all I know, Louis might not be happy with me after a couple of games, who knows?”

Van Gaal recognises the potential of this Oranje. Do you think the quarter finals goal for this past Euros was realistic?

“Yes, if Holland is in a good form, we can beat anyone. But it’s not an automatic thing. There are at least 10 great football nations on the planet. At least. And countries like the Czech Republic, or Mexico or Uruguay can also make life hard for any of those 10 nations. But yes, Louis sees potential but also because Louis knows that he can make the sum of the parts better.”

As assistant of Cor Pot at the Under 21s in 2011

Where are you in the playing system debate?

“I think realism is needed. There are still experts in Holland who think that 4-3-3 is the only way to play attacking football. That is baloney. We can play attacking football with any system. You can press high with a 3-5-2, why not? But hey, at the World Cup, all you want is win games, right? We are good but not that good, not so good that we can force our way onto any opponent. The coach will take into account our form, our strength and weaknesses but also the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. And then you pick your best tactics.”

It seems you will be the assistant who will be closest to the players?

“Probably yes, that will be my role. I worked with Memphis, Wijnaldum and others before. I have worked with some of these players at the Euros Under 21 in Israel and I think I have a good contact with players, usually. It’s all about them, really. They need to feel good. I look forward to working with them again.”

 

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by Jan

Wanted: brave, strong coach for Oranje

Belgium actually had an open vacancy call for coaches, and Roberto Martinez wrote a nice letter. And got the job.

Why not find out if there is someone out there, with a soft spot for the Dutch? Wenger, Klopp, Martinez, Zidane, they all have expressed their huge admiration for the Dutch school of football. I know we can’t pay the salary Zidane would get with France or any club, but he might enjoy it. Why not try.

The national team manager’s role is a fun one, I can imagine. You don’t have the daily pressure and stress. Hell, you can sleep in most days. You get to watch all these games on the credit card of the KNVB. Travel to Paris, to Barcelona, Milan, Torino, Liverpool, Moscow, Amsterdam… What’s not to like?

Arsene Wenger and Andries Jonker

You can’t fail worse than de Boer. That is also a tick! And then around World Cup time, you enter the pressure cooker which must also be good fun when you love football!

The debate is raging in The Netherlands, and some people come up with some interesting names and combinations.

Below my comments. But before I start, let me know your ideas.

Also, the debate Dutch vs Foreign… I used to be very firm on this: only Dutch coaches please! And why? Communication (I can’t see a coach like Bielsa inspire our lads, mainly due to his weak skills in English (and Dutch). But also understanding of the football culture. But, by now, we can safely say that the long list of Dutch options is really not that long a list… Let’s face it. Koeman, Bosz and Ten Hag (ideal candidates) are stuck with their (new) clubs and happy to be in that situation.

Then there are the Van Gaal’s, Advocaats, the Van Marwijks and Ten Cates… They are getting old a bit. You don’t want them push a walking trolly onto the pitch, in 1,5 years. But, I do have a weak spot for Ten Cate. I will explain why below.

Yes, I would go for Ten Cate. Because he has demonstrated in his illustrious career to follow the rule book on Dutch attacking football. Ten Cate has balls, swagger and authority. An Amsterdam street kid, who put the fear of the football Gods in a guy like Wesley Sneijder. That says something! He would be the perfect figure head. He’s smart, he won’t get bullied by the media and he’s not afraid to tell Memphis to shape up or ship out. In combination with Gullit and field trainer Marcel Keizer, it will be a solid combi.

I would not mind a foreign coach, but it needs to be a big name and a guy who has expressed admiration for the Dutch school of football. So, in other words: NOT MOURINHO.

I personally like Zidane, the Danish coach Hjulmand, Rudy Garcia and Wenger.

I’m not a fan of Joachim Low and also not a big fan of Martinez.

The KNVB have put themselves in further turmoil. Nico Jan Hoogma was a good defender (many years in the Bundesliga) and a decent technical director at Heracles Almelo (!!). But he is way too light for the KNVB role.

Henk “The Don” Ten Cate

He was happy with Koeman. Then, when Koeman left, he went after “Koeman 2.0”. That is never a smart thing! Frank de Boer felt it as a yoke and obviously, De Boer is NOT Koeman. I mean, even Erwin Koeman is not Ronald Koeman. Koeman is history, move on man!

And now, with De Boer gone, Hoogma again stumbles and stutters in his first interview post De Boer: “eh… yes….we now will eh… dust off the requirements and…eh… have a good think…because eh… we need a strong man. Like Koeman, Koeman was the chef. The boss. That is needed…”

The interviewer: “So you want another type Koeman?”

Hoogma: “Well… I guess now, if I have to say this, my feeling now, is…yes I am leaning that way.”

WTF. Weaklings.

Time for these bozos to go too.

Kasper Hjulmand

Van Gaal will probably smile and lick his lips. When Koeman left, the nation suggested Van Gaal. But some of the players (Memphis? Van Dijk?) voted against him and the KNVB themselves were happy with that, as Van Gaal bulldozers into any organisation and demands wholesale changes. Of the trainings grounds, the media people, the assistant coaches, the medical staff, etc etc.

The KNVB wanted a weak coach who would be happy with the current staff. And they got what they wanted.

If they now do come to decide for Van Gaal again, he will probably blast Hoogma and Co away and dominate proceedings as per usual.

For the record: I would not pick Van Gaal yet again. I think his tricks have worked in the past (with the aforementioned Memphis) but most players are sick of him now.

Lets open up de debate!

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by Jan

Frankly, Oranje was Boering….

It’s tough to be a coach. Imagine, if Robben had lifted the ball an inch higher, Bert van Marwijk would have been an amazing coach! If Malen would have scored vs the Czechs, who knows… Frank might have won us the Euros. That is how tight it can be.

But… Malen didn’t score. De Ligt did handle the ball. And Frank has been lost in his own convictions.

Back in 2019, Oranje was in the finals of the Nations League. Now, we can’t get past the first knock-out round, vs a mid-tier European football nation. The only consolation: we did as well as France, Portugal and Germany. Yay!

De Boer has evaluated his own performance and has concluded: it’s not working. And if he wouldn’t have had this insight, the KNVB would have confronted him with that.

Where is the drive, the quest for attacking football, for creative solutions, the positioning play and the swagger? The ambition to have the ball, to create, to dominate? Everything what makes Oranje Oranje was melting before our eyes.

The Czechs brought their team of mid-tier players: they are with Hoffenheim, Brescia, Hellas Verona, Leverkusen and West Ham. Our team? Two Barca players. A Juve player, an Inter champ, a player of PSG, several Ajax players… So, if your players are better, in terms of level, how come your team doesn’t reflect this?

The Frank de Boer Evaluation.

The System: a Fat Minus. Sure, systems and bags of money won’t score goals, or handle the ball. But why did Frank want the 5-3-2 system so rigidly? Koeman tried it and quickly went back to the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. “This is more like us, how we play and this is how our players know how to play,” was what the current Barca coach said. De Boer decided to call some colleagues. Ex national team managers. He talked to Van Marwijk, to Van Gaal, Koeman and potentially also to Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten. His questions: What will I be confronted with? Which issues do I need to tackle? All these people felt in that conversation that De Boer had his mind set on a 5-3-2. Why? His response: it’s easier to press forward, with this system. The only benefit it had: a 5-3-2 would allow the coach to play all his top defenders. When Van Dijk is back, we can play a back line with Blind – Van Dijk – De Vrij – De Ligt – Dumfries. Not bad.

And, Memphis can have his free role. He doesn’t need to be stuck to the left flank ( 4-3-3) or be the lone striker (4-2-3-1).

However, only two players play this system week in week out: De Vrij and De Roon. And De Vrij said in an interview recently, that it took Conte 2 years (!) to work and practice with the team day in day out, to perfect the system. De Boer had 3 weeks.

At the same time, Memphis, De Ligt and Wijnaldum all three expressed their doubts after the first friendlies playing this system, but De Boer was steadfast!

The Execution: A Fat Minus. Which match did we play above average? The North Macedonia one? A match that didn’t really matter anymore. And still, the opponent scored twice (off side) and hit the post.

But while Frank De Boer told everyone that he saw improvements, game after game, the first knock-out game was an implosion felt all the way in Atlanta, London and Milan. Sure, we had some bad luck: Malen could have had a better touch. De Ligt should have cleared the ball after the first bounce. Stekelenburg dropping a ball and turn it into a corner kick. But is it just bad luck?

The Choices: a Fat Minus. Mathijs de Ligt might now be the personification of the bad decision making of Oranje. He lost control over the situation, over the ball… Allowed it to bounce twice, then he slipped and then he decided to handle the ball. Wow. It’s remarkable how vulnerable he was on his two feet. Just like it seemed other were also digging very deep. Memphis could be seen out of breath, after an hour of play, while Frenkie and Wijnaldum complained they had “heavy legs”.

De Ligt was one of the players quizzing the coach about his choice to play 5-3-2. There were more questions: why did he not use De Vrij and De Ligt in their usual roles: De Ligt right CB and De Vrij centrally, like he does at Inter? De Boer never answered that. He decided to invite Donny van de Beek into the squad, while the ex Ajax player barely had any game time. He sent Cillesen away after a positive corona test, while Spain was happy for Busquets to take some time off and wait for a negative result.

There’s more. Van de Beek got injured but De Boer decided he didn’t need a 26th player. Why? First, Ryan Babel was considered essential and right before the Euros he dropped him. He could have invited him back in, but he didn’t, just like he didn’t want to replace Luuk de Jong.

And Donyell Malen, the most dangerous attacker v the Czechs was subbed off, because “the data said he couldn’t go on.” Malen himself had other ideas about that! And by taken Malen off, he took the only penetrative threat away, giving the Czechs even more comfort in playing out the final 20 minutes of the game.

Result: a Fat Minus. It was under his management that we missed the finals for the Nations League. Ok, it wasn’t all under his spell, but still. The first qualification games for the World Cup ended up with damage, after the 4-2 beating vs the Turks. And what was the end result of the system change for the Euros?

We have not made any progress under this coach. There is no foundation for the future. Take the matches in June: Scotland, Georgia, Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia. Even the Czechs, we haven’t played against any top nation and still we got in trouble. Oranje hardly ever shone, maybe apart from Dumfries!

Frank de Boer abandoned Koeman’s success formula, because it would give us more defensive certainty. Well… It didn’t pan out. And we will be watching Denmark – Chech Republic while the Oranje players are at Ibiza.

The worst thing: he would do it all over again! “Yes, I think the 3-5-2 is a great system for us. We were more dominant against the Czechs, we didn’t give a lot away. Until Malen’s miss and Mathijs’ hand ball, we were fine. This is not due to the system. Our wing backs did well, our midfield knows how to play this, but you need to be sharp and focused at all times.”

De Boer thinks it’s bad luck and some players lacking form. But if you can’t dominate with this system and end up with zero shots on goal against the Czechs, something is wrong.

Still, it’s too easy to blame it all on De Boer. The people who put him there also need to be evaluated. Eric Gudde, general manager of the KNVB, is on his way out, towards retirement. Nico Jan Hoogma, the technical director, will be in his role for a bit longer, one would expect.

And one of the baffling quotes he came up with today, was “We are going to look for another coach, type Koeman!”. What the F!! if you want a type like Koeman, then do all you can to get Koeman! If he’s not available, you should stop naming his name. Any coach (Zidane, Wenger, Low, Ten Hag) will think: Ah… ok. They want Koeman. That is not me.

It’s time to act, to talk to the different coaches available. Dutch, Italian or German, who cares. I’d follow Van Hanegem’s advice and I would call Zidane. Why not? National Team coach is a very nice job. You travel, you watch football and you work at a leisurely pace. And when the Euros or World Cup are there, you’re thrown into a pressure cooker. Perfect job! I’m sure many big name coaches would pick up the phone, with a chance to lead Oranje and its amazing potential of top players (Frenkie, Memphis, Malen, Gakpo, Rensch, Timber, Gravenberch, Dumfries, Wijndal, Koopmeiners, Stengs, Boadu, Simons, Ihattaren, Bijlow, Malacia, De Ligt, Van de Beek, Teze, Schuurs) to a World Cup title.

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by Jan

Dutch NT Managers – pt.1

As requested by some, a look at the different National Team coaches the Dutch enjoyed over the years.

I am giving you my personal opinion. You can add yours below :-).

World Cup 1974 – Rinus Michels

Rinus Michels already made a name for himself with Ajax and Barcelona and was considered a European top coach. The Dutch barely qualified for the tournament under Cech coach Fadrhonc, who had a career previously in Holland as coach of mid-tier clubs (as we discussed many times: the NT wasn’t considered that important in those early days). He originally was a fysio but managed a team in the Czechoslovakian competition to a win and after fleeing to the west, became head coach. And pretty successful too, in Holland. But the Dutch federation found him to weak to manage the team of big personalities (Cruyff, Van Hanegem, Krol, Keizer, Israel, Jansen) and decided to bring in a “supervisor” to manage the whole WC process in West Germany: Rinus Michels, who at that stage was coach at Barcelona.

Michels – a former limited Ajax defender – was a stickler for discipline but tactically limited. The Total Football tactics he was credited with, was actually developed by Ernst Happel at Feyenoord and implemented in the Dutch squad in 1974 by Cruyff, Van Hanegem and Wim Jansen. The team had an amazing impact on football, moving forward, but Michels was not as instrumental as people back then though, and as Michels himself would let on.

He returned to Ajax for a spell, then back to Barcelona for 2 seasons before embarking on an adventure to the US (LA Aztecs). He had some lesser successful attempts in the Bundesliga before returning to the Dutch FA where he would win the Euros in 1988 and reach the semis in the 1992 Euros.

He famously clashed with Johan Cruyff, Van Basten and Ruud Gullit, amongst others and was considered to be a prickly character. Stories abound how he blocked the appointment of Cruyff as NT manager many times in his role as Federation bonzo and he clashed with Gullit in 1990, when the players were forbidden to talk to the media, while Michels had a “tell-all” column in the Dutch media, undermining the team process. Gullit was the squad’s mouthpiece in a scathing response via competitive media. In 1988, Michels initially ignored Van Basten and had to make an about-face after losing his first tournament match vs the USSR.

As an NT coach, despite the WC1974 silver and 1988 gold medal, I don’t rate him high. The players were instrumental in the performances (Cruyff in 1974, Van Basten in 1988) no matter who sat on the bench.

European Championships 1976 – George Knobel

Heini Otto (middle) dropped an NT player of at the Oranje camp, and when Knobel heard he was a left footer, he said: you can stay. Otto actually made his debut in Oranje but wouldn’t be called up ever again…

A sad story for a highly respected coach. The Dutch were not mentally ready for this tournament. All the big guns were present (Cruyff, Neeskens, Rep, Rensenbrink, Van Hanegem, Krol) but the first game ended with two red cards for Neeskens and Van Hanegem, and Oranje lost dramatically. In the Third Place play off, Knobel used a number of new names trying to re-invigorate the team (Jan Peters, Peter Arntz, Ruud Geels, Adrie van Kraay) which got us bronze, beating Yugoslavia after extra time.

Knobel will always be linked to MVV Maastricht where he had his most succcesses. He also managed Ajax for a brief spell. A footnote in Dutch football history.

World Cup 1978 – Ernst Happel

Where Michels was considered a “hollow barrel” making a lot of noise, but lacking substance, Happel was the complete opposite. A quiet man, no using much words at all but tactically very astute. The Austrian had a tremendous career as a player ( Rapid Wien, RC Paris, Austrian NT) before becoming a coach at Den Haag and then Feyenoord where he won the European Cup with players like Moulijn, Van Hanegem, Jansen and Kindvall. He moved on to Sevilla and Club Brugge before being asked to manage the NT to the 1978 Argentina World Cup.

He was an introvert. Didn’t like talking to the press and spent most of his time playing cards. He was a chain smoker – like many players back then – and usually only had one sentence before a game: “Gentlemen, a win please!”. When Van Hanegem once approached him for a tactical conversation, he famously said (in his Dutch/German make believe language) “Kein geloel, Willem. Fussballen!”. Which translates as: “Cut the crap, Willem. Just play football.”

He didn’t do much in terms of tactical talks but he simply picked the right eleven and gave them the freedom to play. The respect he got from his players was partly due to his gifted skills. He would demonstrate that by placing ten balls outside of the box and hitting the cross bar every time with his shots… He famously had to tell his protege and close friend Van Hanegem that he didn’t have any use for him in the 1978 WC squad, which left De Kromme in tears on national tv. With a team lacking Cruyff and Van Hanegem but with young upstarts like Arie Haan, Piet Wildschut and Ernie Brandts, Happel reached the finals and if Rensenbrink was a tad more fortunate would have won gold in 1978.

As a coach, I rate him very high (check his CV, he won 26 trophies as a coach!!!) albeit a tad old-school for today’s game….

European Championship 1980 – Jan Zwartkruis

Former assistant to Ernst Happel at the World Cup in Argentina, Zwartkruis made a name for himself as coach of the Military Team (yes, you read it correctly). That team ended up to be a great feeder team for the National Team (yes you read it correctly, again!). Rob Rensenbrink, Jan Mulder, Jan van Beveren, Barry Hulshoff, they all played for the Military Team during their draft period and played at the the Military World Cup (wow). Which was held in Iraq (double wow). Zwartkruis was supposed to be the NT coach at the WC 1978 but a conflict with his employer (the Ministry of Defence) he wasn’t able to take the reigns (enter Happel). This was resolved after the World Cup and the amicable Zwartkruis – who was great with young talent – was given the main job for the Euros in 1980 in Italy. Again, a very short tournament this time, with only 8 nations.

Zwartkruis with goalies Joop Hiele and Hans van Breukelen

Oranje disappoints and after win vs Greece and a loss v West Germany Holland draws against the Czechs. And Holland was out. Zwartkruis did have some decent players to work with but was never able to gel a successful team. He used debutants at this tournament who never were able to perform at the required level and despite names like Krol, Schrijvers, Van de Korput, Haan, Rep, John Metgod and Rene van de Kerkhof, we never really played to our best level.

Zwartkruis was a good developer of talent and probably a great assistant coach. Lacked the charisma needed for the NT job and never able to gel a successful team. Again, a footnote.

Failed tournament attempts 1982, 1984 – Kees Rijvers

Rijvers was a gifted coach. Much loved and very successful at club level at FC Twente and PSV. Rijvers himself was a gifted technician who played in the famous golden trio (with Faas Wilkes and Abe Lenstra, two legends) for the Dutch. He was tactically strong and warm personality, loved by media and players. He took over from Zwartkruis after the latter lost the first two qualification games for the Spain World Cup 1982. Rijvers immediately planned to bring Cruyff back to the NT, which he agreed to do. However, JC was contractually obliged to wear his own brand jersey (Cruyff Sports) while the NT had a contract with Adidas. No deal, therefore. Rijvers also got other veterans back: Krol, Rep, Willy van de Kerkhof and even Johan Neeskens, in an attempt to turn things around. Still, despite this, he would be the man who allowed 9 players from the 1988 winning team to make their debut in the NT: Vanenburg, Kieft, Rijkaard, Gullit, Wouters, Koeman, Van Basten, Erwin Koeman and Adri van Tiggelen. Michel Valke and Rene van der Gijp also made their debuts under Rijvers. Rijvers missed out on the WC1982 due to a 2-0 loss vs France in a key final match. France scored their second goal (Platini) thanks to a misunderstanding between Van Breukelen and Krol. Rijvers also missed the 1984 Euros as a result of the (bought?) win of Spain over Malta, 12-1.

Little Kees with Kieft, Gullit, Rijkaard and Janssen

In the qualification round for the 1986 Mexico World Cup, Oranje lost at home vs Hungary. Rijvers resigned after that game, after coaches like Leo Beenhakker lobbied for his firing. Suspiciously, as Beenhakker would get the job soon after…

Despite his strong club career, his playing career and his eye for talent (as aforementioned), not qualifying for two tournaments means he will not be in anyone’s top 5 NT coaches :-).

Failed World Cup 1986 – Leo Beenhakker

After Rijvers’ demise and losing the first match vs Hungary, Rinus Michels took over. He lost his first match too and won his second. Michels had to give way due to health reasons (heart) and his protege Leo Beenhakker – so instrumental in getting Rijvers out – was put in as replacement. Hungary qualified quickly so Holland had to go for second spot which would result in a play-off game. With talented Robbie de Wit – who would see his career ended due to a brain aneurism – in the team, Holland did win against Hungary away, securing a play off match vs Belgium. Oranje lost the first match, 1-0 in Belgium. Wim Kieft was given a red card in the 4th minute, after some play-acting by Vercauteren. The Belgium midfielder would go on and score the winner. The Dutch – playing with Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten and De Wit couldn’t get back into it. The home game in Rotterdam was a terrible night for yours truly. It was super cold and my dad injured his knee during the walk to the stadium which would bother him for the rest of his life. We needed to win 2-0 to go to the World Cup and after 84 minutes, Oranje had the two goals thanks to Robbie de Wit and Peter Houtman. A defensive error in the 85th minute allowed George Grün to head the ball in, 2-1. End of fairytale for Holland. No World Cup.

Leo Beenhakker would have another stint in 1990 and wasn’t able to rouse up the troops for a good performance either. The Rotterdam born coach would enjoy successes with Ajax, Real Madrid and Feyenoord among others but was dreadful as team manager. His buffoon type alpha male machoism didn’t go down well with vocal and astute players like Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten. A stain on Leo’s career, this NT stuff.

European Championship 1988 – Rinus Michels

The qualifications for the 1988 Euros was not a smooth ride. JC was coach at Ajax, and he would fuel the bad blood between him and Michels by commenting on the team selection and creating a rift between the Ajax and PSV players. The NT lacked unity and the midfield was drastically out of balance. This prompted Michels to bring the experienced Arnold Muhren (35 years old) back to the team to fix it. Despite all this, Holland was too strong for the likes of Poland, Cyprus and Greece and qualified easily. The most talked about event was the bomb-incident, in the match v Cyprus. The Cyprus team walked off the pitch when a fireworks bomb was thrown close to the Cyprus goalie. They’d lose the match 8-0, but that was scratched from the books. Holland can be happy the UEFA didn’t disqualify the team. In the re-match, Holland won 4-0. Bosman’s record of scoring 5 goals in one match was also scratched from the history books.

The rest is history. Michels didn’t want to take Van Basten as a main striker, who was injured all season long but fit for the Euros. Van Basten threatened to not come in that case. Cruyff apparently talked Marco into going and he would become the tournament’s star. Michels started with a 4-3-3 but after losing the first match, reverted back to a 4-4-2. Ironically, Oranje’s first and only big trophy was won with a 4-4-2 system…

Michels’ finest moment as Dutch NT coach. He did perform well, was warm towards the players and media and seemed to have found his place and tone of voice. Sadly, in the years to come, he would show his colours again. Still, winning a trophy means you do end up in the top 5 of best Dutch NT coaches…

World Cup 1990 – Thijs Libregts / Leo Beenhakker.

So much has been written about this. One more time, now in Telegram style. Libregts won the title with Feyenoord with Cruyff in 1984 and moved to Greece to coach Aris, PAOK and Olympiakos. He returned as NT manager but had a massive falling out with Gullit, amongst other things for some racial abuse. The players demanded his resignation and the FA – led by Michels – promised the players to recruit Cruyff as coach. Once the dust settled, the players were flabbergasted to see Beenhakker as their new coach, and not the famous #14.

Rinus Michels and Thijs Libregts

The rest we know. A dreadful preparation phase, in some dreary Yugoslavian castle. Bad vibe in the squad. Gullit in particular not fit. Tired of football. And more. Beenhakker had battle after battle and even showed up at a press conference with a black eye, explaining he hit his head. Some people claim Van Basten threw an ashtray to his face. We’ll never know. After the WC, Beenhakker quipped that 75% of all that happened during that campaign has never came out. He promised to share it one day, but he never has, so far. An abysmal World Cup, with what was considered one of the best squads the Oranje ever had.

I have never been a Leo Beenhakker fan. An arrogant coach, with an inflated ego. He has never had any loyalty. Escaped to bigger clubs any time he got the chance.

European Championships – Rinus Michels

Rinus decided to put his hand up to fix the Oranje problems. Frank Rijkaard immediately retired from international football. Koeman was suspended by Michels for criticising his tactics and John Van’t Schip was suspended because he preferred to witness the birth of his first child, and arrived later at the trainings camp. Michels did bring Frank de Boer and Dennis Bergkamp in the mix. Holland did qualify relatively easy, but was not without little scandals, as Wim Kieft left the camp one day, when he was treated disrespectfully by Bryan Roy, who called him “tall tree”. Gullit and Michels clashed repeatedly as the latter accused Gullit of being to injury prone and too happy to let games go.

The Tournament in Sweden would become the tournament of the holidaying Danes, who were called up as replacement for Yugoslavia. Michels’ team didn’t impress vs Scotland, although we got the win (1-0) thanks to a late Bergkamp goal. We drew vs the GOS (Russia) but beat Germany 3-1 in a great match. The knock out stages ended with the Danes having the better of us in a penalty shoot out, with Van Basten missing vs Schmeichel.

Not a bad result, but not sure how much Rinus and his assistant mini-general Dick Advocaat had to do with that. Gullit was unstoppable at times. Van Basten was instrumental without scoring and Dennis Bergkamp presented himself at the highest level. We could have gone all the way I think but again, not sure how much praise Michels deserved. I think the players wanted to set the score right after the dreadful WC1990.

World Cup 1994 – Dick Advocaat

The mini-general was always Michels’ choice. The players wanted JC again and they actually went over to see him at Barca and negotiate a deal. The deal imploded on Cruyff’s demand to pick his own assistants. The Federation, in those days, had their own coaches and insisted Johan would use them. Cruyff did not have a lot of respect for these cats and felt he wasn’t going to go anywhere without his trusted scout (Tonnie Bruins-Slot) and assistants. So it was a no go. Advocaat is known for his “un-Dutch” cautious defensive game. Sure, he did great as a club coach, but he lacked the adventurous streak we so desire and he didn’t seem too switched on with the circumstances. Gullit was aware there would be a heatwave in Florida and tried to convince Dickie to play a tactics that would work for the best players (read: Gullit and Rijkaard). Van Basten was already ruled out, basically. Advocaat belittled Gullit and the latter decided to not go.

Presser with Advocaat and a depressed Gullit, explaining why he’s abandoning Oranje

Advocaat got his team to the quarter finals were Brazil was too strong. Upon his return to Holland, Advocaat said that being amongst the best 8 teams in the world was a great result. The fans felt that it wasn’t. A great result would be a semi final spot. This was ok. We beat Morocco, Ireland and Saudi Arabia. Big deal.

Advocaat would get a second spell. Overall, a mediocre performance on both counts.

European Championships 1996 – Guus Hiddink

Poor Guus inherited the salary rift that was going around at Ajax. Some home grown talents didn’t make as much as some of the new signings and some of the white players were allegedly making more than the dark players. Hiddink didn’t get the problems ironed out. He also humiliated Seedorf by subbing him off against Switzerland after 26 minutes while Davids only got 10 minutes in that game. Hiddink tended to talk tactics with De Boer and Blind and neglect Davids and Seedorf – according to them – and Edgar let fly in an interview, saying Hiddink should take his head out of De Boer’s arse. Poetic. Davids was sent home and the tournament ended with a penalty shoot out, lost, vs France.

The infamous photo: a table with white players and a table with colour players. However, behind Huddink, not visible, blond Richard Witschge also part of the coloured table…

A tough tournament to judge Guus on. Overall a comedy of errors and a humiliation by England. Kluivert’s conciliation goal got us through, for a quarter finals vs France.

World Cup 1998 – Guus Hiddink

With the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, this is one that we could have and should have won. With one of the strongest squads (Davids was taken back in by Hiddink and played a top notch tournament), we reached the semis. The quarter finals vs Argentina is a high light in Oranje’s history, with Frank de Boer’s long range pass and Bergkamp’s outside foot winner, in the last minutes of the game! The key question still is: did Oranje deserve a penalty late in the semi finals against Brazil, when Pierre van Hooijdonk was pulled to the ground? We all think YES.

Hiddink and assistant Johan Neeskens

This was Guus’ golden tournament which catapulted him to the level of top coach on the planet. Real Madrid, Australia, South Korea, they’d all follow. Included a not so successful stint only recently… This tournament justifies a spot in the top 5 of best NT coaches ever, for Oranje.

This is it for now. The coaches from 2000 until now, in the next post!

My top 3 NT coaches from 1974 till 1998, shouldn’t be a big surprise:

  1. Rinus Michels – 1974
  2. Ernst Happel – 1978
  3. Guus Hiddink – 1998

Gimme your views below!

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by Jan

Kluivert to Manchester City??

Hi all, I hope you are all doing well, despite the threat of that virus or the disadvantages of the lockdowns and not working etc? And of course, being without some serious football….

I have some posts in the making but I’m very busy as well, trying to keep my business alive. If you are doing well, this is the time to donate some beer money, hahaha… Thanks in advance!

I have more posts on our talents coming up, more videos for you guys to enjoy and the 1990 Johan Cruyff Debacle story… A cool interview with Donny van de Beek and a profile on Justin Kluivert.

Who is NOT signed by Man City. The headlines in the sports media were quite fun: Kluiverth signed by Man City. But Kluiverth being his first name. Aguilar his surname.

His dad was a fan of Barcelona and enjoyed Patrick a lot.

A fun fact: this is not the first player to be named after a Dutch player. This can definitely result in cool names for cool players: Yohan Cabay, named after our Johan. Or Dennis Bergkamp, named after Denis Law…

Rudigullithi da Silva Henrique

Kluiverth is not a bad first name to have….

The most beautiful name of a player, based on a Dutch player is…hold for it….not Cruyff, Vandervaart or Persie, no no… Wanderkhof! Yes. Dad was a fan of the PSV Twins Willy and Rene van de Kerkhof! And it gets better, because this is his second first name, so to speak. His actual first name is Petroswickonicovick. Yes. Imagine you’re the match commentator when he plays.

This kid was a prolific goal scorer for Corinthians.

Then there is a striker in Albania. He made it to the Albanian national team. The name: Marko van Basten Cema.

Or the Brazilian defender, 26 years old, with a short stint in Portugal. He was with Cruzeiro and Sao Paolo and is now playing in Brazil again, for Bento. The name is  Rudigullithi da Silva Henrique. He has competition, there is A Finnish player called Gullit Zolameso, named after Ruud Gullit (duh) and Gianfranco Zola who once played together at Chelsea. This kid plays regularly for Finnish youth rep teams.

In Malta, the 26 year old Cruyff Grixty plays at the second tier on the island, something JC would be ashamed of.

Neeskens Kebano vs Vertonghen of Spurs

The best career of them all is for Neeskens Kebano. France born’s dad was huge Johan Neeskens fan. He played for Fulham and for Paris St Germain. He is a national team player for Congo. In Honduras, we have Neeskens Almendares, who played for Lobos.

Wulf Koronia Kluivert Shevcengko Horota. Yes indeed! Named after Dutch Defender John de Wolf (what??), the Corona virus, Patrick Kluivert and Andrej Shevcencho. The Indonesian does play pro football for Persipura.

And it’s not just Dutch player names which are used for kids, who then become players themselves. There are the most amazing concoctions. I will mention a series here, but one name is false. One name I made up. You leave a comment with your best guess. Winner gets a prize :-).

There is Creedence Clearwater Couto, we had Metuzalem, Mozart, Adriano Michael Jackson, Ziyech Ziyech, John Lennon Silva Santos, Lineker da Silva Matos, Ben-Hur and Mahatma Gandhi. Stalin Motta played national team football, and Kluivert Aguilar? He has a brother: Rijkaard.

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by Jan

The Germans are coming!

Any match vs Germany (or West Germany) will bring the heart rate of any Oranje fan up. The pantomime villains! But if we get a double bill for games, vs Germany (our neighbours on the East) AND the Belgians (our neighbours to the South), well… any Oranje fan would start salivating.

We do have a firm rivalry with both nations and now we’ll meet them both in the course of 4 days. There is a God! The rivalry with Belgium is more brotherly. We actually like the Belgium people. We love their country, their food, their beaches and we also are impressed with their national team, at the moment. We had massive competitive games against them, but also some amazing friendlies, with heaps of goals and lots of good memories.

Less so with the Germans. Yes, those clashes in the 40-45 World Cup…eh.. War didn’t help. The first post-war match at top level was the finals in 1974 of course.

How many articles / posts have I not written about this in the past 14 years! On the Worldcupsoccerblog and on this blog… All these wonderful stories, anecdotes… But whatever we say about it, we lost. That doesn’t change. I remember vividly watching the game. I was 12 years old (yes!) and watching the games at my holiday address, with heaps of other people. A colour tv, but a small screen. I sat on the floor, right with my nose on the screen.

In those days, the expectations around the national team were low. Really low, as somehow it never really register with the pros. They were paid for by the clubs, they weren’t properly insured when playing for the NT and somehow, we weren’t too interested. When Holland went to West Germany for the World Cup, no one expected them to shine. And with reason, as we actually scored our winning qualification goal in off side position and actually didn’t deserve to go. And ironically, Belgium didn’t qualify as a result of that goal. A good reason for them to dislike us!

So there I was. Johan Cruyff was an untouchable. He was an Ajax player, so as a Feyenoord fan I wasn’t openly a JC fan, but like anyone, in my heart I adored him as a player. Willem van Hanegem was my fave. Partly because he played for Feyenoord and partly because he lived just one block away from me. As did midfielder Wim Jansen. We had some rock stars in the team too, the 5th and 6th Beatle: Ruud Krol and Johnny Rep. And there were some unknown players part of the team too. Players a 12 year old didn’t see play often: Robbie Rensenbrink, who was at Anderlecht. The snake man. What a player! I didn’t get why Keizer didn’t play on the left wing, but after seeing one match (vd Uruguay) it was clear why Rensenbrink was the man. Jan Jongbloed, our sweeper keeper was another unknown, a massive masterstroke by Michels Cruyff to put him in.

But the Germans got the better of us. Was it our arrogance? Was it the night of lost sleep, as JC had to spend hours on the phone with his wife pre-match, to explain the naked girls in the swimming pool? Was it the sheer quality of Sepp Maier, who simply stopped every ball aimed at the German goal?

Who knows. Willem van Hanegem says it was arrogance. Johan Cruyff said he was played out of the game by Berti Vogts. Others will point to the ref and the first real schwalbe/dive by Holzenbein, getting the Germans their penalty.

But the world took notice. And Oranje made its mark. Winning or losing, it didn’t matter.

We need a revenge though. In 1976, we bitterly disappointed, with red cards for our star players. In 1978, we took on the West Germans again and drew 2-2. We ended up in the finals again, and West Germany didn’t. Still, it didn’t feel like revenge.

In 1980, the Germans were boss. Holland disappointed massively and in 1982, 1984 and 1986, we didn’t compete. Long long stories. And all these stories have been told, here and at other blogs in the past. Simply ask me if you want me to rehash them.

Then came 1988. The 12 year old fan was now a 26 year old supporter, with some ties to Feyenoord and the national newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. And as a result, found himself in Hamburg on the stands. My partner worked for the newspaper and called me up at 11 am-ish. “I have tickets for the game, you gotta come now!” I drove from Amsterdam (my place of work) to Rotterdam (where the newspaper resides) to pick her up and our tickets. Changed clothes at home and off we went to Hamburg. We arrived 30 mins before the game and saw Oranje win vs West Germany (1-2) in an unforgettable match. The one where West Germany and Holland both got a gift penalty. The one where Van Basten scored the winner in the last minute. The one where Ronald Koeman wiped his ass with Olaf Thon’s shirt and Van Breukelen yelled at “I hope you focking sterbst” to Frank Mill…

And while we walked out of the stadium, in a state of joy, my partner saw a sports editor of her newspaper, and we tagged along to the players’ hotel to celebrate the win till the early morning. I vividly remember a somewhat boozy conversation with a young bloke at the party whom I later recognised as a very young Richard Witschge. Around 2 am I realised we still had 5,5 hours to drive home as work was waiting the next morning and we decided to leave.

The story of our trip to Munich the Sunday next, where Holland took on the USSR in the finals is even more epic, but will have to wait for another time. Now its about The Germans!

In 1990, the same squad albeit with Richard Witschge among others, was keen to win the World Cup, in Italy. We played Germany again and that is where the comparison with 1988 stops. It was shocking. Holland actually didn’t play that bad vs Germany, but our key players simply didn’t come to the party. Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten in particular were sub-standard. Our best players were John van ‘t Schip and Jan Wouters, with Rijkaard getting the spotlights spitting a big one in Voller’s wig. We lost. And had to go home. The players lamented after the World Cup that the power struggle between Cruyff and Michels had demoralised the team and Beenhakker’s army boot camp in Yugoslavia prior to the tournament didn’t help either. If you wanted a performance from the likes of Gullit and Rijkaard, it was key to have a player’s hotel close to the action (clubs, girls, pizza) and not in a remote and desolate castle with nothing to do but to moan and whinge and whine.

I watched this game at home again, in despair. The group stage of Oranje was already abyssmal so expectations were not too high. Most supporters were distraught that the KNVB ignored the wishes of the players and signed Leo Beenhakker for the coaching job.

In 1992, at the Euros. Oranje got the chance to take revenge on the Germans and we did. In a master class, in which Van Basten conducted Bergkamp’s goals (pointing at Winter where to place the ball) and an uncharacteristic distance striker from Rob Witschge, Holland won 3-1 in probably the best performance a Dutch national team demonstrated vs the Teutons. I remember watching this game with my best friend Nico and my life partner of course in my home, where we ended up dancing through the apartment block, convinced we’d win the title, against the beach team of the Danes.

In 1994, the Allied forces the US organisers of the World Cup keep Holland and Germany separated.

In 1996, we sadly don’t meet them either. We end up being dressed down by England and Germany ends up winning the Euros with the worst team ever.

At so the list goes on. We have been able to keep them at bay in 1998, 200o, 2002 (by not qualifying) and meet them again in Portugal 2004. First group game, and Germany tastes first blood. Van Nistelrooy scores the equaliser late in the game and everyone is happy with the draw. In 2006 we miss out on playing them, same in 2008 and 2010. It’s 2012 when we do end up playing them again in the group stage and after a good start (15 minutes or so) we forget to defend and allow them to score first. A situation we simply can’t overcome and despite having the silver medal at home of that previous World Cup, we end up going home. In 2014, again, the Germans are able to get to the finals without having to play us and that must have helped them a lot.

By now, all stories about how Germany took a couple of pages from the Dutch football Academy book in 2000 are fairly well known. They re-invigorated their youth development and started to play more Dutch than German. Their horrific tournament in Russia this year is a clear testament how the Germans have really started to copy all we do….

What will happen tomorrow?

Well, I think we’ll win 2-1. I think Germany will be a tad nervous, a bit forced maybe, and on their toes for the young Dutch talents.

I think Koeman will play the following 11:

Cillesen

De Ligt – De Vrij  – Van Dijk  – Van Aanholt

Wijnaldum – Frenkie De Jong – Daley Blind – Strootman

Bergwijn – Memphis

I think Memphis and Wijnaldum will score.

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by Jan

Oranje hasn’t lost since 1996….

….against England. It’s interesting, the Dutch were reigning supreme in the Golden Age, with the English Empire and the Portuguese seafarers… And England and Portugal are our up and coming opponents. We don’t do too well vs Portugal, but England…we never lost since that 1996 1-4 upset at the England Euros.

Ronald Koeman himself was part of some of these amazing games, with some significant contributions.

Koeman made it clear that he would be playing another system than 4-3-3. “I can tell you this, the system I’ll be playing is not 4-3-3.” That should be enough for us.

He also appointed Virgil van Dijk as the new skipper. With Daley, Strootman and Wijnaldum as vice-captains. No one seemed to disagree with the choice. Van Dijk has the potential to become a world class defender. He is vocal, he has personality and coaches prolifically in the Liverpool team as well. And, like Ronald Koeman before him, Van Dijk will have the game in front of him, which helps when having to re-position players and alert players.

Van Dijk will be the next in a line of wonderful Oranje players who wore the band before him.

Frank de Boer is the record holder captains of Oranje, with 71 caps with the band. He took the band from Danny Blind in 1995. Ruud Krol, a defender as well, wore the band 45 times, taking over from a certain Johan Cruyff in 1977, when JC retired as international.

Ruud Gullit comes next with 41 caps with the band, taking it in 1986 from Bennie Wijnstekers. Ronald Koeman wore the band 33 times, while before he took it – in 1987 of his rival Ruud Gullit.

Other names in the skipper top 10, are Gio van Bronckhorst, Puck van Heel, Cor van der Hart, Edwin van der Sar and Harry Denis.

Oranje in the Johan Cruyff Arena against England… hours away and a debut for Koeman in a full house.

The total balance between England and Holland is in favour of the English. The Three Lions won 12 times, and lost eight. Ten times both nations drew. The last match was at Wembley, in 2016, which ended in a win for Oranje with goals by Narsingh and Janssen.

The last time England was guest in Amsterdam, in 2009, Bert van Marwijk was the coach in a friendly ending in 2-2. With goals by Kuyt and Van der Vaart.

Kluivert scoring the 4-1 for Holland in a loss in 1996, but securing Oranje’s progress.

The last win by England on Dutch soil was in 1969. A team with Cruyff, Van Hanegem, Mulder, Israel and Muhren lost 0-1.

Justin Kluivert could be the ninth son of an international to make his debut. Ryan Babel will be the most experienced international in the young Oranje. The Besiktas forward played 46 caps and is the older player in the squad, with his 30 years.

The other father-sons: Martin Koeman and sons Ronald and Erwin Koeman. Martin only wore the orange once. Wim van der Gijp, also 1 cap, and son Rene van der Gijp (15). Johan Cruyff’s huge shoes couldn’t be filled by Jordy but he made it to the National Team anyway. Jan Mulder was a famous striker in the JC era and his son Youri played the same role. Just like Danny Blind and Daley Blind are almost carbon copies of each other. Steven Berghuis’ dad Frank – or Pico – played 1 cap for Oranje. Then there was Jan Everse SR and Jan Everse JR and lastly Nigel de Jong who’s dad Jerry played 3 international games for us.

The Oranje staff: keepers trainer Patrick Lodewijks, assistant Kees van Wonderen, Ronald, assistant Dwight Lodeweges and fysiology coach Jan Kluitenberg

The infamous England – Holland in 1993, when the 0-2 loss meant that England missed the World Cup in the US. Koeman scoring the first.

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