Tag: Hateboer

Louis van Gaal interview

Louis van Gaal has announced his definitive squad for the coming two matches. He selected 28 players.

Why this big squad for the upcoming matches?

LvG: “For me, the World Cup preparation starts now. And apart from the fact that I want to see many players and test players, I also want to start implementing a new system. I remind you that in 2014, we were able to do this, but just. We had to grow into it, during the tournament and it was not ideal. Back then, i had 5 weeks (…) prior to the tournament to do this. Now, I will only have 1 week before the start of the World Cup. So I will need to start now.”

So these Oranje weeks are more about the new system than the matches?

“Correct. Usually, it’s two matches as a main course and the days around it, you practice. I see this differently. I now have a period to work on the new system and we’ll have two interruptions, two games, in between.”

Jordan Teze is a remarkable name. How did you come up with him?

“Well, as you will know, he plays for PSV. He is Dutch. So we follow him. Like we follow many players. And with De Vrij injured, we need some alternatives. Teze is a young player, with an outstanding build up pass. That is how he caught our eye. And that forward pass is important and it’s quite rare to see. He moved from right winger, to right back and now he plays centrally. That experience will be handy for him.”

And Hateboer is back.

“Initially, we wanted to test Frimpong. He is totally new for the group. But he got injured. Hateboer is not new, we know him, he’s an international already but lost his spot due to his injury woes. But he’s playing at Atalanta again, so it felt like a good time to call him back in.”

Denmark and Germany. Two top nations. What do you expect from them?

“I expect that they will be playing at our level, at the least. So we know there is intensity and pressure. They will defend on the front foot and we have not played those type of opponents. It will be great for the fans to see these games. I expect two full stadiums. Great opponents and Denmark has had a tremendous couple of years, Denmark qualified without dropping points and I hope the fans will want to be part of this process.”

Can we expect surprises these games?

“Yes, I think I will have surprises in the line up and in the way we play. Our spirit, but also our system.”

There was also time for some fan questions.

How is your hip doing?

“Thanks for that. I’m doing well. It was a 6 to 8 week thing. I had a tear in my hip, but it was super painful when it happened and I was not allowed to take painkillers, as I had to coach the team the next day. But it was really painful.”

How was it to be back as coach for Oranje?

“I was a bit reluctant and hesitant. There simply wasn’t anyone with the same skills and experience as me. I didn’t do it because I really wanted to. We were also two points behind, we had three big matches in that week and I expected not to be able to add much to it, in the first weeks. But I was wrong, because this is a super group, with a great commitment and maturity. The team spirit is amazing and that is just a joy for any coach.”

What changed since the 2014 campaign?

“Not much. My football vision has never changed. Same in 2012, or 2000 or in 1995. It’s just that the players are different and the generations are different. You cannot be a dictator these days. In the olden days, coaches like Michels were totally authoritarian. And another thing, at Ajax, we always worked from the perspective of “We are the Best!”. But clearly, when you play higher and higher you cannot expect to win all the time. At Barcelona I once played a match versus Valencia. The Valencia of Ranieri. We were 3-0 up in the first half.  And we kept on attacking, so we lost that match 4-3. That was a lesson! And we used this too last time vs Norway. We decided to play fully on result and we were able to manage the game and kill the game.”

How is it for you to work with these young players?

“Actually, it’s great. Working with young players keeps you young. And this group actually triggers me, inspires me. More so than the 2012 or the 2000 squad. They think football, they use analytics, they discuss tactics and ask me questions. That is quite good actually and it keeps me on my toes. And it’s fun. I always look forward to working with them.”

If you had to pick a player from the current generation who is most like you as a player…?

“I was a so-called defensive mid, but I wasn’t. I didn’t defend too well. I was a deep lying playmaker. I could dribble if I wanted to, but I lacked speed. So passing was my thing. And I saw the game well. Of the current squad, I think I resemble Teun Koopmeiners most. He also is comfortable in the deep lying role and his passing ability and vision are great. He is capable to play passes through the lines and he skips lines with his passes. He’s now also more an attacking midfielder, as he does have more speed than I had, hahaha.”

Which coach inspired you most?

“That was Rinus Michels. I was around 14 years old and Michels was coach at Ajax. I was playing but I always went straight to the Ajax training after school. I wanted to see him coaching the team. And I also went the same trajectory as him. I went to study for a physical ed teacher and I got my coaching diploma like him. It’s cool that I too now have coached Ajax, Barca and Oranje, like him.”

Do you have any hobbies outside of football?

“Tennis, golf and playing cards. I love klaverjassen and kingen. Loving my wife is also a hobby of mine. I am never bored.”

What was your favorite Oranje match, as coach?

“That has to be our first match at the World Cup in Brazil, the win over Spain. Spain was World Champion and hardly lost games. The media in Holland wrote “why does Oranje even go to the World Cup??” and we created a plan and the players executed it perfectly and we won: 1-5. That was a big shock to the global football world.”

What do you think of the Nations League?

“It’s a competitive tournament, so that is good. And I see it as a good prep for the World Cup. We hardly have any prep time. So I will use the games to test different players. But playing against Belgium is top. Poland is also a tough opponent. We have amazing opponents, Wales is also not easy.”

What kind of music do you listen to?

“I guess soft-pop, would be the term.  Music from the 60s and 70s, I suppose. The era of the best music. What the kids listen to now, that shrill type of pop beats, I don’t like it. Why would I try to listen to new music, when I know I have heard the best music already.”

Which player is the best young player you ever coached?

“I need to mention Clarence Seedorf here. He was 16 when he made his debut with me and he has won the most prizes internationally. But the ultimate are either Xavi or Iniesta. They were 17 and 18 when they made their debut. They were even better than Seedorf.”

Will we win the World Cup this time?

“I will never say this before hand. But what I can say, is that the Best Team will win. And I will do what I can to make us the Best Team. And then a bit of luck. It’s not the best individuals, but the best team.”

Sadly, I wasn’t able to ask my questions:

Where is Rick Karsdorp ??

“Well, Mourinho loves him. And I loathe Mourinho. So, there is that. Rick is also a Feyenoord lad. So that doesn’t work in his favour. And he might roll his eyes at me. So there.”

 

 

 

Oranje is back! As is Klaassen!

My friends, I am sorry for the pause in posting… I have had some tech issues on my end and still working on them to get them resolved…

This pause did give me the option to re-think what I am doing and how I am doing it. I got some great feedback from some of you here and I will probably reach out for more.

I want to get these three games out of the way and after these games and maybe during the Xmas break I can reach out to you guys for some input on how we can improve this blog even more (if that is even possible!!).

So expect me to come back to you with some questions, ideas, suggestions etc. And you can start leaving some of that in the comments, if you do have things to share already!

Now, a quick look at the days ahead. Holland playing three games again in what, 9 days? And sadly, we can’t say the friendly vs Spain is “useless” because that result does count towards a good position in the World Cup qualifications. So it does make sense to win even friendlies, these days!

Still it gives coach Frank de Boer some headaches as he believes he can’t play players vs Spain for a full match and use them vs Bosnia. And some other players will not be able to play even two games, this quickly after an intense period of club games.

The latest is that Tonny Vilhena is out, positively tested for Covid-19. He has no symptoms but has to go into quarantine. Frank de Boer will not replace him. Before him, we saw Justin Bijlow already unavailable due to a foot injury and Twente’s Joel Drommel taking his place. Cillesen is out as well of course.

Frank de Boer did say that Bizot (AZ) will be the shot stopper vs Spain, with Tim Krul the #1 goalie for the Nations League matches (Bosnia Herzegovina and Poland) . Frank will not be playing players in the three matches for obvious reasons and will be careful with players who just came back from injuries. Denzel Dumfries for instance, again important for PSV in the domestic league, will probably not start vs Spain but will play in the Nations League matches. Hateboer will be his replacement for the Spain game.

De Boer was also asked about the system he would be using: “The 5-3-2 was a tweak we needed for Italy away. It matched their style and would solve the problem we had in the home game vs Italy. In the coming three matches, we will go back to 4-3-3”.

Davy Klaassen – not very well liked here on the blog I believe- will be making his comeback. He’s been Ajax now for a short while but in the games he did play for Ajax, he impressed. His timing to pop into the box and score goals, his work rate, his leadership are all revered and there is no expert / analyst or former pro who wouldn’t pick Klaassen for the starting line up, now De Roon and Leroy Fer is absent and Davy Propper is also still not 100% fit.

Kevin Strootman used to be the alternative left footed midfielder for Oranje, but De Boer did what his predecessors never did: he called the former Sparta midfielder to tell him he won’t need him. “His situation is not positive at his club. He has hardly played. He needs to change that in order to be important for Oranje again. But he took it really well and told he would do the exact same if he was in my shoes.”

Steven Bergwijn and Mo Ihattaren also had to leave the Oranje camp with little issues but won’t be replaced.

I think it’s quite remarkable that losing two midfielders ( Ihattaren and Vilhena) didn’t prompt De Boer to get a replacement in, but he will know best.

For the Spain match, I think Frank will go with this line up:

I believe Frank’s go-to eleven (for now) will look like:

But I could be terribly wrong :-).

The Spain confrontation will always be special. We beat them the last two times we met and that 1-5 in Brazil will forever be on everyone’s favorite Oranje top 5 list, I’m sure. But the loss in South Africa in 2010 will also always be with us.

Another reason to look out for this match, is that we most likely will see Marco Asensio in Spanish colours. The half Dutch, half Spanish forward is happy to be back in Holland. “I consider this my second homeland. Half my family lives here and I always spend time here, to see my family. Every year I visit and it’s special for me to play against Holland.” The Real Madrid star played all of his youth rep matches in orange and decided to go for Spain when he had to make his choice…

Let me hear your ideal line up below AND the line up for the Spain match…

More later!

Oranje prepping for finals

Imagine you’re Frank de Boer. New job. Exciting. Oranje has some amazing talents. And you need the job (to restore your reputation).

But then you end up having 1 day to prep your first game. Which is a friendly, 3 days before a “real” match. You lose. You then play the NL game vs Bosnia Herzegovina, and you draw (“We got 5 guild edged opportunities. At this level, you need to score one of them!”).

And suddenly, you’re facing an away match vs Italy, which feels like a finals. Should Oranje lose and not score a goal, we will have set a new record (most matches played in a row without a win or a goal). Not the sort of history Frank was looking to make.

It’s very harsh to blame Frank of all of this. He did admit that in hindsight he should have played Berghuis vs Bosnia. But he was also right not to play the starting eleven vs Mexico and also right to say that, yes, we did play agricultural vs Bosnia but we did create some chances: De Vrij misheading, Luuk de Jong’s header stopped, Frenkie fluffing his lines and Babel…well… that ball ended up in the parking garage of the Bosnian stadium…

People will come out and say “Frank is the king of the square and backpass” but stats don’t lie. The relative number of backpasses was higher under Koeman than under Frank de Boer (in his first two matches, that is). So that criticism is unfounded.

Frank was very feisty and confident during the last press conference, before the Italy game. Italy away, a match we never won since 2008, by the way.

When we go back to the lost Nations League finals vs Portugal, Ronald Koeman said something under his breath that was forgotten in the euphoria of reborn Oranje. He said: “We won’t win trophies if we can’t find top class players upfront…. We are not as strong there as we are elsewhere.”

And he was right: Van Dijk. De Vrij, De Ligt, Blind can all be considered European top players. In midfield, with Frenkie and Donny and Wijnaldum we can say the same. Upfront, the club names behind the attackers’ names are European subtop: Olympique Lyonnaise, Seville, Feyenoord, PSV, Wolfsburg maybe. With Bergwijn moving to Spurs, we do have a bigger club name behind an attacker, but Bergwijn was too injured to join. And at Spurs, Bergwijn is a not a starter.

Malen, Stengs, Boadu, Ihattaren, Gakpo…promising players but surely not top yet.

Holland was top behind the ball. Versus top nations. France, Germany, England, we took them all on. But typically, when we play Bosnia or Poland, we tend to get in trouble. Our build up is too slow, too predictable and we lack the pure class to outperform rugged defenders. Memphis keeps on trying, but just like in the time spent at Man United, he is not very successful in limited spaces. Malen, Promes, Bergwijn, they all need space to run into. And against Bosnia, or Iceland or Romania or Greece, that space is not there.

So it’s telling that our most dangerous attacker – without Memphis in the team – is a Feyenoord player. Who has been impressing for months on end, but even for him, there was no big club with a piggybank of euros, to sign him. Telling signs.

Against Italy, Oranje needs to deal with the marauding left wing back and the roaming left winger. In the home match, Oranje never got grip on these two and all the danger came from them. You can sympathise with Hateboer, as he was left to his own devices, by Veltman, Wijnaldum and De Roon. The former Groningen marathon man hardly ever plays right back at Atalanta in a 4 man’s defence and is actually a mediocre defender.

Frank de Boer: “It will be different against Italy this time. You can expect a different Oranje. At the same time, it’s good for everyone to realise that the Dutch National Team won’t play nations off the pitch that easily. The smaller nations are getting better and better. We had difficulties against Bosnia and so did Italy! And I know there is pressure, but at the same time, we’re #2 with one point behind Italy. So we have it all in hand.”

During the press conference, De Boer made a feisty impression. “I still stand by my decision to play that B-side vs Mexico. I could have been selfish and think about my reputation and play the best eleven, but it would have been foolish. They were not all 100% fit and they have a massive number of games to play still. It’s also my responsibility to protect them. And the Bosnia game… well yes, in hindsight, Berghuis could have been a better option but you never know how it would have gone with him as a starter. And if Babel or Frenkie scored in that last stage, we would be talking quite differently here. Under Koeman, they also scored late goals and got that result late, but that didn’t happen this time. Luck? Well, you make your luck. And we didn’t this time.”

When asked if Berghuis will start vs Italy: “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

And De Boer continued: “Italy wants to have the ball. Bosnia didn’t. So it will be a different game. I think it will be a good game too, nice and open. The first match in Amsterdam, we were lost a bit. We couldn’t get a grip on the game and we were constantly late. We need to change that around. In my view, our decision making was not great in that game. For the game tonight, I decided to train two scenarios and work on two tactical plans. And I have included the players in that discussion. I want to play Plan A. But only if the players support it. If they don’t feel confident, fine. We can play Plan B. We worked on both and we can switch easily. But whatever it will be: you will see a strong and positive Oranje. We trained well and I am pretty buoyant.

And, my friends, so am I. Just because I want them to win. I say 1-3 for Holland.

My line up: Cillesen on goal. Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Blind in the back. Wijnaldum and Frenkie in the engine room. Donny van de Beek on #10. Malen, Memphis and Berghuis up front.

Own goal De Vrij. And up front, Memphis, Donny van de Beek and Berghuis on the scoreboard for the orange. Hup Holland Hup.

Italy outsmarts weak Oranje

Well, it seems that after a good series of games and increasing positive vibes around the team, our lads manage to help us level our expectations and get us back with our feet firmly on the ground.

It was at times a shocker. A really sobering experience.

It was well known beforehand that 1) Italy would freshen up the team and 2) they’d come with a mission, as they dropped two points at home. A response was to be expected.

Lodeweges set up the team almost exactly like Italy (as I said before: both teams try to play a similar style of football with a similar type of tactical plan), but instead of putting fresh legs in, he decided to use the team that had a confidence boost vs Poland. He also figured that Hateboer and De Roon would find something extra vs the players they see every week.

Bergwijn, who struggled after an hour vs Poland, was rested and Wijnaldum played as a false right winger, in what was probably a 4-3-2-1. Promes and Gini close behind Memphis, with a block in midfield ( De Jong, Van de Beek, De Roon).

Italy executed the plan to perfection and coach Mancini’s only real issue was the lack of more goals.

Oranje received a football lesson from the Azzurri and will need to get its act together really fast, as the matches will come thick and fast.

The issues.

I think for starters, Lodeweges made the mistake of using 10 of the starting 11 against Poland. Two big matches in 3 days with players who are not 100% match fit… Why? Dumfries was fit. Wijnaldum can play for De Roon, and give Frenkie some protection and help as holding mid (Davy Propper was injured and not part of the squad). Bergwijn could have done another 45 minutes and Ihatarren could have easily had his debut. He’s young, fresh, eager and has that surprise factor.

Anyway, that was just one issue. Italy is also not 100% match fit but still I think the risk of injured players was relatively high and it was visible that some players (Memphis!) were struggling at times.

Secondly, the team played to expansive. The spaces between the players was too big. Putting pressure and chasing the opponent is harder this way and costs even more energy. And once you do have the ball, there are less options to find a team mate. We lost the ball constantly, after 2 or 3 touches.

Example 1: Marten de Roon pushed up while right winger Wijnaldum has no direct opponent and seems lost in space. Big hole behind De Roon, for Hateboer and Veltman to deal with…

Thirdly, the right flank was in disarray. It’s easy to criticize Hateboer. And I personally also think he is not good enough for the NT. I do believe Dumfries, or Karsdorp, or Tete or even Janmaat (when fit) are better options. Yes, he has great lungs and keeps on going, but his crosses are mediocre, his touch lets him down and his decision making isn’t great. Having said that, him being the weakest link, he wasn’t helped that well by his team mates. De Roon and Wijnaldum should have made sure he was never playing against two opponents. Wijnaldum in particular was highly disappointing. But Joel Veltman also didn’t play like De Ligt or De Vrij would. He’s too much on the back foot, tracking back and never really pushing forward.

So Hateboer became the weak link, but this was partly the fault of the team (incl Lodeweges!).

And again. Van de Beek and wijnaldum both cover one Italian, while Frenkie is pressing high up, with gaps behind him. 

Some players (Memphis!) want to overcompensate the fact we’re not playing well by making it all even more complicated. Half volleys on goal from 35 meters out, bicycle kicks and more. In these situations, one needs to play simple.

And then this… A gap between defense and midfield. Frenkie pushing up, Van de Beek and Wijnaldum lost. The Italians can find a free man all the time.

Italy could have had 4 goals, in all honesty. Their finishing wasn’t up to speed (they also are not fully fit) and Holland really had very little to show for itself in the final third. A shot by Wijnaldum in the first half. An attempt by Van de Beek in the second half. Some weaker attempts by Memphis and Promes. Luuk de Jong came to play for Ake (cramp) in the final minutes of the game and had one decent heading opportunity, but overall it was piss poor.

This happened all the time. Huge space on the right. Look at the pairings. Wijnaldum or De Roon should be covering.

Frenkie de Jong did what he could, Memphis tried a lot, Van Dijk kept his head up and kept on commanding the troops, but it was just not good enough. We looked leggy, we kept the pitch to wide, we didn’t help each other out… we never deserved anything from this game.

This is the goal. Four Dutch against three Italians. Ake is marking his man. Van Dijk should have control. But it will go horribly wrong.

So now what?

Well, in terms of standing in this group: we still have control. We need to win games, and the away game vs Italy is a game we probably have to win, but I think we can. There is nothing lost yet. And make no mistake, it is going to be worth our while to perform well in this Nations League as it could help us get a ticket for the World Cup.

In terms of playing style and players: I think we need to keep on going on this road, but we need to learn from this match and learn fast! We need to stay more compact, have less space between the midfielders and the different lines. We also need players to stand up, and read the game and take charge. Lastly, I think it is safe to say we do need Propper, De Ligt, Blind, De Vrij, Malen, Stengs, Danjuma, Karsdorp, and maybe even Berghuis.

In terms of coach: I think this will probably urge the KNVB to sign a big name heavy duty coach. Lodeweges is probably a great assistant. But doesn’t seem to have the fire in his belly and the confidence to take charge because it didn’t take me more than 10 minutes to see what the problem was.

I also believe another – more experienced – head coach wouldn’t have started the same eleven (well…ten). Louis van Gaal or Henk Ten Cate. One of those two seems needed to guide and lead this still young team. My preference is Ten Cate (it was the same three years ago, when Hans van Breukelen fukced up so gloriously).

My ratings (I got some flak for the generous ratings for the Poland game, but I took into account the fact it was the first match and we ended up winning, so….).

Cillesen – 7 – was there when he needed to be, his passing was ok, not great, and I don’t think he was at fault for the Italy goal

Ake – 6 – couldn’t bring a lot moving forward, looked leggy

Van Dijk – 5 – Not sure where he was when that cross came in.

Veltman – 4 – Very sloppy, gave balls away needlessly, wayward passing and letting Hateboer drown at times

Hateboer – 5 – Got himself in trouble, had one major howler, but fixed it again, worked hard but was left in the lurge

Frenkie – 6- worked hard, tried hard, but struggled

Marten de Roon – 4 – didn’t protect his Atalanta team mate Hateboer

Donny van de Beek – 3 – almost invisible, kept the field to long, tactical positioning was weak, had 1 good chance

Gini Wijnaldum – 3 – Wasted as right winger, hardly any threat, lost in space between players and leaving Hateboer to drown

Memphis – 3- Tried hard, seemed to be very motivated but lots of wrong decisions and not enough team play

Quincy Promes – 3 – Almost invisible, sloppy in possession, weak in his positioning

Steven Bergwijn – 4 – Could affect the game, had a through ball for Frenkie but overcooked it

Luuk de Jong – 6 – Did what Luuk de Jong does

Dwight Lodeweges – 5 – he probably had a good plan but the execution sucked and he wasn’t able to change it around. Was late with subs and should have started fresher legs

I can’t play the high lights of this game. So lets look at a game that got us all cheering!

 

Lessons learned for the Italy game

Well, we learned Italy coach Roberto Mancini needs his glasses, before he puts Donnarumma in the striker role or something. Italy underestimated Bosnia & Herzegovina and dropped two points. Or won 1 point even.

Oranje, on the other hand, snatched the leader position, even after a long spell of no play, an empty stadium, three starting defenders injured or otherwise disposed and a new coach.

Some conclusions.

Playing in an empty stadium sucks. The Dutch starters asked their substitutes and training staff to cheer the lads on. They were so used to the passionate and loyal Oranje fans that they hoped to get some form of substitution via there peers. Lodeweges: “The players really valued it and they thought it was great. It really helped. At a certain point, Hateboer was running past and he must have felt like he was Leo Messi, that was how much we cheered him on, hahaha.”

I will never get used to it. Only a limited number of press and some officials were allowed in. Not even the family of the players. There was a questionnaire, a temperature gauge, masks. There were checks of bags and personal items and the majority of seats were blocked by an alarming red banner.

In this atmosphere, the players need to find the motivation somewhere. This is not a big issue for this generation of players. We had a very gloomy couple of years with Oranje and the players are very focused on making history. Steven Bergwijn: “It is not easy without the fans. But you do have to remember that millions are watching infront of the telly, and it’s them who we want to give joy and make proud.”

Virgil van Dijk sounds like the boss. The advantage of playing in an empty stadium, is that one can hear everything that is said (or yelled more). It was interesting to see/hear how Virgil grew into that leadership role. His charisma is known. But in the Poland match, he was very audible with his coaching. Him and Jasper Cillisen are constantly coaching. But Van Dijk stands out with his bassoon voice and he guides the team through the match. He is the one deciding when to apply pressure, and when pacing is more important. He will give the start sign for the press (Yeah Yeah!!), he points the way in possession (Forward!!) and coaches players who are played in (Turn! or Time!) and he gives compliments when something worked out (That is it!!).

Players taking charge is wonderful for a coach. Lodeweges: “I lost my voice already, and I am not even Antonio Conte! I tried to analyse, observe, think. And I usually sit quiet on the bench. Having a player or players doing this is vital.” Steven Bergwijn: “This is Virgil! I don’t know better. He is the man, our leader. And he has that voice, hahahaha.”

Lodeweges follows the Koeman doctrine. Not a lot changed, with Koeman leaving. The former Oranje captain organised the whole new Oranje protocol and Lodeweges has zero reasons to change this. Lodeweges impact as a coach was already huge. “Ronald was not a dominant leader. He delegated a lot. He would let me analyse opponents or prep training sessions and two weeks before the game, he’d ask me: so, what is your plan? And we would tell him what we believed we should do. He would listen and would decide which parts he agreed with, and which parts he didn’t. And he was always right, you know. 95% of the time, he knew exactly what would happen.”

The players’ council is very content with this way of working, and they (Babel, Van Dijk, Strootman, Blind, De Ligt) have informed the KNVB that they want to keep on traveling on this road.

If there is one thing that Lodeweges wants to streamline, is the press. “I think there is room for better choices to be made, by the players. I noticed that pressure sometimes gets translated to “running, hassling, sweating and panting. Putting forward pressure on was such hard work. So much energy used up. I think we need more control, we need to position ourselves better and be more selective in the moments to put pressure on. There are better chances to repossess the ball and it will cost less energy. We are working on that. Against Poland, that went well. Considering the circumstances, I do believe we actually played really well.”

Lodeweges is known to be a serious and passionate coach, but also very down to Earth. He likes to use language to put things in perspective. Asked about his new role, he calls it “a fun job”, when asked about the group, he says “it’s a hungry bunch of players”. He described debutant Owen Wijndal as “a good little lad, with a nice left foot”. And after the 1-0 win over Poland, he ended his presser with “we had a pretty decent evening, all in all….”

Some automatisms between players never fade. Memphis was scanning his options, ball at his feet. His peripheral vision was looking for runners and he was on the prowl for Frenkie. Vice versa, Frenkie knew an opportunity was coming if he timed his run right. Memphis eyes see, Memphis minds races, and Memphis feet execute. Their dance was unrehearsed but perfect. The run was made, Memphis chipped the ball his way, Frenkie controlled on the chest, turned and half-volleyed. That one deserved a goal. The dynamics between Memphis and Frenkie hasn’t suffered from 9 months no game. Their connection was clear from the first minutes they played together. Frenkie is always looking deep, for his passing, Memphis is always looking to get the ball. They have this telepathic understanding, like Jonk and Bergkamp, or Sneijder and Robben. Frenkie, Memphis and leader Virgil ended up being the best players on the night.

Lodeweges used 4 practices to show the players what he wanted, in terms of variance. “You don’t always have to play intricate and short passing. You can play long, you have to vary your approach. I like to see quick, deep balls over the defence.” The players enjoyed the intense training sessions, as both Bergwijn and Wijnaldum commented how hard it is to not play together for 9 months, and then suddenly needed to be a team again.

Lodeweges declared every one in the squad fit and ready to play Italy. Daddy Dumfries also returned to the squad.

It is not easy to look into the head of the coach, but I think he won’t change much for the Italy game. I think he’ll keep Hateboer in the side, as he knows his opponents well and has that tandem with De Roon happening. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Babel start on the left and maybe Van de Beek instead of Wijnaldum.

I was asked for player ratings, for the Poland game. Here they are :-).

Cillesen – 7 – he was there when he needed him and he had some good long balls too.

Hateboer – 8 – he wasn’t too successful in the first half, but his second half was fine, and the assist gave him an extra point

Veltman – 7 – played an invisible game, which is good for a centre back. Solid on the ball.

Van Dijk – 8 – Virgil is always focused, always leading. Good interceptions and overall leadership.

Ake – 7 – Played well, understands his role, great on the ball and an aerial threat too.

Frenkie – 7 – Played a tough first half, came into the role in second half. Created the goal but has way more in him.

De Roon – 7 – played faultless, was there to take Hateboer’s position, was dogged and good on the ball too.

Wijnaldum -6 – A bit invisible. Doing his work, making runs, and being a threat by his shere presence, but not effective.

Promes – 6 – Missing rhythm, his crosses didn’t connect, his dribbles were a bit off, but he played his role and had this one chance on a goal in the first half

Bergwijn 8- Played well, drifting into space, coming centrally to wreak havoc and worked hard. Scored his first goal, giving him an extra point.

Memphis – 8 – Still not in 100% shape/form but working his ass off, trying to dazzle, to entertain, to find openings. Everything he does is focused on creating something. Any opponent will use 2 players to stop him.

Van de Beek – 7 – showed glimpses of his qualities.

Luuk de Jong – not enough time on the pitch for a rating

Lodeweges – 8 – I can’t fault him for anything

I think Italy will be another scalp for us.

They are also not in 100% shape of course, but they will have to try and take something from the game.

Italy plays a bit like Holland does, and the game will be more open. Confidence is high in Oranje, which might be our biggest threat, actually. I think 3-1 for Holland. Own goal by Van Dijk. Memphis, Promes and Van de Beek on the score sheet for us.