Tag: Lozano

Oranje’s future: Steven Bergwijn

Last time Ronald Koeman called up Holland’s best players, Steven Bergwijn wasn’t part of it. The youngster was flabbergasted. But Koeman felt he was needed for Young Oranje, while the seniors had players like Promes, Babel and …eh… Vormer… Bergwijn didn’t say anything untoward, but ended up canceling his Jong Oranje match due to an “injury”.

I don’t think Koeman will make that mistake again.

Steven Bergwijn has demonstrated yet again, in the first matches of this season, that he is a talent to be reckoned with. Probably in the same category as Memphis Depay. PSV this season has a perfect score (not taking into account the thrashing vs Barca). But the attacking intentions of coach van Bommel are clear: 6 goals vs Willem II, 7 against ADO Den Haag, 3 against Ajax… PSV is on a roll!

Bergwijn: “There is a good and positive vibe in this squad. The technical staff is responsible for this. And everyone is happy with this coach. Van Bommel talks to all the players and all players feel they’re part of it. But Van Bommel is no softie, he can be very strict and clear in what he expects. They’re open but also very serious when they need to be.”

The Ajax game last week was a special one for Bergwijn (and for Pablo Rosario). Both players started their youth career in Amsterdam with Ajax and both were basically told they weren’t right for Ajax. “I am no longer concerned with that, it’s been a while now. I left Ajax behind me. Sure, it’s going to be a super to play agains them, as it was last season when we won the title against them, hahaha. But other than that, no hard feelings.”

“But Ajax, they will always be good, always have great players. But so do we. And you need to with all these matches in the different competitions. And we have a tough group with the CL right? But I’m cheering inside. I mean, you wanna play at the top of your game, well… Barca, Spurs, Inter… there you have it. You can’t complain man, it’s awesome. I think people see us as the underdog. Fine. We’ll show them on the pitch.”

The match vs Barca was special for Bergwijn. His big idol was on the pitch: Lionel Messi. Once, Bergwijn was on  holiday in Spain and happened to be going to a Barca match with his dad, his uncle and little brother. And they ended up in the same hotel as Barcelona. “Not only that, in those days to get some internet, the players had to rely on the business centre in those hotels. And I was there with my brother, when Messi and other Barca players walked in to check some stuff online. Ha, so I got my first picture with him, and now we’re in the same group in the Champions League. How cool!”

The youngster is already one of the key players in this PSV. Last season, he had to wait for Locadia to move on and for Lozano and De Jong to allow Steven a place in the sun. “Last season, I was playing in service of them, this season we’re all similar I suppose, in terms of hierarchy. And the expectations are higher now, sure. But that is cool, I want that. I need to defend more now, as we play more dominant and higher up the pitch, so I have a role to play when we lose possession. I defend more, but still, run less yards, as we are so high up.”

Usually, when a player like Bergwijn breaks into the first team, the bigger clubs in Europe start to circle. But Bergwijn won’t leave PSV for any amount under 20 Mio euros. Last season, Bordeaux had the check book out and this summer Arsenal, Tottenham and PSG have enquired about Steven’s contract status. “That’s nice, it gives me confidence but I haven’t thought about leaving, not one second. I want to stay here, I won’t go for the quick buck. When I keep on developing, the money will follow. I want to be important for PSV, score a lot of goals, play well in the CL and make my mark in Oranje. I can develop and grow here. I recently extended my deal until 2022 and that gives me peace and quiet in my head. I don’t think anyone expects me to stay until the end, to be honest, and I have a plan moving forward, but for now it’s all PSV. I want to make a move at some stage, but I want to enter a new club with some status. At PSV, I will make my minutes, play for trophies and play in Europe. So I am not in a hurry to leave now and end up on the bench. But yes, one day…Spain or England….”

Bergwijn is seen as a new super talent and experts and analysts all are in agreement, this lad will go far. He’s got the skills but also the power. He’s explosive, doesn’t shun the hard work and is a beast on the training pitch. “This summer I had two weeks of nothing and I got bored senseless. I called my uncles and decided to start training. I won’t do a lot of weights though, I don’t want to bulk up, that is not good. But core stability training and a lot of boxing.”

All is going well for Steven, but there is a dark spot on his heart and he is keen to talk about it when he can. Abdelhak Nouri, the Ajax talent who sadly ended up in coma after his heart malfunction last year, was Steven’s best buddy. “We met at Ajax when we were little kids. And we were so close. And we still are. Life is quite hard since that dreadful day. I still talk to his brother every day. I guess I can handle it better now, but it’s still super tough. His parents tell me he is slowly improving. I pray every day, and believe in the power of the Lord. Appie always wanted for me what was best for me, and he is now also a silent motivator for me, I need to get everything out of my career, for him as well.”

Bergwijn has always been compared to Memphis. Not a fair comparison of course, but a logical one. Both are explosive, good dribblers, unpredictable and playing from the wing. Now, Memphis has had a fair share of developments (lessons) already, while Bergwijn only now seems to have the status of a key player for PSV.

His strengths…

Ball skills. Bergwijn has amazing ball skills, the ball is always on a string with him. There are not many players who are capable of taking a man on and leaving him behind to create a man more situation (like Arjen Robben can). This is a quality that is worth millions in football. It mostly makes the difference. And this is why Messi, C Ronaldo, Mo Salah and Eden Hazard are paid the big bucks. And why Memphis is currently the key man up front for Oranje. Bergwijn’s dribbles are testament to the fact he might well be our next key man up front!

Shooting qualities. Memphis was only 17 years old when Holland witnessed that sensational weapon that is his right foot. Memphis can place them, curl them, hit a rocket or hit a swirling ball. Bergwijn needs to work on his shooting technique. The stats show that Bergwijn is making good progress. In 2016/2017, he had a return of 5% (shots vs goals). In 2017/2018, that % went up to 11% and in this current season, he is already at 24%. So every fourth goal attempt is a goal. Only Klaas Jan Huntelaar does better ( 46%!!) while Bergwijn is in the same league as top players like Tadic, Van Persie and Lozano.

Tactical smarts. Players like Messi, Hazard and Griezmann are adept in finding the space in between the lines or in the half spaces. This is a skills Bergwijn still needs to work on. But he is developing well in that respect. A big plus for Bergwijn, he is happy to run in behind and get the ball in front of him, while most forwards in Oranje (but in general too) want the ball in their feet: Berghuis, Promes, Babel, Memphis… Kluivert and Bergwijn both love running without the ball, a very hard to defend weapon.

Eye for his team mates. Bergwijn is not an egotistical player but he can still improve here. Steven Berghuis for instance, created 22 chances for team mates, Robin van Persie 10. Tadic of Ajax, 17. Bergwijn is stuck at 7, one less than Luuk de Jong.

Mentality. Bergwijn is a young player who will make tactical mistakes, but lack of work ethics is not one of them. He was instrumental vs Ajax to keep Frenkie de Jong quiet for instance. Koeman will have enjoyed his game, and will have seen that Stevie is capable of fitting in the defensive shape and playing with his head, not just his feet.

It is highly likely that Bergwijn will be part of Koeman’s definitive squad this time around and make minutes for the senior Oranje, as Van der Looi already announced to select younger player for Young Oranje moving forward.

 

Ajax and PSV on the up and up

Main pic: Ziyech and Tadic brothers from different mothers

The Dutch football fan has gone through a lot these last years. Drama in Europe, disaster with the national team, Ziyech going for Morocco and even Amrabat preferring the country of his parents.

How things can change.

Now, with Ronald Koeman and a plethora of young talents on the up and up for the national team, we an all feel positive again. De Ligt, Van de Beek, Bergwijn, Hateboer, Promes, Memphis… And now Frenkie de Jong is part of the prelim squad.

And although Ziyech is a bad loss, Sophyan Amrabat might not be so much. The young midfielder has issues at Feyenoord, he doesn’t handle a bench role well and feels misled and is on his way out.

With Feyenoord, we do have one more reason why Dutch fans should feel aggrieved. Four trophies in three years might look ok, but the Stadium club is losing ground (and sympathy) fast, with some lacklustre performances since winning the title.

Amrabat in Feyenoord’s jersey

Yes, they won the national cup last season, but they also finished 4th in the league with a huge gap between them and PSV. And yes, they won the Cruyff Shield this season but not with amazing football so much.

When playing Trencin from Slovakia (with a budget comparable to Sparta), the former champions were outclassed. After the home game (yes, they created 28 chances and scored 1, but ended the game 1-1) they received the scorn of the nation, as they all said “we are proud of what we did today” in the camera, without a blush on their face. Youngsters like Berghuis and veterans like Van Persie. “Yes we are out of Europe but this performance allows us something to build on”. What??

Creating 28 opportunities is good, but only scoring one is simply horrific! Taking an opportunity is also a quality!

Feyenoord also lost their first competition match and now finally was able to get a win, at home, vs lowly Excelsior. And even though the final result was 3-0, it wasn’t a clear cut win. The third goal came really late and Excelsior created too many chances (on super hit on the post) for comfort.

Robin and Feyenoord still stumbling vs Excelsior

But Feyenoord doesn’t look like a team with a lot of confidence and the vibe doesn’t appear too positive. Amrabat has demanded a transfer as he’s sick of playing second fiddle. The former Utrecht midfielder was praised last season when he made his move to Feyenoord (a 4 mio euro deal) but while he was told Clasie would not come to Rotterdam and El Ahmadi’s spot was his, Clasie was signed anyway and the not-yet-fit Southampton loanie was not only offered a starting spot, but was also made vice captain! Amrabat had enough. Today, his move to Club Brugge was made public (for 2,5 mio euros…).

Another player who was brought in with lots of expectations was former club kid JP Boetius. Brought in from the cold (FC Basel) and now side-tracked after refusing to train (some weeks back) and now for collecting a stupid red card. Coach van Bronckhorst has enough of Boetius and he too is allowed to move away. The third potential player leaving is Tonny Vilhena. He is high on the list of several French and German clubs and when the price is right, Feyenoord will most likely let him go.

Another tough season ahead for Feyenoord? Focusing on the national cup again?

The two teams most likely to battle for the title, Ajax and PSV, are well on their way to make it to the Champions League.

So, how good is it to dream a bit about two Dutch clubs making it into the Champions League?

Ironically, this is the first time the Dutch champs need to qualify to get in, and many people feared we might end up with zero reps in the CL, but with PSV doing good business vs BATE and Ajax winning at home vs Kiev, we might have two!

Wild man Van Bommel preaching restrain

Both clubs went in with the confidence they needed. PSV in an away game, only 3 days after a league match. But they did ever so well. BATE seemed to start much more aggressive as expected and got ahead in the game. It took some time for PSV to wake up, it seemed. To match the level of aggression and energy, but from a football perspective, PSV outclassed BATE. BATE could have had the 2-0 but failed to capitalise. Luuk de Jong tried to trick the ref for a pen but the PSV captain got rewarded with a yellow card for diving. Not much later, PSV did get that penalty for a hands ball. Pereiro scored a solid 1-1.

PSV was the stronger team in the second half but failed to put a big gap between themselves and BATE. Luuk de Jong played a tough match and he missed a clear cut chance, but Lozano demonstrated his class with a very cool curler. Hleb’s equaliser was the result of a Zoet howler. A highly embarrassing move by the experienced PSV goalie. The ball fell in front of him. A BATE forward appeared to lunge in but was too far away. Still, Zoet clearly afraid for his teeth decided to push the ball girly-style, right on the instep of Aleksandr Hleb: 2-2. Not Zoet’s strongest move.

Everyone expected that to be the final score, as the equaliser came with mere minutes to play, but in the first attack after that goal, Angelino attacked yet again on the left flank and his gifted left foot delivered a peach of a cross. Sub Donyell Malen had just come on and he sprinted inbetween the two centre backs and headed home the winner.

Donyell Malen scoring the winner, his first senior goal

A just reward for Van Bommel’s men (and boys) although PSV could have won with a bigger margin.

I personally also found the dive by both De Jong and Lozano (second half) worrying. In particular captain De Jong… He was on on goal, but he lacked the confidence to actually go for his chances and decided to try and trick the ref. A bit of a disgrace. Zoet’s howler is also something I would be very worried about. A goalie can make a mistake. Why not? But to so obviously decide to not throw your body on the line and to bump the ball like a girl back into the field. Whoa…

Mark van Bommel was realistic: “I said before the game, this BATE is not an easy opponent. We were clearly too impressed in the first stage. That can happen, but I am particularly happy with the way we turned that around. We conceded first and seemed a bit out of whack but we fought ourselves back into the match. We should have scored the 1-3 at 1-2. We needed to put daylight between us and now this is typical, what happened: we didn’t score, but they did. I was already at peace with 2-2 and was delighted to see that my players wanted more of the game in those last minutes. I’m happy. Although I also know we aren’t there yet.”

Ajax had a similar sort of match, in terms of vulnerability in combination with excellent play on the ball. With some key differences: Ajax played at home and Ajax got the first goal. Donny van de Beek was punished a couple of times by Ten Hag for poor performances and seemed to have lost his starting spot. With Neres injured, Van de Beek was considered the best replacement due to his runs in behind.

And it was a beautiful passage of play that got the ball in the box right in the stride of the young midfielder who scored the first goal and demonstrated his joy on the pitch as if Ajax won the Champions League.

Ten Hag telling Blind to speed it up a bit

Ajax had a wonderful start but couldn’t score the second. Somehow, Dynamo got back into the game and exposed Ajax’ vulnerability at the back. With set pieces, Ajax uses a mix of zonal and man marking and got it horribly wrong. Schone and De Jong cover the zone at the first post and the rest of the team marks their man. But when De Ligt was blocked by an opponent, Kiev got a free header. Onana was able to parry the ball but Mazraoui was ball watching and his direct opponent got a tap in.

Still, Ajax was in charge. They kept on going, led by a combi of Ziyech and Tadic on fire. Ten Hag had instructed the team to play wide via the full backs, so Tadics and Ziyech can tuck in, with De Jong and Schone on hand in midfield to guard the balance of the team. This resulted in that first goal and Ziyech’s second goal was a bit lucky (deflection) but was also due to Ziyech desire to get the ball before the opponent could react: 2-1. Left back Tagliafico had the third assist on Tadic, who’s crafty flick resulted in the 3-1. After that, Ajax had two balls on the woodwork (header Huntelaar and shot Ziyech) and could and should have scored more.

However, Ajax’s also demonstrated vulnerability in their defense, with Blind and Schone not the quickest and Frenkie de Jong – no matter how good on the ball – lacking the energy and ruthlessness you’d expect from a holding midfielder in challenges.

Still some work to be done for Ten Hag, but the 3-1 is a perfect foundation for the team’s return. “I think we saw a wonderful game. Good spectacle, high paced and we created a lot of opportunities. We could have scored 6 today and maybe should have. But Dynamo also demonstrated to be of good quality. We aren’t there yet. I particularly liked the interplay between the team and the fans, it was almost a perfect night.”

Donny van de Beek was given a standing ovation when he was subbed in the last minute. Ten Hag: “Yes, I did that to demonstrate to Donny that I love him and I rate him high. The fact that he doesn’t always start has nothing to do with that. He’s important for the team and one of my key players.”