Tag: Michels

Johan Neeskens
by Jan

Johan Neeskens, El Toro, never dies…

It was impossible not to love and admire Johan Neeskens. Yes, he was an Ajax player and as a Feyenoord fan you’re not supposed to adore Ajax players, but Neeskens was Neeskens. And I know for a fact many non-Ajax fans loved to see “Nees” do his thing. He transcended club loyalty.

Feyenoord midfielder Willem van Hanegem played many a game against Neeskens (at Ajax and also when at Barcelona) and the two would have literal fights on the pitch: elbows, studs up, black eyes, bloody noses and at one point a broken jaw. Neeskens did get his revenge, though. When Van Hanegem was hospitalised for tonsils removal, Neeskens had a plan: “I would visit Willem in hospital to apologise, and I would bring him nuts and toffees just to screw with him, as he wasn’t able to swallow those,” Nees would explain. The two became the biggest mates.

Witch arch enemy and arch friend Van Hanegem

Ajax found the young Neeskens, or Johan II as he would become, in the shadow of the other Johan (at Ajax, Oranje and Barca) at Heemstede, a small village to the west of Amsterdam. Arie van Eijden, Ajax player and later board member and director, was leaving Ajax to slowly retire at a lower level. Van Eijden trained with Heemstede and immediately tipped Ajax: there is a 18 year old guy as right back here…. you need to sign him pronto.

He made his debut at 19 and everyone could see what Van Eijden had seen: speed, guts, balls, courage, skills and the iron will to win. Nees was a right back and Heemstede, and he played on that spot in the 1971 European final with Ajax, but Michels quickly turned him into a marauding midfielder.

A young Nees

He looked like an angel, when he was young, but played like a demon. The quintessential box to box midfielder: breaking up the opponents attacks in midfield with a flying block tackle and than racing like a madman into the opponent’s box to score with a diving header (his signature move).

If Total Football can be seen as one part creativity and another part high press, than Johan I was the epitome of creavity, while Johan II was the symbol of the harrassing, the pressing, the tackling.

Oh how Johan Cruyff (and Van Hanegem) loved to play with the youngster behind them, as he played for two players.

The holy trinity

But Nees was more than an enforcer. He could play football alright.

According to the stories of the time, Johan Neeskens wasn’t very educated. Came from a poor background (Arie van Eijden bought him his first boots) and when he first came to Ajax he was a bit out of sorts. Young lad in a big city, amongst the best players of Europe.

He would stay with right winger and Mr Ajax Sjaak Swart on the weekends and was basically adopted as a new family member. They would share typical Dutch meals together ( hutspot, zuurkool) and play board games. The life Neeskens loved and would dramatically miss in his future years.

The shy and soft spoken Neeskens became a monster once on the pitch and he would ease into the role of fan favorite, not just at Ajax, but for the whole nation.

Red and orange looked good on Nees

Imagine a midfield with Wim Jansen ( the Scholes-like tactician), Willem van Hanegem ( the Zidane like playmaker) and Neeskens ( a bit like Roy Keane maybe) and Johan Cruyff in front of them.

He shone so bright at the 1974 World Cup, and he is etched into the Dutch pop culture as a result of his white jersey turning red in the semi finals versus Brazil. His epic battles with the Brazilians can be viewed on youtube and despite the knocks, kicks and blows he was still able to score an amazing goal in that match, offered to him by his “older brother” JC.

Scoring the penalty in the first minute of the 1974 finals

Funny anecdote about Neeskens and penalties. He was a true specialist and he would always pick a corner. But he knew Sepp Maier studied the penalty takers and during the run up for this pen, Neeskens decided to switch corners. Maier went for the right corner, but as Johan decided to go for the other corner, Maier would fail to stop the ball. But…. the ball never made it into the other corner, it went straight to the middle. And ever since, whenever a penalty is taken hard through the middle, commentators will call it “A penalty a la Neeskens” or “a Neeskens penalty” (like the Panenka). But Nees would chuckle and say that this was in fact the only time he ever hit the ball straight through the middle.

Michels went to Barcelona and Johan I and Johan II followed not much later. Neeskens would become hugely popular in the Camp Nou as well and was nicknamed El Toro. Not sure why ;-).

He spent 6 seasons at Barca, winning one title and one European Cup ( the Cupwinners Cup) before signing for star studded New York Cosmos where he’s stay for 5 seasons. There he became the team of peers like Franz Beckenbauer, Pele, Francisco Marinho and compatriate Wim Rijsbergen.

Arsenal was keen to sign the midfielder too, but didn’t want to offer more than a 3 year deal. Cosmos offered a 5 year deal and a nice sponsoring package, as the US was the marketing wonderland of football at the time.

Tackling hard for the New York Cosmos

Sadly, Neeskens lost his way in New York (or did he find it). The high life of the jet set was a bit too much for El Toro, who got hooked on cocaine, alcohol and gambling.

Despite being shy and introverted, Neeskens didn’t suffer fools gladly and would have strong clashes with his coaches. Weisweiller was the Cosmos coach and after yet another clash, the German task master penalised El Torro and told him to come to the Cosmos stadium at 6 am in the morning to run circles around the Cosmos stadium. These types of insults contributed to Neeksens’ depressions and fall into addiction.

He was close to becoming a total wash up and when the Dutch football elite heard about his issues, a rescue mission was started by Dutch National Team manager Kees Rijvers, who’d fly to New York to check in Nees. Rijvers told him the national team needed him, as we were desperately trying to qualify for major tournaments again, but were lacking in midfield class players. Rijvers took Neeskens home and installed him at his family home where Neeskens became a member of the family and worked tirelessly to quit the addictions and become fit again. He would indeed make the key match for Oranje, against Belgium. Oranje played in De Kuip and won 3-0. I was there and saw Neeskens almost score from a sensational volley. The Belgium players had respect for Neeskens and allowed him to shine. But it was to no avail as Oranje did lose the key game away versus France, due to a Platini free kick and an on-pitch confrontation between Ruud Krol and Hans van Breukelen.

Working on his come back with legendary coach Kees Rijvers

Nees would play 7 games for FC Groningen before returning to the US to play indoor football. His private life brought him to Switzerland where he lived and played at lower levels until he really quit and went into coaching.

He was relatively successful with FC Zug, the team from his home town in Der Schweiz before Hiddink lured him to the KNVB to become assistant coach with the Dutch NT. After that stint, he became the head coach at NEC Nijmegen, where he would finish the highest in the league for the ambitious club (5th) and reach European football. After NEC he would assist Hiddink with the Australian national team. When Hiddink resigned, the Australian federation wanted Nees to take the head coach role, but the former Ajax midfielder preferred the assistant role and would go to support Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona, replacing Henk ten Cate.

Enjoying life in Barcelona again

Neeskens will go down in history as one of the best Dutch players of all time. Greats like Cruyff, Swart and Van Hanegem would laude him as one of the best allround players of all time and all the lads who had him as a coach praised his down to Earth, warm and simple but effective coaching.

The best compliment a player can get, however, is when parents name their kid after famous players. Yohan Cabaye was named after Cruyff, of course. There are numerous Jari’s in Holland and there are definitely a lot of Zinedines, Zico’s, Diegos and Marcos out there. Not sure which Johan’s will be named after the Nees, but it’s definitely so that Neeskens Kebano (Al-Jazira) from Congo was named after one of Holland’s most loyal and impressive football sons.

Neeskens Kebano at Fulham

Here he is in full flight. Enjoy.

by Jan

Meet Tarcisio – your new Blog Czar

You know that when a Brazilian guy prefers the Dutch Oranje over the Seleção Canarinho, you have a really cool and special dude in your tribe!

I have been speaking with him for months and it was clear to me he was and is the ideal guy to take over from me.

I mean: you try and find a Brazilian guy who would admit Cruyff was better than Pele, right?

Here is a first interview with our new playmaker.

So, Tarcisio, welcome! Tell us a bit about yourself?

Tarcisio: “I was born and live in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, a state located in the northeast of Brazil and which has a very particular history with the Netherlands. Between the years 1630 to 1654, our state was colonized by the Dutch and Maurício de Nassau was the governor of our state during that period. He brought many improvements to our state, but “unfortunately”, the people managed to expel the Dutch from here. And I say that it is unfortunately, because when the Dutch left Pernambuco, they went to the United States and colonized New York. I believe that having the Dutch here would be better than the Portuguese who came to steal our riches and did not think about developing our region, as Maurício de Nassau did while he was here. In Recife, I live with my sister and mother. I’m 27 years old and since I was 16 I’ve been following Dutch football and I started to fall in love with it. Initially, I liked the country. I liked the things I read about the Netherlands, the culture, the history and that’s when I got deeper into football. I love Holland, I really do and don’t ask me why, things just happened and the next thing I know, I was completely in love with the country. But I’ve never been to Holland. My life goal is to live in Holland.”

This is Tarcisio’s Oranje Office, where the blogging-magic will be happening

Did you play football yourself?

“When I was younger, I played football for Sport Recife, one of the big clubs in my region. Today, I don’t like to play, I just like to watch.”

But you probably do adore Pele? Like we do Cruyff?

“For many, Pelé was the best and greatest player in the history of football, but for me, nobody has ever surpassed Johan Cruijff. What he did and what he left for football was much greater than any other athlete. Alongside Rinus Michels and many other legends, he revolutionized football. To this day, we see his legacy being upheld by Josep Guardiola. Pelé was a great player, but he didn’t leave the legacy for the sport that Johan Cruijff did. And I’m scared how the Dutch don’t appreciate Johan Cruijff. He was simply a genius and greater than anyone else.”

Do you follow the Oranje only, or also the Dutch clubs?

“I follow all Eredivisie and Keuken Kampioen Divisie matches. Every weekend I watch Dutch league games. I just don’t watch amateur division games, because they aren’t broadcast here in Brazil. I don’t speak Dutch, it’s one of the languages I want to learn.”

Which tournament stands out for you, re: the Dutch National Team?

“In my opinion, the 1974 World Cup was the Dutch team that impressed me the most. I didn’t have the opportunity to watch it, but from everything I’ve read and watched on videos, it was supernatural. But if you only analyze the competitions you watch, the 2014 World Cup was the coolest. We didn’t win the title, but we arrived discredited and reached the semifinal.”

This is where he lives and where we will all gather once we win the World Cup!

Do you support a particular Dutch club?

“I support Ajax, but whenever a Dutch team is on the field against any club from another country, I will support the Dutch club, because I want to see our football prosper. It’s not good that only Ajax can play the Champions League frequently. I want to see PSV and Feyenoord playing in these tournaments and showing the strength everyone has, just like the main teams in Portugal can do.”

Any favorite players?

“My list of favorite players starts with Johan Cruijff (it couldn’t be different), Ruud Krol, Wim Suurbier, Wim van Hanegem, Johan Neeskens, Rob Rensenbrink, Piet Keizer and Johnny Rep. Players like Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben are also on that list.”

How did you find out about the Dutchsoccersite?

“I found the site through Google. I was looking for Dutch football stories and reviews and Google introduced me to DutchSoccer. When I started reading, I fell in love with the content and tried to get in touch with you, to praise the high quality of the reviews. You were very humble and always open to help, and that made me even happier. I met a Dutchman who told me that people in Holland are not that friendly, but so far, the Dutch people I’ve met, I have nothing to complain about.”

Do you have any particular plans with the blog?

“I won’t be able to bring the quality and special touch that you’ve built over all these years to the site, but my idea would be to bring the daily updated news about Dutch football, from the top clubs to the clubs in the second division. . I want everyone to be able to get to know and follow the Dutch club by heart.”

And somewhere down there is a pub where we will get drunk on the success of our World Cup win!

How do you see the future of Dutch football?

“My perspective on Dutch football is that we can see clubs growing more and more. I hope that the directors understand once and for all that it is necessary to assemble competitive teams and compete strongly in European competitions, after all, they are what will bring money to our football. One thing I’ve learned over the years following football in the Netherlands is that the Dutch really see football as fun, unlike here in Brazil, for example. I think that’s the big difference and that’s why we can’t see Dutch football grow more than it can.”

Guys, it’s official now. The blog is in his able hands.

Say hello below and maybe also introduce yourselves? Say something about your age, where you live, how you came to become a fan of Oranje, and anything else you like to share.

by Jan

Feyenoord Legend “silent” Wim Jansen passes…

Boy, what a sensational team they are developing up there… Van Beveren on goal. Now Van der Kuylen, Cruyff and Rensenbrink up front. Nico Reinders has been there for a while of course. Wim Suurbier as right back and now Wim Jansen joins in to anchor the midfield.

75 years is way too young, but Wim Jansen was struggling with Alzheimers for a while now and he was deteriorating really swiftly.

Wim Jansen is one of those unsung heroes of Dutch football. And that was mainly because he didn’t like being an “ununsung” hero…

But a hero he is. They’ll remember him fondly in Japan, in Glasgow, in Washington DC and in Amsterdam but mainly in Rotterdam (where the fans and the club will hold a memorial for him this coming Saturday in front of De Kuip Stadium).

He started his career like so many kids. But as opposed to most: Wimpie (little Wim) was not your typical rebel rousing streetwise rascal. His parents didn’t enjoy sports. And Wim was a fan of billiards and would always be in time home for supper. His personality was perfect, the ideal son-in-law. Feyenoord doctor Arbarbanel knows it for sure: “He’s a good kid but he will never make it at the top”.

Big Willem of Xerxes versus Little Wim of Feyenoord

When he is 13 years old, he is diagnosed with a knee problem. A “weak knee” is the diagnosis. And he was never to play again. Feyenoord even sent him away. And Wimpie decided to just play on the street, with his mates. Wim lives in the Old North of Rotterdam, where Feyenoord icon Coen Moulijn, the Messi like left winger of Feyenoord, lives. And Wimpie and his mates see their hero drive to the Kuip regularly, all in awe. But a year after Wim’s medical diagnosis, he returns to Feyenoord! He has grown and became stronger and his knee holds it all together well. Wimpie is captain of the C youth team and signs his first semi pro deal at 16 years old. He works the day in the office in the Rotterdam port and in the evening and in the weekend, he makes 30 guilders as a semi pro ( 12 euros). He usually goes to the match with his buddy Jan Boskamp (who would also make it to the NT squad for the 1974 World Cup) and Joop van Daele (who would become world famous for a week or so, as the match winner in the Feyenoord World Cup for teams win).

Wimpie belongs to the Feyenoord inventory, almost. He’s always there and he’s everywhere. When the president is asked in 1966 when a home grown player will make it big, he points at Wim Jansen: “There he is! That lad will be a big player one day”.

And he does make it into the first team, as so-called left inside forward ( in a 3-2-5 system). Coen Moulijn is still with the club and loves playing with Jansen: “I remembered him from the street where I lived. He was a real creative player but that disappeared when he got older. He’s the ultimate team player. A passer of the ball. I loved playing with Jansen more than with Van Hanegem. Wim was the master of one touch and would always launch me. Van Hanegem was harder to predict. And Wim is a nice guy, you know.” And Wim was in awe that he was actually playing the same team as his big idol.

Feyenoord youth team wins title, with Wim Jansen below far right. Next to him Jan Boskamp. Second from left, sitting, Joop van Daele, the later matchwinner of the World Cup match

Jansen would play for Feyenoord 1 for 15 years and he would form the core of the new Feyenoord, with Ove Kindvall from Sweden, Ruud Geels and Rinus Israel. When Willem van Hanegem is signed a year later, the perfect midfield couple is born. Jansen would become the first Feyenoord full pro and would develop what he called “blind communication” with Van Hanegem. The two acted as twins and even bought homes practically next ot each other in my home town of HI Ambacht.

Feyenoord and the players realised that now, the game was about the results. And about winning points so the players would make more. Rinus Israel became Jansen’s mentor. “Could I ask for a better one?” With De Kromme, Jansen developed this telepathic bond. Willem van Hanegem: “He was so good. Wim could play anywhere on the pitch. He couldn’t be a goalie, though… too small. But Wim would always pass the ball with intelligence, with purpose. In today’s game, you’d probably compare him to Paul Scholes, or Jorginho or Kimmel. Smart, effective… always passing and moving.”

In the 60s, Georg Kessler selects him for the Dutch NT where he plays next to Cruyff and Willy van der Kuylen. Kessler: “Wim Jansen should be the role model for today’s youths. Not Cruyff!” The 20 year old midfielder is not too comfortable in the Dutch midfield, as he is surrounded by Ajax players, such as Bennie Muller, Henk Groot, Piet Keizer and Johan Cruyff. When Oranje fails to qualify for the Euros in 1968, Jansen loses his spot. The 1970 World Cup and the 1972 Euros are also missed by the Dutch and Jansen would only play two internationals in those early 70s. The coach – Fadrhonc – usually picks a midfield with Neeskens, Van Hanegem, Gerrie Muhren or Theo de Jong.

Jansen is not happy but will focus his efforts on his club. In 1970 he wins the European Cup and the World Cup and Willem van Hanegem and Wim Jansen (big Wim and Wimpie) conquer the world.

Against his friend Johan, when Barca met Feyenoord

Ernst Happel, the Austrian former star and current Feyenoord coach, becomes his mentor in tactics. Jansen realises that the pass and move game is the key game. “Taking on players and dribbling is nice but it does result in loss of possession. The ball is always faster than the player, so by passing and moving you can outsmart any opponent.” Happel calls Jansen the accelerator in the team. Where Van Hanegem sometimes slows the game down (on purpose) or waits for the perfect timing for a cross, Jansen is a one-touch player who moves the play relentlessly.

Wim Jansen is the King of Playing Simple. As JC once said: football is a simple game, but to play simple is the hardest thing there is. He is also the King of Silence. He loves anonymity, he loathes publicity. Famously, Johan Derksen once traveled the world with him, visiting famous youth academies and Jansen would go on and on about football, share investing and The Beatles (his three passions) but when Johan needed to interview him formally, Jansen would not be able to answer more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. A very private man.

When Feyenoord plays their semi finals against AC Milan in 1970, Jansen completely nullifies star player Gianni Rivera and scores a Ziyech type goal. Feyenoord would go on to beat Celtic for the trophy and Jansen’s name is internationally settled. In 1974 he’d win the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord, beating Spurs.

When Oranje travels to the World Cup 1974, coach (supervisor) Rinus Michels is plagued by injuries. When Drost, Israel, Laseroms, Mansveld and Hulshoff all fall away for the CB role, Michels (Cruyff?) picks Arie Haan. And this is the impetus needed for Jansen, as he is picked as the third midfielder, next to Van Hanegem and Neeskens (Gerrie Muhren is also injured). “I am grateful to be part of this and if I can make minutes, it would be awesome.” Well, Wim
Jansen played every minute and was one of the outstanding players – with Van Hanegem, Cruyff, Rensenbrink and Rep – of this magical Oranje team.

In that fatal WC 74 finals…

Through his games with the NT, Jansen struck a deep friendship with Cruyff. The late master of the game said repeatedly in interviews that Jansen was the only player he knew that shared his football insights and ideas about football tactics. Even Willem van Hanegem famously said that when JC and Wimpie start debating football, he’d go to the bar for another glass of wine, as it became hocus pocus for him!

Four years later, Jansen is also part of the squad managed by Ernst Happel winning silver again (losing gold…?) in Argentina.

Back in Holland, Feyenoord’s management is making (financial) mistake after mistake and the one richest club on the planet (!) is fading. When Jansen gets into conflict with the board and coach Jezek, Jansen decides to move away.

When his buddy Cruyff moves to Washington Diplomats, Wim Jansen decides to follow him.

The news drops like a bomb. “Shocking Farewell” is the headline of the AD newspaper. “I am maybe a bit quiet, but I have an opinion and I’m headstrong. I can’t stand for what happened. I am gone and I don’t think I’ll ever come back here.” When asked about the media mayhem that ensued, he said: “Don’t worry, in 2 weeks time, I’ll be forgotten.”

He wouldn’t last more than one season. “Life in America is wonderful, but the football here…they simply don’t get it.”

Juan Lozano, Johan Cruyff, Wim Jansen

So now what? Well, Johan Cruyff has the answer. He is now technical coordinator at Ajax and he advises the club to sign Jansen. Ajax has a number of great young talents – as per usual – but defensively, it’s like Swiss Cheese. Ajax is 8th in the table with a tremendous number of goals conceded.

Jansen made his debut for Ajax in December 1980. In De Kuip. Against Feyenoord. And the most famous ice-ball ever takes the headlines as an angry Feyenoord supporter throws the iceball towards the players when they start their warming up. The ice-ball hits Jansen in the eye and damages his cornea. He would try to play, for 15 minutes but was subbed when he wasn’t able to see what was happening too well. To put insult to injury, his future son-in-law Stanley Brard decided to take him out with a fierce tackle as well and that was it. Wimpie went from Mr Feyenoord to “dog-dick” (hondelul) in a heartbeat.

Jansen here right after being hit by the ice-ball

But Jansen is no push over. He would stay another season and mentor youngsters like Frank Rijkaard, Vanenburg, Kieft and Olsen. In that second season, the maestro himself puts his boots on again too and with Soren Lerby in midfield, Cruyff as false 9 and Jansen managing it from the back with Rijkaard, Ajax and Wim Jansen won the title.

Wimpie tried it for 15 minutes in his debut vs Feyenoord

He starts to think about life after his active career and he starts to collect information. Intelligence. He’s basically a collector. He collects shares, stamps and now he started collecting information about training practices, about nutrition, the working of the mind, and more. His database and archives become famous and more and more coaches and reporters find the way to his home to dive in Jansen’s footballing brain. When Feyenoord contacts him to come and coach the youth, the love for his club is re-kindled and Jansen would start a whole new phase in his career.

More in part 2…

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!

by Jan

Why Cruyff never coached the NT, part 1

My friends, another post in this dreary non-football period… Health is more important now, but it’s good to see the virus more and more under control and football returning to the stadiums… Albeit empty ones…

This Covid-19 situation has hurt people individually, but also society as a whole with potentially more fatalities as a result of all that…

Your fave blog also felt it. Way less interest in the non-current stories, I suppose while the annual bills (hosting, site, etc) keep on coming in. So… some help, some beer money would be highly appreciated :-). You know where to find the donation button!

And now this message from our sponsor ends, and we look at that question that was asked here before. Why did JC, the greatest coach we ever had, the man who had the most impact on Dutch football, on Ajax and on Barcelona… why wasn’t he ever given the role? Why did the KNVB not beg for him to come on board. Here is why…

JC was never overly popular with management types at the Dutch federation. As a player, he was the one who harassed the federation mostly about players’ insurance, about fair pay for the internationals, etc and at Ajax he had lost his job for being difficult to work with. JC was known to want to be the boss. He gets to say how he wants it. And typically, the KNVB wasn’t too happy with the long-haired beatnik.

Thijs Libregts hears he’s fired and won’t coach Holland at the World Cup

When Michels took Oranje and led them to their first and only prize in 1988, the Dutch federation hired Thijs Libregts, former Feyenoord coach, as the NT manager. He was an able player in his days, mainly for Excelsior. He had coached with success at club level but didn’t cut it as NT manager. He wasn’t an innovator, he didn’t bring anything to the – by then – mature top players we had. Don’t forget, by then, the Dutch players are all considered top class in their particular skills. The Milan 3, Koeman, Van Breukelen, Van Tiggelen, Vanenburg, Kieft… all seasoned by now and in need of a coach who would impress them and who can teach them something and discipline them when needed… A strong coach.

When Libregts reached the pinnacle of his shenanigans by saying racist and derogatory things about Gullit in the media, the players had enough. They took the initiative to go to the Federation and say: “Either he goes, or we quit!”

The KNVB, with former coach Rinus Michels as director, decided to sacrifice Libregts and to offer the players a vote for their ideal coach. It was between Leo Beenhakker, Aad de Mos and Johan Cruyff. Don Leo had coached Real Madrid before and was now coach of Ajax. Aad de Mos was a former coach of Ajax, now with Anderlecht (and successful with KV Mechelen before, with Erwin Koeman, among others).

The majority of the players – among them the Milan 3 and Koeman, Van ‘t Schip, Blind, Menzo, Witschge, Wouters, Roy – voted for Cruyff. No surprise. Some players selected Aad De Mos (Erwin Koeman, Adri van Tiggelen)… Basically the players who worked with him but never with Cruyff. And a small contingent picked Leo Beenhakker. Most likely players who had a clash with JC before (Vanenburg) or who expected not to play under Cruyff…

San Marco’s body language tells the story… No Cruyff…

The majority of the players wanted Cruyff. With good reason.

The KNVB took their input, and Rinus Michels was to do the final selection process and came home with… his friend Leo Beenhakker. The players were flabbergasted! Even the ones who voted for Don Leo…

Michels and Cruyff were at each other’s throats at the time. The big rumour is that Michels feared Cruyff would win the World Cup and become Oranje’s most successful NT coach. Only 2 years after Rinus big trophy. Michels even said in a press interview that “coach Cruyff is a psychopath”… Rinus blocked the JC appointment. And this resulted in a huge upset.

Captain Gullit felt screwed over the most, as he led the charge against Libregts and saw his plan thwarted. It broke something and the feud went from JC and Michels to Gullit and Michels. Michels wrote columns for the one daily newspaper, and Gullit started to write columns for the rival daily newspaper and they took their battle public.

The second mistake the KNVB made, was to organise a pre-World Cup camp and with the WC in Italy, there were numerous amazing opportunities to find a nice resort for the lads. Something close to a beach? To a nice town? Golf courses? But the KNVB found an old castle in former Yugoslavia, with a moat!, and locked the players up there. It was cold, it was dark, it lacked entertainment… Don’t forget, these were top class players by then. Mature, experienced, leadership… And they didn’t like where they were but had to accept it. But something broke.

Don Leo and Ruud Gullit bickering

Gullit was busy getting his numerous girlfriends from Milan to come to the castle. Van Basten and Rijkaard pulled away from it all. And that vacuum of leadership allowed for the second tier of players to start to become more vocal, which disrupted the hierarchy.

The rest is history. Leo Beenhakker suddenly appearing at press conference with a thick and bloody bump on this forehead. “I bumped my head to the door post”. But players slowly released the story that Marco van Basten threw an ashtray to Don Leo’s head. Assistant coach Nol de Ruiter appeared at breakfast with a black eye. No one knows what happened, but Nol and Leo didn’t see eye to eye, so…

When Beenhakker was asked after the tournament what the F happened? He famously answered: “75% of what happened will never see the light of day.”

Marco and Ruud actually almost decided to leave the camp and forget about it all. The first two group matches were dramatic. No leadership, no work rate, no team play, no hunger.

Oranje played Egypt in their first match. Beenhakker played almost the same starting eleven as Michels did in his first 1988 match at the Euros. Graeme Rutjes was brought in for Arnold Muhren basically. Kieft scored the first, in a dreadful match. With Egypt equalising from the spot, late in the game.

The second game was vs England, ending in a bloodless 0-0. Beenhakker made some changes, taking Rutjes out, brining Van ‘t Schip in midfield and Hans Gillhaus for Erwin Koeman. Kieft came in from the bench again.

After those two games, something broke. The players demanded a talk with the coach and issues were aired out. The third match was against the Republic of Ireland and Oranje needed one point to move on. Beenhakker used Richard Witschge in midfield for Van ‘t Schip. Oranje played with the shackles off, and Captain Gullit showed up, scoring the first goal. Ireland equalised late in the match, giving a third draw to the Dutch.

After the group round, the Dutch were up against West Germany, our favorite opponent and finally Holland played to their strength. Beenhakker was convinced by the players to use more creative options in midfield, so both Richard Witschge and John van ‘t Schip were brought in for a 4-4-2 with Marco and Ruud up front together. We lost that game, but we could have won that too… We played ok and got some chances we simply didn’t take. The match was most famous, sadly, due to the red cards Voller and Rijkaard received in the 22nd minute already, thanks to a spitting contest.

Nol de Ruiter’s biography goes into the Beenhakker situation and the whole vibe at that WC1990 campaign. De Ruiter: “Leo was really focused on his PR image. He didn’t want to be a stern coach, he wanted to be friends with the top guys. Leo is completely media focused. And you could see that in all the Ajax players too. Arrogant, rude even. Only Jan Wouters behaved normal. Leo did odd things, he would shorten practices or tactical talks, just to please the players. There was no discipline and I was there as a token assistant coach. I didn’t have anything to do. We had comedian Freek de Jonge living with us in the players’ hotel and he was a total distraction. Why? Doctor Frits Kessel was like an old woman and gossiping all the time. Gullit was hunting for women, Rijkaard was completely unmotivated, Koeman was kilos to heavy. It was a mess.”