Tag: Modric

by Jan

Oranje simply not up to it

The cliche “men versus boys” has been used here a lot. In the past. And how I hoped that would remain a thing of the past.

But the games versus Croatia and Italy have yet again demonstrated where we go wrong. Again.

And I wonder who or what is going to change this!

The System

Lets start this two-match review with the obvious: some people claim that due to the losses and the conceded goals we will need to consider a switch back to the 5-3-2 of van Gaal.

One photo will show you why this is nonsense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As one can see: we had enough defenders in the box (5!). It’s not about the number of defenders. It’s about how the defenders defend and about what they do.

Combine this insight with the fact we conceded two downright idotic penalties versus Croatia and the analysis is done: stupidity, complacency and laziness.

Gakpo trying to turn the best midfielder of the past decade on the edge of his own box. Gakpo losing the ball and then trying to pick up the little maestro from the back (and what… bring him to the kids’ stands??)…. And late in the match, Malacia with a lunge in the box. I mean, a rush of blood to the head of course but I could accept the explanation of Malacia: only minutes left to score a goal and we needed the ball so I took a risk. And failed. But either way: two cheap penalties and very unnecessary.

The Croatie second goal was a typical example of alibi defending. Or pseudo defending.  Making people believe you’re doing what you can. Dumfries, in this case not putting any pressure on the ball and staying at 1,5 yards from the forward. In his own box! That is not something you see Croatian or Italian defenders do. And Ake, Virgil and Koopmeiners all looking at each other. Typically something that happens even more with a 5 at the back system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not enough pressure on the ball. No communication. Ake can see it all happening in front of him,

Versus Italy, same old same old. Two early goals because no one really defends! No one attacks the ball, no one clears the ball, no one puts pressure on the ball and the key forwards who should track back to cover the Italian wing backs: absent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dimarco gets time and time from Malen and his defender mates were not able to recognise or communicate the danger to him. Where is a screaming Frank de Boer when you need him?

We didn’t lose because of the system

The quality of the players

I think we all know we have a lot of players who can play some neat, nifty football. Xavi Simons, Noa Lang, Donny Malen, Joey Veerman, Frenkie, all gifted players. But tenacity, leadership, personality and mentality are also part of the complete package of qualities a player requires.

And we lacked it. Again. We did see some good moves, we did see some decent actions and at times we played some nice football. Sure. But it’s about when things don’t go your way. When the opponent finds spaces where you didn’t expect it. When team mates get sloppy.

The quality we need then, is not the step-over of Noa Lang, the shimmy of Frenkie or the dribble of Xavi. We need the leadership of a Roy Keane. The big mouth of Gatuso. The piercing look of Mark van Bommel. I can fully understand that Wieffer, Geetruida, Dumfries and Lang are not the players to demonstrate this part of the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But Virgil. Nathan Ake (treble winner!), Frenkie de Jong ( skipper at Barca) and Koopmeiners should do more in this domain. Captain Van Dijk should be in Malen’s face, if he doesn’t track back! Frenkie should be ready to make the tactical switches where need be.

It’s all too sweet. We’re too friendly. We play too many card games at training camp and we focus too much on funny youtube clips with quizes, or raps with cigars and fashion shoots.

Mentality, commitment, leadership

And these are the elements that are missing. Some players came to the Nations League final round complaining that the season was too long and if we don’t win versus Croatia, we can’t be bothered to play the Losers Finals. Koeman should have sent these players home!

If you can’t get inspired for a football game, not hoping the coach will do it for you, then you have nothing to do in an orange jersey.

Every single player of Spain, Croatia and Italy has had a long and tough season! Man up!

We believe we are great football players. But we are only great on the ball. And not great. Above average. And we suck in the mental department.

And this is not something we fix by changing systems.

The Coach

I never believe in getting a coach back for a second stint. It was a success with Michels and Oranje, ok. But not in any other instance. Mourinho at Chelsea. Van Marwijk at Feyenoord. Van Gaal at Barcelona. Van Gaal with the Oranje/Ajax contingent in 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a sense of “comfort”, working with a coach you know. Whenever a coach says it feels like coming home, you know you’re in trouble. It shouldn’t feel like home.

Why pick Koeman again? Because it worked so well before? Well…. did it? He bailed before the Euros. Not really a success. So in my book, a big cross should have gone through his name.

Peter Bosz was available. Just sayin’.

Koeman has end responsibility and he needs to get his players mentally ready for a match or send the ones that can’t be bothered home. And when Malen doesn’t track back twice in 15 mins and we get hammered twice: immediately sub the dude. Show grit. Show courage.

Just like our team wasn’t able to show courage versus Croatia, our coach lacked courage in his choices.

The Future

I do believe the youngsters we see in Orange will grow into good solid players for the team: Wieffer, Veerman, Geertruida, Simons and even Malen, Gakpo and Lang are still youngsters, compared to Blind, Van Dijk and Memphis. We need to give them a chance.

But we need to give Botman, Frimpong, Schouten, Dallinga and Spierings a chance too.

Bijlow was not 100% top, but was only really at fault with that third Croatia goal. It wasn’t an easy one, but it was stoppable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A back line with Ake and Botman, De Ligt and Frimpong should work. Or Malacia, Ake, De Ligt, Frimpong.

A midfield with Veerman, Frenkie and Wieffer should work. A forward line with Lang, Gakpo and Malen should work. We do have enough quality on the ball. But we need to turn it into a team and we need to wise up really quickly now and start switching that button on in their heads.

Playing for Oranje is not a summer camp outing after a tough season at the club.

It’s do or die now.

 

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by Jan

Memphis’ injury a blessing?

This is not a sentence I expected to write. Ever. Memphis has been super important for the Dutch NT, ever since his appearance at the World Cup in 2014. Under coach Koeman, the explosive and talented forward led the team, scored a record number of goals and is well on his way to become Oranje’s all time goalscorer and most likely most capped player. Or so it seemed.

But, the former Sparta youngster hasn’t been able to shine for more than a year now. His Euros was lacklustre and his World Cup a big question mark. He went from injury to injury and was absent more than present, both at Barcelona and more recently at Atletico.

But, as we established here, as the Dutch have trouble to thank their heroes and force them out to make way for new stars, it was a real question whether coach Koeman would make wholesale changes or whether he would rely on the old guard. Virgil, Cillesen, Memphis, Daley Blind, Wijnaldum…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like many coaches before ( Zwartkruis in 1980, Beenhakker in 1990, Van Marwijk in 2012, Van Gaal recently), it seemed Koeman was falling back on the old hands, but reality has reared up it’s not so ugly head and helped the former snow flake a bit.

Cillesen had a couple of howlers at the end of the season and couldn’t dig a hole big enough to hide in.

Daley Blind hardly played and has already been told he’s out of the squad.

Wijnaldum is stil with the squad but with his recent lacklustre performances and with Koopmeiners’ classy run as a #10, I don’t think Gini will feature much.

Virgil was able to claw back to a decent form, after a season of mishits and stumbles and will most likely lead the team out versus Croatia.

And Memphis? Well, he pulled out himself. Not fit enough to play and prefers – smartly – to prep for the new season in Madrid.

And it’s a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arie Haan in 1974

And don’t forget: we know how coach sometime end up with their success formulas just by sheer luck, coincidence or as the result of setbacks. Michels lost all his centre backs in 1974 (Israel, Laseroms, Drost, Mansveld, Hulshof) and decided to put midfielder Arie Haan in the back with young stopper Wim Rijsbergen.

Or in 1988, when the same Michels started the Euros with 4-3-3, with Marco van Basten on the bench. A player who almost didn’t make the cut. After one match – losing versus USSR – Michels went to a 4-4-2 with Van Basten and Gullit up front. The rest is history.

Van Gaal and his three at the back in 2014? This came about due to an injury for defensive mid Kevin Strootman and an experiment of Koeman with Feyenoord away at PSV.

The Memphis injury could well be a key break for Koeman. Or, as Cruyff would say it, this could be an advantage resulting from a disadvantage.

Koeman and Van Gaal both were tempted to to use two wingbacks and three defenders, to build a solid foundation and create space for his mercurial forward. Memphis needed freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johnny Bosman versus USSR in 1988

But the 3 at the back system didn’t work for Koeman as he saw that his team had issues dominating the game. At the same time, Ten Hag showed how you can do it, with a 4-2-3-1 system. When Frenkie de Jong came into view, Koeman switched to the Ajax system, with two central defenders, at times augmented by the deep lying De Jong, who’d drop in between, pushing the full backs further up the field.

Frenkie made his entrance in Sneijder’s farewell match versus Peru and the new Oranje system was settled. In 2018, Koeman built his team around Virgil, Wijnaldum and Memphis. The latter two do not have the status or form they had back then and it’s time for a change.

The only two Dutch forwards who perform at a high level in big competitions are Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen. Therefore, it seems only logical to build the team around a new #9: Gakpo.

At Liverpool, he plays like a false 9, with two offensive midfielders in his back. Fabinho, the defensive lock, will be paired with Trent Alexander-Arnold who joins the midfield from the back, a role Geertruida plays at Feyenoord. At Liverpool, Andy Robertson is the third centre back, which is the role Ake plays at Man City. Both Van Dijk and De Ligt are accustomed to this system.

It seems Oranje could well play in this same form, although Dumfries might be at odds in this role. It’s not very likely that Koeman will drop the Inter right back though, but this Liverpool/Man City system could well work for Holland.

For me, I don’t think we can go beyond Ake as left back. He can fill the job the way Blind did, as Ake too is a great passer of the ball.

This leaves space for Frenkie to explore the left side a bit and in my midfield, I would have Mats Wieffer playing the defensive mid, with Frenkie next to him but with freedom to roam on that left flank.

My number 10 in this system is Teun Koopmeiners. I don’t like him much as a six, but in the #10 role he is killing it at Atalanta. I’d pick Xavi Simons as the left winger and Malen on the right, of course.

Noppert should not start, in my view, and if it’s a toss up between Flekken and Bijlow, I’d go for the latter.

As for the RCB, I would pick De Ligt versus a static #9 and Timber versus the more diminutive forwards (like David Silva or Alexander Isak). Not sure what Croatia will bring.

This is my line up.

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by Jan

On the road to Qatar: Daley “Dilemma” Blind

Here we go guys. Rip into it.

This time, not so much a profile but an analysis. Daley has been covered a lot on this blog. Yes, your friendly blogger is a fan of the left footer (he was a left footed slow player himself) and Blind is a veteran by now and much talked about, so logically he featured here a lot.

Schreuder benched Blind for the first time in a long while versus Rangers FC. Is this the moment the 32 year old will have to face the fact he is not good enough anymore? Who listens to Schreuder will hear that Blind still has a lot of credit with the coach. Whenever the results are bad, Blind is the first to cop criticism, but Schreuder simply points to the number of games Blind played and the fact that Wijndal needs minutes, as explanation for the benching of the left back.

Rafael van der Vaart – himself a left footer with limited speed – was vocal with his criticism: “The problem with Blind is, he can play on many positions on the pitch, but he is not the best option on any of those spots. Malacia the better left back, Ake the better left central defender and Frenkie the better holding mid. It feels like coaching always want to create a spot for him in the team. He seems beyond criticism.”

The problem for Blind is, his flaws are easier to spot than his strengths. His biggest problem is his lack of agility. He is dependent on a good organisation around him. This was the problem recently versus RKC Waalwijk.

Not quick and agile enough to put pressure on

Here in the pic above, Blind’s direct opponent Bel Hassani lures Blind into midfield. He needs to press high, but he is too slow and lacking agility to really follow Bel Hassani, and the result in this particular move is two chances for RKC as a result of Blind’s lack of explosivity.  As a result, Blind is swimming (drowning) in areas where his flaws are very visible and most direct opponents will beat him at these aspects of the game.

The second issue is his lack of speed. Ajax always plays with lots of space behind the last line and he lacks the speed to compensate this. He usually compensates this well with his intelligence and his reading of the game. He is able to steup up at the right time or to close the space by dropping back. When he fails to do so successfully, it really looks clumsy.

This below is from the Volendam game, in which the attacker would score from this move. Pasveer makes a big error and cops the criticism, although Ajax would win this with ease.

Not quick enough to close down

A third problem with Daley is his lack of heading power. Put next to Timber, who is also not the tallest, this is a problem. Blind is pretty good with long balls, as he judges the flight of the ball well and has time to position himself. But when he can’t use his smarts, he lacks the jumping power to really compete. In Oranje, he has the likes of Ake and Van Dijk to assist him with this.

This is another example from the Volendam game.

Not strong enough aerially

This doesn’t mean Blind is a terrible defender. Jose Mourinho wouldn’t play him as a defender in a European finals if he was. In terms of minutes in the Eredivisie, Blind has the most interceptions and in terms of successful tackles and repossessions, he scores higher than Owen Wijndal. There are also not many successful dribbles against him. It’s not easy to beat him in a one v one. Only Jurrien Timber has better stats than Blind.

In the Dutch league, his intelligence and positioning help him to remain one of the best defenders, but at a higher level – Champions League – his stats become really weak.

This is the dilemma for Alfred Schreuder at Ajax and Van Gaal at Oranje. Is it not time now to pick and choose the games where you can use Blind and his strengths versus games where he will be a liability.

Both coaches need to make the decision to see if the risk of playing Blind weighs up to the added value of the defender in possession.

This stat is key for most coached: Blind reaches the forwards almost twice as easy and often as his competition in an Ajax jersey.

# of successful passes into the final third

Daley Blind is the only defender n this list of players and their total passes to the final third. And as a defender, he is even the #1. A strong stat. In Europe, only Alexander-Arnold, Kimmich and Cancelo shine with this statistic. This is usually the domain of the playmaker, such as Kroos, Modric, Verrati or Pedri. The fact that defender Blind is amongst those players tells you something about his crucial role in the Ajax build up.

Only defender amongst attacking mids and forwards

The specialty of the house for Blind is his passing and in particular the fast low pass, which he plays fairly late so he draws in an opponent and plays the free man in.

This again v Volendam. He holds the pass until 5 (!) players of the opponent can be shoved aside with one deep pass. And Blind’s passes usually find a team mate.

Pulling people in to open up the space

How do you like them apples? See below, with Blind – top left – passing into Bergwijn and took 4 players out with the one pass, hard and low and with precision.

Crisp passing to take players out

Another problem the coach will have at Ajax, is that with Blind you can play Alvarez and Klaassen in midfield, who usually don’t really contribute to the build up. Once you lose Blind, you’ll need to bring in a playmaker type player next to Alvarez (Taylor?) to assist with the build up, which will have an impact on the balance of the team.

This is less of a problem in Oranje, where Ake and Van Dijk also have a strong forward build up pass.

So, it seems simple as a football supporter to yell “Blind needs to be benched” but as he is the key man in the build up for Ajax, any coach will want to think twice before they shove that type of quality into the bin.

A little hint from me on my fave starting eleven: I would always take Blind to Qatar as he will be the ideal player to allow Malacia or Ake some rest when they need it.

The video below will explain why Blind was not a failure at Man United :-).

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by Jan

Past stars: Rafael van der Vaart’s new life

For a long time, we lamented the retirement of the likes of Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt, Van Bommel and Nigel de Jong, fearing the good old times would never return. But with players back at top level at Liverpool, Olympique Lyon and Barca and a series of great talents coming through, we almost forget about them now. Even though De Ligt’s and Frenkie’s values would have plummeted after some heavy naive defending vs Bayern Munich (What was Frenkie thinking??), Oranje’s future looks bright. So despite the new series we started – Future Stars – we also applaude the giants on whose shoulders these stars will stand…

Rafa van der Vaart retired from football some weeks ago. A look at his new life and a look back on his career. Thanks to VI Pro, and Simon Zwartkruis.

As we all know on this blog, Rafa is a very warm and open and approachable guy. He gladly took time to be interviewed by your favorite blogger (yes, me) before and when Zwartkruis visits Rafael at home, the first thing the former Ajax playmaker says is: “Hey, you will stay for dinner, right?”

While dad Ramon is fixing dinner, son Damian is facetiming his dad from Hamburg and would later on skype with his daughter who spends time with grandma in Nijmegen and the NOS editors are trying to contact Van der Vaart for his role in Studio Voetbal, the #23 gets a call from a German tv team who need directions to get to Van der Vaart’s home in Beverwijk. Van der Vaart has accepted a role in the German tv show Darts with Stars… Van der Vaart laughs: “Don’t think I have heaps of time, now I am retired. I am more busy than ever.”

He decided a couple of weeks ago, to make that big decision. “I was at practice at Esbjerg. And believe me, with the ball I was still the best player. And I really enjoyed playing there, I did. But these fricking little injuries kept on coming back. I would train all week, prepare for finally another real match and on Saturday: bam! Another muscle issue. I told my girlfriend: this is it! One more injury and I’m out. And it happened. The calf. During practice. I stood up, walked to the dressing room. Grabbed my bag and I went home. I didn’t need to tell Estavana. She saw it in my face. And I also felt relief by the way. It was done.”

Before this season, I actually considered moving to Holland. I could sign with Telstar, which is just around the corner of course. But I have a girlfriend in Denmark, a son in Germany… I didn’t think it would work. I actually worked with John van ‘t Schip at PEC Zwolle in the pre-season to stay fit. And that was tremendous. It felt like I was 18 again, you know. Because John was my most influential youth coach at Ajax, I worked well with him. And of course he was our assistant coach at Oranje, in 2006 and 2008 and I think he is a top notch coach and guy. PEC offered me a deal and it looked really good. But it was too complicated due to my shattered family, so I decided no. Damian is the son of divorced parents. I wanted to be there for him. From Esbjerg to Hamburg is only 3 hours by car, so I choose family over career now. Finally.”

And I can see that he, like me, is all about football. He started off a as a shy kid, but is getting more self aware. I was raised with a “belief in yourself attitude” and that was also augmented at Ajax. We have that “We are the Best!” mentality there and sure, others will see it as arrogant. And it is. But bluf and self confidence are important for a sportsman. You need to walk onto the pitch with the attitude of “this is my home!”. I always wanted the ball, I always wanted to organise everything and be the dominant guy. Even when I made my debut at Oranje, in midfield. I played with giant, like Seedorf and Davids but I wanted to take all the free kicks, you know? I was convinced of my skills, but I wasn’t a dominant guy off the pitch. Don’t get me wrong. I felt uneasy at the start, with Oranje. The first years, I was quiet. I had a lot of respect for these experienced guys, I mean… Van der Sar, Stam, Phillip Cocu… God… I was totally different on the pitch, I played with flair and was cheeky but off the pitch, I couldn’t eat at lunch. So nervous. And I watched how the others would eat their meals or what they would do, and I would copy that, hahaha. I didn’t want to be told off. We had training camps of 10 days and I would count the hours you know. But on the pitch, I was able to make the difference. That Oranje was strong, by the way. I was a starter for Ajax for a considerable time before I was called up. Today, if you play 3 good games for your club you can expect a call from Koeman, hahaha. I was one one of the few from the Eredivisie, the rest all played at top level in Europe. When Sneijder, Heitinga and Nigel de Jong joined me, it became a bit easier. We had our own little group to hang out. And of course, when you can make the difference in the match, you will be easily accepted by the regulars.”

I was a kid of the club, at Ajax. And it felt like home. How different it was, when I moved to Hamburg. Unbelievable. My first practice session at HSV, I will never forget. I was a big money signing and I felt the pressure showing my team mates how good I was. I did it all, took on opponents, played slide rule passes, shoot balls in the top corner, the whole thing. And that makes for an easy entrance. The pre season friendlies went well and before you know it the mania started. Every day, articles in the media, there was a run on shirts with my name and number…. I was used to some attention at Ajax, but this in Germany was just out of this world.”

“When I left for Real Madrid I noticed my status was different. Of course, I need to add. The rotation system they used at Real was not for me. I had to get used to it. I scored a hattrick vs Sporting Gijon and the next weekend I was on the bench. I didn’t get that. It made me a bit uncertain and antsy. But, Real Madrid is not a club where you knock on the door of the coach, to ask if he’s seeing it properly, hahaha. And after my first season, Real decided to go shopping. C Ronaldo came. Kaka came. So you know it will get harder. And when the new president said all Dutch players needed to go, it was almost undoable. The technical director Valdano and coach Pellegrini told me I was their 6th choice for the number 10 role. Behind Raul, Guti, Kaka, Granero and talent Canales. But, I didn’t want to leave and I told them. I also told them they made a mistake as I was the best option for that role. And I would show them. I started to train like an animal and in the fourth playing round, I got my chance.  Away at Villareal I got a turn. I worked my ass off and had an assist. And from that game on, I was playing again. And that was just fantastic. After the winter break, I was a starter. For Pellegrini I was first choice for the #10 role. And I flew over the pitch, I was fit, scored goals and gave assists and we kept on winning. We played a Champions League game vs Olympique Lyon and Cristiano Ronaldo was angry with the coach for now playing me. They had this heated debate in the dressing room. That was a real compliment. I fought myself back into the game, I’m proud of that. They actually took my shirt number away, before the season and I fought myself back into the fold. At any other club, I might have said: fuck ‘m all, I’m out. But this was Real Madrid. Doesn’t get bigger.”

The Dutch contingent at Madrid, sans Huntelaar actually…

“After Madrid, it was Tottenham. I really enjoyed that time. We only played top matches in a crazy pace. My goodness. That is probably my best period in my career. I scored, I had assists and we had a sensational team, I think better than that Madrid team, actually. My partnership with Modric, with Bale, with Crouch. Special. The World Cup in South Africa was the high point and low point of my career. I went to Spurs right after it and I was in top shape and enjoyed my football. By the way, the lost WC finals vs Spain still hurts you know. I worked with Bert van Marwijk in Hamburg later on and we spoke about that finals a lot. Glass of wine and a conversation and the more wine we drank, the more emotional we got, hahaha.”

“Man, I enjoyed my career. I played for amazing clubs and lived in sensational cities… I have had great times with Oranje, more than 100 caps. And now I am free. I watch Damian play in Hamburg, I follow Estavana with her matches (she is a pro handball player in Denmark) and I like doing the tv work (Raf is co-host and analyticus).

Rafa being important for Spurs in the derby

I am doing this with Pierre van Hooijdonk and it feels like we have a click on tv just like we had on the pitch. Pierre loves football humor, like me and would always lead on the pitch.”

“And I am positive about Dutch football. Koeman is the ideal coach for Oranje. I worked with him at Ajax and obviously had my share of issues and clashes with him. He is quite pragmatic and can be direct and tough. And I was not really mature in those days. My position was simple: a coach that puts me in the team is a world class coach. A coach who benches me is a dickhead. But back then, at the start of his coaching career, he already was top notch. And I judge a coach now, on what he can make his players do.”

“Now I see Memphis working his butt off, I can Babel playing a wing back and defending all the way to his own corner flag, I can see the aggression in the defenders, wonderful! Just wonderful. And the home game vs France was a highpoint. A top team performance. The panenka penalty by Memphis as the absolute cherry on the cake. And if you see how Frenkie is making his mark already on the performances, and how Bergwijn is developing and also Wijnaldum, who finally gets to his level of Liverpool at Oranje. I’m very positive about the future.”

“But I have huge weak spot for Frenkie de Jong, which is probably quite natural. He is the one who can make the difference. And the trend is now that midfielders need to be like triathlon athletes, strong and tall and muscular. But some of them have really terrible ball skills. It starts with technique. The rest can be developed. And I love it how Ajax is now impressing in Europe with skilled, technical players. Frenkie, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres, Van de Beek, all great players. They’re great on the ball but also very agile and fit. Most fans of attractive football will adore this team.”

“I’m not sure of becoming a coach is for me. I have had an invite from Heitinga to assist him at Ajax, under 19. That will be fun. But for now, I want to enjoy life. And I am a romantic. When I see Isco on the bench at Madrid, I want to cry. Casemiro plays and Isco doesn’t not… I don’t get that. Although I have learned to see how certain types of players are important for the balance in the team. It sounds like coach-talk, but it’s true. You won’t win anything with eleven Iscos or eleven Rafael van der Vaarts.”

“But, I do think clubs are starting to over-analyse. At Midtjylland, I suddenly had half a computer around my neck. In a little bag. Could I please put this around my neck? Well, no. Sorry. I threw the thing in the bin. Come on man, you have eyes in your head? They could see how many sprints I made and in which direction. Bullshit. They could even see to which supermarket I went and what vegetables I bought, hahaha. I told them: why don’t we focus on playing the ball to a player with the same colour shirt. My goodness. For me, it all starts with the ball.”

When asked what Rafael’s Best Line Up would be, with players he played with, this is what he came up with…

“I had sleepless nights man, coming up with this line up. I had 109 caps for Oranje, played pro football for 12 years and was at a number of clubs, so I had sooo many options. But here it comes…

On goal, Edwin van der Sar. He was un-be-lievable. And I worked with some great goalies, like Casillas, but Sar was just unbeatable and a top notch skipper too.

At the back, Marcello on left back. He is a bit like me. A real football lover. Passionate about having fun and playing with flair. He is so good on the ball, so fit and such a nice guy. I tell you what, Royston Drenthe was the other left back and Marcelo and Roy were competing for the spot. They would play in turn. I remember Roy playing great in the Champions League and scoring against Barcelona. The coach wanted Drenthe to be the left back, but Drenthe wanted to be left winger! Can you imagine. And he ended up leaving. Otherwise he could still have been Real Madrid’s left full back, hahaha.

Ledley King is the surprise choice for centre back. I played with some great ones, but this guy… He never trained. He was not fit enough. He only trained for himself and maybe on the day before the match with Spurs he would sit in for the tactical training. He simply was not fit enough. Always playing with pain. But when he played during the match, he was like a rock. He was tremendous. I have soo much respect for that guy. And it didn’t matter that he never trained or even wasn’t at tactical sessions, he could perform anyway.

Rafa with captain Chivu winning the title in Holland

I have Christian Chivu as left centre back. Such a cool dude, a leader and super good on the ball. Header of the ball, long pass, didn’t matter. He could do everything. He could have had a much bigger career if his body supported that.

For right back, Sergio Ramos. He was right back when I played with him. A true leader and a very good bloke. And of course, a super defender. When Wes and I played at Madrid, he was still a rookie, but with a lot of bravado. For free kicks, he would come to the ball and make attempts to take it. Wes and I would say “Go away Ramos! You are merely the right back here!” hahahaha… And off he went. Now he’s a Madrid legend.

Midfield wasn’t hard for me. I played with Modric behind me and man man what an intelligent player he is. So smart, sees everything, great touch. We hardly spoke about football and didn’t need to. We had this telepathic thing. Same with Guti. Of all the #10s I played with or against, he was by far the most gifted. If only he was as serious as he was gifted. Boy, he loved to party and he was such a gregarious guy. Loved life too much. But his vision and his passing skills. I remember a match, I was 30 or 40 yards away from him, he was with his back to me, I made a dash into space, he turns and passes the ball blind into space, right on my left foot. Impossible! He couldn’t have seen me! But he did. Gareth Bale is my left midfielder. Because even though he was playing left full back at Spurs, I would use him as my left midfielder, because he can cover that whole left flank.

Up front, Arjen Robben as right winger is a no brainer. I loved playing with him. An amazing player, his mentality, personality, his speed… He is by far one of the best players ever. Of all time! As left winger, C Ronaldo of course. What an incredible talent and what a work ethic! So focused, so motivated and so good. And you know what, he’s a really nice guy as well. One of the blokes in the dressing room, a really good guy. I saw how his life is, from up close and I am glad I am not like him. He’s a rock star, he can’t leave the house to have a kick with his son or have a coffee with his partner. Whereas I can. In Amsterdam, people say hi, but leave me alone. I am the utmost respect for this guy.

Central striker, well… I played with Benzema, with Zlatan, Kluivert and with Ruud van Nistelrooy to name a few. But Peter Crouch is my man! We had a great partnership. I scored 6 goals in my first 5 Spurs matches I think, all thanks to him. He was a really underrated player too. The Messi of tall dudes, I called him. He really is and was a great player and also a very funny and nice guy. After his 6 assists on me, he came over to me and said:”Hey Raf, how about next time you find me and give me an assist for a change?” And I said “Nah, I think its going fine as it is”, hahahaha.

 

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by Jan

The Best of the 2018World Cup

The best of this 2018 World Cup is definitely this wonderful Neymar Alphabet typeface. Some Brazilian went creative and made this and it’s just too funny (and smart).

I didn’t like this World Cup much, to be honest. Sure, partly due to Oranje not being there. And we lost in the qualifications against the eventual World Cup winners. Nice excuse. But we wouldn’t have done so badly in Russia, I don’t think. The only team to really impress from day 1 to the end was Croatia for me.

And yes, Modric does look like Cruyff. And like Cruyff in 1974, Modric didn’t win the World Cup but he will be remembered mostly, like our Johan was back then.

Please challenge my opinion below if you must. Belgium was hot and cold. Lukaku was good in the group stages but wasteful in the knock out stages. Mertens, invisible. Dembele sadly unused.

It’s fun to make fun of Neymar, but truth be told: he clearly wasn’t 100% fit to play

France played negative football. You had the most impressive players (Lacazet, Audambayang, Rabiot weren’t needed for instance, Payet wasn’t missed) paired with a defensive, fearful coach. MBappe’s speed was sacred and France got some help from te VAR here and there too. Won’t go into the history books as a great winner (like the 1998 French team). Their striker Giroud had no shots on goal in 500+ minutes of football. The Dutch satire newspaper De Speld even broke the news Giroud actually missed three hi-fives after winning the World Cup….

The rest? England? Clueless with the ball. Russia. Nice, fun, underdogs, like Wales and Iceland at the Euros2016 but quality? Not really? Spain, Argentina, Germany, Portugal, woeful really.

VAR ref Danny Makkelie

And then the VAR! Messy to say the least. Lack of consistency, lack of clarity. Who takes the decision at the end? The ref or the VAR ref? When is hands hands? Why can two players pull a Serbia striker down to the ground? Why can Sweden’s Berg be tackled from behind in the box? Too many question marks.

So, no Mr Infantino. It was not a great World Cup.

Yes, the tv coverage was great. The stadiums were full. The vibe in Russia appeared to be awesome. But the quality of the football was below par.

Back to the season prep for the national competitions then.

I won’t go into all the different transfer news items, as it’s an ongoing thing and I don’t post enough to keep track and all of you abreast of the situation.

But there are some nice things to share:

Ajax is bringing some top quality to the Eredivisie! Dujan Tadic, Daley Blind… Nice one. Labyad from FC Utrecht is coming in. Per Schuurs is in Amsterdam. And Ziyech hasn’t left yet. Yowza!

But Frenkie de Jong’s transfer to Barcelona is an ongoing topic in the Spanish papers, while Mathijs de Ligt might also still be lured away, now he’s with super agent Raiola.

Feyenoord is losing some key players. Karim El Ahmadi is gifted a free transfer to Saudi Arabia, but it seems Sven van Beek is on his way to Cocu’s Fenerbahce. Sadly, only for 5,5 mio euros, for some reason. Unbelievable really. De Ligt is worth 50 mio apparently? But Van Beek only 1/10th of that?

But Feyenoord is planning to have Jordy Clasie come back, on loan from Southampton and is hoping to get Leroy Fer back as well.

PSV is still scoping on a new midfielder, now Marco van Ginkel is out with a heavy knee injury again and back in London. Mark van Bommel is the real big signing for PSV of course.

It’s good for the Eredivisie to have some European top players return. A stronger competition is good for everyone.

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by Jan

Why Virgil and Gini will win the CL!

Finally, an English team will break the reign of the Spanish CL rulers. It is possible to break the combination and possession play that dominated European football for so long. In the 2005/06 season, the CL became a chess game on grass. In the four semi final matches, only 2 goals were scored. The average that season, was 2,3 goals per game which is the lowest since 1992/393.  The success of the Italian clubs and conservative coaches like Benitez and Mourinho led a new trend. The best way to win something in Europe, was the thought, is to build a strong defensive organisational unit and hope for a counter attack.

Twelve years later and offensive football is victorious. A trend that started with Barcelona. Between 2006 and 2015 they win the most important prize in club football four times! And with dazzling attacking play. And now, this style is being followed, obviously by Pep Guardiola himself, as he brings Bayern Munich and now Man City to the level of his Barca teams. When Barca wins the trophy in 2011, they are one of the few teams to pass 500+ times per match. In this season’s CL tournament, there are 10 clubs that manage this.

To stop the Barcelonas and Bayern Munichs of dominating, the “park the bus” tactics were used, and with success too! Mourinho with Inter Milan, Chelsea under Di Matteo. Atletico’s Diego Simeone turns it into an art form, by playing a solid 4-4-2  with very tight space between the players in a zonal defensive system.

But it’s a German coach who plants the seed in 2013 as a response to the Spanish combinationdomination. And that seed will result and has already resulted in the spectacle in the Champions League we saw this season…

It’s Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich. Both teams have a football approach that starts with possession of the opponent, but with a thrust of pressure forward. A way of thinking reminiscent of the famous AC Milan team of the late 80s, early 90s under Arrigo Sacchi. Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp: “My teams are modelled on the AC Milan team of Sacchi. He was my mentor. I actually never met him but my former assistant coach Wolfgang Frank, who did work with him.”


Exactly like Milan, Klopp’s teams are trained to re-possess the ball in areas and in moments where losing the ball will bring the opponent immediately into trouble. The opponent is unorganised and Klopp’s team will pounce. In 2013, Dortmund beats Malaga and Real Madrid, while Bayern humiliates Barca by winning 7-0 on aggregate!

It doesn’t result in a new German era of success, but it does bring about the new trend of zonal marking, aggressive forward pressure and immediate pressing when the ball is lost. This is how AS Monaco beats Man City in the CL season last year. And this is how PSG beat Barca 4-0 at home. Sadly, the Parisians lose their cool in the Camp Nou and resort back to their defensive, park-the-bus tactics and actually lose on aggregate…

The UEFA’s annual technical report is quite clear, in the 2016/17 season. More than 20% of all goals are scored from a fast transition in open play from defence to attack. And this is even without all the free kicks and penalty kicks that derive from this. The number of passes to create a goal is decreasing as well. As is the average time it takes to win the ball back and score. And almost half of the goals are the result of possession turnaround high on the pitch, in the final third.

That season, Liverpool isn’t in the CL otherwise the stats would have been even more prolific. In the EPL, Klopp is still faced with teams that are happy to use the long ball and by pass the whole build up. And in the EPL, Liverpool does lose too many points against those opponents. In the CL however, teams like to build up, to pass the ball, have possession and break down an opponent.  In the CL, it helps if you can play out from the back with incisive and risky passing, and it helps if you can re-possess the ball swiftly and set up a lethal attack at the same time. Liverpool can do both.

This Liverpool is not the best organised lot. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Man City and Tottenham come to mind as being much better. But Liverpool is the King of Chaos. With the Reds, it is all about the turn around. When the opponent is just off the pace for seconds. When half the team of the opponent is still in forward motion and the other half breaks down to move back. Whenever Liverpool have the ball, they are prepared for when they lose the ball. When Liverpool are without the ball, they are preparing for the counter attack that will come, when they re-claim the ball. And, when Liverpool does start their turn-around move, they’re sheer unstoppable.

Ready for the press!

Klopp summarized it once as such, when asked what the difference was between Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and his Liverpool. “Wenger loves to have the ball and loves to play from foot to foot. They’re well structured and balanced. Like an orchestra. They play lovely harmonies. I prefer heavy metal. I like noise. I like chaos.”

The Liverpool Stats on their way to the CL finals are stunning. Out of the 33 goals they scored, 28 goals were set up with less than four passes. No other team has scored or shot on target as often from the turnaround as Liverpool have…

Klopp organises his teams in such a way that winning the ball back equates becoming a threat immediately. This is how it’s done. The Liverpool team will veer with the opponents movement. The pace goes down a bit, every player protecting his zone. The team on the ball will actually believe they get a moment to breath and build up nicely. But Liverpool players are taught to recognise when the opponent gets into trouble. For instance, a pass on a midfielder with his face towards his own goal. Or a square pass to a back who is with his back to the line and has less options. Or a pass lacking the pace. A stray pass. Anything. And when that happens, it’s like Liverpool turns from kittens into leopards. They suddenly increase the intensity and hunt for the ball. Klopp’s team is like a predator, allowing the pray to think they’re safe. Until they’re not anymore.

The moment Nangolain made the wrong pass…

With Mane and Salah up top, Liverpool has the speed. And they work well together with false #9 Firminho, the first station in the counter attack, he will find the pass towards the two speedy forwards. Firminho is also the man to join in and his bursts usually create space for the upcoming midfielders, like Can or Wijnaldum or Oxlade Chamberlain. The Liverpool midfielders are all built for this chaotic style of play. They can all come up with creative solutions under pressure. Klopp: “How I coach the counters? That is not hard. I start with signing players who are willing to work hard every match and who are happy to run constantly, even if they won’t get the ball.”

And Liverpool is away….

And the entertainment value of Liverpool matches is the result of all this, as Liverpool also makes mistakes in their execution. They score 5 against Roma, using their strengths and concede 2 against Roma in situations where the cohesion is gone. When the field becomes too stretched or when a defender misses the challenge, Liverpool can become really open and vulnerable. Klopp doesn’t seem to care. “As long as we score more on the other end…”

These are the 6 principles of Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy:

  1. Lure the Opponent in

Liverpool doesn’t need the ball. Liverpool wants to control space. They determine where the opponent can go and where they can’t. By pressing early and high, opponents can either play the long ball, and there is a fair chance The Reds will win that (Virgil van Dijk) or they play out of the back, which is a high risk game. Because if they lose the leather, the likes of Salah, Mane and Firminho will tear you apart. Liverpool will drop back a bit, giving the opponent the idea it’s safe to start building up and then – as explained above – when a certain risky situation appears, they will pounce. They will all move towards the side where the ball is and suddenly block off the next pass.

2.  Direct the ball towards one side

Liverpool doesn’t mind it when the opponent has the ball as long as they have it where Liverpool wants them to have it. And they do this by not being totally in balance. It’s the smart body language and smart runs that will slowly force the opponent into a certain area. Roberto Firmino is the king of this game. He’s got the intelligence and the energy to repeatedly do this in a match. Klopp will find the weakest link in the opponents team and seemingly leave that player unmarked. Once he is played in (usually a full back) Firminho will move towards the player in such a way that the next pass is predictable. And pray for the next Liverpool player. Another element that is key is the ability of the Liverpool players to “mark” two players. Basically, the midfielders and the defenders of Liverpool are capable of putting pressure on the man with the ball but also by blocking a pass to a team mate of the opponent.

Liverpool forcing the goalie to make the risky pass into one of the central backs

3.  Prepare the trap

When Liverpool is at the point where the opponent is forced to the side where Liverpool wants them, the trap will be set. Liverpool will block every pass, except the one that Liverpool likes to see used. Liverpool keeps one option open and the player under pressure will usually use that option. In some situations, four Liverpool players will be ready to immediately put pressure on the ball with intensity and pace. Once the ball is won, Liverpool can immediately attack.

4. Set the trap

Liverpool, as a result of the number of players used in the trap, will always have players available to release the ball to. There is usually always a man more situation created as a result. Obviously, Liverpool will be understaffed on other areas of the pitch and sometimes a really special player will be able to play the ball in one time in that area, but Klopp is happy to have that risk. Because when Liverpool do win the ball, they have a man more situation (at least one man more) and most of Liverpool’s goals are scored from this situation.

5.   Do get the ball!

Apparently, this is the past where Klopp needed most work. Because putting pressure on the ball or actually getting the ball are different things. Klopp wants his players to go for the kill. Not complacent pseudo challenges. But go for the ball 100%. The result in the 2016/17 season: Liverpool players re-possessed the ball most out of all EPL players, and that includes creative players like Philippe Coutinho.

6.  Attack!

The last ingredient of the Klopp recipe is to actually attack. Don’t repossess the ball and recycle it with a square pass or a back pass. No. Attack! Immediately. The opponent usually is badly organised in these situations and Klopp wants to use that situation. But it does mean his players have to work ever so hard and cover so much ground. With Mane and Salah he has speed and with the likes of Firminho, Wijnaldum, Milner and Can he has the work horses to support.

With this style of play, it is easy to see why the top teams don’t like to play against Liverpool. But it also shows why it ‘s hard for Liverpool to win the EPL title. Most of the teams in the bottom half of the league will not try and dominate, or play possession and walk into the Liverpool trap. Against these teams, the long ball will be used by the opponent and Liverpool will have to find a Plan B to break these clubs down.

Winning the Champions League seems easier for Liverpool than winning the EPL title…

Thanks to VI Pro for the insights…

 

 

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