Tag: Propper

Another Germany – Oranje…

Dutch football is on the rise. Ajax’ campaign in Europe last season was unheard of. And the resulting interest in some of the Dutch top players a logical next step, with big moves for De Ligt and De Jong, Champions League football for De Roon and Babel, a new adventure for Cillesen in Spain… In the usually so challenging August month, 4 Dutch clubs impressively reached the group stages of the European competitions and Virgil van Dijk was awarded the European Footballer of the Year award… ahead of Messi and C Ronaldo.

All wonderful news. And on top of that, Ajax managed to keep Onana, Mazraoui, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Tadic, Neres and Blind on board with disappointing striker Kasper Dolberg leaving for Nice. Lasse Schone, for years a loyal key part of the different Ajax teams was allowed a final money move to Genua. Ajax’ investments in new players will definitely prove to be a gift for the Eredivisie, with Dutch international Quincy Promes amongst the new signings.

PSV is looking sharp (and young) with Malen, Gakpo, Ihatarren, Dumfries and Bergwijn as regular starters while Feyenoord seems to take shape too, slowly but surely, under Jaap Stam with Steven Berghuis in the leader role and former Oranje players Karsdorp, Narsingh and Leroy Fer back in Holland to revitalise their careers.

And the Dutch flag ship team, the Lions, are set to start their season as well. And why not against Germany? A good opponent to kick the season off with….

It’s the fourth meeting in eleven months. The games were all considered “tactical matches” by Ronald Koeman and in the third edition (2-3 loss), it was Joachim Low who outsmarted his Dutch counterpart.

Koeman is not all too relaxed when faced with Germany again. “They are problably one of the strongest teams around. Forget their abysmal World Cup campaign and forget the victories we had over them in the Nations League. This Germany oozes quality.” Their strength is, their flexibility and ability to change their style mid-game. They have speed and guile upfront, a couple of killer strikers and a lot of movement.

In the last meeting, Koeman went for a 4-2-3-1 system, with Babel and Promes on as striker partners for Memphis.

Holland doesn’t get a grip on the game, though, as Gozetzka is successful in shielding Frenkie de Jong. The movement is too much for Holland’s midfield and Koeman goes back to the 5-4-1 he used in the first victory over Germany.

Quincy Promes played on the wing back spot (as did Babel) and the former generates to opportunities for Babel at the start of the second half. The Germans seem rattled but soon find out that now the space is to found in the axis of the field.

Koeman brings Bergwijn for Promes and changes again: this time to a 5-3-2 and the two striking partners (Memphis and Bergwijn) keep pressure on the German defence and allow the midfield to take more control. Wijnaldum takes on the job to cover Kroos from De Roon and the Liverpool midfielder manages to contain the Real Madrid playmaker. The result is that Germany starts to play the long ball to bypass midfield and as a result, Virgil and Matthijs can play to their strength, winning the aerial battles.

Oranje fights back from 0-2 to 2-2 and it seems another draw is on the cards. A series of communication errors after a number of subs results in players being unmarked allowing the Germans one more attempt at goal: 2-3.

The infamous note of assistant Dwight Lodeweges for coach Koeman

Koeman is fuming after the match: why didn’t he make a final change to make sure the 2-2 wasn’t further endangered. He concluded that the number of players in defensive roles wasn’t the issue, but more the series of wrong decisions made….

A key conclusion after that game is: Holland isn’t as good as we hope / think we are. We still have steps to take. The coach is still important in the changes he makes. When the team gets stuck, it needs the changes from the bench to repair the problem. The next step is that this team (De Jong, Propper, Van Dijk, Memphis) will see what needs to be done for themselves.

For the match coming Friday, Leroy Sane – one of the trouble makers in the last match – is missing with injury. But on the other hand,  Germany has multiple options to deal with this omission as Low is able to use Reus, Brandt, Havertz and Werner he could use to good effect coming from the flanks. We’ll know it 30 mins before the match…

Eight internationals made a move this summer. Lets zoom in and see how they faired.

Ryan Babel – Galatasaray

Babel went from Fulham in the EPL back to Turkey, to play for Galatasaray. After 6 years without a call up, he made his way back into the orange jersey under Koeman. On the left, Babel covers the whole flank, doing his defensive duties and supporting Memphis in attack. Babel played central striker in the first competitive matches and has his first goal already too.

Jesper Cillesen – Valencia

Cillesen was a highly regarded goalie for Barca for 3 seasons but wanted to play every week. And with Valencia, it seems he has that opportunity. His new employer hasn’t started too good but Cillesen was able to stop a spotkick by Denis Suarez and secured the #1 spot (for now).

Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld – Bournemouth

The youngster went from the PSV Academy to NEC in the second tier, because he wanted playing time. After one season, Club Brugge picked him up and now Danjuma made his debut for Oranje and signed a super deal with Bournemouth. Danjuma hasn’t played a minute for Bournemouth as a result of a foot injury. Eddie Howe is frustrated: “We did every single test on him and didn’t find a thing. And now this. We don’t even know how serious it is!”

Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona

The most talked about transfer of the summer. Frenkie had a super pre-season with the club, making an impression. In his first Liga game, Barca loses, partly due to the man marking Bilbao had for Frenkie. He can’t get rid of the marker and needs the help of Rakitic to get some joy on the ball. In the second game Frenkie is the left midfielder in the Betis game where his contributions on midfield resulted in three Barca goals. In his last game for Barca, he plays on the left again but can’t avoid a draw. He had the least contacts of the whole team in that match, a strong indicator that he is not yet firing on all cylinders.

Luuk de Jong – Sevilla

PSV attacking leader and goal scorer Luuk de Jong tried in a bigger competition for the third time. Failed at Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany and Newcastle in England, the Spanish are quite taken with the header specialist. De Jong hasn’t scored yet but was crucial in two instances, and two goals. The Sevilla fans have seen the value Luuk can bring.

Matthijs de Ligt – Juventus

What appeared to be a longwinded transfer soap opera ended with a move to Juventus. Not as predictable as Frenkie’s move, but the young Ajax skipper proclaimed to have been a Juve fan from childhood and a big follower of Italian defenders. Surely, Cristiano whispering in his ear will have helped too. His pre-season wasn’t too great, with some clear adaption issues (and an own goal). He didn’t play in Juve’s first match but got the nod when Chiellini got seriously injured for the top match vs Napoli. His direct opponent scored and according to the ruthless media, De Ligt defended as a girl and was guilty of three goals. Juve did win that match, to soften the blow. Ronald Koeman laughed the criticism away: “I had a horrific start at Barca as well and if you ask the people there today about me, I don’t think anyway will mention my start. Matthijs was at fault of one goal, not three. I am not worried.”

Quincy Promes – Ajax

The young former Ajax talent made his way to the top via FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles, making his name at Spartak Moscow. His move to Seville wasn’t a success as he was mainly used as stand in for the wing backs. In Amsterdam, they expected the exit of Ziyech, Neres and Van de Beek and they signed the former Russian top scorer early. Now, with the Ajax three signing on for more, Promes started on the bench and even getting a nasty foot injury. He started for Ajax last weekend and managed his first Eredivisie goal vs Sparta.

Tonny Vilhena – Krasnodar

The Feyenoord version of Edgar Davids was named in transfer rumours for years. Bundesliga, Serie A, EPL (Leicester City), they all came and went. For personal reasons (his mom was very ill), Tonny didn’t move away from Rotterdam until this summer and brows were raised when it was Krasnodar. Vilhena scored and assisted one in the shock win over FC Porto in the CL-qualification game. Vilhena plays either left or right midfield for his new club and Koeman knows the youngster can also play left back or left wing back. That versatility is a big plus for Koeman who loves players like him, Ake and Daley Blind who can offer the coach options.

Ronald Koeman claims he has the ideal eleven in his head for the match tomorrow. The full squad is fit as it is and it is expected he won’t change anything in his defence and midfield. The injured Bergwijn needs to be replaced and the experienced Promes is the most logical option.

Oranje is way behind the leaders in the group but this is because of Holland’s Nation League campaign. Winning or drawing vs Germany is not essential but losing does mean Oranje can’t afford a single misstep.

I believe we’ll win this match 1-3, hitting the Germans on the counter, with a key role for playmaker Frenkie and goals for Memphis, Promes and sub Donyell Malen.

 

Van de Beek: Koeman’s support was key!

Last summer, Donny van de Beek thought he had his break through season behind him, but head strong coach Erik ten Hag at Ajax felt differently. The Ajax midfielder had only had eleven minutes in the CL qualification games and his face predicted a thunder storm. “This is a tough situation. The coach decides and that is what I have to deal with. I can be all full of bravado and talk about leaving but I simply have to give 100% and we’ll see what happens. But I can’t accept a role as a bench warmer. I’m sorry.”

This summer, it seems Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich are just some names of big clubs preparing an offer for the 22 year old.

What Donny didn’t mention was that in that previous summer, his groin had played up and he wasn’t part of the full pre-season program. Ajax played 6 qualification matches and Donny only started in three of them. In the first months in the Eredivisie, a similar pattern. When he did start, Ten Hag took him off before the game ended.

Mr Ajax, icon Sjaak Swart, the former right winger in Cruyff/Michels 1970s Ajax looks back at that time. “Donny has lived with me for a while, ever since his teenage years, simply to limit the long trips every day to his family in Nijkerk. I think I have a good insight in his personality, and I was never in doubt that he’d come good. I know his mentality and he is a fighter. Yes, it was tough, but he never rebelled and kept on working hard. We knew he’d fight his way into the team.”

Despite the stop-and-start beginning of the Ajax season, Ronald Koeman never overlooked Van de Beek. He was always part of the squad and although he didn’t play vs France and Germany in the Nations League games, he did play in the Belgium friendly in Brussels.

The turnaround at Ajax came when Ten Hag went for the Tadic-line up as it’s called in Holland. The version with Tadic as the false #9, allowing a spot for Neres and Van de Beek (but keeping Dolberg and Huntelaar benched).

And that campaign ended far in extra time in the second semi finals in Amsterdam vs Spurs. With an increasingly important role for Van de Beek, with his sense of positioning, his technical ability, his running ability and tactical smarts… The complete midfielder, as also Real Madrid scouts have noticed.

Van de Beek with Ajax legend and manager Sjaak Swart

His stats are impressive: he scored 17 goals and had 13 assists in 57 official games for Ajax. Ronald Koeman: “The success of Ajax is important for the young players and for Oranje. Donny is the prime example, he is knocking on the door. Really loudly.”

Donny van de Beek, in Portugal with Oranje for the Nations League: “I understand why Koeman didn’t use me in the Nations League group games. The team stood! The results were good and the other lads did well. But I am convinced I can make my point and get into the team.”

Van de Beek made big steps, this season. And also thanks to changes in his nutrition and strength training. Sjaak Swart: “In the game against Utrecht, considered one of the toughest ones for Ajax in the last stage of the season, two players stepped up and took Ajax by the hand: Ziyech and Donny van de Beek. You can only do this when you are super fit. You can’t do this when you haven’t been taking care of yourself. He has grown tremendously and he is now one of the leaders on the pitch. He is always available, he makes his dummy runs and is important in the group. He has grown in every aspect of the game.”

Koeman has a luxury issue with his midfield. He has an international star in Wijnaldum, who finally shows his level in Oranje as well as in Liverpool. Frenkie de Jong is another certainty. Since he plays in Oranje, the Dutch play dominant football again with a strong forward thrust. The third spot will have to battled for, by Marten de Roon, Davy Propper and Donny van de Beek (albeit that Donny could also compete with Gini Wijnaldum for his spot).

Since the Reds midfielder is playing more offensively his share in the attacking results has increased significantly. In his last 5 games he was involved in 5 goals (3 scored, 2 assisted). Van de Beek has an opinion as well: “I don’t see myself as the high number 10. I am more a number 8, a box-to-box player but I can play in the controlling mid role as well.” The dynamic right midfielder role seems the ideal role for him in Oranje. And that allows for Wijnaldum and Frenkie to play in their fave role. And with his runs forward, he would be a perfect companion for Memphis in the striker’s role.

His penetration runs… in the Eredivisie he has an average of 6.3 runs into the opponent’s box in 90 minutes. At PSV, Pereiro is the player with the second most runs with 5,8 runs and Guus Til of AZ is #3 with 5.1 runs.

And Van de Beek has many new fans, one of them Jose Mourinho who put Van de Beek in his CL team of the season. There are many new options too, even though he renewed his deal with Ajax only months ago, now it goes till 2022. Borussia Dortmund was the first club to come knocking but they were scared off by the asking price. With Frenkie and De Ligt already leaving and great odds that Ziyech is leaving too, Ajax wants to keep their other strongholders and ask for the top price if interest is shown.

What will he do? Make a mozzah but end up on the bench in Madrid or London? Or will he stay, maybe take the captain’s band and play another season under Ten Hag.

Swart: “Donny needs to be with a club where they play neat and attacking football. He would do well with the likes of Man City, Arsenal. He has that here, its always a question mark how it will go elsewhere. But he is keen to find out where his ceiling is. And he will need to make a step up to find out. But he won’t go to just any club. He will also not decide with his wallet. That is not him. When he leaves Ajax, it will be for a world class club, nothing les.”

Van de Beek himself? “You read stuff and you hear stuff. I am not worried. I’m taking a break now and I’ll see what comes on my path. I am focused on football and I love being at Ajax. My contract is still for another 3 years so I won’t make any comments on my future. I want to win more trophies. And with Ajax and Oranje I can and this is where my focus is.”

 

Oranje: still a lot to learn!

There is a lot of positives to say about this Oranje. A lot of great stuff, good performances, quality talent, etc. So much great stuff to look out for.

But.

We also need to be honest when it was not so good. Or bad.

And the Nations League finals vs Portugal, was bad.

The whole bloody match was pretty bad, from both nations. Portugal does like to play like they did. Their tactical set up is like this. Their DNA is like this. And they do it well. They played better than us, had more shots on goal / target and ended up winning it.

Holland played far below par.

And sure, we will spend a lot of time hailing our boys, talking about the future, the talents, Frenkie, Virgil’s Ballon D’Or, our performance in the Nations League, Weghorst, how tough it was to miss two tournaments, De Ligt’s next club, etc etc but it has to be said.

We didn’t play well. And we need to analyse why.

I normally despise it when after a bad loss or a bad game, players (and coaches) say: “It’s best to quickly forget this game and move on to the next!”.

No, I say. No! It’s important to analyse WHY you lose. Why you played bad.

And I have an idea. I think we lost on three counts.

And two counts are on Ronald Koeman. Our coach.

Yes, he’s excellent. He is experienced. He is well liked by the players, etc.

But he is also old-school. He’s not from the modern generation, like Pep, Tuchel, Ten Hag, Nagelsmann… He’s more like Michels and Hiddink combined.

The  three reasons I think we lost.

The Team needed fresh legs after the England game

We had one day less to prep for the finals. We also played an extra 30 minutes in a tough physical game. Some or our lads came out of a tough and long competition. Ajax, Liverpool, Atalanta Bergamo, Lyon…these clubs played a massive number of games and I think Koeman should have allowed some fresh players to play.

And don’t think I come up with this after the match, I said this before the finals already.

Ryan Babel, 32 years old, played tough matches with Fulham in a relegation battle. He should have been left out. I probably would have picked either Promes or Van de Beek in his place (with Van de Beek in Wijnaldum’s role and Gini playing as a false left winger / midfielder).

Marten de Roon had a tough competition and it was great to see how easy a fresh Davy Propper fitted into the team vs England. Propper didn’t play much in the final stage of the EPL season due to an injury. Why not use his qualities in midfield, vs a team that is used to turn games into chess matches…?

 We were outplayed tactically

Potugal doesn’t play as open as England. They stack the midfield and tactically astute Portugal would always focus on De Jong, to stop him (and Oranje) playing.

For me, the solution would have been using Davy Propper instead of De Roon. We would always win the midfield battle if we would have had one more player there with build up skills (Propper) and – see above – a more midfield style forward on the left, as opposed to Babel. We allowed Portugal to play us like they wanted to play us and we simply didn’t have the physical strength to take them on. This is where Koeman should have been smarter.

Some Players didn’t reach their level and should have been replaced

It didn’t take long for us all to see that Denzel Dumfries was not in great shape. He had a tough game vs England already, but vs Portugal, they allowed him acres of space and he didn’t do a lot with it. Dutch TV showed a clip of highlights lowlights with terrible touches and passing by the PSV right back. Now, don’t get me wrong: I think Dumfries will turn into a great full back for us. He’s strong, quick, tall, he has balls and – usually – a good cross. But when he plays like he did, why not replace him? The best option for Koeman to replace him with? Quincy Promes!

He plays wingback for Seville at times and does so very well. He would have been as vulnerable defensively, ok, but offensively he would have done so much better.

We needed some smart and balls by Koeman and I fear he let us down.

Memphis didn’t have “it” either but Memphis will always be a threat. He didn’t play great vs England but was still able to create three goals!

And obviously, we should spend a lot of time here applauding the lads, applauding the team, the coach, the clubs, our revival into the big time! Of course.

Some lessons from the past Nations League Matches…

Who will assist Memphis upfront?

Memphis Depay was the leader upfront, with three goals and five assists, he was involved in 8 of the last 9 Oranje goals. When Memphis is on song, Oranje has a bite. When he’s not, the wingers Babel and Bergwijn need to step up. The framework is there, but once the creativity on the ball in an attacking sense is faltering, we need Plan B or C.

It’s not Memphis Depay who is the symbol of this Oranje rejuvenation.

It’s Daley Blind. He was seen as a top player in the Ajax youth. Once he stepped up to the first team, there were doubts. He was too soft. Too slow. What position is his? A good player on several positions, but on none of the spots was he the absolute star.

Last season Blind played 17 matches for Man United as filler. His career was on a crossroad. Another EPL club? West Ham? Interest from Italy? Ajax swooped in and paid a lofty sum for the introverted Blind but his Ajax season is symbolic for Dutch football. He played 60 odd matches and was one of Ajax’ best players this season. He was also one of the few Oranje players who played really well vs England and Portugal.

“Daley Blind isn’t a talker in the group, he’s not loud. But he is our tactical brain n the pitch. He sees situations quickest of all. He is always positioned well. I use him on the pitch as my assistant coach. I only need to use a few words and he gets it and deals with it,” says Ajax coach Erik ten Hag.

Blind is a top player, not just tactically, also technically, mentally and physically. He only missed on national cup match vs the amateurs of Te Werve.

He was one of the mid 20 players who were supposed to lead Oranje, under Guus Hiddink and Danny Blind. Strootman, Wijnaldum, Blind, De Vrij, Memphis…

But they weren’t up to it. Then.

Now, combined with new Oranje leader Virgil van Dijk and cocky youngsters like Frenkie and Mathijs, the generation Blind/Wijnaldum is stepping up, just like Memphis has re-juvenated his career.

Frenkie’s threatening and penetrating play was stifled successfully by the Portuguese, but he demonstrated many times before (vs England and with Ajax) how capable he is. He is constantly able to glide away from opponents, he has an eye for time and space and is able to dictate the rhythm of the team. But also, when losing possession, De Jong is a force to be reckoned with. He is quick, he reads the game, he can defend and tackle and most importantly, he is able to perform a technically perfect sliding. Frenkie drives the opponent mad.

And with De Ligt also making his way to the European top, one can only assume that our team will improve as a result. Donny van de Beek might follow while Bergwijn and Cillessen are also nominated to make a move up.

Eleven matches ago, Koeman fielded his starting eleven for the England match we lost. Only four players are still in the starting line up: Van Dijk, De Ligt, Wijnaldum en Depay. And none of them playing on the same position now, as Koeman abandoned the 5-3-2 for a 4-2-3-1.

Strootman started as the vice skipper in Oranje and was one of the pantomime villains under Hiddink/Blind. Today, he’s sixth choice, behind De Roon, Propper and Van de Beek. The midfield issues Oranje had are solved. De Roon is playing CL football next season, while Propper is clearly too good for Brighton and on his way to bigger things: Ajax or another EPL club….

This summer will be huge for Oranje. Koeman has rejected any suggestion that he’d go to Barcelona. He’ll stay. Bergwijn, Promes, Berghuis, Propper, Weghorst, De Ligt, Van de Beek, but also Malen, Kluivert and Weghorst…what will they do?

Lots of questions! I can’t wait for the answers….

 

Oranje hungry for trophy

After being in the doldrums for years, the Dutch are back at the top. We beat World Champions France, 2014 Champs Germany, we took on semi finalist England… And now we’re about to take the scalp of European Title holder Portugal. Again.

Our lads are on a roll! Led by experienced Ronald Koeman – the timing for him to be our NT manager is now, is just perfect – and further inspired by Ajax’ and Liverpool’s successes, this team marches on!

What a game we saw them play again! I think you’ll have to watch it again to realise what a massive match it was.

Sure, England didn’t play their best team against us, due to the CL finals. But this is still a top notch squad we were up against and yet again, England played second fiddle to our boys.

And we ruled. We controlled the match and we set the tone. And ended up winning 3-1, although it could have easily been 6-2 for Holland. Memphis could have had a hattrick (like C Ronaldo in the Portugal semis vs Swizerland) but the Lyon forward was “unlucky”.

Strong Daley Blind: never in trouble

Interesting to see too, how some people keep on believing Daley Blind is the weak spot in the team. Not only did he play 66 matches this season, most of them really good too, he was one of the top performers for Ajax and played another strong game vs England.

Our weakest spot in the team is still the right back role. Janmaat seems to be struggeling with fitness, Tete was injured and Rick Karsdorp need to make a move away from AS Roma (apparently Peter Bosz’ Bayern Leverkusen is in the market) and play more matches. Today, Hateboer and Dumfries are the choices we have and both are vulnerable in defence. I think Hateboer is a perfect wingback, while Dumfries has wonderful moments and woeful ones…

A world class striker

Somehow, the English commentators started to put a thought in the Dutch minds. They said Holland had the midfield and the defence to win the World Cup, but needs top forwards to actually do so. (They also said the exact opposite of the English team, by the way).

I don’t buy into it. I am fully on board with what Koeman is doing. Memphis has demonstrated to be able to score. Over and over again. He’s one of our current top scorers, he creates and scores for Lyon and will never unlearn this. Babel, Bergwijn and Promes are also players who usually are prolific and Weghorst and L. de Jong are perfect pinch hitters.

And don’t forget, Memphis is Oranje’s Most Valuabe Player under Koeman by a country mile! With 8 goals and 7 assists (15 in total) he is number 1, with Mathijs de Ligt (2 goals, 2 assists) and Virgil van Dijk (4 goals) as number 2s.

And yes, wouldn’t it be awesome to have a new Van Nistelrooy or Van Basten sometimes soon? Of course. But we will be able to win trophies with the current forwards, as this team is currently demonstrating! We also have Danjuma and Dilrosen still, Sam Lammers is coming along as is Donyel Malen, FC Utrecht and AZ have some young strikers in their midst, and don’t forget Redan at Chelsea.

Against England, our forwards were not as sharp. It happens. Bergwijn had two massive opportunities he scoffed. Memphis could have had 3 goals. Babel was not in great shape, but we all know he can score and head a ball too.

Don’t be surprised to see Promes start for Oranje instead of Babel vs Portugal. The three mercurial forwards Bergwijn, Promes and Depay need some time together and they will tear opponents apart. For me, Donny van de Beek would be the perfect offensive midfielder to join in and play his Jack-in-the-Box role, with Frenkie and Gini as controlling mids. Davy Propper being the perfect stand-in for either.

Speaking of Propper, you know I am a fan. He demonstrated in the short spell he played that he can do what Frenkie does, too. He has always been a more humble guy and maybe was told in the youth system to not take risks, but the way Frenkie de Jong plays is an inspiration to the others. I saw Propper turn away and move forward on the first pass he received and Marten de Roon also found some confidence in his build up play, seemingly comfortable being played in with two opponents close by.

It is no surprise Ajax will be making a play for the midfielder, to replace Frenkie de Jong in midfield.

I really think we have more than one player in midfield who can make a difference and I’m excited with players like Cokcu, Gakpo, Ihatarren, Stengs and Carel Eiting coming through too.

The English Lessions

1 – Details

“I was already looking over the ball to see where I wanted to pass it. That was not smart.” The 19 year old Ajax skipper made two mistakes. The first is a mistake a player can make, and will make. Whether he’s 19 or 29. It happens to every defender every now and then. Play 40+ matches in a season and you make 3 or 4 mistakes. The second mistake was De Ligt gliding in, where he could have tried to stay on his feet and block the shot from an acute angle, knowing the goalie was there still too. But De Ligt took it on the chin and ended up playing a superb match, with a stunning header goal to boot. It’s the big lesson: make one mistake and the opponent will hurt you. One wrong pass. One wrong touch. It can be the difference between winning or losing. De Ligt is learning and he’s learning fast!

2 – Effectiveness

“We were better most of the game, but sloppy with the final ball. We went to quickly to the flanks which played into their hands really. And we had a number of opportunities which should have been converted into 100% chances. We were too sloppy.” This is Koeman’s analysis of the game. Yes, Holland was better. But we simply didn’t create real chances in the first hour. Bergwijn had a big one. He created it himself and he ended up destroying it. Memphis had a good one after a break, with Wijnaldum playing him in. Memphis fluffed his lines. And also in the second half, in the last minutes, he couldn’t sort his feet out properly on a break with Promes… He did get a good diving header in and was simply unlucky with that one. With Babel, Bergwijn and Memphis, Koeman gambles on their speed, trickery and creativity. Bergwijn played a good game, but Memphis and Babel didn’t reach their usual level. Weird, as Memphis assisted all three goals basically, but he also had many howlers, bad touches and bad decisions. And should have scored three times, in my view. Our attacking play needs more effectiveness, as we won’t get 9 opportunities to score against other big nations (Portugal, anyone??).

3 – The strength of the squad

We can leave Wout Weghorst at home. Bas Dost decided to call it a day himself. As Ajax demonstrated this season, it is possible to keep 16 players happy as you can use them all in a campaign to something special. Davy Propper, Quincy Promes, Donny van de Beek… all three added flair to the game when they came on, with Promes basically scoring twice! With the likes of Jeroen Zoet, Kenneth Vermeer, De Vrij, Ake, Vilhena and Luuk de Jong, we have more players who can come onto the pitch and make a difference.

4 – Setpieces

With 17 minutes to go, the Dutch supporters cheered as if we scored: we simply got a corner kick. But with Memphis or Propper on corner taking duties and De Ligt and Van Dijk in the box, you know you have a real chance. De Ligt: “I train these situations every second day. I work on my jumps, on my timing… And if the corner is perfect, as it was, and the block works, as it did, it becomes easier for me to finish the ball off.” Holland has a plan for set pieces and it paid off.

5 – Physical strength

For decades, we had to hear that Dutch footballers are physically speaking less than the Germans, Italians, French and English players… Not anymore. Daley Blind played 66 games this season. Against England, he was capable of playing full throttle for 120 minutes and also delivered the pass of the match, with his outside left. And he’s not alone: Wijnaldum, Van Dijk, De Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Denzel Dumfries…all powerhouses of guys. Holland was physically better than England. Quite a new statement to make.

6 – Hungry for trophies

“When you win, you won’t feel the fatigue” is a oft used saying by coaches. Even after conceding an unfortunate goal, Holland kept believing and diligently continued hunting for that equaliser. Never in haste, never erratic. The team excudes enthusiasm and joy to play, and demonstrated resilience and hunger. There is unity for all to see and Koeman created a foundation for the individuals to shine and excel. This spot in the finals might be a first in a series of many…

Oranje and blog are back!

Hi all, my deepest apologies for leaving you by yourself for so long… It’s just life, I guess. Work was crazy and on top of that I relocated from the most Westerly point in Australia to the most Easterly point. As if you go from West Ireland to East Ukraine. It always takes its toll.

But with Oranje back, so am I. I hope you didn’t miss me.

Lets dive in!

In the past months we have seen some incredible progress in our players, and our teams. Really good to see how Van Bommel is injecting PSV with some venom, and with a lot of young exciting players! Also just amazing to see how Ajax is doing in Europe and how the international media and football world is paying attention.

At the same time, our lads abroad are establishing themselves well, with an exception here or there (Memphis in Lyon). But Cillessen, De Vrij, Virgil, Wijnaldum, Ake, Klaassen, Promes, our lads in Italy, most players are doing really well!

And the optimism around this Oranje is well deserved. We have been winning again and we see players with smiles on their faces. That is what we want.

The 4-0 win over Belarus was exactly what the doctor ordered. And it allowed Koeman to put some sharpness into the team by criticising them afterwards. Typically something he borrowed from JC, Van Hanegem and Van Gaal. When the team disappointed and the fans are down, you build them up. When the team cruised past an opponent, scores goals and excels in backheels and trickery, you talk them back down to Earth.

Because…. Germany is waiting!

In this qualification series, Germany and Holland are the two main contenders. So, winning once again Germany and simply winning all your other matches will get you safely to the first Pot of the Euro draw.

Koeman decided not to tinker. He thought the De Roon / De Jong partnership worked well and decided to start Propper off the bench. He also believes in the triangle of Babel, Memphis and Gini with Bergwijn as the free wanderer in the Promes role.

Oranje started on the front foot and Man of the Match Memphis scored within the first minute after a sloppy backpass. The Lyon striker still had a lot to do and took on the goalie, to finish off with a curvy snooker shot, inside post: 1-0.

The 2-0 was set up by Wijnaldum. He took the ball under pressure, found a free runner on the right and it was Dumfries who had the pre-assist, crossing the ball to Memphis, who backheeled it into the path of Wijnaldum again: 2-0.

With more than 30 mins to go in first half, Koeman wanted his team to be more business like and kill the game off. “I wasn’t happy in the break. I saw a confident and cocky Oranje, but it wasn’t time for gallery play. With 2-0, they can always get back into it, with a lucky deflection or something and then it is game on. You need to kill the game off: 3-0 before the break. Then 4-0 after the break and then you can play your backheels. I don’t think this stadium (Feyenoord stadium) ever saw this many tricks in one match!”

Memphis is one of the leaders of this new Oranje. Koeman made that clear when he started and he will not share in the doubts, expressed by Lyon’s coach. “Memphis is remarkable. He is top class and I don’t doubt him at all.” Koeman has the frame of the team in place, and he will be very happy indeed. Jasper Cillessen is in top form, even if he is #2 at Barca. De Ligt and Van Dijk are world class, Frenkie is key and with Memphis we have a forward leading the line with all his specific qualities. He can shoot from distance, he can dribble, he can pass and move, he can find the killer pass… He is the total package.

Around that axis, Koeman has wonderful options. Bergwijn or Berghuis. Different type of wingers. Then there is Promes. Babel. The two youngster Dilrosun and Danjuma and more coming through swiftly. In midfield, Propper, Klaassen, Vilhena, Van de Beek, Rosario and more in the ascendency. And the same can be said for our backline. Nathan Ake and Stefan de Vrij are our benchwarmers. That tells the story.

For the Germany game, Koeman had to call up Hans Hateboer of Atalanta. Dumfries is not 100% and Tete had to leave the pitch vs Belarus (after coming on as a sub) with a hamstring issue. I can see why Koeman wanted Hateboer over Janmaat, to take on Sane. The mercurial left winger of City is the biggest danger (with Reus) and Janmaat probably lacks the speed and defensive nous to deal with Sane. But with Dumfries not 100%, I think I would have called Janmaat anyway.

So far so good! We’ll probably see almost the same 11 play against Germany, as Koeman will want to work towards a team with some solidity. De Roon was taken off vs Belarus as he was yellow carded but I do expect him to be in the team again, as an extra safeguard in midfield, so Frenkie can play with some more freedom.