Tag: Rekik

by Jan

On the road to Qatar: Nathan Ake

He grabbed a starting berth in Oranje stealthily. He combines intelligence, experience, eagerness to learn and quality in one package. “He’s a special kid, and that he is.”

When Ake played at Bournemouth, his coach would play 5 defenders at the back when playing Man City. “In this way, we will limit the space for them to play in.” This is how Ake realised that playing for a big club like City (or Chelsea) brings a different dynamic. When he made his move to Man City, he realised he had to improve in finding solutions in less time and less space. Dutchman Piet Cremers worked at City as their peformance analyst for years and can confirm that Nathan was always trying to find ways to better understand the game and use this to develop himself. Whether it was thinking about football, working in the gym or using the video footage of games to understand the game better. Cremers confirms that Ake was one of the players most often harassing him for answers and insights. “He is the perfect professional, extreme in his drive to become better every day. It’s in his personality, I don’t think anyone pushed him to do this. He deserves all the credits for what he has achieved.”‘

Piet Cremers, former performance analyst Man City

Ake left for England as a youngster. The 15 year old captained the Oranje U17 team when he was picked by Chelsea. Living in London, he was to be part of the A-squad but his guest-family’s home wasn’t connected with the training complex in Cobham via public transportation. So young Nathan walked every day, on sandy country road and then along the highway, where one of his rich team mates would stop to allow Nathan a hitch in their expensive cars. On match days, Nathan could take the subway to Stamford Bridge. He’d sit among the Chelsea fans with his sports bag. “It was always good fun,” he’d later say.

Nathan is from Voorburg, a small town outside of Den Haag/The Hague. He was scouted by ADO Den Haan and after 4 years, Feyenoord came calling, where was in teams with Tonny Vilhena, Terence Kongolo and Karik Rekik. In 2021, Frank Arnesen – TD of Chelsea – called him and toured him around the Chelsea grounds. Ake was sold and after consulting his parents he decided to move to London. 16 years old.

Two years later, Ake made his debut in the Chelsea elite squad and Frank Lampard gives him the Talent of the Year award. He moves into his own apartment, with his brother Cedric. “My parents don’t allow us to get a help in, they want us to do all our home chores ourselves, and we will.”

When confronted with stories how most young talents fail to break into the first teams, he said: “I know, I heard all the stories. But I don’t want to see those stories as my reality. I want to be the guy who does succeed. I think the biggest pitfall for players making their debut, is to think they are there. They made it. But you haven’t made it, you are just beginning!”.

Skipper Ake with amongst others Tonny Vilhena and Karim Rekik

After a lone spell at Reading he was loaned out to Watford where he played his first real season as starter in the EPL. Jong Oranje coach Fred Grim started to scout him and was delighted with what he found: “At that age, Nathan was a man. Very mature and balanced and multi functional. He really understands the game. His best skills is his intelligence as a football player. I met his parents and understood how he got to be who he is. His parents are balanced, the family life there is grounded and harmonious. Nathan is a very modest and polite lad. The thing missing in his personality is the bastard. Some times in top football you need to be a bastard and think only about yourself and your goals. Nathan doen’t have this, a model pro and a top bloke.”

Grim also allowed Ake his debut in Oranje, when he took over from Danny Blind as interim coach: “We played against Morocco and that game had it all: physicality, fouls, and tough challenges, but Nathan didn’t care. He is not your typical defender, with his 180 cm height, but his tactical smarts, his intelligence and his football skills kept him on top, easily.”

After spells with Bournemouth and a short return to Chelsea, Pep Guardiola took a shine after Ake, partly due to the fact that the former Feyenoord captain is considered an English player. Life would be different. “At Bournemouth, he played in a 5 back line and the space was limited. They play compact, and backing up your team mate is a matter of two or three strides to the side. At Man City, the defensive space is huge. You play in big spaces and in isolated one-v-ones. When you step in at the wrong moment, it’s a 100% chance for the opponent. But on the ball, you don’t get time, most opponents will park the bus and play compact. What are your options. How quick are you feet and brain? These things, you can only find out by playing in those situations. Nathan made that switch super fast,” says performance coach Cremer.

Ake’s debut versus Morocco

Cremer goes on: “Nathan also has great ball skills. He can dribble and has the forward pass. He’s a great guy to work with as he is like a sponge, he wants to know everything. And eh…. he’s talented on many levels. He is also an amazingly accomplished piano player. This last season, his dad died and he married his childhood sweetheart, but all these events would not have any impact on the quality on the pitch.”

After a shaky start in Manchester, with some injury woes, Nathan now has a starting berth under Guardiola and plays his games regularly. Also in Oranje, the modest defender can count on a trip to Qatar as starter.

“I want a left footer on the left side of defence,” Van Gaal explained. Van Gaal thinks in terms of possession. When a defender needs to push high up on the pitch and ends up in midfield, he needs to use his best foot to open the game up and pass. A left footer is the natural type of player to do this swiftly. You need someone who is good on the ball, sees the game and has positional awareness. All things Ake has in spades. He’s also a very reliable defender of course.

When Ake moved to Man City, the criticasters were doubting him. Similarly. when the back three for Oranje was discussed, not a lot of people mentioned Ake. But he’s one of the few outfield players who managed to play consistently in the English Premier League. Him, Virgil van Dijk and now Pascal Struijk are the only ones that come to mind, amongst players like Klaassen, Van de Beek, Ziyech, Vincent Janssen, Berghuis and Bergwijn…

Ake after his 29th cap. “It’s going well, I am happy with the chances I get and the confidence the coach has in me. I need to keep this going, because the competition is intens. We have some top notch defenders now and everyone wants to start. The competition is good, it means you cannot snooze off.”

And yes, he has competition in Oranje and at City too. De Vrij, De Ligt, Blind, Struijk and Botman to name a few in Orange. And of course Ruben Dias and Laporte at City.

And developing yourself at a club like Manchester City is not that easy, says Cremers: “Don’t forget, City plays games every fourth day, so there are only 2 training sessions to develop and show yourself. The sub top teams in the EPL will have 4 to 5 sessions to work on becoming a better player. At City, you need to develop and show yourself in the games. That is pretty tough. And this makes Ake’s development even more impressive.”

by Jan

Big Move for Nathan Ake

Nathan Ake deserves to be a symbol. In The Netherlands, there has been a lot of criticism on players who left Holland before they made a name for themselves in the first team of their club, and signed for big money clubs abroad… Royston Drenthe, Karim Rekik, Ebicilio, Nazarite, Jeffrey Bruma, we have seen it with so many players who end up being ignored, being loaned out, losing momentum and ending up with mid tier clubs in Greece or warming the bench at Wolfsburg or decided to go back to the amateurs in Holland…

Nathan Ake is the big exception to the rule. He too left Holland when he was 15 years old. The skipper of the Netherlands rep team that made a name for themselves (with some of the players mentioned above) and was considered Feyenoord’s next big thing.

But Chelsea swooped in and sign the introverted Ake for the future… The best thing for Nathan, was the fact that he was with Chelsea for 3 seasons at least, before he turned 21 making him a home grown player, in England. That will have helped his transfer tremendously, as any club needs to have 8 home grown players in their squad.

Last summer, Guardiola was eyeing Ake already, but the transfer didn’t happen, for different reasons. This season, City has been struggling defensively and needed to get some fresh blood in quick. And City was also limited due to the number of home grown players needed in their squad. Ake was the ideal candidate.

Ake is not just a good fit due to his “English status”, but also because he fits like a glove in Pep’s tactical plans.

He’s not the tallest (180 cm) but he’s a great header of the ball (timing and powerful jumps), both defensively and offensively. He has great feel for space and positioning. He’s very good on the ball and finds footballing solutions easily. He’s quick and has the balls to defend high up the pitch, with space behind him.

A good example below of what Ake can do. In the away match vs Man United, there is pressure on the ball but a confident and composed Nathan Ake dribbles his way to safety.

Recognising when it’s a good moment to push forward is a key strength for players in Guardiola’s teams. John Stones is hailed for this quality, but his defensive work is highly criticised. Those qualities are better balanced out with Ake. See below.

 

 

On top of that, Bournemouth got relegated, meaning that the club will most likely be happy to off load Ake for a good price. Bournemouth’s former coach – and the man who signed Ake – can fully understand Pep’s crush: “Nathan is a symbol of consistency. He has performed really well for us over a long period of time. And not just on the pitch, he is just a top notch professional. He can play on different positions. We have seen him play left full back, defensive mid and centre back. He needed to get used to it a bit, but he’s really brilliant in that role.”

Ake is seen as one of the best CBs in the EPL but in the Dutch NT, he’s fourth choice, behind Van Dijk, De Vrij and De Ligt. Potentially also because Ake never played Eredivisie football and isn’t that well known in Holland. He started with ADO Den Haag, where Feyenoord picked him up really early on. He never made the first team but enjoyed playing in a team with his mates and a move to England wasn’t part of the plan. Chelsea came and Nathan said no. His dad changed his mind, by saying: “If you wanted to study somewhere, and Harvard accepts you, you’d take it! You learn a lot and should you fail you can always go to a lesser school.” Nathan decided to go and check it out and loved it.

He won’t be able to get a starting birth though, but he did develop well in London, playing with the likes of Terry and Lampard. Frank Arnesen is Chelsea’s TD and loves for the youngster to move to the first team squad, but Mourinho is the Chelsea coach and he is not the guy to help young talents. He’s about winning, like most coaches in the EPL. Ake still enjoyed working with Mourinho: ” I liked him a lot. I worked with him for two years and he can really touch you, motivate you. You’ll go to war for him, and he demands 100% every training again. He wants to see that fighting spirit. At that age, it was really important for me to work with him and experience that.”

Later, Ake was less positive about Mourinho, claiming he was dropped by Mourinho after having had a good spell of starting berths under Benitez. “At one point he humiliated me in training, when I made a mistake. He threw his pad on the ground and yelled: “do you want me to buy a real defender for 50 million euros”. He dropped me from the squad and left me broken. I never understood why, as I was voted young player of the year and had some good games for Chelsea.”

Chelsea’s Rafael Benitez, Nathan Ake during a training session at the Cobham Training Ground on 15th March 2013 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea agrees to do a loan deal with Watford for Ake and here he gets the first heads being turned. He plays left back, he scores important goals and keeps Watford in the EPL and reaches the semi finals of the FA Cup with Watford. When Chelsea wants to loan him out again in the next season, Ake prefers to go to Bournemouth. “I played against them a couple of times and they play good football. Pass and move, careful build up… Their coach Eddie Howe wanted me and I felt like he had a plan with me. He initially wanted me to play defensive mid, as I played there under Benitez at Chelsea for a bit. But the manager already told me he also saw a centre back in me.” Ake impresses in the role and becomes a key player. When he returns to Chelsea, it is because new coach Antonio Conte really wants him back. But Conte doesn’t use Ake that much and he has to watch the FA Cup finals from the stands, while he was in the team in the semi finals against Spurs to deal with Harry Kane. Successfully. When Bournemouth returns to Chelsea to get Ake permanently, the The Hague born mini Gullit jumps to the opportunity. Chelsea sells him for 20 mio euros and negotiates a buy-back clause for 40 million euros.

After a couple of good seasons, Bournemouth ends up being too small to withstand the onslaught from more ambitious clubs, and gets relegated.

Nathan’s rise to the top has gone via a long(er) and winding road, but he does prove that you can reach the summit when you leave the Netherlands so young. It’s a matter of working hard and keeping your head down and prove it week in week out.

At the NT, Ake has the bad luck that he has De Ligt and Van Dijk in front of him, same as Stefan de Vrij. The former Feyenoord defender was voted the best defender in the Serie A recently. What a feat for a lad from Rotterdam.

Ake, the silent power, the unsung hero, might well be Oranje’s secret weapon at next year’s Euros. He keeps on surprising people and seems to be making his way into one of the best footballing teams of the world.

Some Statistics:

Of all the defenders in the EPL today younger than 25, he only has to allow Luke Shaw and Hector Bellerin above him. The 11 times capped Ake played 146 EPL matches

Ake is not a safety before anything player, but his passing accuracy is 87.6%. Only 14 defenders with more than 1000 minutes of EPL football do it better than him.

Ake is only 180 cm tall but scored 6 headers this season in the EPL. Only 12 EPL defenders headed the ball more, defensively.

With Ake, Bournemouth won 29.5% of their games. Without him, it’s a lowly 12,5%.

Ake was taken on successfully in a one v one situation only nine times. Kurt Zouma (Chelsea) and Virgil van Dijk are the only two defenders whom experienced this less times (7 times only).

Like Virgil, Nathan hardly goes to ground. When he did do this, he won the ball 21 times out of 31 attempts.

by Jan

Oranje’s future: Javairo Dilrosun

It’s Spring in The Netherlands’ football world these days. After a spell of drought in the talent department, we’re witnessing numerous potential world class players coming to the fore. We’ll look at the winger who made a detour to get to the top. Javairo Dilrosun.

And for the first time in eight years, the most dangerous forward with a Dutch passport is not Arjen Robben.

The 20 year old has just finished another practice with his current club Hertha BSC and is panting and struggling for air. “Training is quite tough here. I’m used to a good intense level of training at Man City, but here, it’s even worse. It took a while to get used to, but now, it’s going quite well.” Understatement of the year. Dilrosun has started the season like a rocket!

The youngster learned to play football on the streets of Amsterdam West. And made his move to Man City when he was 15 years old. After 4 years on the City books, he was allowed to make a free exit and the European clubs were queueing up: Ajax of course, Juventus, Leipzig, Valencia, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund all were in the race. But the youngster decided to go to Berlin, where Hertha promised him something crucial: playing time.

When he left Ajax for Man City, the Dilrosun family followed him. Now, he decided to go to Berlin alone. “My little sister and brother need stability in school. And I’m old enough now to live alone. I spend a lot of time with Karim Rekik who is wonderful for me. I don’t speak German yet, but I am learning. Our coach doesn’t speak English so I have to get used to the new language but Karim is my translator and friend and he helps me a lot!”

The youngster might be a bit unsettled off the pitch, still, but on the pitch he seems really at home. “I scored in the pre season games and did well, but the coach didn’t use me in the first Bundesliga match. He felt I need to get stronger. I played with the second team and scored in my first official match. A week later, the coach decided I was good enough for the first team after all, hahaha.”

Against Schalke 04, Javairo started on the bench. And when Rekik is the one who needed to be subbed due to an injury in the first 10 minutes, his buddy Dilrosun came on. And had his first assist. The media and fans in Germany were surprised. “I was not. I worked hard for this. And when you do get the chance, you simply have to take it. That is how it is.”

The Dutchman got his starting berth and would have 3 more assists and score two goals. Even Arjen Robben can’t say that. And end of September, the two faced off against each other. Hertha wins, 2-0, in front of 75,000 people. “I met Arjen before the game, he was always one of my heroes. I’m a leftie too, like him. He wished me the best. I wanted to exchange shirts after the game, but I couldn’t find him anymore, sadly. So I didn’t get the shirt.”

Where Robben took the step-by-step route (Groningen, PSV, Chelsea), young Dilrosun took another avenue. He started at Ajax when he was 7 years old and Ajax Youth Academy director Said Ouaali was his youth coach, for a spell. “Javairo is a really really good player. He is lethal. So fast and but still with tremendous vision. He can go outside, come inside, take on a player with speed or with his trickely and skill. He could play midfield too, but his goal scoring abilities made him a perfect attacker. And, not unimportant: he is a very nice, decent and quiet lad. Very respectful and always with that wide smile on his face.” Dilrosun was part of the team that also brought us Donny van de Beek, Carel Eiting, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Pablo Rosario. Somehow Ajax never presented the winger with a contract. Dilrosun: “I still wonder why they never signed me up. It took so long and I didn’t hear anything. I became impatient. Ouaali doesn’t want to go into it. He prefers to talk about the future, not the past.

Several clubs in Europe want to follow suit and offer the lad a contract. Man City is the first to fly him in and Patrick Viera, in charge of the City youth academy, shows the Amsterdam born around and explains the big plan they have with him. Dilrosun is convinced. He wants to be part of the City adventure. Master scout Piet de Visser (at 86 still working for Chelsea): “A lot of people think that City and Chelsea just throw money around to gobble up talent, but that is so not true. They really develop plans for all their youngsters and invest with purpose. They train at high level, they play 40 matches per season, get the chance to play in the cup competitions and when they reach a certain age they can train with the first team. People say that Chelsea and City are trading in players for profit but that is false. Whenever a player is unhappy and keen to leave the club, they are never blocked and always allowed to leave. Players like Van Aanholt, Bruma, Rekik and Ake will never be negative about their treatment, as they all landed really nicely, didn’t they?”

That is exactly the story Javairo will tell you. “It was tough at first. You feel alone and you are part of something big, which makes you feel small. I got injured too and that is even harder. But you do grow mentally, as well. The last year, I trained with the first team. Man, you make big jumps forward when you work with the likes of Aguero and Fernandinho and Kompany, I can tell you.”

Dilrosun is there when City breaks every record in England and sees how Pep the miracle worker is the catalyst of all that beauty. “Guardiola is special. Everything he says makes sense. He was always working with you, in my case, explaining how to use my speed and when, how to position myself, my running patterns, my first touch… everything. He is so good and he sees everything. And he taught me how to defend too, hahaha.”

But despite that and despite the fact that Pep wants his future Man City team to be build around a core of homegrown players, today City has 4 wingers who are valued at 230m euros. And these guys will play. Only three youth players were used by Pep last season and these lads played 106 minutes of the 10,260 minutes City players played (Foden, Diaz and Nmecha). Time for Javairo to go elsewhere and get some miles on the clock.

The fringe player of City is now a starter at Hertha. And every 100 minutes of football results in an assist or goal by the winger. And his lungs and legs also make him a weapon to contain the offensive full backs of the opponent. It was Dilrosun who kept Bayern’s Kimmich quiet in the duel vs Bayern.

Dilrosun is ambitious and he has every right to be that. Asked about his plans moving forward, he is clear. “I want to be important for Hertha and keep this up. I want to score 10 times this season and maybe have 10 assists. Obviously, I am ambitious, this is why I left Holland when I was 16 years old. I won’t make any rash statements now as I am prviliged to be here and happy to be here, but of course, eventually, I would love to play at European top level. And win trophies. I will do all I can to play for the likes of Bayern, or Barca, or Man City… That is the ultimate goal. And I want to play for Oranje. That is the Dream. And I want to deserve it too. I will never claim I am ready, that is for the coach to decide.”

A lot of youngsters who left Holland early cop a lot of criticism, as if they went for money. Dilrosun smiles. “I know some players didn’t make it. That is always sad, but I think it worked for me. I mean, I trained under Guardiola. That has made me a much better player, for sure. I am really ambitious and I am very focused. Now I am here and I have to demonstrate that I am not a fluke. And I will.”

by Jan

Stars missing the WC: Memphis

It hurts when I see Sweden advance even further into the World Cup. It hurts bad. With all the “heavy hitters” going home early, imagine what we could have achieved…

And with Messi, CRonaldo, Muller and others leaving the tournament so soon, it does make you wonder: who will be the man of the tournament? Let’s hope it’s not Neymar! And surely, not Kane? He will win the Golden Boot I think, and he’s an amazing striker but don’t we need just a tad more from the “Best Player” of the tournament?

I miss Memphis even more now…

He rewarded himself with a crucial hattrick on the last day of the season in France, for a tremendous season. It seems as if he keeps on going from strength to strength ever since he was given the “free role” at Lyon and in Oranje.

VI Pro visited him in Lyon at the end of the season. Memphis and Bertrand Traore are mulling about in the sun. Their practice session just ended. And the two are now just watching the training of the youth team of Lyon. They’re both football fanatics. And they’re in heaven, as Olympique Lyon has talent coming up the gazoo!

Memphis points to a massive central defender he likes. Traore is giggling like a girl when a certain pass and move session is executing in high speed. Memphis: “Players tend to hang around here, at Lyon. The vibe is good and it smells like football here.”

Memphis likes it like that. Usually, he’s the first to come in for practice. A bit of jest with the door men and then a good solid breakfast before the games begin. And as the French do it: he shakes the hands of everyone at the venue. Every player does, every morning again. Whether it’s another team mate, or the kit man or some visiting reporter from Holland. It sort of resembles the mentality at PSV Eindhoven. Where top sports and casualness meet. And sometimes, that goes well hand in hand.

When Memphis drives out of the complex later that day, the chaos starts. A group of fans wants his autograph, or a picture. He drops his window, signs balls, jerseys and cameras click. And the question is the same: “Memphis, will you stay at Lyon?”. Because 19 goals and 13 assists…it does count. Even C Ronaldo had less involvements (31) than Memphis.

For Memphis, it all starts with peace, quiet and fun. He needs to enjoy the game and life. Two months ago, it all came together. He does have peace of mind ever since the Christian faith became prominent in his life. And freedom he got on the pitch, when Ronald Koeman gave him the free role in a 2 mans forward line (with Ryan Babel).  It allowed him to use his specific qualities in optimum form. More than being pushed out to the left. Bruno Genesio, his Lyon coach, happened to be at the match in Geneva and made notes. He saw how Memphis enjoyed himself and scored. Florian Maurice was there as well. He’s Lyon’s head scout. He tells Genesio how he saw this before. Some 8 years ago when Maurice was watching young PSV in Eindhoven. And a 16 year old Memphis Depay played as #10 behind the striker. Memphis: “It’s true, in the junior teams, I used to play as shadow striker and in a free role, I do think I am at my best. And Maurice remembered this.”

This is not unlike Arjen Robben, who played playmaker in youth teams but was banished to the left wing when he made it into FC Groningen’ first team. To protect him from challenges but the youngster ended up playing there for years.

When Memphis returned to Lyon, the Lyon technical staff immediately made the call. Striker Diaz was suspended so coach Genesio had his team practice this new formation. And then it all happened. And not just a bit.

First of all, with a front line of three. With Memphis as central striker. He scored twice vs Toulouse. “That was good, it was fun, but I am not a striker who remains in the spot. I want to be able to roam and move around, find space. That is when my skills are utilised best: my creativity, explosivity and goal scoring.”

After the Toulouse game, Genesio goes for a diamond in midfield and two up top. Against Metz, Memphis had four assists and one goal. A week later, Memphis was the shadow striker and again: one goal and one assist, vs Amiens. When Fekir returned fit, Genesio used Traore and Memphis up front, with Fekir as #10. And Memphis kept on scoring. In April, he was voted Player of the Month. Memphis now: “That month, that is how I want to play always. Every match, I want to be dangerous, threatening and successful, I want the permanent flow.”

And it’s not just the stats that tell the story. It’s visible on his face, in his body language. He seemed liberated, compared to the straightjacket Memphis we saw at Man United. He’s constantly open to receive, he will work and make dummy runs, he can use his special trickery when needed. “When I started here, I was a sort of left midfielder. I had to work the whole flank. When the ball was on the other flank, I had to drop deep, almost like a wing back. My playing field was 70 meters long. And when that happens, you kill a number of my specific qualities. I can’t be explosive over 70 meters. I didn’t get the ball too often, I had to work much more without the ball and that took so much energy that my specific attacking yield was lower than ever. It confined me. And I need to be free to express myself. And yes, I want to work and I want to do my bit, but my team contribution is greatest when I can follow my intuition. Without limitation. Floating, roaming, hunting for space, making my actions and be a threat.”

Even as a left winger, he had his periods this season where he was unstoppable. He scored 7 goals in 7 games in the fall of 2017. With a hattrick vs Troyes. But after that series, he had a dry spell of six games. Until that night vs Paris St Germain. He started on the bench. “I was so pissed off that I didn’t play. I want to play every match but in particular the big ones. But God told me to keep quiet. To go with it. And to be ready. I was convinced something special would happen.”

In the second half, Memphis was needed to come in. Aouar came off, and Memphis started his predatory role. And in injury time, he got what he wanted. Just outside the box, Fekir fed him the ball. Memphis dribbled inside and let fly: a rocket in the top corner. The Groupama Stadium exploded. Memphis: “Obviously, scoring the winner is sensational. Scoring the winner vs PSG even more so. Scoring the winner like this, even more so… But for me, it was super special due to the message I received that morning. My relationship with God pushed me to a higher level. I felt the ultimate gratitude…”

And there were more high points. Memphis mentions two. His goal at home vs Villareal (3-1) in the knock out stage of the Europa League. Another rocket in the corner from 20 meters out. And he also determines the match vs Ol Marseille (2-3). Again as a sub coming on, with a header in the top corner in the final stages of the game. The start of a mighty final sprint, allowing Lyon to win eight games in a row.

But, it did seem the season would end in a little disaster. In the away game vs Strasbourg, a 2-1 lead went up in smoke. And just when Strasbourg scored the winner in the dying minutes, Monaco – Lyon’s rival – scored the winner vs St Etienne.

The unexpected loss in Strasbourg put maximum pressure on the last match of the season. In that match, in Lyon vs Nice, it seemed to go totally wrong. Both Monaco and Olympique Marseille were leading, while Lyon was trailing 0-1 at half time. Qualifications for the Champions League would be out of reach and a financial disaster for Olympique Lyon was looming. And then, Memphis stepped up. With  cool hattrick, Depay opened the door for Lyon to the billionaire’s ball. The first was a tap in, assist by Fekir. The second a shrewd free kick, under the wall. And the third a nice little chip. In the last 9 matches, Memphis scored 10 goals and had 7 assists. Depay rescues Lyon, the headlines screamed. The typical Memphis with two fingers in ears was the picture. Depay’s way of saying: I only listen to God!

The times that Memphis could be bothered about what others said about him are now behind him. “I compare it to the food you eat, if you would eat the criticism, the good or the bad, you would never get well. I mean, in good times, I ate sweets and in bad times I ate bitter… In both situations, you get a stomach ache. I don’t read it anymore. Not interested. And man, it gives me peace and quiet. I am now 24 years old, I want to play another 10 year at top level without the baggage of all the crap.”

He continues: “You know, the WC Brazil, people revered me, adored me. Everything was cool and now we missed the WC in Russia and I am crap and can’t play football. As if it was all due to me? And when I wear a hat, I’m criticised, when I drive a Rolls Royce, I’m criticised. I’m the role model of bad performances. I had to learn not to take any of it seriously.”

Memphis is enjoying his time with Oranje now. “The current developments are really positive. There is this feeling that we can actually achieve something. And we need each other, that bond, you notice it. During the matches, but also during the sessions in practice. In Noordwijk, you could all do what you pleased, all by yourself. When we are in Zeist, it’s more a common thing. We seem to spend more time together. We play more games together, it’s more fun.

And Memphis now has a team manager he knows a bit better. Koeman tried to lure Memphis to Everton. But, that’s all in the past now. Depay: “Sure, we had a good talk a year and a half ago, but that doesn’t count. I will need to demonstrate my value day in day out. When Van Gaal signed me for Man United, he told me the same thing. I know you, I worked with you, but you won’t get any privileges. But it helps when there is a click. And I think I have that with Koeman. He is clear in what he wants and he is a real inspiration.”

Oranje played four games under Koeman. “Against England, it wasn’t good enough. We know this. We were a bit too fearful on the ball. We needed to get used to the new system, the new way of working. And England is a top opponent of course. But, we should have done better, all of us. We are still a big football nation, we need to be ballsy and show confidence. We do need to be at every big tournament. Period! We do have enough quality. We now need to finetune this and make sure we utilise the qualities and cover up the weaknesses. Based on a compact defense we can be quite devastating in attack. We have strong defenders, good and quick offensive full backs, we have smart midfielders, all the ingredients to get the results. We did so vs Portugal. And now we need to keep on going.

Memphis still have 3 years on his deal with Lyon. When Lyon Chairman Aulas was interviewed, with Memphis standing next to him, he was asked how much Lyon would ask for him when Madrid came calling for Memphis. Aulas said: “Memphis won’t leave.” And Memphis just stared into the camera….

Both were main characters in another comedy sketch at the end of the season. Chairman Aulas again, this time alone in front of the cameras, saying: “Memphis is exceptional, a player who works hard and wants to do everything his coach asks from him.” At that point, Memphis walked past with the match ball and he placed both his finger Memphis-style in the chairman’s ears.

Memphis: “God will help me climb mountains of which I myself don’t know the height…” And asked about where he is at in his life and career, he said: “I am happy now with who I am. That is all. I am a wild boy with peace in his head. It feels good.”

by Jan

Stars missing the WC: Stefan de Vrij

Around this time, there is always talk about great players who won’t be at the tournament. In this case, the likes of Frabegas, Sane, Nainggolan and others come to mind, but we will focus on the Dutch stars missing out.

The first one in the series, is Stefan de Vrij. Probably our best player with the least media exposure.

Here’s a guy who scored at a World Cup, played four seasons in the top of Italy (as a defender) and who was (is?) on many a wishlist for big clubs all across Europe.

He would be “the least likely to succeed” in Feyenoord’s year book if Feyenoord would have a year book…

While the 26 year old gets his top transfer this summer (5 seasons at Inter Milan), our memories go back to 2011, when the anger, despair and frustration seaps from the Feyenoord stands on to the pitch, where a young De Vrij makes his way to the tunnel in tears. Feyenoord loses at home 0-1 vs De Graafschap and is 14th in the Eredivisie. In a period where the club from Rotterdam gets beating after beating, it’s players like Wijnaldum, Fer and Castaignos who symbolise the hope in Rotterdam. But Stefan de Vrij is the ugly duckling. Always needing to swim upstream but drowning on that January night.

De Vrij, born ten kilometers from Rotterdam in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (basically “Old Church on the river IJssel”). A little village. Where indeed the church rules. On Sunday, the shops are closed, no football club is in action and where Stefan de Vrij grew up a shy lad.

He makes his way to Feyenoord’s youth system. All the experts have seen it. There is a right footed defender now at Feyenoord, who will most likely make it to the first team, make it into the Dutch team and is set for greatness. But they’re not talking about De Vrij, but about the six months younger lad Jeffrey Bruma, signed from Excelsior Bruma is a city kid. Bit mouth, and always ready to win an argument with a fight. A big contrast with the village kid from Ouderkerk: shy and down to Earth.

It’s hard for Stefan. Young Jeffrey is invited to play in the older teams, in place of De Vrij. Bruma is also picked for the different rep teams of their age group, and De Vrij is not. In 2006, Chelsea shows up, with a bag of money and promises.

A young De Vrij in his typical Dutch little village….

Feyenoord is not happy, but for De Vrij, this is good news. But, he still isn’t the go to player for the central defenders role. Feyenoord also has Karim Rekik. He’s also younger than Stefan but has the personality of a leader and draws most of the attention. Luckily for De Vrij, also the attention from Manchester City. So Rekik leaves too and it’s the decisions made by others that will influence Stefan’s career. Still he is a question mark.

Feyenoord protects its big talents with early contracts. The fact that De Vrij gets his first contract when he turns 17 years old is a typical sign. Only months later, he makes his debut in the first team.

In 2014, Lazio Roma pays millions for the defender and at that time, it seems very logical. He played 150 matches for Feyenoord, played 20+ international games, won a bronze World Cup medal, but that De Vrij would become one of Europe’s top defenders…no one could know….

And Stefan now, the cosmopolitan defender in Rome, next stop Milan

In Stefan’s career, it seems the decisions by others were key for him. There were not a lot of coaches who recognised his qualities and said: right! He’s my man! Look at De Vrij’s debut season under Mario Been in 2009.

De Vrij is brought into the squad as the last player that summer. And he would finish the season as starting player. Because right back Dani Fernandez gets a serious injury. His replacement Kelvin Leerdam, gets a serious injury. His replacement Bandjar…you guessed it…gets injured. Been doesn’t get more money to sign another right back, so De Vrij gets the job.

Mario Been uses De Vrij as right back and is quite clear in the media and press conferences, that this is an emergency move. Been also states that if Bruma wouldn’t have gone to Chelsea, he would have had the spot.

De Vrij doesn’t impress as right back. But the criticism is mild, as expectations about him were never high and everyone at Feyenoord knows it’s not his spot.

He does get a chance to play centrally. For the away game vs PSV Eindhoven, Ron Vlaar is injured, so De Vrij gets the spot. Feyenoord loses that match 10-0. The biggest defeat ever and the beginning of the end for Mario Been. The match at home vs De Graafschap is the real low for De Vrij. Feyenoord falls to the 14th spot and De Vrij is crying his heart out in the dressing room. Been made a public call to his management to free up funds for defensive reinforcements. The answer is: No!

Mario Been now: “He was a very quiet and sweet lad. And he struggled against really tough strikers and quick and agile wingers. He’s not a born athlete, he is not a quick mover but when he played centrally, you could see him improve. Centrally, his build up pass and positioning became apparent as strengths. Stefan does see situations earlier than others. That is his strength. And Vlaar was a great mentor for him, he learned a lot from Ron.”

De Vrij started to work on himself, more and more. So much so that Koeman took his captains band, when he found out Stefan was in the gym without the consent of the Feyenoord medical staff. He kept on searching to better himself and develop, mentally, physically, mentally. He studied Neurolinguistic programming for instance, to focus better and even worked with renowned guru Wim Hof, the Iceman, to learn about the health benefits of ice-baths and breating techniques. And to this day, he analysis every match he plays via FaceTime with the tactical analysis company Your Tactical Analyst.

No more Mr Nice Guy

De Vrij as the symbol of a club, almost dead. In every aspect. In a sports-sense and financially. But also the symbol of the resurrection. Ronald Koeman comes and he uses De Vrij centrally, first next to mentor Vlaar and later next to Joris Mathijsen. Koeman gives him the #3 jersey and gives him confidence. In the 2013/14 season, he plays centrally with his mate Bruno Martins Indi, a lad he played with in all his youth teams and a close friend.

Feyenoord is back at the top, and finishes just 4 points behind Ajax. De Vrij plays a strong World Cup under Van Gaal and bang: his move to Rome is there.

And now, after 4 seasons there, he will make his next step in a career propulsed forward by coincidence and circumstance. De Vrij’s character and personality pulled him through. He didn’t get swimming lessons, or training wheels, he was just pushed in and told to fake it until he made it. And he made it.

And it was Feyenoord’s bad spell that create this top defender. In any other club, De Vrij would have been replaced. Feyenoord had to use him and grew, because he was allowed to fail. He learned and developed as a result of all his mistakes.

And this made him a top defender. He’s not the strongest, not the quickest, but he reads the game ever so well, and is strong positionally. And he is able to place the ball on your necktie over 50 yards. He’s hardly ever in panic and never got a red card in his career.

This season, he also was the most scoring defender in the Serie A and was #3 in the list of top ball retainers, behind Torreira and his new colleague at Inter Skriniar.

There might be a lesson to be learned from his career trajectory. Let’s see how El Ghazi, Adam Maher, Bazoer and others go in the years to come…

That goal!