Tag: Sangare

On the Road to Qatar: Cody Gakpo

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The name is Lowievenkaals Armie (Louis van Gaal’s Army the way Louis van Gaal pronounces it)….

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Cody Gakpo is widely seen as the best player in the Eredivisie at the moment. Again. He’s involved in 29 goals so far in 22 matches (13 goals, 16 assists) and wants to perform at that same level in Qatar and than make a big money move next summer.

Last deadline day was a special one for PSV fans. They knew big money clubs were courting their star and while Gakpo plays a great game versus Volendam, the fans are looking at their phone. Is there a deal being made to lure their favorite son away? Leeds United would have sent a plane to Eindhoven. Southampton just upped their offer. PSV’s board want Gakpo to go. They also want Sangare to go to. PSV needs the money.

But Gakpo isn’t feeling it. He had his mind set on Man United. And decides to stay. The chant “Cody Has To Stay” worked. As a result, the PSV board decides to scold TD John de Jong for keeping Gakpo at the club (what??) and as a result De Jong resigns from his job. Ruud van Nistelrooy is livid. Gakpo is puzzled. And general manager Marcel Brands decides to take it on the chin.

A winter transfer might be on the cards. Due to the Gakpo stats, bigger clubs are circling now. Man United is back on deck and Real Madrid has informed as well. PSV needs the money. But Gakpo can’t be bothered.

The peace he exudes is the result of his disciplined upbringing in a stable family situation. His dad is from Togo, his mum is Dutch. The people who know Cody say he’s not just a unique player, he’s also a unique human being. Deeply religious and highly intelligent. One of his fave books (…) is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, from 1937. Gakpo has an idol. It’s Pele. How many 23 year olds would carry around a photo of the Brazilian legend? Gakpo calls himself “an old soul”.

Gakpo was tested academically and given the advice to go for a university degree. He decided to stick to high school and focus on football. But with a broader interest. When a group of journalists cornered PSV general manager Gerbrands, back in 2017, in a hotel at trainings camp, Gakpo – then 17 years old – stuck around to listen as a fly on the wall. Like a sponge.

Toon Gerbrands: “He spoke to me in those days about what he would do after his career! He was only 17 years old and wanted to know what a general manager does. We had so many conversations, about how you manage a bad-news conversation, or how you assess people’s values when recruiting. I bought a book on philosophy for him and he was really intrigued. It had questions like “where were you before you were born” and “how do you know what is the Truth”. And he would always come back to me with further questions or comments and we’d have these really fun debates.”

Gakpo is highly religious and prays several times per day. He even once organised a prayer session at the Philips Stadium, for 200 people. Toon Gerbrands was there: “It wasn’t very “biblical” or anything, just a warm session speaking about the higher power and we had four people who previously didn’t believe, who converted! One person even started crying. I never had that experience before with a football player.”

Gakpo started at the PSV Academy at 7 and perfected his dribble and his shooting. “My dad always told me to shoot low. it’s harder for the goalie to get to the ground. My dad was a number 10 and played at a high level in Togo. We discuss football a lot. And we still play together on a little grass pitch here in town. He’s my toughest critic.”

Aad de Mos says Gakpo has canons in his feet. “He has the same kicking technique as Willy van der Kuylen. Today, Gareth Bale does it as well, Harry Kane too. Or Ryan Babel. We call it the hipshot. No back swing. You can’t see they’re going to shoot. Van der Kuylen used to perfection. The goalie and the defenders thought they had another second to block but the ball was already in the net.”

Luc Nilis taught Gakpo never to shoot at full 100% capacity. Always at 80%. Gakpo: “I have learned so much from Luc Nilis. He always said, you gotta know where the goal is. The goal never moves. So if you know where it is, you don’t need to look, you can fully concentrate on the ball. I noticed a lot of players look up to where the goal is, a couple of times. Those are the nano seconds you can lose control or the defender nips in or the ball makes a funny jump and you hit the stands. Shooting at full 100% capacity usually means you lose control. The body stiffens and there is no flow. The speed of the ball is not just the result of the power in the muscles, but also the move of the body, and the swing of the leg.”

With dad

His youth coaches ( Twan Scheepers, Mark van Bommel) say that due to this specific skills, he is very hard to play. And the stats demonstrate it. Below is the “Growth as a Player” overview, of Gakpo in all competitions. It’s in Dutch, but you get the drift, I’m sure.

Growth as a player. Cody in all competitions.

Wedstrijden = matches, basis plaatsen = starting line up, speelminuten = minutes played, schoten = shots, op doel = on target, kansen gecreeerd = chances created, uit open spel = from open play, bal contacten = touches, in de 16 = in the box, passes aangekomen = successful passes, pass nauwkeurigheid = pass accuracy, dribbels aangegaan = dribbles started and voltooid = completed.

Van Gaal can use Cody on different positions. He can play a 10 or a striker in the 3-5-2 system. He can also play left winger in a 4-3-3. It was Van Gaal who convinced Gakpo that he can be a number 10, by the way. About Van Gaal, when the veteran coach was appointed, Gakpo went to see Gerbrands: “You worked for 4 years with him at AZ. What kind of man is he?”

This typifies the player and the person Cody Gakpo. Always prepared, always focused.

Van Nistelrooy’s PSV

PSV has been doing great business this summer. Roger Schmidt’s project wasn’t what was hoped for and as he’s turning heads in Portugal, club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy reluctantly took the reins and is making headlines with his TD John de Jong and new MD Marcel Brands.

Sangarue and Gakpo still wear the PSV colours, Luuk de Jong is back. Guus Til will bring depth and goals, while the goalie issues seems sorted now with Benitez between the sticks.

Conceding Less Goals

This was one of the missions for the summer. Joel Drommel, albeit talented, wasn’t the man for the job (yet). A tad nervous, uncertain and lacking courage with high balls. They found the ideal shot stopper in France. Argentine Walter Benitez was statistically the best goalie in France and his mission is to play CL football and get into the Argentina squad.

PSV has a list of players that left Holland at a young age, only to return to PSV to get games in their pocket and as a result an invite for Oranje. Ki-Jana Hoever wants to do what Donnyel Malen, Jeffrey Bruma and Karim Rekik did before him. The youngest ever Liverpool player in the FA Cup will focus on the right full back spot. The season’s preparation demonstrated his comfort on the ball and his smarts in the build up. His weaknesses? Typically, his defensive abilities, but Ruud van Nistelrooy was quite happy with how Hoever developed in this short time at PSV.

Youth Sensation

Xavi Simons is a brand and a youth sensation. With his blonde, curly hair he became an icon as a kid for Barca and he slowly moved to the big boys’ matches via Paris SG. He realised that he would have a hard time playing week in week out in Paris, so he decided on a loan spell to PSV. The talks between him and the club were such that he actually decided to leave PSG and sign with PSV all the way. Simons wants to get the same status in men’s football as he had in youth football. He’s got all the tricks and never loses sight of the space when in confined spaces. Xavi has superior technique and an eye for the through ball. The only question is: how well is he equipped physically, to play 90 minutes at high intensity, 2 matches per week?

Guaranteed goals

No other active Eredivisie player scored more goals in the Eredivisie than Luuk de Jong. 135 goals. And as they saw in Sevilla and Barcelona, Luuk will score when the service is right. The new PSV skipper also has a tremendous role model function in the squad as everyone who knows him praises him for his professional approach. Another guaranteed goal scorer is Feyenoord’s topscorer from last season, Guus Til. Feyenoord couldn’t make a move as they needed to sell players first. Til didn’t want to wait and signed for four years in Eindhoven, where he hopes to play CL football. The midfielder is not the gifted technician but due to his work rate, depth and tactical discipline, every coach in football loves working with him.

New names

With the signing of Jarrad Branthwaite, PSV has another defensive option. Due to injuries, Van the Man needed more and Marcel Brands lured this tall defender away from Everton, where he signed him previously. Savinho is a player the fans will enjoy more than the tall English centre back. The Brazilian super talent is part of the City Group and asked for a loan spell at PSV. The Eindhoven club still have magic in its name in Brazil, thanks to the stints of Romario, Ronaldo and Alex, among others at the club. Savinho is an Antony like left footed right winger, who will benefit from the long term ankle injury of Madueke.

Tactics

Van Nistelrooy is no Schmidt. Where the German relied on compact organisations and turn-over moments, the former Man U striker is a believer of the Dutch School: possession, pass and move, forward press and attractive and attacking football. PSV will move closer to Ajax and Feyenoord in that way. Ruud used the 4-1-4-1 system a lot at Young PSV and seems to want to play like this with his current squad as well. With the extension of Gutierez, Sangare still on board, Joey Veerman, Guus Til and Xavi Simons, Van has quite some good midfield options to go to. In the pre-season, Van Nistelrooy used Sangare as lone defensive mid and has also played with Veerman next to Sangare and Til as shadow striker. “I like to be able to vary, to keep the opponent on their toes.” In Schmidt’s system, the team would overcrowd the ball and all players would move towards the ball, in order to take possession and quickly break out. In Van’s world, he will keep the players in position as much as possible. This will diminish the risk of not being able to win the ball and having opened up the pitch. Another benefit is, that it doesn’t require the intensity Schmidt demanded. In Schmidt’s system, the wingers played as midfielders and were coming into the space or squeezing inside. In Ruud’s system, the wingers are used as final station in the build up, before the killer pass arrives in the box.

Ruud wants to see one defender more than opposing attackers, at the back. This is usually the central defensive midfielder, as the full backs are needed higher to play triangles with the midfielders and the wingers. Luuk de Jong wants service from the wings and Gakpo and Savinho or Madueke are capable to take on opponents and bring the ball into the danger area.

This season will be really interesting, between PSV and Ajax. I can see Ajax focusing more and more on the CL win, while PSV just wants that title again!

Joey Veerman: The Good and the Bad

Not the ugly I guess. Joey doesn’t do ugly. He was a name in youth football already. Playing in Volendam, the little quirky sea faring town which has produced 1) incredible football talents, 2) incredible musical talent and 3) a rugged and headstrong local people who tend to live by their own rules.

Volendam is hard drugs, great seafood, incestuous relationships, creative talent. I am not sure if there is a correlation.

It’s not strange for clubs like AZ and Ajax (who are a stone throw away from Volendam) to ignore talents from there. There is a list of players who shine in the Volendam orange, but fade in another jersey or even when 15 kilometers away from Volendam.

Some football examples? The brothers Mühren (Gerry, Arnold) – Ajax, Man United, Oranje. Wim Jonk – Ajax, Inter Milan, Oranje. Keje Molenaar – Ajax, Feyenoord, Oranje. Johan Steur – Feyenoord. Edwin Zoetebier – PSV, Feyenoord. Tom Sier – Ajax, Heerenveen. Joey Veerman – Heerenveen, PSV. Henk Veerman – Heerenveen, St Pauli, FC Utrecht. Robert Mühren – AZ, Zulte Waregem, SC Cambuur. Pier Tol, – AZ, Oranje.

Veerman’s part time fish stand at the PSV grounds… PSV should pay him better!

Some Volendam talent has trouble playing outside of Volendam. They miss the friends, family, the rhythm of the village. It’s a very tight knit community. As an example: typical Volendam and places like Volendam (Urk for instance) have a very low vaccination ratio. They simply refuse as a group. As a sub culture in The Netherlands. Don’t forget: they used to be on sort of an isolated island and they used to be free from government interference. They were fishermen. They worked hard, played hard. And their heads are very hard as well :-).

So Veerman was passed over by AZ and Ajax. “A very gifted player, but he has a mind of his own. We are not sure he’ll fit the group dynamics.”

Heerenveen likes to use Volendam born players and signed him. He made his mark there which got him a transfer to PSV.

Lets look at Veerman in the role of defensive mid. In the Conference League match v Leicester City, all that was good in attack started with Joey. But on his own half, he also helped Leicester City at times.

This was the way the teams were set up.

In the first two minutes of the game, he gets a smile from the football aficionados. He sees Gotze run in behind and plays the pass with a subtle chip, putting the German Weltmeister in front of the goalie. He impresses on the ball, but he also comes with some issues.

Schmidt selected Veerman because his go to man for the role Erick Gutierrez is suspended. The choice for Veerman’s creativity over Van Ginkel’s running pays off almost immediately. But Schmeichel stops the attempt and there will be no assist for Veerman.

Beautiful pass, great timing by Götze but also weak finishing by the German

But, what also sticks in the mind, are the number of times he is the one starting the Leicester counter. In the 20th minute, Dewsbury Hall is on Veerman’s toes and won’t give him the time of day. His pass is intercepted and Iheanacho finds himself face to face with the PSV goalie. The striker misses.

This is the biggest lesson for Veerman. The pace in these games is way higher than what he is used to in the Eredivisie. I find him slow at times even in the Dutch league. A bit too relaxed at times. And in the holding mid role, it usually means that losing possession results in a chance for the other guys.

Take this situation: he gets the ball from Max, a square pass. The pass is not good, lacks pace, but Veerman should be able to keep possession. He tries to “roll” the opponent and open up with his right to the right flank. Good idea. But an idea that is predictable and the intelligent Dewsbury Hall won’t have it. The whole midfield is now open for Leicester. In the end, it’s Maddison with a weak shot on goal.

Just before the break, Veerman shows his weakness positionally. He gets it wrong three times!

Here, Iheanacho mis-controls the ball. Veerman isn’t ready for it. The ball comes into his zone, but he’s not able to take advantage.

Then, a second issue with Veerman: ball watching and not communicating with this environment.

Here he completely misses Iheanacho’s run in his back. PSV does not play man to man marking so it’s ok for Veerman to let the forward leave, but it’s Veerman’s role to block the pass line to the running Leicester player. He doesn’t and Leicester has another attack.

He is definitely not unwilling to put in a shift. Here, a couple of moments later, he’s back in his own box defending. Harvey Barnes wants to penetrate but Veerman pushes him wide. This is a good situation for PSV to be in.

Then something happens which can be lethal at top level. Veerman thinks the situation is under control and doesn’t look around him, to see that Barnes is making a dart. The midfielder sees it too late and by then Barnes has rattled the cross bar.

In the 64th minute, another typical Veerman situation. Zahavi is impeded in a challenge. The ball rolls towards Veerman, who believes PSV will get a free kick.

But the ref lets the play go on and suddenly the PSV defence is horribly exposed, not for the first time. An offensive player can gamble at times. A defensive player cannot.

By the way: Sangare is not helping Veerman much. He should cover a bit better for the youngster but is usually further up field, exposing his partner too much.

An attacking move in the 85th minute summaries Veerman’s game. First he accelerates the game with an excellent pass to right winger Doan. And then he moves forward himself, to contribute more to this attack.

When Doan loses the ball, Veerman has a mourning moment. He takes a couple of seconds to deal with the disappointment and runs back to his own half.

PSV is completely exposed now. Leicester has a 5 v 5 situation and defensive mid Veerman is nowhere to be seen. The Leicester team doesn’t take advantage though.

Joey Veerman played a match showing his both faces: on the Leicester half, he’s amazing. His passing range, his vision are top. On his own half, he’s a danger for his own team. He’s a bit complacent at times, arrogant almost and his positioning and orientation need to improve. The latter – orientation – is always a big thing for Louis van Gaal.

The question is: will Schmidt risk playing Veerman in that role more often, or will he use Veerman as the understudy of PSV’s #10 (Gotze or Gakpo).

Source: VI Pro