Tag: Shinji Ono

by Jan

Farewell to Wesley Sneijder

The next international game vs Peru has Sneijder’s farewell as the main theme. The new qualification series for the Euros is starting too, but all eyes and focus are on the little captain first. 34 year old and with 133 caps to his name, the former skipper looks back and looks forward from Qatar, his current home.

“I decided to go to Qatar also because of the World Cup coming here. Football is alive here and I enjoy exploring these types of countries. We loved living in Turkey, and we love it here. And when the World Cup comes, who knows, I hope to play some part. Maybe for Qatar, for the FIFA or maybe for Oranje. And until that time, I want to be an active player. Playing football is the best thing there is.”

Sneijder lives like a prince in Qatar. He describes his day. “In the morning, I am busy with my non football activities. I have a building company in Turkey, and we’re building apartments in Istanbul. In China I have SPort8, a youth academy company and I also have SportChain which is a crypto company. On Ibiza I own a restaurant and since this week I’m also ambassador for the Johan Cruyff Foundation. So, busy enough. Then it’s time for lunch and an afternoon nap and in the evening we have training. And when Yolanthe is here with our son we do fun things as a family. And hey, I know the stories, the big paychecks and what not, but I could have made more, much more, in China. But quality of life is important too. I don’t think I would have been happy in China. Life here is comfortable, hardly any crime, and I met a lot of cool new friends, locals and Dutch expats, all sorts. And Nigel de Jong and family lives here too of course.”

Last weekend, they played against each other, again. “We had our derbies in Milan and now here, hahaha. We beat him 4-0 but I decided to float a bit on the pitch as I didn’t want to get to near to him. I still have an Oranje match to play, hahaha.”

The matches in Doha are played before 100s of people, instead of 1000s. “It took some time to get used to, but like anything, you do get used to it. Playing before a full Bernabeu becomes normal and this becomes normal too. I think I prepared well mentally for this step and I enjoy myself. Just the training sessions alone and making fun with my team mates. I’m now at an age where I can support the coaching staff and I enjoy that.”

Wesley’s Favorite Coaches. “You won’t find Louis van Gaal in my top 3. Yes, he’s a great coach, just not my great coach, hahaha.”

#3 Danny Blind

“I worked with him at Ajax and Oranje, and I think the success we had in 2014 was partly his work. Van Gaal got the credits, but Danny was important with analysis, training sessions and he was a wonderful guy to work with. A special coach.”

#2 Henk ten Cate

“He’s also a friend. But objectively, he is a very tough task master. He’s tough, he’s disciplined, he sees the game. I had my best season under him at Ajax. I scored 18 goals. And I was a bit complacent but he got me really going. And when I was unfit in 2013, he came to Ibiza to work with me to get me fit. Henk was also the one to motivate me to work on my fitness. He called me Billy Bigmans (Big = Pig). Told me I was too fat for the top. He challenged me and I needed that.”

#1 Jose Mourinho

“We didn’t work together that long. My most successful period. He is the special one, but you need to work with him to understand this. He has skills no one else has. His management skills, with 23 egos, that process. He can manage that so well. To get everyone focused for the big objective. Tactically, he is also super strong.”

After his failed Nice adventure, Ajax or FC Utrecht could have been Wes’ new club. But it didn’t happen. “I get that. Utrecht was actually more interested than Ajax but I decided to stay longer abroad. I enjoy this life. I do follow the Eredivisie by the way. Every match. And Nigel and I were cheering last week when we watched Ajax play Dynamo Kiev. We’re on the coach, and cheering Ajax on. That was fun. And I think Ajax will be doing so well, with the likes of De Ligt and De Jong. These two will be key for Dutch football. Everything they do has a forward focus and purpose. This is a natural thing for them. And I love that, which Is why I love watching Man City and Barcelona too. And with Memphis in good form and Van Dijk and Wijnaldum at Liverpool I really think Oranje has turned a corner. And particularly with Ronald Koeman as coach. He’s pragmatic, he demands a lot but he also has that Barca / Cruyff DNA. He’s good in his communication too.”

Talking about Oranje, the high point of his career needs to mentioned. “I have had many. I personally think our football at the 2008 Euros, in the group stages, was the best we played. Van Basten and Van’t Schip just said: go out there and play! We didn’t do much in a tactical sense. And we played ever so well, until that terrible thing with Boulahrouz. My first match vs Scotland was special too of course. I scored my first goal in the first 15 minutes or so. But the real high point was the Brazil quarter finals in 2010. When we were 1-0 down. And it wasn’t so much my two goals in the second half. It was what happened in the dressing room. I surprised myself. I came in latest and the whole team was staring at the floor. And I was like: Hey! We can go home a bunch of losers, or we go back out there and play. And take the game to them. And hurt them. And that did something. The heads came up, other players chimed in and we went out and turned the game around.”

In 2014, Sneijder again plays a main part in the World Cup story but differently, with his love-hate relationship with Van Gaal. “I frequently thought, is this guy a genius or is he insane?”. I think he’s both now. Hahaha. When Van Gaal first started I told him: you’ll need me there. And he did. But he decided to push me and pester me to get me to react. One example. During the tournament, we were on our day off and some of us went to this lounge bar for some drinks. Nothing spectacular. We returned, precisely at 10pm as instructed. Who is in the hotel lobby? Van Gaal. And we walk past him and he starts barking at me. Only at me: “So, why did Sneijder have to go to that lounge bar?” And I was like: “We all went, why are you not asking them?”. And he said: “Because I want to know from you!!”. And I just said “goodnight” and walked off. The next day, I was really pissed off and I played another good game. And I think now he did it to get me worked up. We did well with him, but I won’t pick him as my favorite coach. My top 3: Jose Mourinho, Henk ten Cate and Danny Blind.”

“After the WC in Brazil I realised we were not fully focused. We lost away vs Iceland, 2-0 and I knew we were in trouble. Not because we lost. But the manner in which we lost. We were without a chance. I even considered quitting but that’s not me. I wanted to fight back. But we were going downhill. My biggest low point was the 4-0 loss vs France under Advocaat. He put me in a 3 man’s midfield as the playmaker vs Kante. And I thought… oh… that is not smart… But what do you do? I should have said “Dick, please put me on the bench, that is not ending well” but I didn’t. The coach needed me and I wanted to deliver. But I don’t blame Guus Hiddink and Danny Blind. I blame the many players who decided to skip qualification games, only to play for their club 3 days later! No I won’t mention names, the players know exactly who they are. They let the team down. Fuck off. Should I ever become part of the Oranje staff, those types will have a problem with me, that is not on. You need to be proud to play for your country! Danny Blind’s sacking really hurt me. He was a perfect coach. As assistant to Van Gaal he was so important and his influence was huge. A real expert and he didn’t deserve that mentality.”

“The last years, it felt like some internationals needed to be pushed to play for Oranje. I think now these changes, the new Zeist centre instead of the players’ hotel in Noordwijk…all good measures. When players can’t deal with the freedom you need to create a situation where the focus is fully on the game. And it’s really a big trap, players thinking they are the Man because they are big at their club… You have to demonstrate that in the national team!”

“Another key concept is sacrifice. In 2010, we all were focusing on getting the best out of it. And the benchwarmers did their job. Huntelaar, Elia, Van der Vaart, no one was negative. How this changed in 2012. We had more players with big reputations and they couldn’t accept that bench role anymore. And I realised vs Denmark, if we lose this match, it will be all over. And it is such a shame. Players simply don’t realise how special it is to play one great tournament. Just one already is amazing…”

“My future, well… I can say this: I would not be able to think of anything better to do than be involved with the national team. I would love to be an assistant coach for Oranje. Being with the lads, parting my knowledge, setting up training, just sharing my experiences, you know? I spoke about it with Koeman. We’ll see. For now, I’m still playing and I will most likely keep on playing for a while still. But I love that whole group process of having a goal and working towards it. Preparing for a World Cup for instance. It’s amazing. And I paid attention with all the coaches I had. And I realised, you can be the best tactician but if you can’t communicate, if you can’t motivate your players to do something, it doesn’t matter. Mourinho was the maestro. He was able to let you do things you thought you couldn’t. He had the backroom staff for the practices, and the physiological stuff and tactical analysis. He simply asked you to do things for him and you did. Eto’o, a super striker, he was a flank player under Mourinho, running up and down and defending and attacking… Incredible. But now, my future is the Peru game. One more time part of the group. Having fun, kicking a ball, goosebumps with the national anthem. And then I will be watching Oranje on the coach, with a Heineken! Enjoying myself.

Below, Wesley’s favorite team of players he once played with:

 

Ok guys: tell me your best Wesley Sneijder memory below!

 

by Jan

Why Oranje should always play in De Kuip

Looking at some classic games as played in De Kuip, as requested, and giving you five reasons why Oranje needs De Kuip as their home base.

1. History

The Dutch NT hasn’t played more matches in any other venue… They played 118 games in De Kuip in total. The first one, against Belgium (of course) in 1937, which Holland won: 1-0. That game was the second ever played in the Stadium Feyenoord (as it is officially called). The last international played in De Kuip was in 2016 vs Belarus, a 4-1 win. There was a two year gap between that WC qualifier and the friendly vs Ghana in 2014. De Kuip was frequented most often in big finals games as well, such as during the Euro2000 tournament. Three group games, a quarter finals and the finals itself. The Trezeguet golden goal won France the title in 2000, in Rotterdam.

2. Atmosphere

During Oranje’s recent failed EC qualification campaign, there were strong rumours that the players were not happy and at home in the Amsterdam Arena. The players asked the KNVB for more games in De Kuip. Why? The atmosphere in Rotterdam is much better. The stadium oozes nostalgia and a typically “English” football vibe, as opposed to the more business-class character of the Arena. The acoustics in De Kuip are amazing, which means that 55,000 fans sound like 110,000 fans. When host Feyenoord plays at home, the vibe is amazing but also during the cup finals without Feyenoord, De Kuip is the swinging centre of the Dutch football universe. This will affect the players and will result in better performances and results.

3. The Pitch

One of the biggest advantages of De Kuip is the pitch. It’s pitch perfect. Erwin Beltman is the unsung hero in Rotterdam, groundsmaster of Feyenoord. Year after year he wins the prize for best football pitch in The Netherlands, voted by the captains of the Eredivisie clubs. In Amsterdam, you’ll find yellow spots, brown spots, even black spots on the pitch. Never in Rotterdam.

Former Feyenoord star Van Hooijdonk in 2015: “Never ever again in De Arena!”. He said: “It’s about time that the KNVB gives football the priority over commerce, if we’re talking about Oranje home games! You need to create the best circumstances for the players, the coaches. They are the artists. They should be leading in all decision making. And key is: a good ref, a good ball and a good pitch! The pitch in Rotterdam is 100 times better than in Amsterdam. And yes, I get the business reasons…the sponsors, the VIP dinners… If you’d rate the pitch in Amsterdam a 7 and the pitch in Rotterdam an 8, yes… I get the decision, but it’s not like that. De Arena pitch is a 4 and the pitch in De Kuip is a 9. This decision making is a disgrace.”

4. Results

Oranje performs worse in De Arena, compared to De Kuip. Significantly. Since 1990, the Dutch team played 40 times in Rotterdam and only lost two games. They lost against Germany in 1990 in a friendly (0-1) and in 2000 against Portugal at home for the WC qualifications (0-2). The national team lost more in recent years in Amsterdam than in 25 years De Kuip. Is it the vibe, the pitch, the actual location? Who knows. But if we want to achieve something with Oranje, we need start using De Kuip as the home base. In 2000, Yugoslavia was played off the pitch, under Rijkaard’s management. 6-1 at the Euros 2000. Where? In Rotterdam.

5. New beginning

And the final reason, not the least important…we need to make a change, a new beginning. The switch back to Rotterdam as home base would be the first and simplest change we can make. A new home will inspire. The Dutch national team needs to play good football, fresh and attractive football and deserves to this in a good, fresh and attractive venue.

Since the 1980s, De Kuip is the traditional home of the Dutch cup final and apart from the Euro 2000 finals, there were 10 Uefa Cup finals in Rotterdam, with the likes of Spurs, AC Milan, Ajax, Feyenoord, Man United and Barcelona winning their silverware in Rotterdam.

So classic games played in De Kuip… Now that’s tough one. Apart from seeing acts like U2, David Bowie, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Stones, Michael Jackson in De Kuip, I’ve seen many a Feyenoord and Oranje match.

One can’t escape the Feyenoord-Ajax classics of course. I vividly remember most of them but was only 2 years old when Feyenoord trashed Ajax 9-4 in 1964. This was Johan Cruyff’s first ever classic.

In 1972, Ajax took revenge. Cruyff was a mature football star and with buddy Piet Keizer, Ajax was too strong for Feyenoord. Both clubs reigned supreme in Europe, with Feyenoord winning the Europa Cup in 1970 and Ajax doing it the season after. This particular game confirmed that Ajax was by far the best team in the world, winning 1-5 in Rotterdam.

The 1988 classic was memorable for two reasons: the local police force was campaigning for better conditions and did so by having a gorgeous female police officer doing a striptease on the pitch before the match. In front of 55,000 football fans, the young lady undressed, probably inspiring a 19 year old Dennis Bergkamp, who’d play a sensational game leading Ajax to victory 1-2.

The 2005 classic again resulted in a dramatic loss for Feyenoord, losing 2-3 in the dying seconds, but it was a gem of a match. And a game which saw a number of future European football stars on the pitch, such as Dirk Kuyt, Salomon Kalou, Maxwell, Wesley Sneijder and Steven Pienaar. Maduro made the winning goal at the death (with Danny Blind winning as coach, over Feyenoord colleague Ruud Gullit).

In 2012, Feyenoord won spectacularly vs Ajax (4-2) with a hattrick for Man City loanie John Guidetti who’d go on to become a Feyenoord legend, in just one season. This lucky shot was followed up by another one: Graziano Pelle was brought back to Rotterdam and he went on to reach the top in England and the Italian national team.

The 1974 Tottenham Hotspur game was my first home game in the stadium. As a 12 year old, I was invited to come by our neighbours and although I vividly remember the match, I think I had my eye on the tremendous violent acts of the Spurs hooligans on the stands above me. Scary stuff, but in the memory forever.

Even further down memory lane, a game I only remember from the TV… But a classic indeed. Feyenoord vs Real Madrid. The great Real Madrid, but also the great Feyenoord… With Willem van Hanegem, Rinus Israel and Coen Moulijn. The most memorable moment of that game, was the team spirit Feyenoord demonstrated when their iconic left winger was attacked by a Madrid butcher. All Feyenoord players decided “enough is enough!” and went after the culprit. Watch it here:

And the Moulijn sequence is here:

We can safely say that ugly scenes on the pitch are not new… The Dutch commentator says: “Oh lads lads… don’t do this, now… please…this is not nice. Not nice at all!”

We mentioned the classic Oranje game at home at the Euros already. The 6-1 win. There were many great home games for Oranje, but sadly I was witness in De Kuip when Oranje failed to beat Belgium and wasn’t able to go to the 1986 Mexico World Cup. Oranje lost 1-0 in Belgium and needed a 2-0 victory. Houtman scored the first one and when Robbie de Wit scored the 2-0, everyone – including me – felt the job was done. I was right on the spot in the stadium in line with the Belgium attack, five minutes before the end, when a cross reached Georges Grun. The defender wasn’t marked and headed home the goal that took Belgium to their impressive World Cup performance.

I remember two things vividly, apart from the tragic away goal Belgium scored: it was terribly cold and we parked so far away, that my dad ruined his knee in the walk up to the stadium, something that would bother him till his death…

The biggest win Oranje had, at home in Rotterdam, was a 9-0 beating of Norway in 1972. A qualification game for the World Cup 1974. I have no video for that game though. Holland started scoring late in the game. It took 31 minutes for Neeskens to find the net and the score at half time was only 1-0. In the last 25 minutes it rained goals, with Cruyff, Keizer and Brokamp joining Neeskens on the score sheet.

The biggest loss we suffered at home in a formal match was versus the former Magical Magyars in 1961, for the 1962 World Cup qualification: losing 0-3.

One of the craziest games we played in Rotterdam was the 5-5 draw in the friendly with Belgium. Kluivert and Davids on fire, and Frank Rijkaard as NT manager.

Another memorable game – or two games – was the double vs England for the 1994 World Cup. The 2-0 win at home with Koeman and Bergkamp scoring for Holland. The away game at Wembley was memorable for the Jan Wouters elbow on Gascoigne and the Peter van Vossen run, foul and penalty kick.

Feyenoord played some amazing home games in the 2002 season when they won the UEFA Cup at home. The finals vs Borussia Dortmund were exhilarating of course. The Freiburg away match is legendary due to Van Hooydonk’s incredible free kick. I was present when Feyenoord beat Glasgow Rangers in a very tight game (two red cards) at home: 3-2. The next match up was the quarter finals against PSV Eindhoven. That would be an epic tie. 1-1 in Eindhoven and Feyenoord on their way out, 1-2 down when in the final seconds of the game PSV didn’t clear a ball out but gave away the ball to Feyenoord. The cross was converted by Van Hooydonk (who else) and Feyenoord won the penalty shoot out. The semis were vs Inter Milan. Feyenoord won away 0-1 and drew 2-2 in Rotterdam to reach and win the finals.

My earliest memory of a Feyenoord game in De Kuip… I was 7 years old and Feyenoord was on its way to win the Europa Cup. Not that we knew that at the time, of course. TV coverage was limited and lots of people enjoyed listening to games on the radio. AC Milan was the opponent and one of the ruling elite in Football Europe. We’re talking the 1/8 final and Feyenoord lost in Milan, 1-0. We needed a 2-0 win and I don’t think I saw the game live. It might not have been televised even, who knows. But I heard it on the radio, and that radio commentary was published as a record (a 45″ single) and became a huge hit! Feyenoord won at home 2-0. A misplaced cross from Wim Jansen sailed into the net and Willem van Hanegem headed home the 2-0. Famously, in the post-match interview (part of the recording I owned and listened to 1000 times…), Willem responded to the question “And Willem, you scored the 2-0!!” in typical De Kromme style: “Ah yes, well, I was going that way anyway, so….”.

I was able to to perform the 3 minute commentary to the game word for word, copying the commentator’s style and entertained my friends and family regularly in that role… Ah, the good ol’ days….

Here is the grainy footage:

The best game in De Kuip EVER!!

This might shock you, but the best game I ever saw live in De Kuip was actually a testimonial, or a tribute game. A game without any real significance in terms of result. It was Willem van Hanegem’s farewell game. The WC1974 Oranje vs Feyenoord. It was unforgettable, and not just because De Kuip farewelled it’s best player ever, but also because during that game – at the end of the 1982-83 season – Johan Cruyff was introduced to the Feyenoord Legion as the successor as playmaker for next season. Cruyff had walked out of the negotiations with Ajax and his Oranje team mate Van Hanegem was working behind the screens to get the legendary #14 to Rotterdam.

In the game, Van Hanegem scored, a header from a JC corner and he was jokingly red-carded when the time was up for him to accept the standing ovation – and Cruyff did as well! A header. Like he did famously in 1971, winning the Europa Cup in Rotterdam for Ajax. It was a real football celebration, a full Kuip and mixed reception for JC.

Not long after the game, the confirmation came that Johan would join Feyenoord for one season. I went to check him out at the first training session with the team. I’m sure I told you about this before, but I’ll do it again. They started with a rondo (piggy in the middle), with the full team. Approx 5 in the middle and the rest in a circle. The first ball that was passed to Johan was too short. Deliberate? It invited a sliding tackle from defender Stafleu, studs forward, directed at Cruyff’s ankles. The Feyenoord fans cheered for the tackle.  The 37 year old simply jumped up, controlled the ball and played it on. The fans cheered even more. Not much later, JC retaliated with a sharp sliding tackle back on Stafleu, who couldn’t avoid the clash and had to limp off to the dressing room. The fans were convinced! Welcome to Feyenoord, Johan Cruyff.