Tag: Van Dijk

by Jan

The Road to Qatar: Frenkie speaks

Frenkie is a player who has been hailed as the grandmaster of current Dutch football and graced our pages here often. We discuss Van Gaal here and tactical systems and Memphis’ injury and all this, but we only have a chance to win something in Qatar when Frenkie can play his best version of himself.

There is a painting in Zeist, which is called The Dutch Masters. Johan Cruyff is the beaming centre of the painting. Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten but also Xavi Simons and Vera Pauw are on the canvass. Louis van Gaal is there as well.

It’s unclear if Frenkie is on it, I haven’t seen it, but he is currently the only Dutch Master in the squad (sorry Memphis, Virgil). Louis van Gaal: “Frenkie is always important. If the opponent wants to pressure us, he is the man who can play out of it. He is strong on the ball, can turn both ways easily but he can also give the final through pass or score a goal.”

Beautiful words

Frenkie: “Yes, it’s always nice to hear nice things from the coach.”

Did you have to get used to this national team manager?

“Not really. He has such a reputation and he does have a different approach and way of working. I have never worked with someone like that, and you sort of prepare for this. But it’s really good to work with him. He is very direct and I like that. You get clarity and you will hear it when you don’t do well but also if you do do it well. As a group, we can deal with this. We won’t be losing sleep because of his approach because we know why he does it. He is merely helping us win matches.”

Van Gaal said: we can win this World Cup. Agree?

“Of course, we can win it. We have a pretty good team. We might not be the favorite, but we don’t need to be the favorite. I never look at who the media push as the frontrunner. I agree with the coach, we can win it, but other nations can win it too. Our strength is the team spirit combined with good players. We are not France though. A big nation, with a bigger pond to fish in.”

Who wins it: the best team or the best players?

“The team. 100%. But that is always the case, in any competition. If you would plan a match between the best team and a team with the best players, the best team would win. And in a tournament, it’s about working as a team and do what you can, literally everything. That is the foundation of it all. When you can do this, the qualities of the individual players can make the difference. The team is a the foundation and we have this very solidly.”

So this Oranje is a good team?

“We’ll need to see. The vibe is top. We are willing to work our asses off. All ingredients are there. The coach has brought a structure and that helps us enormously. We play with a fixed core of 14 players or so and that brings automatisms and patterns.”

Is this system a good system for you?

“Oh yes. I can play in any system. I don’t even think in these terms. Whether it is 5-3-2 or 4-3-3 or 3-4-3… it’s all about a couple of meters left or right or back. The most important thing is that the positioning on the pitch is correct. When that is the case, any good player can play in it. The way we do it now suits me fine.”

Where were you when Robin van Persie headed the ball over Casillas in 2014?

“I was watching tv with my orange jersey on hahaha. I was 17 and playing for Willem II. I liked that tournament, but I loved the 2010 tournament. I was 13 and you do process it way more intense. I remember everything from that tournament. But I have always been an Oranje fan and when you can play a World Cup yourself it is the best, the highest, the most important… The Euros was different due to the Covid restrictions. We didn’t play for full stadiums and the matches were played in different countries. There was atmosphere and all that, but not really, you know? Now, it will be different, a World Cup is huge. Now we play Senegal and Equador. I never played these nations. I have played against Germany four times now, but might be playing Brazil or Argentina for the first time. I look forward to that.”

How do you view this World Cup in the winter?

“It’s different, isn’t it? With one 1 week prep. We had 4 weeks for the Euros. But, all nations are suffering from this. But we’re basically in WC preparation since Norway away, really. By now , it’s quite clear what is required and how we want to play and solve problems.”

Virgil van Dijk wasn’t there, at the Euros. What is the difference when Virgil plays?

“I was devastated when Virgil got injured. He is one of the best defenders in the world, if not The Best. He has so many qualities, but he’s also a leader. On the pitch, off the pitch. He has charisma and you can tell that opponents and even referees are impressed with him. And when we play, the way he organises, keeps everyone awake and alert and coaches, that also makes an impact. On us, but also on the opponent. When I look behind me and I see Van Dijk, that gives me a safe feeling. Certainty, or an insurance kindathing. I am happy for him that he can play this World Cup but also very happy for myself, hahaha.”

You are close with Memphis. Is he going to be ready?

“I think so. Or think… I know so. He has been working so hard the last weeks and I know him well, he is a true professional. No one can criticise him on his mentality and work rate. He trains when he has to and does even more than that. Memphis was born ready.”

We all know you are top player, but you also seem to have top mentality. I think you had this as a youngster already, but this last transfer summer in Spain you kept a really cool head…

“That is basically how I am. I simply won’t get nervous easily. It’s all between the ears. My family and my agent Ali Dursun supported me well, in what I want: stay at Barca. No discussion. And I stuck to my path. The world outside of the club can say whatever they want or have any opinion. It’s nothing to do with me. I knew what I wanted, and that is all that mattered. I think you will be doubting stuff, if you are not quiet in your head. And in all honesty, I used all that stuff to get motivated. That is how I dealt with it. I believe in myself and the rest is just noise.”

 

by Jan

The Road to Qatar: Jurrien Timber (and bro)

It’s virtually impossible to do a story on Jurrien Timber without also covering twin bro Quinten. If the expression “two peas in a pod” had a face, it would be theirs. Even their brothers have had trouble identifying who is who. Brother Chris: “It happened often in a game where I would say “wow top pass by Quinten” and then mum would say “it’s Jurrien!”… Now, their heads are a bit different and their hairdo as well but back in the day, when they played together it was hard. Thanks God for squad numbers.”

Mum Timber came to the Netherlands as a professional dancer and ended up staying in Holland after she met the dad of the boys. She raised her 5 sons alone though and has done a marvelous job indeed! The oldest apparently had the most talent, according to Quinten. He lacked the ambition though and plays at amateur level now. The second oldest is the manager of his pro brothers. The youngest of the brothers is in the FC Utrecht academy.

The two Timbers in the youth system

Jurrien and Quinten, true identical twins, were selected in their first amateur team at 4 years old! Their youth coach at amateur club DVSU: “It is not really possible to have 4 year olds as club members, but their two brothers were members and playing together in a team. Jurrien and Quinten were always around and they were so gifted, we couldn’t refuse them. We allowed them both to play in the same team as their brothers but I always made use two of them were on the bench. Unless for games which really mattered, hahaha. If we could win the title, I did play them all four. I always told the boys to pass the ball, but when we were behind in a title deciding game, I did say to them: whatever you can do, win this game for us. And there they’d go, taking on and passing 4 or 5 players and scoring. Jurrien was more the organiser, the thinker. Quinten was the artist. Dribbling past 5 players and lobbing the ball over the goalie. Typical Quinten.”

“They looked adorable and they were so small. I heard many parents from visiting clubs comment on how cute they were but within 10 minutes all of the Timbers would be on the score sheet and the parents didn’t think they were so cute, hahaha.”

Brother Chris: “Justin and Quinten are indeed adorable and cute. Off the pitch. When mum was busy she’d put on the Lion King for us. My younger brother Dylan would walk off within 30 minutes, bored. Justin and Quinten were so easy, if the movie had ended, they would just sit there. Waiting for mum to spot them and offer them something else.”

When they turned 7, Feyenoord scouted them and brother Dylan. The contrast was enormous. The twins would be sitting close to the bus driver, polite and quiet, whereas Dylan was always getting in trouble.

Timber bros with mum

On a typical day in their amateur club, the Feyenoord, Ajax and Utrecht scout were watching together. Ajax offered the twins a move to Amsterdam, but Feyenoord also wanted Dylan. When Ajax told the family that they wouldn’t be able to pick up the boys for training and matches, while Feyenoord offered a bus service, it became Feyenoord for the three brothers.

The twins had to let their social life go. It was sleep, school, travel, train, travel, sleep. Dylan couldn’t do it, he missed the social life. “But they had each other. They were a unit, they ate the same, they would sleep in the same room (and still do!!) and they’d watch the same stuff. They were both Messi fans and this would have helped them to enjoy their life at Feyenoord.”

At a young age, the two were disciplined. If there was a movie on but the clock said 9.30 pm, they’d get up to go to bed.

Life was good and Feyenoord did ever so well with the Timbers, who played in a team with Wouter Burger (Basel) and Summerville (Leeds United). But when Feyenoord claimed they wanted to turn Quinten into a central defender, the family started to have doubts. “We saw players like Sergio Ramos, John Terry and Vince Kompany as central defenders but Quinten was of a different build. When Feyenoord also couldn’t assist us financially with transport costs when the boys went to high school we decided to have a look around. Ajax had the best pitch, so the boys decided to move to Amsterdam,” says their mum.

Timber family with their first trophy

The move to Ajax was highly publicized. As if the family had gone for the money. And Timber Traitors and all that jazz. But mum is adamant: “Ajax was always the first club to come around for them and every season I got a call from the Ajax youth academy. They were truly interested in the development of the boys and money was never a reason for us to switch.”

In the first seasons, the Timbers had it tough in Amsterdam. Not in terms of football. They were simply the best of their generation, but mostly due to their growth spurts and injuries. Eventually, they managed to learn to deal with the physical side of the game and they even were able to organise a gym at their home.

When Jurrien broke through into the first team, coach Ten Hag suggested a loan for Quinten, as it would be key for him too to play under pressure, week in week out. FC Utrecht was the candidate, but they were also keen to simply sign the midfielder. Ajax allowed Quinten to go and the rest is history. The midfielder is now back at Feyenoord as one of the key players in Arne Slot’s set up.

Jurrien Timber developed into a fine central defender who already had to brush off interest from Italy, Spain and England and seems to have taken the RCB spot from De Ligt and De Vrij. Quite an achievement. Not the top defenders of Bayern or Inter but that kid from Ajax will most likely take that spot.

His team mate Nathan Ake: “It’s amazing right? He is a super talent. He plays with a maturity I haven’t seen in a kid his age. I mean, it took me a while. And he’s also that type of guy off the pitch. A quiet guy, with focus on getting better and living like a pro. I can also see him deal with all the media stuff and he’s simply unfazed.”

Last summer, the Eredivisie Ltd and ESPN picked him as Holland’s Best Player AND Greatest Talent. Quite unique. Even Van Dijk was surprised: “When I look back at where I was at that age, wow… I only have good things to say about him. His potential is just mindboggling. I am sure he will not get derailed. He won’t allow it.”

Frank de Boer used Timber as a stand in for De Ligt, when he suffered a groin injury, but used the Bayern man when he was fit. Not Van Gaal. The veteran coach recognised the quality of Timber and placed both De Ligt and De Vrij solidly on the bench. Timber solidified his spot in the Nations League matches.

Daley Blind: “Wow, it goes so fast with Jurrien. We saw him develop last year in our CL campaign and he keeps on going. He works hard and truly a sponge, with his ears and eyes open to learn. He is always himself, a very steady guy.”

Skipper Van Dijk: “Everyone knows his role in this squad. When you play, you play and the ones who don’t play will be the support act, so to speak. I know it’s not easy for Mathijs and Stefan, but they deal so well with it. They will always be ready to help Jurrien or any other player. They are key too and it’s great to see these dynamics in the team.”

Lewandowski defeated

Jurrien Timber himself: “Yes, it’s true, we are a tight unit and I feel supported, also by my direct rivals, so to speak. It’s not easy to get into this team, everyone gives 100% to get in and we all deal with this professionally.”

His faith is important for him. On match days, he will post Bible verses. “Faith is my grounding. I study the Bible every day and it strengthens and grounds me. I notice that people respond to the posts I make on the Bible verses and I love that I can bring that message across.”

Against Poland away, he played against arguably one of the best strikers of the world. Lewandowski got 1 touch in the Dutch box and had zero shots on target. Timber had the most contacts of all Dutch players (97) and the most passes (82) and the highest pass accuracy ( 96%). He had the most interceptions (3) and the least number of possession losses (3).

When he was complimented on this after the game, he was very cool about it: “I don’t do this by myself. It’s a team performance. I love the challenge to play against Lewandowski, but he wasn’t the only one with quality. We dealt with Zielinski, who knows how to play and later Milik also came on. Also a monster of a striker.”

Hazard defeated

He also dealt with Eden Hazard and is looking forward to the World Cup. “When I played my matches at the Euros, I really noticed the difference in intensity. I remember thinking “Pfff this is tough”. It was a surprise that I played there and it was amazing. This World Cup will even be bigger. I will do what I can to be part of it.”

Time to reflect is not available yet. “I don’t have time, I need to go on. Another match soon! I am not ready yet.”

And Nathan Ake summarised it all very well: “He is a top talent and a great guy. He deserves everything coming his way.”

by Jan

Annoyed Van Gaal’s quest for perfection

The press conference before the last get together before the World Cup was heavy with agitation. The team manager loves controversy, as we know, and enjoys playing his games with certain members of the press.

We have seen a very buoyant and generous Van Gaal at pressers, we have seen him funny even. This time, the first interviewer (the indeed very annoying Stekelenburg of the NOS) got on Louis’ bad side and the whole press conference was influenced by this. Any other pointy question was answered with “Ah, you must be a friend of Stekelenburg? You should sit together from now on” and more of those sarcastic quips.

His mood will also have to do with the work he can see in front of him. After this period, he only has 1 week in November, which he’ll need to “fine tuning”. This week is an important one for Van Gaal, the perfectionist, but the week is pretty full. We have two nations league games, we have all sorts of of PR and content related tasks for the players, among them, the intro of the new Nike jerseys. Van Gaal also added a former volley ball coach to the mix who will help Van Gaal with the selection of the penalty killer! There is this scientific method – according to Louis – to help analyse which goalie has the best chance to stop penalties.

Keepers

Most countries (England, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France) have their goalie or goalies for the World Cup. Not us. We still don’t know who is the #1. This time, the former #1 Justin Bijlow, isn’t even selected (although he will join the Oranje camp for the goalie analysis as mentioned, same as Kjell Scherpen) and with Andries Noppert a new name is added. Trusted goalies Pasveer and Cillesen are part of the club, but Flekken, Noppert and apparently Bijlow are question marks. Keepers trainer Frans Hoek will work with the goalies and will present his findings to Van Gaal, who is happy to meet the Ajax and Heerenveen goalie for the first time. But, all in all, Van Gaal doesn’t seem worried about this goal keepers conundrum.

Squad

Van Gaal has had several principles in his rich career. Players who wanted to be part of the squad needed to play and play on the position where he wants them in Oranje as well. But these principles have already been abandoned. Today, it’s about “performing”. Players need to deliver. All well and good but have players like Davy Klaasen, Devyne Rensch and Stefan de Vrij delivered, recently? And when questions like these are asked, Van Gaal gets annoyed and claims the reporters are asking mean questions…. It seems this squad might well be the World Cup squad, although Van Gaal leaves the door open for players who are currently injured and used to be part of the squad, such as Lang, Danjuma and Luuk de Jong. For new names, such as Joey Veerman, Xavi Simons or Bryan Brobbey it will be harder. Only when others get injured or lose form will new players be added and only if these new players really deliver.

Science

Van Gaal has decided to invest in scientific methods and included Peter Murphy, former Volleyball coach, to his staff for this week. Action typing is what Murphy studied and he will use his methods to determine which keeper is best equipped for the penalty killer role. Length is a factor, yes (Noppert!) but speed of reaction is as important. A tall goalie who reacts slow is still not a good goalie. They will also work on methods to “distract” the opponent when the opponent is about to take a spot kick. Okay. In 2014, it was “the eye of the maestro” which determined that Cillesen needed to make way for Krul which helped Oranje reach the semis. But Argentina took their spot kicks better and Van Gaal wants to rule out a similar scenario.

Commerce

The players will also need to spend time on what Van Gaal calls “content creation”. There will simply not be enough time for this later, so Van Gaal wants this to happen now. He doesn’t want this to interfere right before the tournament. This content creation is basically: doing the sponsor thing. Getting photos made with the new kit, or any other sponsor related action.

Football

There is even time for football! Van Gaal will talk a lot this week. He will have group sessions and individual sessions, in which he (and Danny Blind) will focus on video analysis and more instructions to perfect the tactics he wants to see on the pitch. Van Gaal was moderately happy with the way it is going, but it can be executed much better. For now, the second half versus Germany in the last friendly was the best half Van Gaal has seen and now the focus is on doing this for more than one half. The only downside: that second half was not played in Van Gaal’s fave 3-4-3 set up. Work to be done. Van Gaal did say that he will not experiment or allow players playing time. He wants to work towards his firm first team. Don’t expect much chances between now and November. On this topic, when asked if new players were to be expected, Van Gaal let slip that he doesn’t only look at player’s footballing qualities but also how the player deals with…. Van Gaal. The coach is a keen talker and has long tactical talks. In his words, “if a player starts to nod off during my talks, I know I can’t use him.” This probably happened and might well be the reason why a player like Karsdorp or in the past Seedorf were ignored by him.

by Jan

Winners and Losers of Oranje

He who studied Louis van Gaal knows he is a true fan and follower of his role model Rinus Michels. As a young player, he would bike to the Ajax training ground, not to watch the Ajax players, but to watch Michels. When a young adult Van Gaal needed to pick a profession, he decided to become a teacher, phys ed, like Michels was.

He tries to copy Michels career (Ajax, Barca, Oranje) but wants to do one better: winning the World Cup. He will have noticed how Michels abandoned the Dutch 4-3-3 in 1988, in order to win the first and only trophy for Holland. He shored up the midfield and took a forward off, making sure his two stars Gullit and Van Basten wouldn’t need to do too much work and could focus on scoring goals. Realist Michels ignored all the idealists and won the big prize.

As a young coach, Van Gaal played uber attacking football, which has inspired many a coach, like Guardiola, Bielsa and Flick. But on 19 January 1989, something happened. Barca led Valencia, 3-0. In 20 minutes, Valencia scored four goals and Van Gaal lost that match.

His next big trophy, he won with AZ Alkmaar, playing counter football in a 4-4-1-1 set up.

During the years, he realised he was naive and started to focus on a way to win games with exciting football. He got more and more convinced, that the strongest team with the tightest bonds would win tournaments. And when one has mediocre players, reactive football will pay off, using tactical smarts, to cover your own weaknesses and to exploit the weaknesses of the opponent.

At the 2014 World Cup, he knew he had some world class forwards, but mediocre defenders. The players back then were on the pay roll of Ajax, Feyenoord, Aston Villa, Norwich, Swansea City, Galatasaray… He created a platform for Robben and Van Persie and disciplined the lesser heroes into a tight system. When he needed speed and pizzazz, he brought Memphis. When he needed legs in midfield, he had PSV player Wijnaldum.

We got to the semis, and a failed penalty shoot out blocked us from beating the Germs in the finals.

This time around, our back line has players who are at Man City, Liverpool, Inter, Juventus, Ajax and midfielders who play at Barcelona, PSG, Man United or Bayern Munich. Our forwards might not (yet) be of Robben status, but they know how to unsettle defenders and score!

Van Gaal believes he has a real chance of lifting the trophy.

He studied the way Tuchel at Chelsea works with his three at the back. Chelsea is able to put pressure on the ball and does this by using the wing backs in a tactical way. They need to see the moment to push forward and put pressure on the wingers of the opponent. Van Gaal noticed that Daley Blind has the tactical intelligence to recognise these moments. Something Dumfries needs to improve on, as he got it wrong recently versus Germany (and initially versus Belgium as well).

Van Gaal speaks of the 10 yard rule. When the opponent has the ball, the Oranje players cannot be further apart than 10 yards. In this way, players can put pressure and know that their spot will be covered. This was what didn’t go well at the Euros, recently, when the Czechs didn’t find it hard to play in between the lines.

Another aspect Van Gaal has been hammering on: coaching. All players need to be vocal, you need to inform your mates and create a better awareness or orientation. Van Gaal uses video analysis software to monitor this. The video software constantly calculates and visualises the distances. Based on this, Van Dijk is named the General of Pressing and he is the key man in coaching the team. Stefan de Vrij is his capable 2CO in this task. Interestingly enough, when Oranje is able to keep these distances, the opponent finds it hard to score. Once we are unable to fill in the gaps, the opponent will get chances. We were able to do it right for 70 minutes versus Belgium. Once we started slipping and getting more fatigued, we become vulnerable.

The lesson? If we can keep this up for 90 minutes, it will be hard for any opponent to score against us.

By using two forwards and no real wingers, LVG opens up the flanks for his wide wingbacks. This means Oranje has always an extra man in midfield. Vanaken and Witsel of Belgium were constantly facing three Oranje midfielders. When you control the midfield, you control the game.

Players like Memphis, Bergwijn, Lang, Malen and Danjuma do love the space on the wing to be available for them to run into. The experiment with Weghorst as deepest striker against Wales didn’t work out. As Wales didn’t press up, we were a man short in midfield, also because the two “half 10s” weren’t able to play the spaces too well. Van Gaal changed it back, by making Lang a midfielder again and this way we regained control.

Against Poland, Van Gaal went back to his 3 midfielder game plan (Klaassen, Frenkie, Berghuis) and we should have and could have won that too, if Memphis had scored the pen. The two Polish goals can be (and should have been) avoided.

The new Oranje system works well against stronger nations, who want to attack as well. It will allow for space, for Frenkie and Memphis in particular to create havoc.

Against team parking the bus – and they usually also sacrifice a player to mark Frenkie de Jong – this team needs to improve. Van Gaal had to instruct Frenkie to not try and dribble into cul de sacs, but to move away from the action. Find space on the wings, or in areas where nothing is happening. If the marker follows, it means other players will be able to get more space and take over Frenkie’s role.

The fact that it still takes the coach to point this out, as he had to do versus Denmark when Eriksen became the free man after he had come onto the pitch, there is still a lot of work to do. You want that tactical intelligence on the pitch, you want players like Blind, Van Dijk, Frenkie and Memphis to “see” these things and take care of it.

This new Van Gaal system has a couple of winners.

Steven Bergwijn – Van Gaal called him a Gift of the Gods, literally. Strong on the ball, a good partnership with Memphis, scoring ability, depth, speed. But… not able to play more than 70 minutes at high intensity.

Steven Berghuis – Van Gaal calls him the “passer” as opposed to the “runners” Klaassen, Wijnaldum, Van de Beek and Til. Berghuis is unique in this role, with Teun Koopmeiners as more defensive alternative. As there are no real alternatives, it seems the Ajax man is certain of his spot.

Jurrien Timber – He may have gotten the wrath of the coach against Poland but Timber has been impressing as right CB in Ajax and in Oranje. He is the complete package: speed, ability to play right wing back if needed, strong in challenges and very good on the ball. His off day v Poland was due to fatigue, Van Gaal concluded.

Nathan Ake – Van Gaal prefers a left footed left centre back. He seems to prefer Blind as wing back so Ake is the only left footed defender in the squad. Martins Indi was called up for this reason and we’ll see Sven Botman most likely too. Ake doesn’t play much at City, but he keeps impressing in Oranje.

The Losers

Stefan de Vrij – Van Gaal is a super fan of the Inter defender as he also used him successfully in 2014. “Everything Van Dijk can do, De Vrij can do as well.” It seems he is the ideal stand in for captain Virgil van Dijk.

Mathijs de Ligt – The young and solid Juve defender was tested as left CB but that was not an overall success. It seems De Ligt needs to focus on a spot in the centre or right CB. For these positions he’s competing with De Vrij, Van Dijk and Timber. Tough test for Mathijs.

Gini Wijnaldum – One of the key players for Oranje in the past years, but Van Gaal is not impressed with his performances in Oranje. “Gini has to deliver. We cannot bring players in to help them find their feet. He will need to do this at his club.”

Arnaut Danjuma – Scores for fun in Spain (and everywhere else) but hasn’t impressed Van Gaal too much. “He is still injured. He’s not my #1 player and when you’re not fit, you move further down the hierarchy. Danjuma needs to get fit and he needs to perform. Only then can I select him again.”

by Jan

Why Berghuis was the free man v Belgium

Our lively discussions on the forum sometimes show quite a gap in understanding and appreciation of the Oranje games and players.

Just like Daley Blind now (and players like Memphis, Kuyt, Nigel de Jong before them), it seems Steven Berghuis’ contributions are not truly appreciated.

Louis van Gaal said after the Belgium match up that with this 3-4-3 and with a solid execution of that system, Holland will always have a man-more situation anywhere on the pitch. “Whatever the Belgium did or could do, we were always outnumbering them.”

Frenkie de Jong and Steven Berghuis were the key players in this.

Months ago, Van Gaal lamented that “he didn’t have any real classic wingers”. At that point. Berghuis was still a right winger for Oranje (and Ajax) but with the break-through of Antony at Ajax, Berghuis was moved to the spine of the Ajax team. A signal for LVG to consider the same: “Berghuis is not the type of winger that takes on his direct opponent. So I decided to use him in the central part of the pitch.”

Belgium plays in a 3-4-3, like LVG wants. But Van Gaal also has a strong principle, to never play the same system as the opponent. “I don’t want to make it easy for them to make duos on the pitch, I want the opponent to have to think, to have to decide what to do. So I switched the roles in our midfield.” Where Belgium plays with one attacking mid and two holding midfielders, LVG decided to use one holding mid (Frenkie) and have Berghuis and Klaassen free in their movements.

1-5-1-2-2

In this way, he presented Belgium coach Martinez with some additional decision making. Now it was up to Kevin de Bruyne to defend against Frenkie, something the brilliant Citizen only did sparsely.

Defensively, it became easier for Oranje: Berghuis kept an eye on Witsel and Klaassen covered Vanaken. Frenkie only had to pick up De Bruyne, whenever he dropped back into midfield. Due to Berghuis’ smart positioning, we never got a man-more situation against us. We were always in control in midfield. As Van Gaal said in the post match presser: “Our midfield won the game for us.”

Berghuis dropping next to Frenkie to offer another option

Berghuis: “What the coach predicted was exactly what happened. We trained like this and we saw it happening exactly this way in the match. I played a bit deeper, at times close to Frenkie. This allowed us control in midfield and with Davy and his movements, we always had an option in midfield and were never outnumbered. I think we executed the plans really well.”

Frenkie moving up and creating man more situation

The 4th minute shows exactly how it all worked. The three Dutch central defenders (Timber, Van Dijk, Ake) are in position at the back, while Dumfries and Blind have moved up along the touch line. Frenkie drops back to assist with the build up, so now Holland has 4 players opposite 3 Belgium forwards. Once the forward pass is played, Berghuis drops back closer to Frenkie who can play in the Ajax midfielder. With Witsel pulled into that zone, Frenkie can come up – leaving De Bruyne behind – and again creating a man more situation. Holland kept on playing this cat and mouse game, luring the Belgium forwards to try and take the ball, without success.

In this situation, Frenkie dropped all the way back to a central defender’s role, luring De Bruyne with him. Berghuis and Klaassen are behind the Belgium controllers, who feel to be in … well… control. But when Berghuis drops deep to receive the ball, he has the freedom of midfield, allowing him to turn and pick his pass. Memphis was already on his bike. As Van Gaal said: “We always have the free man.”

Making Belgium believe they’re in control

Berghuis finding the space….

…and the pass

In the final third, Oranje did similar things: Blind and Dumfries kept the pitch wide and their movements kept at least two opponents busy. The four attacking players (Bergwijn, Depay, Berghuis, Klaassen) kept on changing positions, making the central defenders of Belgium nauseous.

Berghuis as right winger…

Berghuis’ heat map covered practically the whole pitch, as you can see in the following screen shots. Due to his movement, he always found time and space for the forward pass. The yield of his passing was a tad disappointing, with the only success the assist for the 0-2.

Berghuis as #10

Berghuis as left midfielder

Most of the stats show that Berghuis and De Jong were the two key players in Van Gaal’s plan to win the Battle of Midfield, versus Belgium. Only Blind and De Jong created more chances (4 vs 3 for Berghuis). Memphis had more shots (3) on target than Berghuis (2). Frenkie, Virgil and Daley Blind played more passes than Berghuis (44), who was subbed after 82 minutes.

Wednesday, Oranje plays Wales, in Cardiff. The Welshmen has just qualified for the World Cup by beating Ukraine 1-0. The Welsh Dragons will have some celebrations in the legs and might not play their best eleven. Good outlook for Oranje, in other words.

Tough to predict our line up. I think Cillesen will play 2 matches and Flekken will play 2.

I think we will see:

Flekken

Hateboer – De Ligt – De Vrij – Ake – Malacia

Koopmeiners – Berghuis

Lang

Memphis – Bergwijn