Tag: Vilhena

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.”

Another Germany – Oranje…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The infamous note of assistant Dwight Lodeweges for coach Koeman

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

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

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

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

Ryan Babel – Galatasaray

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

Jesper Cillesen – Valencia

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

Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld – Bournemouth

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

Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona

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

Luuk de Jong – Sevilla

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

Matthijs de Ligt – Juventus

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

Quincy Promes – Ajax

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

Tonny Vilhena – Krasnodar

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

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

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

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

 

German victory for Oranje…

Oh the irony… Gary Lineker once defined football as a game “between two teams of eleven and at the end of the game, Germany wins…”. Last night, Lineker tweeted: “Who ever said that doesn’t know a thing about football”…

We can immensely enjoy the result vs the Germans and we are clearly not alone. The English can always appreciate a good German thumping.

And what a hammer blow it was. Because let’s be honest: we didn’t deserve it. Germany played well. Didn’t have a big game 4 days ago. Played at home. Nothing to play for, but their coach and their reputation. Low fielding a number of highly talented youngsters and they took the game by the neck.

Good goals, good attacks, lots of movement and the right tactics.

The Germans populated the midfield. In their 3-4-3, Holland had trouble taking on their midfield and was second best on all levels. The only thing worse than Oranje was the pitch. Terrible surface, not doing us many favours.

But we got the draw in the end, and we won the Division A, a group where criticasters believed we had no right to be in. And would never be able to top. While only 5 months ago documentaries were produced to show how terrible the state of football was in The Netherlands and how every expert (bar some) proclaimed how Holland needed to go to Germany or France and learn from their ways of working. Because we lost our edge and didn’t know what we were doing…

And very untypical for the Dutch, we now got the wind in our back and where everything turned against us under Hiddink/Blind, under this coach, everything seems to fall in its place. The Germans could have scored 3 more but failed. And we were able to grab the point we needed in German fashion right at the death.

Euphoria and joy, after 94 minutes.

But pointing fingers, screaming and gesticulating after 20 minutes. Ronald Koeman sees how badly his team started. Lethargic. Slow. Lack of communication. Wijnaldum picks up the signs from the desperate coach and receives instructions. He brings the messages to his team mate, but not much improves. In the first 20 minutes, we concede two goals, only have 40% possession and did not have a single opportunity to put Neuer to work.

Stats that do remind us of the Hiddink/Blind era. Koeman had to go for Plan B. Which was Luuk de Jong as target man and Virgil van Dijk as his partner striker.

That tactics was handed to Koeman, on a little note. “I didn’t come up with this. Apparently my assistants Kees van Wonderen and Dwight Lodeweges were talking in the first half how to force a beakthrough. They gave me this during the second half and we went for it.”

The comeback does fit the trajectory Oranje is in, under the new coach. He’s pragmatic, he can switch systems, created a good vibe between the players and he makes his own luck.

Germany starts with an aggressive tactics. Three forwards, playing close together, with two wingbacks playing high up. And one v one at the back. The four midfielders had the better of the Dutch midfield and in particular De Roon on the right hand side was constantly forced to decide: do I press high and take on Kroos or support Tete and allow Kroos space to penetrate? He did both and in in each scenario was Germany able to score. The central defenders weren’t capable to press up, as the third forward would have a free run into space. In the second half, partly due to injuries (Dilrosun and Babel), Koeman switched it with pushing Frenkie back as centre back and using a 3-4-3 to mirror Germany.

Promes scored Holland’s first from a central position. “The coach told us in the half time break, if we don’t concede anymore and score 2-1, we will go and make it 2-2. He was right.”

Promes played as Steven Bergwijn was injured (ankle) and wasn’t in the selection. Dumfries wasn’t 100% either so Koeman decided to switch the pair. Tete, considered a better defender than Dumfries, was brought in, in particular to take care of Sane. The Olympique Lyon defender had a bad night as Sane showed Low why he always needs to play.

The Man City player demonstrated his quality with the 2-0, when he slipped away from De Ligt and got a lucky deflection to score 2-0. Holland really didn’t have a lot to say. The only opportunity we had, was a header by Sule on a Blind cross, which cleared the bar.

In the second half, Germany kept on going where they left off. Wijnaldum played an invisible match and was subbed for the energetic Vilhena. Holland started to play a bit more ballsy and with Luuk de Jong for the unfortunate Dilrosun, there was a swagger coming into the team. The Frenkie de Jong block tackle on Sane’s attempt, followed by an excellent shot by Memphis on the German goal gave us a snippet of what was to come. In the 86th minute , Holland was patiently trying to find an opening when Luuk de Jong laid off to De Roon who passed into Promes. The Sevilla man used the body of Hummels as a shield to curve the ball into the corner: 2-1.

The final minutes were electric. Koeman pushed Van Dijk forward next to De Jong and it was the energy and belief of Vilhena, who played well as a sub, which kept the ball alive. He took it off Kroos’ foot, dribbled close to the corner flag to whip it in with his powerful left. Kimmich got a nothing header flick on the ball, making it a tad harder for Virgil, but like Marco van Basten, he volleyed the ball brilliantly out of reach of Neuer: 2-2.

And so: Holland wins this Group 1, and will go to Portugal next summer, with Portugal, England and Switzerland.

Not a fantastic performance, but an exhilarating battle all the same. Van Dijk was the hero, but we did see more good performances. I thought Blind was important, with his composure on the ball and his experience in the final minutes of the game. Frenkie didn’t shine as per usual, but again demonstrated guile and elegance. De Roon for me was one of the key man in the team. Totally understandable why he’s on the pitch, but I do think he’ll have to battle for a spot with Davy Propper.

Promes, Memphis, Babel, they were ok. Worked for the team, were threatening. Wijnaldum and Tete appeared to have a bit of an off day, while Vilhena and Luuk de Jong both had a great turn in the team, lifting the energy and belief.

Add Dilrosun, Danjuma, Van de Beek, Rosario, Bergwijn, De Vrij, Ake, Janmaat, Van Aanholt, Propper, Klaassen, Berghuis, Kluivert and there is quite a solid squad in the making.

We can have closure this year, knowing that despite missing the World Cup, Dutch football is back at the top. We have it all to play for with a very young and talented team and a pragmatic coach who taught us what winning is again. And who made us remember how fun it is, to win.

Now lets win that Nations League next year, as the money the KNVB makes at that tournament can be put to good use, to help clubs with artificial pitches in Holland to throw these out and go back to grass again. How it is supposed to be.

Orange Masterclass vs World Champs!

You know you did something right when even national team manager Ronald Koeman says that it was an exceptional performance. I think it’s fair to say Holland played one of the best games in many years.

It clicked. It’s all working out. The mix of experience and youthful exuberance, the seasoned and shrewd Babel, the focused Cillesen, mercurial Memphis, disciplined Blind and the ridiculously talented De Jong and De Ligt… Working under a no-nonsense pragmatic coach as Ronald Koeman with warrior Van Dijk as his lieutenant… Simply perfection.

If it wasn’t for Lloris, we could have won 5-0. And how good is it, to not only beat France, but to also have Germany relegated at the same time… Ah, the sweet smell of revenge.

Koeman was quite cautious after the 3-0 beating of Germany. “It was good but not the whole game. We had good spells and lesser spells. We are improving but I want to see more of the good and less of the not-so-good.” This time, after becoming the first nation to beat the newly crowned Champions of the World, he couldn’t hide his enthusiasm and praised his team. “I can not fault them on anything. We played a perfect game and every single player was playing great. I am very happy and proud and we have definitely turned a corner. We can develop into a great team with a bright future.”

Koeman can indeed be proud of what the team achieved:

  • We are the reason Germany got relegated
  • Oranje will stay in this Division A
  • Oranje is certain of being in Pot 1 for Euro qualifiers
  • Oranje is the first team to beat World Champions France
  • A big jump in the FIFA ranking
  • A draw vs Germany means Holland will be in the Nations League
  • The end of a series of defeats vs France

 

The win in Rotterdam means it’s the 15th game in a row won in De Kuip. In the last 15 matches played in the Johan Cruyff Arena, Oranje lost 7 matches. In 2018, Memphis was involved in half of all the goals Oranje scored. Including his stats for Lyon, Depay was involved in 41 goals (23 scored, 18 assisted) in 52 matches.

Hugo Lloris needed 9 saves against Holland, the highest level of saves for France since 2008.

The Dutch media praised the performance. The terms “magnificent” and “reborn” and “master class” were used to describe what Holland achieved. “As if Oranje drank from the well of confidence. But apart from the execution, this team also oozes warmth and sympathy. This is a team with class, who bonded as friends, this is finally a real team. This might well be the biggest difference compared to the post 2014 Oranje teams we saw being humiliated. It was balanced, disciplined, focused, but also with balls. And France? They played like Iceland plays. But without the passion. The World Champs didn’t dazzle us with quality in Russia and has further slipped into apathy.”

De Telegraaf mentions the only weak point of Oranje: “They could and should have scored more. This is something to work on. Otherwise the victory was sensational. With a world class performance by Memphis. Everytime Depay was played in, the French panicked. He had continuously two markers close to him, but it didn’t stop him.” The normally modest and puritan Trouw wrote that Koeman has transformed a weak performing collective of players into a team, playing with their brains, their qualities and with passion and purpose. “This was a good night in the natural home of Oranje: De Kuip.”

De Volkskrant: “And coming Tuesday, Holland can beat Germany again and win this Group. Who would have predicted this 3 months ago? Not only did we beat and relegate Germany, we also beat the world champions with a last second Panenka by Memphis.”

The international media picked up on the performance as well. The French papers speak of a the ruthless Orange Lion tearing the French cock to pieces. The French federation president admitted that France had deservedly been beaten by a better opponent. “Holland was better on every level this time around. Pure class.”

Skysports: “A rampant Holland didn’t give France a chance, with man of the match performances by Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries.”

Marca in Spain: “In the Dutch football temple, Holland hadn’t lost for 15 matches and this 16th match was a victory as well. No one took notice of Holland anymore, but there are some young tulips coming up and they shine more bright than ever. Holland played France completely drunk.”

El Mundo Deportivo was focused on Frenkie de Jong: “De Jong is a modern playmaker, he can dribble, he can pass and is always on the move. Uncharacteristically for a playmaker, he is also happy to tackle and put in a shift for the team.”

France coach Deschamps was quite clear: “We didn’t have any claim on anything today. We were deservedly beaten by a better Holland, It’s not an excuse that we missed players. We should have competed more, even with the players who were fit to play. Holland simply wanted it more.”

So how did we do it?

Koeman found a way for Oranje to dominate, without committing too many players forward allowing the French to counter attack. Deschamps will have thought: Holland at home, they want to win, they want to attack and we’ll pick ‘m off.

The French trap usually consists of 3 controlling midfielders, 2 fast wide forwards (Mbappe, Griezmann) and a strong target man upfront (Giroud). Not unlike PSV’s tactics.

Koeman’s preparation was all about the balance between having enough players around the ball to control the game, while having enough players back to stop the counter. In his pre-match talk he told the players this will probably be “the most difficult match, so far!”.

The French set up. Four defenders, a bank of 3 controlling midfielders, Mbappe and Griezmann in front of these guys and Giroud up top

Koeman’s mantra: always have three players in the last line of defence. The build up will be done by Blind, De Roon, De Jong, Van Dijk or De Ligt. Out of these 5, there always needs to be 3 together at the back. Denzel Dumfries strength is all about bombing forward on the flank, allowing Bergwijn to come inside to assist either Memphis or the midfield.

Babel on the left would remain on the flank, as Blind is less of a forward bulldozering full back, but whenever Blind would move forward, and he would do so with gusto at times, Babel would also move inside, to stop their counter should we lose possession.

Even if only Giroud was up front, with Mbappe and Griezmann tucking back in to support midfield, Oranje would never play naive and keep 3 players with Giroud to protect the space.

On our own half, always three man behind the ball. This time with Frenkie as the first build up go-to guy.

Once Oranje brings the ball well into the French half, would be the moment when Holland would allow two defenders with Giroud but keep two controlling mids close to the centre backs (usually De Roon and De Jong, with Wijnaldum further forward).

This time, it’s De Roon as the third “central defender” with De Jong roaming in between the lines.

This way, the Dutch would crowd the midfield enough to stop counters from happening, while the tactical smarts of De Roon and De Jong would protect the space.

Before the half time break, this tactics did results in a chess match, a tactical game of sorts, less entertaining than the Dutch usually like it. With Koeman, it’s results before entertainment.

After Holland scored, Deschamps makes some changes to go from the 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 and it’s then when Oranje is capable of playing in between their lines and create havoc.

This time, Blind also drops deep to offer an option, as he realises De Roon could dribble into midfield. Notice Dumfries positioning higher up the park.

Once Oranje loses possession they pressure high to win the ball back and if that fails, Babel and Bergwijn – the oldest Soldier of Orange and one of the youngest ones – fall back into a wide full back role to guard the space. Highly disciplined and tactically astute. A good example of how far Dutch football has gone. Babel resurrected his career with aplomb and Bergwijn is already playing at an astonishing mature level.

An early chance! Notice how 5 Oranje players are in front of the ball, with only Van Dijk and De Ligt in defence, and De Jong and de Roon protecting those two. Blind is moving into the French half. This is where Koeman allowed the Dutch to take risks.

Ronald Koeman deserves praise for ending the naivety that so characterised Dutch football recently. He knows, that in today’s game, it’s the turn around that is key. It’s loss of possession, individual errors and dead ball situations that will be key. And this match also showed that playing with patience, with tactical discipline and organisation can lead to an entertaining match.

A great view on Oranje’s movement when losing possession. Both full backs (Blind and Dumfries) came inside to put pressure on the French axis (with Blind challenging for the ball. Babel is playing left full back, while our centre backs go into position to sniff out the forward pass.

New Season: Feyenoord

We covered Ajax and PSV, time to look at the number 3 of the Top 3 and the winner of the JC Shield: Feyenoord! Five trophies in four seasons is not bad, not bad at all.

The changes this summer were not too bad (knock on wood, transfer period isn’t over yet…). But Jorgensen didn’t get away, Vilhena didn’t get away and despite the interest for Berghuis (Germany) and Van Beek (Turkey), the only players who left are El Ahmadi (free transfer) and Bilal to Turkey for €1,000,000. Very late in the game, Brad Jones got a deal to go to the sand pit and the Australian goalie saw the writing by Bijlow on the wall – who played an amazing pre-season – and decided to prop up his pension fund by taking his exit.

So, with Robin van Persie staying on and homeboy Jordy Clasie returning on a loan deal Feyenoord looks in decent shape. Yassin Ayoub joined on a free deal from FC Utrecht and South American surprise Sinistera was signed to replace Bilal.

Clasie’s return is a good sign for the fans. The midfielder played a decent season for Club Brugge (“I played almost everything in the second season half… only when the finals came, I was dropped to the bench, without explanation. The coach wanted me to stay another year, but something broke when that happened..”). Clasie returned to Southampton and impressed Mark Hughes in the pre-season. Despite this, Clasie longed for a spell back in Rotterdam. Even a last sms by Hughes didn’t change things.

Clasie: “I want to play. Money doesn’t make you happy. Maybe I’m not a guy to play abroad, who knows. When I don’t play I need my friends and family around me, and when you’re in another country and you aren’t playing…it’s hard. But, having said that, it was magical. Playing in the EPL was a dream, I have great memories but I’m also very happy to be at Feyenoord. We’ll see what pans out.

Feyenoord’s pre-season looked ok, with some good, average and bad games / results. The first test was the match vs PSV for the Johan Cruyff Shield. Feyenoord won. And that win might have thrown some magic dust in the eyes of the fan, as Feyenoord didn’t play too well.

Reaction-football. Low pace, never great in possession and quite lucky not to concede. Although they did get the better chances towards the end of the match.

But goalie Bijlow made the difference and Feyenoord had another trophy.

The real test would be the away game against the orange coloured Trencin, for the Europa League. A game in which Gio van Bronckhorst had to trust his youngster for a result. Haps is injured for a spell already, as is goalie Vermeer. Ayoub is injured, Jorgensen as well, Van Persie wasn’t fit enough and St Juste couldn’t start either, while Vilhena was still suspended.

With these big name players missing, Gio hoped for his young talents to step up to the plate.

And sadly, their 4-0 bashing vs Trencin will dominate this post and the week ahead, as they played a dreadful game. Yes, also Bijlow, Van Beek, Vente and Amrabat… Naive, lacking in energy and leadership… Just shallow and clumsy and lacklustre.

Which will give Gio enough headaches for sure. With Van Persie in the team, or Jorgensen, you’d expect leadership, guidance… a player who can sense the danger. But Clasie, Van Beek, Berghuis and Toornstra weren’t capable of bringing some much needed grit to the team.

At home, next week, it is still possible for Feyenoord to do the heroic. Which would boost everyone sensationally of course. But, the odds aren’t good.

At the same time, it could be a blessing in disguise. With Ajax most likely reaching the CL after doing well away vs Liege (2-2) and PSV in the CL, it seems Feyenoord could benefit from a Europe-less season… One must always hope.

And who knows, with New Zealander Ryan Thomas making a late move from PEC Zwolle to PSV Eindhoven, the competition (Ajax and PSV) is getting stronger, while Feyenoord might still lose some players (Vilhena, Jorgensen, Berghuis, Van Beek).

The main issue I see for Feyenoord is their lack of will, their lack of real desire. The Must-Win mentality that Ajax always had and PSV most definitely will have even more of now Van Bommel is in charge. I fear Feyenoord will have to go for the third place. Ajax and PSV will fight for the title I suppose…

As for the rest: Heerenveen lost some quality but do have a new coach in Adriaanse adept Jan Olde Riekerink (my old school mate) and the signing of Rodney Kongolo, from Man City (former Feyenoord talent).

FC Utrecht will be a contender again, as per usual, as will Vitesse, under Russian coach Sloetsky. I do expect something from FC Groningen this coming season, in all honesty and I hope PEC Zwolle can keep on overachieving.

AZ still has to prove it to the fans, with their two threats up front – Weghorst and Jahanbaksh – gone. The new signings haven’t done it so far for the Alkmaar club but with Stengs on the way back and many great young talents, you can rest assured Van de Brom will have a goodlooking team and will battle for a place up top.

So, your turn guys… What do you think we can expect from this Eredivisie season?