Tag: Wesley Sneijder

July 16, 2013 by Jan

The Louis van Gaal show in Asia….

I said it here before and many of you concurred: Louis van Gaal is a wonderful coach. Great tactician. Good training material. Yadda yadda yadda. But he’s also a bit of a wanker. Big Ego. And not capable of not taking himself too seriously… We all said it: we will have some fun with Louis too, on the way to Brazil.

And I once mused….wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall at times?

Well, a journalist of VI, the Dutch football magazine, offered us this perspective. Michel van Egmond gives us his story about what is going on behind the scenes. When Oranje “did” Asia, he was present.

Here it is.

“Bejing is a wonderous city. You can see soldiers guarding something vague on the weirdest spots. People talk in some weird language, with mouth caps for. And eat anything on four legs. Except maybe the table. But the most hallucinating image on that particular morning is offered up not by a Chinaman but a Dutchman. He strolls through the massive door of the Peninsula Hotel and even Chinese taxi drivers push the brake to have a better look. And would you believe it: a middle aged guy, right out of his bed, walks out of the hotel, yawning and scratching his right leg, dressed in orange slippers and an orange robe…

More interesting than the games Oranje play, are the press conferences Louis gives. The KNVB wants to do their best to show that Louis is not really the grumpy old man we all think he is. But everytime they try and position him differently, he mucks it up and comes across even worse!

How’ bout this one? The KNVB has organised a big suite in the hotel. Nice fruit, saucers with cookies, chocolates and fresh tea and coffee. And a nice Chinese wait person to help with all the necessities. Van Gaal is chatting with press officer Kees Jansma. The media people slowly come into the room. Van Gaal ignores them at first. People go up to him to greet him. Van Gaal would never greet first. As a Radja, he expects people to come to him. He doesn’t say anything but gives short nods. To some he says nothing more than “good afternoon”. Van Gaal doesn’t do visits. Van Gaal does audiences. Like the Pope.

Van Gaal turns around to Jansma and says: “That’s it?”.

Jansma: “I think so.”

Van Gaal seems to think he deserves more journalists. Then he says: “Ok go ahead”.

The first journo says: “Are you happy with the way things are going?”.

Van Gaal: “Yes”.

Awkward silence. The team manager is a master in giving his public the feeling they are not welcome. People always laugh nervously when he makes a joke. Because he is not a stand up comic. His jokes are not funny. People laught to break the ice. Everyone desperately tries to break the ice… And then he picks up and starts to talk. About the program, the preparation, about Wesley Sneijder and more. In a somewhat condenscending tone. But, as we all know, once Van Gaal talks football he doesn’t sell bullshit. He knows what he is talking about. But ouch….suddenly the door opens and a Chinese reporter comes in. Too late.

Van Gaal: “Well you are too late!” and sits straight up into his chair.

Reporter: “Yes”.

(A day earlier, Van Gaal was late for a practice session with Chinese youngsters. Close to a 100 kids had to wait for the coach, eleven minutes to be precise, due to traffic jams. But this fact didn’t give any cause for self reflection )

Van Gaal acts the gym teacher from the 1950s again: “Too late, means…in my class you can’t come in!”.

Reporter: “Apologies apologies”.

Another question. Does Van Gaal think there is a risk in selecting young players, as they lack consistency and sometimes will have a setback in their performance?

Van Gaal: “Oh, you are trying to talk me into something? I don’t believe that!”

Reporter: “Eh no, I am not trying to talk you into anything… It’s not a suggestion, it is how it is, I believe.”

Van Gaal: “No, you are suggesting things. That young players can’t sustain their level. That is your theory. But I won the CL with kids of 20 year old. So, what you say is bullshit.”

A bit aggressive for a pretty normal question… Another reporter doesn’t want to give up on this topic and supports his colleague… Van Gaal: “And how bout Sneijder then? He doesn’t play at a constant level either. He’s 29 years old! Or Robin van Persie? You must have noticed that he hasn’t scored for a spell at Man United? Has nothing to do with age. That is what you, the media, make up!”

The tone of the meeting starts to make it Monty Pythonesque. Van Gaal is looking for a rift. One reporter asks if Sneijder’s form has anything to do with Sneijder’s lifestyle? Maybe Wesley is living it up too much? Can I ask that, the reporter adds.

Van Gaal: “No! No, you can not ask this. That is not decent. You don’t have any dealings with his personal life. How do you think you are?”

And when another reporters wants to know if Van Gaal can help Sneijder getting fit again, he again is annoyed. “No of course not! I only see him eight times per year and then I can’t even train with him properly. Because if I make Sneijder work too hard, you guys will start to criticise me again!”

Most reporters start to giggle. They can’t stop themselves. Van Gaal rants on: “This has all happened. All of this. And then you guys think you are the coach!”

And he stops talking.

I try: “But why would you care? What does it matter if some newspaper writes you train to hard? You are the team manager?”

Van Gaal: “I don’t care.”

Me: “Well, it seems like you do….”

Van Gaal: “I don’t.”

Me: “No?”

Van Gaal: “No. But I can give my opinion what is in the media?”

Me: “Sure. You can do whatever you want.”

Van Gaal: “Or is it only permitted for you to criticise me but I can’t criticise you?”

Me: “No, I never said that. No please, criticise us!”

Van Gaal: “Oh, so I can?”

Me: “Sure! It’s entertaining!”

Van Gaal: “Oh well, thank you that this is allowed.”

Another reporter heard that Sneijder had “left the meeting when Van Gaal informed him he was no longer skipper”. He wanted to know what that meant? Did Sneijder leave the room or did he leave the trainings camp….?

This is a detail. Louis could have said: “Oh he went to his room.”

But Louis didn’t. This is what Louis did, raising his voice: “Oh you are a piece of work! You are an irritating little chap, aren’t you? Un-be-liev-able… Always taking the negative approach!! He went to his room! Plain and simple.”

Reporter: “I’m just doublechecking the facts.”

Louis: “So why didn’t you ask: did he go to his room?? Why does it have to be “or did he leave the camp?”… No my friend!”

Reporter: “Why are you being so worked up?”

Van Gaal: “I’m not!”

Reporter: “You are very wound up!”

Van Gaal: “No, I simply criticise the question.”

And he is silent again.

Reporter: “Louis, your whole body language and tone…it’s all so condenscending. Is it us? Or do you despise all the media?”

Van Gaal: “There are people in the media I respect.”

Reporter: “But these people are not in this room?”

Van Gaal: “And you are putting words in my mouth again!”

Reporter: “No, it’s a simple question.”

Van Gaal: “Oh you are simply asking questions… A top journalist you are, simply asking some questions. You have to stay sharp man.”

“I am the best!”

Van Gaal is not present when the Oranje squad visits the Forbidden City later. The security people are with the players though. Although Jasper Cillisen and Jens Toornstra and Erik Pieters have nothing to fear from the people there. No one knows them. No one cares. Louis is not coming along. He might not care too much for culture or he is too busy. He was watching the Young Oranje games every night. When that team reached the semi finals in Israel he said: “I am not surprised. I expected them to.”

Nothing in his communication betrays anything that looks like self doubt. And maybe this is why people respond so fiercely to him. Someone who is so tremendously convinced of himself…you don’t see it in Wenger, Capello, Ancelotti, Heynckes or Guardiola. And he is never boring. His press conferences, even after totally boring and irrelevant games, are great. The only thing more fun than a press conference by Louis van Gaal is a press conference by Louis van Gaal in an other language.

Van Gaal believes that the others need to adjust to him. He loves literal translations of Dutch expressions and has baffled many in English, Spanish and German already.

The Barca players never understood him when he said “No Balon Hospital!”. And so he started to explain that concept.

Van Gaal takes himself so seriously that when the Chinese reporters start to ask the most silly questions at the press conference later, he will respond the only way he can: seriously.

Chinese reporter: “Mr Van Gaal, is it true you lost weight?”

Van Gaal raises his eyebrows. Looks at Jansma.

The reporter: “I mean, you look thinner now.”

Van Gaal: “That is correct. I had a hip operation some time back and I lost some kilos.”

Van Gaal was showered with applause after every question in Indonesia. In China, they don’t do that. But there are not critical questions and every reporter wants on the photo with Mr Van Gaal. One even says: “I am a big fan, Mr Van Gaal!”.

Louis acts as if that is normal.

An English journalist gets the last question: “Why would you want to work in the EPL? There is a lot of pressure on coaches in England?”

Van Gaal: “You clearly don’t know how much pressure there is in Holland. Ask your colleagues!”

Then he gets up. And spreads his arms, says “Thank You” and makes a deep bow. Kees Jansma smiles from ear to ear…

The Louis Show is over….”

In Germany, the comparisons between Van Gaal and a certain other famous personality were quite poignant…

July 4, 2013 by Jan

Why Robin van Persie will ROCK this coming summer

There is and always has been debate around Robin van Persie in Holland.

It seems like we – Dutch – don’t understand players like him. We like two types of players: players that perform (and we don’t care if they’re arrogant or annoying) and players that are humble and work their arse off.

In category one, we have Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Willem van Hanegem, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart…. Cruyff was very egotistical, Willem cynical, Marco aloof, Dennis didn’t fly, Wesley is cocky, Rafa overweight, etc etc. We don’t care. Actually, we love them all for it.

Three characters: RVP, JC and The Iceman

The humble ones? Jaap Stam, Jan Wouters, Phillip Cocu, Wim Jansen, Johan Neeskens, Gio van Bronckhorst, Edwin van der Sar, Aron Winter.

And there is a huge category we do not really warm too. The ones that think they’re better than they are. And the ones who rap. Although this second category is basically a subgroup of the first one :-). Drenthe, Babel, Elia, Kuyt, you know who you are.

In that category players who over-estimate themselves are the ones that leave for greener pastures early in their career. Again, Drenthe, Babel, De Ridder…all those players who disappear.

Robin van Persie was one of those lads, almost.

Terribly annoying at Feyenoord (sure, very gifted too), headstrong, streetwise (talking with a Moroccan accent as a result of hanging out mostly with Moroccan kids… Robin ended up marrying a Moroccan wife and according to some converted to Islam).

Bert van Marwijk (and his staff and senior players) couldn’t contain the young prodigy. He was amazingly talented, although Bert didn’t really know how to use the youngster best. Was he a winger? Was he a playmaker? A striker? Whatever he was, the playmaker role didn’t exist in Feyenoord ( Bosvelt played from deep, with runner Tomasson upfront behind Van Hooijdonk). Pi-Air was untouchable of course so left wing was to Robin’s spot.

When he moved to Arsenal, it still took some time for Robin to make it in the first team, as a starter. Sure, he had his games in his first seasons, but also his fair share of run ins with team mates and coach Wenger and even got a red card for a lunge, which resulted in Wenger yelling obscenities at Van Persie from the side line. Van Persie played a wide role for Arsenal for quite a while and had a number of goes as midfielder behind Adabayor. In the 2008/09 season, he took the role of Henry as main striker, when the Frenchman left for Barca.

It would take a bit of time for Van Persie to shine in that role due to injuries.

Robin has quite a reputation from his early days in Holland. He was known to be a misbehaved streetkid who was sent away from school many times. Later on, after a Dutch World Cup qualification game in 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of rape. He was held in custody for 14 days and circumstances were so bad in the little holding cell that RVP passed out at a certain point. The case was dropped as there was no proof that sexual contact with coercion happened and the “victim” – a former Miss Nigeria/Holland – admitted she claimed to be rape to “gain publicity”. RVP did have sex with her and cheated on his wife, in other words, which didn’t help his public reputation. It later emerged that over 200 police officers had had access to the case file, most of them not authorised to do so.

RVP was always seen as a tremendous talent but his personality and his vulnerable physique made it hard for him to be the dominant player he wanted to be. In 2008/09 he reached the 20 goals per season at Arsenal for the first time, but the season after, he dropped back to 10 (in 19 games) as as result of injuries. In 2010/11, his last season for the Gunners he produced a whopping 22 goals in 33 games, a feat he’d better last season for ManU when he scored 37 out 48 games. This is basically 0,8 goals per game!

Here’s a tip for you: don’t sub me!

In the Dutch team, he scores once every second game (this year, he is on 4 goals in 5 games, which is as good as his ManU stat, by the way). This is certainly not bad for a striker. But somehow, the perception is, that RVP doesn’t deliver in Orange.

The reason being, of course, that he scores easily and prolifically against smaller nations (qualifications and friendlies) but hardly in big games or big tournaments.

In 2006, the World Cup in Germany, he scored one goal at group stage.

In 2008, RVP didn’t start until Romania and he scored two goals before Russia ousted Holland. Robin played as a winger, supporting Van Nistelrooy.

In 2010, RVP played as central striker, but only scored one goal (Cameroon) in a successful campaign.

Sadly, RVP’s performance stood out like a sore nail during that campaign. Sneijder and Robben were the heroes of the World Cup, with Kuyt, Elia, Van der Vaart and Stekelenburg getting headlines as well.

In 2012, the world expected more from him at the Euros, but a disastrous game against Denmark (in which he missed a number of good chances) resulted in a downward spiral. RVP only scored one goal, with his right, against Germany. A game in which he could have had a second one (and maybe saving Holland from disgrace).

The widely heralded striker can not look back on an international career like Ruud van Gol, San Marco, Patrick Kluivert or Johan Cruyff can in a similar position.

But…is it because he is not good enough? Is it because he chokes in big games?

I don’t believe that. To be able to play at this high level for so long (EPL, ManU, CL, etc) your mental state is totally fine. You will NOT survive one week at ManU if you are not mentally strong.

I would call that evidence #1.

Not good enough? There are many YouTube clips demonstrating how good Van Persie really is. His athleticism, his speed (both with his feet and his brain/vision), his ability in his left foot, his ability as a header of the ball, his ever improving right foot, his finishing ability, his ability to set a goal up…. There is nothing he can not do. I believe he’d even make a good goalkeeper.

Messi is probably faster with the ball and a better dribbler, C Ronaldo might be stronger, but other than that, RVP is the complete package.

So what is it then, that held the former Excelsior player back?

I believe it has to do with team-dynamics and hierarchy on the one hand, and team tactics on the other.

I believe Robin and Bert did not have the best of working relationship. I believe Robin may have genuinely liked Bert as a person, but I believe Robin thrives with a coach who really emerges into the team… Someone like Wenger, Mourinho, Guardiola, Ferguson and Van Gaal.

Van Marwijk is more distant. More like Mancini, Benitez, Capello, I’d say. Van Marwijk was very laissez-fair.

Let the alpha dogs sort it out.

We all remember how the Sneijder clan ( Robben, Van der Vaart, Mathijsen, Heitinga, Stekelenburg, Kuyt) knotted together while the RVP clan ( Van Persie, Afellay, Boulahrouz) had their own little circle.

Bert made Wes the man. Kuyt was his #2. And in the team, despite RVP’s role as central striker, it was Sneijder who dominated the game and would always look for Robben as an outlet, as these two complement each other so well.

I am not saying Sneijder did it on purpose to spite Robin. Playing the ball deep to Robben in space behind the defence of the opponent was simply how Sneijder could contribute best. RVP prefers the ball in his feet and Sneijder and RVP would frequently block each other’s space.

But Bert didn’t care about whether Robin shone or not. He cared about winning. When Bert started the WC2010 campaign he did so wanting to play attractive and attacking football. Like Holland did in the qualifications. He was happy to go with the Fab Four (Wes, Raf, Robben, Robin) but Robben’s injury changed those plans. The way we started at the WC (Denmark and Japan both parking numerous busses) determined how we proceeded.

“No, that is where the problem is, Louis….”

Louis van Gaal is also all about results but more so about execution and using the weapons you have at your disposal best. Van Gaal knows that results are the result of something. You focus on execution and the results will come.

The system we played in 2010 was not suited for any center striker. Our 4-2-3-1 was executed from a counter football perspective. You can play 4-2-3-1 in a forward pressing mode, which would definitely result in many opportunities for the center striker. But the way we played, sitting deep, allowing space behind the opponents back line, results immediately in a difficult role for the striker. In our case: Robin van Persie.

His tasks, in that set-up, are putting pressure on the opposing defender with the ball and making himself available once they lose the ball. The first pass would go to Sneijder or RVP, the most forward man, who holds the ball up and redistributes towards the midfielders coming forward who then pass to the fast wingers exploiting space. The Robbens, Narsinghs, Lenses and Elias…

It is no coincidence that Elia, Kuyt, Robben and Sneijder were the goal scorers, as rthe wingers would move inwards towards the center position. Robin hardly got a real chance at the World Cup.

Again, playing 4-2-3-1 in an attacking mode would change this significantly, but in 2010 we were not able to do so, unfortunately.

Now, LVG will not play 4-2-3-1.

His 4-3-3 is set up in a very strict, almost rigid way.

People execute 4-3-3 in several ways. With two sitting midfielders (Bayern) and one forward midfielder, or with two creative forwards and one holder ( Barcelona)…

Louis has distinct roles for his players. One holding mid (De Jong, Clasie, De Guzman, Strootman, Fer), one box-to-box runner (Strootman, Fer, Van Ginkel) and one creative forward, playing as a false striker close to the striker (RVP, Lens, Huntelaar). For this role Louis thinks Wesley, Rafael, Maher and Siem de Jong are his candidates.

As long as Robben and the right winger keep it wide, or allow the full backs to overlap, the field will be wide.

It will allow space for Robin and the playmaker to play off each other.

At the same time, we do need to realise that the time the oft scoring striker are over, in modern football.

“Trust me Robin, in the next game I will pass the ball to you…”

Adabayor at Spurs, Benzema at Real Madrid, Torres at Chelsea, Carrol when at Liverpool, the French dude at Arsenal (forgot his name)…. It is less and less their role to be the final stage of the attack. These lads are all key in allowing the runners around them to take position (the coming man vs the player who is already there) and become the most forward playmakers in the box.

Against lesser teams, sure, these guys will score their goals. But against tougher opponents, even in this 4-3-3 I do expect the Sneijder role, the Van Ginkel role and the wingers to be scoring more. Simply because the central striker already is in position (and easier to mark) while the others will jack-in-the-box into the box…

But whether RVP scores or not, I am convinced that (if he is fit etc etc) he will be of the utmost importance to us.

And I do hope Arjen Robben will finally with the Ballon D’Or this year, allowing Robin to snatch it up next year, after winning the EPL title again and the World Cup with Holland. ( He won’t win the CL, as Frank de Boer will claim it this time around….)

July 1, 2013 by Jan

Sneijder wants to return to world class level

Wesley Sneijder will do what he can to come back to his personal top level. The little midfield general was voted the best midfielder of 2010 (duh…. title in Italy, CL title, runner up in World Cup) and with only 28 years on the clock one would expect at least three more great seasons…

But Sneijder good fortunes (that 2010 season, working under Mourinho, being blessed with lots and lots of talent, Yolanthe) seemed to go against him when Jose left Inter and Sneijder believed he was still at Real Madrid or Chelsea. In Milan, the austerity measures hit hard and Sneijder’s stance on the whole pay-check matter resulted in him not playing a single minute for Inter in four months.

And even great players like Sneijder can’t sit out games for months without losing fitness and rhythm. Add to that a number of little pains and maybe a bit too much complacency with the mrs in Milan.

The former Oranje captain has made a pledge though. To do all he can to return. To be ready for Oranje in the Summer of 2014. For his own honour, but also to repay Louis van Gaal.

This season was….turbulent…

“It was. Very. I was happy in Inter until they came with these new demands. I thought it was wrong. Although I can imagine the club is in trouble, they should honour a contract and I was simply annoyed that I was being blackmailed. I know I can easily get by with less per month, that is not the point. I was instructed by different management groups and players’ unions that if I would give in, a lot of clubs would use the same arguments to put players on the spot.”

“The relationship between me and the club deteriorated as they seemed to be cross with me for the contract I had. Really immature. I realised I had to go, but not a lot of clubs were keen to pay a significant amount for a player whose fitness was questionable, and all that mid-season.”

When Galatasary came to the table, a lot of punters felt Sneijder should let that one pass, but he was keen. “I was keen. Galatasaray is a big club. Internationally. Dirk Kuyt has a great time in Turkey and I heard great stories from Pierre van Hooydonck as well. So we went and checked it out and I loved it.

The passion, the emotions… Football is important in Italy, but nothing beats how football is experienced in Turkey. And Gala has a strong squad, they had just signed Drogba and of course I knew Amrabat (ex PSV).”

Sneijder wasn’t able to set the Turkish competition on fire. “It was a major disappointment. And not just because I was so unfit, also because the Turkish competition is pretty strong. You need to be really on the top of your game. I was behind the group in fitness but everyone was keen to see me play. The coach, the fans and I was too. So I started too early, as these things go… And got little aches and things but I didn’t want to let the team down. But before I knew it the coach started to sub me so I never got the chance to convince, really.”

Sneijder is visibly upset that he let his team and his new fans down. “I love the club and we love living there, it’s amazing. So different and rich and lively. But I need to take revenge on myself. And listen, not just with Gala, I also feel a debt to the team manager. He made me skipper after Bommel and I don’t think I have paid him back with my performance.”

Van Gaal took the band away from Sneijder, explaining to him and the media that Sneijder was currently not fit enough to play top class football. “That hurt. Of course. I don’t know whether I expected him to leave me as skipper… I probably hoped for it, but I knew he couldn’t. I think Robin is the best man for the job now. For sure. He is fit, he is on top of the world, his season at ManU was astonishing. Nothing but kudos for him, but I need to focus on me now and I have to swallow my pride and hurt and simply work my ass off.”

We saw you at the Hoenderloo trainings camp. With that somewhat angry expression on your face? “Yes, that is me alright. Whenever I feel I have to battle or struggle to get on top, I get that look. As if there’s a thunderstorm in the air. But listen, I need that. I need that to motivate myself. I want to show the world what I’m made off.”

He lets out another big sigh. “I want to be decisive for a team. I want to be important. In 2010, I was so consistent. I want that feeling back. And it’s not like I’m old. I’m not even 29 years old yet. I have a lot of football in me still. I have been an international player for 10 years! I started as a young upstart at 19, and now I am almost 29 years and former skipper, hahaha. I need to get myself back to fitness. I want to play the World Cup when I’m 29 years old and another one when I’m 33….”

March 24, 2013 by Jan

A boring win is still a win: Holland – Estonia

I told you this before, I do not like friendlies. Oops… forgot…this was a real qualification game. It looked like a friendly… A smaller football nation doing its best not to get smashed.

Holland not looking too ambitious in the first half. Or maybe that is not the word, it’s more that there was a disconnect between the eager Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie upfront and the cautious trio of BMI, De Vrij and De Guzman at the back.

I don’t want to be negative. We did get the three points. We did score three goals.

We are on track. Blabla.

But Lens? Really? Playing against a team that will offer space at a premium, you need players with skills on the square foot. Like Ola John, for instance. Lens is not a real winger, he lacks rhythm due to a suspension (for attacking a fellow international colleague) and seemed lost.

On the positive side of that, Daryl Janmaat had the game of his life. Two assists, could have been three assists or four even! Man of the Match for me.

So Louis wasn’t consistent here. He omitted John, who played not so good against Italy. But he totally ignored Maher, who played very good against Italy? The latter coming back in for the injured Sneijder.

Van Gaal said: “Leo Beenhakker taught me early on that consistency doesn’t get you points…”. Huh?? If you need to borrow wisecracks from Don Leo, you are really in trouble!!

Leo Beenhakker, the worst team manager in the history of Oranje. Look at his performance in the 1990 World Cup. Or hang on….not the worst… We didn’t even qualify for a World Cup in 2002…!! That team manager….oh…that is Louis van Gaal of course…

Hmmm ;-).

So, what we need is more speed. Quicker passing. And players who can add individual skills to that game. So, for speed, I suggest to bring Jordy Clasie. As much as I like De Guzman (Anita, Fer, De Jong, who ever) we need a player with very quick feet in that position, in particular with BMI and De Vrij being still a bit timid.

I love Van der Vaart, as you know, but Maher might simply be a better option in our 4-3-3. He puts in more work, simply said.

Furthermore, this was supposed to be Wes Sneijder’s come back. His first 30 minutes were promising. He is eager. But his shooting boots seemed old. He missed the target three times at least. And had to be subbed with a sad groin injury. Adam Maher is taking his spot in the squad.

And lets put Robben on the right of the Romania game and give Ola John another go. The youngster excels at Benfica. The Black Pearl Mark II. Expect a piece on him soon…

All in all, good perfomances by Vermeer, Janmaat, Van Persie, Van der Vaart and Robben.

Mediocre performances by the rest. A bit disappointing performance by Lens.

GO ORANJE.

January 22, 2013 by Jan

Wesley Sneijder's decision to move to Turkey…

Gobbledegook…. Turkey time…

28 years old. Skipper of Oranje. One of the best playmakers – if not the best – on the planet. Won titles. Won Champions League trophy. Played for Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan… Next stop…. Manchester? Nope. London? Nope. Liverpool? Nope. Munich? Nope. Barcelona, Valencia, Moscow, Paris….Nope.

Istanbul.

Why, a lot of people will say….. WHY? WWWWWWHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY????????

Well, simple. There were no other takers. Man United sniffed a bit. Liverpool made some moves. Man City hesitated. Anzhi made inquiries. But Galatasaray was the only club putting a concrete deal on the table.

Wes even waited for Liverpool to come with a serious offer… but it wasn’t to be.

So Wes had the option to stay at Inter, make a lot of money (still) but not play. Lose his spot in Oranje. Lose fitness.

Or, go to a club where they will revere him, where he will play CL football and where he can prove his fitness. My idea is, that he has a limited transfer sum in his new deal with the Turks.

Galatasaray paid 8 Mio Euros for the playmaker. If Wesley plays a great second season half (based on his limited transfer sum of say – 15 Mio), a club like Chelsea, Man City or Man United might decide to have a bite.

Time is tough for big transfers now. No club is capable of spending mega-bucks at the moment, and Wesley is picking the best option for him and his international career.

August 17, 2012 by Jan

A Big Puzzle for Louis

You can say a lot about Louis, but he does have balls.

Most of the nation think he is a dicknecked pompous asswipe, most people feel he failed with Oranje in the past and the media are clearly feeding him suggestive questions hoping that he’ll blow up….

But he took up the reigns of Oranje in a time when even our most successful team manager ever wasn’t able to “reach” the players anymore.

And in his first game, against old rivals Belgium, his team of world class talents and established names failed. Scoring two, conceding four. And if it wasn’t for Stekelenburg, we could have conceded seven or eight…

Quite the jigsaw for Louis.

The old guard at the back or done. Boulah, Mathijsen… I still believe in Heitinga but other than him, we do need fresh blood. Willems I like… Erik Pieters is good at left back but might be even better as center back. Don’t forget: this is his natural position. And with Vlaar, Douglas, De Vrij and Martins Indi we might be in good shape, just as Ricardo van Rhijn and Nick Viergever will most likely have the goods.

Van Rhijn is a good replacement for Van der Wiel and Kelvin Leerdam can play right back as well.

Nigel de Jong had an unlucky game ( and was singled out as such by Louis) but Nigel has demonstrated in the past – for me at least – to be great value. He mishandled the ball and it was 2-2, sure, but this doesn’t seem to happen to him in big games. And as Carlos pointed out after the England game, our goals all came after De Jong stopped England attacks…

But sure, Kevin Strootman can play there too. Or Leroy Fer maybe? Or Jordy Clasie? Or Afellay… Vernon Anita? Enough candidates…

With Robben on the left (with Ola John and Elia as stand ins) and Narsingh on the right (with Robben or Wijnaldum or Lens or Kuyt or even Van Persie) as stand ins, we do look good upfront. Huntelaar, De Jong, Dost, Van Persie, Wolfswinkel… all capable of scoring goals…

Louis will need to fix the heart of our defense and the right holding mid.

I believe 4-3-3 should work out for us in most games. As we can quickly adapt to 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 in the game, depending on having the ball or not…

I do worry a bit about Sneijder and Van der Vaart on the same midfield in a 4-3-3. I can see it with Van der Vaart as holding mid in a 4-2-3-1, but Sneijder needs a more penetrating midfielder with him, I believe. Someone like Afellay or Maher, indeed… But who knows, with Strootman as holding mid, he could even be the man with depth, if Raf will take over his position…

From what I’ve heard, Turkey was not too impressive. We should be able to beat these guys.

Once the EPL is on its way, we will see how things progress. Sure, a defensive line up with Heitinga paired with someone like Martins Indi or Vlaar should work. Willems and Van der Wiel or Van Rhijn on the flanks should be enough.

And Van Gaal will have to watch both Strootman and De Jong in how they operate, to pick the man in form for that match.

I believe this World Cup qualifications series will be played with a large squad. Douglas, Van Persie, Ola John, Afellay, Kuyt, Strootman, Vlaar, De Vrij…

Some players will need to present themselves, others will disappoint and/or Louis will try out different combinations.

And only a couple of months before the World Cup, we will see the final contours of our new Oranje emerge…

June 11, 2012 by Jan

What Willem and Johan say….

The whole nation will be keen to respond to anything that happens around Oranje but at the end of the day people will always be waiting for what the two Oracles have to say… Johan Cruyff and Willem van Hanegem.

Today, both wrote their columns. Have a read… Willem first.

“I have seen the best pass of the whole tournament already. That Sneijder pass on Huntelaar! A shame that Klaas Jan couldn’t finish that one. Everything would have been different now. Unfortunately, I hear a lot of people complaining now.

And I thought we’d win the first one too, to be honest, but let’s not act as if those Danes are a bunch of nitwits. Well, maybe Bendtner is one, but other than that, they played decent football and created opportunities. It wasn’t necessary to lose against them but it’s not a disgrace.

But why did we lose? Let me start positively by the way. Jetro Willems. I was very happy with his game. This is a true asset to the team. Started in his first minutes with a nice shot on goal and a wide pass to Robben. Wonderful. Sneijder was the biggest disappointment to me. Although he played well, I do expect even more from him. Sneijder is so gifted, I would want him to step up more. But, he is improving and in the second half I could see him do many good things. When Huntelaar came and Van Persie dropped a bit, Sneijder was pushed to the left and he seemed to play a bit more freely.

Some people seem to think Robben doesn’t play well? I didn’t see that. All those talking heads on tv, but I think he created a lot. And whenever Robben is in good form, he doesn’t need a lot of support but in this game he did, and he didn’t get a lot. It’s sad to see how his team mates let him drown.

Van der Wiel overlapped him actually only once! And sometimes it was Van Persie who seeked him out. Van Bommel, the right midfielder, should support Robben much more, but the skipper was too busy with his own game. Van Bommel needs to support him, make himself available, play off him. I didn’t get Bert’s subs, by the way? Why did Afellay have to go? And Nigel de Jong’s sub was a mystery to me. He played good. I would have subbed Mark van Bommel. He was struggling and had copped a yellow already.

I think it would have been more logical to replace Van Persie with Hunter and bring Huntelaar. Maybe Narsingh on the flank for Van Bommel and Afellay drops back to midfield. So Robben can play on the left.

Willem as assistant coach in 2004

And now, Bert is a bit in trouble. Because changing your system after one disappointing game is not a good thing. I think he needs to play Van Persie, otherwise you can best send him home. And blame him on the loss. Which would be ridiculous of course. I think Bert should have started against the Danes with one holding midfielder. Bring Huntelaar up front and let Van Persie play off him from midfield.

I think we would have won then. And then you can play against the Germans with two holding midfielders and let Hunter start off the bench. That was logical. Now I would replace Van der Wiel with Boula and play Mathijsen for Vlaar. Who, by the way, didn’t do too shabby.

It’s good that Willem kept his dayjob…

The last thing I want to say: what was Van Persie doing with that phone on his ear right after the match? What kind of impression does that leave to his team mates and the fans? You just lost a big game and you missed a number of huge chances and you take a phone to chit chat about something?? I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t think Van Marwijk should accept that. I don’t care who he had on the phone and why. It’s not done. And I’ve never seen anyone do this. Not Balotelli, not C Ronaldo, not Messi, not Cruyff.”

Speaking of which…. What did Cruyff say?

“Ok, so we lost. It is how it is. But now we need to support the team. This is when the team needs it most. But we also need to learn from the mistakes. We missed a lot of chances. That is never a problem for me. The fact that you create them is key. In the next match, some of them will go in, I’m not too worried about that. But I do think our game play needs further analysis.

One of the causes of our disappointing result is the build up. Our defensive midfielders De Jong and Van Bommel had too much of the ball. That is not their strength. We have other players in the team for that.

And against Denmark, it was clear we didn’t need two defensive mids. Our problem was not in defense. I even thought it was cool to see how debutant Willems had the best kick of our six defensive players. He was seriously the best build up player we had. His direct opponent was the first to be subbed, which says something too.

I enjoyed watching that lad. He’s strong, technically skilled, quick and mentally strong too! He has solved our left back problem, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s a good thing that JC kept his dayjob…

But the way we position ourselves as a team is still a concern. This needs to be improved. At certain times, we played with two blocks: three forwards, six defenders and poor Sneijder. He had to drop to pick up the ball and try and find the forwards. He must have ran too many yards like this. Very tough and ungrateful work. The forwards don’t get the best out of Wesley and he is being physically eroded.

But, to remain positive: we had 5 or 6 really good opportunities. That is good. We normally have players that can finish. And in the coming games, we will. We now have a couple of days to fix things. And to realise that those mistakes can no longer be made.”