Bert van Marwijk and his first six months

Every club coach loves to be the national team manager once in his career. Van Basten and Rijkaard started in the job, some coaches end their career in the position. Co Adriaanse, Louis van Gaal, Willem van Hanegem…they all seemed to be drawn to the Holy Grail of coaching jobs.

But, as history shown, it’s not an easy job (although you do less hours). For instance, Dickie Advocaat – a funloving scoundrel according to his mates – became a paranoid weazel when in charge of Oranje. Louis van Gaal, the best coach of the world ™ forgot that being a club coach is different to being a national team coach and he failed hopelessly.

Bert van Marwijk was “an ideal candidate” according to some. He has a good rep in the media, comes across as thoughtful and restrained, won prizes with Feyenoord, has experience abroad, has Mark van Bommel as son-in-law, etc etc…

His first six months as team manager were quite good. The opponents in the qualifications group are maybe not as challenging as the ones Van Basten had to play, but still. He managed to draw good results out of our back four, did well with Van Persie and Sneijder’s public rift, he even got Edwin van der Star back for a spell. Now, it’s maybe time for Bert to allow some young and coming players to have a go.

Van Marwijk looks back at his six months on the job.

So, what does your average week look like?

“There’s no average week anymore. That’s what you have at club level. In my case, when we have games on, you have a very intense ten days. You can train focused and try to do a lot together at very intense levels. You have to fit it all in a couple of days. Physical tests, personal talks, group tactical talks, tactical training, fun, teambuilding, you know the drill. Those are long days, since you also have your logistical challenges. You need to prepare everything, suddenly the media wants you, there’s sponsor stuff, etc. In a normal working week, the technical staff is at the office in Zeist for meetings. We discuss the relevant games we saw, the coming program for our match-visits, international news at Association level, domestic news, we evaluate our core group of players and we take care of prep for away games or training camps and stuff like that. On Saturdays and Sundays I’m travelling, with my staff and scouts. We divide the games up so we can follow our internationals and potential internationals. For international games, you always want to create an efficient travelplan. I’d like to watch four games per weekend, if possible.

“There’s not a lot of time to work specifically on team building and relaxation. When you’re together only three days, it’s chock a block. Training, talks, video analysis and then there’s the media obligations. Not a lot of time for fun.”

“When there’s a double program, we spend ten days together. Than we have the opportunity to break out half a day or an evening. We definitely go out for dinner together or watch a show. At club level, players go home after training. At national team level, you spend time together. Playing cards, having a drink… And that’s teambuilding too. I believe in team building, but I don’t want to force it. I don’t believe in: “let’s go rowing today and become better friends…”. I don’t think that will work. It needs to come from the bottom up and most players realize that and do make an effort.”

How is the prep for a game different for a club and for Oranje?

“It’s not really. A training is a training. The big difference is, that with Oranje there’s not a lot of time. You can prepare your next game for a week sometimes at club level and you can layer your preparation. You can use psychology as well, with players who had a bad day the game before. You can create the right circumstances. The last two training sessions are always tactical. With Oranje, when you have three days and you play on Wednesday, you come together on the Monday. Some lads have played the day before so you can’t put them under pressure. That leaves the Tuesday training. And again, you need to watch the amount of pressure. Some players take their issues from the club with them, or little pains. Your influence in the prep as a team manager is limited.”

On the other hand, you do work with the best of the best, so trainings sessions are always at an extreme high level. That makes it fun.”

What were the setbacks in the first six months and which elements do you think are more positive than you expected?

“Nothing was a setback really. I haven’t been annoyed with anything. I didn’t really have high expectations either. I tend to start something and take things as they come. Till now, all my experiences were highly positive. I did need some adjustment at the start. My rhythm was: start in June with an intensive trainings camp. Now, I started mid August with the friendly against Russia.”

“I’m totally used to working for the KNVB now. I thought I’d miss the daily training action, but it’s ok. I really enjoy myself. I can see a lot of games now and I look at the differently. More detached. I learn a lot from it. Actually, any club coach should take a year off, like Rijkaard does now. Just chill out and watch games for the fun of it. It’s enriching.”

Do you feel the Dutch competition is getting weaker and weaker and is that a bad thing?

“I don’t see it as weaker… Some people say that, and literally speaking they are right. But because of our football philosophy, most youngsters can learn a lot in Holland. More than they would in England or Italy. We have a model of development. Coaches like Verbeek, Been, Van Basten, Jans…they take risks. They play young lads like Biseswar, Daley Blind, Wijndaldum because they can and because they sometimes don’t have other options. Maybe those coaches would like to see more experienced players on their bench, but it’s great for these players. And indirectly for Dutch football and Oranje.”

How are players like Sneijder and Van Persie developing with regards to their leadership in Oranje?

“It’s funny… I don’t think either of them aims to be The Leader. I don’t believe in that concept. In the old days, there was a number 10 on midfield and he was the playmaker. Who’s the playmaker at Real Madrid? Raul? Guti? Sneijder? Some would say, maybe Ruud… Same at AC Milan… Is it Ronaldinho, Kaka, Seedorf? These players are all multifunctional. They’re physically very fit, they have the skills, the vision. They can set up goals and score them. Remember Kuyt and Gio against Italy at the EC? They defended and attacked in the same minute. We have had many leaders in the same team. Van der Sar was one. Van Bommel is one. Ooijer has it, Sneijder, Van Nistelrooy… And Robben, in this form, he doesn’t have to talk to anyone. His feet will do the leading. The lads see that too. Power play is not part of our concept. We can upset any opponent if we play like a team. And our important players play at clubs where their managers expect the same things.”

Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord are performing poorly in the Eredivisie. A worry?

“Nah… I think Ajax has had some bad luck recently. Really strange, but it does happen at times. I think Ajax is still top in Holland. They suffered some injuries, had to let Klaas Jan go, that always has an impact. At PSV, I think it’s a cycle thing, really. Some important players left, then it’s hard to keep the team at the same level. You need luck too, you know. Some players didn’t step up to the plate, another gets an injury, the CL results were maybe weighing down on the team… before you know it, you’re in that vicious circle. I think PSV will get out of this. And Feyenoord…I can’t comment to much. It’s my old club… They may have had a bad fit between players and coach. That can happen too. Add the numerous injuries, the pressure in Rotterdam… If Verbeek hadn’t lost players like Tomasson, De Guzman, Landzaat, Hofland…who knows what would and could have happened? And that’s the vulnerability at Dutch clubs. In England, there’s a much stronger group of 16 players, and if four get injured, they buy new players in winter-time.”

When will we see new names in the squad… Braafheid, Zuiverloon, Van der Wiel, to name a few?

“Don’t make a mistake: we do follow these lads closely, but playing for Oranje is really a huge step up from the Eredivisie. The pressure, the pace…it’s a different world. We’ve seen players used in the past, who could cling on. That’s not good. Not for them, not for Oranje. When I feel I have a problem with one or more positions, I’ll react. For now, I’m taking it slow, deliberately. But rest assured, I know which players are getting close, and Nederland B with Neeskens and Bergkamp is the ideal next phase for these players.”

Will Oranje qualify and if we do, where will we end up in South Africa?

“Where we will end up? At the hotel we booked, I hope. But seriously, I do feel that if we can’t qualify now, we just don’t deserve it. Our position is excellent. Our future looks bright. The age group of our key players is ideal. If the players are fit, we will snatch our ticket. The players are all extremely motivated to write history. Having said that: there’s probably eight nations that could win the title. And Holland is one of them. But, it’s depending on the draw, the fitness of players, the mental attitude, luck and all those things. We’re not without a chance, when we qualify. But that applies to many other nations as well. We’ll take it one game at a time and try to stay in South Africa for as long as we can…”