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De Kromme speaks…

August 28th, 2007 | By: Jan | 12 Comments »

Willem van Hanegem’s column:

The start of the competition does not yet sparkle. Still, we always have the fantastic four left at Real Madrid. It is such a big compliment for our football that four Dutchies play at the biggest club of the world! I know the club, I’ve been there and had a grande tour of their complex and there is only one word for it: awesome!

Some players leave Holland to play somewhere else and then it’s always their “dream club”, “the weather”, the great “stadium” and all that bs that’s fed to them by their managers. But I have to say, when Real Madrid is in the equation: I can’t hear them tell these stories enough. Because, man…what a thrill to play for Real Madrid.
Everyone would like to be Robben, Drenthe, Van Nistelrooy or Sneijder.

Even me. I mean, I would really have liked to have play for Madrid. In my days, it was harder to make such a move. The number of foreigners was limited and all that and…maybe I just wasn’t good enough. No reason why I can’t be self-critical even after my career ended, right?

I am going to follow these boys. That will be very enjoyable. And I really wish them all the best. And, the same blokes are also part of our Oranje. But that still evokes a different feel. Funny how that works.

And I’ve heard a lot of complaints and whinging about the Switzerland match. Come on! You can’t take such a game serious?!!? When we play Bulgaria, then the boys need to be sharp. Although I do hope this time team manager Van Basten will succeed to use Van Nistelrooy in the right way. He is one of the best in the world, he won titles with Man United and Real Madrid. It’s about time Marco finds a way to serve and support Ruud in the best way possible. In those teams, they all worked hard to get him at the right spot for the finish. No one finishes better than Ruud. It’s Wim Kieft, Ruud Geels, Peter Houtman and Patrick Kluivert all in one. Only Marco and Johan were in a class of their own…

And Ruud is the first to share the credits with his team mates. But if you only touch the ball three times in the Dutch squad, even the best striker of Real Madrid gets in trouble.

Tags: marco van basten, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, The Netherlands, Willem van Hanegem

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Comments

By Tiju Thomas | August 29th, 2007 at 8:32 am

I am
an Indian dutch football is in my blood
I agreed jan And goose
We need a well oiled team but for tat we need good ingradients
znider we can include him in Steaphen Gerad /lampard catagory.
think abt the stage of England did they reached even semis in tournament likeEURO &WC.
According my point of veiw
for smooth play we should avoid these players
Tim de cler,kew jaliens,bulahruz
and more
Znider,,,kuyt, is not suitable for a winning team.They r all good but not fit for orange
dont forget howmany chances they waisted against potugal.and more
we one 10 WC qualifying matches 2 draw.
My ? How many match znider played?(aginst strong teams)
Remmeber the match against finland tat day we were 1 gol behind .but even though we won
y?

By goose | August 29th, 2007 at 10:57 am

im kinda intriged by these words..what does he mean.. if he means that he has ‘more ‘emotions when he sees the national team play..why would he find that surprising?? (funny how that works).. or is he just a slow thinker?? or does he mean the different emotion when it comes to Oranje is negative and he thinks it ‘funny’ cause hes the only one in Holland who has those feelings??

and also: he cant mean it when he writes: maybe i was just not good enough… if he wasnt then Madrid couldt field 11 players!!

well, last time ill post drunk, hahah

grtz

Posted from Netherlands

By Bob | August 29th, 2007 at 11:54 am

I admired van Hanegem when he was part of the legendary 1974 Orange–fundamentally sound, aggressive, competitive and cooperative. “Tough” would be a good adjective for his type of performance. He was and is to be respected for his football career in the Netherlands.

Now, as new coach of Utrecht, I am afraid that he will represent another example of how good/great players do not necessarily become good/great coaches. He is already controversial with his lack of skill at public relations (speak first, think later!) and I see no evidence from his prior coaching experience that he will have a significant effect on the Utrecht program.

His comments regarding the Real Madrid “Dutchmen” leaves out the major factor of how difficult it is these days to be a high level football player. The four Dutchmen will need to play at a very high level for Real Madrid and according to that system of tactics, then come home to Holland and try to integrate with the other players in a system that seems now to be undergoing a change. Very hard to do, and I admire all of them for their ability to do it. The club/country issues will continue, but we can be proud of the Dutch athletes for their skill and character.

Posted from United States

By netherlandfanboy | August 29th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

Omg, Ajax lost again

Posted from United States

By tjeerd | August 29th, 2007 at 3:27 pm

Jan; Ajax down 2-1 to Slovia Prague, they blew it again early in champions league.

By Jan | August 29th, 2007 at 7:20 pm

@Goose… :-). Cheers mate…
Beer? Oranjebitter?

Anyway…Willem means here (I think) that it’s a great feeling to see the lads in Real (and other teams in Europe)) play so well, only to have that depressing feeling when they play for Oranje. But then he also quickly adds that we shouldn’t take the result against Switzerland too serious.

@Bob
Willem is revered in Holland because of his career of course (if JC was the soul of Oranje, and Neeskens the heart, Willem was the brain…), his fantastic encyclopedian knowledge and his dry humor and wisdom in his analysis. Furthermore, Willem follows his heart. Famous story is when as a player he could go to AC Milan (or some English topo team, can’t remember). The tv guys were live at his house to ask what he’d do. And he said: let my dog decide. If he barks, I’ll stay. If he doesn’t. I’ll go. And he asked his dog Wodan the question: should i go? And the dog went woof! So, Willem stayed at Feyenoord.

Posted from Australia

By Jan | August 29th, 2007 at 7:22 pm

Goose…What is that remark about Real fielding 11 players :-)?

Man, you’re drunk!

Posted from Australia

By Jan | August 29th, 2007 at 7:30 pm

Bob, forgot to mention the crucial part of my response:

I think Willem is truly a great coach, but not in every situation. He performed wonders with Feyenoord in the 90s, did great at Sparta (relatively speaking) and was revered in Saudi Arabia. But Willem is a communicator and a details man. He needs to work in a country and with players he can talk to (he is not a great fan of press conferences because to him it’s a circus) and he needs a strong assistent for the structure. I believe John van Loen is just that. With Oranje, it was clear that Willem was suckered in by the KNVB to make the head coach Advocaat and acceptable choice for the fans. Willem was stonewalled in that time. Advocaat and him didn’t part as friends. When Dickie took Robben off against the Czechs, Willem said he wanted to “knock Advocaat down…”

Posted from Australia

By goose | August 30th, 2007 at 3:07 am

@jan; too much beer my friend, way too much… sorry about that…

Posted from Netherlands

By tijuthomas | August 30th, 2007 at 8:31 am

Wat guys u r all behind another immetirial things.
pray for our ornage

By Jan | August 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pm

Tiju? Are you drunk too??

Posted from Australia

By Tiju Thomas | August 31st, 2007 at 9:26 am

No way jan,
iam wondering why he(marco)is omitting
castelen?
Donk?
Drenthe?
See instedof tat
Znider
jaliens
Land saat,haiselink? utter nonsence .
i bet u Castelen can do wonder for orange

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