Jaap Stam prepares farewell

Still not sure if Stam isnt overrated… think he was a strong (cool looking) guy but never been sure about him… he had (has) very little football skills, no good passing game, not a defender who could mix with the action on midfield
i know that his qualities were enough to play in the national team but i dont think he was anything special

Posted from  Netherlands

Well guys, we have to remember that a defender is responsible for stopping the forwards of the rivals and Stam was an expert doing that He was almost unbeatable and he was fast when he was younger. Of course he wasn´t very technical but he did his work pretty fine. He didn´t have the ball skills that had Frank de Boer or Beckenbauer but he scared the strikers of the teams he played against and that is what matters the most. It is pretty difficult to find a guy that could defend like Stam did and what he lacked in technique he will compensate with his great positioning on the field, his hunger, his speed and his toughness to mark his rivals. He was a sublime defender and I wish we could have a defender like Stam in his glory days at Oranje nowadays.

this is not always the case (;-)) but at this time i’m completely agree with Mario. sure, he wasn’t a typical dutch school product but he played like the best italian defenders. i felt oranje really secure when he was in our team.

Posted from  Hungary

@ferenc/Mario; i know what you guys mean but i never had that secure feeling with Stam…dont know; always tought he was made bigger and better than he actually was

but still; would give my right arm for a defender like him in Oranje, i always tought that Boula would take his place, what happened to him?? he looks so insecure now

Heitinga, Bouma, Ooijer , its just not good enough

btw; ferenc; crisis at Barca??

Posted from  Netherlands

@goose: why do you say crisis? the weekend we lost because everyone was tired,and villareal have only 2-3 international players. tonight we had at least 5-6 chances but didn’t score. the result was good for both team.

Posted from  Hungary

@ferenc; i read some article by Cruijjf..he was very negative (whats new?) and wrote that Braca have the same problems as Oranje does at the back…

i now they havent scored yesterday in the cham. Leg…. was just wondering if anything is going on there and since you are this blog’s spanish reporter i though id ask

Henry playing??

grtz

Posted from  Netherlands

yes,he is playing but he still doesn’t find the barca rhythm – i really really would like to see eto’o back. cruiff is wrong – there is no problem with the building from the back: puyol and milito are perfect in this job and iniesta can do everything. sometimes we have a lack of concentration and the movements are not too fast in attack. but – unfortunately – you cannot compare heitinga,matthijsen,bouma,melchiot,ooijer,emmenuelson (he’s the only one you can) with zambrotta,puyol,milito,thuram,rafa marquez,abidal,etc.

Posted from  Hungary

i think it is a bit unfair to critisize jaap stam in the twilight of his career.

when he played he was the rock of any defense and was great at breaking down attacks before they even developed.

-back to back most valuable defender of the champions league.
-at the time most expensive defender ever when he joined man united
-was good enough to play in defense for milian who boasted players such as the great maldini, nesta, and costacurta
maybe not as technically gifted as f. de boar but proved himself at every level of the game.

left us with a ton of memories, my favorite being his choking of parente when he played for lazio.

and who could forget the songs man united fans sang about him

jip jaap stam is a big dutchman
get past him if you think you can
try and pull a trick and he’ll make you look a dick
JIP JAAP STAM!!!

farewell Jaap Stam!! you will be forever missed.

Posted from  Canada

I’m sorry Pim, you’re right. My timing wasn’t that good, but I felt like this with regards to Stam for a long time. My point was more, that if we’d have four Jaap Stams at the back now, we still would be in trouble… Because Japp was the man who built up or created stuff. I remember seeing a CL game of Lazio (or Man U, can’t remember) where the opponent let Stam do the building up and it was almost pathetic.

But other than that, he deserves his place in Oranje’s history along side Hulshof, Rijsbergen, Reiziger, Van Tiggelen, Israel and Van de Korput. And not in the same sentence as Cocu, De Boer, Rijkaard, Haan or Krol.

But I thoroughly respect the guy, I like him, and I really respect his long and consistent career…

Posted from  Australia

@Pim; were you formaly known on this blog as JJSTAM??

dont get me wrong; i have great respect for Jaap…always compared him with Ruud; both players who know their strong point but also their weak ones…both took a long road to the top teams, both had to fight for respect…both great mental attitude

and yes; he was (at one time) the most expensive defender in the world but that says not everything

was never my intention to bash Jaap, just think he wasnt that good as people made him to be

Posted from  Netherlands

@goose… yes i was…

you and jan might be right…

as my favorite player maybe he gets better and better as time goes on attaining almost mythical proportions…

in truth he was human and made mistakes, but was still a great defender in his day.

Posted from  Canada

He deserved every compliment and every euro he made. A rock. And honestly, I do think he had more potential as a player. When he played for Willem 2 he was regularly involved in the build up, as a back. He would storm forward, hit shots from a distance on goal (he had a savage shot, but not much precision) and score with the head and all. But when he was transfered to PSV, he was used as a pure marker and PSV had so many good players that they told Jaap: you just do what you do and give us the ball when you’re done. And that’s how he got into Man United and I think he never looked back and just played that kind of role. That’s my theory at least….

Posted from  Australia

@Jan; im confused. are there 2 Jans posting here…why do i see a comment all in blue one time when you post and the next time nothing??
and if there is just one Jan; looks like you changed your mind on Stam now??

grtz

Posted from  Netherlands

Hey Goose , I don’t know why it’s blue sometimes… I saw that too and I haven’t got a clue. So, it’s all me.

As for my opinion. It hasn’t changed. In reality, Stam never contributed much to the football aspect of the big teams he played for and as a defender he was solid, but also prone to little mistakes. But as I said, when he was young – and sometimes played midfield even – I thought he had more football substance.

Posted from  Australia