Some musings on the beautiful game…

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2009/10/28/1588211/calcio-debate-the-curious-case-of-wesley-sneijder

good article about sneijder

loovens hasn’t been starting for celtic a couple of times recently

i will right how babel and kuyt play cause i am watching the game

Captain Dirk. I like the sound of that.

3ric, I’m not sure about that guessing game… The lot of this selection secured the qualification and to me a number of players are certainties (provided they keep on playing and stay fit):

Van Persie
Robben
Kuyt
Sneijder
Gio
Mathijsen
Elia
Van Bommel
Ooijer
De Zeeuw
De Jong
Van der Wiel
The 3 goalies (unless Edwin….)

Then there’s players who will need to keep their game up and stay on the radar:

Afellay
Engelaar
Schaars
Babel
Hunter
Vaart
Loovens
Heitinga
Boulah

And maybe question marks:
Braafheid
Mendes Da Silva

It’s anyone’s guess what will become of AZ. There’s rumors that in the winter break, players will be sold off (Mendes, Schaars) and what will happen with these lads then?

There’s a small hitlist of players who could come into the frame (Drenthe? Maduro? Fer? Bakkal? Wolfswinkel?) but we’ll need to wait and see what happens. In all honesty, Drenthe and Maduro and Fer to name a few haven’t earned it yet. In my book at least…

very good jan, even though i would move afellay and van der vaart up to the first list

@jan
according to bert, vdv is going to south africa

Posted from  United States

Another frustrating night for a Liverpool fan. Kuyt should have got a penalty for hand ball near the end. Good night all. I’m off for a beer or ten.

Holland Under 17 won 2-1 Castignos scored ! Fifa website has all the news

Posted from  Singapore

I think this guy will never make it.
http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202801222033/noticia/Noticia/Drenthe_thinks_about_the_next_game.htm
http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202801145793/noticia/Noticia/Drenthe:__We_need_to_work_hard__2009-10-28.htm
How come he is the one who speak the most in Real? I remember all the stupid shit he’s talking about Madrid catch up Barca last year when he’s not even on the bench.
Now he’s still doing this. How can he speak about what Madrid should do when he doesn’t even know how to do his task?

ID LIKE TO CONTINUE THE DEBATE “ANSWERS FROM BERT” TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS THIS

Granted .. Drenthe can make me have this feeling of embarrassment sometimes, for his own sake.
Especially when he speaks on realmadrid.com or goal.com (maybe they make him look stupid intentionally) .. I was just reading that article right now by the way. Had the same feeling Kevin.

BUT.. I feel hes being used as a scapegoat by both real madrid and us Oranje supporters.
He played fantastically horrible last match. but hes been playing well before. AS LB!! yes , let me say it again to all of you, as LB!!!!!
now i dont know what the problem was that last game.. i saw only highlights, but the potential is there, the capacity is there. He can actually be one of the next LB for the national team when Gio gets so old he cant walk anymore.
Its just the fact that you guys want to go ahead and bury the guy that soon amazes me. I mean 2 articles ago we were giving him a chance. And now its all over. Go die Drenthe!

SO I DISAGREE COMPLETELY WITH ALL DRENTHE NAY-SAYERS!

The guys is talented, strong as a bull , and fast!! hes just not consistent yet.
and he needs people to ground him, deflate his ego, as well as put faith and responsibility in him as a player.

Posted from  Norway

On to my next comment about Mr BvM.

Let me start with, do we have a chance to win the WC? yes, we definitely do. Just to appease the pro-positive among you, I do believe that.

However Bert’s answers , and his coaching in general fume the **** out of me !!!!!!!

1 – AS LONG AS GIO CANNOT RUN LIKE A DOG FOR 90 WHOLE MINS , POSSIBLY MORE, HE CANT CONTINUE AS OUR SKIPPER AND LEADER, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY OUR LB!

BvM has really put himself in a pickle there, and this his problem (the same problem as Raul in RM).. Picking someone so old but so important motivation and mental-wise in the dressing room and on the pitch.. so now definitely there is a dilemma there.
But one thing for certain, and im sure all of you at least agree here with this statement. A fast, young, unpredictable, and aggresssive right winger will tear the shreds out of Gio today, and tomorrow, and at the WC.

Gio should be in the squad, should be a leader in the team, should be involved in winning every game there needs to be won… but we should not continue on using him the way we are right now!

2 – I HATE THAT TIME AND AGAIN BVM ENDS UP USING ONE OF OUR CB AS RB.. Ooijer, Boulahrouz, Heitinga, Marcellis, you name it, he’s tried it already.

Again we have this small, rough, uncut gem called Van der Wiel who is trully a RB, use him, put faith in him, give him experience, let him play as much as he can play, prepare him!!!!! But no. BvM doesnt see this; actually what he sees differently is beyond me, I was hoping on answers for this. nothing.
What goes for Van Der Wiel by the way goes for braafheid and Drenthe.
THEY ARE ALL FAR FROM PERFECT, BUT WE NEED THEM.

3 – IM OH SO HATING THIS “LETS NOT GIVE SEEDORF THE THOUGHT OF DAY” ATTITUDE!

And im also hating the stupid comments that say Seedorf is/was good at club level not good enough at national team level. LOLOL!!!! That issue has been solely the mistake and responsibility and lack of quality of the manager.. not the player. The team manager is supposed to be able to integrate Seedorf both mentally and technically on the pitch with the rest of his teammates!
And the thoughts that there is no place for him in this squad makes me laugh so hard it becomes really not funny in the end!!! Sneijder is my favorite player but I am the first to admit that sneijder is as inconsistent as a ping pong ball!!!!! And its not like VDV has been such a sure bet either!!! And also its notl ike im saying Seedorf should start either. BALANCE !!!!! All about balance!!! Seedorf can very very useful in some occasions where Sneijder just feels like kicking people and shoot incessantly to force the ball his way!! Seedorf is a very important player to have on your team when you just want to win 6 bloody games in a row and thats it!! We should want the best players we could have and use them whenever there is a need for them!!
And in Seedorf’s case it’s plenty!

I apologize for being an aggressive blogger. love you all and your comments.
Hup Holland!

Posted from  Norway

Does anyone know anything about the Under 17 goalkeeper that was playing in the last game ? He looks BIG and strong and bounces around very athletic like. He looks like he is already over 1.9m ? Any stories Alex ?

Rami you will find that different people have different views. The pro Drenthe’s will always be pro, the anti’s need a little bit more consistency before being swayed. I don’t think anyone here would object if Drenthe became the TOP left back in RM/World. After the Olympics I need to see a lot more of a consistent Drenthe/Maduro/Babel before I am convinced. They were all magnificent a few years back. But then so was Huntelaar/Makaay/Landzaat/Rigters etc etc to name a few. Thin line between being at the top and just an “also ran”.

Posted from  Singapore

@Rami: I don’t want to bury Drenthe man . I just think that if he can shut up and train more, it will be better for all the people including himself. However I doubt he can do that so I think we just need to look for our future LB somewhere else, maybe Emanuelson can step up to the plate.

On that note, let me also say what i do like about BvM, for all the pro-positivist supporters among you.

1 – Van Bommel
2 – Subsequently, the cure to our build-up problem (not however only due to VB)
3 – Finally the realization that Van Persie could be our striker! I think he was forced to accept that one though. He seemed quite happy with kuyt as striker before even a kid would realize that the latter will not score any time soon.

4- maintained the winning spirit and mentality among the the players that was there at the end of Van Basten’s helm.

5- De Boer , Cocu

Posted from  Norway

Emanuelson or pieters need to leave the country before even being considered as candidates!!

i dont want even imagine whats it like playing at RM. Abstractly it does feel like Hell, with flames and that president as a demon. So I really do give just a +10 right off the bat for being able to play in there. He is also, I remind you competing with the LB (or one of the prominent LBs) of Brazil!!

Again Ill repeat, the guy needs people to ground him, deflate his ego, as well as put faith and responsibility in him as a player. this is how he’ll grow both on a club and national level.
(He needs a good dose of Ferguson for a year or two)

Kevin you bury him when you say we look for our future LB somewhere else. you and many others from the last article.

Posted from  Norway

@Rami: “the guy needs people to ground him, deflate his ego, as well as put faith and responsibility in him as a player”. That’s exactly what I try to do, I just want him to stop talking. I remember when I watched him at the U-23 tournament, I think he’s a raw diamond that can become a Roberto Carlos of Oranje one day, some years later, now I see he’s still a raw diamond with a lot of dirty dust. If he keeps doing what he’s doing now, I wonder how he can become the new Oranje’s LB and if he can become, we will just have another average LB.

http://goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/10/28/1589598/milan-propose-klaas-jan-huntelaar-adrian-mutu-swap-to-fiorentina-
Milan want to offload Huntelaar. Don’t know if this is good or bad news.

Hunter needs to go to the EPL.

I don’t care which team, but his style is much better suited there. He’s looking really lost at Milan. I don’t think he has turned that useless all of a sudden, just like I don’t believe Denthe has become a genious all of a sudden either.

Not sure I agree with Rami (but I like your style).

Like Drenthe could have been in trouble because other players didn’t cover for him while he was up the park (I haven’t seen the game, so I don’t know) it would then seem that Drenthe screws up, while in reality the other bloke has!!

Gio might not be fast, but did he do so badly in the qualifications? Did he do badly in the EC2008?

I remember JC’s coaching style at Barca. When Barca played against a team with strong headers while Barca didn’t have length at the back, he simply told his team not to concede corner kicks and free kicks.

Same with Gio. If he plays against a fast runner, Bert could either choose to play Braafheid or instruct the team to make sure no one is able to release the runner.

I also believe Van der Wiel will be our right back. Remember: he was injured for the Australia trip and we don’t have a lot of back up on RB.

Also, I strongly believe Seedorf plays well in Milan because he has a protected status on the pitch. Like Kaka had and now Ronaldinho has.

The rest of the team works twice as hard, with Gattuso being the workhorse.

The team dynamics say it all. At Inter, Sneijder is the only creative player. Easy to mark for an opponent. At AC Milan, the back four and Pirlo and Gattuso play highly disciplined (Pirlo never crosses the mid line accept for set pieces).

In Oranje, we want to play total football. Seedorf is tactically and defensively not good enough! Don’t forget that he didn’t even have a starting position under Van Gaal in Ajax in the mid 90s when they won the CL!! And that’s why he left for Italy.

clarence seedorf should have the same protected status in oranje as well. now he’s the only dutch genious is world football,ironically apart from holland he is accepted everywhere. people like him and don’t understand dutch national coaches. average people don’t remember his international failures in the 90s and see his club career. for ex. here in hungary people don’t appreciate too much sneijder,vdv,huntelaar,they consider robben and van persie great talents without any consistency and with lots of injuries,but they are unanimous about seedorf (as well as rvn). i accept both argumentation,understand van marwijk,but have a different opinion (think clarence is our best player,pure class,lazy,but very-very intelligent).

Posted from  Hungary

a goal.com essay on sneijder:

Calcio Debate: The Curious Case Of Wesley Sneijder

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2009/10/28/1588211/calcio-debate-the-curious-case-of-wesley-sneijder

interesting

Posted from  Hungary

@ Jan- I think we’re talking about the same thing. I am in agreement that the core team has been secured. My point about the “guessing game” are for those who are in the bubble.

Let’s take for Braafheid for example. He’s been hot-and-cold this season, I think he needs to get a reality check, a slap on the wrist, or whatever you want to call it– the idea is that he would then elevate his game. If Van Marwijk keeps calling him, there are no incentives for him to do well, and it’s not like there aren’t any other candidates interested in his jobs (Pieters, Drenthe, Urby). Same thing with the AZ-duo Mendes and Schaars. They have been mediocore all season, why not give Bakkal and Brama the chance. How about Babel, Hunter, Vaart, and Boulah?

I am not particularly attached with the idea of “star” players and I tend to get back to the basic, that is: if you’re not performing in your full capacity week in and week out, then there is no place for you in the national team. And I think this is where I differ with Van Marwijk. Bert likes the idea of keeping everybody in tact irregardless of their performances, most likely for stability and better team coordination. But at the end of the day, I am not the national coach, so my opinion is nothing more than a wishful thinking.

Posted from  United States

That U-17 keeper was Warner Hahn, he’s from Ajax, and 1.90m.

Posted from  Netherlands

My comments on dutch potentials.
There is a lot of talent breeding in the home league which is evident at the U21 team, one of the best in Europe at this level. Very impressed by the Sparta Rotterdam youngsters. Viergever is a very swift central defender who reads the game very well and the miedfield duo of Falkenburg and (esp) Strootman are the most promising I have seen in decades. It is always good to have a core of young promising players in the same team (like Ajax early to mid nineties). They seem to evolve better this way.
But the player that could be the next big name is van Wolfswinkel. Not only he has the talent but I think he is evolving the attitude of a star player.

All these along with Leroy Fer are worth a try in the highest level and if this was not a World Cup year I would expect them to be called up for a friendly.

Posted from  Germany

@ 3ric
that will be bert downfall

Posted from  United States

With a name like Van Wolfswinkel how can you possibly go wrong? I am marching up and down my office already.

I am sure the Germans are jealous and want to steal all the bicycles again.