Van Basten Interview

Here’s that MvB interview on the KNVB site. It’s a bit lame, I think… I left some questions on money and stuff out, if you don’t mind. Just focussed on the football questions. Couldn’t help to put some (sic)’s in there every now and then. But the 4-3-3 question and the question on the selecting criteria was answered in a very duh!- kinda way… I found it to be a bit Football for Dummies… Anyway…enjoy….

Would you consider a job as head coach of Ajax and/or Feyenoord and who would you ask to assist you?

MvB: My current job is giving me a lot of satisfaction. I like to work with these boys. I also think we are getting a fixed core, which is important. But, I won’t be team manager for Holland for the resot of my life. The odds that I will work for some other employer (sic) is big of course. But when, and where I don’t know. And it’s not something I am thinking about at all. I do think, that if I go somewhere I’ll try to take the whole team with me.

What do you and your team think is the ideal balance for a 4-3-3 midfield? What type of players do you need?

MvB: Normally, midfielders need to be strong, both physically and technically. Obviously, they also need to “see” the game. Midfielders need to be able to support the offense as well as defense. There are different types: there’s the ball-take-backers (sorry), the runners, the creative players, the leaders and strategists. Your midfield needs all these qualities. But which combination you use can be different per match and per opponent. But then again, you don’t want to change the midfield too much, because you also need the automatisms, so to speak. And you can only get those by playing together a lot.

Why are we so strict in Holland with the 4-3-3 system? Why not 3-4-3, to have the extra man in midfield? Or the international standard 4-4-2. Most of the matches are decided in midfield. 4-4-3 is too predictable and we do not have the right players for that system anyway.

MvB: 4-3-3 is always our starting point in thinking. The big plus is, that the team is divided best on the pitch for both defensive and offensive tasks. It’s a clear system and recognizable. All Dutch players are brought up this way. And, it’s an easy system to counter other team’s systems. You can play any country with little adaptations here and there. Obviously, we know we can’t always play it, and there are certainly disadvantages, but these we will have to overcome on the pitch.
When we play against 2 strikers, and we have 4 defenders this will mean one of our defenders can support midfield and thus we create a man-more situation on midfield. The opponent will play four midfielders – two on the flanks – and our fullbacks can face them. In this way, we have three midfielders against their two center midfielders.
Of course, it’s also a question of quality at their side. I mean, if their strikers are topnotch players, we sometimes want three defenders to control them. The main reason to play 4-3-3, as I explained, is a football-reason… (sic).
On top of that, you should realise that we do not have the time to practise different systems. We want to use one fixed base system. We need clarity in the group. And if we do not have the wingers, sometimes we use other players to fill in that task. But they will do it differently of course, which is not a problem. As long as they do the base tasks they need to perform for the team. Van der Vaart is an excellent example. He is not your typical right-winger but the way he does it is great and it functions fine.

You select players on the basis of form, how they fit in the team, injuries, rhytm, etc. Can you elaborate?

MvB: ,,Well, you answered it already. It’s a mix of things. Firstly, the base football qualities. Technique, tactical skill, physical strength, mentality and brains. You want players who have got it all, plus the form of the day. Then you look at the compatibility of players. How do they augment each other. Soneone’s weaker points need to be compensated by someone else’s stronger points. But you also look for the weak and strong points of your opponent. How can you benefit from those? All those sorts of things…

Is John van ’t Schip a colleague and friend, or just a colleague. Or, as the media say, how important is the “I like you” factor? Would you select a player you don’t like as a person?

MvB: ,,John is a friend and colleague. He is very gifted, has a great eye for detail and in that role he is extremely important for me. Whether he is a mate or not is not important to me. But it does help when you can get along. I mean, we do need to spend a lot of time together and I trust him, which is also important.
Would I select a top player if I didn’t like him as a person? It depends, really. Let me say I don’t dislike any player. But, if such a player existed, but his qualities are there and he’d make the team stronger and would increase our chances of winning, yes, I’d select him. Results are the most important thing, at the end of the day. And we aim for two types: winning matches and entertaining our fans. And I do not mean circus-tricks, but good football, teamspirit. If a player can add to that and make his individuality inferior to the team, than yes… I’d select him.

How do you handle criticism? If you as a person are severly criticized, does that bother you? Do you intentionally not watch certain tv-programs?

MvB: We’ve always said that we want to work autonomous and we don’t want all sorts of outside stuff get in our way. That way of thinking is still important, but not easy, sometimes. You have a public job. Everybody has their opinion and you constantly need to justify your actions. That is part of the job. But, there’s a lot of good people out there, with good opinions, so it’s not all negative… I like it when people express their opinion. I do not have a problem with that. Sometimes, they repeat it constantly and then it can become a nuisance, but you can’t let it rule your life or job. And it’s in the interest of the media, to be sharp and to have sharp discussions to kick up a stink. It’s their role, they sell magazines or commercials on that basis… I can see that.

You change the team often. Isn’t that negative for the team-spirit? How do you manage the teamspirit anyway?

MvB: When we played Russia, we needed to change nine positions due to injuries. That’s part of life. When we started our mission, we were in one of those transition phases. We needed to replace several experienced players. That’s never easy. We may have selected a bit too many different players in those days. Maybe. But we do have that firm core now, and that’s just great.
We manage team spirit by creating a normal situation. We don’t act out roles or use psychological tricks… We just are who we are. And try to make the boys feel at home and at ease. We work hard during training-sessions and then make time for fun. Whether that’s the movies, or dinner or city-tour somewhere, you know…it’s different everytime…

What is Johan Cruyff’s role? Is he important? And should JC become team manager still, some time in the future?

MvB: I talk to Johan regularly. We talk about football in general. Recent matches we’ve seen, the situation with Oranje, all sorts of things. He doesn’t interfere with the team-selection and those things. It’s more in general stuff. But sometimes he does advise us, I mean…he sees a lot with his experiences. Sometimes we take his advice in, other times we don’t… Personally, I’d like to see him manage the team in the future, for sure. But, I do feel he is at a point in his life that he doesn’t want to do it, and I can only respect that.