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De Haan on coaching, Marco and the olympics

July 11th, 2008 | By: Jan | 19 Comments »

If there’s one compliment Foppe de Haan deserves it’s praise on his ability to gel teams together. He was responsible for winning two European championships in a row with Young Oranje, a unique feat in Dutch football history.

De Haan spent some time in Switzerland to watch the Dutch seniors try to win the title as well. What did De Haan think about the big Oranje?

“These players were willing to put in the mileage. They worked hard and they were willing to help each other out. You see, all players at this level can play good football. That’s not so much the problem. The challenge is to make them work as a team. And Marco did that. Kudos! No one hides, they all work with each other. And at times, their pressure play was outstanding.”

But it wasn’t enough.

“One off-day can bite you in the bum. I don’t know what it was, you can only speculate. Fact is that the Boulahrouz tragedy hasn’t helped, of course. That is a major blow. For him and his wife of course, but also for the team. Although we need to put all that in perspective and realize that sports is just sports. Khalid lost a daughter. But that’s not an ideal starting point for the quarter finals. On top of that, the team wasn’t able to cope with the way the Russians played. Too many players were performing under par and the best goalie in the world can’t save you then. We can say Holland wasn’t good enough, but you must also acknowledge the strength of the Russian team. They played very well.”

Do you feel Van Basten made the right changes?

“You can only do so much. Boulahrouz got injured and I fully understand Van Basten’s desire to bring Van Persie. He has the ability to turn a match upside down. But he couldn’t bring it. Some people say he shouldn’t have brough Afellay. I don’t agree. Van Nistelrooy wasn’t the problem. The problem was the midfield couldn’t control the play and couldn’t service Van Nistelrooy. Bringing Afellay was a logical decision. All this talk is like looking into the backside of a cow. When you win, the coach is a genius, when you lose, the coach did everything wrong.”

How do you create a winning team as a coach?

“It’s about clarity. You have got to be very precise in what you expect. So, be clear and use a tactic that everyone understands. It always helps when there’s a couple out there who have their peak form. In this Oranje, I though Van der Sar, Sneijder, Ooijer and Van Nistelrooy were outstanding throughout.
And Nigel de Jong, in his new role. That’s four of five out of eleven. And if you score at the right moments, as we did in the groups stages, you’re well on your way.”

Was Marco van Basten a good team manager?

“I can’t judge that from the outside. But what I find really good, is that he listened to the input of his players. The team stalled, there wasn’t enough progress and so he thought: let’s listen to what the lads think. That is coaching, to me. Now, everyone felt right and at ease. This concept is good for this group of players.”

When you decided to abandon the classic 4-3-3 Johan Cruyff immediately criticized you…

“As he did with Van Basten as well. That’s all good. We all have different opinions, but at the same time, the 4-3-3 isn’t that much different from the 4-2-3-1. It’s about a couple of meters. Not more. I think any coach needs to follow his own compass. And people with different opinions? Fine… There should be room for discussion, right?”

What was your opinion on the quality of this EC?

“I think Oranje – with the exception of the Russia game – played the best football, with Spain and Portugal. These nations play on the basis of a clear concept. Most games I saw are those to-and-fro games. A lot of running. The pace is high, which is great for the viewer, but the creativity lacked. Italy, France, Germany, Czech Republic…I didn’t think they played very good football. Croatia was unlucky, where Turkey was lucky at times… And Russia plays according to a strict tactics as well.”

Ryan Babel might play for the Olympic team. What’s the status?

“Ryan is enthusiastic about the idea, but listen…he needs to get fit first. And recently I heard that Benitez of Liverpool isn’t too happy with the whole plan. I’d like to select him, but there’s a couple of ifs and buts…”

When will you make the final selection known?

“The 23rd is the deadline but I think we’ll scope for the 15th of July. We need to finalize all the physical tests first, and when that’s all done, we can make the final selection.”

What can we expect?

“It’s a different tournament then the EC-tournaments we’ve done. We knew most opponent fairly well. We had our team together for some time already. This time around, we can’t use players who were with us in the last years, so partly it’s a new team. The critical thing will be the last weeks before the actual tournament. Sometimes, it just clicks. Other times, you need a lot of work, time and some luck to find your ideal eleven. You can expect a typical Dutch side. Creativity, a fixed tactical plan, fast-paced attacking play. But, it’s the Olympics. The dynamics are different and will affect the players of course. Furthermore, we do play teams we don’t know that well, like Japan and the USA. Once we are able to pass the group stage, anything goes. We can face Argentina right away and that is serious stuff. We want to go for Gold, but so do the others…”

You finally extended your contract for another year.

“Yeah, there were some minor issues I wasn’t too pleased with. The KNVB wanted to control everything a KNVB coach says to the press, as an example. I can’t work like that. You hire Foppe de Haan, then you get Foppe de Haan. I can’t go reading out some statement that a committee drew up. Than they should get another coach… I’m happy they didn’t though.”

Tags: Background stories, Boulah, De Haan, Euro 2008, Olympic and Young Oranje, Robben, Sar, Sneijder, Van Basten

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Comments

By Jan | July 11th, 2008 at 4:23 am

Just heard that “sportjournalist” Tom Egberts wants to hold an inquest to find out what went wrong with Oranje, to go from top form to lacklustre in a couple of days…

By goose | July 11th, 2008 at 4:29 am

i already know the answer; Boula!!

Posted from Netherlands

By Domeneco Pautusso | July 11th, 2008 at 6:59 am

my dear dutch friends/fans, your team played the match of their life against us Italians in the Euro opener but please do remember, that sort of thing happens only once in a long time, so i wont be surprised if u cant replicate that performance over the next 48 years or so, talentwise, we have the best youth set up, our u-21 kids are second to none,we have some brilliant future world class talents like Cigarini, Giovinco, Dessena, Lanzafame, rossi, aquafresca, santacroce, de Ceglie……..
But i have to admit that i never expected Holland to loose against russians, i expected an easy 3-0 win for u guys and also naturally expected the dutch to go all the way..

By goose | July 11th, 2008 at 7:35 am

@Domeneco; still hurts a bit…doenst it!! haha

well see how good your U21 team is my friend

Posted from Netherlands

By Caleb | July 11th, 2008 at 8:42 am

Haha, it’s amazing how every country has the best youth team in the world! I didn’t know there could be so many bests. I thought that the winners of the Euro U-21 tournament would have a decent claim on that title… who won that again?

Posted from Canada

By goose | July 11th, 2008 at 11:21 am

Caleb; help me out..here a vid on last years EC…i cant seem to find anything Italian!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZdWbu6RqI4

Posted from Netherlands

By goose | July 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am

talking bout italians; the group ‘football against racism in Europe’ has complained to the KNVB cause of this:

http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/176641/49fa34ad/luca_toni_is_homo_.html

hahaha ..

Posted from Netherlands

By goose | July 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am

btw; the first vid is ofcourse the U21 EC

Posted from Netherlands

By Bob | July 11th, 2008 at 11:40 am

Jan, thanks for presenting this great article. de Haan is the best coach in the Netherlands, in my opinion, and I respect what he says. Therefore, I will modify my opinion of van Basten with respect to the Russian match, based on these comments. I will not argue with Foppe!

With respect to the U-21s, the facts are that the Netherlands has won–WON–the last two U-21 European championships. de Haan did this with two very different teams in two successive years–a terrific achievement for the Dutch football program. Therefore, the Netherlands now has the best U-21 European team. How they will do in the Olympics is an open question, but it should be fun to follow. They also seem well on their way to qualifying for the 2009 U-21 championship tournament. HUP U-21 HOLLAND!

Posted from United States

By Caleb | July 11th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Goose – you’re right! I can’t find any Italians either! :-0 It’s all about some team called Jong Oranje…
Haha

Posted from Canada

By Caleb | July 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

Goose – Haha, funny chant from the fans there. I’m not sure why that group is complaining as I don’t see that it has to do with racism at all though…

Posted from Canada

By Carlos | July 11th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

@Domeneco
Thanks for dropping by to the BEST football blog available. There’s nothing more assuring ( maybe azzuring?) then the presence of the perfect example !

Posted from Singapore

By dirk v.d.berg | July 11th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

@Domenico, its easy to name off the best italian youngsters and claim their stars, when most of them don’t see regular time with their teams, and if they do, its not with a top European team. Babel is a regular at liverpool, and Drenthe’s a regular sub at Real Madrid. We’ve taken the title twice in a row, and theres nothing to stop us from taking the Olympics, especially not an Italian team who couldn’t even qualify for the semi-finals, and only made it through on the technicality that England wasn’t eligible.

In other news, has anyone heard anything about Maceo Rigters, as he would be one of our star players, and I’m not sure if he’s been recalled by de Haan, though Sno can probably replace him.

Posted from Canada

By dirk v.d.berg | July 11th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

I think our best possible line-up would look like the following

————–vermeer———————
zuiverloon–donk–marcellis–emanuelson
———s. de jong–brama————–
de guzman——sno———–drenthe
————babel——————-

you could try to fit rigters and aisitti in there somewhere, but thats my guess.

Posted from Canada

By Jan | July 11th, 2008 at 11:27 pm

Babel won’t go to the OS, I reckon. Makaay will be the center striker.

By dirk v.d.berg | July 12th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

o ya, forgot about Makaay, I was just thinking youngsters.

Posted from Canada

By Domeneco Pauttusso | July 14th, 2008 at 7:30 am

dirk.vd.berg, look mate, you are entitled to ur opinions like many of ur compatriots in this very blog but facts r facts..Holland, for all the hype defeated italy after 38 years in open play and that is a fact and i would not be surprised if holland will have to wait for another 48 years to repeat the feat. Also in the u-21 euros, Holland were the recipients of dubious referee bias, no, dont call me a liar. i have watched all matches. Also, we live in a world of results..Holland , especially Ajax youth system produces exctiting talents but then so do our Atalanta , Bergamo academy( yours truly is from Bergamo). The dutch talents arrive with so much hype and fizzle out, but our talents prosper and prosper..
4 world cups to ZERO is a valid way in reflecting on the issues..Also, it is worth while to note that almost all of ur real world class( i repeat real world class, not the overrated ones like the latest Sneijders…)Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten, Stam, Seedorf,Davidsshed and added another dimension to their talents playing in our great serie A teams, a fact..
Also, without hesitation and second thoughts, i can assure you that Holland will never be able to produce players of the calibre of Baresi, Maldini, Baggio, Signori, Zola, Casiraghi, Cassano, Cannavaro, Nesta, Buffon, Pirlo, Totti…………………

By Caleb | July 14th, 2008 at 9:00 am

Domeneco – Why are you even commenting on this blog?? Obviously you love Italy, and only Italy, and are completely oblivious to everything else. Your one-sided view point is both unbelievable and a waste of time.
I know it hurts that we kicked your ass in the Euros and that your team was complete shite this year, but you need to move on. Seriously.

Posted from Canada

By Porchetta | July 14th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Domeneco, ignore Caleb, he is not making any sense.he talks as if his team as achieved anythging substantial in these tournaments..he talks about his dutch/african/dutch hammering us..oh yea big deal, after 38 years and after a controversial Rudd goal..oh yea,look att he way the tournament ended for both of us..The Dutch were HUMILIATED and KICKED out in an embarrassing way by Russians while we Italians all though depleted lost on the lottery of penalties to the ultimate winners Arabs8spanish9

Posted from Spain