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So who is Bert van Marwijk anyway?

June 23rd, 2008 | By: Jan | 45 Comments »

50% of the Dutch population wanted Marco van Basten out, six months ago. Now, we all feel he has retired from his job a week too soon. Anyway, that’s life. San Marco is out, long live Bert, right?

This post was published here some months ago. I’ll repeat it for the newbies. It’s a Johan Derksen column from VI.nl. At the end of the article is a new interview, published right after the EC defeat of Oranje vs Russia.

Johan Derksen sheds some light…

When 16 years old the future manager of Oranje played in a sold out De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam against a youth team of Tottenham Hotspur. I was there. It was the 60s, and Feyenoord organized infamous youth tournaments. The fans and the public came to the stadiums in the thousands. As a player, it was one big party. I was 19 years old, a veteran in the youth team, and loved going to these tournaments. You’d go to the red light district, I saw the Swinging Soul Machine live, you’d go to every watering hole in town… Magic.

All my team mates were surprised when coach Brand took B-junior Bert van Marwijk along to the Feyenoord tournament. He didn’t even have the right socks. On all official photos of that tournament, you can spot Bertje with white socks instead of red. It was May 19, De Kuip was packed. Go Ahead Eagles vs Tottenham Hotspur. And to every one’s shock, coach Brand gave the introverted youngster a starter spot. Bert was lean and tall, with long hair. We didn’t agree with him playing, but in those days as a player, you’d shut up. It didn’t take long for me, left back, to see why Van Marwijk played. I could pass the ball into him all the time, he had magnificent tricks and became the man of the match. And mind you, the Spurs had future big names like Peter Collins, John Pratt, Steve Perryman, John Cutbush, Ray Evans and Jimmy Neighbour in their team. Van Marwijk made Perryman look like a clown. He’d pass him, take him on, trick him and would give the assist to Blijenberg, which turned out to be the winning assist and goal. No one had any worries about the skillful left winger, who jumped up in the hierarchy that day. The introverted geek turned into a self-conscious player with a big mouth.

Bert van Marwijk is born in De Worp, near Deventer, in 1952. A famous little community. It was the place where Van Morrison played his first Dutch gig, with Jan Akkermans and Cuby + Blizzards as supporting act.

When 12 years old, Van Marwijk went to a Go Ahead Eagles talent day and was picked immediately. The fragile Van Marwijk was a tremendous talent. He was a classic. Fast, full of trickery, a wonderful cross and a deadly shot in his left. But, he could never leverage from all that tealent. He had three knee-operations as a youngster plus a hernia. The physically troubled winger couldn’t perform optimally. Despite all this, Feyenoord wanted him. His manager at Eagles, Barry Hughes, heard this rumor and crashed Van Marwijk’s home on the morning of the Feyenoord negotiations. He gave Van Marwijk a tremendous do-or-die contract for three years. Van Marwijk stayed in Deventer.

Van Marwijk played his first and only Oranje game against Yugoslavia in Belgrado in 1975. Oranje lost 3-0. His old coach Brand was by then coach at AZ Alkmaar and signed Van Marwijk for a record sum. But soon the outspoken Van Marwijk clashed with manager Hans Kraay and he decided to move to Maastricht. He would play seven seasons for the MVV team (with legends like Willy Brokamp and Jo Bonfrere). He played one season for Fortuna Sittard and ended his career in Belgium. The future Oranje manager started at the bottom of the coaching ladder. He started as youth coach at MVV, coached the youth of amateurs Meerssen (his home town) and ran a sports-shop in the same town. His first head coach job was in Belgium at FC Herderen. After that it was four years the amateurs of Limmel in Maastricht and the first team of Meerssen. In 1997 he moved to Fortuna Sittard, whose star player was youngster Mark van Bommel. Other players in those days were Kevin Hofland and Wilfred Bouma. His daughter Andra met the young captain Van Bommel and now Bert van Marwijk is grandfather of Van Bommel’s kids. In 2000 Rob Baan signed Van Marwijk as the corwn prince of Dutch football at Feyenoord. Four years later he moved to Borussia Dortmund, with the UEFA Cup in his luggage. In Germany, he did well with a group of youngsters but left in 2006 after a conflict with his management.

In July 2007 he returned to De Kuip, and on his name and reputation Feyenoord was able to dig into new money, enabling the club to sign players like Van Bronckhorst, Makaay, De Cler, Hofland and Landzaat. When the KNVB approached him to succeed Marco van Basten, Van Marwijk couldn’t resist the challenge. He hopes to leave De Kuip with the National Cup as a last prize.

Van Marwijk’s consistent personality is highly suited for the job of team manager. He has status and his private life is spotless. He is still married to his highschool sweetheart Marian, he lives a simple, sober life and has one passion. Bert loves fast sports cars. He has two potential stumbling blocks to look out for. For one, his son-in-law Mark van Bommel. It’s a public secret that he feels the Bayern Munich midfielder belongs in Oranje. He will need to navigate cautiously with this, though, since most internationals are happy that the dominant and irritating Van Bommel is no longer part of the group. Secondly, Van Marwijk has a history with Robin van Persie. The current star of Oranje was constantly in clashes with Van Marwijk at Feyenoord. Finally, Van Marwijk will have to learn to cope with the public opinion. Oranje isn’t his, it’s of the people. But, like any team manager, he will start with a lot of credit.

New interview post-Russia:

Why aren’t you in Switzerland?

“It feels more appropriate to watch the EC at home. Van Basten is in charge and being there would probably means answering more questions about the performance of Oranje. I wouldn’t want Marco to think that his successor is already watching over his shoulder. I wouldn’t like that myself, so I felt it was better to stay at home.”

Your season with Feyenoord was weird. Being number one in the first half, ending number six at the finish, but grabbing the national cup.

“It was a tough transition year. We had to work with players of whom it was unsure whether they could handle this level (Hofs, Greene), had some exciting young talents to settle in (Bruins, Slory, De Guzman, Sahin) and some veterans who had to find their place in the hierarchy (Makaay, Mols, Hofland, Landzaat). You can’t expect to gel a winning team just like that.”

What have you learned, what you will also apply as Dutch team manager?

“That you have to stay true to your vision. And remain confident and in control. You need to be able to handle the pressure, the media-attention and all that, so the best thing is to be yourself. When you start playing games or acting as if you’re someone else, people will see through you. Players, fans, everyone.”

What do you think of working in a glass house?

“Criticism is important. You need it. You can learn from it. I do get bothered by ex-coaches who criticize you. I mean, they should know how it works. Sometimes there are situations you can’t control or explain. That’s football. There are things you can’t really touch or define in sports and when the media grill you about it, or fans, I think that’s fine. But ex-coaches becoming skeptical analysts is a bit weird to me. It’s easy to say “him and him played bad”… These players know that themselves. The question is: what do you do about it.”

Some say you are a defensive coach. Do you agree?

“I never understood that. I think that was only one person talking. I don’t get it. When I went to Feyenoord for the first time, they picked me because of the attractive way of playing (at Fortuna). In Germany, people like Rummenigge, Beckenbauer, Hoeness and Vogts even stated that Borussia Dortmund never played more attractive then under my reign. Even my first season half this time around in Rotterdam our performance was praised and then suddenly I am defensive?”

You don’t want to answer questions about Oranje yet. But there is some sort of heritage when you come in, with regards to Clarence Seedorf and your son-in-law Mark van Bommel…

“I want to start with a blanc sheet. Without any judgments or prejudice. I will scout as many opponents as I can and end of July I will travel to Hong Kong to follow the Olympic team. I know most players who are now part of Oranje. The football world in Holland is small. I know some better than others of course but I want to get to know them all in my own way. I will follow my own course.”

Tags: Euro 2008, Marwijk, Oranje, Seedorf, Van Basten, Van Bommel

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Comments

Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 45 comments.

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By stephen | June 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm

A bit off topic:

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080618&content_id=166735&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

Posted from United States

By goose | June 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 pm

well; deJong did impress me, and i was never his biggest fan…i see potention,hes still pretty young too, think he was youngest in the team at the EC…but im not sure if hes a real basterd..

sure we need to concentrate on the future, and sure we will need to replace some but vBommel for one is still young enough to be great at the WC..now im not saying vBommel should play, he needs to prove himself like all others but he deserves a fair shot (and i really dont care about other players ego’s)

maybe we can get my fav. enforcer to change sport and play for Oranje..jugding by his name he has dutch roots..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1EGzp9DLY

Posted from Netherlands

By dirk v.d.berg | June 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 pm

@hedonistix Edgar’s younger brother Lorenzo plays defense.

I think we should have Siem de Jong playing as our defensive midfield in the future.

Posted from Canada

By stephen | June 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Dirk, I like Siem de Jong as well. Hopefully he’ll have a breakout year this coming season at Ajax. Unless Marco inexplicably decides that deJong’s place should be left wing. or rather

Posted from United States

By richard | June 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm

Based on what I saw in this tourney, De Jong looked to me like he could play the “hard man” role. Agree this is a need–and a problem in midfield. I’m curious to know what people here think of Sneijder: He has developed into a good midfielder, for sure, with good/very good technical skills, but can he be better than good–and a genuine leader? I’m not so sure. Van der Vaart seems small and very average to me, while Engelaar is tall and average (and definitely not a hard man). Having a tough guy in the back four is a definite need too. Holland must still get stronger, better and more athletic in the midfield and back, if it is possible. The russia game was lost because Holland could not/did not hold onto the ball and settle and let the Russians chase it around for the first 20 minutes of the game and get unsettled. Instead, the midfield played horribly, and the Dutch spent far too much of the first half chasing the Russians around. Spain gets criticized for its short-passing game that some say is too lateral–but it’s just what’s needed against the russian team that runs very well. We’ll see if Spain can repeat their earlier performance. It will be hard but they’ve got a LOT of quality–quite a bit more than Holland, it is clear. I thought Ramos (in the back) and the Brazilian in their midfield played tremendously against Italy.

Posted from United States

By dave | June 23rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm

v Bommel turns 33 right after wc10. Heart and will and being nasty are all nice defensive attributes, but todays game is often more catch-me-if-you-can. And for that you need legs!! 33 aint gonna cut it. Everything ought to be focused on wc10.

Posted from United States

By ferenc | June 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm

33 is not that much if the team is balanced. no problem if there are 3-4 players more than 30 in the squad. they’ve got experience and tis is a factor which really counts after the group stage. i don’e worry too much about our midfield because it will work. the defence is more problematic. boulah is solid,we probably will have someone quite good for the left flank,but the central defence our main problem. we should forget matthijsen,ooijer is too old.

Posted from Hungary

By stephen | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm

I think Heitenga will be 1 center back for WC2010. He was player of the year at that position this year. Hopefully he will continue to develop and play well in La Liga. I felt Marco misused him by playing him at right back. Instead of taking out Boulah, he should have taken out Ooijer or Mathijsen, take your pick. Maybe Donk will start impressing this year.

Posted from United States

By Marc | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:20 pm

ferenc: totally right about the defence… i was never hapy wit matijsen and ooijer but once again we cannot blame van basten for this (not that u did, i just like defending him). i think that if we can find power, aggressiveness, pace and strenght at the back with collective unity we will have a really powerfull team as our attack and offensive display is really impressive. we need more players like stam and de boer in our back line. van bronckorst and boularhouz were great as lateral defenders. If we fix our defence and mainatin our attacking fire power we could be contenders for the wc 2010 title. but 1st let us qualify for it since norway and scotland will be eager to restart competition.

Posted from Switzerland

By Michel-Olivier | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm

@ dutch fans
the future is safe

future talents/ready for a cap:
Drenthe, Velthuizen, Emanuelson, Bruins, Siem de Jong, de Guzman, Zuiverloon, Marcellis, Bakkal, Vlaar, van der Wiel, Beerens, Zomer, Schaars, Wijnaldum, Nijland and maybe R. Sneijder.

flops:
de Ridder, Rigters, and Collins John

Posted from United States

By Marc | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm

hey Jan… ive heard a lot about this new dutch talent BARAZITE who ahs been signed at arsenal… how promissing is he? and is affelay moving away from psv?

Posted from Switzerland

By ferenc | June 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm

how many of these players are defenders,holding midfielders? some of them seem to be eternal talents…

Posted from Hungary

By tjeerd | June 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm

@goose Those hockey fights, you gotta love them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ydbATVriqA&feature=related

Famous fight between Canada Jrs. and Russian Jrs. in 1987 International Hockey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz6YXaBv2WM&feature=related

Don Cherry defending Canada’s boys fighting the Russians as “the Canadian Way” against leftist hockey reporter Micheal Farber.

By bunchapooha | June 23rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm

Seedorf needed in the Russia game? We needed lungs alright, but speed as well. Seedorf always strikes me as moving so slllooowwww, yet, he does a better job of keeping posession as opposed to say, Affelay or van Persie, even van de Vaart. yeah, in fact, I could live with Seedorf coming back. But then we’ll get the old problem on the midfield with those 3 (Vaart, Sneider & Seedorf) “not being able to play with one another”.. lol, pretty much the same situation at Feyenoord last season, lone striker (Huntelaar or Nistelrooy), van Persie or Robben around him and everyone on midfield with van Bommel as holding man. lol, yeah, fun.

Posted from Netherlands

By Jan | June 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm

What we needed in the Russia game was Ruud scoring that goal on that Van der Vaart free-kick. That would have changed the game. Maybe for the better. Italians can win by playing crap and still scoring a 1:1 ratio (chance: goal).

Other than that, the only two players who could have made the difference were Babel and Robben. Seedorf would have drowned as well. And Bommel would have gotten a red card

Barazite is definitely a huge talent, but still young. Let him ripe first. Marco made mistakes in the past with Maduro and others, getting them to play too soon for Oranje.

Afellay will stay another season at PSV I believe. But you never know.

De Zeeuw needs to move away from AZ I think.

Ryan Donk is not longer welcome at AZ. Van Gaal wants to get rid of him.

By Robert | June 23rd, 2008 at 8:35 pm

@Jan – You are right on van Bommel – I am not looking forward on him coming back.

The guy that belongs at that spot going forward is probably de Zeeuw but he is wasting his footbal career at AZ.
De jong to me was the revalation of this tournament. I never really liked him much but I think he has improved to the point that he can certainly handle his role.

I think there is very little wrong with the offence as it stands in Oranje. 9 goals against pretty good teams attest to that.
The problems that I saw in the Russia match had a lot to do with our build up from the back. It simply wasn’t there. Boula should not have played; not because of what happened to him but simply because there was no real role for him. I see him in Oranje as a role player; excelent at marking a thread. (You got a Ronaldo type playing against you he is your man)
I would have prefered to see Melchiot play there against a team like that.

I am not sold on Huitinga but a few seasons in Spain could help him a lot.
Mathijsen and Ooijer did not look great and have very little to bring when it comes to build up.
I think that the backline is what needs renewing most. There is talent available but most are a few years away from being ready to play at the International level.

I do like one aspect a lot in our games against France and Italy and that was the quick transition. To me this is the key to being succesful that for us has been missing. Typically an Oranje team plays the ball around a lot in the midfield giving other teams the chance to set up. As we saw in the Spain – Italy game where Spain made that some mistake it simply does not work never, has never will. The Oranje teams of the seventies had that quick transition both from back to forward and from side to side.
At this tournament I saw two matches that give me a lot of hope for the future. I just hope van Marwijk is the man for the job.

By Jan | June 24th, 2008 at 4:03 am

Good comments Robert. The thing with possession play and the “playing around” is that it needs to be done fast, with high paced one-touch passing until one of the players sees an opportunity to take on his marker. When he passes him there is a man-more situation and you can really attack. Like when Ajax played this in 1995. Petterson or Kluivert were only there to bounce the ball back – back to goal – and to score the easy tap ins. Litmanen, R. De Boer and others came in from midfield to penetrate. It’s a tough game to play and when you lose possession, the other team will counter you to kingdom come. I don’t mind either game play, to be honest. What Oranje showed vs Italy and France was pretty good.

By bobotoh | June 24th, 2008 at 8:08 am

I think Dirk Kuyt should become the “hard-man”, because van Bommel is too old. Somebody should advice him to become “Gattuso” from Holland. In attacking, there’s no problem. The main problem is that there’s no “Gattuso” and “Jhon Terry”. So, what Holland really needs is one “Gattuso” and at least one “John Terry”.

Posted from Indonesia

By Caleb | June 24th, 2008 at 9:33 am

bobotoh – We need a John Terry? A player past his prime who has become a whiner, a cheat, very dirty and loves himself too much? I don’t think we need this type of player. Maybe John Terry from 5 years ago, but not today’s Terry.

Posted from Canada

By Michel-Olivier | June 24th, 2008 at 10:40 am

@ bobotoh
the dutch need a aron winter like player and a defender like frank de boer.

Posted from United States

By bunchapooha | June 24th, 2008 at 10:55 am

We need a Robben with a Terry mentality. Terry has had more injuries in one month than Robben in his whole career, yet the guy still plays his games.

Posted from Netherlands

By Jan | June 24th, 2008 at 7:12 pm

I say:

Spiderman (using his web to stop the balls from going in)

Flash Terminator 1 Terminator 2 Capt America

Superman Iron Man Wolverine

Indiana Jones Batman Catwoman

And hoping that Daredevil will be the opponents goalie

By bunchapooha | June 24th, 2008 at 8:16 pm

I’d put Iron man in defence and put terminator 1 on the bench. Terminator 1 only knows how to attack, he’s lousy in defence. Instead of Iron man, I would pick Captain Planet for midfield.

If we’re down a goal we’ll need to bring in Air bud as super sub.

Posted from Netherlands

By Jan | June 24th, 2008 at 9:47 pm

Well done I couldn’t find a good coach for this lot? Magneto?

By Caleb | June 26th, 2008 at 9:00 am

Haha! Jan and bunchapooha, great posts!

I think I would put the incredible Hulk in our defensive midfield slot. He could be that tough enforcer that we really need! When the going get’s tough he gets angry, and you don’t want to see him when he is angry!

Posted from Canada

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