Wesley Sneijder: new captain of Oranje

July 31st, 2008 | by: Jan | Comments(15)

The EC is well behind us and in all evaluations of the performance of the Dutch (more to come!) it’s clear that little big man Wesley Sneijder is seen as our new skipper and navigator. We’ll look at Wes’ progress with Danny Blind, Edgar Davids, Henk ten Cate and his dad Barry Sneijder.

The youngster started at Ajax at a young age and was spotted very early on by the Ajax youth coaches. Danny Blind: “Wesley had those specific qualities you look for at that age. He had all the basic skills you want from a youngster: he saw the game, had great ball skills and most importantly: he hated losing!”

Sneijder had a pretty good developed left foot, but youth coach (and current youth system manager Jan Olde Riekerink) was the first to force Sneijder to specifically train his left. Blind: “It’s rare for players to have perfect two-footedness. There is always a weaker foot. Wes trained with a vengeance and was told to only use his left. I believe Jan would blow foul whenever Wes used his right to pass or shoot.”

Wesley was always a typical cocky Ajax player. It was Henk ten Cate who decided to let the youngster put his money where his mouth was. “We had many players who could be the playmaker, but it works better if one player is the boss in midfield. I chose Wesley. I told him he had to decide when to attack, when to press, who was to take the free-kicks, etc. I made Wes important. And he stepped up to the plate.”

Sneijder: “Ten Cate and Fons Groenendijk were important for me. I rate them both very high. They triggered something in me, and they helped me make that next step up.”

Ten Cate: “Wesley made the difference. He was the heart of the team. When you analyse his skills and capabilities you have to conclude that the team has to evolve around him. I did tell him to spend more time in the fitness room. He is very skilled, but due to his length it was relatively easy for strong defenders like Stam to push him off the ball.”

Edwin van der Sar said in an interview, right after the WC2006, that it was time for Sneijder and Van der Vaart to become leaders. Wesley Sneijder read that as well. “I think it was good of Sar to say that. He was right. We needed to move on from being talented to being real important players. I decided to give it my all. That quote and Ten Cate’s confidence in me were the deciding factors.”

Danny Blind: “Wes didn’t have real flaws, although he did have what we call a long mourning-moment. Whenever a player loses the ball or misses a chance, he has the tendency to “mourn” that moment. Great players in midfield, like Zidane or Beckham, never lose too much seconds and immediately try to win the ball back. Wesley took his time when he was younger and we were vulnerable because of that. I told him only great strikers have the luxury to mourn their mistakes. Van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben… They all have that, with Cristiano Ronaldo being the biggest example of it all, with all his theatrics and mimic. A midfielder does not have that luxury. To make the point, I decided to put Wesley in the team as holding midfielder. He would be confronted with situations where our team got in trouble whenever he wasn’t awake when we lost the ball. We played him there once, and we immediately lost that game. Wesley was distraught, he felt it was all his fault. That one game changed his attitude completely.”

Another problem Sneijder had, was his short fuse. Being it team mates, referees, coaches, press people…if he didn’t like it, he told them so. Dad Barry Sneijder: “It was his will to win. He could be so totally involved that he could lose himself. He wanted too much, at times. He has learned to control that anger and transform it into his feet, rather than his mouth.”

Sneijder, just 24 years old, played his third big tournament this year, after the EC2004 and the WC2006. Edgar Davids first met Sneijder during the EC2004 in Portugal. “I wasn’t overly impressed with him. He was skilled, sure, but he couldn’t cut it physically. He really had to walk on his toes, so to speak. And when I saw again at Ajax, when I moved there after the Spurs, he was a different player. A leader. Strong and always committed. He made great progress.”

Sneijder reacts to Davids’ comments. “He’s right. I was pretty annoyed that Advocaat didn’t allow me any time at that EC, but I wasn’t ready for it. It was a good thing for me just to learn and observe, I can see that now. My first EC was a learning experience. The WC2006 was tough. I wasn’t ready to do what Marco wanted me to do. He put me in a holding position where most people thought Cocu should have played there and I almost drowned. This last EC was my first real tournament, at least that’s how I see it. And I’d like to taste more. I never discussed that decision of Van Basten with him. Would you? I mean, I played my first WC at 22 years old, I wasn’t prepared to discuss the coach’ tactics. But I always felt my qualities are better put to work in the forward midfield line than in holding position.”

After his best season at Ajax, the midfielder got his transfer to the club of his dreams, Real Madrid. “I wasn’t myself, the first two months. I was used to being a protected player at Ajax. At Real I was a nobody. I played with Beckham’s jersey and some fans didn’t even know who I was. It was a culture-shock. And the dressing room hierarchy was clear: Cannavaro, Raul, Guti. Casillas and Van Nistelrooy were club-icons. I was lucky with my first goals so early in the season, that helped. After two months players like Raul and Guti invited me to do some finishing at training sessions, and since then I was accepted.”

“But it was clear to me how they looked at Dutch football. Whenever we were in the hotel and for instance Ajax-Feyenoord was broadcast or something from the Dutch league, they’d switch the channels to watch Spanish basketball. That opened my eyes as well.”

Henk ten Cate: “It was a bit weird… I realized Ajax couldn’t hold on to Sneijder and when he expressed his wish to leave, I tipped Barcelona. But they weren’t interested. I’m sure they have thought about my phone call a couple of times last season.”

Barry Sneijder is Wesley’s manager now. “He has learned quick at Real. And even though he is my son, I can say that he has quickly become a big player at Madrid.”

Marco van Basten knows Sneijder inside out, but again the Dutch team manager thought about moving him back one line, to make him one of the holding midfielders. Sneijder responded in his typical manner. “The coach makes the decision. He knows what I prefer, but I will play wherever he needs me.”

Danny Blind can understand Van Basten’s line of thinking. “It’s clear that Oranje will always have 60% or more ball possession and in those situations it helps to have a holding midfielder that can actually make the play. Whenever the percentage drops to, say, 30 or 40% you’ll be vulnerable with Sneijder on that spot. I think Sneijder performs best close to the striker, but the same applies to Van der Vaart. So, when you have two players like that, you either chose between the two or you try to find a compromise to play both.”

And Van Basten did exactly that… Sneijder won the competition with Van der Vaart, who was used as holding midfielder in certain phases at this EC.