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Maarten Stekelenburg: world class!
Comments(45)
Holland has a strong history of goal keeper development. Gert Bals, Pieters Graafland, Eddy Treytel, Joop Hiele, Jan Jongbloed, Piet Schrijvers, Hans van Breukelen and Jan van Beveren as typical examples.
After Edwin van der Sar had announced his retirement from international duties, many fans – including the ones on this blog – couldn’t eat for a while. Who was going to take over Edwin’s mantle? Could we do it without him?
Bert van Marwijk stood firm where Marco van Basten at Ajax expressed his doubts: Maarten Stekelenburg would be Holland’s new number 1.
After the World Cup, the whole wide world knows. Maarten Stekelenburg is one of the globe’s best goal keepers. An interview with the Ajax goalie, using his top saves of the past as the lead in.
World Cup 2010; Holland – Slovakia: Stekelenburg stops serious goal attempts by Stoch and Vitek and is partly responsible for Holland’s progress to the quarter finals.
“I did have a good series in Holland already. It’s hard to get headlines at Ajax though. We played against Groningen for instance, and I saved a good goal attempt. We won the game with 3-0 and coming back from 0-1 behind – if the player would have scored – is always harder. But no one remembered that save. People always remember the three goals. I had a weird time under Van Basten. My confidence was low. I came back from an injury and after a weak series he put me in the second team. I think it did make me stronger, looking back, but the fact that Van Marwijk never doubted me was important. I played a game with Ajax 2 before 30 spectators and three days later we secured the WC ticket on Iceland. That’s the contrast I lived in then. But Martin Jol was clear to me on the second day he was in Amsterdam. “You’re my number one. I don’t care what happened before”, were his words. That really helped.”
Brazil – Holland: The game appears to be lost. Holland is trailing 0-1 and Kaka just released a beauty of a curler. But Stekelenburg glided to the top corner and with perfect timing and grace tips the ball corner. Right before half time he also blocks a Maicon attempt at the near post. Holland comes back in the second half and wins the game.
“I think the Kaka save is my personal high point in my career. Not just the World Cup, but overall. I never care about the beauty of a safe, it’s about the importance. Funnily enough, if we still would have lost that game 0-1, no one would be talking about that save and rightfully so. It wouldn’t have mattered. So, the importance of a save can only be judged afterwards. When you know the final score. I think it was my moment, in a World Cup game, against Brazil. Stopping a beauty from one of the world’s best players. It’s interesting, I normally never watch games back. I always have the moments in my head and can replay whole matches in my head. But at the World Cup, there was no escape. They showed that situation 30.000 times on telly, whether you wanted or not. I’m not sure what my career will bring me still but this was a key moment.”
Holland-Uruguay: Stekelenburg makes his first mistake on a Forlan shot but would have two great stops later in the game.
“The pressure was increasing a lot. After Brazil, everyone realized we could suddenly be in the finals. Argentina was going home, England was gone. Italy was gone. Our odds started to look good. Maybe we got some more pressure. The Uruguay game was weird. It felt as if we were on top of things. We were 1-0 up and Uruguay never looked threatening. I simply responded too late on that Forlan strike. I simply didn’t expect it. And his shots have that swirl so I made a footing-mistake too. In the past, that moment would have bugged me for the rest of the game but fortunately I could bury it immediately.”
Holland – Spain: Stekelenburg doesn’t need to do too much in the finals but did save a Fabregas attempt at a key moment. Iniesta however, will not be stopped.
“That Fabregas save is basically irrelevant. It was only important if we would have reached the penalty phase. We actually all believed we would get there and I swear I was convinced that I’d stop a couple of penalties. I felt really strong. But suddenly, here was Iniesta and it was all over. And you keep on thinking: what if Heitinga wasn’t red-carded? What if Robben would have scored? What if the ref would have seen that deflection on Sneijder’s free kick….? I actually believed we were champs, when Robben went straight to Casillas I thought it would be a goal. We knew Spain was the better footballing team, but our solid organization paired with our wonderful skills up front could break that down, we knew that. That was quite a save, talking about saves, eh? Casillas did everything right. Waiting as long as possible. You need some luck with that, because Casillas actually didn’t know that he blocked it. I think his ankle actually stopped that attempt, but so what, you know? It’s the same with my Fabregas block. It’s the luck you get as a reward for waiting long. The more confident a keeper, the longer he dares to wait to react. Not that I want to say anything negative about Casillas. He is top. He demonstrated in that finals he’s world class. I’m not that far yet. Edwin van der Sar is world class. Julio Cesar. Casillas. Reyna. I’m not there yet. Not in my mind, at least. I do hope to get there. I’m only 27 years old, I think my best years are still ahead of me. Most goalies top after their 30est. Their level is my aim, my benchmark.”
Ajax – Panathinaikos ( CL qualifications). Stekelenburg stops a penalty kick.
“After the World Cup I really was fed up with football a bit. I had a long season and the World Cup preparation was tough too. Obviously, our tournament was long so I only had one week of holiday. Had some fun with mates, visited family and before I knew it I was training again at Ajax because of the CL qualifications. That wasn’t easy. The good thing was that I was still fit. That did help in that Panathinaikos game. We went from top game to top game since. Another CL qualification game. Eredivisie start and obviously the start of the EC qualifications. And I didn’t experience any setback or fatigue or whatever. I know my body well and I feel good. I’m in the zone now, in the rhythm.”
CL qualifications, Ajax- Dynamo Kiev: Ajax is under pressure at home. Stekelenburg stops three sure goals with tremendous reflexes and helps his team qualify for the Champions League.
“The celebrations after that game were sensational. We worked so hard for many years to get to the Champions League and finally we made it. Being in a tough group with Madrid and Milan is great. We wanted to play top level, well…here’s the competition. We lead in the Dutch league and we’re among the best of Europe as well. Bring it on!”
Real Madrid – Ajax. Ajax is being stampeded by Madrid. They have 33 goal attempts. Stekelenburg stops 15 of them. Stekelenburg avoids an international dressing down and humiliation.
“Losing 2-0 against Real Madrid is not that bad, but the way in which we lost is. My goodness, what a dramatic night that was. I can’t say I’m pleased in any way. Some reporters said “well, you could demonstrate your worth in the Champions League” but I’d rather be a clumsy goalie making a mistake but still winning that match…. It was horrible. Every time we felt we could get the ball and build up we immediately lost the ball. We knew we needed to be top class to have a chance, but this was ridiculous. Am I ready for a step up? Maybe, I’m not sure. I mean, it’s not something I think about. The offers will come if the coaches of the bigger clubs think they can use me. Until then, I’m happy at Ajax. I won’t leave Ajax for a bigger paycheck only to play relegation football somewhere. I will only leave Amsterdam for a good club. I did hear that Man United rumor. It’s a rumor as far as I’m concerned. They still have Sar and if he decides to play on he’ll be number one. I’m not leaving Ajax to sit on the bench somewhere. Seriously, I’m in the flow and I want to be in that flow for as long as possible. Not playing for a season is not part of my future.”
Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 45 comments.
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I think Sneijder can play in midfield defense roll too, and VdV don´t.
Maybe can play near to Van Bommel in de 4-2-3-1 and put VdV like 10.
More rummors about Rick Van Volfswinkel:
http://www.madrid-barcelona.com/articulo.php?id=5643
http://www.footballpress.net/?action=read&idsel=70651
http://blogs.bettor.com/Tottenham-and-Chelsea-want-to-sign-Ricky-Van-Wolfswinkel-a31921
http://news-futbol.blogspot.com/2010/10/el-barcelona-se-plantea-fichar-van.html
V.Wolfswinkel scored a lot of penalties, that’s about half his goal production.. If he starts scoring more field goals, and i mean, not just tap ins, but distanceshots, great actions, headers etc. Then he will be somewhat ready for it, when Suarez leaves, Ajax should just buy V.Wolfswinkel and sell him after like 2/3 years..
Posted from 
Netherlands
@Jad absolutely agree that vd vaart is not suited for defensive midfield position, but sneijder isnt either, both let their man slip through or dont even bother to follow him. Thinking of what cruijff said it does not even matter who plays where it is the system in which they are playing… If you stretch the field as we did you inviting the opponent into our weakest area, near the goal. If you play with 2 holding defenders you weaken the build up which is what holland is all about. It is ridiculous that d°vd vaart was forced to defend when his strength is build up and distributing.
With players as vd vaart en sneijder there should be a system that would keep the attack lines short and feed more into the attack, for this cruijff said to play with 2 holding defenders aiming backwards you will always come short in the build up and feeding the attack, this is exactly what happned to us in the WC.
actually there is a reason behind a potential van wolfswinkel barca move (but i’m sure it won’t happen soon): he’s 1,85,good header and we exactly need a striker who is a good finisher (tap ins) – villa is different,bojan semms to be completely lost,messi,pedro and jeffren are rather wingers/shadow strikers,whatever. but it would be too risky for his development,he should rather go to ajax and play there for 2-3 years,and we’ll see after. the suggested price (20 million) is nonsense, however i’d like to see at least 1 dutch player at barca.
i don’t think either that bvm will change the 4231 into something different,he probably will tutularize de zeeuw instead of de jong. i would like to see someone else,but would be surprised if bert opted for a more attack-minded starting 11.
Posted from 
Hungary
ferenc the way you describe the situation at barca and they need a tap in player, then maybe I think it makes sense for them to get him. Last summer he was only 3 M euro, now a little more, but still a bargain for 5 or 7 M euro … < The longer they wait the more he will cost, its a tricky one…
world cup final: in my opinion not the de jong-vdv substitution,but different factors lead to the spanish domination in the second half of the prolongation. first,when both teams had eleven players on the field gio was replaced by braafheld who might be oranje material,but definitely not world cup final material. second.heitinga’s redcard – the defence lost 2 very important elements and i think gio’s absence was more important than heitinga’s redcard. when bert replaced de jong with vdv he probably wanted to try a more creative formation,with a solid defense (v der wiel,heitinga,matthijsen,gio),but in the last 10 minutes only 2 real defenders (van der wiel and matthijsen + brafheld who didn’t find his place at all) had to stop the spanish attacking machine which became much more dangerous after the alonse-cesc substitution. in retrospective,we can blame bert for the de jong/vdv substitution,but he couldn’t have foreseen what woukd happen to gio and heitinga. it means the situation became really unbalanced which resulted strange positionings (vdv as the last man,etc.). in one sentence: not de jong’s,but gio’s absence lead to the spanish goal.
Posted from Hungary
I think the difference between VDV and Sneidjer is consistency…. Sneidjer is more consistent than VDV… having said that, I can see Seidjer dropping to sit in midfield right next to V Bommel and VDV taking his position linking up the offensive lines.
Sneidjer’s best weapon is the counter-attack and all his passes came from deep inside the defense during the world-cup… (his passes to Robben in Slovenia and Spain games).
VDV is more dynamic and I think can link up with the Holland strikers better… whether it’s V Persie or Huntelaar… VDV is a more natural goal scorer and it would make sense to play him closer to goal.
Any idea what’s happening to Robben?? His last interview i read says he’s not hurt.. he doesn’t feel pain… how come FC Hollywood not playing him when they’re in deep trouble?
Posted from 
United States
the problem is bert like to play with 2 destroyers. in other for 4-2-3-1 to work we need a deep-lying playmaker or a box to box player next to the destroyer. someone like xavi, essien or schweinsteiger, do orange even have these kind of players right now?
Posted from United States
the one who shine as a #10 in euro08 and wc10 was wesley not farty, wesley should remain as the #10 and farty should play in the left and stay on the bench.
Posted from United States
* or instead of and
Posted from United States
No one should drop down the field, not Sneijder or VDV, just play them together in attacking midfield.
Posted from Netherlands
Playing Sneijder or VdV as defensive midfielders would be the stupidest thing EVER!!!. I’ve to say that I prefer Sneijder 1000000000000000 times over VdV.
I even think Afellay will do better than him in the future…mark my words but Afellay is taking it easy he could have left Holland for some $$$ but it seems Cocu is giving some fine advise to him.
Elia is now out. Likely we’ll see Afellay and Kuyt as wide players, with MvB, Sneijder and VdV in the middle.
Posted from United States
Wonder who would be called up as Elia’s replacement. My guess is probably Beerens. I didn’t really rate him, but oh well. Too bad Siem De Jong is injured too, he would have seized this. Or De Guzman, maybe? 
Posted from United States
Afellay is just staying because his contract is ending, so he’ll be transfer free in the summer. And very interesting for clubs. That’s how far club loyalty goes these days..
Posted from Netherlands
Re: Guzman, Alex…
By the way, Van Wolfswinkel is Johan Neeskens son in law to be. He’s engaged to Bianca Neeskens.
Posted from 
France
Outside subject lets discuss after the games,puting feelings aside who do you expect will host the worldcup:
2018=?
2022?
@Jan what do you think about both the Low countries and australian bids in particular?
lets discuss these after the dutch games please
This blog should be called: NLofftopic blog, haha. But I mostly like this aspect of the blog, and I do it too often. Right now, I just want to say: kudos to Steks. I think he’s really grown. Seeing that save in the 80something minute against AC Milan was just wonderful. ‘f course there’s the Kaka save. And the numerous saves in the Eredivisie that aren’t seen much. Especially when, with Van Basten at Ajax, he had a really bad period and got subbed by Vermeer, which I agreed upon at the time. But he grew. I’d like him to go to ManU, with VDS as keeper trainer. It’s so nice to know that the Dutch have a national squad with a great keeper lik Steks!
Posted from Netherlands
I hope Holland and belguin be the next WC host:
Please visit
http://www.thebid.org/?lang=es
Support Netherlands!
Hi dudes, going off topic is all good. It’s like going to the pub with mates. You need some reason to go ( someone’s birthday or a game) but once you’re there you talk and laugh about almost anything. In the case of men: cars, women, football, sex, beer. In the case of women…shoes?
JUST KIDDIN’
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Posted from 
Republic Of Korea
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Posted from Netherlands
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To me Sneijder should drop down and sit alongside Van Bommel, acting of a deep-lying playmaker (think of Pirlo with Milan/Italy). This will help taking the pressure from Mathijsen and Heitinga, who have pretty limited use during the build-up. Vaart should be higher up, playing in the hole just right behind Huntelaar.
In an ideal world, I’d love to see both Afellay and Elia on the flanks. This will stretch the defense out wide, and create a lot of space in the middle for Vaart to operate. Knowing Van Marwijk, it’s likely Kuyt who will start. Kuyt does add value in defending, but I think against Moldova, he isn’t exactly required. Maybe vs. Sweden he can start.
Posted from
United States