New Euro 2016 Qualifying Rules Makes Holland’s Journey Less Panicky.

Despite Netherlands losing their opening European Championship qualifier, the journey to the 2016 tournament in France has been made easier by UEFA’s new rules.

The second Guus Hiddink era kicked off last month with disappointing back to back defeats for the Netherlands. Sure, some players were missing because of injuries and the loss to Italy was a friendly that was over after three minutes following the sending off of Martins Indi. Their subsequent defeat to the Czech Republic in their first 2016 UEFA European Championship group stage match though, was embarrassing thanks to some sloppy defending and uncharismatic football from the Oranje. However, this loss did not carry the weight that the Oranje have an uphill challenge ahead of them and that’s due in large to UEFA implementing new qualifying rules which eliminated the suspense in these qualifiers.

Of course, any loss by Holland is never acceptable, especially in qualifying group stages for the UEFA European Championship. In the past, a loss would cause some concern since the last thing any fan wants is to see their team fail to finish as group leader and automatically qualify and end up in a playoff. Well, good news Oranje fans. Those days are over. Thanks to Michel Platini and UEFA for changing the rules in ensuring that the top two teams qualify for Euro 2016 automatically along with the third place team getting a shot at a playoff spot. Sadly, a change in the rules of allowing 24 nations in Euro 2016 killed the suspense of these qualifiers.

So basically, you have a better chance at qualifying than missing out on Euro 2016. So have no fear, Holland would need to fall into a total coma to make qualifying impossible. Holland’s next two opponents are Kazakhstan and Iceland. Hiddink and his players will have a chance to redeem themselves for last month’s showing. The one benefit of this easy qualification process is that perhaps this will allow Hiddink to bleed in the younger players and give them significant playing minutes. This would ultimately shed some light on which players got what it takes to play for the national team in two years’ time in France.

As much as I feel comfortable in knowing these guys still have a shot at qualifying, even if they finish third, I’d prefer if they right the ship and finish as group leaders. The first step towards redemption starts Friday against Kazakhstan. One can only hope that the Oranje have learned from last month’s mistakes and start living up to expectations.

Direction of Oranje under Hiddink?

With Guus Hiddink now in charge of the Dutch team for the next two years,what will the direction of this team be when he hands over the reins to Danny Blind. Will he be able to get them ready to win Euro 2016 or will he be laying the ground work for World Cup 2018?

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
• Follow Ibrahim on Twitter

Guus Hiddink announced his first Netherlands squad recently and it did not contain any big surprises. All the usual suspects were back along with players such as Gregory van der Wiel and Rafael van der Vaart who missed out on the last World Cup because of injuries. Yet, is this the correct approach to move this team forward by still relying on the old guard?

With Euro 2016 two years away and Holland’s first match under Hiddink set for September 3rd in a friendly against Italy, is it not time to start planning ahead for World Cup 2018 and start relying on younger players? Vorm, Verhaegh, van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben, Kuyt, van Persie, and Huntelaar are all 30 or older and were called up for the Italy friendly. They won’t be any younger in two years and one wonders how many can be still effective in four years’ time.

The team seems to be in safe hands when it comes to goalkeepers. Fortunately, the biggest concern I had of the Oranje prior to the World Cup, was how their young defenders would do. Low and behold, they managed to do well in the presence of 29 year old Vlaar. The midfield though still seems reliant on the old guard if Sneijder and van der Vaart are still getting called up. Sneijder had a horrible World Cup while Memphis Depay was introduced to the world as an up and coming star. One can hope that the likes of Kevin Strootman and Stijn Schaars can overcome their injuries and return to form and get called up for the Oranje along with Adam Maher if he can get back on track and live up to expectations. There’s also van Ginkel if he can ever find playing time so the midfield seems to be well stacked for years to come if the time comes to bid the veterans goodbye.

Up front is another story altogether. I don’t expect Kuyt to be starting in Euro 2016 but then again, he is like the Energizer Bunny and just keeps going and going. Robin van Persie, Huntelaar and Robben are all in the 30 age group. Robben shines for both club and country while van Persie never did perform well enough for the Oranje to be enshrined with the greats such as Cruyff, Rensenbrink, van Basten, Gullit or Bergkamp when it comes to scoring in knockout stages of competitions. Moreover, Huntelaar just never got enough starts to prove himself in these tournaments as he has for Schalke. Unfortunately, it appears that the youth movement in this area is basically slim pickings.

Besides Jermaine Lens, the pick of the litter is rather unimpressive. Ricky van Wolfswinkel doesn’t seem worthy of being called up while the jury is still out on the likes of Luuk de Jong, Luc Castaignos, Jürgen Locadia, Ola John, Quincy Promes, Jean-Paul Boëtius. None of them stood out like Huntelaar did at the youth level and the only other Dutchman to be top scorer of the Dutch League since 2008 was Bas Dost and he too is playing in Germany. Which one of these men will be leading the charge in four years’ time?

The Netherlands is a small country compared to its footballing rivals but they always find a way to stay competitive. The road ahead is uncertain but this nation always finds a way to get it done. Euro 2016 is only two years away so some of these veterans can help them win this title for the first time since Euro 88. However, would that serve a proper purpose or would it better to start relying on the youth to prepare them for the World Cup in four years’ time? One hopes that Hiddink lays the ground work for Blind when he takes over in two years and not have Blind go through this situation with only two years to prepare. At least I will end this on a positive note, and that is there is hope.

Oranje disgrace themselves at Euro 2012.

Well, it’s that time again where Holland break my heart and disappoint me following another international tournament. Usually that would be the case, but this summer, instead of feeling gutted or sad at watching my beloved Oranje fall short of winning a cup again since 1988, I felt disgusted, revolted and numb. What was supposed to be the tournament for Holland to follow up from their impressive World Cup two years ago became the nightmare that imploded all the hopes and dreams of success.

Holland’s three losses in the group stage were not only shocking; they were also demoralizing. Holland’s track record of advancing to the knock out stages since the 1980 European Championship finally came to an end this summer. This was the first time that Holland failed to win a group stage match for the first time in their history in this tournament.

What was the cause for this calamity? Was it the Oranje players’ egos ugly hear that we have been accustomed to seeing from the past? Was it a manager who lost control and failed to strengthen obvious weaknesses stemming from 2010? Was it a case of lack of luck regarding being picked in the group of death? All of the above would be the correct answer.

Group of Death

Obviously being in the group of death of the umpteenth time didn’t help Holland in Euro 2012. However, they have been in a group of death for the umpteenth time. They encountered similar groups in the past and not in the ancient past. In Euro 2000, they were in a group with then World Cup champions France, Denmark and the Czech Republic. In Euro 2004, they were in a group with Germany, Latvia and Czech Republic again. World Cup 2006 had Holland grouped with Argentina, Serbia and Ivory Coast and just four years ago, they were grouped with Romania, Italy and France. Every single time, Holland managed to make it of their group. So this excuse on its own doesn’t hold much merit.

Players are also to blame.

After the final whistle blew in their group match against Portugal, reports started coming out about the team being divided with egos being the driving wedge between teammates. There was talk that there was a lack of respect between players and manager and between the players themselves. There was a divided group between the Robin van Persie camp and Wesley Sniejder camp. Allegedly one group wanted to play football a certain way and another group wanted to play a different style of football. 

When a sad and disappointed Gregory van Der Weil spoke to the media following Holland’s elimination, he mentioned how his teammates shunned him on the pitch  and did not allow him to play to his strengths and that his relationship with his teammates was disastrous. Additionally, it was alleged that a member of the Oranje staff told Huntelaar to zip it or face getting thrown out of the team's hotel.

Unfortunately for all of us Oranje fans, the team’s amazing run to the 2010 World Cup final affected the players’ psyche. I guess the players forgot that they lost that final to Spain but their performance in the qualifiers leading up to Euro 2012 showed us that this team was confident and courageous. However, when Euro 2012 kicked off, the old habit of players’ egos getting in the way of the team reared its ugly head again.

What makes this more saddening is that eventual champions, Spain, faced similar divisions in their team. Yet, the Barça and Madrid players set their differences aside and thought of only one thing; representing their country as one united team. Which begs the question, why couldn’t the Oranje players do the same thing? Was it poor leadership by the veteran leaders? Why didn’t the manager come in and nip this issue in the bud?

Manager is also to blame.

Speaking of the manager, some of the blame has to be pointed at him. He dropped the ball in a major way when he obviously lost control and respect of some of his players. That happens to some of the best of them. However, he could have also taken control and made all the players realize that the wrong of their ways. Del Bosque had no problem making the Spanish players patch things up for the good of the team and their country. Bert van Marwijk could have tried the same.

However, he fouled things up with his tactics and lineups. I never considered van Persie as an important player for the Oranje. If people think Messi underachieved for Argentina, then what do you say about van Persie’s performances for Holland? He played hurt in World Cup 2010 and after a superb season for Arsenal, he could not carry that form for Holland last month.

I was a firm believer that Huntelaar should have started ahead of van Persie in Euro 2012. Huntelaar started the majority of the qualifiers and did a superb job on scoring a huge tally of goals for the Oranje. It seemed like the team had a perfect system. Nevertheless, the manager opted to use van Persie over Huntelaar for the first two games and when he started both in the final group match against Portugal; it allowed Holland to suffer defensively.

Speaking of suffering defensively, it was no secret that Holland needed help in the back four prior to the start of World Cup 2010. The manager had had two years to improve the back line.  Holland was in dire need of strong center backs and a left full back. Sadly, he opted to experiment and play players out of position. As they say, the rest is history. As journalist Ernst Bouwes said, Roel Brouwers of Borussia Mönchengladbach was voted, alongside Mats Hummels as center backs in the Kicker XI of the Season, yet he was not even selected.

It didn’t take long for the KNVB to fire van Marwijk. Even though he was the first manager to guide the country to a final for the first time since Rinus Michels, he completely lost the plot two years later. One poll had a majority of 57% voters believing that he should be removed as manager while 43% believe in keeping him for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Unfortunately, the sport of football can be a cruel one where you are more remembered for your most recent disaster than you are remembered for your great achievements, i.e., Frank Rijkaard with FC Barcelona.

Of course, Rijkaard’s was among the many names thrown out by the media as possible replacements to manage Holland along with Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Frank de Boer, Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal, Co and Adriaanse.  Frank de Boer seems destined to be the next Oranje manager but that is only after he has completed his project with Ajax Amsterdam. He seems to have the pedigree to do it and if he can have the likes of Bergkamp, Kim Jonk and twin brother Ronald de Boer on his staff, then hopefully the 90’s stars can show the current and future Oranje players on how it can go all wrong when a team is divided and how to overcome those issues to become a great team again.

Sadly, the KNVB opted to give the job to Louis van Gaal again. I thought he was only suited for club football and disagree with this appointment.  The pain of Holland failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup still stings to this day and I am not sure he is the right man for the job. How can you trust a manager who allows someone like Lucio to walk away and opt to start Demichelis instead?

A lot can happen in two years. Euro 2012 is living proof of how things can go sour real quick. Let’s hope the Oranje players learned a stern lesson from this humiliating experience and regroup for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But first things first, let’s hope van Gaal can steer them to qualification first and not suffer a repeat of the same fate that he experienced in the run up to the 2002 World Cup.

Hup Holland as always.

Has Hiddink's Magic Worn Out?

On November 15, 2011, Dutchman Guus Hiddink's fate as the Turkish national team manager was sealed after his side drew 0-0 with Croatia and thus ending their pursuit of qualifying for Euro 2012 thanks to a 3-0 home loss in the first leg. Hiddink was gone a few days later and is now free to coach elsewhere. However, not much have gone his way since Euro 2008. In a span of four year, Hiddink has gone from miracle worker to a slight disappointment. Has Hiddink's magic worn out or does it only work outside of Europe?

I still consider him to be the second best manager Holland ever had after the great Rinus Michels. His first tournament,Euro 96, ended in bitter disappointment after falling to the French national team in a shoot out and somewhat controversial fashion which was also blown out of proportion after Edgar Davids was dismissed from the team. His successfully managed Holland to the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup where they would suffer yet another elimination from a penalty shoot out against Brazil . He would step down afterwards and Holland would go on to lose in yet another semi-finals in Euro 2000 against Italy where wasted chances from the penalty spot would haunt this team for four more years before they put those demons to rest when they defeated Sweden in Euro 2004.

Meanwhile, Hiddink continued to work his magic. His next job was coaching South Korea. He helped South Korea capture their first ever win at a World Cup after failing to do so in their last five straight World Cup appearances. He also guided South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup with the aid of lady luck.  Much of his experience in South Korea was detailed in the book "Going Dutch" which provided insight in how changed the way football was run in that country. South Korea ended their magical ride with a fourth place finish under Hiddink and they did manage to qualify for the knockout rounds this past World Cup.

Hiddink returned to Holland to coach PSV Eindhoven. He had great success with PSV back in the late 80's including the Champions League trophy in 1988. He second stint was just as successful although he encounter his "Semi-Finals" jinx when Milan eliminated PSV in the Champions League in the final seconds. Hiddink was on a roll where everything he touched resulted in success.

He then managed to do what was deemed impossible after he managed Australia to the 2006 World Cup for the first time since Stephen King published his first novel under his own name. He then got them to advance to the first knock out stage before falling to eventual champions Italy. He continued to surprise everybody when he took the role of Russian national team manager. He helped Russia end their international tournament drought since Euro 96 when Russia qualified for Euro 2008.

Their twelve year wait to return to the big stage started off with a crushing loss to eventual champions Spain but they finished second in the group stage. This set the stage for Hiddink's biggest challenge; facing his home country Holland in the Quarter-Finals. Once again, Hiddink managed to surprise the world when the Russian defeated Holland in extra time. Unfortunately, Hiddink's team would fall in another semi-final when Spain routed his side 3-0.

With the Russians coming so close to making it to the Euro 2008 Cup final, many considered Russia qualifying for the 2010 World Cup was a mere formality. However, 2009 would be a tough year for Hiddink. Hiddink was appointed as Chelsea's manager in February and managed to win the FA Cup but fell to my beloved Barcelona in the memorable and, to some, still controversial fashion in yet another semi-finals. He was sharing duties with Russian team and was grouped with Euro 2008 finalists, Germany. Hiddink's side finished second to Germany and thus had to play in a playoff to qualify for World Cup 2010.

Russia's opponents were Slovenia and again, many expected Russia to advance. Unfortunately, Russia's 2-1 first leg result would not be enough as they lost away 1-0 to Slovenia in November of 2009 and thus were eliminated by away goals rule. Hiddink left the Russian manager seat and took the challenging position of being the Turkish national team manager back on June 2010. Once again, he would get grouped with Germany and once again, his side would finish second.

Thus, Hiddink was back in another set of playoff qualifiers set in November. This time, Turkey's chances of advancing were not so concrete when they were drawn to face Croatia. Sadly, the first leg ended with Turkey suffering a 3-0 defeat at home and thus, their chances in overturning this result in Croatia were slim. Turkey played to a scoreless draw in the second leg and thus Hiddink had to suffer the bitter taste of elimination via November playoffs. Hiddink was out as coach of the Turkish national team.

So Hiddink is available for hire. The problem is, is he bankable anymore? He went from being known as the manager who you never bet on when he's in the semi-finals to a manager who has come up short in qualifying for a major international tournament twice. I still think he has some magic left in him and don't believe he was cursed when he became Chelsea's manager. I think he paid the price for Russian players' lack of focus but the Turkey failure is on him.

So what's next for Hiddink? Talk of him going into the sporting manager/ director roles seem rampant with Ajax and Chelsea already being rumored to be interested in obtaining his services. Personally, I think he still has some magic left in him. I think Hiddink can work his magic outside of Europe. I stated in the past that he should have been considered for the US national team position since he expressed how much he enjoyed playing and living in the US back in the late 70's. I wouldn't mind seeing him try to coach a team from Africa too, especially how some of those countries have done in the youth international competitions which is something that Hiddink likes to focus on when he coaches a national team.

No one knows what lies ahead but I sure wouldn't mind seeing Hiddink coach USA or Nigeria. I think the man still has some magic left in him. Everyone goes through a bad spell and Hiddink escaping Europe would probably be best for him. I still wouldn't mind him coaching Holland in the future if Bert van Marwijk changes his mind and steps down after Euro 2012. Hopefully Hiddink can overcome that semi-finals jinx if he does get that far. That alone should be a factor for him to pursue a career in coaching. Only time will tell.