KNVB Continues Myopic Approach With Van Gaal Pursuit.

 Once again, KNVB had to find a new man to be in charge of the Oranje after Frank de Boer resigned from his post after Euro 2020. Fans wanted the likes of Erik ten Hag and Peter Bosz to be considered but instead, they got the recycled names of Dick Advocaat, Louis van Gaal and even the retired Frank Rijkaard. Well, the KNVB didn’t surprise anyone when rumors came out that they plan on hiring van Gaal for the third time. If true, this means that the KNVB continues their myopic approach of not looking at the big picture and just focusing on the now.

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
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Before we get to the van Gaal hiring, let me do a quick reflection on the Oranje and their disappointing exit from Euro 2020.

I blame Georginio Wijnaldum for being invisible in that loss to the Czech Republic.
I blame Memphis Depay for being so sloppy with his ball control and his passing.
I blame Donyell Malen for missing that golden chance that would have been the opening goal.
I blame Matthijs de Ligt for that boneheaded hand ball play that cost his team dearly.
I blame Frank de Boer for the lineup and clueless substitutions against the Czech Republic.
I blame Jordan Pickford for injuring Virgil van Dijk and costing the Oranje their valuable leader.
I blame the KNVB for hiring Frank de Boer.

I blame Ronald Koeman who left the Oranje to coach Barça. Based on Barça’s disarray, he could have still had a chance to coach the Blaugrana after Euro 2020.

Back on topic, the brief era of Frank de Boer is over and it should never be discussed again. For the third time, van Gaal is allegedly back in charge. Obviously, this hiring was made with the World Cup in mind since it’s around the corner and the Oranje made it all the way to the Semi-Finals in 2014 under van Gaal. However, why do the KNVB continue to recycle previous managers for short term goals and continue to face this situation over and over again?

The Oranje job is a job of short tenure. Four years is the usual life span of a Dutch manager. One has to go back to Bob Glendenning who coached the Oranje for fifteen years, which took place before the second World War. Since then, if one manager made it to four years, he was doing something right. But why is it that the Oranje can’t hang on to their managers? For comparison’s sake. Bobby Robson coached England for eight years. Richard Nielsen coached the Danes for six years and Morten Olsen coached them for 15 years. Joachim Löw just finished a 15-year stint coaching the Germans, although he should have been fired after World Cup 2018. Meanwhile, Óscar Tabarez is still coaching Uruguay and he’s been in charge since 2006. So why can’t the Oranje find their Óscar Tabarez?

I always wondered why the legend, Rinus “The General” Michels did not stay in charge from 1986 until 1994 and then step down for Guus Hiddink. Michels just guided the Oranje to Euro 88 success and then stepped down to manage Bayer Leverkusen, where he didn’t even last a season. Did Michels do it for financial reasons or did he miss coaching at the club level again? Nevertheless, Michels was back coaching the Oranje at Euro 92 before stepping down for the final time. Imagine though if he had remained in charge from 1986 until 1994, especially during the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

It’s no secret that coaching the national team is not in the interest of a young manager. Young managers want to coach at the club level and deem the national team job as something to do towards the end of their coaching career. So, don’t expect the likes of Erik ten Hag and Peter Bosz to take over the Oranje when they are still employed and sought after by clubs, which involves a day to day operation, unlike the national team where the games are scarce and not much happens in between except traveling to fixtures to scout players. It also doesn’t help that it’s never easy managing Dutch players since they tend to be very opinionated, and, as we saw in Euro 96 and Euro 2012, their egos can be divisive to the detriment of the team.

The KNVB’s biggest dilemma is that they lack a long-term vision. There is no structure and it doesn’t help that managers either resign or get fired. Things have to change or else we will continue to witness the ineptness continue to prevail as it has over the years. After World Cup 2022, the Oranje need to find their Oscar Tabarez and allow him to remain in charge for many years. Furthermore, the revamp should also consist of making sure the youth teams also follow the style of the first team. The system and formation should be the same from top to the bottom in the Netherlands setup which would allow the youth players to transition to the first team without any confusion or adjustments.

Yet, in order to achieve this plan, the Oranje need to find someone who is willing to stay in charge for at least eight years. Is Ronald Koeman the one when, and not if, Barcelona fire him? Or perhaps is it time to hire a foreign manager for the first time since the Austrian Ernst Happel coached the Oranje at World Cup 1978? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and yet, the Oranje have continued to show us just how true that is with their constant coaching musical chairs over the years. Enough is enough and it’s time for KNVB to stop being myopic and use some insight to plan ahead.

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.

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.