Orange Revolution
On February 7, our team will face off with one of the most promising and at the same time mysterious national teams in Europe. With a team whose time has not come yet, but whose potential is beyond doubt.
When the summer of 2004, the Dutch national team was headed by the famous Marco van Basten, he immediately carried out revolutionary transformations. Generational change begs: the old guard, brought up in Ajax and PSV of the 90s, is approaching a critical age. Someone from the elders left himself, someone was swept out of the national team by the Vanbasten broom. In their place came impudent youth - there are still plenty of talents in the Land of Tulips. Since then, for the third year now, the Dutch have been slowly but surely moving in the direction outlined by van Basten. What the “orange evolution” will lead to, time will tell.
At the World Cup, the Dutch laid down their arms in the 1/8 finals, losing to the Portuguese. Assessing this result, St. Marco (so often called van Bastin in his homeland) put his charges “7” on a 10-point scale. In addition, the coach said that the German championship is just an interim result on the way to Euro 2008. These words irritated a significant part of fans and specialists. But in principle, it’s hard to blame the coach for the wrong - the Dutch team in Germany clearly did not have enough experience.
However, the coach himself “orange” experienced players do not always favor. Evil languages say that especially those who have all their opinions that do not coincide with the coaching. Before the start of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, van Basten received a fair amount of criticism, abandoning midfielder Mark van Bommel and striker Rud van Nistelrooy. Yes, van Nistelrooy obviously did not succeed in the World Cup, and van Bommel always performed better in clubs than in the national team. Yes, both are more accustomed to 4-4-2, rather than the classic Dutch and professed by van Basten 4-3-3. Yes, both have complex characters and did not always get along even with partners in the team. However, critics believed that such reputable players would bring the “orange” much more benefit.
"I would go to Utrecht ..."
In the Land of Tulips they expect a lot from the national team. And you will not envy the head coach - his every step is considered under a magnifying glass, and any oversight causes a painful reaction. The Dutch are straightforward and frank people. And it is easy to imagine the degree of psychological pressure that befell St. Mark. To verify this, just look into the Dutch press, not sparing sharp assessments. “Van Basten’s activity is an endlessly repeating story that leads nowhere. It seems to me that I’m watching the game not of the national team, but of the second Holland team. And I wouldn’t be surprised if I knew that Marco regrets that he harnessed when something into this cart, ”Johan Derksen, editor-in-chief of the authoritative weekly Voetbal International, wrote in the fall. The colleague Peter Wecking echoes the venerable journalist: “Our team has too much mediocrity and too little international class. Van der Sar, the prodigy of van Persie, possesses it, and even Snyder is rapidly progressing. But this is not enough ...” In general, it is not in vain that the relationship between the proud and not always adequately perceiving van Basten criticism with the press leaves much to be desired.
The spiteful critics weren’t even happy that after more than a two-year break, Van Basten returned in November to the Clarence Seedorf team. The player of “Milan” spent on the field the whole friendly match with the British. Here is the opinion of the same Derksen: “Seedorf was not in the preliminary composition of the team, and suddenly he was called out for no reason. It would be better if Van Basten often went to his native Utrecht and watched the games of the Dutch“ eredivisie ”, where there are many worthy candidates instead of Seedorf, in fact, Snyder was supposed to play, who was surprised to learn from television that he was injured ... " However, the attitude to the wayward stubborn Clarence, with all his club merits in the Netherlands, has always been very controversial. And it is not clear whether the black Milanese has a chance to gain a foothold in the national team again.
Time for the Hunter
Criticism of van Basten is heard, despite the fact that in the qualifying tournament of the European Championship, where the Dutch ended up in a predominantly Balkan company with Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Albania, Belarus and Luxembourg, they are not aware of serious problems. The first place after four rounds gives excellent chances for a ticket to Austria and Switzerland. Many people put on this tournament in the Netherlands, including Van Basten himself, who recently stated that his team has good chances to repeat the legendary triumph at Euro 88 twenty years later. As you know, the leader of that gold team was Marco himself ...
Both supporters and opponents of van Basten do not deny that the potential of his wards is enormous. In general, the Dutch land gives birth to talented football players in some cycles. The generation that came into being in the early 70s, for many years constituted the backbone of the "orange", but from 1977 to 1982 in the Land of Tulips was a crop failure for future stars.
However, then everything returned to normal. And it is precisely on the players of the 83-86th birthday that Van Basten makes a bet today. Which is not at all surprising, given that last year a team of precisely this age brought Holland the gold of the European Youth Championship. Note, speaking without almost a dozen (!) Football players, suitable for age, but drafted into the adult team: van Persie, van der Wart, Hayting, Snyder, de Jong, Robben, Babel, Maduro ...
Urby Emanuelson, a fast-moving left-back Ajax defender, his teammate striker Klas-Jan Huntelar, nicknamed The Hunter, has already moved from the golden “youth team” to the first team (this season Hunter shoots differently than in the past, but this does not interfere with the richest European clubs to hunt for him), as well as midfielders from Alkmaar Stein Shars and Demi de Zeuv.
Promising - not forever
However, the presence of talent does not mean that the young football player will grow into a real star. In Holland they know how to promote young and early. But often the pupils of the famous Ajax “De Tucomst” and other academies, after a series of successful meetings proclaimed stars and invited to the team, are subsequently stewed. The status of “ever-promising” threatens 23-year-old Johnny Heiting, although van Basten trusts him and regularly invites him to the national team. One of the brakes in development came from the Antilles Hedviges Maduro.
At one time, Wesley Snyder’s game was causing similar concerns, but this season it sparkled with new colors. Few doubts that in the summer Snyder would go for legionnaire bread - he could easily have done it in 2006, too, but Wesley’s wife was about to give birth, and in that situation the footballer did not want to change the situation.
Could not yet fully realize himself and was considered three or four years ago the most talented player of the generation Rafael van der Warth. Playing for Ajax, the son of a Dutchman and a Spanish woman devoted too much energy to social life and other non-football affairs. Now settled down, married the famous TV presenter Sylvia Mays. But injuries do not give Rafael peace, and he was not lucky with the current club - Hamburg is fighting for survival in the Bundesliga.
But Robin van Persie, who until recently was considered a “problem child” of the Dutch, grew up, gained experience in the Arsenal under the close supervision of Arsene Wenger and is now considered one of the undisputed leaders of the team. Like Arjen Robben from Chelsea, moving to the leading teams of the English Premier League clearly benefits the young Dutch.
In short, beyond the edges of the attack, traditionally key positions in the scheme of the game of “orange”, you can not worry. Well, and in the center of the attack, the Dutch have unsurpassed hard workers - be it Huntelaar, whom his people know is called a “fanatically devoted soccer man”, or Dirk Kate, not the most gifted, but surprisingly efficient fighter from Liverpool, who was not in vain during the championship World Dutch fans recognized as the most popular player in the national team. This player, by the way, is just not called in the Russian-language media: Kate, Kuyt, Kite, Kuyt, Koit ... Dutch learners break their tongues by pronouncing the diphthong "ui", which has no direct Russian counterpart. The Dutch pronounce the surname Dirk roughly as “Kayut” or even “Kayut”. But this is only an approximate option - as if this sound could not be conveyed in Russian letters.
Last chance van der Sarah
Van Basten prefers 4-3-3. And most Dutch observers believe that the mentor is doing the right thing. Here is the opinion of journalist Peter Hanson: “This system is best suited to our football culture. We can import another - say, 4-4-2. But this will only give an advantage to rivals more sophisticated in this tactic. Our system allows us to more carefully control the field, having such flank players as Robben and van Persie, and it’s very unfortunate that he didn’t get a Dutch passport Salomon Kalu. What our forwards lack is support from the depth of field. Therefore, we need to naturalize Jonathan de Guzman as soon as possible. Young midfielder "Feyenoord" could form a balanced attacking fist midfield with van der Vaart and Schaars or Maduro ".
The Dutch quartet of defenders in recent matches looked like this: on the left - van Bronkhorst (or Emanuelson), in the center - Mataisen and Oyer, on the right - Bularuz. Here, according to journalist Hanson, it would not hurt to make adjustments: “Oyer is already 33, he does not shine in the Premier League. I think it’s better to transfer to the center of Bularuz - the Chelsea player at this place feels more comfortable and his connection with Mataisen "You can play for the future. On the right, you can use Ian Kromkamp, whom Van Basten for some reason began to ignore - although this player, having returned to PSV from unsuccessful foreign trips, received constant practice at the club."
At the gates of the “orange” is still unfading Edwin van der Sar - the last of the “Mohicans” of the 90s. By the way, once in the national team he was invited by Hiddink, who led the team in 1994-98. Crown Prince Martin Stekelenburg of Ajax has no choice but to wait in the wings - after Euro 2008, van der Sar will leave the team. In Austria and Switzerland will be his last chance to win a great trophy.
Most of his partners now think that all life is ahead ...
Sergey NIKOLAEV