Category Archives: Holland

A National Team Without a Country

“The 18 Eritrean refugees arrived in this picturesque, blue-collar Dutch city 20 miles east of Rotterdam earlier this month looking for safety, security and, finally, after 18 months of fear and uncertainty in two refugee camps on two continents, a home. Refugees are not an uncommon sight in the Netherlands. More than 500 are granted legal status every year in the country’s municipalities, towns and cities, often in groups of two or three, though a huge number of economic migrants arrive, many illegally.” NY Times

UFWC World Cup Classics: Argentina vs Netherlands, 1978

“The Netherlands had beaten Italy 2-1 to reach their second consecutive World Cup final, and to deprive the Italians of the UFWC title. Dutch defender Ernie Brandts had scored for both sides in that game, with Arie Haan getting the winner. The Oranje were looking impressive despite the fact that they were without star man Johan Cruyff, who had stayed at home to consider his priorities following an alleged kidnap attempt on his family. The hugely experienced Dutch team still featured the likes of Jonny Rep, Johan Neeskens, big keeper Jan Jongbloed, and troublesome twins Willy and Rene Van der Kerkhof.” UFWC

2014 Fifa World Cup draw: Guide to Group B

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Sergio Ramos
“Gary Lineker’s verdict. … Style & formation: Spain’s possession game, coupled with their determination to quickly win the ball when they don’t have it, has been wearing down the opposition for over seven years. Spain typically play 4-3-3, with full-backs Jordi Alba and Alvaro Arbeloa attacking like wingers and centre backs Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique often joining in play beyond the halfway line. Strikers only tend to enter the box at the last minute for the element of surprise.” BBC – Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

World Cup watch: Mario Balotelli, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ukraine crisis

Police Battle Protesters in Kiev as Crisis in Ukraine Deepens
“The World Cup in Brazil is only 95 days away, with the opening match between Brazil and Croatia taking place in Sao Paulo on 12 June. BBC Sport, with the help of European football expert Andy Brassell, is taking a weekly look at happenings from across the world of football and what impact they could have on the tournament in the summer.” BBC

Wednesday’s friendlies: What we learned

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“The final international break of the season produced some interesting results, and perhaps more importantly, offered a few hints about how major contenders might play in Brazil. Here are four conclusions from the week’s matches…” ESPN – Michael Cox (Video)

Football violence: a view from around the world

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Spartak Moscow fans displaying a Nazi flag during a game at Shinnik Yaroslavl.
“Brazil: violence around games on the rise. Brazil ends 2013 with a record in football violence deaths. It was a miracle that nobody died in the festival of thuggery that took place on 8 December at the Atlético Paranaense v Vasco de Gama match in Joinville, during the last round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, whose shocking images were beamed all around the world. That, however, did not prevent Brazilian football finishing its 2013 season with the saddest of milestones: the 30 deaths in football-related incidents this year is the highest number in the history of the game in the country. What’s more worrying is that fatal cases have been rising steadily in the past few years. …” Guardian

World Cup – and outbreak of supporter violence – link Brazil and Russia
“In six months’ time the World Cup will land in the home of joga bonito clad in a Fifa-approved wrapping of sun, sea and samba. But the dark side of the beautiful game in Brazil was in evidence earlier this month, when images of running battles between fans of Atlético Paranaense and Vasco da Gama shocked the watching world. The game was being held at a neutral ground in Joinville due to previous clashes between fans of the two clubs, but within 10 minutes Globo was broadcasting close-up footage of supporters repeatedly stamping on the heads of their rivals and chasing one another around the stadium bowl. Following a long interregnum, the fighting was eventually broken up by armed security firing rubber bullets into the crowds and an army helicopter landing on the pitch, but not before several fans were seriously injured.” Guardian

2014 Fifa World Cup: Gary Lineker’s guide to the eight seeds

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“England have been drawn in Group D for the 2014 World Cup, meaning they will face seeded team Uruguay as well as Italy and Costa Rica. Hosts Brazil are in Group A, reigning world and European champions Spain are in Group B and three-time champions Germany are in Group G. Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, speaking before the draw was made, takes a closer look at the eight seeded national teams…” BBC

Celtic churn out mature Champions League win over Ajax

“The 2-1 victory over Ajax was achieved not as the result of a vintage performance by Celtic but one that reeked of Champions League know-how. Where last season Neil Lennon’s inexperienced side failed to defeat a very beatable Benfica team in their first outing, this time round they churned out a win that gives them genuine hope of repeating last year’s feat of reaching the last 16. Lennon may have lost the services of enormously important players like Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper since the last campaign, but there are increasing signs that, on this stage, Celtic now have a maturity that might yet compensate for the loss of such talent.” BBC

World Cup Qualifying: Standings and scenarios for Tuesday’s games

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“World Cup dreams will be realized, dashed or deferred on Tuesday as qualifying continues around the globe. On the home front, the U.S. booked passage to Brazil last month and then clinched first place in CONCACAF’s Hexagonal with Friday’s 2-0 win over Jamaica. The only thing left to play for on Tuesday night in Panama is a seed next summer. Unfortunately for Jurgen Klinsmann and Co., chances are slim. The top seven sides in next month’s FIFA ranking (beside Brazil) will be anointed. According to ESPN statistican Paul Carr, the U.S. would have to defeat Panama while the Netherlands loses at Turkey, Switzerland loses to Slovenia, Poland ties or beats England, Ecuador ties or beats Chile and Uruguay misses out on qualifying altogether. Here’s a summary of what’s at stake elsewhere. Ties in group play are broken by goal differential in all games, goals scored in all games and then assorted head-to-head criteria.” SI

World Cup qualifiers: Romelu Lukaku sends Belgium to Brazil

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“Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Belgium beat Croatia 2-1 to secure their place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Striker Lukaku, on loan at Everton from Premier League rivals Chelsea, scored twice in the first half, with Niko Kranjcar grabbing a late consolation. Belgium were joined by Germany and Switzerland in qualifying for next year’s tournament. Germany defeated the Republic of Ireland 3-0, while Switzerland won 2-1 in Albania.” BBC

FC Barcelona 4-0 AFC Ajax: Player Ratings

“A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona’s 4-0 UEFA Champions League win over AFC Ajax at the Camp Nou” Barca Blaugranes

Barcelona v Ajax and a philosophical line that stretches back to 1872

“In 1872 a decision was taken that changed football forever, and that would have a major bearing on Wednesday’s Champions League meeting between Barcelona and Ajax. The Scotland team, all of whom were drawn from the Queen’s Park club, looked at the England side they were about to meet in the first ever football international and, realising their opponents were on average over a stone a man heavier than they were, resolved not to engage in the dribbling and charging game that had been prevalent until then, but to pass the ball and keep it away from the English. The tactic was a resounding success: Scotland had the better of a goalless draw and the possession game was born.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Bojan still struggling to find his feet

“It certainly isn’t the group of death; it’s not even the second-most exciting group in this season’s Champions League. But there was something rather magical about Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax and Celtic — four previous European Cup winners — being drawn together in Group H. Even before Celtic, from the fourth pot, were drawn alongside their more illustrious opponents, the three other sides together already provided an intriguing group. There’s the ideological link between Barcelona and Ajax, and past finals between Barca and Milan (1994) and Ajax and Milan (1995).” ESPN – Michael Cox

The great European Cup teams: Ajax 1971-73

“It’s difficult now, given the city’s reputation for liberalism and excess to imagine Amsterdam in the years following the second world war. It was a dull, staid place where, as Albert Camus wrote in the Fall, published in 1955, ‘for centuries, pipe smokers have been watching the same rain falling on the same canal’.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

PSV 2-3 Ajax: Eriksen’s influence helps Ajax attack down the wings

“Ajax recorded a crucial victory over their major rivals for the league title. Frank De Boer brought Christian Poulsen into the side in the holding role, meaning Lasse Schone moved out to the right in place of Derk Boerrigter, who was on the bench. Dick Advocaat left out Tim Matavz, with Dries Mertens returning to the side on the left flank, and Jeremain Lens playing as the primary striker. In terms of quality, this match was underwhelming – neither played their best football.” Zonal Marking

Sneijder confident in taking road less traveled to Turkey

“Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch national team captain, was on the phone from Istanbul, and I asked him something that had never entered my mind until this week: Is it realistic to think Galatasaray could win the UEFA Champions League? The Turkish club may be the most intriguing team in world soccer right now after pulling off a double-stunner in the past week to acquire Sneijder and Ivory Coast star striker Didier Drogba. Sneijder chuckled a little bit at the question. He has won a Champions League, after all, with Inter Milan in 2009-10, and he knows how hard it is to raise the most important trophy in world club soccer. But doing it with Galatasaray?” SI

Champions League group stage approaching a climactic finish

“This has been one of the most memorable Champions League group stages in history, and Matchday Five will be a pivotal moment for several big clubs. It could see the elimination of champions from England, Holland, Russia, Portugal, and Italy, while reigning champion Chelsea has a nerve-wracking away game to negotiate too. The previous Matchdays have provided late drama, superb goals, surprising shocks and stars of the future. Here are some storylines to watch from Matchday Five…” SI

The Question: why are more goals being scored?

Athletic Bilbao coach Marcelo Bielsa
“A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of goals. They’re everywhere – in every competition, in every country, in every stadium (apart from games involving Sunderland). Four-goal leads are regularly obliterated (Angola v Mali, Newcastle v Arsenal, Germany v Sweden, Arsenal v Reading). Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Radamel Falcao break goalscoring records every week. Everybody attacks, all the time. In the top flights of England, France and Spain, there has been a clear upward trend in the numbers of goals scored per game over the past decade. Last season, for the first time ever, the knockout stage of the Champions League yielded more than three goals per game and that has continued into this season’s group stage, with 3.03 goals per game. And even in Italy and Germany, where goals per game have remained relatively constant for 10 years, this season is showing above average numbers of goals.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

How English game of pace and power benefits from European precision
“More passes, less ‘hoofs’ from back to front, and a slicker goalscoring rate: the Premier League has become a more technical “continental” competition that is a fusion of English pace and power and European subtlety. These are the implications of statistics from Opta that chart a shift over the past five years from a direct approach to a more patient game that now features greater precision in passing and finishing. The national team continue to see little benefit from this evolution, with experts citing the prime factors as the influx of foreign players and coaches, better club pitches and training facilities, a clampdown on tackling and the influence of a Champions League dominated by Barcelona’s carousel-passing style.” Guardian

Spain’s streak ends, Belgium stays hot in Euro World Cup qualifying

“It was an incredible night of drama in the European World Cup qualifiers as Spain and Germany both conceded dramatic last-minute equalizers to end winning streaks. Meanwhile Belgium continued its positive run of form, while question marks remain over the future of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Here is a wrap of Tuesday’s European World Cup qualifiers…” SI

A Barcelona Expert On Why Mourinho Is The Special One

José Mourinho
“Modern football has produced many greats on the pitch but few off it. The casual football fan may be more familiar with Argentine genius, Diego Armando Maradona, his Brazilian counterpart, Edison Arantes do Nascimento, or as he is better known, Pelé, or Dutch master Hendrik Johannes Cruijff alias Johan Cruyff. Though they have hanged up the football boots decades ago, their names still resonates with football fans worldwide. The majority of younger football fans have never seen Pelé, Johan Cruyff or Maradona live, due to being handicapped by not being alive during their respective era, but their parents had the privilege to have witnessed some of the greatest footballers of all time.” Sabotage Times

Russia, England under scrutiny as World Cup qualifying resumes

Xabi Alonso, Franck Ribery, quarterfinal match
“1. Capello faces crunch match against Portugal. It’s far too early to call it a crisis, but for all the money that Russian football has lavished on players and coaches this summer, there has been precious little return — yet. The country’s two Champions League representatives, Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow, are both pointless after two group games (despite Zenit spending €80 million on Hulk and Axel Witsel and Spartak playing Celtic at home), and now attention turns to the national team, World Cup hosts in 2018.” SI

Why Cruyff Boycotted Argentina 78

“The world cup of Argentina 78 has left a Proustian imprint on my memory. It was the first tournament I had watched in color. My mother had managed to scrape up the deposit on a color TV to replace the archaic black & white set and a whole new world was opened up to me. The color TV was rented to us by a company called Telebank. The TV ran on a meter that you fed with fifty pence pieces and at the end of the month the collector would call and take out the hire fee. Any amount over the hire fee was refunded to you, so in a strange way, you were actually rewarded by the amount of hours of television you watched.” Sabotage Times

The Secrets Behind The Success Of Dutch Football

“The Netherlands are not only known for their tulips, clogs, windmills and marijuana. When you think of Holland and football, you think of Total Football, Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and, more recently, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Robin van Persie. The country is known for producing talented and skilful football players that are among world’s best. One of the core reasons Holland produces so many talents is the excellent organisation of youth football from which other countries can learn a lot.” Sabotage Times

Everton reverses trend with superb start to Premier League season

“Everton goes into this weekend in third place in the Premier League (ahead of West Bromwich Albion on goal difference!) and playing some of the nicest soccer around. Does David Moyes not know it is still only September? It’s been five years since his side had 10 points from the opening five games, with Everton renowned for split seasons that start badly and end well since at least 2005-06, when the Toffees lost the first three European fixtures and the domestic ties that followed them. It took an injury-time winner from Tim Cahill against Sunderland (and against the run of play) on New Year’s Eve to turn a tide that threatened to carry the club to the second tier.” SI

UEFA World Cup qualifying: Spain wins opener; England ties Ukraine

“World Cup champion Spain defeated Georgia 1-0 on an 86th-minute goal by Roberto Soldado on Tuesday, the first step by the Spaniards on their road to the 2014 World Cup. This was the 23rd consecutive victory in qualifying matches for Spain, which has three points in Group I and is tied with Georgia. Spain is attempting to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive major title after repeating as European champion this summer.” SI

Holland: preview of the 2012-13 season

“In a bid to clinch their first national title since 2008 – and, more importantly in financial terms, qualify for the Champions League after four consecutive years away – PSV have brought Dick Advocaat and Mark Van Bommel back to Eindhoven.” World Soccer

Feyenoord 0 –1 Dinamo Kiev: Offensive intentions fall just short

“Despite their offensive intentions, Feyenoord fell just short of their target. In a match that proved quite open, both teams had their chances, but Feyenoord could just as well have pulled this one off. Returning to the 4-3-3 formation brought Feyenoord a handful of chances that just didn’t fell their way. Overall, Kiev sealed a bleak performance with an injury time goal.” 11 tegen 11

The Best Football Shirts of Euro 2012

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“Spain reigned supreme on the pitch, but which nation stole the sartorial show? Euro 2012 was a tame tourney for football kits when compared to some of the shock shirts of years past, but still had its fair share of gems which we will see again soon when World Cup 2014 qualifying begins this fall. And remember, all these shirts and more, including new Premier League releases for 2012-13, are available through epltalk.com.” EPL Talk

Devaluing the Euros

“After just over three weeks of football, the world’s second biggest football tournament has played out in front of our eyes in Poland and Ukraine. Sixteen of Europe’s best teams have competed in thirty nine games to determine who would win the Henri Delaunay and join the likes of France, Holland, Denmark, West Germany, Greece and Spain in being crowned the champions of European Football. A few weeks before the tournament the bookies suggested that you should look no further than 2008 champions Spain for the winner of the tournament and when Iker Casillas elbowed Platini out of the way to lift the trophy they proved that class and form were both well judged.” The Ball is Round

Internal strife forces Blanc, Van Marwijk to pay ultimate price

“The end of a major tournament often brings a rash of coaching changes. Euro 2012 has been no different. Some, like Franciszek Smuda (Poland), Dick Advocaat (Russia) and Slaven Bilic (Croatia) already were at the end of their contracts — but Laurent Blanc and Bert van Marwijk, who coached France and Holland, respectively, were two surprise coaching casualties following Euro 2012.” SI

ZM’s team of Euro 2012

Iker Casillas, Spain
“Iker Casillas, Spain. This wasn’t a tournament of particularly fine individual goalkeeping displays, but the best two goalkeepers of the tournament – and of the century – met as captains in the final. Until the, there was nothing to separate Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, but after Casillas made a fine save from Di Natale and prompted Spain’s second goal with a good ball out to Alba, he must get the nod. …” Zonal Marking

Oranje Crushed: Why did the Dutch fail at Euro 2012?

“Along with Spain and Germany, the Dutch were pre-tournament favourites, but they went home with three losses out of three games and exit Euro 2012 along with the Irish as the only teams to have gained zero points for their efforts in Poland & Ukraine. The question has been on everyone’s lips since the opening match loss to Denmark: where did it all go wrong? Losing 1-0 to a defensively strong Danish side who were also unlucky to go out in the group stages was not the end of the world, but in the Group of Death it meant that the Oranje would have to get results against a good team in Portugal and the best team (aside from Spain) in Germany.” AFR

The Reducer: Euro 2012 Final Retro Diary

“When it was over, when Fernando Torres was wearing a look on his face that said, ‘Holy shit! I won the Golden Boot!?’ I didn’t want them to leave. I didn’t want it to be over. It had been a month, but it felt like it was just beginning. Some countries wait generations to win a major football tournament. Spain, for instance, waited 44 years. Then the right generation came along. On Sunday, Spain defeated a valiant, gassed Italy, 4-0, in Kiev, to win Euro 2012. They have now won two consecutive European championships and are the World Cup holders. They are the first team to ever successfully defend their European Championship. Spain’s victory on Sunday marked the third time they won the Euros. The only other country to pull off that feat is West Germany. In terms of accomplishments, this Spanish side can only be compared to the Brazil team, led by a young Pele, that won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962, or the early ’70s West Germany team that won the Euros in 1972, the World Cup in ’74, and placed as runners-up to Czechoslovakia in Euro ’76.” Grantland (Video)

Spain sheds ‘boring’ charges in Euro 2012 final, with Italy’s help
“Everything in football is relative. How one team plays is necessarily conditioned by how the opponent plays. When Spain was accused of being boring, the response was always that it was very hard for it not to be when opponents packed men behind the ball. Italy didn’t, and Spain showed just how unboring it could be, its 4-0 win the largest margin of victory in a European Championship or World Cup final. Spain’s game plan, essentially, was a game of chicken — and it never blinked first. When opponents sat deep against it — and in the past two tournaments only Chile and Italy have not — Spain held the ball.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Euro 2012: Perfect Spain justify Vicente del Bosque’s beliefs
“Playing without a defined striker remains a relatively novel concept but Vicente del Bosque was actually returning to Plan A. After unsuccessful attempts to incorporate a proper No9 into his side Del Bosque reverted to his initial system of six midfielders and Spain became the first side to win the European Championship by using the same XI in their opening game and the final.” Guardian – Michael Cox

Friedrich Nietschze Reflects Upon the European Championships
“We are honored at Futfanatico to welcome Friedrich Nietschze as a visiting scholar, classical philologist, philosopher, and soccer analyst. The German intellectual heavyweight took a break from his grueling publish or perish schedule to answer pressing questions on the European Championships, the gay science, post-nihilist studies, and the final between Italy and Spain. His answers will probably confuse (but may amuse) you.” futfanatico

Spain earns the big prize, but here are my Euro 2012 tourney awards
“Spain ended two debates once and for all with its master-class performance in a sensational 4-0 Euro 2012 final victory against Italy: No, it is not boring to play with six midfielders and no clear center-forward; and yes, it deserves to be called one of the greatest teams of all time after becoming the first side to win three major international tournaments in succession.” SI

The European Cup and the New Europe

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“During international football competitions like the European Cup, eleven players briefly become their country, for a time, on the pitch. A nation is a difficult thing to grasp: unpalpable, mythic, flighty. Historians might labor away to define the precise contours of a country’s culture and institutions, and even sometimes attempt to delineate it’s soul, while political leaders try mightily (and persistently fail) to stand as representatives of it’s ideals. But in a way there is nothing quite so tactile, so real, as the way a team represents a nation: during their time on the pitch, they have in their hands a small sliver of the country’s destiny. And in those miraculous and memorable moments when individual trajectories intersect with a national sporting victory, sometimes biographies and histories seem briefly to meld. At such moments, the players who inhabit the crossroads of sporting and national history –Maradona in 1986, Zidane in 1998 — become icons, even saints.” Soccer Politics

Gavin Hamilton Euro 2012 diary, June 20, Warsaw

“The longer England stay in this tournament, the luckier they get. Last night’s win over Ukraine – the first time England have beaten the hosts at a tournament – included a huge dose of luck, with the match officials refusing to award Ukraine a goal after Marko Devic’s shot was cleared from behind the line by John Terry. However, England demonstrated a spirit and sense of togetherness that was lacking in South Africa.” World Soccer

Portugal 2-1 Holland: van Marwijk makes changes, but Holland crash out with zero points

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“Portugal suffered an early setback, but played better football and fully deserved their win. Paulo Bento kept the same starting XI for the third game in a row. Bert van Marwijk made three changes. In defence, Ron Vlaar replaced Johnny Heitinga in a straight swap. It was further forward where he made significant alterations – Rafael van der Vaart came in for Mark van Bommel in order to add some creativity to the midfield, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar started upfront, meaning Robin van Persie played just behind a and Wesley Sneijder went to the left, the system Holland used at the end of the Germany match. There was a huge contrast in styles here – Holland were a bunch of individuals without any cohesive structure, while Portugal were disciplined, organised and clear with their attacking intentions.” Zonal Marking

Ronaldo answers critics in victory
“The mark of a great player is responding in the face of criticism. An irritated and annoyed Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t hit a barn door against Denmark on Wednesday, but the Ronaldo who vies with Lionel Messi for the tag of best player in the world showed up Sunday in Portugal’s pivotal Group of Death clash with the Netherlands.” ESPN (Video)

Three thoughts: Ronaldo finds form in Portugal’s win over Netherlands
“Here are my three thoughts on Portugal’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in Group B… 1. The Dutch midfield: Finally Bert van Marwijk gave the Dutch public what it wanted, dropped Mark van Bommel and played a holding pair of Nigel De Jong and Rafael van der Vaart. And finally we saw just why Van Marwijk has been so reluctant to go into games without his two dogs of war. It all started extremely well for the Dutch, Van der Vaart showing the positive side of his game as he ran on to an Arjen Robben pass and whipped a finish around Rui Patricio. That showed the advantage of playing him: not only would Van Bommel probably not have been able to produce such an instant, accurate finish, but he wouldn’t even have been that high up the pitch. The two halves of the broken team from the first two matches were suddenly linked. That gave the Dutch a flow and a rhythm but it also left it with a desperately soft center.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Euro 2012: Holland are sent home by Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo
“After all the speculation about the tortured arithmetic that might decide this group, the sums were simple. Germany and Portugal advance. Hope had arrived for Holland in the shape of Rafael van der Vaart’s opening goal, but Cristiano Ronaldo first equalised and then struck the winner in the second half to send his side into a quarter-final meeting with the Czech Republic.” Guardian

A Few thoughts on the German Midfield

“Two goals from Mario Gomez saw the Germans beat their arch-rivals, Netherlands 2-1 to ensure progress to the next round of Euro 2012 (Mathematically they can still be knocked out). The difference between the two sides was clearly felt in the middle of the pitch. Although both sides on paper lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the German double pivot of Khedira and Schweinsteiger were given freedom to go forward where as Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel stayed behind, guarding the Dutch defence.” The False 9

The Reducer: Orange Crushed

“Game of the Week: Germany 2, Holland 1. When the final whistle blew on this Group of B (B is for Death) match, one image in particular kept running through my head. There was Arjen Robben and his crinkled, baby Benjamin Button face, dickishly taking the long way around to the Dutch bench after being substituted for in the 83rd minute. He didn’t try to hype up his teammates, he didn’t shake hands with his sub, Dirk Kuyt, or give a quick man-shake to his manager. Nope, instead he tore off his jersey, parading past the famously passionate, good-traveling Holland fans, looking like a kid who’d just been Tasered while sucking on a lime.” Grantland

Euro 2012 Analysis – Day 1, Groups A, B, C, D

“This is the first piece in our Euro 2012 Analysis series, during which we’ll analyze all the matches based on our FootballrRating score. The app is currently in public beta. Register now to gain access to our match, player, and team analysis.” chimu solutions

Holland 1 -2 Germany: The broken team…

“A match that Holland needed to win in order to keep chances of qualifying to the knock-out stages of Euro 2012 in their own hands, ended in a bitter defeat. Germany had the better of the game, except maybe in the closing stages when Van Marwijk made some changes and Holland bravely, but desperately, chased an equalizer. In the end, Germany thoroughly deserved the victory, based on their tactical superiority and several key German players outperforming their Dutch counterparts.” 11 tegen 11

Germany 2-1 Holland: German flexibility outwits the static Dutch midfield

“The second excellent Group B game of the night, and another encounter decided by superiority in one particular zone. Jogi Löw continued with the same starting XI that defeated Portugal on Saturday. Despite widespread predictions that Holland would change at least one of their front four, Bert van Marwijk’s selection featured only one change, with Ron Vlaar dropping out of the side now Joris Mathijsen was fit to start. Clearly, van Marwijk believed that the majority of Holland’s play against Denmark was good – it was just the finishing that let them down.” Zonal Marking

Germans too strong for the Dutch
“The Netherlands hardly needed extra motivation heading into Wednesday night’s encounter with Germany at the European Championships. The countries have plenty of footballing history between them – as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a friendly between these two nations, let alone in a big tournament. More importantly, the Dutch flopped against Denmark in the Group of Death opener and desperately needed all three points. They didn’t get them, losing to Germany 2-1.” ESPN

Euro 2012: Gomez strikes twice as Germany shred Holland’s nerves
“The European Championship is unremitting. Germany may have been a better-balanced side but the match still tilted when Robin van Persie trimmed the Dutch deficit to 2-1. The score, however, was not to alter further. Germany lead the group with six points but Holland, with none at all, still have some prospect of advancing to the quarter-finals.” Guardian

Gavin Hamilton Euro 2012 diary, Gdansk, June 10

“It was always a little premature to hail Denmark’s victory over Holland’s as proof of a new defensive mood enveloping the European game. First Chelsea win the Champions League, then Denmark provide the tournament’s first shock by keeping a clean sheet against much-fancied Holland.” World Soccer

Denmark 1-0 Holland: Krohn-Dehli goal provides the first surprise of the tournament

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Michael Krohn-Dehli
“Holland had the majority of possession and chances, but Denmark snatched the three points. Morten Olsen chose the XI that was widely expected to start the game, in a rough 4-2-3-1 formation. Bert van Marwijk’s starting selection was also as predicted, with Ron Vlaar in the side to replace the injured Joris Mathijsen. Jetro Willems became the youngest player in European Championship history at left-back.” Zonal Marking

Three Thoughts: Denmark gives the Netherlands more to worry about
“1. The defensive worries for the Dutch were not overstated. The Netherlands created enough chances to win this game twice over. But at the back, things were actually worse than the pessimists had anticipated. Every time Denmark ventured forward in wide positions, the Oranje fullbacks looked vulnerable. The problem was partly due to the two “controllers” — Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong — being too slow to come out to center to cover. But that didn’t excuse the utter sluggishness from Gregory van der Wiel and Jetro Willems in the one-v.-ones against decent, but not exactly stellar, opposition.” SI

Dutch face uphill battle in Group B
“All week long the Dutch have said that nothing less than winning the European Championships will do. If they’re to end a 24-year drought at major tournaments, a drought that belies their immense talent, it’ll have to happen the hard way. After losing 1-0 to Denmark in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Saturday, simply advancing from the Group of Death will take some doing. The mighty Germans are up next and Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk knows it’s a must-win game.” ESPN (Video)

Euro 2012 Day 2: Dutch loss a big story, but don’t overlook the Danes
“There were two things that the managers of Netherlands and Denmark agreed on before the teams met on a clammy Saturday evening in Kharkiv, Ukraine: The Dutch were the favorites, and their players are ‘arrogant in a good way.'” SI

The Reducer: The Big Stories at Euro 2012

Ronaldo
“Euro 2012 kicks off Friday at National Stadium in Warsaw. The producers of the Turin Olympics opening ceremony are in charge of the festivities in Poland, and it has been reported that the tournament will be inaugurated, musically, with a performance of Frédéric Chopin’s Etude in A Minor.” Grantland (YouTube)

Gavin Hamilton Euro 2012 diary: Warsaw, June 8

“Welcome to Warsaw! Euro 2012 is slowly cranking into life after yesterday’s bank holiday in the Polish capital; victory for the hosts over Greece in this evening’s match may be the tonic the tournament needs to capture the imagination of the Polish people.” World Soccer

Euro 2012 previews: general themes

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Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robbe
“Team-by-team previews are on their way later today. But, to save repetition in many articles, here are some general themes based upon recent international tournaments…” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Holland
“After a reputation for playing beautiful football was undermined by Holland’s brutal performance in the 2010 World Cup final, Holland’s strategy in the past two years has been an interesting balancing act – Bert van Marwijk wants to look as if he’s moved on to a more open style of football, but remains reluctant to abandon the structure and functionality that took Holland to the World Cup final in the first place.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Spain
“Spain didn’t win World Cup 2010 through pure tiki-taka. They won because they mixed tiki-taka with different options that brought more directness and urgency to their play.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Germany
“They didn’t win the competition, but Germany hit the greatest heights at World Cup 2010. While Spain embarked on a series of controlled but rather uninspiring 1-0 victories, Germany hit four goals past Australia, England and Argentina.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Czech Republic
“Michal Bilek hasn’t been particularly popular during his time as Czech Republic coach, but he has assembled a well-organised, functional side that mixes experience with youth.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Greece
“Greece aren’t overwhelmingly different from the team that shocked Europe to win Euro 2004. They’re not as extreme in their negativity, and not as effective, but are still broadly defensive and their main threat will come from set-pieces.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Italy
“In many ways, Cesare Prandelli isn’t a typical Italian coach. He’s a highly intelligent man, but one doesn’t think of him as a pure tactician like Marcello Lippi, Giovanni Trapattoni or Fabio Capello. He’s of an Arsene Wenger figure – he wants an overall, attacking philosophy rather than lots of specific tactics, and likes developing young players to suit his footballing identity.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: England
“Roy Hodgson was the right choice as England coach – at least in the short-term – but realistically, you can’t expect a side to play good football when their coach is appointed a month before the tournament.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Croatia
“Of the 16 teams in this competition, Croatia are one of the hardest to define. They seem trapped between a few different ways of playing, and don’t have a specific footballing identity.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Sweden
“For the first time since World Cup 1994, Sweden are at a major international tournament without Lars Lagerback. Now in charge of Iceland, Lagerback was at the helm for so long (first as a joint-coach with Tommy Soderberg, then in sole charge) that his footballing style -organised, defensive – became merged with Sweden’s footballing style, to the point where it was difficult to tell the difference between the two, at least to an outsider.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Denmark
“It’s impossible to think of Denmark at the European Championships without thinking of their astonishing victory 20 years ago. Then, they triumphed at Euro 92 despite not qualifying for the tournament initially…yet they’re even more of outsiders this time around.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Russia
“There are many lessons to take from Spain’s dominance of international football over the past few years, and an important one has been the importance of bringing a solid club connection to international level.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Ireland
“It is a decade since Ireland last qualified for a major international tournament, and the three biggest stars from the 2002 World Cup will represent Ireland again here – Shay Given in goal, Damien Duff on the wing and Robbie Keane upfront.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Portugal
“Such is their habit for producing a certain type of footballer, it rather feels like we’ve encountered a Portugal side with these strengths and weaknesses many times before.” Zonal Marking

Euro 2012 preview: Poland
“Poland come into this tournament with the lowest world ranking of the 16 competitors, but they are certainly not the weakest side in the competition.” Zonal Marking

Spain: Euro 2012 preview

“Spain are the world and European champions. They qualified for this summer’s competition with an eight-wins-from-eight record. They hold the world record for winning 14 competitive games in a row. And they followed up their qualifying campaign with a stunning 5-0 victory in a friendly against Venezuela that showcased them at their very best. Success at Euro 2008 and in South Africa two years later did not just wipe out the past, it provided a road map for the future.” World Soccer – Spain: Euro 2012 preview, Ukraine: Euro 2012 preview, Sweden: Euro 2012 preview, Russia: Euro 2012 preview, Republic of Ireland: Euro 2012 preview, Portugal: Euro 2012 preview, Poland: Euro 2012 preview, Italy: Euro 2012 preview, Holland: Euro 2012 preview, Greece: Euro 2012 preview, Germany: Euro 2012 preview, France: Euro 2012 preview, England: Euro 2012 preview, Denmark: Euro 2012 preview, Croatia: Euro 2012 preview

The history of Ajax from 1945-2012

“It took just three weeks for Dutch football to get back up and running again following the country’s liberation from German occupation. The previous five years had been a harrowing period of time for the country, an experience that had afflicted an immeasurable amount of damage to its inhabitants. The decision to usher the return of football so soon after the conclusion of war was sagacious, as a need to get life back to some form of normality was required.” World Soccer

Euro 2012: The Runners & Riders – Germany

“It is now sixteen years since Germany last won a major international tournament. This (perhaps surprisingly long) period of time hasn’t been without its fair share of pain, but to suggest that this is some sort of drought when when they’ve reached the World Cup final, the World Cup semi-final and the European Championship final in those intervening years would be something of a push. More interestingly, the image of the German national team has been overhauled in recent years. If the old image of the team was built upon the joyless performances of West Germany at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain and could be visualised as the seemingly perpetually growling face of Harald Schumacher, its replacement was perhaps best demonstrated by two fluid and flexible thrashings handed out in successive matches to England and Argentina in the World Cup finals two years ago. This German national team – fallible and invigorating, capable in equal measures of outstanding brilliance and handing out doses of both agony and ecstasy to its supporters – is possibly the most eagerly anticipated of all sixteen competitors at this summers tournament.” twohundredpercent

Euro 2012: The Runners & Riders – Portugal
“It would be a stretch to call Portugal under-achievers, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that they could be considered the nearly men of European international football. This is a country which has periodically come close in recent years to winning a major trophy without actually lifting one, but the development of football in Portugal to even this point has come after decades of being considered a relative backwater in international terms, even though its biggest clubs have been winning trophies at the highest level since the nascent years of pan-continental club football. This summer, however, a fiendish draw and the ongoing suspicion that the team has the unfortunate ability to not live up to the sum of its parts may mean that its involvement in the European Championships could be curtailed early.” twohundredpercent

Euro 2012 – The Runners & Riders: The Netherlands
“With the benefit of hindsight, there seems something inevitable about the crowning of Spain as the world champions in South Africa two years ago. Yet the Netherlands came within minutes of taking the match to a penalty shoot-out and since then have continued the form that they demonstrated, becoming, in August of last year, only the second team in the history of the game to reach number one in FIFAs world rankings without having won the tournament. The Dutch team remains one of the favourites to win this summer’s competition, but the side that fought – in some respects literally – its way to the finals of the World Cup won few friends on the way, and represented something of a break with the in some ways idealistic traditions of the team with its defensive and aggressive system.” twohundredpercent

For the Netherlands

“With relative ease. In Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – a player revitalised since his move to Schalke and the first Dutchman to top the Bundesliga scoring charts – the Dutch had the qualifying campaign’s top scorer. Huntelaar bagged twelve, three more than Miroslav Klose and a mile ahead of the rest, even though he only got two of the 11 the Netherlands put past the hapless San Marino in Eindhoven. Key results were a brace of 1-0 wins over Moldova – ever the proverbial banana skin – a 4-1 win over Sweden in Amsterdam where Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay both scored twice and a thrilling 5-3 win over Hungary. Having gone to Budapest four days previously and won 4-0, the return in Amsterdam saw Robin van Persie give the Dutch an early lead. By the time the second half was five minutes old, Hungary led. Wesley Sneijder levelled and Ruud van Nistelrooy restored the lead, but within minutes Zoltan Gera’s second squared it up again. The Dutch kicked on and two late Dirk Kuyt goals sealed a crucial win.” In Bed With Maradona

Ajax: the early years and the birth of Total Football

“Known in the Netherlands as ‘de Godenzonen’, a name that translates into English as ‘the sons of the Gods,’Ajax Amsterdam has, for the majority of their 112 year history, carried with them an almost messianic status, not only in their home nation, but across the world football spectrum.” World Soccer

Robben plays party pooper

“Long to reign over us? Stuart Pearce’s grasping of the England nettle in his country’s hour of need has drawn both admirers and detractors, but any comfort in his tenure being extended was always likely to hinge on a positive result. Wanting the job will not be enough. Pre-match statements of intent can only fade into the shadow of defeat. Now, the clamour for Harry Redknapp will grow as a result of a victory from a clinical Dutch team, for whom anything beyond second gear was not required, even when England looked to have fought back for a 2-2 draw.” ESPN

England’s revival snuffed out by the brilliance of Arjen Robben in friendly against Holland at Wembley
“This was a mad end to another mad day in the England madhouse. From a shock choice as captain to a crazy finish, via some alarming naivety of play and an even more alarming sequence of injuries, England’s friendly defeat to Holland contained all manner of dramas.” Henry Winter (Video)

Nationalities of managers in European leagues

“England are without a manager, and the FA are known to favour an English candidate for the job. Harry Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite, but the problem with favouring an English candidate is that there are so few English managers working in the Premier League. How does this situation compare to other major footballing countries in Europe?” ZonaL Marking

Feyenoord shows no mercy for naive Ajax

“Each match this season Ajax seems to have more ball possesion than her opponents, just like last sunday in De Kuip. But again it didn’t help them any further. With match statistics we evaluate how Koemans side succesfully countered the naive Ajax of De Boer back to Amsterdam. Koemans team didn’t have much possession, but when they did, they moved the ball to the strikers quickly, which gave them time and space to become very dangerous in front of Kenneth Vermeer. It ended in a historic 4-2 punishment leaving the Feyenoord fans celebrating.” Catenaccio

Offenses and defenses in the Eredivisie – Where were we?

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“With the second half of the Eredivisie just a few days away, this may be the right time to refresh our memory of the current state of affairs in the Eredivisie. This post will try to do that by plotting the teams’ offensive and defensive performances. Drawing on earlier posts on this same subject, teams will be evaluated regarding their amount of goals scored/conceded and their rate of converting/stopping goal scoring chances.” 11 tegen 11

Ten questions for 2012

Borussia Dortmund celebrate
“As the major continental leagues resume following the winter break – Serie A and La Liga returned to action over the weekend, with Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga set to follow suit in the next fortnight – Pitchside Europe looks at ten issues that will help determine the balance of power across Europe in the 12 months ahead.” Eurosport

Sorry still seems to be the hardest word for Liverpool in Luis Suarez affair

“Kenny Dalglish and the club have done the right thing, electing not to appeal against Luis Suárez’s eight-game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, the real victim in all this. There was little chance of winning any reprieve for their Uruguayan for directing the word ‘negro’ at Evra.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Brazilian football needs to take the opposition seriously

“I flew back to Brazil from London on the day that the group phase of the Champions League kicked off. I well recall that the talk in England at the time was that the entire group stage was dull and predictable. It was almost too easy for the Premier League sides. But that is not the way things have turned out.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Goal scoring chances

“Regular followers of the blog know by now that I try to take a particular interest in measuring the performances of football teams, and should more and better data be available in the future, of individual players too. This post continues that trend, being the first of a planned three-part mini series looking at team performances in the Eredivisie, with 13 of all 34 games played.” 11 tegen 11: Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Goal scoring chances, Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Shot Accuracy, Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Conversion

Premier League’s best struggle in Champions League group stage

Franck Ribéry
“Twelve Champions League thoughts from Round 5 of the Group Stage…” SI