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EREDIVISIE REPORT: Sunday 18th August 2013

August 18, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

WEEK 3 – Sunday 18th August 2013

Frank de Boer’s Ajax defeated Rotterdam-based rival Feyenoord in Sunday afternoon’s De Klassieker, Heracles shock Heerenveen and ADO steal a late win at NAC Breda. However, the day ended with a horror show for FC Utrecht being hit for six by FC Twente.

AJAX 2-1 FEYENOORD

Ronald Koeman’s title hopes with Feyenoord look to be all over as they currently sit nine points adrift of leaders PSV and PEC Zwolle. A Kolbeinn Sigthórsson brace helped Ajax defeated Koeman’s side 2-1 in the first De Klassieker of the season.

The Ajax eleven had to make changes from the team that were defeated 3-2 away to AZ Alkmaar last Sunday. Inspirational captain Siem de Jong is set to miss up to six weeks with a collapsed lung and Danish stalwart Christian Poulsen took his place in Frank de Boer’s team. Feyenoord also need to make changes due to the double sending-off of Stefan de Vrij and Jordy van Deelan last week against FC Twente. Nineteen-year-old right-back Sven van Beek made his debut with Miquel Nelom sitting in at left-back. Koeman had left new signing Samuel Armenteros, on-loan from Anderlecht, on the bench.

Feyenoord have now lost three matches in a row, which is their worst ever start to a season but they took the lead after just six minutes of play. A Ruud Vormer free-kick was swung towards the back post which hit Poulsen on the torso and dropped into Graziano Pelle’s feet. Kenneth Vermeer failed to clear and the Italian striker stabbed the ball into the net.

Before today, Ajax were unbeaten in the last 12 matches at the Amsterdam ArenA, the last defeat coming at the hands of Vitesse Arnhem, 2-0 in November 2012. De Boer’s side took control of the possession and pushed for an equaliser immediately.

Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld smashed a long-range effort towards goal on 17 minutes, all Erwin Mulder could do was parry the ball into Lasse Schöne’s path but the Dane spooned the shot wide.

Relentless in their attack, Ajax nearly got the goal two minutes later. Winger Ruben Schaken got caught in defence with the ball at his feet; Christian Eriksen picked his pocket but like his compatriot earlier placed the shot wide.

Just before the half-hour, Ajax turned up the tempo and after Mulder saved another effort from Eriksen, the defending champions were awarded a penalty.

Another Dane, the tricky Viktor Fischer was dribbling towards goal and Vormer dived in to tackle but brought the youngster down. Or so we thought, replays showed that Fischer clearly dived and Vormer failed to make any contact with the striker. Nevertheless, referee Björn Kuipers pointed to the spot and Iceland international Sigthórsson powerfully converted the spot kick.

Six minutes later, Sigthórsson got his and his team’s second. The Icelandic striker, now getting a permanent starting position after a long series of injuries, nodded a header in from a Ruben Ligeon cross. There was a bit of confusion as the header crashed off the underside of crossbar, but it bounced over the line. Fischer had a great chance to make it 3-1 before the half-time whistle but he crashed his shot against the post.

The second-half was majorly uneventful and although Feyenoord saw more of the ball, De Boer’s side held on for the three points. Ronald Koeman is now under major pressure as his side has failed to pick up a point in three matches and must start next week hosting NAC Breda. For Ajax, they travel to face Heerenveen to try and keep the pace of the title race as PSV run on.

HEERENVEEN 2-4 HERACLES

After a great start to the new campaign by Marco van Basten’s Heerenveen, they fell 4-2 to Heracles Almelo this afternoon.

De Superfriezen’s Icelandic hotshot Alfred Finnbogason, was at it again, scoring his fourth goal in three games after just three minutes into the game. Celtic have been watching Finnbogason to replace the void that Gary Hooper left by leaving for Norwich. The Scottish scouts would have been impressed they way he headed home Magnus Eikrem’s corner after escaping his marker at the near post.

Heracles were in poor form before today and their star player Lerin Duarte should have levelled the scores on 24 minutes. The midfielder found himself breaking the offside trap and was one-on-one with Kristoffer Nordfeldt, but Duarte hauled his shot wide of the post.

Ghanaian striker Matthew Amoah had another opportunity to draw level on 33 minutes, but his toe poke from close range was denied by Nordfeldt. Just before the teams broke for the interval, Duarte got his goal. Striker Mikhail Rosheuval whipped in a cross and there was Duarte to head home to equalise. Swedish ‘keeper Nordfeldt will be disappointed in the goalkeeping for this goal as the header squirmed under his legs.

The second period started slowly and the hosts have a great chance to regain the lead ten minutes into the half. Finnbogason was through on goal but instead of taking a shot the Icelandic international unselfishly passed to Luciano Slagveer who fired his shot into the arms of Remko Pasveer.

On 62 minutes, some poor defending by Van Basten’s men was punished by Ben Reinstra. Kenny Otigba dwelled on the ball and Reinstra finished with precision.

It was 3-2 six minutes later with a tremendous volleyed goal from Mike te Weirik. From 25 yards out, Te Weirik hit the ball sweetly on the half volley, giving the goalkeeper no chance of stopping.

On 72 minutes, Heerenveen grabbed a goal back and got themselves back in the game, as Rajiv van La Parra’s cross was turned in by Joey van den Berg.

Heracles sealed the win with two minutes remaining with another cracking goal. Bryan Linssen, a summer signing from relegated VVV Venlo, used some tremendous skill to cut inside the box from the left, before power driving a first time shot past Nordfeldt.

The first three points for Heracles and a much improved performance from their last two outings. As for Marco van Basten’s side, it was a disappointing defeat that highlighted some problems that need to be sorted if their aim is for European football next year.

NAC BREDA 1-2 ADO DEN HAAG

We had to wait until 76 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. Aaron Meijers picked the ball up just outside the penalty area before smashing a shot past goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar.

NAC Breda equalised from the penalty spot, which was their first goal of the season. ADO’s goalkeeper Gino Coutinho fouled Alex Schalk, and the striker converted to make it 1-1.

We still had time for drama deep into second-half stoppage time. With his first touch of the game since coming on, Michiel Kramer fired past Ten Rouwelaar to snatch the three points.

FC TWENTE 6-0 FC UTRECHT

The future of Jan Wouters in charge of Utrecht is in major doubt after a disastrous six goal defeat away to FC Twente.

The day started badly for Utrecht in the warm-up with first choice goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter picking up an injury and thus Jeroen Verhoeven replacing him in the first eleven.

Twente hit their first goal after just eight minutes when Quincy Promes twisting and turning two defender then hitting a low shot past Verhoeven. Two minutes later, Twente were awarded a dubious penalty, after an apparent foul by defender Johan Mårtensson on Shadrach Eghan. Serbian international Dušan Tadić converted the spot-kick to double the lead.

Shell-shocked Utrecht were 3-0 down after 25 minutes. Promes picked up a long ball in space down the right-wing, crossed into the box for Luc Castaignos to fire home.

It gopt worse for Wouters’ men as Castaignos added his second and his sides fourth on 35 minutes. The striker met a Tadić cross, with a diving header.

It was five twenty minutes into the second half. Tadić surged down the left-wing, before sending a pinpoint accurate cross into the box for Promes to nab his second.

Just before the final whistle, the final nail in Utrecht’s coffin was hammered home as captain Rasmus Bengtsson sent a powerful header past Verhoeven again.

Wouters and Utrecht now look set for a relegation battle this season and between the manager and Alex Pastoor of NEC, they both look favourites to be dismissed soon.

STANDINGS

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EREDIVISIE

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Saturday 17th August 2013

August 18, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

WEEK 3 – Saturday 17th August 2013

PSV and surprisngly PEC Zwolle have three wins out of three and top the table after matchday one of week three. Only themselves and Heerenveen have 100% records with the Friesian side due to play on Sunday at home to Heracles.

PSV 3-0 GO AHEAD EAGLES

PSV keep up their 100% record with another win at home to Go Ahead Eagles, who headed into this game undefeated coming off a great victory hosting ADO Den Haag last weekend.

Eindhoven coach Philip Cocu needed to make two changes to his team due to injuries to young duo Jurgen Locadia and Zakaria Bakkali. Slovenian Tim Matavz returned in the lone spot up front with Florian Jozefzoon appearing on the right-wing in his first start for the club since his €850,000 move from RKC.

It was an even first-half with either ‘keeper being worked well but PSV right-back Santaigo Arias, a 20-year-old Colombian recently signed from Sporting Lisbon, was suffering with Eagles’s left-wing attacks. Down the left, Xander Houtkoop and Deniz Türüç were getting past Arias time after time, therefore Cocu made the decision to sub the Colombian for 19-year-old Joshua Brenet after half-an-hour, and the youngster coped well throughout.

Memphis Depay, on PSV’s left-wing, got into the game towards the end of the first half and Eagles goalkeeper Eloy Room, on loan from Vitesse, had to stop him three times from scoring before the interval.

Arriving for the second half, PSV stormed out of the blocks and found a breakthrough within two minutes. Jetro Willems finding space down the left, fired a ball across the box, Matatvz intercepted at the front post and placed Jozefzoon in to score on his first start.

The Philips Stadion faithful roared their team on and it was two eight minutes later. Swedish international Oscar Hiljemark hitting a low long range effort past Room from around 25 yards out.

The game was wrapped up with nine minutes remaining with a 30 yard free-kick from Depay. A swerving driving effort, that Room could only manage to palm onto the post but into the goal.

Another good win for Philip Cocu’s men who sit on top with superior goal difference to second placed PEC Zwolle, ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg tie against Serie A giants AC Milan.

SC CAMBUUR 4-1 FC GRONINGEN

After a promising start to the season, the world has come crashing down on Groningen, suffering a heavy 4-1 shock defeat away to lowly SC Cambuur.

Cambuur had failed to score a goal in the past two weeks of the season but they managed to find the net within two minutes of this match. Michiel Hemmen, scoring his first goal in the Eredivisie, pounced on a loose ball to finish after a mistake by Eric Botteghin.

It could have been two after 12 minutes with Groningen goalkeeper Marco Bizot saving his side on many occasions with a barrage of Cambuur attacks. The home side’s pressure was relentless and they did double the lead on 21 minutes through Erik Bakker. A one-two between Bakker and Hemmen placed the former into a lovely position in the box to time a first-time shot into Bizot’s goal.

The new boys were finding their groove and it was three on the stroke of half-time. Oebele Schokker crossed an inswinging corner and defender Ramon Leeuwin rose above everyone to power a header home. Groningen was sinking fast and would have been glad to hear the half-time whistle.

The away side emerged for the second-half knowing that they needed an early goal if they had any chance out getting back into the game and they scored five minutes after the restart. Michael de Leeuw, who had replaced the injured David Texeira midway through the first-half, scoring the goal. Nick van der Velden created some space down the right and swung in a cross for De Leeuw to smash a header past Leonard Nienhuis.

Groningen failed to score any more and Cambuur fourth killed off any chance of a comeback on 69 minutes. A lovely combination move by the hosts, which was finished by a low drive from Wout Droste from the right of the penalty area.

A huge win for Cambuur, finally getting some points on the board but as for Groningen, it was a terrible display. The game highlighting many problems for the team, and coach Erwin van de Looi will tend to these before next week’s travel to Deventer to play Go Ahead Eagles.

RKC WAALWIJK 1-2 AZ ALKMAAR

AZ Alkmaar travelled to Waalwijk and beat RKC 2-1 with Maarten Martens scoring the late winner just seconds after Jean-David Beauguel had equalised for the hosts.

AZ took a fourth-minute lead through American striker Aron Jóhannsson. After Nemanja Gudelj was trying to force his way into the box, the ball fell to the unmarked Jóhannsson to dink the ball over the onrushing Czech goalkeeper Jan Šeda.

RKC kept their composure and pressed for an equaliser with caution, and had to wait until seven minutes remaining to draw level.

French striker Beauguel had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes replacing defender Ingo van Weert. Rushing onto a long ball from the counter-attack, the tall striker powered his way past defender Nick Viergever to chip goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado to send the crowd into raptures.

The crowd quickly calmed down a minute later when Gudelj crossed deep from the right to meet the volleying right foot of Martens to take home the points. A crushing blow for Erwin Koeman’s side.

NEC NIJMEGEN 1-5 PEC ZWOLLE

The pressure is on for NEC coach Alex Pastoor, his team is propping up the league without a point and victims of a crushing 5-1 defeat to highflying PEC Zwolle.

Zwolle’s Jesper Drost scored after 12 seconds last weekend, making his goal the fastest ever in Eredivisie history. However, Drost must have thought his record had been smashed right in front of his eyes when NEC’s Victor Pálsson drove the ball home after just ten seconds on the clock, but English striker Michael Higdon was penalised for a foul a second earlier.

Drost was on the scoresheet again putting Zwolle in the lead on 15 minutes. His first shot was saved by Karl-Johan Johnsson, but he headed the rebound home.

The pair of Youness Mokhtar and Kamohelo Mokotjo once again ran the show for Zwolle and the two combined three minutes later to make it 2-0. The Moroccan midfielder Mokhtar weaved his way in and out of the NEC defence before laying onto the South African Mokotjo for his second goal of the campaign. The Nimigen crowd were not happy and boos rang out of the Goffertstadion.

The pain continued for Pastoor’s side before half-time with striker Fred Benson, lively throughout, grabbing his first goal of the day on 37 minutes. Once again, the tricky Mokhtar taking on defenders then whipped a ball for Benson to head home at the front post, to send the away side into the break three goals to the good.

Two more goals were added early in the second period. Surging down the wing, left-back Maikel van der Werff continued into the area and laid it on a plate for Benson to tap home for his second on 49 minutes. As Benson danced to celebrate, a small percentage of the NEC fans were seen leaving the stadium in disgust.

More boos rang out just three minutes later as Zwolle scored their fifth and final goal. Some good work from Mokotjo set-up Mokhtar to fire home to score a goal that he had well deserved.

NEC’s only consolation came from Christoph Hemlein’s 76th-minute strike which was met with sarcastic applause from the home fans. They had a perfect chance to score a second after Hemlein was fouled in the area by Zwolle ‘keeper Kevin Begios, but Higdon hit a poor penalty that was easily saved by the goalkeeper. It has been a poor start to the season from the English striker and he may be in danger of being dropped if his action in front of goal does not improve.

The Nijmegen side are in major trouble failing to grab any points in three outings and conceding five goals in two consecutive games. The pressure is indeed on for Alex Pastoor and they must look for victory at home to RKC next weekend, if he is still in charge by then, after most of the fans are calling for his resignation.

Zwolle on the other hand maintain an 100% record with three wins in three and they look stronger and stronger as the games go on, they host newly promoted Cambuur next Saturday night.

RODA JC 1-1 VITESSE

Two goals in seven minutes settled a 1-1 draw between Roda and Vitesse. Highly-rated Brazilian playmaker Lucas Piazón, on-loan from Chelsea, made his first start and impressed. His skill nearly produced the first goal on six minutes, he slalomed through three Roda defenders but Vitesse failed to capitalise on the Brazilian’s good work.

We had to wait until 62 minutes to get our first goal. Valeri Kazaishvili putting the visitors ahead after another Chelsea loanee, Patrick van Aanholt has pressed his way down the left-wing. The lef-back continued into the area to lay the ball off to the Georgian to finish high into the goal superbly.

Seven minutes the game was tied through some great reactions from Roda striker Marc Höcher. After captain Mark-Jan Fledderus had seen his shot crash off the crossbar, the alert Höcher fired the ball back across the goal to send the ball home into an empty net.

REMAINDER OF WEEK 3 FIXTURES

SUNDAY 18TH AUGUST

AJAX vs. FEYENOORD

HEERENVEEN vs. HERACLES

NAC BREDA vs. ADO DEN HAAG

FC TWENTE vs. FC UTRECHT

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KNVB, NETHERLANDS, ORANJE

Ronaldo spoils Dutch hopes

August 15, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Cristiano Ronaldo saved Portugal from a defeat to the Oranje as he scored the an 87th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

The Real Madrid winger’s late goal erupted the crowd at the Estadio Algarve on Wednesday night, and cancelled out Roma midfielder’s Kevin Strootman first-half opener.

Despite being stripped of the win, it was a good result for Louis Van Gaal’s side. Missing in action was Wesley Sneijder, who was recently stripped of the captaincy due to the coach’s concern over the Galatasaray man’s fitness.

Feyenoord defender Bruno Martins Indi was handed a start against the country of his birth, alongside a young defence of team-mate Stefan de Vrij, Ajax’s Daley Blind and Paul Verhaegh who plies his trade in Germany with Augsburg. Van Gaal started with a three man midfield of Strootman, Hamburg’s Rafael van der Vaart and PSV’s Georginio Wijnaldum. Up top, we saw the trio of Robin van Persie, Jeremain Lens and Arjen Robbin with goalkeeper Michel Vorm starting inbetween the sticks.

Portugal named a strong eleven, with Ronaldo leading the line alongside Danny and Helder Postiga and it was the Portuguese who created the first chance of the game inside the opening minutes. Ronaldo rose above everyone to nod a tame effort from a Ruben Amorim cross straight at Vorm.

The Oranje scored the opening goal on 17 minutes, new Dynamo Kiev winger Lens found his former PSV team-mate Strootman on the edge of the penalty box and he sent a low drive catching out goalkeeper Beto at his near post.

The hosts pressed for an equaliser and should have score on 29 minutes. Danny picked out Ruben Micael at the far post, only for the midfielder to direct his effort wide from ten yards.

In the second half, the Netherlands did little to trouble the Portuguese goal, and RVP, who was quiet throughout, found himself hauled off on the hour mark. In comparison, Ronaldo stole the show and was in a buoyant mood, and he was very nearly rewarded for his play after 63 minutes, hitting a long-range strike towards the goal, put Vorm saved well.

After midfielder Miguel Veloso hit the crossbar, it was Ronaldo again that came to the rescue. Three minutes to go, Dutch dreams of a win were crushed with Ronaldo finishing from close range colleting the ball from a deflected Veloso corner.

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FEATURE

A VERY DIFFERENT PSV

August 13, 2013 Will Burns 2 Comments

We’ve already learnt a great deal about the new-look PSV. After a summer of change in Eindhoven, Phillip Cocu looks to have assembled a young squad capable of competing for all domestic honours. As the club attempts to distance itself from a boom-and-bust transfer culture to one of organic development, fans are already beginning to see a very different PSV Eindhoven.

In the first instance, we’ve learnt that PSV will play some brilliant football and score some wonderful goals. The Champions League qualifier against Zulte Waregem proved as much; the youthful side producing some irresistible passing football en route to an impressive 5-0 aggregate victory, whilst capturing the attention of fans throughout Europe with a pair of memorable goals. In Eindhoven, Memphis Depay produced another twenty-five yard firecracker to give PSV the lead, before live-wire starlet Zakaria Bakkali sealed progression with an exquisite volley in Brussels. As Cocu’s side secured a playoff rendezvous with AC Milan, the spotlight began to shine brighter than ever on the prodigious talent of his young players. Even Zulte head coach Francky Dury couldn’t contain his admiration for PSV’s offensive style, stating that they “have a great team,” which plays “football of a very high level, the like of which we hardly know in Belgium.” Thus, PSV fans will be treated to a highly-entertaining brand of football in the season ahead, as played by a cast of extremely-talented youngsters.

The opportunity to watch this talent grow and develop will be an even greater privilege. In Jeroen Zoet (22 years old), Jurgen Locadia (19), and Memphis Depay (19), to name but three, they possess some of the finest Dutch prospects in the Eredivisie. However, the majority of column inches thus far have been devoted to the aforementioned Bakkali. At the tender age of 17 years and 196 days, the Belgian winger became the youngest ever player to score an Eredivisie hat-trick; his arrival on the senior stage announced with a trio of superb strikes against NEC Nijmegen on 10 August. As if such an astonishing feat didn’t lend itself enough to hyperbole, Bakkali was also selected for the Belgian National Team ahead of their friendly against France. When you’re seventeen years of age, weeks don’t get much better than the one Zakaria Bakkali has just experienced.

He was the youngest of a very young bunch during the NEC game. In their illustrious one-hundred year history, PSV Eindhoven have never fielded a younger starting eleven than the one which took the field that night. A team with an average age of 19.9 made captain Georginio Wijnaldum (22), and playmaker Adam Maher (20), seem like elder statesmen! After years of assembling teams with costly veterans and expensive gambles, it makes for a refreshing change to see such a homegrown PSV side.

It’s a conscious change. When unveiled as Head Coach in May, Cocu promised to “build a new PSV,” which will “invest more to help smooth the path for youngsters to the first team.” In hiring PEC Zwolle miracle-worker Art Langeler to oversee a philosophical change at youth level, and in promoting prospects like Bakkali and Depay to prominent roles, the club has acted swiftly to substantiate these promises. However, the project is still very much a work-in-progress. It’s only natural that PSV will encounter difficulty at points, with such an all-encompassing trust in youth. As the players acclimatise to the rigorous fixture schedule and become aware of the growing responsibility placed upon them, frustrations are sure to be felt. There will be periods of inconsistency. There will be over-exuberance and even indiscipline. There will be defeats. In the wider scheme, however, these growing pains will be worthwhile, as PSV attempt to change the culture by giving greater freedom to their players. The young prospects will develop and grow after learning from the inevitable mistakes. So will the club.

The opening Eredivisie game at Den Haag was perhaps the most honest reflection of what we can expect from PSV. In a pulsating first half, goals from Wijnaldum and Jetro Willems were sandwiched between a bizarre own goal, as PSV raced into a 3-0 lead. However, a hint of defensive naivety set in, with Den Haag pulling a goal back from a set piece shortly before half-time. After the break, the tempo was rather flat and PSV became a little sloppy in possession. When Den Haag capitalised on a lapse in concentration to make the game closer than it ever should have been, it was clear that the youngsters on whom Cocu will rely are still to master the nuanced art of closing-out victories. They still won the game, 3-2, but stoppage time was nervy when it needn’t have been.

In teaching the more gritty aspects of winning games and championships, the more experienced players will be vital to PSV. The return of Park Ji-Sung is a smart acquisition; the former Eindhoven favourite has abundant experience, and will be well-positioned to school the younger players in what is required when representing PSV. Cocu admits that overwhelming experience was a motivating factor in Park’s return, stating that younger members of the team will “gain from someone who has already played at the top level for so many years.”

Similarly, experienced midfielder Stijn Schaars will be a major cog in the PSV machine. A veteran of nearly 250 career appearances, Schaars is viewed as the reliable anchor of an otherwise mercurial midfield, chiefly responsible for maintaining concentration levels, closing-out tight games, and finding ways to win when the skills and tricks aren’t quite working. In finding a correct balance between this kind of experience and the dynamism of younger players, the essence of Cocu’s project becomes visible.

It’s a project which has the passionate support of PSV fans. The games thus far have been played in fantastic atmospheres; the Philips Stadion faithful understanding the need for change. At present, they are enjoying the thrilling emergence of a new generation, roaring and cheering louder with each step-over, each wondergoal, each victory. Along the way, there’s sure to be setbacks and growing pains, but the journey on which this enthralling team promises to take the fans of Eindhoven will rarely fail to fascinate.

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EERSTE DIVISIE

EERSTE DIVISIE REPORT: Week 2

August 12, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

WEEK 2 – 9th-12th August 2013

FC Dordrecht sit top of the Eerste Divisie after matchday two, with the Schapenkoppen being the only team to win both games. Erixon Danso fired two goals away to division new boys Achilles ’29 to help his side to a 4-1 victory. Giovanni Korte and Paul Gladon grabbed the two others with Frank Hol scoring a consolation for the home side.

Week two began on Friday night, with a goal-less draw between Den Bosch and Fortuna Sittard with goals featured in all four other games.

In a battle of the two relegated clubs, VVV Venlo defeated Willem II 2-0 with Randy Wolters scoring on the stroke of half-time and Jules Reimerink adding another deep into second-half stoppage time.

FC Oss won by the same scoreline while hosting Jong Ajax. The Amsterdammers fell to goals from Wesley Deenen and Danny van den Meiracker even though they had quality like Tobias Sana, Nicolai Boilesen and Lesley De Sa.

Telstar bounced back from losing to Ajax last weekend with a great 3-2 home win over FC Emmen. Johan Culhan put the hosts ahead after seven minutes before Elson Rosario Almeida equalised ten minutes later. A double in six minutes from Terell Ondaan gave Telstar the points with Wouter Weghorst grabbing one back before full-time.

FC Eindhoven pulled off a shock away win against Helmond Sport. Anthony van der Hurk got the visitors off to a good start after 16 minutes only for Davy Brouwers to reply at the start of the second half. The three points headed to Eindhoven after a Juanito Sequeira own goals gave them the 2-1 lead.

A goal by Tom van Hyfte after just ten minutes gave MVV the slender 1-0 victory over Jong Twente on Saturday afternoon. As De Graafschap defeated Almere City by a single goal after Belgian Jordan Garcia-Calvete netted the only goal of the game.

Two draws ended the week with FC Volendam sharing the point with Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday. Johan Voskamp gave Sparta the lead after 16 minutes but the game ended 1-1 after Robert Mühren grabbed the leveller on the half-hour mark.

Finally, on Monday night at the Philips Stadion, Jong PSV drew 1-1 with Excelsior. The Rotterdam side took the lead deep into the first period with Lars Hutten finishing coolly past Nigel Bertrams in goal. Danish international defender, Mathias Zanka Jorgensen gained his side a point with a nice finish of his own.

FULL RESULTS

FRIDAY 9TH AUGUST

FC DEN BOSCH 0-0 FORTUNA SITTARD

VVV VENLO 2-0 WILLEM II

FC OSS 2-0 JONG AJAX

TELSTAR 3-2 FC EMMEN

HELMOND SPORT 1-2 FC EINDHOVEN

SATURDAY 10TH AUGUST

MVV 1-0 JONG TWENTE

DE GRAAFSCHAP 1-0 ALMERE CITY

ACHILLES ’29 1-4 FC DORDRECHT

SUNDAY 11TH AUGUST

FC VOLENDAM 1-1 SPARTA ROTTERDAM

MONDAY 12TH AUGUST

JONG PSV 1-1 EXCELSIOR

STANDINGS

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

EREDIVISIE TEAM OF THE WEEK #2

August 11, 2013 Will Burns Leave a comment

Welcome to our weekly section at TotalDutchFootball.com – the Eredivisie Team of the Week. Below you will see our ‘Player of the Week’ also – each player will be allocated points and at the end of the season we will declare our ‘Player of the Season’. Each player will be given one point for being named in our team and the ‘Player of the Week’ will gain two points.

WEEK 2

GOALKEEPER

Marco Bizot (FC Groningen) – In what seems a rarity, Bizot kept a clean sheet for Groningen this week as they kept up their 100% record. They have to thank Bizot at times, pulling off saves to keep his team at zero.

DEFENDERS

Santiago Arias (PSV) – The right-back, just signed for a snip from Sporting Lisbon looks to be fitting right in with the Eredivisie table-toppers. A strong performance helping the right wing in attack from the young Colombian.

Jeffrey Bruma (PSV) – Another excellent performance from the PSV man in the 5-0 win of NEC. Strikers Michael Higdon and Christoph Hemlein were kept at bay with ease by the big commanding central defender.

Darryl Lachman (PEC Zwolle) – The 23-year-old stormed forward with pleasure at times in the 3-1 win over Heralces and also put in some good blocks to intercept the Almelo attacks.

Xandro Schenk (Go Ahead Eagles) – A fantastic free-kick goal for the Eredivisie new boys earns him a spot in our team of the week.

MIDFIELDERS

Kamohelo Mokotjo (PEC Zwolle) – Another excellent display and scored a lovely goal in Zwolle’s 3-1 win over Heracles on Saturday.

Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) – The new captain of PSV managed to go one better than last week and hit the net twice from attacking midfield.

Christian Eriksen (Ajax) – Although he tasted defeat against AZ and looked dejected after the game, he has to credited for yet another free-kick goal.

ATTACKERS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Zakaria Bakkali (PSV) – A record-breaking five-star performance on Saturday and now the youngest player to ever score an Eredivisie hat-trick.

Romeo Castelen (RKC Waalwijk) – The returning Castelen scored his first Eredivisie goal for six years and was influential in his teams 4-2 victory over Vitesse Arnhem.

Marnix Kolder (Go Ahead Eagles) – His winning goal with ten minutes remaining on Saturday gave Go Ahead their first win on their return to the top flight.

NAME	POS	TEAM	POTW	POINTS
Tjaronn Chery	MF	FC Groningen	1	2
Zakaria Bakkali	ST	PSV	1	2
Kamohelo Mokotjo	MF	PEC Zwolle		2
Christian Eriksen	MF	Ajax		2
Georginio Wijnaldum	MF/ST	PSV		2
Robbin Ruiter	GK	FC Utrecht		1
Ricardo Van Rhijn	DF	Ajax		1
Eric Botteghin	DF	FC Groningen		1
Jop van der Linden	DF	Go Ahead Eagles		1
Jetro Willems	DF	PSV		1
Andreas Kirm	ST	FC Groningen		1
Alfred Finnbogason	ST	Heerenveen		1
Xandro Schenk	DF	Go Ahead Eagles		1
Marco Bizot	GK	FC Groningen		1
Santiago Arias	DF	PSV		1
Jeffrey Bruma	DF	PSV		1
Darryl Lachman	DF	PEC Zwolle		1
Romeo Castelen	ST	RKC Waalwijk		1
Marnix Kolder	ST	Go Ahead Eagles		1

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EREDIVISIE

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Sunday 11th August 2013

August 11, 2013 Will Burns Leave a comment

WEEK 2 – Sunday 11th August 2013

PSV Eindhoven will be celebrating tonight after title rivals Ajax and Feyenoord both tasted defeats just two weeks into the new season. Another great day for goals in the Eredivisie and Will Burns is here to describe them all.

FEYENOORD 1-4 FC TWENTE

The first game of the season at De Kuip and as always the crowd was jumping, well that was before the game. After the final whistle the supporters were leaving hanging their heads in shame. Feyenoord finished the match with just nine men on the field and Twente had defeated them by four goals to one, ending a 28-match unbeaten streak in Rotterdam.

The hosts went ahead after half an hour with their usual source to goals, Italian Graziano Pelle heading in at the front post from a Jordy Clasie out-swinging corner.

Twente hit back from the kick-off and fired a warning shot when former Feyenoord striker Luc Castaignos smashed a shot at Erwin Mulder’s goal that rattled the crossbar, and the woodwork had saved Koeman’s men.

They did not take heed of the warning as a minute later the scores were level and it was another former De Kuip man who scored the goal. Kyle Ebecilio recently signing on a free from Premier League club Arsenal kept his cool to finish inside the area, after a scramble.

With usual right-back Daryl Janmaat injured, the young Jordy van Deelen was making his first start for the club and midway through the second half he made a fatal mistake. Failing to get ahead of Shadrach Eghan, he pulled the Ghanaian midfielder down in the box and referee Richard Liesveld pointed to the spot and dismissed the debutant. As the rookie was trudging off the field, Dusan Tadic stepped up and slotted home the spot-kick to give Twente the lead.

Nine minutes later, Feyenoord lost another defender to the red card. Stefan de Vrij who had stupidly been booked midway through the first-half for diving in on a tackle he had no business is challenging for in the opposition’s half, did the same again on Castaignos inside the centre circle.

Twente’s attacking left-back Dico Koppers, a recent buy from Ajax in the summer, won a penalty surging into the box and being felled by Joris Mathijsen. Mathijsen received a yellow and Tadic converted his second penalty of the match.

The game was done but Twente weren’t finished as Castaignos and Tadic combined on the edge of the box and the former finished clinically to make the day worse for the Rotterdam fans.

Pressure will be on Koeman now, his team was tipped to be title challengers, but are now already six points off the top spot. The two defeats in two equals their worst start since the 1963/64 season, fifty years ago.

AZ ALKMAAR 2-3 AJAX

Last years’ Eredivisie champions Ajax took a major blow in the defence of their title as AZ Alkmaar gained revenge for last month’s Johan Crujiff Schaal match, and ended their fifteen match unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Frank de Boer’s men did take the lead on 20 minutes with a wonderful free-kick from Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen. From around 25 yards out, he lifted the ball superbly over the wall, spinning low into the goal past Esteban Alvarado, leaving the Costa Rican goalkeeper helpless.

The home side were level before half-time due to some bad goalkeeping by Dutch international Kenneth Vermeer. Trying to punch the ball away in a battle with Viktor Elm but flapped miserably and the ball fell in the path of Roy Beerens to poke home.

De Boer must have been furious with his goalkeeper so much that he replaced him at half-time with Jasper Cillessen. The Amsterdammers regained the lead on the hour mark but Siem de Jong delightfully finishing a Bojan cross, but it was poor defending from AZ as the Oranje midfielder was all alone to score.

Then disaster struck for Ajax five minutes later. Right-back Ricardo van Rhijn pulled down Nick Viergever in the penalty area and received his marching orders. The new American international Aron Jóhannsson’s spot-kick hit the back of the net and the reigning league champions were on the ropes.

Shortly after his entrance substitute Maarten Martens was invaluable for AZ, his beautiful pin-point cross found Elm unmarked at the back post, who placed a superb first-time volley into the back of the net.

It was a fantastic win for Gertjan Verbeek and the fans inside the AFAS Stadion but will probably be celebrated more by PSV coach Philip Cocu, whose side are already three points ahead of their rivals after just two games.

HIGHLIGHTS

FC GRONINGEN 2-0 FC UTRECHT

Although less convincing than last week in Nijmegen, FC Groningen won their second game of the season. Utrecht, going through a real bad spell at the moment, fell 2-0 in the Euroborg Stadion, thanks to goals from Nick van der Velden and SIXTEEN-year-old Richairo Živkovic.

For those who had not taken their seat when the opening whistle was blown by referee Dennis Higler, they may have missed his second whistle too, when he blew for a penalty kick. Utrecht’s captain Mark van der Maarel fouling Filip Kostic and Van der Velden took advantage of the spot-kick.

FC Groningen pressed throughout but did not double the score until 71st minute. After Robbin Ruiter parried a Van der Velden shot, the young Živkovic, brought on as a substitute just five minutes earlier, cooly converted a rebound. This was his second goal in two games after playing a total of just 12 minutes of play this season so far.

RKC WAALWIJK 4-2 VITESSE

After crashing out of Europe on Thursday, Vitesse travelled to Waalwijk to turn their attention back to the league where they defeated Heracles 3-1 last Sunday.

Within three minutes, it looked good for them as Kelvin Leerdam headed home at the front post from a Theo Janssen corner. Going forward, it was clear to see that the visitors were pressing a lot better than Thursday’s night’s defeat to FC Petrolul but defensively they looked dodgy. Patrick van Aanholt especially, getting caught out and minutes after the goal, contributing to what could have been an equaliser.

The Chelsea man and Jan-Arie van der Heijden passing around in their own penalty area and Luxembourg international striker Aurélien Joachim caught them out and had a glorious chance to put RKC level, but poorly placed his shot wide.

On 12 minutes, RKC were level. Some tremendous work from Romeo Castelen turning Van Aanholt inside out on the right-wing and crossing for Robert Braber to finish coolly.

Before half-time, Castelen himself got on the scoresheet and put RKC in the lead. Peter Jungschläger dinked a lovely ball over the defence and Castelen ran on to score his first goal in the Eredivisie for six years. The former Feyenoord winger had spells him Russia and Germany since leaving the Rotterdam club.

Vitesse boss Peter Bosz had to turn this around and replaced Van Aanholt and Giorgi Chanturia for Davy Propper and Valeri Qazaishvili. On the 54th minute mark, Qazaishvili scored the equaliser.

At that moment, the Arnhem side may have took the draw but RKC were not and two goals in as many minutes from Sander Duits sent Vitesse and their fans home miserable.

STANDINGS

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EREDIVISIE

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Saturday 10th August 2013

August 10, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

WEEK 2 – Saturday 10th August 2013

A fantastic day for football in Holland, starting off with the fastest goal in the Eredivisie… ever and ending with a 17-year-old star being born scoring a wonderful hat-trick.

HERACLES 1-3 PEC ZWOLLE

Heading into this game full of confidence after defeating Feyenoord on home soil last weekend, Zwolle fly into their meeting with Heracles and were leading after just 12 seconds. Jesper Drost scored the fastest goal in Eredivisie history. Straight from the kick-off the ball was played through by Mustafa Saymak to Drost down the left wing, the 20-year-old sprinted past Christian Dorda and slotted the ball home underneath the arms of goalkeeper Remko Pasveer.

The hosts were in shock and even more so when after 12 minutes they found themselves with a two-goal deficit. Zwolle’s Youness Mohktar feeding in South African midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo on the edge of the box unmarked and as he was closed down by Pasveer and two defenders, he lofted the ball over them all and into the empty net.

On 42 minutes, Heracles got the goal they deserved after dominating the majority of the first-half possession. A corner was failed to be cleared by Zwolle’s defence and Matthew Amoah fired the ball across the goal, Maikel van der Werff spooned his clearance into the corner of Kevin Begios’ goal.

Zwolle thought they had a third and once again the trouble from Heracles came down the left side of their defence. Mateusz Klich found acres of space and played in Fred Benson to finish, but the striker was deemed to be offside.

Klich went onto miss penalty on 80 minutes but soon after substitute Guyon Fernandez arrived to score again for the second week in a row bagging a 91st minute tap-in after Heracles had pressed too many players forward searching for an equaliser.

Two wins in two for PEC Zwolle, which no-one would have predicted, and with players like Van der Werff (who played well before his own goal), Fred Benson, Jesper Drost and Kamohelo Mokotjo pulling the strings, and with Ron Jans leading all this, they could go far this year.

NAC BREDA 0-2 HEERENVEEN

Marco van Basten will be celebrating also this evening after his Heerenveen side have gained maximum points out of their first two games of the season.

The 4-2 home win against AZ Alkmaar last Saturday was not reflected in this game as De Superfriezen had to work hard for the 2-0 away win at NAC Breda.

The opening goal left a question – was it a fortunate goal or a stroke of genius? Hakim Ziyech looped a ball towards the far post with a free-kick from the right-wing and goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar could do nothing but watch as it nestled into the right-hand corner of his goal – see video below

Shortly after Alfred Finnbogason came close to scoring, but Belgian defender Sepp De Roover blocked the Iceland internationals effort.

After the internal, NAC had two good chances in quick succession to level the score, but Alex Schalk and Sarpong failed to get the ball past goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt. The home team pressed for the levelling goal for the remainder of the game but in fairness were not at their most dangerous.

Heerenveen cemented the points in the stoppage time, and it was that man Finnbogason on the scoresheet to score his third in two games.

GO AHEAD EAGLES 2-1 ADO DEN HAAG

After a good point last week against FC Utrecht, Go Ahead Eagles are unbeaten in their return to the Eredivisie, defeating ADO Den Haag 2-1 in their first home game of the season.

From the kickoff, Go Ahead looked the most eager of the two and went forward without any fear looking for the opening goal. On the back foot, ADO seemed intimidated and the Eagles smelt blood with Marnix Kolder looking to take up the role of predator.

Gino Coutinho kept his team on level terms saving chances from Kolder and Jacindo Antonia until the 21st minute when left back Xandro Schenk found the net with a beautiful free-kick from the edge of the area.

The goal shook some life into ADO, and they began to do some pressing of their own and when goalkeeper Eloy Room parried a header, Mike van Duinen was in the right place at the right time to prod in the equaliser.

The second half was a battle, and unlike the first-half more of an equal half but yet Go Ahead clinched the three points with just ten minutes remaining. Kolder scoring from the edge of the area from an acute angle to send the Deventer crowd into a frenzy.

This was the Eagles first win in the Eredivisie since 22nd March 1996 which was a 3-0 away win to Vitesse.

PSV 5-0 NEC NIJMEGEN

What can I say about this team already this season? What can I say about 17-year-old Zakaria Bakkali already this season? A star has well and truly been born – the young Belgian winger scored a hat-trick this evening of the highest quality and the Philips Stadion crowd left the stadium this evening very optimistic about their and his future.

It was a five-star performance from the young PSV side, the oldest player in the starting line-up was their captain Georginio Wijnaldum, aged 22.

The opening goal was created by Jurgen Locadia. The 19-year-old striker split the NEC defence open with a ball through to the 17-year-old Bakkali, who smashed a shot towards goal which crashed with the underside of the bar and into the goal. The noise the ball made hitting off the crossbar made the Eindhoven crowd erupt and the goal showed that this young team’s attacking confidence is going from strength to strength.

Minutes later, with the Philips Stadion noise levels rising with every touch of the ball as each play builded, they thought they had added a second when Swedish midfielder Oskar Hijlemark swung a ball into Locadia, but the striker was caught offside while finishing the move.

New loan signing Ji-Sung Park was onlooking in the stands but he must be thinking where he can fit into this team at 32 years of age.

PSV went in for the break only one goal for the good but two minutes into the second period, the Belgian was at it again as he doubled the lead. On the edge of the box, just to the right, he cut inside, dipping and faking, fooling the NEC defenders then curling a low drive past Karl-Johan Johnsson. The goalkeeper maybe should have done better but never the less it was 2-0.

On the hour mark, PSV found the net again. A quick free-kick was took by Adam Maher feeding the alert Wijnaldum through on goal while the NEC defenders slept and he finished coolly to make it three.

Within the 75 minute mark, PSV punished the Nijmegen side even further. Attacking left-back Jetro Willems switching his play into the middle of the pitch and layed a ball on for Wijnaldum, who was surging down the right to fire a shot across the goal and into the net. Another good goal for the young side but the best was yet to come.

The 81st minute proved to be not just the icing on the cake for PSV but a moment that young Bakkali and PSV fans will never forget. He clinched his first hat-trick of his career with a goal that Lionel Messi would be proud of. This time on the left wing, Willems and Locadia combined to flick the ball onto the prodigy. Collecting the ball just left to the edge of the box, he started twisting and turning until setting himself up just inside the box on his right foot. His effort was wonderful, it was perfect, a curling high placed shot into the top corner, just inside the bar and the post.

The crowd exploded for the fifth time, but on this occasion it was the loudest. On this performance, one may have to make this young team the favourites to finally end Ajax’s monopoly on the Eredivisie title.

HIGHLIGHTS

REMAINDER OF WEEK 2 FIXTURES

SUNDAY 11TH AUGUST

FEYENOORD vs. FC TWENTE

AZ ALKMAAR vs. AJAX

FC GRONINGEN vs. FC UTRECHT

RKC WAALWIJK vs. VITESSE ARNHEM

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JONG ORANJE, KNVB, NETHERLANDS

New faces in Jong Oranje camp

August 10, 2013 Will Burns Leave a comment

New Jong Oranje coach Albert Stuivenberg has selected to the squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic on Wednesday in Prague.

Two new goalkeepers have been called up Warner Hahn of FC Dordrecht and FC Groningen’s Stefan van der Lei. PSV right-back Joshua Brenet, also gains first call after some impressive performances for the Eindhoven club so far this season.

Old acquaintances also join the 22 man squad like Adam Maher, Tonny Vilhena and Mike van der Hoorn.

Jong Orange squad to play Czech Republic on Wednesday 14th August

Goalkeepers: Stefan van der Lei (FC Groningen), Warner Hahn (FC Dordrecht),

Defenders: Joshua Brenet (PSV Eindhoven), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven), Karim Rekik (PSV Eindhoven), Ruben Ligeon (Ajax), Stefano Denswil (Ajax), Mike van der Hoorn (Ajax), Timo Letschert (FC Groningen), Mitchell Dijk (SC Heerenveen)

Midfielders: Adam Maher (PSV Eindhoven), Thomas Bruns (Heracles Almelo), Guus Huppert (Roda JC), Joeri de Kamps (Ajax), Kevin Jansen (ADO Den Haag), Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord),

Attack: Jürgen Locadia (PSV Eindhoven), Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven), Quincy Promes (FC Twente), Luc Castaignos (FC Twente), Luciano Slagveer (SC Heerenveen), Hakim Ziyech (SC Heerenveen)

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KNVB, NETHERLANDS, ORANJE

Van Gaal tells Sneijder to shape up

August 10, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Netherlands national team coach Louis van Gaal has once again stated that Dutch veteran Wesley Sneijder needs to “get in shape” before he is considered a recall to the Oranje squad.

Van Gaal backed up his decision to omit the Galatasaray midfielder from his initial squad for next week’s friendly against Portugal by also leaving him out of his trimmed party today.

Sneijder was immediately vocal on his dissatisfaction at Van Gaal’s decision last week in the media but the coach unmoved. In a press conference yesterday, he said: “He is not out of sight, but he must first get in shape. Then he will probably play with his qualities.”

Augsburg full-back Paul Verhaegh (pictured above) has been confirmed in the squad as he survived the cut to take his spot for the first time. Stijn Schaars and Georginio Wijnaldum, neither of whom were included by Van Gaal last week also join him.

PSV’s Adam Maher, Ajax pair Siem de Jong and Ricardo van Rhijn, and Feyenoord duo Jordy Clasie and Tonny Vilhena have dropped out for the clash in Faro next Wednesday.

Oranje squad to play Portugal on Wednesday 14th August

Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax), Michel Vorm (Swansea City)

Defenders: Danny Blind (Ajax), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Joris Mathijsen (Feyenoord), Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord)

Midfielders: Marco Van Ginkel (Chelsea), Jonathan De Guzman (Swansea City), Stijn Schaars (PSV Eindhoven), Ruben Schaken (Feyenoord), Kevin Strootman (AS Roma), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Klass-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbache), Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kiev), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

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EREDIVISIE

EREDIVISIE REPORT: Friday 9th August 2013

August 9, 2013 Will Burns Leave a comment

WEEK 2 – Friday 9th August 2013

Roda JC got off the mark after last week’s resounding 3-0 by defending champions Ajax with a 2-0 with fellow relegation contenders SC Cambuur.

RODA JC 2-0 SC CAMBUUR

The newly promoted SC Cambuur still search for their first goal and they failed to create any decent opportunities within the ninety minutes inside the Limburg Stadion.

We had to wait until 25 minutes for the first real chance which was wasted by Krisztián Németh. The former Liverpool youth striker beat the offside trap and rounded goalkeeper Leonard Nienhuis beautifully, but his finish let him down as his effort creeped wide of the open goal.

Németh found the net on 34 minutes, a cross floated in by Mark-Jan Fledderus towards the feet of Guus Hupperts at the back post. The Cambuur defence failed to clear and the ball fell to the Hungarian to finish this time.

The break came and went and the Eredivisie new boys made a double change bringing in Mart Dijkstra and their new loan signing this week, Marcel Ritzmaier from PSV. The young Austrian helped Cambuur take control of the game and start winning the midfield battles, resulting in Roda launching long balls to find a counter attack. The boys from Leeuwarden spent the majority of the second half with the ball in their possession, but the likes of Jody Lukoki, Martijn Barto and Mohamed El Makrini were disappointing and Roda ‘keeper Filip Kurto was barely tested.

With just a minute remanining, Roda finally cemented the three points with Mitchell Donald getting on the scoresheet. Another long ball was hit and Frank Demouge jumped with Ramon Leeuwin to nod the ball into Donald’s path to make it 2-0.

HIGHLIGHTS

REMAINDER OF WEEK 2 FIXTURES

SATURDAY 10TH AUGUST

HERACLES vs. PEC ZWOLLE

NAC BREDA vs. HEERENVEEN

GO AHEAD EAGLES vs. ADO DEN HAAG

PSV vs. NEC NIJMEGEN

SUNDAY 11TH AUGUST

FEYENOORD vs. FC TWENTE

AZ ALKMAAR vs. AJAX

FC GRONINGEN vs. FC UTRECHT

RKC WAALWIJK vs. VITESSE ARNHEM

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FEATURE

The Oranjefication of Australian Football

August 9, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

In 1606 the Dutch vessel the Duijfken contained the first Europeans to set eyes on the continent of Australia. Over the next 100 or so years other Dutch mariners would accidentally bump into the western coast of Australia on the way to their colony of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). These mariners never thought to colonise Australia and instead left that to the British. So even though Australia was referred to as New Holland for a while the culture of the land was very much Anglo. Hence as Australia grew as a nation and a football playing nation the predominant influence was the British culture & methodology. Australia’s football cultures was based on the British way and for years and years Australia played to a very English system for very little return – one World Cup appearance in 1974.

Fast forward to 2005 and the Australian National Football team – the Socceroos – were still carrying the scars of past qualification campaigns under a British system. Back then billionaire property tycoon Frank Lowy took charge of the FFA and decided that it was qualification for the 2006 World Cup or bust. He then sent out his considerable resources to find a man that could lead Australia past 32 years of qualification heartache and into the World Cup. That man that was Guus Hiddink (pictured above) who combined his PSV role with that of managing the Socceroos. We all know the rest; Australia beats Uruguay in a play off to make the World Cup and then performs admiringly in Germany to make the 2nd round before narrowly losing to Italy. Australia fell in love with ‘Aussie Gus’ and so began the ‘Oranjefication’ of football in Australia.

Guus left after the World Cup but his legacy was his Assistant’s Rob Baan & Henk Duut who stayed on with the FFA and oversaw a revolution in the Australian system. Suddenly the British system was out and the Dutch way was in. They developed a new national curriculum, advocated adopting a default 433 style for all Aussie teams and shipped in any two-bit Dutch coach that wanted to come Down Under. Even at grassroots level the five & six year olds started playing ‘Small Sided Football’ in line with their Dutch counterparts and we became New Holland all over again. Another Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, also guided Australia to the 2010 World Cup although his style could only be referred to as ‘anti-Dutch’.

Those in Holland started to cotton onto this and after the wave of Dutch coaches coming down ended the next wave was Dutch players coming to play in the all new, all shiny A-League. Since its exception in 2006 the A-League has welcomed 17 Dutch players amongst its 10 clubs. This number in itself isn’t that impressive but when you look at that other great football frontier – the MLS – it’s only had 12 Dutch players despite starting a full decade earlier than the A-League. That being said let’s take a look at some of the hits and misses of Dutchies playing in the A-League

MISSES

Maceo Rigters – Rigters made a name for himself with the Dutch Under-21 side that won the 2007 UEFA U/21 Championships and made a big money move to Blackburn on the back of this tournament. Several years later he made a much trumpeted arrival to Gold Coast United who themselves were a flashy side from the glitter strip. Rigters unfortunately looked like he spent too much time sampling the great night life on offer on the Gold Coast and after playing 1 season with them was never seen on a football pitch again.

Marcel Meeuwis – After a decade playing in the Dutch and German leagues Meeuwis decided for a new adventure and played the last part of last season with Melbourne Heart. Unfortunately his adventure was short-lived and after playing only 6 games for the club his contract wasn’t renewed.

Andwele Slory – Another one who was much heralded at Youth level and who earned a big move to Feyenoord at a young age, Slory eventually made his way to Adelaide Utd. He played 11 largely anonymous games for the Reds before deciding that he had no further passion for football and retired.

Stef Nijland – Much in the same light as Rigters and Slory, Nijland was a former child prodigy who signed young for PSV and whom big things were expected. His career since has been a litany of loan moves, the most recent of which was with the Brisbane Roar (a club which itself has Dutch migrant roots). Rather than bringing his Eredivisie skills to the A-League Nijland was largely used as a substitute and had 10 uneventful appearances for Brisbane before returning to Holland.

HITS

Luckily there have been more hits than misses as the following list highlights:

Viktor Sikora – Sikora was, at the time, the best credentialed Dutch player to come to Australia having won 6 full caps in Oranje. He had 3 good seasons with Perth Glory and ended up playing more than 25 games and was a good contributor for the team before injuries eventually caught up with him.

Bobby Petta – a former Celtic legend, Petta joined Adelaide Utd in 2006 and became a mainstay for the side. He then became the first Dutchman to play for 2 A-League sides after a short stint at Sydney FC in 2009.

Sergio van Dijk – although Sergio is more Indonesian than Dutch these days, he did make a name of himself initially in Holland. van Dijk scored 50 goals in the A-League for first Brisbane Roar and then Adelaide Utd before scooting off to Indonesia.

Youssouf Hersi – Hersi’s early career prospects were blighted by injury and hence he didn’t quite live up to his potential. However a move to the newly founded Western Sydney Wanderers last season has revitalised Hersi who was one of the key players for his side in their fairytale run to the Premiership. Also made the end of season A-League All Stars side

Patrick Zwaanswijk – The consummate professional Zwaanswijk eventually moved to the Central Coast Mariners in 2010 to have one last adventure before retiring. After starring in his first season with the Mariners he decided to stay around and 87 games and 11 goals later he is a club legend after scoring the winning goal in last season’s Grand Final. Now retired, Zwaanswijk has joined the coaching staff at the Mariners.

This season we will see the following Dutchmen in action in the A-League:

Marcel Seip – Central Coast Mariners

Rob Wielaert – Melbourne Heart

Orlando Engelaar – Melbourne Heart

Youssouf Hersi – Western Sydney Wanderers

Pascal Bosschaart – Sydney FC

There’s a few more rumoured to be on their way Down Under as well which will see the continuation of the Oranjefication of football in Australia.

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EUROPA LEAGUE

EUROPA LEAGUE QUALIFYING: Vitesse 1-2 Petrolul Ploiesti

August 8, 2013 Will Burns 2 Comments

THURSDAY 9TH AUGUST

THIRD ROUND QUALIFYING – SECOND LEG

VITESSE 1-2 PETROLUL PLOIESTI

FC Petrolul win 3-2 on aggregate

Another Eredivisie crashed out of the Europa League when they were odds on favourites to progress, as Vitesse tasted a 2-1 defeat to Romanians FC Petrolul.

The Arnhem side were full control from the opening whistle using Ecuadorian right-winger Renato Ibarra’s speed to frighten the life out of the Petrolul defence. With the Vitesse midfield discovering to how much damage Ibarra could cause, he saw the ball often and was near to scoring, before blazing his chance over the bar after smartly cutting in from the wing.

Against the run of the play, the Romanians went ahead on 20 minutes after attacking with a route one ball from goalkeeper Peterson Pecanha. Tall Congolese striker Ferebory Dore flicked it on and Vitesse’s on-loan defender Patrick van Aanholt failed to cut the ball out. This allowed Frenchman Damien Boudjemaa to home in on goal and fire past the helpless Piet Velthuizen.

Vitesse needed to regroup and fight back, and they surged forward looking to get a goal before half-time, but they wasted numerous opportunities, with young Norweigan Marcus Pedersen having the best chance cleared off the line just before the interval.

The Dutch side looked leggy after the break and Petrolul looked to wrap the game up. However, the GelreDome crowd cheered them on and the hosts always looked their most dangerous from a corner, and minutes after Kelvin Leerdam headed over they found their equaliser on 72 minutes.

Defender Jan-Arie van der Heijden, who earlier in the first-half received a black eye from an elbow, slammed the ball home after it was uncontrollably bouncing around from a Theo Janssen corner.

The supporters now were louder than ever and just eight minutes after the goal, Vitesse were given another inspiration to attack for more goals as Jean Alcenat received his second booking for a foul on Georgian wide man Giorgi Chanturia. Alcenat was protesting and he had every right to, as it was a very soft decision that ended in Chanturia throwing himself to the ground.

The crosses were coming in thick and fast and the strange fact that the aerial threat of Mike Havenaar did not start the game is a question that only Peter Bosz could answer. The striker went the closest to winning the game with five minutes remaining but after receiving a cross from Chanturia, he headed straight at goalkeeper Pecanha.

The game was settled in a cruel way for Vitesse and more so their spectators. In the last kick of the game, the ten-man of Petrolul won a free-kick in a dangerous area on the outside of the box. Romania striker Gheorghe Grozav stepped up and curled the ball home with a shot that left Velthuizen stranded.

After the game, Janssen was interviewed by Fox Sports and stated: “This is destroying and we are ashamed. I think we were much stronger than the Romanians, but a lot of the team have played below their normal level. This is just a shame for the club and the fans.”

When asked the Vitesse midfielder agreed that without the sales of star players in the summer they would have progressed this evening: “With Bony and Van Ginkel in the squad, we would have definitely won this contest. Up front we did not have enough power to finish.”

A terrible performance from yet another Eredivisie side, and now Vitesse join FC Utrecht as being eliminated from the tournament at the qualifying stage. This will not help the Dutch coefficient for future European competitions, and the KNVB can only hope that PSV and Ajax can display a good showing in the Champions League and Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar in the remainder of this tournament when they draw is made on Friday.

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