Holland v Denmark 2-0
'46 Agger og
'85 Kuyt
Afterthoughts
Big up for Denmark's coach recognizing the Dutch's weakness: no speed in attack. While making the playing-field very small he caused Holland difficulties combining in midfield.
Expect Elia to play against Japan. Van der Vaart will probably be dropped but in my mind he didn't play worse then van Persie, Sneijder or Kuyt.
In Holland there is a thought that Sneijder and van der Vaart can't play together. I disagree but they need at least one speedster (Elia or Robben) on the wing to create space in midfield.
Keep in mind: Rafael van der Vaart is my favorite player and he will no doubt be sacrificed if Bert van Marwijk decides to bring Elia in. Making me sad...
Van Persie didn't play very well, which was a surprise to me and many others. But I don't doubt he is going to have a great tournament, especially when Robben comes in (creating acres of space for RVP).
Big plus was Holland's defensive organization (including van Bommel en de Jong). Denmark didn't have a clear-cut chance in the game and I can't remember a shot by a Danish player in the second half.
Gio van Bronkhorst didn't look great but the Danes failed to take advantage.
The assumption in Holland is: Oranje can't win if they play badly. Well...this performance was very bad and they won. This can be a positive sign...sort of...
I realize it looks like I am spinning an horrible and lucky win into a positive. But if you look back at Dutch teams in the recent past they always lost (Belgium 1994, England 1996, Ireland 2001, Portugal 2004 & 2006, Russia 2008) or drew (Scotland 1996, Belgium 1998, Germany 2004) when they had bad performances.
Some players said the altitude caused them to tire very quickly making it impossible to play the high pressure style which van Marwijk likes to play. Also a lot of crosses and long passes were overhit (just like in the Argentina-Nigeria game). Let's hope over time the Dutch squad will get used to the altitude. Their next game, however, is in Durban (at sea-level) against Japan. I think Holland will play much better there, due to the opponent, playing at sea level and the inclusion of Elia and maybe Robben in the team.
Golden Clog (award for best Dutch player)
The winner of my first Golden Clog is a duo: Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel. They bossed the midfield and won the ball back countless times.
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Reacties posten (Atom)
Your Golden Clog duo are the reason Van der Vaart can't find room in the first 11. The two defensive midfielders are in place to cover the perceived weakness in the back four. Van der Vaart would fit well in a more classic 4-3-3 with De Jong as the defensive midfielder, Van der Vaart and Sneijder as attacking midfielders, Van Persie in the middle (although he's no number 9...) and Elia and Robben/Kuyt/Afellay on the wings. That's the side with the most firepower, but weaker at the back.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBack in 2008 when the players convinced Van Basten to play 4-2-3-1 Van Bommel wasn't in the side and Van der Vaart played in his position, no?
@Gadi
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVan Basten and van Bommel hated each other, so that's the reason van Bommel wasn't playing.
Van Marwijk won't change his system: so I am afraid van der Vaart has to fight for playing time with Sneijder. He's never going to win that fight, but I am sure VdV will play some part this tournament.
I stumbled on your blog through honigstein's twitter. Good stuff!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI agree with most of what you said and had posted something similar over here:
http://timhi.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/fourth-day-of-world-cup/#comment-39
After this 1st round of matches, the 2-0 over Denmark looks like a really good result.