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

The starting line-ups
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.
Germany were much the better side here – they were more comfortable on the ball, their movement was better and they played at a quicker tempo. It was something of a surprise to see them hanging on towards the end of the game, having been so superior in the first half.
Wide positions
Whereas the earlier Group B game was contested on the flanks, the battles in wide zones here were quiet, with the full-backs coming out on top. Ibrahim Afellay had another disappointing game, and Jerome Boateng again deserves great credit for his defensive performance, having been unsure of his place in the side before the tournament (although he picked up a second yellow card, and will miss the game against Denmark). On the other side, Philipp Lahm played Arjen Robben wonderfully – Robben was predictable, always coming inside onto his left foot, but Lahm had extra knowledge from Bayern, and Robben only succeeded with one of his five attempts to dribble past an opponent.
At the other end, Gregory van der Wiel against Lukas Podolski was something of a no-score draw – it’s difficult to remember either significantly involved in the play – while Thomas Muller was probably the wide player who looked most dangerous (mainly with a couple of crosses towards Mario Gomez) against the inexperienced Jetro Willems – although the Dutch left-back certainly didn’t have a poor game.
Central midfield
This game was all about the midfield, and the contrast between the two systems. Holland were very structured – Nigel de Jong was retained alongside Mark van Bommel, while Wesley Sneijder stayed high up the pitch, more like a second striker than an attacking midfielder. Holland were effectively outnumbered 3 v 2 in the middle, but this wasn’t necessarily a problem if they sat deep, kept their positions, and forced Germany wide.
Holland’s trouble inevitably started from the movement of the fabulous Mesut Ozil, who drifted towards the right of the pitch in the first half, combining with Muller. As the deepest-lying Dutch midfielder, de Jong generally followed him – which left Mark van Bommel covering a large space of the pitch in front of the Dutch defence.
Third runner
Van Bommel then had to pick up the second runner – either Sami Khedira or Bastian Schweinsteiger. But the great value of Germany’s fluidity and bravery in midfield was demonstrated by the fact that the other player didn’t merely stay deep and pick up Sneijder. Germany left him to the centre-backs, generally keeping one full-back in a defensive position to maintain three defenders at the back if the ball was lost. That meant they had a third midfield runner.
The first goal highlighted this brilliantly. De Jong started off marking Ozil in a central zone, but ends up being dragged to a left-back position. Van Bommel tracks Khedira, who also moves towards that side of the pitch. Therefore, the entire central midfield zone has been opened up for Schweinsteiger – with Sneijder miles away. Schweinsteiger gets the ball, and slipsin Gomez, who spun and finished excellently. This was an isolated incident, but it had been coming.
For the second goal, something similar happened. De Jong moved with Ozil towards the left-back position and van Bommel had erroneously been tracking Khedira when Schweinsteiger was higher up the pitch. Schweinsteiger was then free to receive Ozil’s pass, and played in Gomez again. In fact, Schweinsteiger only passed to Gomez twice in the first half, and both were assists.
Holland changes
Holland had to adjust, and van Marwijk brought on Rafael van der Vaart for van Bommel, which helped Holland connect the midfield and attack. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar replaced Afellay, with the Schalke striker playing upfront as van Persie moved to the flank, switching around with Robben.
Much in the opening game, the change didn’t initially seem to give Holland much extra threat. Their good play in the first half came when van Persie and Robben combined on the right, or when van Persie’s movement (often in behind Mats Hummels, maybe hoping Hummels would be drawn to Sneijder) allowed him a chance after a ball from the centre of the pitch. These combinations were no longer evident, and for the first part of the second half, Germany were comfortable.
Dutch switch
But then, van Marwijk switched van Persie and Sneijder. The former was now a number ten, the latter moving inside from the left. Now, there were some decent moments – although there was still little cohesion from the Dutch front four, and every bit of good play was down to individual moments. Sneijder had a powerful effort blocked by Boateng after Robben beat his man for the first time. Then Sneijder cut inside from the left and shot just wide of the far post. Van Persie, meanwhile, created a goal out of nothing by coming deep to get the ball and firing in from outside of the box. Holland were back in the game, but through individuals rather than the structure of the side.
Germany didn’t defend well in the second half. Compared to at the World Cup two years ago, their shape wasn’t impressive – the second bank of four was slow to form and Holland found space out wide. It was surprising Löw didn’t use his substitutes earlier, to give extra energy to the side, and perhaps some more defensive protection.
But Holland didn’t do enough to merit a point. Their pressing was terrible – the front four or five would close down high up the pitch, then the defence and de Jong would stay on the edge of their own box. Germany played through the first ‘line’ easily, then held the ball, and held on for the win.
Conclusion
This was the perfect demonstration of how a flexible midfield duo can outwit the opposition. Germany were brave, and risked being caught on the break by leaving Sneijder free between the lines, but the alternate forward runs from Schweinsteiger and Khedira confused van Bommel, while de Jong was distracted by Ozil’s usual selfless off-the-ball movement to the flanks.
In more general terms, this was all about cohesion. Germany did everything together – they pressed as a unit, defended as a unit, and broke through with integrated movement and clever passing. Holland relied on individuals, while the defensive shape of the side was poor – quite damning, considering van Marwijk went for the defensive option of two holding midfielders. Germany aren’t mathematically through, Holland aren’t mathematically eliminated, and this was only a one-goal win, but the difference in quality was huge.
Van Marwijk’s tactical ineptitude has cost the Netherlands dearly. Unless he drops Van Bommel and Afellay, the Netherlands won’t stand a chance against Portugal. On a positive note, if he loses to Portugal, that should see him fired. Maybe Frank de Boer can come in then and show how it’s done in the proper Dutch style? The Netherlands can’t waste more time and potential with the negative style of Van Marwijk. That has to be clear by now.
Negative style? Thats a funny way of saying logical or balanced.
Your center-back partnership is incredibly poor and your fullbacks like attacking more than defending. If you move to one proper DM then you are either choosing someone who is too reckless and positionally weak or an aging star who wouldn’t have the stamina. This system would get completely destroyed against Spain, Germany, Argentina or Brazil.
The man took you to a WC final (with a backline that makes Argentina’s look solid) and would have won it for you if Robben wasn’t the world’s greatest bottler – please don’t show such ignorance to call him tactically inept.
you obviously don’t know holland and the players at our disposal, the problem with van marwijk is his selections,
We needed a left back, and Vurnon Anita was great for ajax, but maybe you never heard of him, well he’s wanted for 8 million pounds by newcastle, SO he’s solid, Erik Pieters was injured
Then center back pairings, Heitinga played poor, but this season for everton he was in form and their player of the year
Mathijsen was alright for malaga, A team finishing 4th in la liga, Champions league playoff,
holland has great defensive midfielders, in kevin strootman who is wanted by manchester united and others
as i said before the versatile anita, then we have stijn schaars playing for sporting lisbon, wanted by inter milan
superstar of the future, youngster jordy clasie, check him out
4th best statistical defender in bundesliga roel brouwers, ignored,
Jan Klaas Huntelaar, top scorer in the BUndesliga, 48 goals in like 41 games, guess what benched
nigel de jong, not reckless, name the last time he got red carded? hint 2006 for hamburg fc two yellows
so please, tell me again how it wasn’t the coaches fault?
I’m sorry but your points hardly prove anything. Wanted by such and such team… really? is that how you measure a player’s ability?
Team selection has been a part of Holland’s failure but I think the biggest factor is the lack of a clear plan, the dutch have basically been living off individual moments this whole tournament and it obviously hasn’t gotten them too far.
Also, Robben.
So by that logic Andy Carroll and fernando torres are best forwards in the game?
No, I think onzie wanted to say that there are more good players besides the 11 – 14 we see on the pitch at this tournament. And that van Marwijk should have built his team not only around the players from WC 2010 but also bring some other players in central / important positions.
Holland’s problem is simply a lack of quality. I’m so tired of reading about how Dutch players claim they’re better then the German players individually. It’s nonsense.
If you compare the two teams Germany clearly has more top class players on their roster. The full-backs don’t even compare (Lahm is world class, Boateng very good), Hummels and even Badstuber are better than the Dutch centre-back duo. The German midfield is ridiculously good featuring three of the most decisive players for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Schweinsteiger, Khedira and Ozil. Sneijder has had a poor season at Inter, van der Vaart has always been a decent but not spectacular player playing for reasonably good teams but failing at top teams. And van Bommel is just too old, static and not nearly as dynamic as Khedira and Schweinsteiger.
So the attack? Affelay isn’t better than Muller, Gomez and Klose have been scoring for years and surely aren’t much worse than Huntelaar and van Persie. That leaves Holland with Robben who is the most predictable player ever. He’s good, don’t get me wrong. But against Lahm he didn’t stand a chance. And personally I think Götze has more potential than Robben. And with Reus, Podolski and Schurrle, the Germans have some great talent there, too.
Sorry Netherlands, but you just aren’t that good. You used to have the more skilled players but not anymore. There’s a reason why Mourinho loves Khedira and Ozil
Hey I agree the germans have a side of incredible quality. Moreover I feel that internal disputes and individual arrogance is significantly harming hollands performance.
Football is a team sport after all innit.
He won’t drop Van Bommel because he’s dating his daughter! He play’s in a very un-Dutch way. I thought when Van Der Vaart came on the Dutch looked a little better. This was what Kruyff was going on about earlier. Having that extra playmaker quickers up the play compared to when you have two destroyers.
Interestingly, what I noticed with the Germans was they seem to play in zones in attack. When one person leaves their zone another quickly darts into, so that everyone is always swapping zones and confusing the defence.
It’s amazing what a team with so much individual talent can play like when given organization and a team ethic. Holland could learn from this.
‘dating his daughter’
aren’t ‘little’ Miss van Marwijk and Mr van Bommel married?
But, he (the manager) left him (the player) out after the break. I don’t think van Bommel starting on the bench would be a big thing if the Netherlands win (or are close to win) some games.
I supported the Netherlands in every European Championship, this time I felt both sorrow and a deep ‘I knew this was coming’. Who expected this squad to be successful? Whichever club you support, who’d you desperately want from this squad in your team? Van Persie, and who? None. Definitely not this Robben and not this Sneijder. And none of the midfielders and defenders. This maybe the team that played the final two years ago but a lot changes in football in two years. What happened to this squad in two years is that most of them (excluding van Persie) are much worse and all of them behave like big stars. I couldn’t stand a fourth game here watching Robben, van Persie and Sneijder taking shots whenever they see the post when they had teammates available. Especially I couldn’t stand watching Sneijder. Against Portugal, please watch what he does when they lose the ball. He simply moves to the front or if available to the wide attacking position where he wouldn’t have to make any defense. He simply hides. If anyone sees him making press or running after an opponent or covering for a teammate, please let us know. You can’t have this many stars in a team. Especially, if you have players like van Persie and Robben who don’t care about defense, then you can’t afford having a midfielder who hides everytime you lose the ball. Also, this is the 5th cup Robben is a starter. That’s 4 for van Persie and Sneijder. That’s just too much. The team simply needs to be refreshed. You need fresh blood who’d have the motivation and who’d wish to prove himself. Then the simple remedy for the Netherlands is clear: You have to leave out some of the big stars. For me, that’s a must especially for Sneijder and Robben. Then you can use van Persie and Huntelaar effectively.
I can’t believe that most of the suggested squads still have Sneijder. I read most of the comments and just a few people noticed that Sneijder hasn’t done any defending. In today’s football, you can’t have a team which has only 6 players in defense and the rest wait up there. If I was a Dutch parliamentarian, I would suggest to have him work in the mines for 6 months, claiming that his laziness hurt our national pride.
About Willems, you said that “…the Dutch left-back certainly didn’t have a poor game.” I thought he was poor in the first half and average in the second half. In the first half he often seemed out of position and the wrong side of his man. So why do you think he wasn’t poor? Was he marking his man ok, but struggling because Afellay wasn’t tracking back?
Regarding the Portugal game, I think that they may target him and try to get Nani one-on-one with Willems.
I agree, Willems looked dodgy.
Agree pretty much. I am struggling to find a basis for which to believe ZM’s assertion that Willems wasn’t poor. He was brave going forward and showed some good technique but for all that bravery and technique delivered no end product. He didn’t find anyone with all his crosses and ended up turning over possession too cheaply. In addition, he lost his man on too many occasions.
That said the Dutch defence was simply too poor.From the evidence of the two games they’ve played, they lack the intelligence and or mobility to deal with good movement. They will struggle to keep enough goals out to get any result against the portuguese.
well, not poor for his age and experience. that is what is being said in this article i reckon
willems’ positioning and work rate (in the first half in particular) was incredibly poor, i thought. he was always interested in getting forward, and only lazily jogged back five-to-eight seconds after the germans took possession. muller was constantly getting behind him, and that led (indirectly) to the first goal. the germans didn’t really exploit this in the second half – indeed, they realized there were ways to exploit the dutch much more directly – but they could have.
so sure, willems is a kid, but he should do the one thing a kid is consistently capable of doing – run his butt off. that is incredibly unimpressive to me, and i’d rather see them try kuyt in that position: at least you know he’s going to run, and maybe that will rub off on the rest of what looked like a lazy (or at least disconnected and uninspired) dutch squad.
You don’t think Willems had a poor game? He looked well out of his depth. Germany clearly targeted him, knowing they had a sure outball on the right wing and could get crosses in fairly easily from that flank.
Germany have put in some very disciplined, controlled performances so far. They don’t look as quick or as fluid as at the WC, though. Their link-up play isn’t quite as good and I don’t think they’ve hit those heights or the level they reached in qualifying. They’re surely just starting slowly and will get better, but I can’t help but feel that overall they are a better team with Klose playing (their attempts at counter-attacking weren’t as slick, in particular.)
Gomez did take both goals well. I still hope Klose returns for the next game, though. Hopefully Kroos and Gotze will feature soon, as well.
I’m not sure it has much to do with Gomez. To be sure, Gomez isn’t nearly as suited to a fluid game as Gomez. On the other hand, Germany are trying to win, not please. The schedule is very intense, especially considering the Bayern players went to the last day of every competition they were in; you could see in the second half Germany weren’t that interested in scoring, the RvP goal was fortunate in that it went through Badstuber’s legs, unsighting Neuer (still a nice shot, though) and caught everyone offguard.
Portugal tried to park the bus and play brutal. That was never going to be pretty. Against Denamrk I think a more experimental side will play, perhaps Lahm on the right with Schmelzer at LB, Reus or Shuerrle for Poldi, and Klose in the team.
Yep, your post pretty much sums up my sentiments. The missing fluidity and tempo of Germany can be explained by the recent injuries to their central axis Mertesacker-Schweinsteiger-Klose. While Gomez and Hummels proved to be excellent replacements and Schweinsteiger getting closer to his top form, you still get the feeling that they couldn’t shift into the highest gear yet.
And although you can’t complain about a striker with three goals in two matches under his belt, I really hope to see Klose regaining his form soon. His off-the-ball movement is superb, creating acres of space for other players and his link-up play with the midfield was an important part when Germany were at their fluid best. His performance in the 3:0 friendly against Oranje was just beautiful. I wish I could frame it and hang it on the wall. Gomez isn’t as good as Klose in creating space for others which might contribute to the more subdued performances of Podolski and Müller who usually make use of the spaces.
But I have to hand it to the German team that although they haven’t hit previous heights yet, they show concentration and tactical discipline. Not bad for the Group of Death™.
Germany were impressive in their win. The midfield three is arguably the best in the competition (with Spains slightly more unbalanced) and the intelligence shone through today. the fullbacks were also very impressive, with Boateng defending well and Lahm getting forward to good effect throughout. The only player to really have disappointed so far is Podolski, who has yet to meaningfully contribute to Germany’s attack. Schurrle should be given a chance against Denmark to see if he can do better.
What I have really noticed is that Germany have changed their style since the world cup. They attacking game is now based around creating chances for Gomez, rather than the more fluid approach having Klose up front brought. I’m not sure this approach can win Germany the Championships as relying on one player to score is never a good recipe. the trouble is Klose still seems unfit and the surprisingly hot weather means he is unlikely to play a whole game. So against Denmark, I would give Reus a chance up front, to see if he could play the more fluid role that Klose brings to the attack, he could be an interesting solution if it brings success.
Holland have been poor. When they reached the WC final, it was based as much upon their attacking talents as it was on their defensive solidity. At this tournament, they have looked much more open. The CB’s played a poor offside line against Germany, the LB was inexperienced and out of position too many times and the two DM’s failed to protect the defense. This was the most surprising, as Germany were always going to win the midfield battle, so Holland were expected to play deep and break at pace, this didn’t happen. Portugal nearly got a result against Germany and Holland should have tried to replicate that, the key was letting Ozil drift, not rack him and just make sure his next option wasn’t open.
Another defensive issue is that Kuyt gave great balance at the WC by defending the left wing, allowing Robben to play high up, this time Holland had two wingers trying to play high up, the team was truly broken. Sneijder and RVP were the only players for Holland that looked like getting a result. Sneijder grew into the game, especially when he went to the left and found time and space to create. RVP’s finishing was poor, but his movement was excellent and his link up play helped Holland move up the pitch. It was Robben that was the worst player, extremely predictable and selfish when he did get chances (the one time he wasn’t Sneijder nearly scored). Huntelaar was also disappointing when he came on, getting in the way of moves more often than not and failing to hold the ball up for the other Dutch players.
Holland now have a very hard game against Portugal, who only need a draw and will likely sit back. I would like to see Kuyt return on the left to give defensive help to the LB. Robben should also be dropped after his despicable walk off. I would suggest RVP move out to the left perhaps and De Jong given a chance up front, he could offer a mix between RVP and Huntelaar.
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Agree completely with the second paragraph and (as someone who wants Germany to win the tournament) I find it slightly worrying. Germany, whilst effective so far, don’t seem as fluid and haven’t really played to their strengths. I can’t see Gomez being dropped after the 3 goals. Unfortunately, though, I can’t see them winning the tournament with him up front. He’s done well so far, but the team just seems a bit more predictable. Is Klose likely to be fit/return soon? Having him back for the knock-outs could be huge.
i totally agree. gomez scored twice against the dutch, but i just cant shake of the feeling that with klose/reus germany would have scored at least 3 times…
Could be a masterstroke if they change their style in the knockout games and really surprise opponents. Just don’t know what Low is going to do really. Next game is a good chance to experiment though, Reus and Schurrle must be given starts to see what they can do. Gotze to come on at some point would be nice too.
You don’t change a winning team,simple as that.I’m not a huge fan of Gomez but he’s done a great job- he took those two goals yesterday suberbly.They’ve won their two oppening games against very strong opponents so it’s going OK for them.The real diferenece compareing with WC 2 years ago is that Muler and Podolski are not on that level,yet, and I’d rather “experiment” on the flanks.And I’d prefer Lahm on the RB although he’s been great so far but he’s much better as a atacking force on the right.The man who impressed me so far is Humels-Germany has a “new Beckenbauer”!
Not massive change no, but they could end up replacing Gomez and bringing in a more fluid style, we know they can do it successfully. It could surprise opponents who were prepared for marking Gomez. I would definitely keep the same spine, really just replace the forward three as the tournament progresses.
I agree but weather conditions were extreme yesterday so I guess Löw chose the player that was physically better.
This goes against what I think about the Dutch front 4 (i think they should build it around van persie) but… i wonder how Huntelaar would do with Kuyt on the left defending and Robben coming to join Huntelaar as he did with Van Persie in the world cup final, maybe Huntelaar would play that role better?
I would drop Robben though, he is off form and not playing for the team. Maybe Van persie on the right cutting in with Huntelaar up front. Though I thought he was poor in build up play and holding up the ball when he came on. I think De Jong should be given a chance, but seems unlikely
I feel like that would be a good idea. I haven’t seen much of De Jong so i wouldn’t know how he plays. Just as Germany with Gomez, i feel as if when Huntelaar is playing Holland are too predictable and they only have one option cause Huntelaar is so un involved in the buildup.
Thats why i have always preferred strikers like Klose or Van persie in that role. but i agree. a good idea would be De Jong up top, van persie on the right (he actually crosses too so hes not predictable) and kuyt on the left and sneijder in the middle. Not sure how De Jong plays.
Portugal “only need a draw” — providing they can guarantee that Denmark doesn’t win the final game.
True, but both games are on at the same time, so they will probabaly start conservative, then if they hear Denmark are winning by some chance, maybe come out more and try and win the game.
But I can’t see Denmark winning this game, so Portugal will play deep and let Holland try and break them down.
It’s nice to see Mesut Özil getting the appreciation he deserves. Back here in Germany hardly anyone (in the press) seems to notice how hard he works for the team and how cleverly he moves off the ball.
Unfortunately I don’t get to see Real Madrid, besides in the Champions League, so it was a joy to watch Ozil today. Definitely their man of the match.
Well, it’s Özil, their expectation is huge. They want to see fancy assists, great shot that actually went in, etc. The usual smart plays & moves from him not gonna impress them anymore.
yes and no. they want to see fancy assist and shots but its not like they are not impressed by his movement. they just dont see it. lots of football journalists know nothing about football, they just repeat the same phrases since twenty years.
i doubt that more than 10% of the football journalists understand what ozil brings to the game besides assists.
if a fan doesnt get it, fine but when you are paid to write about football you better have a clue.
thats why i hope the younger generation of journalists grows up with football blogs like this.
If you read any reviews on this site for games that Özil has played in you realize that he gets credit here. Seriously. It’s almost comical how much ZM loves him. I do think he’s one of the best players over the last two years (barring his first 5 months with Madrid. He was lost then!)
Personally I believe that Ozil tranfers a thousandth of his monthly income to ZM…
Haha! What if Michael Cox actually is Mesut Özil?!?!
Actually I’m the writer of zm
lol, as if Mesuts English was that good. I mean his German, Turkish and Spanish are already poor
Fantastic player on the pitch though.
Darned good reason why ZM loves him so much – he is remarkably adaptable to changes within a system, and does what it takes to make his team win.
It was really Ozil that was able to recognize the Dutch weakness at LB, and constantly ran out that way to put pressure, bringing de Jong along. That is tactically bright football.
I’m sorry to say this: but as a German I think he’d get more appreciation if he wasn’t of Turkish descent.
The fuss over Goetze has always struck me as a slightly passive-aggressive response over Ozil’s contribution and his increasing fame world-wide.
Most Germans also cannot watch Madrid, unless it is the Champions League. It is not carried by any channels: you need a satellite connection to watch. I’ve heard from German fans who still believe Schweinsteiger is their most popular player world-wide and don’t understand what I consider to be the Ozil-phenomenon – because he is unbelievably popular world-wide.
Well, it’s Özil, their expectation is huge. They want to see fancy assists, great shot that actually went in, etc. The usual smart plays & moves from him not gonna impress them anymore.
Impressive performance by the Germans, but i believe they will be knocked out by Italy. When coming up against Germany i think its essential to have 5 in midfield keeping space between the lines very tight with a physical presence upfront to bully badstuber. 5 in midfield is key to stopping Germany i wonder if anyone tries it.
I fear Italy and Spain the most, after beating our two rivals in the group of death, they are the teams to beat (pending any meltdowns or anything over in their group).
I would also say that that performance was the best ive seen so far in the tournament, Khedira has been impressive in the first 2 games and he was a player who i didnt rate. His drive, Positive foward runs and energy in the centre have been key.
Spot on.From my point of view Khedira improved great deal in pas 2 years.
As did Özil. The Special One really improved those two while the most beautifull, best and rich one is wasting like hell.
Van Marwijk’s refusal include holding midfielders (like Anita, Clasie or Maher) who have vision and are comfortable on the ball, in addition to destroyer type defensive midfielders like (Van Bommel and De Jong)in his selection, robbed the team of the ability to build up cohesive attacks and retain possession.
Van Marwijk’s interpretation of 4-2-3-1 has the same issues as a forward angled 4-3-3. Unless a center-back moves in to midfield, the team simply cannot construct the triangles necessary for the passing game.
I feel that de Jong gets a bad rap. He’s more than just a midfield destroyer. He completed more passes than anyone else last night, and many of them were hit vertically rather than sideways or backwards. But most people only remember him trying to conduct open heart surgery on Xabi Alonso at the World Cup final. Shame. (If I were to pick out a weak link in the Dutch midfield, it would be van Bommel. He moves the ball too slowly and seems incapable of covering space intelligently, which is surprising for a player of his experience.)
I agree that Van Bommel has been a weak link in the Dutch midfield. De Jong performed his job as expected. However, if the Netherlands were to play a single defensive midfielder in a possession based team, there are a number of Dutch players who are simply superior to De Jong in terms of distribution and build up play.
Van Marwijk refused to consider alternatives to his dual holding midfielder set-up in recent games except to occasionally bring on VdV who lacks the discipline and legs to bring stability to the midfield.
I couldn’t agree more. The Dutch success in the WC was down to the urgency of their counter-attacking, which was done with pace and vision, and that seems gone. Indeed, it seems that fad in international football isn’t quite enough in this tournament (which is actually good to see).
If you actually have to create goals, you can’t do it from this system – the 10-yard passes turn into 25-yard passes, and all too many of them end up intercepted or bobbled. That is down to the play of the midfield. Maybe de Jong did complete a number of passes, but he certainly had no interest in stepping up and creating the link between the midfield and attack. That’s not his fault – it’s just his game. But his lack of dynamism is what has left him out-of-favor at City, and his being included stubbornly game after game by van Marwijk has left this Dutch attack looking like a Frankenstein’s monster: all disjointed parts cobbled together with no overarching idea.
I’m not sure that Anita, Clasie, or Maher is the answer. I’m pretty sure that just putting on van der Vaart isn’t. But the Dutch definitely need to make a change in midfield to bring the side together – both in attack and defense. This just isn’t working.
Even my 10 year old son noticed how poor the Dutch pressing was. They constantly gave the Germans far too much time in the middle third, and absolutely that lost them the game.
It’s sad to see great teams play so badly.
just like australia england and argentinia, it wasnt germany playing good, the others just sucked… it gets boring
Funny how Ghana is missing from that list
. Ghana’s Black Stars are a tough nut to crack.
I spent a few minutes unsuccessfully trying to decipher this comment. All Google told me is that Germany beat Ghana 1:0 in the 2010 World Cup. Is the joke that Germany failed to score 4 goals in a soccer game?
Did you ever have the idea that the other teams look so bad because Germany makes them look bad?
Well, once the Germans finally met a team that presses them and denies time on the ball (Spain) they looked much less impressive. I imagine that’s what he’s talking about. There’s no reason why Schweinsteiger should be given so much space! He duly punished Holland, but the game was screaming for a player like Busquets to pressure that midfield.
Like, yeah, they only look good as long as they don’t play the World and European Champions.
They only ever shine when they play someone who is placed below them in UEFA’s ranking,
which is easy by definition.
And since their 2nd, pretty much everyone is, so where’s the achievement? Boo!
I will only be impressed if they absolutely dominate and slay Spain!
It’s simply Germany’s bad/good fortune that they haven’t met many other sides that were also at the top of their game other than Spain. So it’s hard to objectively rate Germany’s quality.
This Holland side has been in serious decline since mid-qualification. It’s hardly a world class team anymore. I’m looking forward to see how Germany will do against other squads that have looked solid at the Euro’s so far, like Russia and Italy.
Nice write up as usual, ZM.
Re: Holland’s “pressing,” which was ineffective and half-hearted, it often seemed, as the game wore on in the second half, that the team was defending in a 4-2-4 formation, and once the ball got past the offensive line of 4, the attackers rarely tracked back, leaving acres of space in the middle of the pitch and making the Dutch side broken in both defense and attack.
In other words, the team’s formation with their backs against the wall seemed a desperate attempt to have one of their offensive wizards save them with a moment of individual brilliance. Predictably, it wasn’t enough.
So, my question: Am I correct in identifying Holland’s second half formation as a (fairly broken) 4-2-4, with Sneijder, Robben, VP, and Huntelaar as the offensive band, and de Jong and VDV as the midfield band? And am I also more or less correct that this formation made them over-reliant on individual efforts (rather than fluid team build up)? Ever since I discovered your site a few years ago, I watch football with a greater eye toward how tactics influence a match, and am curious to hear your sense of my interpretation of the Dutch formation in the second half, which you didn’t really cover in your article.
Thanks,
SD
For me the man of the match was özil. I never saw a better game from him if im honest, and i follow him alot. Correct me if im wrong, but i’ve never seen a player making so intelligent runs, not to recieve the ball, but just to make up space for his teammates.
Thats something the media wouldnt realize, but its so essential for the german attacking game.
You have to figure that the Netherlands will drop Affelay, he’s been completely silent. I don’t see why their plan B in this game isn’t their plan A… Getting Huntelaar and RVP on the pitch at the same time seems logical when you’re lacking in offense. This team should not be scoring only 1 goal in 2 games, I don’t care who they’re playing
I just talked with a friend and we both came to the same conclusion.
Gomez wont continue scoring the 2 sole chances he has in a game. And here comes the problem. If he doesnt score, his contribution to the german attacking game is below 1%. He barely makes anything, no runs, no good passes. simply nothing but finishing. But you cant guarantee that he scores in every match.
With gomez on the pitch, germany looks like they can only score with him in form. If he screws his chances, something even the best scorer does, germany lack their fluidity they would have with klose or reus upfront. Sadly i can’t see Löw drop him after those 2 matches
nonsense…Özil, Müller, Poldi…all great scorer!
not with a guy like gomez upfront
been really impress with centreback pairing of badstuber and hummels espcially the later.Kept van persie quiet for much,except for the one that lead to a goal.Agree with writer that germany play more as a team,the dutch simply pass it to their star(robben,v. persie,sneijder) and expect something to happen.Germany trio of khedira,scheweni and ozil is one if not the best trio in the world.
Holland is too broken. No Kuyt, no van Bronckhorst. The fullbacks can’t link attack and defence as well as they did in WC2010, mainly because Gio is retired. I think Strootman needs to start instead of 1 of the defensive mids. And Sneijder needs to show the discipline he did for Mourinho’s Inter side.
Kuijt is not the solution, I believe he has proven that with his minutes this EC. He runs around like a headless chicken trying to solve all problem situations on the field not realising that he’s causing them by doing just that.
It is funny how people are harking back to Van Bronkhorst now, when he was playing he was seen as the ultimate defensive weak point in the Dutch squad, people thought (then) that his positioning was terrible, he always left him man unattended and didn’t cover his centrebacks when needed, had no aerial ability what-so-ever … he was decent/good at getting forward though.
No the problem does not lie at the leftback nor at the omission of Kuijt … the problem lies in the centre of the pitch and upfront … you mention two excellent solutions.
The team is fragmented and filled with egos. It’s like Chelsea in that respect. There are excellent, experienced individual players but it has been proven that when they face equal strength opposition it is not enough to have individuals, a team is needed. Maybe it is time to leave out players like Robben, N.de Jong, Van Bommel, Van Persie, V/d Vaart, Heitinga and play guys who have less individual quality, but are willing to work together and to stick to their roles.
There are some excellent upcoming talents sitting on the bench, the EC is pretty much over so why not throw them on and give them some time (L.de Jong, Narsingh, Strootman) and some players who should get a look (Vlaar, Schaars as DCM not LB!) … others for whom the bench is just right are Bouma (old, injury prone, not for the future), Boulahrouz (old, not for the future but I do like him, the only real defender the Dutch have), Kuijt (old, not for the future, not good enough).
I was referring to Gio as a link to the attack rather than as a defensive player. He didn’t do badly as a defensive player either. Perhaps he had more help, or didn’t have to deal with being overloaded by players of the quality of Muller and Ozil. Van der Wiel as well. Very little linkage.
My point ablout Kuyt is that Holland has too much flair and too little work rate. Sneijder and Robben are the prime examples of this. Robben I am happy with as a supersub, although I doubt he would be.
In terms of up front, I think there’s not much to be done there. RVP and KJH are 2 world class strikers. Both are having bad games and missing chances they would put away on any other day. What can you say? It happens. I don’t think KJH has made a case really that he should start over RVP, who I think has suffered from some adverse publicity in the Netherlands.
I agree with you 100% about the team ethic when playing strong opposition though. But the Euros are not over. There’s still a (slim) chance to qualify.
Ozil never disappoints with his amazing appreciation of space and his excellent movement. I knew once i saw how De Jong was following him around that the goal would come when Ozil pulls one of them away to the side and another midfielder of Germany pulls Van Bommel away and Leaves the third open, i just had doubts if Germany would leave Sneijder behind, and they didn’t think twice! haha. Boateng has been amazing with his key defensive moments in the first two games. His tackle to stop Ronaldo from shooting and his possibly goal- saving block. I’m happy he is red carded for the Denmark game if any game. This was Germany the Team Vs Holland the individuals, and it’s obvious who would win. I was amazed at how HORRIBLE their pressing was. There was a moment where Muller must have been just walking with the ball for 10 seconds before passing it off with no pressure. Muller had some great moments when he got in behind Willems. Lahm played absolutely amazing also. Hummels fell asleep on one lobbed ball over the top where Persie got free due to his great movement but just shot it straight at Neuer, much better than Huntelaar in my opinion. I don’t see Huntelaar having that type of movement. If the Dutch find any kind of starting front 4 it must involve Persie and Sneijder. Gomez’s finishing was excellent but i still prefer Klose just because of how much more involved in the build up he is and in my opinion Germany look more dangerous with him up top, but I can see that Low is starting Gomez for a reason, plus this could be Klose’s last run with the national squad. I’m happy with the late sub with Kroos on for Ozil, i feel like when that happened there was no hope left for the dutch anymore, though it was late cause Germany looked tired. But it was a great game I’m glad germany won! Badstuber is solid as a rock at the Left center back, he is a great left footed center back. I don’t feel like Gotze can fit into the current system but who knows. I’m glad Germany shut up that shit talker Van Der Vaart. If Germany only have 3 quality players then Holland have none.
Good game fro the germans. Sad game for the dutch. I’ve got orange in my blood so this was a very frustrating game to watch. I think one over looked problem that van Marwijk caused was he took off Afellay when he put on Huntelaar. At that point Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder and VDV were all looking to occupy that space at the top of the box. That left Klaas standing 5 yards in front of them all getting in the way. If he left Afellay on, even thought he had had a poor game it would have at least given him 2 (or 3) targets to aim at while crossing the ball. And he would have continued to track back and help out Willems.
I’m over Robben. I’d be happy if he didn’t play another game wearing orange. There formation against Portugal should be:
VDW — Heitinga — Mathijsen — Willems
MVB — VDV
Afellay — RVP — Sneijder
Huntelaar
Germany will walk all over Denmark. Gomez will probably get a brace and I’d like to see one of the midfielders score. Özil deserves it but it’ll probably be Mueller.
Attack and midfield for Holland should be van Bommel and VDV deep, RVP right, Sneijder center, kuyt left, and huntelaar up top. Think they have a good chance against portugal. Would like to see lahm play right back with schmelzer on the left for the Denmark game, Schürrle for Poldi, Kroos for
Schweini, and Klose from the start. Götze and Reus two offensive subs. Think that lineup will rest some key players and allow experimentation and give an idea of how the side could look.
Most aspects of the game have been already discussed in detail so I just want to focus on the German defense.
Neuer, Badstuber and Hummels are certainly among the worlds finest when it comes to playing the ball, as everybody has vision, coolness and technique. This makes it very hard to press them, especially since Lahm and Boateng go wide while a midfielder readily drops. Even with excellent pressing their long passes, mostly in to the flanks create dangers. Hummels already made a few runs high up against Portugal and had a Beckenbauer moment minus the goal scoring knack when he run right up to the penalty box, testing Stekelenburg.
While both had a strong game individually, their coordination has still room to grow. We also saw at least two mistakes by Hummels, once by being out of position on the right, while leaving an Oranje free in the penalty box, and another one when losing van Persie. Badstuber was only a bit too passive against a pacey van Persie, however he had to guard also Huntelaar with Lahm being too far away to cover him. This is pretty much the worst situation a CB faces, no protection from the midfield, a world class player racing at you close the box and another world class striker ready to receive the short diagonal pass.
All in all it was a joy for a former center back with little-to-no class to watch those young guys – 23,23,25 years old – play.
You’re totaly right,I’ve already commented that he reminds me of Caiser Franz!I hope Germany wins this tournament,although I’n not Ze German.But if they not than WC 2014. in Brazil is theirs for sure-imagine all theese young players with those even younger on the bench,in 2 years time!
I thought the first 20 minutes were interesting. Very cagey, with both teams sitting deep when losing possession. They seemed very evenly matched then, and Holland even had a very good chance to open the scoring.
When playing like that Van Marwijk’s system actually works fairly well. Too bad they weren’t quite good enough to keep Germany from scoring (especially when Gomez is finishing like that), because after going behind Holland were clueless. It turned out they were almost completely incapable of pressing. Even the change of personnel in the second half didn’t change this.
I don’t know if it was an issue of fitness (the conditions were tough), discipline, confidence, or just quality, but the main problem was that the defense refused to push up and kept falling back to the edge of their own box. Of course, sitting deep and letting the forwards do their magic still resulted in one goal, but the Germans were always gonna be smart enough to keep enough bodies behind the ball to not get caught on the break, so it wasn’t exactly a winning strategy.
All-out pressing would have been the only chance in the second half, and Holland were somehow unable to do it aside from about two minutes after Van Persie’s goal.
I thought Willems did OK, but he had trouble with the sheer physicality of Muller, wich seems to be a problem with other fullbacks that face him. He practically won every ball in the air and outmuscled Willems too often.
so do I (see my post below) … as for Willems not being great in the air … agree, it is down to size (he’s not that big) and the fact that in Holland heading qualities of wing backs don’t need to be that good and it is not really looked at, I think you’d struggle to find decent wing backs in Holland with good aerial qualities …
case on the right V/d Wiel, others considered for the left position being Pieters and Anita none have good aerial qualities, you can go back through older Dutch squads and you’ll struggle to find one (Van Bronkhost wasn’t great, Reiziger wasn’t great). Thus most high balls out to the wings will be won by the offense (would like to have seen Holland up against Greece in this respect with all the high balls out to Samaras on the wing, interesting to see how that would have been solved).
Thing is they had/have more experience so their positioning for high balls would/will be better, give Willems a couple of years and he’ll be a lot better at it. I think it is wrong to bash a young kid like this … it was expected to be the Dutch weak spot in defence but over 2 games he’s not been half bad and the weakness of the Dutch has been straight down the middle or in the first game the right. All three teams Holland play against have (more) dangerous right sides (Portugal’s are equal in strength in my opinion) so it was never going to be easy for Willems and he’d always need help, which he hasn’t been getting. If a team works well together they provide that help (look how the Dutch wings have been nearly nullified).
I believe the outright excellence of Hummels is being overlooked a bit.
For those doing the ol’ Willems bashing
… I can only fully agree with ZM on this, he didn’t play half bad … even in the first half (though second was much better).
Examples:
Goal 1 – He’s in an okay position when the ball comes out to Muller from the centre … his speed gets him out to Muller by the time the ball arrives … Boateng comes up against the line and runs between Muller and the line (very tight) … due to bad tracking from Afellay (in this case) Willems has to choose for Boateng in case he receives the pass and so switches players … Afellay is still tracking Boateng (why? should have picked Muller, had no chance tracking B successfully) and thus Muller is suddenly free with the ball to slip it inside to Schweinsteiger … pass to Gomez and goal …
Anyone notice how easily Gomez got rid of his marker (Heitinga) … he’s not considered mobile but just follow his run, you don’t need to be mobile if you can get rid of your man so easily.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5aZ1w_imW4&feature=related
Goal 2 – Long ball up to Muller with Willems marking him … Muller gets the header in … ball goes through to Gomez who’s running to the corner and has Mathijsen tracking him … Muller runs inside and Willems tracks him cuz he sees a huge hole in central defense has opened up … ball is out on the German right and Schweinsteiger comes from deep … completely unmarked by and Dutch midfielder!!! … Willems is sticking to Muller in the centre … Gomez crosses in diagonally and receives the pass, Willems breaks from Muller to try to block the shot he knows is coming and arrives just a touch late … Mathijsen is marking Gomez on the wrong side! What was this about Gomez not having enough movement? He’s managed to get on the good side (for him) of his marker a second time … great finish.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_7QQZm20k4
Two goal situations in which Willems actually did what he should do!
I think Willems didn’t perform half bad considering the limited assistance (and defensive quality) of those around him.
Now I’m not saying there were times when he couldn’t have done better but … he had absolutely no help from any of the players who played on the Dutch left, they were; Afellay, Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder nor from any of the defensive midfielders if their man went wide (De Jong and later Van der Vaart) … if any did it was half-hearted (see Goal 1) and so he was easily outnumbered in deeper positions … see for example how the Germans managed to dink the ball around in the corner at the end of the match with Willems already on a yellow (a “good” foul on Muller or he would have been through free – this was due to bad positioning and inexperience).
Anyway, if Muller, Boateng and Ozil are all in your zone at multiple moments in the game you know it’s going to be tough
On the other side Van der Wiel had the most relaxing game of his life
(over stating but you get my drift) as the Germans were on the whole far less adventurous down that side. I didn’t even notice Podolski on the field, anyone know how many touches he got?
I’m sorry I can only give the goal examples (very limited selection I know, but key moment none the less that played on the Dutch left), can’t find other clips on the net.
cheers!
According to Whoscored.com, Podolski actually completed more passes than Müller on the night: 31 to 30.
I think Podolski’s tactical remit was also to protect the left flank (against Robben etc), a defensive play that he doesnt like very much. I agree his attacking performance was not very exciting.
heh …
… notice the part where I say “over stating but you get my drift”, as Doerk says, the left side for Germany was not as dynamic even though the Dutch wingers on that side didn’t track back either.
Cheers for the link … checked it and looking at the stats also indicates that Willems wasn’t as bad as people say … on the flip side V/d Wiel was not that great going forward where that is considered his strength, though he did make 1 lone dribble.
Thanks for the analysis about his positioning. What about his passing though? I seem to remember quite a few balls to German players, both balls played out of defence and crosses/passes further up the pitch. Does anyone have a Chalkboard or fourfourtwo account? It would be interesting to see his numbers.
Cheers … I don’t have an account that you mention, but from the link erstzian provided …
Passes 41 of which 0 were key passes
Pass Completion 95%
Crosses 3 of which 0 were successful
Clearances 0
Long balls 0
3 tackles and 2 interceptions
Dispossessed 1 with 1 turn over.
From that data it would seem that Willems only misplayed 2 passes and all three crosses did not reach an intended target … this would lead to your “quite a few” being more of an impression (emotional view) and being supported by data with regards to passes but with regards to crosses you’d be correct (although I’d argue that Van Persie is not the type of player you’d want to be firing crosses in for (more passes into his feet), so it would be interesting to see if they came in the first or second half when Huntelaar was on the pitch).
Anyway, hope that helped.
Again it should be noted that V/d Wiel out on the right was neither significantly better (or worse) than Willems out left if you look at passing etc. (see site and compare for differences) and he receives no criticism (nor praise) for his game v Germany.
Not a formation question, but a (sort of) tactical one:
Don’t you feel the Germans forgot to decide the game between the 50th and the 70th minute of the game?? They were content to knock the ball around, but did not go in for the kill, despite being in very promising positions sometimes. They were like a boxer who decided against trying to knockout an opponent with shaky legs.
They were trying to close out the game for the last 40 minutes … against some of the most lethal attackers in the world.
That’s the danger of being up 2-0 so early and that’s what Low (according to the commentators) was screaming about. The Dutch just couldn’t take advantage of it. Aside from RVP’s goal they played with their heads down.
One must not forget the heat on the night.
That’s exactly what Löw said after the game.
I was asking myself what was going on in the beginning of the second half,too.
With Holland being so quiet/passive and Germany not capitalizing
Everybody expected the dutch to come out storming into the german penalty box after the break and the germans executing the fast counters we loved to watch at the WC, but neither happened. Why?
Holland couldn’t have been already tired, demoralized or confused by the changes made, (after all, they just came from the halftime break, all positions that have been subject to changes, were covered by experienced players from the top leagues of the world and nobody was given a role that he was totally unfamilliar with) unless their coach failed to (re-)motivate them or explain the intentions behind his changes/substitutions.
What else, internal dissent, loss of leadership on the pitch with the captain (vBommel) off?
Germanys behaviour was no less of a riddle to me.
Instead of making use of the space and time on the ball offered by the lack of pressing (and attacking pressure) from Holland and trying to kill the game by steadily feeding Gomez (who was obviouly having a good/lucky streak) almost the complete german backline and DM were taking turns at shooting from outside the dutch box (Boateng, Hummels, Lahm, Khedira(?), not sure about the order, but come on)
Were they trying to increase their individual market value, or was it just arrogance?
It surely couldn’t have been ordered by Loew, because that was the time we saw him raging at the byline and understandably so. In his place, I would have been furious too!
The way Germany played the second half, they not only faciliated a dutch comeback, they were virtually begging for it to happen and got lucky that Holland (for whatever reasons: lack of fitness, cohesion, determination, team spirit, tactical balance or combinations thereof) were capable of pulling only one goal back.
Despite all the talent gathered on the pitch (by both teams) the second half disappointed me. I was hoping Holland would at least put up a good fight, or in turn Germany give us a lovely 4:0 rant, but none of it came
The interesting question is: why this omission/negligance by Germany?
What “exactly” did Loew say after the match?
That it was hot and he intended to start closing out the game right after the break? (can’t imagine, he’s not that stupid)
And if he was, then why the rage?
Was he just angry about the squandering of chances?
Or didn’t he like to see his backline players carelessly venturing forward, while he told them to sit deep and close out the game?
Would somebody more insightful than me care to answer, please.
I don’t think it’s that difficult to fathom.
It was hot. Germany were up two goals and were passing the ball around to keep Holland from doing anything with it – seems reasonable enough. You don’t have to score 3 or 4 goals. It was a balance between scoring and defending that was sensible under the circumstances. It wasn’t even a must-win game for Germany.
Holland haven’t the skill to get the ball away or to attack. Simple enough.
Of course Loew wanted more goals – and it isn’t as though Germany didn’t try. They had a couple of excellent chances through Ozil and Hummels.
Holland had the same problems with regards to team balance as in the game against Denmark.
The problems are in the defense and how van Marwijk responds to that, ie with two central defenders contributing very little to attack. Van Bommel is a good passer but he is slow and lacks defensive quality, De Jong is a pure destroyer.
Already against Denmark Holland looked like a broken team with only 4 players contributing to attack. I think the key problem is playing van Bommel still. He does not effectively protect the back four, so you need a second destroyer. Also due to his disadvantage in speed he needs to sit fairly deep.
Van Marwijk’s failure was not to replace van Bommel after WC in 2010. And still being captain it is difficult to keep him out of the team with regards to team hierarchy and expectations in the public. I think that was a huge mistake in long-term planning for this competition.
the germans dominated and the dutch paid i have given reasons to that in the last para . now about the game even though the german won there may be a few points i suppose low must had noted first of all humells excelled in one on one situations a couple of time his discpline was found wanting . i dont know how the substitutes used by bert marjwik changed the game because i would like to know the statistics as to how touches did van der vaart had in the game . he should had brought somebody energetic all and all a good german win .
everybody is talking about the dutch midfield and how they cannot support the front like but then the real problem starts from the back . look at the dutch back line for the second goal how easily did player like gomez who has got no great express pace turned on mathisen . look at the no of time muller beat jetro in the foot race and mathisen couldnt go and cover because he is not that quick . the real problem is the dutch back line they are very flat footed not even decent pace except some what of vanderwiel but he can be played around but he gets exposed because robben doesnt tracks back very often which leaves him exposed . so all and all this leaves dutch to play deep and the midfield can step up because it will expose the back line and one there is space to exploit between those two so that is the main problem hope they have some good defenders who can give confidence to the coach .
Just thought of something in the shower earlier today. Have not seen any thought on the relative unsuccess of Podolski and how it may be linked to the exclusion of Klose. Klose usually opens up space with his excellent movement and we are used to seeing Podolski utilise these areas in the NT. However, so far this tournament, Podolski has been very isolated on his left flank and I think that this is partly due to the static play of Gomez. What are your thoughts?
I am wondering why it is always Gomez fault that other players do not play better…
Podolski can still link up with Özil, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Khedira.
But while he obviously has more responsibilities in defense he is not at his best
Because the difference is plain to see whenever Klose plays?
I would disagree with that. The game everybody talks about to prove Klose is the better player for the team is the 3:0 against Holland last year. And in this game Podolski was isolated as well.
In both cases this could have been as well a matter of tactic rather than weakness, I don’t know…
It is the outcome of two factors knocking on each other
- Kloses absence and the resulting rarer/smaller availibility of spaces to cut into
- having to track back and help Lahm against two of the fastest wingers in the world in the two respective games played
very interesting point. yes. gomez must have been asked by jo to play as a static player. Hence, he doesn’t create space. klose or any other natural strikers will create space. Podolski should not play when Gomez is in starting.
Holland were virtually the same side last night as they were at WC2010, and yet they were (and are)completely different. It seems that Dirk Kuyt and Gio Van Bronkhorst made the difference. Gio hit a purple patch and his and Dirk’s influence was the essential stabilser for the traditional Dutch “sticky tape” defence. THEN the big guns could play.
Now Holland really are playing with 3 at the back (Jethro being AWOL) and Affellay is not there to defend.
Nothing said so far of Wesley’s chronic drifting to the left which was already crowded by Jethro and Affelay, leaving a hole in the attacking midfield centre which was then often filled with a rather more clumsy Van Bommel who in turn left his own defensive midfield hole which was filled by…Schweinsteiger?
There is Bayern Robben and Holland Robben. Holland Robben is ok (most countries would sell their souls for someone this good) but Bayern Robben is better. If Holland want Bayern Robben then they need to pick Ribery at left wing, drop the stadium temperature and pay him the big Bayern bucks.
There is also an Arsenal RvP and a Holland RvP. Arsenal play around their RvP and he scores them lots of goals. Holland RvP instead has to play around his team, and he doesnt score lots of goals.
Whereas Bayern Robben is impossible for Holland to create, perhaps Arsenal RvP isnt.
Give the man a break!
He is probably at the most depressing state in his carrer after the last two seasons. This guy lost four big Finals in the last two years and he had quite a foot in doing so…so you can’t call him confident right now.
The problem is if you are showing the attitude like he does it punshes you in the face in hard times. The man did receive a lot of bad words in the last weeks in germany.
An interesting game with some tactical lessons:
#1
Holland play much better with a lead… that’s how they went to the WC final. By being in a good defensive shape and attacking with few players.
Problem is they have been trailing… and asking De Jong and van Bommel to play higher with more space to cover is an error. Wich brigs us to point #2.
#2
Playing a static midfield duo when needind to score is a mistake.
Nor only were they dragged around by Ozil and the German nmidfield duo with acres of space to run into, but they also couldn’t support Holland’s attacking movements.
If you consider that neither full back was pushing on, you’re looking at 6 players in defensive position when the team had the ball.
#3
Van der Vaart isn’t the answer.
He just stays high up and there’s no connection with the other midfielder.
Germanay could have easily killed the game in the start of the 2nd half as VdV wasn’t tracking anyone and Germany had several counters when they outnumbered the Dutch defense.
I still don’t understand why Schaars is on the bench… he certainly isn’s a world class player, but his skillset would fit perfectly into that midfield.
#4
Ozil has been brilliant!
His movement in the first 2 games has been wonderful!
He draggs entire midfields around and the space he opens up is perfect for an intellegent player like Muller.
And it’s relevant to add, that Ozil has been doing it while performing a different role than in previous years. He usually stayed high up spearheading counters. In Euro 2012 he has been playing a deeper role, and as such hasn’t been able to provide that goal threat… but the space he opens up is, at least, as dangerous.
VDV immediately incased speed of play and almost pushed the entire team to attack. He linked up play consistently and had some idea about creative quick attacking! It was foolish not to have him in sooner.
Something many people seem to have missed is that Germany’s second goal came from a long hoof up the pitch from Neuer… To a ‘winger’ in Muller who is actually more like a tall center forward.
To me, this looked like a deliberate ploy by Germany from Kick outs. But obviously if another nation did this it would be highlighted as ‘hoof ball’… lol
Germany’s style of play has always seemed to me to be very basic and simplistic. Almost too simplistic… When defending they almost leave 3 players up front – the two wide players and central striker. And when they attack, the two wide forwards/wingers are instructed to make the pitch as wide as possible… to stretch the opposition. And they attack with great speed and efficiency.
Not rocket science by any means, but very effective. It’s actually a very old-school british way of playing in many ways. This begs the question of why teams in the british Isle haven’t recognised this..!?
Germany don’t even produce many great wide players either to fully exploit this style of play. Podolski and Muller are not completely natural in those wide positions. They are both more comfortable as central strikers.
Both England and Ireland actually produce better players for this style of football imo. Probably because this is still the most common style of play at youth level in the British Isles currently.
If Germany can be one of the best teams in the world playing such a basic system – why can’t our teams do something similar?
Enjoyed too much of BBC Match of the day punditry:;-) “Germany an average side, and eminently beatable” back in WC 2010.
I think your analysis misses the German game in many respects:
Different from the Dutch side the wingers Müller and Podolski and Özil as well also fulfill defensive responsibilities.
The wingers do not make the pitch wide always. One characteristic of the attacking play is the movements of Müller and especially Özil who is constantly moving between center, left and right wings which makes it very difficult for static defenses like Holland.
And the long balls: Low stresses always a build-up of the game with low passes. You nearly will never see long balls from Badstuber, Hummels or Lahn. Low has even prohibited Hummels from hoofing these long balls up the pitch as in Dortmund.
The difference between the German side and the English game is from my perspective mostly the technical capabilities of the defensive play and the passing accuracy. Badstuber, Hummels, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Khedira just seldom lose balls in the build-up of the game. Therefore, the team is able to control the games while still not playing possession football as Spain, e.g. Netherlands had the majority of possession in yesterday’s match.
All these arguments that all of you have written about the poor perfomance by Holland are due to one main reason-Holland did not have enough stamina.They were slow,they didn’t have enough power to press the opponents.They simply had low fitness level.
What’s up with man-marking in the midfield?
If you start tracking players like Ozil, you end up getting dragged all over the pitch, leaving dangerous space.
Zonal marking boys!
I don’t think de Jong was man marking Ozil, he seemed to drift to the left whenever a German player moved down that wing. None of Afellay, Robben and Sneijder bothered to defend consistently (especially Sneijder), so Holland was outnumbered the whole match in every part of the midfield. It doesn’t matter what kind of marking you’re using when you’re trying to defend 3 or 4 players with only 2 of your own.
I read almost all the comments and finally someone noticed Sneijder’s laziness. That was just unbearable and inexcusable.
Holland seem to have problems right down the middle of their side:
2 destroyers in midfield because apparently, their defence is weak. Therefore, a creator is fielded alongside them to add more incisive passing. But, he doesn’t make forward runs. Then, up front you have Van Persie, who thrives on midfielders’ runs from deep…
Let’s stick with the idea that their defence is weak – this appears to be where all these flaws in their setup stem from – but no-one can argue their attack isn’t full of talent. Surely, this being their strength, this is where the team should be built from? Start with your strengths then work around getting the best out of them.
If Van Persie is the manager’s preference up front, then why not put players around him that most compliment his game? The same goes for Robben.
It seems Holland have tried to compensate for a perceived weakness in defence but in doing so have diluted their strengths and weakened their effectiveness as a team as a whole.
hear hear …
defending is intimately linked with attacking and vice versa … how a team decides to defend will determine from which position the majority of possessions start (defend deep most possessions will start from deep positions ie. goal kick after a shot). Play very attacking and most possession losses will be high up the pitch and thus trying to get the ball back should start higher up the pitch (by the player who lost and where the ball was lost ideally).
If the defense is perceived as a weak point then try make sure that the ball is not in that zone for long periods … thus press with the whole team as high up the pitch as one dares so that turnovers will be as high up the pitch as possible.
Of course a team can’t play like this without a ton of practice sessions or comitment from the players … maybe less friendlies against super weak opposition and more training sessions next time around … I know they have to play friendlies for financial reasons, but financially the team also benefits if they get further into the tournament and actually win games!
You are right, this team is currently split between two minds due to the fact that they want to incorporate (to please) as many of their “big-guns” as possible … it is just not possible.
Cheers for the reply.
It seems like Holland want to play in a certain style but, for fear of it not working, they field some players who are suited to a very different style. As you say, this causes the team to be caught in ‘two minds’.
Can you or anyone else enlighten me on the quality of defenders at their disposal? Heitinga and Mathijsen certainly aren’t the best pairing in the tournament but they’re hardly poor players. Also, what other Dutch defenders are out there? Unfortunately, I am not so up to speed on players in the Eredivise or that aware of Dutch defenders elsewhere.
I ask because the weakness of the defence appears to be influencing team selection.
Heitinga – slow, positionally suspect/mediocre, aerial quality good (both attacking at corners and defensive), fairly rough, right footed, short passing okay, long passing bad, not good under pressure. Has been played CDM at times in his career as he’s quite good at latching on to a player and getting under their skin. Prone to fouling and can be brought off his game if faced with a physical, niggly striker. Complains an insane amount to ref and fellow team mates. Doesn’t cover team mates much. CB mostly (or DCM).
Mathijsen – slow, positionally mediocre, aerial quality okay, fairly timid and clean defender, left footed, passing decent/good both long and short. Prone to lapses. Fairly quiet in the field. Sometimes tries too hard to go for a nice solution and gets in trouble, not the type to blast a ball over the line if put under pressure. Can be used for building up from the back. Covers okay. CD only.
Vlaar – slow, positionally decent, aerial quality excellent (attack and defend), fairly clean defender, good shot, passing decent short but bad long. Fairly quiet in the field but voices opinions to team mates. Prone to lapses of concentration. Injury prone. Right footed. Can be rough if needed. Covers okay. CD only.
Boulahrouz – slow, positionally decent, aerial quality excellent (attacking and defending), hard shot but not very accurate, passing both distances decent, not good on the ball and can be brought under pressure easily, can be very rough if needed but a fair player. Right footed. Big and strong. Fairly quiet. Picks up cards in bunches (depending how much physical play the refs allow) and prone to fouling. Good at covering for fellow defenders. Used as RB a few times but really not a good position for him, CB really.
Bouma – slow, injury prone, positionally okay/suspect, aerial quality okay, decent shot, passing/crossing good (both distances), decent on the ball and can get by an opponent (used to be winger), very injury prone, left footed, sometimes holds the ball for too long and tries for “nice” option thus loses ball a lot. Covers okay. Quiet and not very tough/rough but looks it with tattoos. Prone to excessive fouling to cover mistakes. Can be CB or LB.
V/d Wiel – decent pace, aerial quality mediocre/bad, decent shot, passing/crossing okay, decent on the ball, likes to join the attack, positionally mediocre, always used as a wide defender, right footed, like most Dutch wide defenders defensively suspect but good going forward. Quiet and not rough, gets cards through trying to correct own mistakes. Only RB.
Willems – good pace, aerial quality mediocre, decent shot, passing/crossing okay, good on the ball, likes to join the attack, very young and prone to mistakes due to inexperience (can be out-foxed), games very up and down quality-wise, left footed, decent defensively due to speed so watch out for injuries and age. Quiet. Only LB. An up and coming talent for a typical Dutch style wide back.
In my opinion the defence isn’t great but not bad either … I would never start Heitinga, I’d go with Boulahrouz or Vlaar there, but hey, personal preference (also maybe I’m a touch harsh on that player).
Other possible defenders:
Emmanuelson (LB but plays LM too), Anita (LB/RB has played both along with DCM), Drenthe (LB, seriously but plays in midfield usually), Pieters (LB) and a whole host of younger Dutch players for CB. A the moment RB is a little devoid of talent, but some young guys are coming.
Viergever (CB) was on the provisional squad but got left out at last cut, still fairly young and inexperienced.
Hopefully that’s what you wanted to know … to others please comment if you DON’T agree, would like to read your views.
I think van der Wiel did okay and Willems was also ok given his experience.
But as CBs Heitinga, Matthijsen, Vlaar looked very vulnerable in these two matches. It is not that they are outright poor all the time. However they do not have the flair of confidence that their team mates can relie on.
And compared to Pique / Ramos, Hummels / Badstuber, Boccini / Chiellini, etc they are substandard
@Doerk
Yes … that’s true … I tried to give a general overview of each player’s talents individually.
As you can see I noted that most defenders are “quiet” and they don’t really voice their opinions much (though Mathijsen does more so than could be implied from what I wrote) … as you said, no flair like Jaap Stam, John de Wolf, Frank de Boer, Ronald Koeman (irrespective of those player’s individual defensive qualities).
I personally like the Danes’ central defensive partnership. They can pass, are imposing and enjoy a fair challenge.
Thanks for that. All the CB’s are slow by the looks of it!
Someone posted earlier about Anita being a great prospect and would have been a better choice at LB than Willems, is this the case?
The whole Willems situation seems strange to me. I would have expected someone like Emmanuelson to feature based on his experience.
To be fair to Van Marwijk, based on your ratings of the defenders, he has had difficult decisions to make in balancing this fairly weak defence with the attack.
When I was watching Hollands defenders I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t give Ryan Donk a chance in the pre-tournament friendlies. He was the best defender in Belgium last season. He’s quick, strong and has very good feet.
Although probably a little exaggerated (he doesn’t have the leadership skills) he is compared quite often with Kompany here.
@pat
Anita is just as inexperienced on the big stage so you’re basically doing a quality for quality player swap.
Willems – Anita … no, I think they made the right choice, put a player there who naturally plays there not a utility player like Anita (who I’m not a fan of anyway) … but of course there are differing views on this.
I think Emmanuelson was not chosen cuz the coach just doesn’t think he fits in the group.
Yes, the defenders aren’t the quickest in the world but neither was the Stam/F. de Boer partnership, or R. Koeman but that defense was lauded … it has more to do with willingness to work together and the inherent defensive “state/awareness” the players have. I think that there should have been a lot more practice for partnerships to get timing, covering each other, positional improvements etc. on par … also the injury leading up to the EC on Mathijsen’s part did not help and with the openly voiced doubts of defensive quality of replacements.
There’s a moment in the first half where Germany have a free kick and the TV camera (from about mid-field) is focused on Heitinga who is staring down one of the German central defenders who is hovering around the corner/edge of the penalty area … they’re waiting for the free kick to be taken etc. and he’s just staring at the player – mind-games style – cuz its kinda “into” the camera you think he’s staring you down … anyway, free kick is taken and what happens? … for all his staring down and concentrating when the free kick is taken his man has a completely free header, which Stekelenburg saves with his feet … in less than a second he lost his man who he was marking in the simplest of short runs …
This is emblematic of him and the Dutch defense on a whole … I’m trying to track down a clip cuz it is hilarious but oh so illustrative.
@Falk
True, Donk should have been given a look. This all has to do with a player’s name though … but hey, if Bouma, Vlaar and Boulahrouz can get in, I don’t see why Donk shouldn’t especially considering his speed.
There were a number of strange decisions in regard to selecting players for the NT, especially in defense. The staff rates foreign league experience very high (some might say way too high) and there were a couple of inclusions based on familiarity rather than quality.
RFB: Van der Wiel had been injured for months, played only two games for Ajax since his return. His replacement Van Rhijn had a very good season and has better a defensive skill set than VdW.
CB: De Vrij and Vlaar were the best CB pairing in the Dutch league this year. Those two should have been the default back ups to Heitinga and Mathijsen. Bouma… there really isn’t any justification for his selection, even PSV-fans were baffled at his inclusion in the NT. Since his knee injury, his pace has been only marginally superior to that of a goalpost…and that’s on a good day.
LFB: Willems turned out okay although Van Bommel and Affelay left him to drown that made him look bad to the casual observer. However several other options were available other than PSV’s third choice LFB… Emanuelson was left out in favor of Schaars (worse player in every department and hardly ever played on LFB). Büttner had a good season for Vitesse, Viergever, primarily a CB, is more mature and experienced.
Anita would have been a decent option for LB but far more so for DM. He is pretty much credited with single handedly restoring balance to Ajax’s midfield. I’d have fancied a Strootman and Anita pairing over De Jong and Van Bommel.
Obviously, the Dutch defensive line is the problem, an actually has been since De Boer and Stam retired. But when you watch games of their youth teams, you will see that they have some very talented defenders and midfielders, but they lack wingers and attackers there.
Actually I feel that they might be a contender in 2014 and 2016 if they are able to fit in some of these guys and if veterans like Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Huntelaar are able to some more years.
I am talking about guys like Nuytinck (U-21, Nek), Ake (Chelsea), Rekik (Man City), Devrij (excellent defender, hopefully plays for us (Aston Villa) next year), Martins Indi (Strong solid defender, played excellent against us, some years ago, didn’t play much until lately), this guy from Heerenveen with the impossible name, very talented guy though, and this left back from Groningen: Burnett. And there are some more guys. Moreover this Zoet guy is an excellent back-up goalkeeper.
For the midfield you have guys like Maher, Anita, Clasie.
Their new coach should be able to do something with these guys.
If you do only have slow defenders the best would be to sit deep, so that your defenders do not have to cover much space behind them. But this is not Oranje way of playing.
You also can press high with the defense but then you need the whole team to press, also the wingers, which the Dutch forwards do not like.
The problem is: Holland does not have the defenders for their style of play and therefore they have a broken team 6 in defense, 4 in attack.
Beside the general talking points: the difference in style between the two backs, Boateng and Lahm was striking. Boateng – probably being a converted right back – retreats and gives ground to the forward he is facing. It was partly understandable against CR, but up against an Afellay? Could be a possible source of danger later in the tournament.
In the meantime, Lahm is amazing as if he was carrying a decoder. Makes few steps backward, catches the rhythm than confronts the attacker aggressively without giving away too much space. Boateng is a walking shield, Lahm is an interceptor – moreover an excellent tournament player (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 was always among the best not just in the German team)
Very good observation, Lahm is very skilled in defense as he has got plenty of experince on that level and also knows Robben inside-out from Bayern.
Boateng is normally a center back. Given that you cannot imagine most of top class center backs to play full back (just imagine John Terry or Rio Ferdinand) his play is good. Boateng often walks with the attackng players to give his full backs or the central midfielders time to move to achieve majority near the ball. This is also clearly to avoid fouls and freekicks around the box.
Boateng never scored a goal in his whole career, he has absolutely no attacking skills, and his passing is low averange. But he is very fast, as far as I know the fastest player in the German Squad.
I don’t think that’s an problem, because Germany usually overload the right side, so there won’t be any room for a rb.
My first reply from someone from the Netherlands, just want to that clear.
I think the main problem with the attacking of the Netherlands is the way the wings play. Robben with his left foot on the right, Affelay with his right foot on the left. They are both very bad at crossing with their bad foot and Robben is far too predictable, especially when he’s playing against a team-mate who knows he always run to the middle. It’s so clear this doesn’t work, there was a moment where affelay tried to pass to Van Persie with his left foot and placed the ball behind the running van persie, so terrible. Also, van Persie had one good shot from the 16-yard line and guess what? Robben crossed it from the LEFT, making it clear van Marwijk should change that inmmediatly. Great save btw from Neuer.
Also, the midfield with 2 controlling midfielders is terrible. It’s not bad to play with 2 controlling midfielders but they need to be dynamic, like the German side with Khedira etc. The midfield I feel was the biggest battle to win this game and the Netherlands were terrible. Sneijder was playing too high, the defence and controlling midfielders didnt press forward, leaving alot of space for the Germans.
My hopes for next game.
———— Huntelaar ———–
Robben——Sneijder—–Van persie
—–Van der Vaart — De Jong—–
Willems–Heitinga–Mathijsen-van der Wiel
———–Stekelenburg———–
Another string to the many that Germany have on their bow. In the first game they dealt with a compacted Portugal side who pushed them to the wings and they didn’t mind crossing the ball. The presence of Gomez inside the box helped with this. In this game they closed down well after drawing Holland onto them. They dealt with the Dutch knocking the ball around. The Germans controlled the game and sped things up when needed. If there are no shenanigans in the last games then Germany should progress to the next stage. The Dutch made changes at half time that just that didn’t work; the inclusion of Van der Vaart gave Germany the middle of the park and the 4-2-4 style still didn’t give them many options. They have made it very tough for themselves, even if they do their job they will have to pray that they can get a big result, and could well be cheering the Germans on to beat the Danes, although that would be hard for them. It was called the group of death, and if this is what death is like then can I meet my maker, as he will surely be a football fan.
http://noeasyfootballblogsatthislevel.blogspot.co.uk/
This match was a textbook demonstration of why being much the better side may not matter much. It was decided by Gomez taking two chances very nicely and v Persie managing to take only one. It could just as easily have gone the other way, regardless of Germany’s superior play. (Chelsea know this lesson well.)
Van Marwijk is not courageous enough. I would have fielded a 4-3-3
Robben-Huntelaar-Van Persie
Snejder-VdV-de Jong
Kuyt-Heitinga-Mathijsen-van der wiel
stekelenburg
The midfield would have two playmakers with defensive capabilities one defending midfielder. It wouldhave been highly fluid with Snejder and VdV motoring forward interchangeably
Kuyt is quite well defending too.
two playmakers with defensive capabilities: When has anyone last seen Sneijder making anything defensively? He is the laziest player I have seen in the whole tournament.
Great observation.
Hollands defence has shown in this match and the previous match against Denmark, that it is not up to the mark, nowhere near a top defence. To compensate for this its effected the midfield, which in turn has affected the attack, the transitions are poor, not very “dutch” (quick + flowing), this defence has caused a bad “ripple” effect across the team.
De Jong was actually good for Holland, much better then MVB who lost the ball many times and does not have that quick passing, circulation of the ball ability of others. Having these 2 play together against the really top teams makes sense, but this particular match showed that MVB in particular is just nowhere near “mobile” enough. De Jong should retain his place, and although id like to see VDV partner him, he will have to be really disciplined, perhaps if he was fielded in midfield it would be better to have Sneijder close-by for support (433?), because VDV if fielded in a “two” with De Jong will just leave him with so much ground to cover. (Considering the fullbacks like to push up)
Robben was so frustrating, consistently cuts in from the right then shoots, he should really look up more, and i only remember him beating his opposing full back (Lahm) once when he mazily dribbled into the box to no avail unfortunately.
In regards to the next match against Portugal, Ronaldo and Coentrao will attack at will on the left as they always do, so should Robben play on the right? He could have the beating of Coentrao but he MUST attack down the line more, rather then predictably cutting onto his left foot, i reckon Van Persie on the right would be a better option, certainly wouldnt loose the ball as much as Robben and Coentrao would think twice about pushing so far forward.
——-Huntelaar———
—————-Van Persie-
Robben–Sneijder———
—–VDV—————
——–De Jong———
————————-VDW–
Willems-Mathijsen-Heitinga–
The team id like to see. Sneijder, VDV, De Jong playing close together, Van Persie high up on the right not only to support Huntelaar, but to keep Coentrao on his toes, hes high up still yes, but deep enough to provide a chance to link up play, only if Huntelaar can in turn stretch the Portugese CB’S out of position, very difficult job that. Robben will be of more use to attack straight on and (hopefully) put some decent crosses in. De Jong just positioned more towards the right to combat against Moutinho to prevent him releasing Ronaldo away and in the clear.
Obviously VDW more at RB then where he is, as well as De Jong and VDV more right then they are, i messed the “diagram” up nicely lol, but i reckon you will get the idea.
bang on. I agree.
shemales shemales shemales
Me and a user here both raised a point that maybe De Jong shouldve been dropped with VDV being inserted and MVB dropping deeper. De Jong again has shown his defensive problems, being dragged by Ozil caused a big problem. Imo maybe MVB wouldve been more disciplined in that position and VDV couldve added to an attacking threat in midfield.
But who knows really…
I like that idea
ZM, don’t you think it’s a bit worrisome that against both Portugal and the Dutch, Germany got a lead and then sat back, when the best defense would have been to pour it on? Portugal were unlucky not to score, and the Dutch actually did.
A 2-goal lead will likely not be enough against Spain or Italy.
Only Nocerino can outwit entire Germany team. He can beat them 10-0 if he wants to.
Great review! Being Dutch it made me sad to see Holland’s poor display but it’s a good thing Holland’s weaknesses got exposed so clearly. In South Africa we just got extremely lucky (especially against Brazil) to get to the final. If Holland loses to Portugal Van Marwijk will probably resign and hopefully make way for a more exciting coach. By the way, could you do an article about the other underperforming Low Country, namely Belgium? The most talented group of players Belgium has ever had, and yet it looks awful, how is this possible?
And you’re a good example of a complete retard.
Who is?