Monday, July 7, 2014

Louis Van Gaal’s Genius Tactical Decisions



The Netherlands entered this World Cup with the lowest expectations the nation has had for a major tournament since the 1960s. Golden generations have come and gone in Dutch football, yet the nation has never lifted the World Cup trophy. For years, the Netherlands squad has been more about big personalities and individual abilities than team play. But Louis Van Gaal, soon to take over Manchester United, has changed this into a team where personalities and individual achievements are taking a backseat to collective accomplishments.

The most recent Dutch sides have had a core group of seven players of note – Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt, Wesley Sneidjer, Nigel DeJong, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael Van Der Vaart. This particular group of players has been through a great deal. In 2008, the Oranje took the European Championship by storm ripping through formidable opposition until shockingly losing to Russia in the quarterfinals. In 2010, after years of being easy on the eye and known for a progressive playing style, the Netherlands adopted a more brutal approach to the game, and lost much of the residual goodwill of neutrals, losing 1-0 in the final to Spain in a negative match. In 2012, the side was touted as one of the favorites in the European Championships but instead went home without a point. Entering the 2014 World Cup, this group was aging. And the Dutch lacked the type of highly-touted young players that have been a part of every major Dutch tournament squad since the mid 1980s.

Each of those core players is now 29 or older. Van der Vaart was injured and did not make the World Cup side. The general consensus then was that the six remaining veteran players would not be enough to get the Netherlands even out of the group stage, let alone go deep in the competition. It appeared that yet another generation of Dutch players with high expectations was going to depart the scene without winning anything at the international level.
But what has happened is remarkable. Louis Van Gaal’s side, using a number of younger players who are based domestically, has excelled. The personality clashes of past Dutch sides have disappeared. The group of younger players brought in by Van Gaal has fit specific roles around the aging superstar core of the side.
We’ve seen less shows of demonstrative displeasure with this Netherlands side. There has been less acting out from notoriously volatile players like Robben and Van Persie. Prior to being injured, DeJong was playing with more grace and less recklessness then we’ve seen in years. Kuyt has embraced playing wherever he could to be useful for the side, even lining up as a right-back against Costa Rica on Saturday, just two matches after playing a lone striker against Chile.

Today, when the chips were down, DeJong — whose injury has rendered him out of the tournament — was seen demonstrably cheering his teammates on. In the past, we hardly saw these types of emotions displayed publicly by Dutch stars on the bench. Van Gaal’s controversial decision to bring the excellent goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen off the pitch before the penalty shootout for Tim Krul was genius. What was even more remarkable was how it was embraced by the entire team including Cillessen.
Louis Van Gaal has made the Netherlands into a team. The side drama of the Dutch sides we saw in the 1970s and then especially in the 1990s and 2000s when player and coaching clashes ran roughshod over highly-touted tournament squads seems a thing of the past.

The greatest underachieving nation in terms of trophies in the history of international soccer is perhaps one of sides punching furthest above its weight in this tournament.


NEYMAR is out of WORLD CUP! Poor BRASIL


Brazil star Neymar was ruled out of the FIFA World Cup™ on Friday with a back injury, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said. Lasmar told reporters Neymar suffered a fracture in the third verterbra of his back during Brazil's bruising 2-1 quarter-final victory over Colombia.

 The hosts and tournament favourites set up a semi-final clash with Germany by disposing of los Cafeteros in an enthralling battle at the Estadio Castelao. Thiago Silva bundled home early on before David Luiz struck a superb 35-yard free-kick, putting the Selecao out of sight despite James Rodriguez's penalty leading to a nervy final ten minutes.

 However, the joy of that 2-1 win was tinged with concern over the fitness of star man Neymar, who left the field on a stretcher in the closing stages. The 22-year-old was in tears after taking a knee to the back from Juan Zuniga, with Brazil doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirming he has sustained a fractured vertebra that will end his World Cup. "It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilise it to recover," Lasmar said. "Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play." Lasmar expects the recovery time to be at least a few weeks, ruling Neymar out of Tuesday's semi-final against Germany and the final, should Brazil get there, on 13 July.

 The forward was seen leaving the Estadio Castelao on a drip and, after initial analysis at the stadium, was taken to a local clinic. Neymar was crying in pain and his absence will be a huge blow to Brazil, who will also be missing captain Silva for their semi-final with Germany through suspension.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

yemen

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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, eyeing protests that threaten to topple Egypt's long-time ruler, indicated Wednesday he would leave office when his current term ends in 2013, after three decades in power.