[Thanks to ArnhemDichtbij]

The Dutch league just kicked-off its 2012 part of the season after a month of recess in which all teams went abroad to set up camp, refuel and finesse tactics. Concurrently the transfer window re-opened, giving a chance for coaches and players alike to find themselves new terms of employment.  The most eyebrow-raising move by far has been Vitesse Arnhem signing Jonathan Reis. The twenty-two year old Brazilian striker came in as free agent, but, in doing justice to the meaning of his name in Dutch, through a complicated personal journey.

Many people were upset to find out about Vitesse’s latest signing. Perhaps it was to be expected, however, due to the fact that in the last year much has changed around the club from Arnhem, once close to bankruptcy up until the moment the Georgian investor (and friend / business partner of Chelsea’s owner Abramovic) Merab Jordania took over. On the pitch, last season under the leadership of Spanish debutant head coach Ferrer resulted in a disappointing 15th place in the table, but the return of John van den Brom brought back the likelihood of European competition and challenging the traditional top teams.

Upsetting to those who found the move disagreeable, among which outspoken TV pundit Johan Derksen, was the question of ethics that allegedly determined Reis was unavailable to be approached from another club except PSV Eindhoven, who brought him to the Netherlands as a teenager. Reis would grow into a favorite for the Eindhoven crowd with his hattrick in the epic 10-0 victory over Feyenoord in October 2010, but only after going through a troublesome period while learning some harsh lessons.

Nonetheless, it won’t be goals alone for which PSV will remember Jonathan Reis’ stay, seeing that his time there was filled with controversy and set-backs. Everyone but the staff at PSV had given up hope after a series of offences was followed by the termination of his contract. At the start of 2010 the youngster was caught using narcotics, and his subsequent refusal to go into rehabilitation was enough reason to fire him. At that point PSV still possessed the transfer rights, and after Reis went back to Brazil and successfully kicked the habit and got clean at a local clinic, he returned. As he put it later, “the way I was living was amounting to nothing, and I would never amount to anything.”

Reis was on the rise at PSV Eindhoven from then on, save an incident where he lost his driver’s license after being caught behind the wheel with alcohol levels almost exceeding three times the maximum. The troubles were written off as a young man facing difficulties in a place far from home, after a life full of violence and poverty. With additional care, a sizable fine and sportive challenges on the pitch he would be right back on track. His goal-scoring record of 8 goals out of 11 matches at the outset of the 2010/2011 season proved as much. Many in Eindhoven thought the natural heir to Romario and Ronaldo’s momentous heritage had finally arrived.

It was then when misfortune struck again, during the match against Roda  JC. In a duel Reis smashed into Roda’s goalie and was left seriously injured. The sobering diagnosis showed the damage done consisted of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate and medial ligament.  Most feared it to be a career-ending predicament, which it could be, even for a mature and mentally strong sportsman.

The troubled Reis, however, once more showed his resilience and started working on his revalidation right after getting surgery in the United States. PSV supported his recovery, both morally as financially, but decided not to extend his contract for another three seasons automatically. They awaited his return and opened negotiations by offering a half-year contract with a tentative option to extend it unilaterally. Reis – and his agent – came to Holland to listen to the proposal, and then politely refused to sign such a deal.

It would soon become clear why. During his stay in Eindhoven, Mr. Jordania representing Vitesse also made contact with the striker, upon which PSV informed him that they were not pleased with such undertakings. Vitesse backed down for the moment, but after several weeks they informed PSV that they would approach him again. It resulted in a signing that rocked Dutch soccer circles. Popular opinion dictated that Reis had a moral obligation to sign with PSV, because he simply was indebted to them due to the multiple chances he had had to return and redeem himself. Others stated that PSV was simply fulfilling its obligations as an employer, and became negligent and risk-averse at a critical moment, handing Reis an opportunity to shop around for alternatives.

Jonathan Reis himself has shied away from publicity, having noted merely that he has “many friends in Eindhoven, but I am proud to play in the Vitesse jersey now.” When all is said and done, the fact is the talented Brazilian is back to show his skill on Dutch soil. Last weekend he made his official debut for Vitesse, 399 days after playing his last game for PSV, on the losing side in the derby against NEC, in which he was substituted after 66 minutes.

There won’t be a place to hide from the spotlights when Vitesse visits PSV Eindhoven for an important league game coming Friday. Wearing number 13 on his jersey, he’s not afraid superstition will team up with bad karma to take him down again. The remainder of the season will reveal if the young man carrying all that baggage is ready to fight his way back to the top. For now, whenever he takes a moment to look down, he’ll most likely draw strength from Jesus’ name written on his kicks.

[Photo: De Pers]

Douglas Franco Teixeira – Twente’s defensive rough diamond - has become a Dutchman. That is, according to his passport, not necessarily according to the Dutch people themselves. During his five-year tenure in Holland he stands as a symbol of the growth of FC Twente’s team and success, but he is now in danger of becoming the linchpin in a new episode of national debates on migration and citizenship.

As a defender he has already been nominated by the UEFA for selection in its prestigious team of the year for 2010, but most of all he is the one that energetically fills most of the gaps in FC Twente’s defensive organisation on a weekly basis. In fact, no-one argues over the fact that the 23-year-old, two-meter-tall player has exceptional skills.

One issue is up for debate, though, and that is whether Douglas should be in the national team. The debate takes shape along a two-pronged axis: one of a sporting nature, while the other has a clear political component.

To start with the latter, the question arises to what extent the naturalisation of a highly equipped professional is against the nature of international competition. One country pitted against the other is the charm of this particular brand of soccer, some argue, and by including persons who have not been born in the country it automatically spoils the game. Others hold it to be discriminatory to allow someone to become Dutch, but only under a set of conditions that limit his freedom of movement. It doesn’t raise any eyebrows to see a large share of the team in orange with roots in Surinam or Morocco, or to have a woman of Chinese descent win the European title in table tennis. But a football fan’s logic proves to be as elusive as ever.

In the same week that Teixeira received his passport, another event took place that cast a longer shadow over the  immigration debate - the decision over the residence permit of 18 year-old Mauro. Mauro’s story is a complicated one, with a foster family raising him as any other child, conmplete with the Limburg accent. His stay in the Netherlands has been terminated after the Minister refused to apply his discretionary powers to grant permanent residency, and a political row broke out in parliament, among the Christian Democrats, and in the media. To some, awarding citizenship to a soccer player who only moved here as an adult while simultaneously denying it to someone who spent much of his childhood in this country is a worrisome expression of the inhumane trajectory that Dutch immigration policy is taking.

The more pressing question for football enthusiasts looking ahead to the European Championships of 2012 is: will the Dutch play with Douglas in the defensive line? This is an open-ended question, though, because as of yet there is no permission from FIFA. The question is compounded not just by the immigration issue but also the question of whether the talented but sometimes over-zealous Douglas is fit to successfully defend for the runner-up team in the last World Cup. Some say his contribution is more than welcome, while critics say he’s not quite ready yet.

The facts of the matter are that Douglas revoked his Brazilian citizenship, the current Dutch defenders are the weak point of a strong team, and it certainly would not be the first time a controversial switch by a soccer player makes one nation cry of despair while, perhaps, the Dutch will start celebrating a new era of tolerance. In any case – willing or not – the Dutch are now spectators to a touch of Dutch-Brazilian samba soccer in their own backyards.

 The final decision of the Eredivisie took place on the 15th of May, the same day that the Dutch under-17s won the European Championship against arch-rival Germany. Ajax welcomed Twente on to the pitch with a grand display of songs and fireworks. After the cup final in Rotterdam a week earlier, won 3-2 by Twente in extra time after being 2 goals down, a lost season was looming for Ajax, who hold the record for the number of league titles won. It was hoped, but generally not expected among pundits and fellow coaches, that the home advantage would this time turn the tables. It surely did.

Even though the first shot at goal came already in the first minute from Twente´s star player Ruiz, during the first twenty minutes both teams were each other´s equals. But Twente started to fall back on its defense, which proved to be a poor choice. Giving far too much space on the right flank, Van der Wiel could comfortably set up De Jong at the far post for the opening score. Twente’s usually well-crafted field play was overpowered by the energy Ajax put in on every inch of the pitch. Even after the break Ajax came out dominant, with another of Gregory van der Wiel’s moves down the line causing experienced Twente-midfielder Landzaat to launch a desperate flying header past his own goalie. Hope returned to Enschede when straight from the kick-off an attack resulted in pulling a goal back from Theo Janssen’s well-placed touch. A scenario along the lines of the cup final seemed in the works, all the more spectacular seeing that a draw would mean Twente prolonging last year’s title.

But Ajax needed the win, and didn’t slow down until it was secured. It was again Siem de Jong who decided the outcome after a clever pass from the unstoppable Eriksen. After the 3-1 Twente tried with all it had left, but failed due to a lack of real conviction. After seven years of drought, Ajax’s victory delivered its thirtieth championship and was greeted with nothing short of total exhilaration. It deserves all the more credit considering the far-from-seamless road to victory. Organisational issues have abounded, with public criticisms from club icon Johan Cruyff leading to a row throughout the ranks, causing the departure of both the club’s director Van den Boog and chair of the board Coronel. In the middle of the season the coach Martin Jol had been replaced by Frank de Boer after a series of disappointing results. The team was transformed, too, with key players such as Suarez, El Hamdaoui and Stekelenburg disappearing from the field for a host of reasons.

In the middle of this turmoil Ajax started a mini-renaissance, built on youngsters and offensive tactics. The celebrations included a mass gathering on Museumplein, preceded by a bus ride when some inconveniently-placed tram-wiring led the goalie to drop the trophy, leaving a unmistakable but illustrative dent. A fitting end to a long and suspenseful season, which Ajax wishes to embrace as fresh start. Meanwhile PSV did itself a great disservice by failing to win its final match, leaving second place and the chance to qualify for Champions League foorball to Twente. For the Tukkers from Enschede this fortunate bonus, together with winning the cup a week before, was enough reason for a big late night celebration once the team had returned by chopper from Amsterdam.

With the Dutch football season 2010-2011 coming to a close a few questions are still to be answered, most important of which is who will take the title of national champion. Ajax Amsterdam and FC Twente from Enschede are still in the running after last weekend’s results, with the latter  holding a one-point lead.  Both competitors are coincidentally scheduled to decide between themselves  in a direct confrontation  who will take the championship on the 15th of May. Such a finale has not been seen before in the history of the Eredivisie.

If such a climactic ending is not enough, the appetizer is equally suspenseful. Rotterdam’s Football temple de Kuip will be the stage where both teams are also pitted against each other for this season’s cup final. Much like Spain’s recurring clasicos, now Twente and Ajax will face off twice within a week. The question remains what we can expect and what is at stake.

For Ajax, the answer is pretty much everything. After seven consecutive seasons of finishing short of the first place it craves to retake its position at the top of the table. Indeed, it would mean the thirtieth championship, a record, and it would add the symbolic but much sought-after third star on the team’s jersey. After a season in which the head coach was replaced, the organization management got subverted and the star players were sold (Suarez & Emanuelson), injured (goalie Stekelenburg) or banned from the team (El Hamdaoui), it would mean an achievement of colossal proportions.

The team has been able to hold its own after the winter break, especially in home games. In all out of seven most recent games Ajax hosted it won, with a total goal difference of 21-1. With Frank de Boer in charge of the team it has seen many youngsters make their appearance in a system that is reminiscent of the successfully offensive field play of the mid-nineties. Even though it has had some help from Lady Fortune, giving new credence to the term Lucky Ajax, the team shows spirit, skill and cohesion again. That by itself won’t please the fanatical firm that wants to see nothing short of total dominance of the Dutch league.

Having stated all this, the smart money is still on Twente. A mix of youthful talent and thoughtful experience has fueled the ascendency of  this team. What’s more, there is no burden of past failures that pressures the current team such as in the case of Ajax. After the unexpected first-ever championship last season and the departure of a handful of key players, it soared right back up to the top, and more is in the works. After winning the Super Cup (named after Johan Cruyff) at the start of the season in Amsterdam against Ajax, this might well become the most successful season in the club’s history.

The key is not only the fact that a draw in the final game would mean the decision in its favour, but the appearance of the cup final a week before the season’s finale. The cup final cannot be disconnected from the season’s finale because the importance of the latter easily supersedes the former. However, like two boxers rounding up for a weight test, the opponents will want to hurt the other party, without doing too much damage to themselves. Injuries and especially suspensions are to be feared and avoided. Neither of the two will be satisfied with simply the KNVB cup, but the balance of forces afterwards will weigh heavily on the final match.

Then there is the prestige of taking both prizes and crowning yourself with ‘the double’. A stronger illustration of supremacy  is rarely seen, and it has been five years since such a achievement occurred in the Netherlands, by the likes of PSV Eindhoven. PSV can make the race to the title even more painful for the loser, if they win away at Groningen to take hold of the second place in the table and a chance to qualify for UEFA’s Champions League in the dying stages of a miserable season for the Eindhoven club. It is up to the players how all of this is decided but without doubt the management and team’s of all respective parties will be watching with one hand firmly placed on their checkbook, and  one clutching their hearts.

While in the German Bundesliga, the English Premier League, Italian Serie A and Spain’s Primera Division the champion is highly predictable, the Dutch Eredivisie is still filled with suspense. The Dutch fans have a hard time picking a favourite for the title between PSV Eindhoven, FC Twente and AFC Ajax, not because they are all that superior, but because they mostly perform dreadfully.

Nevertheless, the final games are all the more interesting to watch. Having defeated PSV in a recent direct confrontation and with only three matches to go, Twente could have strengthened its hold on pole position against de Graafschap. But instead of heading towards prolonging its first-ever title in 2010, Twente failed to keep the Superboeren at bay in the closing minutes. PSV managed to be entirely dominated by 10 Heracles Almelo players for most of the game, but still took home the points. Ajax almost relented to NEC in Nijmegen, but the home side’s efforts were repulsed with credit by Ajax goalie Vermeer. The end result was that PSV moved next to Twente in the table, with Ajax the closest pursuer at no more than one point behind.

With the final round including Ajax v. Twente, a week after the two face each other in the cup final, the success of an entire season seems up for grabs. They who have the longest breath may win, after all competitors have had to deal with a short preparation time owing to the World Cup and an intensive programme thanks to fairly successful European campaigns.

Problems abound on all sides. Ajax is in the middle of a muddy storm over the control of the club, with icon Johan Cruyff having forced the current board and management to step down with his radical but popular plan. PSV is in financially dire straits and needs the Champions League benefits to balance its books, already having asked the municipality of Eindhoven for support. Twente is on the verge of becoming a permanent member of the top teams, but will its most enigmatic players want to stay if it comes out short of big prizes?

In case players need any more encouragement during these hard-pressed times, they may simply look forward to the fat bonuses earmarked for them once they’ve taken the league. Meanwhile, the Dutch league is being criticized for its poor level of quality, even though crowd interest keeps growing. Although the level may seem sad to some, and the outcome could be poor for most, the ongoing tension keeps it from killing the game’s spirit.

Diederik Perk on the lovable, hateable, recently sackable Louis van Gaal….

Dutch football know-how is at the centre of today’s best performing teams. The tiki-taka tactics Barcelona brings to the pitch have been introduced and immersed by Johan Cruyff from youngster to trainer during the 1970s and, more recently, consolidated by Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard. Around the world there are Dutch coaches under exotic conditions responsible for lifting the level of success. The most eccentric one has to be Louis van Gaal himself. Love him or hate him, he will make sure you will know and hear about him, and he may just be featuring soon at a football theatre near you.

One of the reasons for that is that the man is a self-made success. After a hardly noteworthy players’ career as a defender in mediocre teams like Sparta, Royal Antwerp and Telstar Van Gaal started off on a  coaching path as an assistant at AZ Alkmaar in the late 1980s.  Shortly thereafter, Beenhakker made him his assistant at Ajax Amsterdam, and, upon his exit, Louis van Gaal became the club’s manager in 1991. Immediately securing success with the triumph in the EUFA Cup, his tenure became synonymous for Ajax’ reemergence at the top of European football. During the season ‘94-‘95 Ajax became nearly invincible, capturing the Champions League,  and the national title after an unbeaten run. Next season, Ajax would again reach the final of the Champions League, but lost the penalty shoot out to Juventus. The Intercontinental Cup was won after penalty’s that season, crowning them best team in the world. Aside of international success, during van Gaal‘s  six-year period at Ajax they collected three national league titles,  a national cup and three super cups. Most extraordinary was the average age of 23 of the team and the offensive tactics they employed.

Success has many fathers, failure has none – as the Dutch saying goes. A decline set in motion when most players were awarded the status of free agent, upon which they left to try their luck at Europe’s most prestigious clubs. After asking rhetorically whether he was so smart or everyone else so stupid, Louis the Champion left for the promised land of Barcelona. Never having been much appreciative of the press, here he found his every step scrutinized. This is less remarkable considering the fact that in his footsteps a total of eight Dutch players were brought into the team, practically reassembling his equip from the successful Ajax days. However, this turned out to have been a mixed blessing for all parties involved. Van Gaal proved unable to repeat its previous European successes at Camp Nou, and argued with the team’s top player Rivaldo. After the socios showed their rising discontent by the characteristic waving of white handkerchiefs, Van Gaal left, only to fail dramatically in a campaign to qualify for the 2002 World Cup with the Dutch national team. He revealed where his mind was at with the lines “Amigos de la prensa. Yo me voy. Felicidades.” (Friends of the press. I am leaving. Congratulations.).

Not without reason his nicknames include the Czar of Alkmaar and The Iron Tulip. That’s why the move to Bayern Munich was a risky one, a club with established traditions guarded over by its living legends. Contact with some of the stars in the team was again problematic at times, even though he tried to show himself from his human side. After reaching the final of the Champions League with Die Recordmeister and winning the DFB Pokal and the Bundesliga at once, the second season in Munich could hardly go any better. At the start of the current season all the internationals were still recovering from the World Cup and halfway it was clear that prolonging the title was out of the question. Then, in the course of one week all hope faded. Talk of prizes and prestige turned out ill-founded after loosing consecutively against Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Hannover 96 during the first week of March. Van Gaal’s position was waning and the club turned into damage control mode. The outcome is that Van Gaal’s contract will be cut short until the end of the season, with the consent of both parties.

Is it bad luck? A matter of unforeseen circumstance that makes craftsmanship deficient? In that line of reasoning is no room for sacrificing the coach. Maybe the case against Van Gaal is that he mismanaged the team selection, causing the level of quality  to fall due to transfers. The defense in particular looks shaky, and now talk is going around that Lucío, currently playing for Inter and co-responsible for Bayern’s defeat in the Champions League, is desired to return in the heart of German defense and restore stability.  Besides reluctance to spend money on new (or familiar) players, the team’s captain Mark van Bommel was allowed to leave for AC Milan. There is no denying that the experienced central midfielder often carried the team through difficult moments. Still, it is not Van Gaal by himself who handles the money and staffing of the team, so this reason should be dismissed for the most part. Would it be the temper of the man? Louis van Gaal has an erratic track record at best, in terms of clashing with his players, and, often the ones who have been successful and know how to verbalize their dissenting views.

TV pundits like to ridicule his openness and angry fits. People in the professional football circuit credit him for shaping a band of young talents into a skilled and strictly organized team. Where the man’s reputation becomes disputed is when top players enter the picture who don’t sheepishly follow his orders. In a totalitarian system there can only be one leader and room for flexibility is nonexistent. If something doesn’t bent then something will break. Bayern Munich could have foreseen such an equation to arise. Meanwhile, Van Gaal knows how success tastes, and probably hasn’t had enough of it yet. The man, who approaches team spirit by protecting his players as a maniac, would do well to come full circle and end his career in Amsterdam where he started his personal elevation. Perhaps a role outside of the limelight perfecting the clubs’ youth would make his the greatest contribution to Dutch football yet. Whether he settles for a position on the second plane is however seriously questionable. The traits that make him unbearable are what makes him successful.

 Diederik Perk on the possible saviour of the Red Devils….

Michel Preud’homme: FC Twente coach now, Belgian coach later?

If there ever was a yearly award for an object that makes the Dutch feel good about themselves, it would have been repeatedly won by Belgium during this last decade. The Bruxelles’ political process is even messier and more intractable than what transpires in The Hague, and, more importantly, the declining results of the Belgian national football team have been helpful in contrasting with the marked success of the Dutchmen. The Belgian Red Devils have been absent from any final tournament since the Euro Championships  in the summer  of 2000, where it co-hosted the event with Holland, but even then they failed to qualify for the knock-out round. A 58^th place in the FIFA World Rankings denotes the decline of the once Olympic gold-medal winners and competitive cup fighters, whereas the Dutch, after their unfortunate studded loss in the most recent World Cup final, appear as runners-up behind the Spanish champions.  Now it seems, however, that the tables may get turned in this sibling rivalry in Belgium’s favour.

Having been degraded to midget status, the Belgians have resorted to a common-practice tactic in football: sacking the coach, while vying for a more expensive one. Irony dictated that this would be a Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, who led several national squads and club teams to considerable success. He was the man who would bring back bravado and strict discipline to lead the team to the European Championship and beyond.  That is, until after only nine months the Russian Federation came knocking with a big bag of Rubles, enticing Advocaat to take his chances, leaving the Belgian football federation startled and dismayed. Besides demanding reimbursement of contractual obligations, the Belgians needed to find a new head coach. Opting for a tried and experienced manager, the choice was made for George Leekens, but a refreshing and spirited road was left uncharted. The promising, alternative  target would have been Michel Preud’homme, the new man in charge at FC Twente, in the Netherlands.

After his great career as a goalie, ultimately earning him the honourable award of World’s Best Goalkeeper in 1994, Preud’homme became responsible for technical management at Benfica in Portugal. In this position he was the one that launched Mourinho’s career, who would move on to become the most successful club trainer so far this century. Meanwhile, Preud’homme turned to coaching, and under his supervision Standard Liège took its first Belgian Championship in 25 years. Surprisingly, he then moved to take the coaching position at humble AA Gent, only to  snatch the Belgian Cup and qualify for the Champions League. Following that, in a move that can be described as daring, he took up the position Steve McLaren vacated at FC Twente, defending their first-ever Eredivisie championship title while coping with the loss of as many as five key players. The first test came at the beginning of the season when, traditionally, the champions play the cup holder for the Johan Cruyff Shield. Playing Ajax in their arena at Amsterdam, Preud’homme’s new equipe presented itself well, taking the first prize of the season back to Enschede.

During this season it has become clear that Twente is once again a serious contender for retaking the championship title. What’s more, in the Champions League the team managed to draw at home against last year’s winner, Internationale, and win away at Werder Bremen. With strikingly offensive tactics, Twente plays in a way that in its origins is representative of the Dutch football school. A young winger named Nacer Chadli is in many ways symbolic of their recent successes. Having never played in the highest-level league before, the twenty-one year old has made it seem easy to fit into the team and act decisively. With three goals in six Champions League matches the Belgian-Moroccan attacker was at the centre of a recent tug-of-war between the two nations to get him into their national squad. After playing a friendly for the North African team, he ultimately decided to choose for Belgium where he made his debut against Finland this year. This is good news for his club team, since it’s generally believed that the African Cup during the winter may be a strain on the players’ ability to perform at his best during the final months of the club season. Chadli referred to advice from Preud’homme that this will be the best for his career in European football.

Although he denies it, this may not have been Preud’homme speaking as a clubman only. Preud’homme is, as long as his winning streak continues, most likely not going to be overlooked next time Belgian football needs saving. Preud’homme has the résumé and abilities to lift Belgian football to unprecedented levels. Not insignificantly the Wallonian-born speaks, next to French, Portuguese and English, a very gentile and perceptive Dutch, or Flemish if you will. He isn’t afraid to speak out against alleged injustice with venom, and holds up his own standard of professionalism towards his players, while expecting the same in return. His attractive style of offensive tactics would do much for the stature of the Red Devils, especially vis-à-vis the Dutch neighbour. The skillful mix of several young talents and more experienced  players will make it inevitable that Belgium will start to compete in major tournaments again. In the short-run, however, prospects still are distressing. In their Euro 2012 qualification group, Belgium is currently behind Germany, Austria and Turkey on points. Perhaps Preud’homme – which translates to ‘honest man’- will consider making another risky move, as he’s never prone to take the easy way out. In either case, as a coach and a player, he  has shown to have what it takes to bring pride to the Belgian nation.

Meanwhile, the good old days…..

HB contributor Diederik Perk on the financial importance of the January ‘transfer window’……

Luis Suarez: The Long and Winding Road to Liverpool [ANP]

In some ways, football is almost like the real world: you have your share of the have´s, and the masses of the have-not’s. Unfortunately for the romanticist rooting for the underdog and underfunded, the small fish get fried through-and-through. During winter season, when some national competitions completely stop playing the game competitively, the contest spirals downward to the power of the purse. A one month worldwide transfer window opens up in the first month of each year for clubs to boost their squad with new stars, while other players feel inclined to discount their contracts and advertise themselves. For fans and outsiders this amounts to a difficult and unwanted intermezzo, but for the insiders it’s time to collect.

 Ruud van Nistelrooij, or Van the Man as he was once known, gives us a great illustration of the opportunism and distress that coincides when the transfer window opens in the month of January. The Dutch striker, playing for the German Hamburger SV, was notified by his agent that Real Madrid was after him. After hearing this, HSV and the German league did not look so appealing to van Nistelrooij any longer. Despite the fact that the 34-year-old player was signed by Hamburg while he was recovering from injury, and despite having been awarded a generous sum of money by the club, he started making tumult in the press and within the team. He wanted to be released from his contract without compensation, for having the opportunity to end his career in royal style. HSV managed to hold off the advances from Real, but now its coach has to handle a discontented player for the rest of the remaining season.  

The stakes are massive, because at this point in the season the die has been cast,  prizes for the winners are alluring, and potential (job-)losses are looming for the rest. The yoke of this pressure makes the market in football players surge – or usually it does. Indeed, Manchester City was able to afford thirty-something million Euro’s for Dzeko, a successful striker for Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga, and yes, Aston Villa secured a deal with Sunderland with a 21 million price-tag for Bent, a British striker. But those are the exceptions that confirm the rule this time around. Seemingly, clubs have taken a cue from the downturn in the global economy and are shopping on the cheap. In economic terms, the demand and supply has remained on the level, and the overall market value of the product has dropped significantly.

Three more transferred Dutchmen embody the movement of clubs towards a lower financial ceiling. Ibrahim ‘Ibi’ Afellay was transferred well below his estimated market value to Barcelona. Only three million euro’s are transfered to PSV Eindhoven’s bank account for one of the most prominent players in the league. Bayern Munich saw its team captain Mark van Bommel leave for AC Milan after his agent Raiolo used his contacts there to forge a deal. With a contract lasting only half a year, the Germans were forced to pick bread over butter. Earlier the same week, Dutch pseudo-international Urby Emanuelson, formerly with Ajax, made his way for less than two million euros to the same team in Milan. Likewise, the player had a short-lasting contract and the very same agent. Milan now has not only broadened the scope of its team for a discount rate, it has also struck a blow against potential competitors in the European league. Clubs with little financial manoeuvre room are practically forced to accept such low bids, since the alternative of offering massive near-to-unconditional player salaries is exactly what has brought some of them to the brink of bankruptcy.

In an effort to turn the financial run-off towards impoverishment, the Dutch league is enacting groundbreaking measures. The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has regulations lined up for clubs that are under financial strain. In case of continued shortcomings, the expense accounts are monitored, and a ‘capital that’s not coming in, cannot be spent’ rule will apply. A measure so full of common sense that (almost) every household lives by it, but in the world of mass entertainment a largely unknown approach. Another arrangement is to cap the proportion of salary payments to a set percentage of the total turn-over. Cases were reported of clubs having  100% + of their income spent on players’ wages. Regulation and oversight make sense in such an environment, but withering transfer credits also means that the level of performance suffers. For some teams the lack of income from transfers means their financial house of cards may collapse – especially if results on the pitch do not materialize soon.

Economic realities seem to have caught up quick for the Dutch First Division teams. Neither the current number one in the table, PSV Eindhoven, nor second-placed defending champion FC Twente, or AFC Ajax for that matter, have been investing money to buy players, even after having seen some key players depart from their centre stage, be it by sales or injuries (the most notable being Ajacied Suarez’ recent departure to Liverpool). The Dutch league has always been a sellers market for the more competitive (richer) foreign leagues, and much hope is now placed on the in-house training of youthful talent. Feyenoord is an extreme case of how the unwelcome combination of limitless salaries and lower-than-expected transfer income can take a bad turn in sporting terms. Forced to see off some well-reputed players without compensation, it has no choice but to opt for bringing youngsters into the team to try and maintain the legacy of a once-great club. Mismanagement in recent years has now resulted in a meagre 20 points from 19 games, just enough to stay ahead of the main candidates for relegation.

Excelling on the pitch has never been so clearly linked to the financial policies of each club as now. An intrinsic dilemma for a club appears when another squad wants to take over a star player for less than budgeted, such as with Van Nistelrooij and Real Madrid, and Uruguayan topscorer Luís Suarèz and Liverpool. The team needs the players’ skills, even the booziest-of-bookkeepers understands, but the long-term financial stability requires the influx of currency. Therefore, now more than ever, a trade-off between ability and capacity is under consideration by the professional football organisations. Entertainment value is still high, but objective quality standards are decreasing with every new fiscal year. Generally, football supporters seem to hold a realistic take on the possibilities and impossibilities of their respective teams. Instead, it’s the players who are the ones who take some time getting used to the new realities of the game. If this relatively restful transfer window has signalled anything, it’s that a new type of referee is in demand.

copyright ANP, De Gelderlander

Two weeks after Johan Cruijff’s call for a ‘revolution’  made headlines – at AFC Ajax to be clear, not in Dutch politics – his former club won away against a weak VVV Venlo 0-2. The Amsterdammers made a poor start against a team second from bottom, missing suspended captain Luis Suarez and looking short of confidence.  Abandoning the 4-4-2 in the second half for a more traditional 4-3-3 and throwing on tubby Egyptian Mido who scored and so helped silence the restless Ajax away fans who had started calling for coach Martin Jol’s head. Ajax’s best player on the day, Sulejmani wrapped up the points with twenty minutes to go. Results elsewhere mean Ajax approach the winter-break with only a three-point gap from PSV and FC Twente but remain far from convincing.

The biggest result of the weekend was PSV’s 4-2 defeat away against NAC Breda. Under interim coaches John Karelse and Gert Aandewiel PSV are a force at home, seven wins out of nine, but useless away. NAC’s win was even more impressive given they had gone a goal down early on, twice came back from behind, and spent the last 15 minutes a man down after Kees Luijckx was sent off.

FC Twente came back from a defeat to Internazionale and Champions League elimination with their heads held high, and won away at NEC Nijmegen 4-2. Costa Rican forward Bryan Ruiz emphasized again what an important player he is for Twente scoring twice. Sadly late on in the game he caught his studs in the turf and left the field with a nasty looking knee injury leaving coach Michel Proud’homme bemoaning his luck with injuries and pointing to the overfull playing schedule as a potential cause: ‘we’re fighting on three-fronts and that is heavy’. Despite the injuries and playing schedule they are still level on points with leaders PSV. That said Bryan Ruiz was the one player they would have least wanted to lose.

Elsewhere, the less charming elements amongst the ADO Den Haag fans blocked a motorway to protest against their away ban against Feyenoord. Their team lost 2-1, in what probably counts a surprise result, given their respective form. With five points seperating the first five positions the Eredivise remains very open.

NAC Breda 4 PSV 2

AZ Alkmaar 2 SC Heerenveen 2

Willem II 1 Excelsior 1

Roda JC 1 FC Groningen 0

NEC 2 FC Twente 4

Feyenoord 2 ADO Den Haag 1

De Graafschap 1 Vitesse 1

VVV Venlo 0 Ajax 2

Heracles Almelo 2 FC Utrecht 1