Former PSV player certain in Curacao soap: “With Fred everything was taken seriously”
1 min readIn the past few weeks there has been, almost without exception, a major soap opera surrounding the position of head coach of Curaçao. In February of this year, former PSV coach Dick Advocaat stepped down as the island’s national team coach due to his daughter’s health.
Advocaat was in turn replaced by another former PSV coach, namely Fred Rutten. However, Rutten’s debut was nothing to write home about, with defeats against China (2-0) and Australia (5-1).
In recent weeks, pressure from the media and title sponsor Corendon increased on Rutten, prompting the born Tukker to step down to make room for his predecessor Advocaat. According to former PSV player René van der Gijp, it is good that Curaçao travels to the World Cup with Advocaat as head coach, despite the way the born Hagenaar has returned.
''I think that with Kees Jansma, Cor Pot and Advocaat that group had exactly the right balance between fun and seriousness'', says Van der Gijp in the podcast KieftJansenEgmondGijp.
Under Rutten, according to a Dordrecht analyst, they were trained too seriously. ''With Fred, everything was taken seriously. I heard that he trained in Australia for four days on corners, while they never get corners. For those boys, the balance is simply more fun with Advocaat,'' Gijp said.
Rob Jansen also believes that it is better for the players’ group to start preparing the island with Advocaat at the helm for their World Cup debut. ''Fred is a fantastic man and a very good coach, but the connection with the players wasn’t there. Even if Dick hadn’t returned, it is still questionable whether it would have gone ahead with him. That really went completely wrong. It's the best solution, but not in the best way,'' says Jansen.
Then Van der Gijp subsequently answers to that. ''It’s simply the best way; otherwise it would just have gone completely wrong,'' concludes the former PSV forward.
Comments9
Frenkie-level? nah, but the kid's work rate is there. If PSV keep feeding him earlier, he can turn those 1-on-1 moments into real danger. 🐐
Tbh the subs might decide it, because the late game midfield balance always looks shaky. If we bring fresh legs early, we keep the tempo and stop giving transition balls away.
"We just need one more pass" is exactly why this feels frustrating sometimes. There is talent, but the timing in the final third is off and it kills the momentum. 🤬
That quote about "control" is cool, but control without chances is just possession cosplay. Get the wide overlaps going and punish the fullback retreat. 🔥
The article's point about ball progression through the half-spaces makes sense, but i worry about the defensive cover when the midfield rotates. Next match, if PSV cannot win second balls early, this tactic will look great on paper and shaky in 15 minutes.
🔥 We need more intensity from the wings. When the fullbacks overlap but the winger doesnt track back, it turns into free counter-attacks for the other team.
If PSV go 4-2-3-1 again, i just hope the double pivot is actually disciplined and not leaving the back four exposed. Also, that press trigger the article mentioned... if it is late, opponents will play through so easily.
Im not fully sold on the build-up if the midfield stays too static. I keep seeing the same lane get blocked, then we end up recycling possession sideways. Change the movement and its instantly cleaner.
If PSV wants to play that higher line, they better be ruthless in pressing. Otherwise teams just slip the ball into the half-space and it turns into panic defending. 👀