Jetro Willems looks back: “It just burst out.”
1 min readLast week it was exactly ten years ago that PSV, against all expectations, became Dutch champions on the final day. On 8 May 2016, Phillip Cocu’s team won 1-3 away at PEC Zwolle in the last league match and saw that their rival Ajax drew 1-1 against De Graafschap.
By this means, PSV finished with a two-point gap over the men from Amsterdam at the top and won the 23rd national title. This was despite the fact that Ajax appeared on paper to have the better credentials beforehand, given the superior goal difference.
A week earlier, PSV won at home 6-2 against sc Cambuur and Ajax won at home 4-0 against FC Twente. As a result, PSV did not fall behind on goals compared to Frank de Boer's team and the Amsterdam side therefore went into the last matchday with a goal difference of +6 relative to PSV, while both teams had the same number of points (81).
After the match against Cambuur, Jetro Willems was interviewed by Jan Joost van Gangelen on behalf of ESPN (back then still FOX Sports). Willems said that PSV had a 99% chance of becoming champions despite the fact that Ajax was in a better position.
In a documentary from PSV’s club channel, the left-back looks back at the statement he made after the match against Cambuur. ''I was asked a question and I answered in one second. After that, I walked over to Thijs and I said: ‘Thijs, I made a little mistake. This is going to cost us dearly’'', the current NEC player still remembers.
Thijs Slegers was also surprised by Willems' answer. ''Thijs said then: 'What are you doing? Didn’t you say it as a joke, or something?' I replied: ‘No man, I was just serious.’ That was the worst: that I simply said it with a serious look and confidence that we had a 99 percent chance. He said I had to look into it. 'Just look. I can’t help you, because you already said it and it’s online''', the left-back further explains.
Also in Willems' family, people reacted in stunned silence to the statements of the former PSV player. ''My mother also called me and asked what I had said. ‘Why do you always have to do or say something that someone else wouldn’t do?’ It just slipped out. I don’t do that anymore either,' said Willems.
Comments10
I like the confidence in the squad, but the midfield battles will decide everything. If we are second to the first contact, all the attacking movement goes to waste. The article is right to focus on balance, not just goals.
Fun read, but I'm not convinced about the plan to play through the middle every time. Teams sit deep and PSV end up recycling possession with not enough penetration.
I actually liked what the article said about the fullbacks providing the extra width. When they overlap early, the whole attack looks quicker and more dangerous.
Love how PSV are getting the ball into the half-spaces faster this season. If the fullbacks can keep that overlap timing right, teams will have a tough time dealing with the first wave.
The way the article described the full-backs stepping up was spot on. That extra width makes it so much harder to defend, especially when we switch play quickly. If we can keep those runs coordinated, we can really stretch teams.
Tactically this makes sense, but I'm still worried about how often we look slow in transition. If the article is right that we're aiming for control first, we better not get punished on the counter.
If PSV want to keep control, the midfield has to press as a unit. Too many times this season it looked like one or two guys tried to do it alone.
I'm a bit skeptical about the talk of changing the system again. PSV already have clear patterns that work, and tinkering too much can kill the rhythm. I'd rather see consistency than another tactical experiment.
I like that PSV Inside calls out the midfield structure, you can really see how they want the build up to start with control instead of panic. If we keep that spacing, the wing runs feel way more dangerous.
If PSV really want to press higher like the article hints, I love it. It suits our front line, and Gakpo and Tillman can win the ball in the right areas. Just hope the midfield cover is sharp so we don't get punished on the break.