benefoot.net presents our eredivisie- top25

7/27/2019 BeNeFoot.net presents our Eredivisie- Top25

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BENEFOOT

TOP25 EREDIVISIE

THE BEST OF BELGIAN AND DUTCH FOOTBALL - IN ENGLISH BENEFOOT

www.benefoot.net


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People who enjoy watching football from the Low Countries are often drawn to the leaguesdue to the incredible amount of talent coming through. Besides the Dutch and the Belgians,for whom its only natural to be schooled in the their home country, both the Eredivisie andthe Jupiler Pro League have proved to be an ideal platform for players as a nal stage beforearriving onto the big scene.As far as former Eredivisie talents go: Ronaldo Luis Nazario De Lima marvelled for PSV a coupleof years before making an impact at Barcelona, following in the footsteps of his predecessor,Romario. Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoyed a spell with Ajax before tearing up the Serie A, whileJon-Dahl Tomasson helped Feyenoord winning the UEFA Cup in 2002 before going on to winthe Champions League with AC Milan. In short, the Eredivisie is a proven competition when itcomes to nurturing talent and, at present, it would seem like it will do so for many years tocome.

Ever since Gary Niblock decided to found a website on Belgian and Dutch football, the range ofnationalities involved on the website has been hugeBelgian, Dutch, Northern Irish, Scottish,English, Australian and even Serbian. The one thing that unites these writers is a fascinationfor leagues that accommodate young and talented players more than any other division inEurope. With that in mind, we felt that it was only a natural next step to create a lastingdocument regarding those players that we think are not only valuable assets to the Eredivisie,but could go on to benet football in general.

A list of 25 players born after the 1st of January 1990 was created in order to highlightthe young talents that impressed us over the course of the 2012/13 season, giving us theopportunity to introduce a few of the next best young things coming through. With thedifference in age and positions, however, we felt it wasnt appropriate to actually rank them.The hard work of our BeNeFoot team and some guest writers resulted in a 24-page digitalmagazine designed by Laura Pera. It is a document were proud of, and one that will hopefullyenlighten the reader as to some of the Eredivisies nest of last season.

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did writing it.

Regards,

Michiel Jongsma, Editor Dutch Football at Benefoot

The BeNeFoot Eredivisie top 25 was written by: Peter McVitie, Stefan Coerts, MarkLievisse Adriaanse, Babette van Haaren, Jens van Pieterson, Kevin Bakx and MichielJongsma. Gary Niblock. Peter McVitie and Michiel Jongsma were responsible for the

nal editing. The magazine was designed by Laura Pera.A thank you goes out to BeNeFoot members Bjrn de Cock and Chris Mayer, aswell as to Jim Proudfoot for providing quotes on several players. The stats in themagazine are of transfermarkt.de. A mention for In Bed With Maradona and FrenchFootball Weekly, who inspired us through their IBWM 100 and Le 50.

BENEFOOT

TOP25 EREDIVISIE

INTRODUCTION

MARCO BIZOT & JEAN-PAUL BOTIUS

BRUNO MARTINS INDI

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN

DALEY BLIND & LERIN DUARTE

FILIP DJURICIC

JORDY CLASIE

JEFFREY GOUWELEEUW & LEROY FER

TOMAS KALAS & KOLBEINN SIGTHORSSON

MARCO VAN GINKEL

ADAM MAHER

LUCIANO NARSINGH & NEMANJA GUDELJ

STEFAN DE VRIJ

KEVIN STROOTMAN

GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM, MIKE VAN DER HOORN & JEROEN ZOET

VIKTOR FISCHER

VIRGIL VAN DIJK

TONNY VILHENA & RICARDO VAN RHIJN

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BENEFOOT


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Yes, he is strong. But I am stronger. With these frst words about his

opponent on a local radio station, only minutes ater Feyenoord played Belgian

side AA Gent in Augustus 2010 in the Europa League, Bruno Martins Indi

introduced himsel to the world o proessional ootball. BMIhad just made his

debut in the frst team o Feyenoord, only 18-years-old.

B R U N O M A R T I N S I N D I

BRUNO MARTINS INDI // Date of birth: 08.02.1992 Age: 21 Height: 1,84

M A R T I N S I N D I , born in Portugal but with roots in Guinee-Bissau and a Dutch nationality, was

13 when he left the safety of Spartaan20, an amateur team from Rotterdam, to take on the adven-turous life of a Feyenoord Academy player. Quickly after his arrival at Varkenoord, he was placed inthe same team as Stefan de Vrij. In no time, the two young defenders developed to be the futuredefensive partnership of Feyenoord. They were part of (once again) a Golden Generation, winningthe national cup, the league and international tournaments almost every year. Jordy Clasie and LucCastaignos are some of the other players of this succesful team, of which most players have madeit to professional football.

Skip forward to 2013 andMARTINS INDIand De Vrij still play together. Theyve recently returnedfrom Israel, where they were some of the most talented players in the Dutch squad at the Under 21European Championship. Having made there debuts in the senior national team in 2012 and playingin Feyenoords rst-team for three and four years now, they are among the most experiencedplayers in the Dutch squad. Despite being only 21-years-old, Indi has already played 76games for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

The big question this summer though was whether BMIwould be playing any more games for Feye-noord. He was continuously linked to AC Milan and he looked likely to depart. After Feyenoords lastgame of the season against NAC Breda, coach Ronald Koeman was asked if Jordy Clasie, De VrijandMARTINS INDI, all three being linked to foreign clubs, will stay at Feyenoord for another sea-son. I have spoken with them and told them its better to stay here for another year,Koeman stated, and I think two of them are going to listen, he added. Later that week, DeVrij and Clasie both signed new contracts, bringing an end to all rumours about possible transfersand making fueling further speculation about a possible transfer ofMARTINS INDI. But the de-fender has since conrmed that he will remain with the Rotterdam club. A wonderful revalation forKoeman as he keeps last seasons main stars and ensures the team develops even further.

ForMARTINS INDI, it is probably for the best that he spend another year to further enhance hisskills as a defender before making the step up. Of course, he is talented and he has played wellover the last three seasons. And yes, he is the solid left-back of the national team, but the stepfrom the Eredivisie to the Serie A is very big. There is a big difference between defending against

the wingers of VVV Venlo and PEC Zwolle and defending wingers of clubs like Fiorentina and Sam-pdoria. The Eredivisie has fallen behind the big competitions in Europe, making it harder for youngplayers to succeed. Ibrahim Afellay couldnt make it at both Barcelona and Schalke 04, althoughinjuries have hindered him severely. For Urby Emanuelson, his transfer to AC Milan cost him hisplace in the national squad.

Though BMIdoes not play on his favorite position, the position of central defender is held by JorisMathijssen, another year at Feyenoord could be good, especially with the World Cup in sight. Hehas to play every week to stay in the eye of national team coach Louis van Gaal and there is noguarantee that he would have had he gone to a team like AC Milan.

Spending another season with Feyenoord will give him the opportunity to play everyweek, develop further and be quite sure to be selected for the World Cup. It is now up tohim to ensure he develops further and is ready to leap into the top level of European football in thenear future.

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Only 23 minutes had own by when Jean-Paul Botius introduced himself to the world with anequalizer against archrivals Ajax. De Kuip exploded, with thejoy of not only the goal but with yet another hopeful young hotshot fromFeyenoords Academy making his debut. His rst match in the squad being just aquarter of the way through, Botius had marked himself in the history books as one of thefew to have scored on their debut for Feyenoord.

The left winger, only 18-years-old when making his rst start that day in October 2012, joined Feyenoordsfamous academy at the age of only six-years-old. Quickly, he became part of yet another golden generationof talented, Rotterdam born players. Anass Achachbar, Tonny Vilhena, Terence Kongolo and Botius himselfhave all made it to the rst-team, with Karim Rekik playing for Manchester City, Kyle Ebicilio for Arsenal(though moving to FC Twente this summer) and Nathan Ak at Chelsea. In no time, the generation becameknown as a championship winning, never losing team, winning both national leagues and international tour-

naments.

But when the 2012-2013 campaign started, Botius found himself in the Under 19 squad, with a seriousinjury while former team mates and lifelong friends Achachbar, Kongolo and Vilhena were all promoted tothe senior squad. The young winger quickly became the next one to do so. After recovering from his injury,Botius scored four goals in only ve league games for the Under 19s, catching the eye of Feyenoord coachRonald Koeman. Just weeks after making his rentree at the youth team, Koeman asked Botius to enter hisofce. He showed him a list. Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Johnny Heitinga, Zlatan Ibrahimovic they were all on it. Koeman asked Botius what these players have in common, but the attacker could notsay. They have all made their Eredivisie debut under my leadership and made it to the top. Youare gonna be next, Koeman stated.

The next morning, Botius found himself in the starting line up for the biggest match of the season, thehome game against Ajax in Feyenoords stadium De Kuip, as Ruben Schaken was still recovering from aninjury. In no time, Botius had given an answer to all those critics saying Koeman had taken a risk too bigby starting the young winger. Ricardo van Rhijn, up until then the rst choice right back in Louis van Gaalsnational team, was hung out to dry by the debutant.

From then on, Botius quickly became a regular starter, impressing almost everybody includingVan Gaal, who selected him for his provisional squad, though not selecting him for a denitive nationalsquad. The season ended though as it had started: with an injury, forcing him out of the Under 21 EuropeanChampionship that summer. Botius future is bright. Yet he has to become stronger and more concentratedand focussed on the opponents goal and will have to overcome some serious injury troubles. If he will, nodoubt he will be the next in line of Ronald Koemans succesful players.

JEAN-PAULBOTIUS//Dateofbirth:22.03.1994 Age:19 Height:1,78

Dateofbirth:10.03.1991 Age:22 Height:1,93//MARCOBIZOT

Marco Bizot has had his rst games as FC Groningens rst goalkeeper under his belt.Despite being only 22-years-old hes come a long way to defend the goal of an Eredivi-sie club.

BIZOT, 63, started his career in his early youth for SV Westfriezen in Zwaag. This is where hewas discovered at the age of 10 and brought to Ajaxs youth academy in 2000. He joined JongAjax for the 2010-11 season, where he received plenty of game time under coaches PieterHuistra and Fred Grim. After a successful season with Jong Ajax,BIZOT received a contractextension until 2013 and was loaned to SC Cambuur Leeuwarden in the Eerste Divisie, inorder to gain experience and to prove himself as a player.In Leeuwarden, BIZOT developed and became Cambuurs rst choice goalkeeper. Duringhis spell in Friesland, he made his debut for Jong Oranje. He enjoyed playing regulargames at Cambuur. He told a local newspaper: I would like to stay for anotheryear. Cambuur suits me. Frankly, I dont know whats going to happen nextseason. But I want to play, to develop myself. But Ajax makes the deci-sion.

It didnt become a second season in Friesland but a rst one in Gronin-gen. On June 14, Ajax reported on their website the club had sold the youngDutchman to Groningen, where hed sign a contract thatd keep him at the clubuntil 2014. After a rst half year on the bench, he surprisingly was lined upin the starting XI at the beginning of the second half of the season, repla-cing an in-form Luciano. But with him in goal, the club rose from the lowerregions of the table to seventh place, eventually losing to FC Twente in theEuropa League play-offs. A dependable, calm, commanding and assuredgoalkeeper, capable of amazing reexes and two-footed, he can beexpected as the undisputed number one in Euroborg, unless somethingbigger comes along.

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One o the most exciting and highly rated young

players to grace the Eredivisie in recent years,

Christian Eriksen burst into the Ajax side as a17-year-old and quickly became one o the stars o

the team as well as the Denmark national team.

C H R I S T I A N E R I K S E N

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN // Date of birth: 14.02.1992 Age: 21 Height: 1,84

2012-2013 STATS

The young midelder joined the world famous Ajax youth academy as a 16-year-old from Danish Superliga clubOdense Boldklub for a fee of around 1 million. The youngster proved his worth with some dazzling performancesand jaw dropping goals for the Ajax Under 19 team. His displays for the Jong Ajax saw the hype already surroun-

ding him increase immensely.ERIKSEN was then promoted into the Ajax rst-team by coach Martin Jol and qui-ckly made his Eredivisie debut, starting in the game against NAC Breda. From then on,ERIKSENmade 14 moreappearances in the league, all but one if which Ajax won, and even featured in both legs against Juventus as theAmsterdam side were eliminated from the Europa League.

That 2009-10 campaign was huge forERIKSENas his impact in the Ajax team saw him named Danish Talentof the Year, as well as Ajax Talent of the Year. His exploits in that maiden season also earned him a place in theDenmark national team for the 2010 World Cup, becoming the youngest player in the entire tournament. Hemade two appearances as his country crashed out in the group stages, an underwhelming showing from theDanes, but vital experience for the attacking midelder. In the next international tournament, the 2012 Euro-pean Championship,ERIKSEN was considered his nations biggest hope, even though he was only 20-years-old. The Danes were drawn in the toughest group alongside German, the Netherlands and Portugal. Theymanaged a respectable third place nish with three points from their win over the Dutch.

Since then, the Middelfart-born player has been continuously linked to a move away from the Dutch capital.Speculation has built around him concerning a move to Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and BorussiaDortmund throughout his time at Ajax. However, ERIKSEN has always remained loyal to the reigningDutch champions and shown that he is wise beyond his years. He even rejected the chance to joinChelsea at 14 because he thought it would hinder his development, opting to move to Amsterdam to ensurehe was on the right track to reaching his potential. He even rejected an offer from Manchester City in thesummer of 2012 to stay with the Godenzonen. More recently, he rejected a multi-million euro contract fromBayer Leverkusen in the summer for sporting reasons, insisting he feels that he can develop even more atAjax than he would at the Bundesliga side. ERIKSEN has always insisted that he is in no hurry to leaveAjax, refusing to rule out the possibility of staying for another year. Of course a move would be ideal, butit is not a necessity, is the logic he and his agent have applied to the current situation. Hes rather lucky tohave an agent who has done nothing to fuel the speculation-res over the past few seasons, further proofof how wise and committed he is ensuring the people surrounding him share his priorities and interest inhis development.

It does, though, seem time forERIKSENto move on and show what he can do at a higher level. He

knows he is ready and his coach, Frank de Boer, has admitted that it is time for one of his greatest assetsto ee the nest in search of a new adventure. Despite wanting to leave, ERIKSENremains loyal to histeam. He has stated many times that he will not leave Ajax for free, insisting that he will renew hiscontract (expires summer 2014) if a transfer doesnt go through this summer to prevent the club fromlosing him without compensation.

The young Dane has consistently developed throughout his time in Holland and his passingability, shooting, technique, dribbling and intelligence have seen him play a central role inthe Eredivisie powerhouses three successive title victories under De Boer. He has also shownthe true extent of his versatility with Ajax. In the absence of Kolbeinn Sigthorsson,ERIKSEN wasdeployed as a central striker in the match against Manchester City, playing the role of a false 9 verywell, shining through with a goal and an assist as the Dutch side beat the then Premier League cham-pions 3-1. He managed to grab another assist in the return xture and also set one up in each of thehome matches against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

According to many top minds in European football, its only a matter of time beforeERIKSENis oneof the best players in the world. He has the ability, intelligence and potential to reach the very elite ofworld football and he is wise and focused enough on his development to get there. All that remainsis the journey ahead.

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The 21-year-old attacking midfelder has served Heerenveen remarkably well

over the past ew years. He was a key part o the antastic 2011-12 team

which challenged Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord and AZ to the league title and he

helped them get over the loss o several members o that squad by carryinghis mesmerising perormances through to the current campaign. He scored

seven goals and set up fve in the 2012-13 season, constantly linking up with

star striker Alred Finnbogason and wingers Rajiv van La Parra and

Yassine El Ghanassy. The Serbian international joined Benfca in the summer

and he will be sorely missed at Heerenveen, who will struggle to replace him.

F I L I P D J U R I C I C

FILIP DJURICIC // Date of birth: 30.01.1992 Age: 21 Height: 1,82

DJURICICs career began in the youth system of Red Star Belgrade before he moved to Greece toplay for Olympiacos at the age of 15. After just one year with the Superleague giants, he returnedto Serbia but quickly moved on again, joining Heerenveen in January 2010.DJURICICmade hisdebut in the blue and white of Heerenveen just three weeks after he turned 18, getting an assistin his rst match. Since then,DJURICIChas been integral to the Freizen and has been their mainsource of creativity. In his 99 Eredivisie appearances, DJURICIChas scored 20 goals and set up afurther 19, operating in either the attacking mideld role or out on the left wing. With his blisteringpace, mesmerising skills and tricks which unsettle opponents and gain him an extra yard or two,excellent dribbling, superb passes and ability to nd the net, it is no surprise that he has been la-belled the Balkan Cruyff. The main criticism of Djuricic throughout the last two and a halfseasons is his inconsistency. That, however, is something he has improved on in recent monthsand he has almost made it denitive when he doesnt play, Heerenveen sincerely miss him as,starved of creativity, they lost each of the four Eredivisie matches he missed last season.

Speculation regarding a move to a bigger club has built around him over the past 18 months asHeerenveen have been continuously torn apart with some big named players leaving for new ad-ventures. It was obvious from early on in his Heerenveen career that it was just a stepping stoneand that he would eventually develop beyond the club and the league. DJURICIChas remained

loyal to the Friesland side, however, opting to stay for another season to continue his developmentand rejecting the opportunity to leave during the January transfer window in order to help his sidesecure a place in the Europa League playoffs in the Eredivisie. It emerged in the second-half of thecampaign that he had reached an agreement to join Benca in the summer and it was conrmednear the end of term that he would move to the Portuguese giants and eventual Europa Leaguenalists. Heerenveen coach Marco van Basten described it as the ideal second step to further hisdevelopment before he moves up another level in football. It seems somewhat inevitable that hewill one day end up moving to one of Europes biggest leagues but, to ensure that he is capable, afew years playing under Jorge Jesus alongside the likes of Lima, Oscar Cardozo, Ola John and Nico-las Gaitan will do him a world of good.

DJURICICwas there to create plenty of goals and opportunities for the likes of Dost and Finnboga-son. He has been one of their most important players since he broke into the rst-team as a freshfaced teenager. Now, a wiser and more developed Djuricic is ready to move on. Heerenveenwill miss him severely, but its time for the Balkan Cruyff to go on and full his potential.

2012-2013 STATS

46games

4

14goals

9assists

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Daley Blinds transformation in the 2012-12 season can be described as fromnitwit to hero. At the backend of last season Blind went from squad playerto regular starter due to Nicolai Boilesens hamstring injury. Blind uctuatedbetween half-decent and unsatisfac tory performances. This season the left-back has improved immensely. The penny nally dropped, stated coachFrank de Boer.

Being the son of a club legend comes with its own tribulations. His father,Danny, has been one of the best defenders ever to wear the iconic red-and-white

jersey of the Amsterdam giants. He captained Ajax to European glory in 1995 andis considered a legend amongst the supporters. Despite the hard task of living up tohis fathers name, Daley never doubted his own abilities.

BLIND has versatility. He is capable of playing centrally in defence or mideld.Despite that, he has gained a regular spot under Frank de Boer as left-back. ItsDe Boer who eroded his inconsistency. Im indebted to Frank de Boer, said the23-year-old.BLIND would say his strength is multi-tasking: tactically versed, stronggoing forward, positionally disciplined and defensively sly.

Every time he has stepped on the pitch this season he has come out as oneof Ajaxs better and more consistent performers. It has been a combination ofdiscipline, sticking to basics and freely expressing himself. All the hard work he hasdone in the past paid off and was rewarded with a place in the Netherlands nationalteam.

The fact that last season, thousands of fans regularly chanted Daley BLINDis eenechte Ajacied (a real Ajax man) would have been unimaginable a year ago. It wasconrmation that the most maligned player in De Boers side had nally won accep -tance from his own fans. In truth, BLIND won them over with his performances. Apoll in one of Ajaxs most popular fansites saw him voted Player of the Season bysome distance. The icing on the cake for BLIND after winning the championshipwith Ajax.

YBLIND//Age:23

birth: 09.03.1990 Height: 1,80

LERIN DUARTE // Date of birth: 11.08.1990 Age: 23 Height: 1,69

At the start of the season, Heracles were tipped as one of the leagues stand-out teams in terms of performances by many. The club featured an insaneamount of attacking talents in Willie Overtoom, Everton, Samuel Armenteros,Marko Vejinovic, Ninos Gouriye and Lerin Duarte that would, combined withmanager Peter Boszs willingness to play in radical formations, lead to a seriesof mystifying games by the Almelo-based side.

Sadly for the neutral fan, Heracles defence proved far too weak to uphold the afore-mentioned names and tactics, meaning lots of points were lost by awkwardly concededgoals from counter-attacking sides. To top it off, the club also lost two stars in Overtoom(AZ) and Armenteros (Anderlecht) in the January transfer window, creating an inevitablebottom half nish for Bosz and his men. In the wake of this lost season for the blackand white striped club, one name has risen to the foreground, though; that of LerinDUARTE. Joining Heracles from Sparta in the summer of 2011, the young mid-elder took a season to acclimatise to the Eredivisie before picking up the pace

and commanding a spot in the starting XI.

That was no different in 2012-13, when the 22-year old left-footed dribbler steppedinto the spotlight after Overtoom left and carried the mideld in the latter stages of theleague. With six goals in 30 games, he was the fourth highest goalscorer for his side lastterm and his six assists place him on a shared second place alongside Vejinovic in thesquad ranking come the end of the campaign.

DUARTEs performances throughout the campaign were recognised by Nether-lands Under 21 coach Cor Pot and he was included in the provisional squad for theUnder 21 European Championship in Israel in the summer. Although the midelder didntmake it into the nal squad, it was a good indication of his talent and a reward for hiselectrifying displays in the black and white of Heracles.In the summer, Ajax coach Frankde Boer made no secret of his desire to bring the young midelder to the AmsterdamArena as a replacement for Christian Eriksen, who looked set to depart the capital. Butthe coach later insisted that he would not pursue the youngster as he had brought anend to his summer spending. De Boer wont have been the only coach to have had alook at DUARTE, however. So dont be surprised if you see him make a step up towardsa bigger side in the near future, for he has the quality. Its just a matter of time, really.


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For years, CLASIEdid not seem to be among the biggest talents of his generation literally. Every

year, the Haarlem-born midelder had to ght for his survival in the survival-of-the-ttest environment of Feyenoords youth

academy. Other midelders were taller, had more talent and played in more national youth teams. But at the end of the

race, they didnt make it to De Kuip. CLASIE, on the other hand, did. For each of the last two seasons, the small butincreasinlgy strong midelder has developed into the star of Feyenoords succesful team of youngsters.

Where former academy players like Kevin Jansen, who was said to be a bigger talent than CLASIE, never made it to the

rst-team after a loan spell at Feyenoords afliate team Excelsior. CLASIE, though, did return in the summer of 2011 after

a strong, promising season at the other side of Rotterdam, but without much prospect of making it into the starting XI.

However, Ronald Koeman, the new coach who arrived that same summer, decided to give the youth internationa l a chance

in August 2011, when Feyenoord started the competition at the stadium in whichCLASIE made his debut in professional

football: Woudenstein, the home of Excelsior. He never left the team from then on.

The story ofCLASIE is symbolic of the story of Feyenoord. A lack of prosperity, laughed at by other teams; both

Feyenoords and CLASIEs future did not look bright. A supporters revolt against the board ended with a Bastille-like

attack on the clubs ofces, while important players like Leroy Fer and Georginio Wijnaldum left the club to look for a

brighter future at FC Twente and PSV respectively. A year after almost going bankrupt, Feyenoord still had no money to

spend on transfers. Former youth academy players Miquel Nelom and Kaj Ramsteijn were brought in as a free agents

from Excelsior, together with striker Guyon Fernandez, while CLASIE returned from his loan spell. With a team lacking

experience in the Eredivisie, Feyenoords season looked doomed again.

But everything changed that year. CLASIEturned out to be the Small General in the mideld Feyenoord had been

looking for, forming an excellent trio with Karim El Ahmadi (now playing at Aston Villa) and Otman Bakkal, who was

on loan from PSV. John Guidetti, the Swedish striker on loan from Manchester City made himself a hero of Feye-

noords supporters after scoring three goals against archrivals Ajax. In the end, Feyenoord nished second in the

league, qualiying for the Champions League for the rst time in nine years.

When the next season started, and Louis van Gaal had taken over the national team from Bert van Marwijk after

a disappointing European Championship,CLASIEgot selected for the Oranje for the rst time, together withteammates Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Daryl Janmaat and Ruben Schaken. The next generation of Dutch

talents is ready to take over, an exciting notion for Dutch football.

What does CLASIEs future hold? No doubt he is one of the biggest talents in Dutch football right now. For two

seasons, he has been one of the most important players for Feyenoord, guiding the team together with captain

De Vrij, with whom he has played together most of his life. Together they decided to stay at Feyenoord for

another season in May, bringing an end to rumours about possible transfers to Italy ( CLASIE) or England

(De Vrij). A wise decision. CLASIE is not ready for a bigger competition yet, and he was right when he said

he still has to learn a lot at Feyenoord. Though he has a good season behind him, his performances areirregular, lacking the strength to perform consistently. Both CLASIEand De Vrij couldnt pull Feyenoord out

of misery in away games at Heerenveen and ADO Den Haag, where Feyenoord lost, bringing an end to their

dreams of winning the league for the rst time in 15 years.

Next season might therefore be the most important one in CLASIEs career so far. After two years of de-

veloping into an important player, next season he will have to gain some consistency, lead the team

and cut out the errors in his game. IfCLASIE will succeed in this, the summer of 2014 might be paved

with gold playing in both the World Cup and making a transfer to a bigger European team.

Too small, not enough strength and not talented enough. That is what Jordy Clasie heard or

years at Feyenoords youth academy, when, ater another season, the coaching sta gave him

the beneft o the doubt, but with big doubts. Yes, he was small. Yes, he lacked strength. And

yes, maybe he lacked talent. But he didnt lack willpower to make it to the top.

In act, he possessed that in abundance.

J O R D Y C L A S I E

JORDY CLASSIE // Date of birth: 27.06.1991 Age: 22 Height: 1,69

2012-2013 STATS

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Although Ajax generally get allthe praise for their superb youth set-up,its actually the Feyenoord Academy that has beenvoted the best of its kind in Netherlands in each of the pastfour seasons. Its most famous graduate is arguably Robin van Persie,but Varkenoord has produced plenty more ne players in the past few years,with current Norwich midelder Leroy Fer as one of the more high-prole names learninghis trade at the club.

The combative midelder made his ofcial debut for Feyenoord in the 6-0 Eredivisie win over Heracles inDecember 2007 at the tender age of 17 and would quickly develop into an importantrst team member at De Kuip.

Nevertheless, as Feyenoord were being plagued by nancial problems and failed to really challenge for

silverware, FERdecided the time was right to move on in the summer of 2011 and he eventually joinedTwente after over 100 league games for the Rotterdam giants.

FERinitially had a hard time adapting to his new surroundings as head coach Co Adriaanse kepthim out of the starting XI on more than one occasion. However, with Adriaanse leaving Enschedehalfway through the season, the midelders status quickly changed and he ended the 2011-12season in ne form, netting eight goals in 26 Eredivisie games for his new club in the end.

An even better start to this season even earned him a recall for Netherlands two years after hisdebut for Oranje, but a knee injury picked up in the World Cup qualier against Turkey thentemporarily halted his progress.

His physical problems cost him a move to Everton in January and he briey struggled to copewith the disappointment of his collapsed transfer. FERreturned to his usual best in the closing

stages of the season, though, and the box-to-box midelder earned his summer move to thePremier League, after signing a four-year deal with the Canaries for a reported fee of around 5m.

LEROYFER//Dateofbirth:05.01.1990 Age:23 Height:1,88

Dateofbirth:10.07.1991 Age:22 Height:1,87//JEFFREYGOUWELEEUW

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw ts the prole of a typical Dutch centre-back. He is an athletic, strong and tall defender whouses his pace to good effect as he charges forward to add to the attacking dimension of his team. He is comfor-table with the ball at his feet and is a strong passer of it too as he kick-starts attacks by building from theback. Crucially, Gouweleeuw doesnt sacrice his defensive duties for his attacking ability. He makes good useof his height when it comes to aerial battles and is a strong tackler with good positional sense.GOUWELEEUW joined Heerenveen at the age of 15 from ADO20 and made his Eredivisie debut four and a half years la-ter under coach Ron Jans. He played ve more games in that season and, in the next campaign, he missed the rst fourmatches but played in all of the remaining league games. The focus that season was on the magic trio of Bas Dost,Luciano Narsingh and Oussama Assaidi as they lead the attacks and created an abundance of chances and goals asHeerenveen challenged the big boys to the league title. But GOUWELEEUWs inuence was obvious. With his burstsforward, he scored three goals and set up another three, while his defensive solidity was also crucial to the successof the team.

Last season wasnt as prosperous for Heerenveen due to the huge loss of quality they suffered. The magic triodeparted, as did Daryl Janmaat, Michel Breuer and Viktor Elm, meaning GOUWELEEUWs importance to theteam grew and he did well to soften the blow of such departures. He managed to score one and get one moreassist, but, surprisingly, he picked up three suspensions having picked up one red and eight yellow cards,whereas he had only received one booking in the league in the previous campaign.The 21-year-old is yet to feature for the senior national team, but he will provide greatcompetition to the likes of Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Ron Vlaar, Joris Mathijsenand John Heitinga for a spot in the heart of the Oranje defence over the coming years.

Next season,GOUWELEEUW will be sporting a red jersey, as opposed to the blue and white of Heeren-veen, after his highly anticipated move to AZ was nalised. The defender is an important improvementto a team who conceded 54 goals in the Eredivisie last season, compared to 35 the preceding year.

AZ are looking to climb back into the top half of the table after such a disappointing campaign andGOUWELEEUW will be a key part of that. He is tied to a ve year contract, although the generalconsensus is that the defender is destined for bigger and better things, but his move to Alkmaarwill be a crucial step in his development as he continues to improve.


7/13

A dynamic, box-to-box midfelder with an abundance o potential, 20-year-

old midfelder Marco van Ginkel has developed into one o the most exciting

midfelders in the Eredivisie. The youngster enjoyed a wonderul 2012-13

season in both personal terms and with his club. Van Ginkel was absolutely

crucial to Vitesses campaign in which they challenged or the title until the

fnal weeks and secured a Europa League spot.

M A R C O V A N G I N K E L

MARCO VAN GINKEL // Date of birth: 01.12.1992 Age: 20 Height: 1,86

On a personal level, his performances were noticed by Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal and he was

handed his rst cap for the national team. A wonderful season on all fronts was then compounded byhim being voted the winner of the Johan Cruijff Prijs (Dutch Young Player of the Year) by a panel consis-ting of some of the greatest minds in Dutch football, such as Johan Cruijff, Frank de Boer, Jan Wouters,Fred Rutten, Ronald Koeman, Phillip Cocu and Erwin Koeman. To top it all off, he earned a place inthe rst-team for the Under 21 European Championship and then earned a summer move to PremierLeague giants Chelsea.

The young midelder has consistently improved each year since his debut for the Arnhemclub as a 17-year-old. In the early stages of his professional career it was said that the only keyaspect missing from the midelders game was the ability to put the ball in the net. Too often, he wouldnd himself in a glorious goal scoring position with the ball at his feet and squander the opportunity.That, however, is somethingVAN GINKEL has improved on over the course of last season, havingscored 12 goals from mideld in all competitions for Vitesse. His eight goals and eight assists in theleague alone is a new personal best and the fact he played in all but one of his sides league matcheslast term shows how important he has been to the team and their title challenge.

VAN GINKEL models himself on Liverpools Steven Gerrard, whom he has admired from a young age.He is a good worker but he can also play football, score nice goals and he is a real teamplayer,the Netherlands international says of the Kop legend. But those words could be used to des-cribe the Amersfoort-born player himself. His pace, technique and passing ability have made him oneof the standout prospects in a league lled with exceptional talents and its no surprise to see that hecaught the attention of several clubs before joining Chelsea. So hard working and exciting is the DutchTalent of the Year that Cor Pot couldnt justify leaving him out of the Netherlands Under 21 starting XI inthe tournament in Israel instead of the highly rated Jordy Clasie.VAN GINKEL was a key player for theexciting and enticing Jong Oranje as they marched through the group stage but were halted by run-ners-up Italy in the semi-nal.

The most popular and highly regarded player of Vitesse over the past season was star striker WilfriedBony due to his 31 goals in 30 Eredivisie matches, butVAN GINKELs inuence could not be un-derstated. In fact, when both Bony and VAN GINKEL were absent for the defeat to Feyenoord whichultimately brought their title hopes to a grinding halt, many people argued that it was the midelderVitesse missed most, not their goal machine. His link up play with Bony was crucial to the spectacularseason the Ivorian frontman enjoyed. Their partnership was remarkable and, at times, unstoppable.The 5-3 victory away to Heracles remains the standout performance, in which Bony (hat-trick)and VAN GINKEL(two goals) ran the show.

The young midelders performances throughout last season earned him a move to the Premier League,where he teams up with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. The transfer gives VAN GINKEL the opportu-nity to play at a higher level and blossom further. If he gets enough game time at the Londongiants, he will stand a great chance of making the Netherlands squad for the 2014 World Cup. Manyhave questioned whether the move is right for the midelder, but he is wise enough to make decisionswhich will benet him and he is determined to grow and develop properly. He wouldnt have made thisstep unless he was very condent of being able to claim a place in the Chelsea squad in the long-term.

With this move he gets the chance to play for one of the biggest teams in Europe in one of the bestleagues. Chelsea, on the other hand, gain a skilful and talented midelder who could become one of thebest in the continent.

2012-2013 STATS

51games

14goals

6 0

14assists

On the 14th of November 2012, the then 19-year-old Tomas Kalas made hisdebut for the Czech Republic national team. As he was about to be substi-tuted in, he was told to warm up. He ran himself ragged. In the 74th minute,he was handed his debut, with David Limbersky making way. Two sprints inand the youngster was searching for breath. Tomas Kalas never learned howto warm up on his own, as he was always part of the starting XI.

A telling story of a very talented young defender. He only recently turned 20,but has two full seasons of professional league football under his belt already. Comingthrough the ranks of Sigma Olomouc, it was quite clear from an early age that the boywas some talent. At 16, he was bought by Chelsea for a fee of 6.4 million and imme-diately loaned back. He returned to Chelsea after six months and after half a season ofyouth football, he was loaned out to Vitesse for the start of the 2011-12 season.

At the Eredivisie club, he immediately established himself as a rst-team regular,partnering Georgian Guram Kashia in defence. Vitesse had a great season, qualifyingfor the Europa League, andKALASwas one of the key performers in the young squad.His pace and stamina stood out, as well as his mature play and eye for the tackle.Although only 18, he didnt shun the physical battles and impressed throughout theseason. His loan was extended for another year and in the 2012-13 campaign, he wasused as a right-back. Again, he was as solid as ever and his ability to play either in thecentre or on the ank is impressive. At 20-years-old, it is clear that a great future

lies ahead ofKALAS, if not at Chelsea, another club would be happy to have him.

AS KALAS //Age: 20

birth: 15.05.1993 Height: 1,84

KOLBEINN SIGTHORSSON // Date of birth: 14.03.1990 Age: 23 Height: 1,85

A strong striker with a good touch and a keen eye for goal, Kolbeinn Sigthors-son has been a key member of the Ajax team throughout his rst two yearswith the club, despite being frustrated with injuries. Since his move from AZ,following a season in which he scored 15 goals in 32 league appearances, hehas missed most of the Amsterdam sides league games.

However, despite his absence, his goals have seen him play a major role ineach of those two title winning campaigns. His ve goals and one assist in his rsteight Eredivisie matches for Frank de Boers side preceded a lengthy injury spell whichkept him out for 19 matches and, upon his return, he netted two more as Ajax strolledtowards league glory.

The 2012-13 season started brightly forSIGTHORSSON, he scored in the openinggame of the season as Ajax drew 2-2 with his former team, but he would be out of ac-tion from then until February with a shoulder injury, missing all of his sides Champions

League matches. The 23-year-old went on to score six goals in the 14 league games heplayed between his return and the end of the season, setting up another two as Ajaxwent on to lift a third successive Eredivisie title.

The injury troubles are obviously a cause for concern De Boer has admitted that hedoesnt expect to get a full season out ofSIGTHORSSON but his talent as a strikeris obvious and his potential is great. He has the goalscoring ability to play in hisnaturalNo. 9 position, but he has the technique and ability to drop deeper as well asthe strength to hold the ball up and bring others into play. The 61 striker is alsostrong in the air and can score goals with both feet.

SIGTHORSSON has played 13 games for the Iceland national team, scoringeight goals. He is very much a big part of a bright future for his country in footballingterms. The current crop is widely regarded as the brightest generation of players Icelandhas ever seen and, if his tness issues are resolved, he can go on to have a great inter-national career and an equally exciting club one.


8/13

They say great ootballers recognise each other. I thats the case,

Adam Maher is already a great. In the summer o 2012, AZ played

Anzhi Makhachkala in the qualiying rounds o the Europa Leagueand even though the Russian team smashed the Kaasboeren, there

was one little man still able to make an impression in the red and

white shirt. Ater the game, Anzhi superstar Samuel Etoo came up

to Maher to compliment him on his perormance.

A D A M M A H E R

ADAM MAHER // Date of birth: 20.07.1993 Age: 20 Height: 1,74

2012-2013 STATS

It was another bit of praise in a period throughout which there was many for the youngster. He had just been awar-ded the Johan Cruijff Prijs (Dutch Young Player of the Year). The grand maestro himself said MAHERhad been oneof the most consistent footballers throughout the season.

In all fairness, it is not hard to see his talent. A gifted central midelder, who likes to play in the Nr. 10 posi-tion, but is comfortable in a more controlling role too. MAHERtruly is one of the greatest talents of his generation.His creativity, his awareness, his dribbling, his technique, his vision, his intelligence and, for such a small man(58), he is deceptively strong. He is destined to become another mideld great for the Netherlands.

An AZ youth product, the Moroccan-born but Dutch-raised MAHERwas handed his debut at only 17 years and 147days on 15th December in 2010. Against BATE Borisov he replaced Pontus Wernbloom and immediately scored.With that, he was the youngest Dutch goal scorer ever in a European competition, breaking the re-cord previously held by Rafael van der Vaart. Even though he was hardly utilised that season, the appearanceagainst BATE was a sign of things to come and when injury prone Belgian playmaker Maarten Martens was injuredagain, he got his chance from AZ coach Gertjan Verbeek. In the 2011-2012 season, he played every single Eredivi-sie game and was mightily impressive. AZ were adamant that they would hold onto their youngster, despite stronginterest from big clubs both in Holland and across the continent. Furthermore, MAHERwas in the provisional squadfor the Dutch national team ahead of the 2012 European Championship. He was dropped eventually, somethingBert van Marwijk was heavily criticized for by Cruijff among others. Louis van Gaal corrected the mistake almostimmediately when he took over the national team duties following the abysmal showing in Ukraine and Poland thatsummer and gave the gifted youngster his debut in the 4-2 defeat to Belgium in August.

Throughout the 2012-13 season, he shone in an AZ team that failed to reach the heights of previous years, ni -shing a meagre 10th and only fending off relegation threats in the last weeks of the competition. He wasnt alwaysthe best player on the pitch, but often he was the most gifted and talented one. And he always showed desire towin and work hard. In the winter break, PSV tried to get him, but couldnt agree a fee with the Alkmaarders. Even

though MAHERwas desperate to leave, he kept his head cool and impressed with another series of performances.

Against Italy, for instance, when on international duty, MAHERspearheaded the three-man mideld consisting ofhimself, Kevin Strootman and Jordy Clasie. MAHERwas pitted against Pirlo and the Italian playmaker hardly got atouch of the ball, while MAHERwas at the heart of every Dutch attack. Not to mention the KNVB Beker nal againstPSV, a competition in which AZ fared well this season, where he solely ran the mideld pair of Strootman and VanBommel ragged, scoring a goal that highlighted so many of his qualities.

MAHERleaves AZ this summer with a trophy as his inspirational play won AZ that nal 2-1 against the Eredivisiegiants. Interestingly, he departs to join the victims of his remarkable talent, moving to PSV for a reported fee ofaround 8 million. The youngster always seemed to be edging towards a move to Ajax, but the Eredivisie cham-pions pulled out because he was too expensive and PSV could only afford him with the help of a third party investor,it later emerged. It says a lot about the patience of the teenager that he chose to stick around and grow in Hollandfor the next few years, despite words from his AZ coach Verbeek that he is ready to play for a top Europeanside.

MAHERfelt that it would be best to hone his skills further in his homeland before he moves onto bigger and betterthings. In the long-term, his patience will likely pay off.

51games

13assists

12goals

5 1


9/13

Nemanja Gudelj madehis debut for NAC Breda in August2010, in a 3-1 defeat to Utrecht. Since thatday, he has been a rst-team regular and a growinginuence for the North Brabant club. His career may be in itsearly stages, but Gudelj has already shown that he is a very versatile andexciting player.

He has been used as a right full-back, central defender, defensive midelder, central midelder and attacking mid-elder throughout his career. In each of these positions, he has been used for, and further developed, various aspectsof his game. He has been invariably utilised as a centre-back and right-back for Serbia Under 21s to take advantage ofhis height (he is 62) as well as his distribution and reading of the game. His strength, control and passing ability havecome in handy when placed in the defensive and central mideld role throughout his rst season and a half with NAC.Then, his speed, passing and goalscoring ability became very important to the Breda side when he was pushed up intothe attacking mideld role, where he has played since his father, Nebojsa, took over as rst-team coach in November2012.

NAC were ghting to avoid the relegation playoffs, but their fortunes changed once Nebojsa was handed rst-teamduties and Nemanja was a key part of that in his new position. It was in no way down to nepotism, rather allowing theyoungster the freedom to best utilise his skills to suit the team. His work ethic, speed, strength, control, vision and pas-sing accuracy, which he had developed throughout his earlier years, allowed him to play a more important role for theteam. Gudelj orchestrated play and linked up with Anthony Lurling and wingers Elson Hooi and Rick ten Voorde.

NACs performances in the second half of the season saw them clinch safety in the Dutch topight and Nemanjas performances soon saw him linked to Fiorentina, Sevilla and Newcast-le United. A move, it seemed, was inevitable. But instead of drifting off to one of the biggerleagues, Gudelj opted to stay in Holland, joining AZ in the summer for a fee reported tobe around 3 million a steal. The young Serb will be an important player for the Alkmaaroutt over the next few years as he continues to develop. They have since lost star attackingmidelder Adam Maher to PSV. It is expected that Willie Overtoom will move in to ll the voidleft by the youngster, meaning Gudelj will return to the centre of mideld, but his versatilitymeans coach Gertjan Verbeek has a good attacking midelder ready as back up should theneed arise.

AZ are expected to enjoy a much more prosperous season than their tenth placednish last year and an integral part of that will be Gudelj. Its a step forward for whatpromises to be a very exciting career for another Eredivisie youngster.

Hailing rom the small and religious village o Oudekerk aan den IJssel (a ew

miles east o Rotterdam), being a proessional ootballer wasnt exactly the

career path that the parents o Feyenoord deender Stean de Vrij had in my

mind or their son. At frst, he wasnt even allowed to play ootball since some

o the matches took place on Sunday. Luckily or him, his parents signed him

up at local club VV Spirit at our-years-old.

S T E F A N D E V R I J

STEFAN DE VRIJ // Date of birth: 05.02.1992 Age: 21 Height: 1,89

When the youngster turned 10,a friend who lived in the same neighbourhood en-couraged him to come with him and participate in a talent day for youngplayers at the Feyenoord youth academy. His friend got turned down by the club, but theysigned DE VRIJ. Fast-forward 11 years and 21-year-oldDE VRIJ is undisputed as a centre-back atboth Feyenoord and Louis van Gaals Netherlands national team and is reportedly followed closely byLiverpool.

DE VRIJ was one of the rst-team players participating in this years talent day playing alongsidea group of kids he was once part of. I was always frustrated that Feyenoord scouts neverpicked me up at VV Spirit,he told press bureau GPD. We had to play against Feyenoord so-metimes and obviously put way more effort in those matches hoping that they would pickme up. But still in the back of your head you knew this wasnt something for everyone.

It was a cup match against amateur giants Harkemase Boys whenDE VRIJnally made his seniordebut at the age of 17. He eventually made it to the starting XI in January 2011 when coach MarioBeen was unhappy with the unstable defence, dropping Brazilian Andre Bahia, also known as the rockfrom Rio. The club was enduring a horrendous season and DE VRIJ instantly impressed alongsideveteran Ron Vlaar.

In the following 2011-2012 seasonDE VRIJsettled and made name for himself in De Kuipand at the end of the season was rewarded by nishing second in the league and earning aplace in the national teams preliminary squad for the 2012 European Championship in Poland andUkraine. Although coach Bert van Marwijk preferred Vlaar over the youngster, it was obviously a signthat he was doing the right thing and had conrmed that he is one of the best centre-backs in theEredivisie.

After Vlaar left Feyenoord for Aston Villa in July 2012,DE VRIJwas named captain of the team

at age 20. Although he was injured for the rst weeks of the campaign, he got his rst cap for thenational team prior to the match against Belgium in August 2012. He did not impress. He lookedhopelessly nervous and didnt receive another call-up until the friendly against Germany three monthslater. Nevertheless, Louis van Gaal most certainly believes in the abilitys ofDE VRIJ. He has playedsix matches so far and has a good chance of making the nal squad for next years World Cup in Bra-zil. In the meantime, DE VRIJ played a key part in the Netherlands Under 21 team in the Under 21European Championship. The squad, full of highly rated players, underperformed in the competition,as they were eliminated in the semi-nals at the hands of Italy.

Of course, his performances for Feyenoord and the Oranje havent gone unnoticed acrossEurope. Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers is reportedly very fond of DE VRIJs playing style, whichis characterised by his patience and tendency to look for a solution rather than resort to playingthe ball long. Like Tottenham Hotspurs Jan Vertonghen, DE VRIJcan often be found playing at thecentre of the pitch, a trademark of the modern constructive centre-back.

Though he ended the season with an almost broken nose and a bad run of form in the last vematches, DE VRIJs future looks incredibly promising. After signing a new contract, that keeps himwith the Rotterdam side until 2015, he will most likely be a Feyenoorder until the World Cup in 2014.

And if he manages to get game time and impress, its time for Feyenoord to cash in.

2012-2013 STATS

42games

5yellowcards

0

00

NEMANJAGUDELJ//Dateofbirth:16.11.1991 Age:21 Height:1,87

Dateofbirth:13.09.1990 Age:22 Height:1,75//LUCIANONARSINGH

When Heerenveen opted to cash in on Roy Beerens in the summer of 2011, many ques-tioned the Frisians decision to let their star attacker join AZ. Head coach Ron Jans wasnot among those worrying, though, as he was condent they already had the perfectreplacement on their books; Luciano Narsingh.

The pacey winger had made his Heerenveen debut in October 2008, but failed to secure regularrst-team football at the Abe Lenstra Stadium in his rst two seasons in the clubs senior side.However, his situation would rapidly improve following the arrival of Jans in 2010 as Narsinghquickly became an important rst-team member under the former Groningen boss.

The former Ajax youngster only really rose to prominence in 2011-12, though, as he formedone of the best attacking trios of the Eredivisie together with Bas Dost and Oussama As-saidi. Narsingh scored eight times in 34 league appearances - while setting up an additio-nal 20 goals - to help Heerenveen to fth spot in the table, while also breaking into thenational side in the process.

National team coach Bert van Marwijk included Narsingh in his 23-man squad for Euro2012, although the winger eventually did not feature in Poland and Ukraine as Oranjesurprisingly crashed out in the group stages. It would not all be disappointment forthe winger that summer, however, as he sealed a move to title candidates PSV short-ly after Hollands shock-exit.

Narsingh initially struggled to live up to the high expectations in Eindhoven, butcame to life in early November. The winger scored ve goals in the last eight Ere -divisie games before the winter break, only to then be hit by misfortune. A kneeinjury ruled the attacker out for the remainder of the season, thus halting hisprogress for now. Nevertheless, theres little doubt that Narsingh has a brightfuture ahead of him.


10/13

When Sparta dropped to the Eerstedivisie ater the

2009-10 campaign, it appeared to be inevitable that

they would lose their biggest talents Nick Viergever,Erik Falkenburg and Kevin Strootman. However,

whereas Viergever and Falkenburg eventually let

the Kasteelclub or AZ, no club was willing to meet

Spartas demands or Strootman.

K E V I N S T R O O T M A N

KEVIN STROOTMAN // Date of birth: 13.02.1990 Age: 23 Height: 1,87

2012-2013 STATS

The versatile midelder had a release clause in his

contract with the Rotterdam outt that allowed him to leave for 750.000 before July1 in the summer of 2010 and Twente were seemingly keen to sign him. The transfer eventually fell through, though,and Sparta consequently increased their asking price to 1.5m, thus scaring off suitors such as Utrecht and ADODen Haag.

However, the Rotterdammers opted to cash in on STROOTMAN after all halfway through the 2010-11 campaign dueto their nancial problems. After Sparta had offered the midelder to a number of Eredivisie sides, Utrecht even-tually took the bait and lured the Netherlands international to the Galgenwaard for an initial transfer fee of 1m, adecision they would not regret.

STROOTMANwould develop spectacularly at his new club and his impressive performances in his rst month atUtrecht even prompted national team coach Bert van Marwijk to give him a call-up for the international friendlyagainst Austria. The left-footed midelder kept up his ne form until the end of the season and was included in theOranje squad for the trip to South America to further illustrate his remarkable rise to prominence.

The friendlies against Brazil and Uruguay would not be the highlight of an interesting summer forSTROOTMAN,though, as his performances at both club and international level had caught the attention of PSV. Utrecht were un-derstandably reluctant to let go of the midelder just six months after signing him, but eventually opted to sell whenthe Eindhoven giants shelled out 13m for STROOTMAN and his Belgian teammate Dries Mertens.

STROOTMAN once more had very little trouble adapting to his new surroundings and immediately be-came a key gure at PSV in his rst season. Although the Eindhoven side missed out on the Eredivisie title, the23-year-old would end the 2011-12 campaign on a high as PSV beat Heracles in the KNVB Beker nal to win the rstmajor trophy of his career.

Nevertheless,STROOTMANwould then be in for the undisputed low of his career so far as Euro 2012 would proveto be a huge disappointment. Oranje failed in spectacular fashion as they crashed out after losing all three groupgames, whileSTROOTMAN himself didnt play a single minute at the tournament he had been looking forward to somuch.

The former Sparta starlet dealt well with the disappointment, though, and once again showed in 2012-13 that he haseverything a modern midelder needs to succeed at the highest level, impressing respected football commentatorJim Proudfoot with his ne displays alongside mentor Mark van Bommel.

Ive always had this vision ofSTROOTMAN being Van Bommels big little brother, salivating as thecurly-haired master cuts someone in half, with an element of hero-worship thrown in as he regards thedestruction, Proudfoot told Benefoot.

But theres far more to his game than that. A range of passing, an engine to die for, and if he picks theright club to move to a stellar career at the top table.

Hopefully, STROOTMAN has indeed picked the right club to further his development. PSV reluctantly cashed inon the midelder in the summer, selling him to AS Roma for 20m. He moves to a Giallorossi side which hasundergone a lot of changes in recent years and is ready to embark on a new adventure under new coachRudi Garcia.STROOTMAN will need to settle in and adapt to his new side and new league quickly. With such alarge transfer fee and the hype surrounding him, the pressure is on STROOTMAN to perform and show that he iscapable of playing at an even higher level.

53games

12assists

11yellowcards

9

0


11/13

GEORGINIOWIJNALDUM

Dateofbirth:11.11.1990

Age:22 Height:1,75

Born in Veendam, in the North o the Netherlands, goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet was 15 when a

couple o proessional clubs came around to scout him. Instead o choosing the nearest option

in FC Groningen, he decided to join the youth set-up o PSV, where he was careully nourished.

Going through all youth ranks o the Netherlands as well, this was clearly a kid with a great

uture.

When the time nally came in 2011, ZOET would be contending for a place in the rst-team of PSV, choices for others weremade. Manager Fred Rutten and technical manager Marcel Brands loanedZOETout to promoted RKC Waalwijk , andsurprisingly, young Polish keeper Premyszlaw Tyton was signed from Roda JC to compete with the Swedish international butunconvincing Andreas Isaksson. While PSV struggled with their goalkeepers, ZOETstarted out impressively for the teamof Ruud Brood. RKC were the surprise package of the season and it was ZOET, together with midelder Evander Sno, whotook most plaudits. RKC nished 9th and was close to European football, losing the nal of the Europa League play-offs toVitesse.

When Andreas Isaksson left, again it wasexpected ZOET would be allowed to battle fora place in the rst-team, but new manager

Dick Advocaat signed Boy Waterman and again,ZOET was shipped out to the Waalwijk outt, wherehe continued his progress under new manager Erwin Koeman.A call-up for the Dutch national team (in favour of for instancethe aforementioned Waterman) was a well-deserved reward forhis development. The season for RKC wasnt as prosperous as theprevious one, as they had to battle relegation and it was thanks tothe strong performances of their young goal keeper they eventually werekept up. At PSV meanwhile, Advocaat announced he would leave at the endof the season and would be succeeded by Cocu, who would keep an eye onyouth breaking through. ZOET is an integral part of this. After two years ofgaining experience, ZOET is nally told to go for it at PSV, and he sure will.One of Europes most promising goalkeepers and the number one for OranjeUnder 21s, ZOET is about to full his promise.

JEROENZOETDateofbirth:06.01.1991Age:22 Height:1,89

The 4-0 trashing at the hands o FC Groningen in

2006-2007 will hardly be ondly remembered by any

Feyenoord supporter, but it was in that game that

the Feyenoord youth revolution kicked o.

Young Georginio Wijnaldum, only 16 years

and 148 days old, made his debut and was

probably the sole highlight o the game or

the Rotterdammers, becoming the youngest

Feyenoord debutant ever and turning in a

perormance that earned him

a Man o the Match award.

WIJNALDUMs inclusion in the team was testament to the lack of money at the club (they were in a mountain of debt)and the lack of quality in the squad. His pace, technique and his candid way of playing gave the Feyenoord faithful some

hope in very dark days.

Gradually breaking into the rst-team at a young age,WIJNALDUM has always looked the biggest talent of his genera-tion. A Sparta youth product, Feyenoord snatched him a way at the age of 13. After his debut, he was consistentlythe bright light in gloomy days for Feyenoord in where even relegation seemed a far-fetched, but real option. The undoub-

ted low was the 10-0 trashing at PSV on 24th October 2010. A rarely seen humiliation, leaving a very young Feyenoordteam crying on the pitch. They reacted well, though, beating VVV Venlo at home a few days later and WIJNALDUM was

instrumental, scoring two goals in an emotional 4-2 victory. In the rest of the season, the triumvirate WIJNALDUM Fer Castaignos ensured Feyenoord rose from the death, with young Georginio weighing in with an impressive 14 league

goals. The trio was sold to improve the nancial state of the club, with WIJNALDUM joining PSV. Although the paceymidelder sees himself as a playmaker, he has been mainly used as a right winger. He impressed and earned his rstcap against San Marino on 2nd September 2011, where he was substituted in for Strootman in the 86th minute and

crowning his debut with a goal (11-0). He has come under scrutiny recently when he played in the playmaker role for PSV,but nonetheless, at 22 with already 176 league appearances to his name, he is on his way to a bright future in European

football.

A new generation o Dutch deenders is rising in the Eredivisie and young Mike van der Hoorn is one o them.

Ater Alje Schut let Utrecht last summer to join the South Arican side Mamelodi Sundowns, ans o the side

rom Domstad were worried that the obscure travesty that is Marcus Nilsson, who arrived rom Sweden in

2011 and couldnt exactly deliver, would take over his place. Jan Wouters, Utrechts assistant-turned-manager,knew better though and promoted Van der Hoorn rom the youth team.

In the beginning, people were sceptical about throwing a youngster into the Eredivisie depth like that but it turned out quite well for an astro-nomical Utrecht, with the centre-back becoming one of their stand-out players in a remarkable season. The 20-year-old managed to play 31games and score four goals, on par with seasoned forwards Cedric van der Gun and douard Duplan, and recorded some very goodstatistics along the way.In his rst season at the highest level, Van der Hoorn won 65% of his duels (113) and completed 77% of all his passes (1344). Add to that hisheight (he stands at 63) and threat at corner kicks and its no surprise he was called up by Cor Pot for the Dutch squad for the Under 21 Euro-pean Championship, along with other defensive talents like Bram Nuytinck, Bruno Martins Indi and Stefan de Vrij.

At the end of the season, after Utrechts last game against Heracles, he was even rewarded with the David di Tomasso trophy by the Utrechtcrowd, which is the clubs Player of the Year award. Another indication of the ne debut season the young defender has played under Wouters.

Knowing all these things and having seen his powerful, ruthless defensive style a few times, one knows its no surprise Ajax came knocking inthe summer and managed to pick him up for 3.8 million to replace the outgoing Toby Alderweireld. Under head coach Frank de Boer anddefensive coach Jaap Stam, the youngster will further develop his skills and strengthen his weaknesses to become an all-round better defender.

MIKE VAN DER HOORN // Date of birth:31.10.1992 Age: 20 Height: 1,88


12/13

V I R G I L V A N D I J K

VIRGIL VAN DIJK // Date of birth: 08.07.1991 Age: 22 Height: 1,93

In his rst year at Groningen, the season of 2010-2011, he did take quite some time to settle in.It was only at the end of the year when Pieter Huistra decided to give the then 19-year-old someplaying time. On 1st April, he made his debut against ADO Den Haag (4-2), replacing Petter An-dersson 15 minutes from time. An unremarkable debut, but only a month later, he would splashonto the scene against the same team. ADO and Groningen were facing each other in the play-offsfor UEFA Cup football and the rst-leg didnt go well at all for the Groningers. They were hung outto dry, losing 5-1 and a miracle was needed to qualify for Europe.

In the return leg, all of a sudden there was a tall player readying himself for kick-off. Virgil VANDIJK was the surprise inclusion of manager Huistra as he was used as a battering ram/target manup front. The result was devastating. With two goals (a free kick and a toe poke) and an impressiveall-round performance,VAN DIJK helped his team to a 5-1 victory, only to be knocked out on pe-nalties in the end. Was he a striker? A defender? The Groningen fans didnt know yet, but embracedtheir new found gem immediately.

At the start of next season, Huistra left him out of the starting XI, something that was not appre-ciated by the Groningen faithful. When he nally did get his chance due to an injury of Belgiandefender Jonas Ivens, he took it with conviction. From that moment on, he was never out of therst-team and it became rather apparent VAN DIJK was a central defender. As the season woreon, Groningen dipped in form dramatically, leading to Huistras resignation.VAN DIJKhowever wasone of the few bright lights for the Green-White Army. It led to some interest from Blackburn Ro-vers and Newcastle United among others andVAN DIJK was handed his debut for the NetherlandsUnder 21 team.

The summer of 2012 was a low for the young defender, and it had nothing to do with football.VAN DIJK was hit by acute appendicitis, peritonitis and a poisoning of the kidneys all at once,but it wasnt diagnosed by the doctors andVAN DIJK wasnt sure of his life for a while. I had tosign a will to make sure my belongings would go to my mother. Ive seen death in the

eyes and it wasnt pretty.VAN DIJK rode his luck and recovered successfully and went on tobecome one of the best defenders in the land, nishing seventh with Groningen under new managerRobert Maaskant and he was chosen for Goal.coms team of the year as well as that of De Telegraaf,nishing 8th in the latters Player of the Year competition. Ren Van der Gijp, Dutch footballs funnyman but respected analyst, described him as a phenomenon and hailed him as the biggest defen-sive talent of his generation.

A move in the summer of 2013 seemed imminent, and it came in June when he signed a four-yearcontract with Scottish champions Celtic. The defender revealed that there were other teams inte-rested in him, but added that Celtic were the only team to make an ofcial approach. His length,pace, power, composure, vision and thunderous right foot make him a complete man marker and askilful free defender and will serve him well in Scotland, where he will experience a totally diffe-rent style than he is used to in Holland. The move to Neil Lennons side will see VAN DIJKdevelopfurther and experience European football as he prepares to make another step up to an even higherlevel. Will VAN DIJKfollow the path of illustrious predecessors such as Ronald Koeman, John DeWolf and Adri Van Tiggelen, who all played for FC Groningen on their way to the top? He just might.

2012-2013 STATS

very season a new exciting prospect will break through rom the amous Ajax

cademy. Last season it was a young Dane: Viktor Fischer. Fischer has always

een the best o his generation. As a 10-year-old he played with kids who werewo years older. Do not think it was a struggle or young Viktor. He banged in

1 goals in one season. His velvet technique, natural movements and passion

or the game caught the eye.

V I K T O R F I S C H E R

VIKTOR FISCHER // Date of birth: 09.06.1994 Age: 19 Height: 1,80

Despite interest from the clubs that are among the biggest in Europe, it was ultimately an easy de-cision forFISCHERto sign for Ajax as a 16-year-old. He had trials at Manchester City, Chelsea andInter Milan but when Ajax stepped in, his mind was immediately made up as he opted to join theAmsterdam giants to ensure he develop as a player and get game time under his belt.

FISCHERjoined the U19s in his rst year at Ajax. The Dane made a great impact in the Next GenSeries, scoring two goals against Barcelona in the quarter-nals and a hat-trick against Liverpool inthe semis. From that moment, the Ajax fans knew the club had another fantastic prospect on theirhands. His quick development was the reason for Ajax manager Frank de Boer to add him to therst-team for the 2012-13 campaign. He has made an impeccable impact in his rst campaign asa senior player. He scored one goal for Ajax in a 3-1 win over PSV, grabbing an assist in the samematch and then a further two assists against erce rivals Feyenoord (3-0). As a reward he receivedthe Talent of the Year award from his mentor De Boer. His sublime lob against NEC Nijmegen wasalso voted as Ajaxs goal of the season.

Despite the fact that his development has gone as fast as a rocket, it hasnt only been praise forthe 18-year-old. De Boer has been critical of him more than once. One of his weaknesses is that hehas to be more alert when Ajax lose the ball. His reaction time is sometimes too slow for the levelhes playing at. He can be too casual at times. Another thing he has to improve on knowing whento take on a defender or when to pass the ball to a team mate. It appears to happen often thatFISCHERloses the ball a bit too easily for a player playing at the top level. At 18, though, he cango on to correct these errors to become the player he wants to be.

There will always be more positivity around him than negativity, though. FISCHERis a technicallyand offensively oriented player whos always trying to go forward. Scoring goals is second nature;he regularly nds the net with ease. The Danes composure is great for someone so young, leadingmany observers to believe that nishing is his strongest asset. Another strong point of his is that hedoesnt only create space for himself on the pitch, but also for his team mates.Position-wise hes a wide playmaker who acts like a deep-lying forward. Combined with the systemat Ajax lots of positional interchange and movement in a exible 4-3-3 FISCHERs natural abi-lity means hes allowed to oat between the lines and move into space vacated by a teammate.His willingness to learn and constantly improve is refreshing to see. FISCHERknows hes good, butcalling him arrogant would be wide of the mark. Hes still just a boy from Aarhus. Fame and fortunehavent skewered him. Playing football remains a privilege, one hes fortunateto have. Ajax and the rest of the world will go on to enjoythis young man for a long, long time.

2012-2013 STATS

From a club that has unearthed the talents o Sami Hyppia

and Jaap Stam, youd expect them to recognize a good deender when they

see one. Unortunately or recently relegated Willem II, they didnt. Virgil

Van Dijk, a Breda-born, tall and athletic boy in a mans body was impressing

or the reserves o the Tilburg club, but had to wait very long beore being

oered a contract. By the time Willem II realised they had a gem in their

hands, they had already lost him. FC Groningen did see the talent o Van Dijk

and snapped him up or ree.

39games

7yellowcards

3assits2

1

38games

12goals

6assits

2 0


13/13

A more complete version of Edgar Davids,is how ormer

Ajax and Anderlecht coach Aad de Mos described 18-year-old

Feyenoord youngster Tonny Vilhena when asked who the biggest

talents were in the Eredivisie. Ending the season with a call-up

to the Netherlands national team and our goals and one assist

in 27 matches, Vilhenas season seems more than decent or

a central midfelder. However, this was not purely the result o

eort and hard work.

Fellow midelder Kelvin Leerdam refused to sign an extension on his contractwhich expired at the end 2012-13 season and was benched by coach Ronald Koe-man in September of that season. This created space for the Feyenoord youngsterand resulted in a season whereVILHENA was praised for his pace, ball controland incredible left foot. His rst goal against Willem II in February showed all ofthese features with a sublime combination with Graziano Pell before he rushedtrough the Willem II defence, controlled the ball with his head and volleyed it intothe top corner.

VILHENAis potentially the best product of the highly regarded Feyenoordyouth academy. The Maasluis (a small town west of Rotterdam) born player

joined the Feyenoord youth ranks at eight-years-old and impressed at age 17

when playing his second match for the club against FC Twente in the 2011-2012season. Swirling around the centre of the pitch and directing his teammates,VILHENAshowed the world what he has in prospect. A unique Eredivisie playerdisplaying what box-to-box is.

It is said thatVILHENA, when playing at the Varkenoord Academy, could often beseen crying at the sideline after losing a match. This kid is going to be a reallybig player,Feyenoord legend Willem van Hanegem said earlier this season.There are loads of top clubs wanting to sign this kid already. And believeme, he will leave in a few years.

ONNYVILHENA//Age:18

of birth: 03.01.1995 Height: 1,75

Ajaxs young deender Ricardo van Rhijn emerged in the frst-team halway

through the 2011-12 season as a centre-back when he replaced theinjured Toby Alderweireld. A ew weeks later, however, he would be moved

into his natural position when Gregory van der Wiel picked up a groin

strain.

The latter, an established Netherlands international who had been linked to some top teams inEurope throughout the preceding 12 months, had received a lot of criticism that year for seve-ral below-par performances and made no secret of his desire to leave the club. His injury at thehalfway point in the season saw 20-year-oldVAN RHIJN promoted from the youth side into therst-team, and the youngster became an instant hit with the Ajax faithful. It was rather obviousupon rst viewing that the De Toekomst graduate was the perfect replacement for Van der Wiel,whose departure was imminent.

In his rst appearance in an Ajax jersey, it became clear that VAN RHIJNwas a very talentedyoung player. He was very similar to Van der Wiel, but evidently more focused than his predeces-sor who appeared to have several distractions in the form of hip-hop music and his clothes. At theend of that rst season, VAN RHIJN was given the Ajax Young Player of the Year Award for hispromising displays and improvement in the senior squad and in the Ajax youth team.Following Van der Wiels departure after three weeks of the 2012-13 campaign, VANRHIJNstepped up to become the reigning Eredivisie champions rst choice right-back. Althoughhe is perhaps rather negligent when it comes to defensive work, with his speed, attacking mindand crossing ability, he made Ajax fans forget about Van der Wiel immediately. Some would evensuggest he is showing greater potential and can go on to develop beyond his former teammate.In fact, VAN RHIJN has already displaced the PSG player in the national team. Van der Wielhas not been called up to the squad since his dismal displays and conduct in the 2012 EuropeanChampionship, whereas VAN RHIJNhas already made six appearances for the Oranje andbeen involved in the squad a few more times under Louis van Gaal.

VAN RHIJN was already 20-years-old by the time he made his league debut for Ajax, whichis later than many break into the rst team in Holland, but he has blossomed into a top playeralready, playing a massive role in their retention of the title last season. He has developedimmensely since that rst showing in December 2011 and there are no signs that he will stopimproving any time soon.

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