[ZoltaR]

When the draw was made for the group phase of the UEFA Cup, SC Heerenveen was given the title of the underdog in the group. Between the CSKA Moscow, reigning UEFA Cup champions and Dinamo Bucharest, who knocked out Auxerre in the first round, the Dutch side seemed like a boy amongst men.

But since then things have changed and SC Heerenveen have been climbing impressively back up the Dutch standings. A closer look at their recent results shows that they’ve now gone seven games undefeated in all competitions. Since October 2 and a home defeat at the hands of PSV, Gertjan Verbeek’s haven’t lost a single game, including Ajax (0-0 at the Amsterdam ArenA), Utrecht (1-1), a thumping handed out to Groningen (4-0) and last week’s good win away to Sparta Rotterdam.
The good run which started over a month ago has seen them climb back to seventh in the league, with the same number of points as Ajax.

In the UEFA Cup, the Batavian outfit’s record is simple: two games, two points. And while they haven’t scored a single goal, they haven’t conceded one either. Their defensive solidity permitted them to get draws with Dinamo and CSKA but they need goals if they want to climb up the standings in the group.

Heerenveen traditionally play with a 4-3-3 formation with only one defensive midfielder. That player is the experienced Paul Bosvelt who makes up for his lack of pace (he is 35yrs old) with excellent tactical awareness and positional sense.
Behind him is a flat-back four with the impressive central pairing of Michel Breuer and the Swede Petter Hansson.
Ahead of Bosvelt, we find two attacking midfielders and ahead of them are three attackers. Among the forward trio, OM will have to be wary of the jewel in Heerenveen’s crown: Klaas Jan Huntelaar, scorer of ten league goals already this season. The 22-year-old is a product of the club that has already produced a certain Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jon Dahl Tomasson. He will also aided up front by Pranjic and Yildirm, an excellent free-kick taker.
Like many second-tier clubs in Holland, as soon as a new star emerges he is invariably snapped up by the country’s giants (Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord). At the start of this season, it was a new-look side which began the championship and their poor start is perhaps understandable, but now they are now a well-oiled machine. The team likes playing attacking football, but it is also capable of sitting back and defending stoutly while waiting for a breakthrough.

JEAN FERNANDEZ’S OPINION
“They’re not a great team, but they are solid with a strong defence and overall they’re well organised. They play with a certain rhythm, but they lack power. They are defensively solid but they are capable of a surprise or two in attack. We’ll need to play fast football to cause them problem, because if we let them dictate the pace of the match it’s us that will be in trouble.”

[ZoltaR]

Before Thursday’s match against Heerenveen, OM’s meetings with Dutch opposition have rarely given way to celebration. In the European Cup Ajax and Feyenoord offered little cheer, while the only two Dutch players at OM made little impact.

Over the long years to-ing and fro-ing across Europe, OM has only locked horns with Batavian adversaries three times, before Thursday’s clash with Heerenveen. OM’s record is hardly flattering with four defeats, one draw and one solitary win in six matches, for two eliminations and one last place in the Champions League group phase.
In Marseille’s defence they were playing against the best Dutch football had to offer in Cruyff’s Ajax side of the early 70s and the Ajax side that provided the foundations for Holland’s 1988 European Championships triumph. Then OM struggled at the hands of the redoubtable Feyenoord Rotterdam, the players of which are now on the books of Europe’s biggest clubs.

A look back at the Marseille-Holland clashes since the 1971-72 season.


Ajax Amsterdam: European Cup 1971-72
After having disposed of the Polish outfit Gornik in the first round the formidable Marseille side had to measure up to the cream of European football in the European Cup round-of-16: Johan Cruyff’s Ajax Amsterdam, the reigning European champions and the team that invented total football with the likes of Neeskens, Kroll and Keiser... Not that the Olympian squad was light on. This OM team, that would go on to secure the double at the end of the season was one of the greatest in the club’s history, boasting names such as Skoblar, Magnusson, Novi, Bosquier and Carnus.

The first leg was played at the Stade Vélodrome in front of 50,000 spectators and OM started in style. After just ten minutes they were in front when Kula’s shot was deflected home by Gress (1-0). However the joy was only to last a few minutes... First Keiser (37’) and then the irrepressible Cruyff (59’), after an incredible run, dampened Marseille spirits (1-2).

The return leg in Holland merely confirmed the gap between a very good side and a legendary side. A double from Cruyff and goals from Swart and Haan answered Couécou’s opener (4-1). OM would have to content themselves with domestic success that year.

Ajax Amsterdam: Cup Winners Cup 1987-88
Tapie’s OM was being built in the season 1987-88 and had inherited a Cup Winners Cup berth after losing the Coupe de France final to the champions Bordeaux the previous season. Gérard Banide’s side would shine in this now obsolete Cup competition, to the detriment of the league which proved a laborious exercise, ultimately ending in a disappointing sixth place. OM got passed Lokomotiv Leipzig (East Germany), 0-0 and 1-0, and then Hajduk Split (Yugoslavia) 4-0 and then 3-0 by walkover after crowd trouble.

The semi-final threw up Ajax, less impressive than that of 17 years earlier, but still no pushovers with Winter, Van’t Schip, Witschge and a talented 18-year-old striker named Dennis Bergkamp. The first leg was a terrible upset at the Vélodrome. Rob Witschge, scored twice, and Dennis Bergkamp once as Ajax upstaged a powerless OM. The return leg saw the Olympians avenge themselves. Papin and Allofs erased the memory of the Vélodrome defeat with a 2-1 win, but it’s still Ajax that go through to the final where they would suffer a 1-0 defeat to Michel Preud’Homme’s FC Malines.



Feyenoord Rotterdam: Champions League 1999-2000
The 1999-2000 Champions League had already proved costly for OM in December. Rolland Courbis has to make way for Bernard Casoni on the bench and, despite a good win over Manchester United (1-0) in the first group phase, the competition is tough on Marseille. They do, however, scrape into the second phase and a high quality group, comprising Chelsea, Lazio and Feyenoord Rotterdam.

With a 2-0 defeat to Lazio at the Vélodrome in the first match of Group D, OM isn’t brimming with confidence before the visit to the Kuip Stadium to play Feyenoord. Their doubts are realised as the Phocéens crack late in the match for a heavy 3-0 defeat. Goals to the current Inter hit man Cruz (72’ and 93’) and Bosvelt (83’) who now plays for Heerenveen. Already eliminated, Marseille resisted well a month later and despite losing Ravanelli and Dugarry, OM hangs on for a 0-0 draw to say goodbye to the Champions League against a Dutch side containing now well-known names such as Dudek, Tomasson and even the Parisian Kalou.

The Olympians quit Europe and now rediscover the Dutch five years later in the UEFA Cup - for the first time - with the visit of SC Heerenveen.

Verdonk and Tshen La Ling, the only two Dutch players in OM’s history
Only two Dutch players have ever worn the white shirt. Largely unknown by the general public, Verdonk and Ling spent half a season (71-72), for the first, and a whole season (84-85), for the second, in attack for OM.

The first, Lambert Verdonk, arrived in Marseille midway through the 1971-72 season, but the former PSV striker only played nine games, scoring three goals, before joining Ajaccio at the end of the season.



Tshen La Ling landed in Marseille, boasting a bigger reputation than his compatriot, in 1984, the year OM rediscovered the top-flight. Having played for Ajax, he signed for OM from Greek side Panathinaikos. He started 28 games for the eccentric Pierre Cahuzac, and is credited as having had a good season in which he scored eight times. But his time at Marseille would only last the year and he returned to Holland to play for Feyenoord at the end of the season.
“Before Waddle, he was the player that did the most step-overs at the Vélodrome,” remembers his former teammate Jean-Charles De Bono. He played on the right side and had a similar style to Chris (Waddle), not very quick, but very elegant, skilful and a little nonchalant which really got the crowd going. He had in fact been a model before he became a footballer, he didn’t feel the pressure and he loved fashion. Like often happens at OM, too much was expected of him too quickly. We didn’t have a great season (17th), and the club decided not to keep him. I remember him as a very good player, very skilful, but also a bit lazy, I have to admit.” .

[ZoltaR]

The planning before OM-Heerenveen
The Olympians were at full strength for the only training session at the Commanderie on Tuesday morning. The squad will have one session at the Stade Vélodrome on Wednesday before heading on retreat. SC Heerenveen arrive in Marseille on Wednesday.

The Olympians trained for nearly two hours at the Commanderie on Tuesday morning. Physical training and ball work were on the menu before a training match run by Jean Fernandez capped of the session. The squad was at full strength: Wilson Oruma who had complained of a sore hamstring trained normally as did Sabri Lamouchi and Mamadou Niang who both had ankle scares on the weekend.

The team didn’t train on Tuesday afternoon but will have another session on Wednesday afternoon at the Stade Vélodrome (5pm). After the traditional European match press conference the Olympians will head on retreat to prepare for the UEFA Cup clash against Heerenveen.

The Dutch side, coached by Gertjan Verbeek, trained at Heerenveen on Tuesday and should arrive in Marseille on Wednesday early afternoon. The Batavian club will be staying at the Sofitel Palm Beach, where they will also host their press conference at 5pm. The team will then train in front of the media at the Vélodrome. SC Heerenveen will return to Holland on Friday morning.

[AFC AJAX 425]

Normally I'm also for the french teams, but I'm sorry, tomorrow I'm for Heerenveen. Not that they have any chance though.

[Bonizzoni]

1x0 and Marseille through

[ZoltaR]

OM 1-0 Heerenveen: OM through to last 16
A Taye Taiwo penalty, converted in the dying seconds, gave Marseille victory. With six points the team is already assured of finishing in the top three and therefore, qualifying for the last 16.


OM 1-0 HEERENVEEN
1-0 Taiwo (89 pen.)

Breaking through a brick wall is never as easy thing, but that was OM’s job at the Stade Vélodrome on Thursday. And they deserved their win. Through the middle, over the top, down the wings, the Olympians tried everything to overcome the Dutch defences, pinned back in their own half of the fied. Gertjan Verbeek’s men didn’t come looking for an attractive game of football, but rather, to sit back and hit OM in the counter. And they were quite good at it actually. Without a Barthez in top form, the Olympians could easily have fallen foul of the lightning quick Batavian attacks.



But after a whole match on the back foot, the visitors finished by cracking in the final seconds. The penalty on Niang was transformed by an ecstatic Taiwo in the 89th minute and delivered the qualification. That is after all, the big news of the evening: OM have already qualified for the round-of-16 from Group F. Acquired thanks to a perfect display in Russia a month ago and this narrow victory against Heerenveen.

Right from the start Fernandez’s men were confronted with an invitation to attack. Sitting back, the Dutch left only Huntelaar and Samaras up front and closed ranks at the halfway line. Niang tried several times to find a way through, but every time he did, he found the goalkeeper Vandenbussche in his way. His angled shot after being set up by Oruma was deflected (13’) before he fired two more efforts at the Dutch ‘keeper (33’ and 40’), the first of which could have resulted in a penalty for the Senegalese attacker. The Olympian striker was always on the move, making runs and calls, and further highlighted OM’s offensive shortcomings when he was injured last month.

Heerenveen were almost anonymous in an attacking sense. Samaras’ back-heel (16’) didn’t worry Fabien Barthez and the job appeared to be made earlier when the highly-rated Huntelaar left the field injured after half an hour.

The game remained a very tight affair after the break despite a couple of half-chances with Taiwo’s well-struck free-kick (61’) and the substitute Nasri (65’). It was inside the final ten minutes that Marseille finally found the way through. After several close calls in the penalty box, Vandenbussche finally brought down Niang (89’). Despite Derveld’s best efforts to upset his concentration, Taiwo made no mistake with his powerful spot-kick and sent the Stade Vélodrome into rapture. One last Dutch attack almost brought the celebrations to a premature end but Barthez stood his ground before Samaras shot (92’). After just two games in Group F, OM can savour a quick and effective qualification to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

[ZoltaR]

25/11/05 - Réactions
OM 1-0 Heerenveen: Who said what!
Jean Fernandez, Franck Ribéry and Sabri Lamouchi all drew inspiration from a similar theme in their post-match comments: It may not have been a great performance, but OM did just about enough to get the win and a deserved qualification.

Jean Fernandez: “We deserved to qualify”
Looking at the match as a whole, we deserved to win, we created more scoring chances. We knew they were going to be a tough team to play against since they’d got scoreless draws against CSKA and Dinamo [in the UEFA Cup] and also against Ajax [in the Dutch league]. They’re a team very well organised defensively that leave just one up front when they lose the ball. They didn’t leave us much space to play with and the conditions weren’t great. The pitch was very slippery, it was windy and it was cold. It wasn’t easy to play football but we maintained our concentration and we deserved to qualify.
In the first half we had a few good chances with Niang, Koke and Oruma. If we’d managed to convert one of them the game would have been easier. But we know that the hardest thing to do in football is to score. The Heerenveen ‘keeper had a great match, he read every ball over the top and was really, very good. Even if it wasn’t a great spectacle, we did the necessary and now we’re sure of our place in the last 16.
Their top scorer also had to leave the field so that probably hurt them a little. We kept it very tight at the back and they didn’t have many chances to worry us back there. We, on the other hand, had a lot of chances and thoroughly deserved to win.
Mendoza got things buzzing up front and we moved Ribéry in behind the central striker and that produced some good stuff that enabled us to get that penalty at the end of the match.
Tonight we can celebrate, but the football moves very quickly and we’ve got another big match against Monaco. We started the week well with the win against Nantes, and then tonight’s win and qualification for the rd-of-16.It would be great to play well and beat Monaco on Sunday.

Franck Ribéry: “We did what we had to do”
We’re really happy to have taken all three points which gives us six from two games. It wasn’t a great match but there was a lot of wind and it was very cold. And then they played with everyone behind the ball and it really wasn’t easy. The most important thing is the victory and we’re happy for the fans that came to the ground. We were playing at home and we wanted to win and we did what we had to do. We were careful not to get done on the counter and we kept plugging away and finally it paid off. Taiwo’s penalty gave us the win and three points.
The coach gave us the right advice and now we’re going to focus on Sunday’s match against Monaco. There’s a saying: Never two without a third. We’ll ba at home again and having beaten Nantes and Heerenveen we’ll be out to beat Monaco too, even if it won’t be easy.

Sabri Lamouchi: “We’ll remember the qualification”
It was really tough this evening because it was almost winter out there. Heerenveen also defended very well in the first half. In the second half they even created two or three good chances and could have been more dangerous. Then there was that penalty that the referee whistled even if he could have blown for a more obvious one just before. We were serious throughout, but unfortunately we had a couple of blackouts that could have cost us more dearly. We’ll remember the qualification. We’ll try and play the last two games with the aim of topping the group.
With a bit more luck we could be finishing games off much earlier. We’ve got to put teams away early and then control the result. We’d also start playing better football because we’re always chasing the result.
We’ve got to finish the week the way we started it. We’ve got three home games, we’ve won two, so we have to rest up now and prepare for Sunday in the correct manner. It’s not easy playing three home matches in a week. Ligue 1 is a different competition and Monaco will be completely different to Heerenveen, and we’ll have to be more aware, more focused and have more success in front of goal.



F.R.

[blackjack]

This is off-topic, but what's with OM's fetish for changing kits? I remember they wore blue away to St. Etienne, and now they wore these at home. I also remember some instances last year when they wore those horrible black and yellow ones when there was no conflict with the white.

[om4ever]

Originally Posted by blackjack

This is off-topic, but what's with OM's fetish for changing kits? I remember they wore blue away to St. Etienne, and now they wore these at home. I also remember some instances last year when they wore those horrible black and yellow ones when there was no conflict with the white.

the blue away which was worn at St. Etienne is the change kit in the French league.

the kits worn at this match are the change kits in UEFA cup matches.

[blackjack]

Originally Posted by om4ever

the blue away which was worn at St. Etienne is the change kit in the French league.

the kits worn at this match are the change kits in UEFA cup matches.

Right right, I get that. It just seems like Marseille wear their change kits when they don't have to an awful lot. Is it a marketing thing, or is it just a club tradition to wear the change kits once in a while even when it's not necessary?