Van der Gragt has been outstanding for many tournaments. Why has she never been picked up by a foreign team?
She played one season with Bayern but was injured. Came back to Ajax and then went to Barca for a season and then came back. She's 29 now and not the fastest player.
He has stuck too much to the old guard (the goalkeeper as clearest example) and played people on the wrong positions. Some have said he could have played Beerensteyn as right-back rather than the extremely poor Wilms. The topscorer with international experience was left home; players with the highest market value and Champions League winners sat on the bench; playing Miedema was irresponsible (just as a half-fit Martens). Maybe Parsons is an able coach but I doubt whether he knows the qualities of the players and has a picture of what is avalaible. Short preparation time plus injuries and covid did not help. Women's football has developed at such pace that the youngsters are better as what there is now (quicker in everything), just as that this crop was better as the previous ones.
Cheeky goal https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/19328323/alessia-russo-goal-video-backheel-england-sweden-women/
The gap between England, Germany, France and everyone else seems so large right now. What is Holland's path back to contender status? Phasing out the old guard and bringing in the new guard? (Are there enough promising young players waiting in the wings?) Settling the program into the new coaching regime?
It starts with actually playing the best players. So not an overaged Ajax player instead of the recent Champions League winner (with a very high transfer value). And maybe the manager does not have a great amount of authority - it seems like the players are running the show: https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/op-...in~bfd44ca4/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
This article suggests the level has gone up, also for 'Holland': https://theathletic.com/3457263/2022/07/29/euro-2022-women-euro-2017/ Other countries with more resources just improved more. Wiegman is a money wolfe: https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/prachtige-ek-bonus-lonkt-voor-wiegman If she wins she will earn a million. (Tempting to use another w-word but cannot do that here... )
??????? I think there were only two Ajax players on the team, van der Gragt and Pelova. Which one are you referring to? van der Gragt had a very good tournament. I know she has left Ajax and I don't know whether she has a new team.
The Old Greeks already knew the pitfalls of that... Some nationalities know more honour and don't immediately go for the fattest paycheck. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherida_Spitse
What didn't help either was the much shorter preparation time (compared to England, who had them all available weeks earlier) and of course all the injuries and Covid thing (obviously those two had not really recovered vs France). The rule of five subs benefit the deeper nations more. The topscorer of the league was left home, as well as some other debatable ommissions. Stats still suggest though that they have now reached a higher level as in 2017. Others caught up and/or improved more.
Forgot about Spitse though she was not picked because she was an Ajax player (last season was her first one in Amsterdam). She was OK in the tournament unlike Martens who was horrible and should have been subbed out of the starting line up early on.
She keeps better players on the bench. It is like Engelaar playing in 2008 while Milan and Bayern starters were left home. Besides, she is old and other than the set pieces not that good. Too slow.
I agree with you!!! Spitse should have seen spot duty but I think Parsons was afraid to sit her. Dutch need to do a bit of rebuilding. There are good players and maybe they don't have the depth of some bigger countries. Other than van der Gragt most of the back lane players are still young. Groenen is still a top MF and Mediema is one of the best strikers around.
Sari retires from football https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetba...rk-dat-ik-toe-ben-aan-andere-dingen~ae1868df/
https://vrouweneredivisie.nl/halve-finale-toto-knvb-beker-fc-twente-ado-den-haag-2-3/ (have a look at the 2-2 )
It was a rigged (rigged =/= fixed) tournament and tailor made for England (all those restdays, extra preparation weeks and the like). With say a final between France and Austria the gigantic stadium would be 9th/10th empty - a commercial disaster. Playing against depleted (Sweden, Germany) and Covid (Sweden) wrecked teams. I also and mainly dislike the English press in general. How they speak about us as some sort of colony and/or airbrush us from history (the recent articles about the backpass rule for example). The sense of entitlement and deservingness. Remember all those stories about how the rest of the world misunderstands the "football is coming home" chant and song? The irony of the song? Today shows that was a lie! The sport needs however teams like England to commercially grow and become important in the public consciousness. Successive championship titles for Holland or Portugal won't do. Cynical but true.
Wiegman winning 2 titles in a row with 2 different countries. I wonder if that's the first time that's ever happened in pro football