144051 Rav van den Berg opts for new adventure in German Bundesliga. FC Köln announced on Wednesday that Rav van den Berg is making the switch from Middlesbrough. The German club returns to the Bundesliga this season after it became champion in the second tier in the previous year. Van den Berg is already the tenth acquisition of Die Geißböcke. Mmm, weird to choose a promoted team to the BuLi over Feyenoord.
144170 Hoever impresses at Wolves: 'Didn't know he was our player' Will Ki-Jana Hoever still break through at Wolverhampton Wanderers? The defender ended up at the Premier League club in 2020, but was loaned out again and again and disappeared from the radar. Even from manager Vitor Pereira, who is impressed by Hoever. The now 23-year-old defender was loaned out by The Wolves to PSV, 2 times to Stoke City and last season to AJ Auxerre. Coach Pereira came to Wolverhampton Wanderers halfway through last season and in preparation for this season he asked for a new right wingback. 'Then I got a call that there was another player from Wolverhampton in France and that it was good to give him a chance in the preparation. I didn't know he was our player,' Pereira said during the press conference on Friday afternoon. Although Pereira had not counted on Hoever, he was impressed by the former PSV player in the preparation. 'I like him', said the Portuguese. 'He was a pleasant surprise this preparation. He has a good technique. Ki-Jana is fast, feels the spaces well, is calm on the ball and makes the right decisions.' Hoever may therefore be looking forward to a breakthrough at The Wolves, for whom he has played only 25 official matches in all those years.
De Ligt was very good today in Manchester United’s opening home match which they lost 1 nil. Very aggressive and solid on the ball. Was matched up with the big Swedish signing Gyokeres who was not a factor. Some very physical duels out there. Timber on a second half sub looked pretty good in his 20 plus minutes as well.
Beukema started his first game with Napoli today… and scored! Looks like he had a pretty nice game overall judging by his rating and stats (recorded the most clearances). I hope he’s settling fast in his new club, he can be yet another RCD option for Oranje. I think Van Hecke needs a challenger. De Vrij is struggling with playing times. Who knows what we will see this season from the hot-and-cold De Ligt and oft-injured J. Timber. Van de Ven also scored… very composed strike with his weaker foot.
145376 Sam Beukema in Orange? If it's up to Italy... During Fiorentina-Napoli, Beukema scored for the first time for i Partenopei. The winner of the scudetto last season saw competitors Juventus and Internazionale fight a nice duel, with The Old Lady as the winner. An additional advantage: after the victory in Florence, the reigning national champion is six points clear of last season's number two. Not in the least that was due to Beukema. Were they only satisfied with his goal? Il Quitidiano Napoli was full of praise. "When he came to Napoli, the defender had some problems in the beginning. Defensively, however, he is now breaking the ice, in the build-up the Dutchman is very sensitive. Wonderful to watch." "Beukema showed his great personality and quality on the ball," IamNaples noted. "To top it off, he scored the 0-3." While on social media fans were also lyrical: "To think that Virgil van Dijk is in the starting line-up for the Dutch and this boy is not even called up. Ronald Koeman, what are you doing?" "For the first time, he played together with Alessandro Buongiorno in the center. Yes, it really is," CalcioMercato read. "While together they seem to be two trained veterans in the field. An excellent debut, all rounded off by a goal." Ronald Koeman, are you watching? Edit: Sam is rightfooted
145583 By the way, at FC Groningen the youngest CD-combi of the Erdivisie is doing great with Blokzijl (20) and Ajax loan Janse (19).
Virgil van Dijk with a thunderous header to win it late for Liverpool against Atletico. Though Slot can't be happy with 'Pool overall performance... they should have wrapped up this game (leading 2-0 inside 10 minutes, and 2-1 at HT) but a couple of missed chances.
145675 When Dies Janse entered the field of the Galgenwaard last Sunday for the second half, he immediately looked up at the opponent's players. FC Groningen played a good first half in the Domstad and so Ron Jans felt compelled to make a substitution. Sébastien Haller came in, replaced Davy van den Berg, and together with David Min, had to bring more offensive danger to the home team. Janse knew what he had to do: together with Thijmen Blokzijl next to him, another youngster, keep the center of the Groningen defense closed. The duo passed with flying colors, and Janse prevailed in the duels. 'Playing against someone like Sébastien Haller, that's a different kettle of fish,' says the nineteen-year-old defender. 'But at the same time, I also like it best, to be able to fight duels with these kinds of top players. And I noticed it right away on the field. Those guys are so smart. Just a little push here, just grab your arm there. As a defender, you just have to be on your toes all the time. I can only learn a lot from that, so that's great. And that we win here is just very impressive. We gave very little away. After twenty minutes I already had the feeling of: we have a really good grip on the game, we are in a good position. This could be a very nice afternoon.'
Groningen may just have the two best CBs in the Eredivisie!! It will be interesting to see how the two of them partner up for the season.
145810 From the KKD to the Champions League: 'Beukema is a monster' Dutchman Sam Beukema stood out very positively on the side of the Neapolitans in the Champions League match between Manchester City and Napoli.
Sam is the kind of player, completely ignored by mr Cowhead, because ... just watch the clubs he played for, no Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord The brothers Koeman with the known tunnelvision
Correct and correct. De Ligt has played very well this season. BTW Zirkzee no time either. Hato a terrible decision as I predicted going to dysfunctional Chelsea. A regular rightback Gusto subbed for the little hack Spaniard Cucurella at Leftback today which is a very bad sign for Hato who really needed another 2 years at Ajax IMO. Emegha headed to Chelsea next season which again will not be smart.
Scandalous placements for Dumfries and Van Dijk in the Ballon d'Or!! Gravenberch is not even nominated while McAllister is (who is placed higher than VvD and Dumfries)... classic. The Anti Dutch Forces are strong! Pure marketing.
146337 Tyrell Malacia (26) is rehabilitated by Manchester United. The left back seemed to have ended up on a sidetrack, but has fought his way back into the field of vision of manager Rúben Amorim. Immediately, the Dutchman is again part of the Portuguese's group of players, insiders confirm. After Malacia returned from a loan spell at PSV this summer, he was persona non grata at Old Trafford. Together with Antony, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho, he was part of the so-called bomb squad. The quintet was no longer allowed to appear at the club as soon as the first team was working towards the new season. Where the other four players left, Malacia stayed in Manchester. The left back could go to Lille, AS Roma and Elche, while he canceled a Saudi club. However, because his contract expires at the end of the season, Manchester United was not willing to let him go just like that. As a result, a transfer failed several times. And so Malacia had to report to the reserves team. The Dutchman, who had worked all summer with an extensive team towards a top fit start at a new club, seemed to have to prepare for a departure in the winter with the English talents. British media, however, wrote last week that Malacia manifested himself exemplary at the youth complex. 'He is an example for the players', was written about the attitude of the defender trained by Feyenoord. And the club management did not miss that either. Partly thanks to his sublime attitude, the club is now bringing Malacia back into the first selection, against all odds. Effective immediately, Malacia is again part of Amorim's group, which is itself plagued by negative results. The manager is going to give the left back a serious chance to fight his way back into the team, sources report to VI. And so Malacia may be able to play for the first time since January 26. I'm very glad to read this. Tyrell always has a soft spot with me.
147101 Conte sees a future Dutch international at Napoli. Antonio Conte is very pleased with Sam Beukema. The Napoli coach sees in his defender a potential Orange candidate. However, Beukema will still have to take steps. For example, on a tactical and physical level. Earlier on Monday, the name of Sam Beukema was already on the tongue of Peter Bosz, who said at his press conference – with a wink – that he had had negative experiences with the 26-year-old defender of opponent Napoli. 'My son played football in the first team of Go Ahead Eagles. Then Beukema came and he played him out of the team. He immediately said that Sam is a very good player. Sam went to AZ after a year and has a wonderful career. It's great if you can adapt a level higher every time. From Go Ahead to AZ to Bologna and now finally in the absolute top at Napoli. Clever, that means you're good.' Beukema laughs when he hears that anecdote, which he had received sometime that afternoon. 'Yes, his son Gino. I remember. It was the first season under John Stegeman and Gino actually played everything. That was the season that I was allowed to leave Go Ahead. Only then I stayed and there was a competition with Gino. In the end, I played a number of matches and from there my development continued. I have only had good experiences with Gino. He was a very good player, especially on the ball, but in the end things go like that in football. I liked what Bosz said about me.'
147409 Malacia all the way back: Amorim brings in left back in match selection. Tyrell Malacia has now really fought himself back at Manchester United. The left back will return to the match selection on Saturday. Manager Rúben Amorim calls on the Dutchman. Amorim let Malacia return to the group. And the latest reward will follow on Saturday. The international is part of the match selection for the Premier League duel with Brighton & Hove Albion. This allows him to play for the first time since January for the English top club. Just before the game, Amorim reported that Malacia has forced his return to the match selection himself by working hard.