An old adage says no guts, no glory.
Unfortunately, this is not quite compatible with the way the top Dutch sides play these days. We can all blame Johan Cruijff for that (yes, it's Cruijff and not Cruyff...), who once claimed that possession of the ball was the most important thing ever.
Now as any novice to football will tell you, teams that aim to retain control of the ball over longer periods of time, in the process making a large percentage of passes that give low risk of losing the ball, are said to play possession football. Utilizing this tactics demands players skillful in ball control and precise passing.
If successful, it will tire the opposing players because they have to run and tackle more. Also, the term sometimes indicates that each player retains possession for a longer period of time, using more touches. That will ensure that the move will be precise and effective.
One manager who loves (or used to love, when he was still active) his possession football is Johan Cruijff. At Barcelona, most of his training sessions consisted of playing two-touch football, six against four, in an area half the size of the penalty area.
As the master explained: "In a small area, the movement is necessarily fast and the passes must be pinpoint. Two of the six play wide and change team whenever the other four gain possession. It is always six with the ball against four trying to retrieve it."
"This possession principle should operate in any area of the normal field of play, so our training is intense and is the basis of our game. You can close down space more effectively by accurate passing when you have the ball, forcing opponents into certain positions, than you can by man-marking without the ball."
As you can see, Cruijff is a passionate advocate of possession football. Here in Holland, his words are considered infallible pearls of wisdom. In fact, they are considered equal to the word of God himself.
Cruijff is dubbed "El Salvador" or "De Verlosser," which roughly translates as "The Saviour." This means that not playing his style of football is considered an act of blasphemy by many fans and pundits, especially those of his former club AFC Ajax Amsterdam.
So let's recap. Cruijff is considered some sort of prophet. Cruijff loves his possession football. Cruijff is an Ajax man, and the fans love him. Ergo, Ajax play possession football.
Now possession football isn't always a bad thing. When played with the proper players, it can be very spectacular, especially when the one-touch variant is being played. Just think of Cruijff's Barcelona Dream Team in the early nineties or Van Gaal's Ajax side halfway during the nineties.
Possession football becomes boring when your players don't have superb on-the-ball-skills. In such a case, possession football is all about passing the ball around in every direction, except the right direction: forward.
The pace of play grinds down to a sluggish pace, with people just passing the ball to their goalkeeper or a player next to them. It's just becoming boring to watch a team like Ajax play, where most of the action takes place on their own half.
Call it blasphemy, but let's just disregard Cruijff's words. Let's dump the whole possession idea and revert back to a faster-paced, more interesting to watch style of play. Ajax has skillful and talented players that can play in pretty much any system, so why stick to ideas that no longer apply to this modern day and time?
Football has evolved since the nineties, the tempo has gone up, and possession football just doesn't work anymore at the absolute top. Our national team lost out to a more aggressive and higher-paced playing Russian team, and Ajax and PSV are shit in their European campaigns. Our national style has simply stopped working.
So let's cut the semi-cowardly passing the ball around on our own half and resort back to old-fashioned attacking. Our greatest assets have always been our forwards and offensive midfielders. I mean, besides Jaap Stam, who can mention a top Dutch defender of the past two decades?
Exactly...but try to mention forwards and offensive midfielders and you get a big list, containing names like Dennis Bergkamp, Ruud van Nistelrooij, Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart, Clarence Seedorf, Roy Makaay, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Wesley Sneijder and many, many more...
We don't have good defenders and holding midfielders, but we've got great forwards, so let's utilise them.
The only way we can do this is to drop the whole concept of possession football, which revolves around passing the ball around at the back, and move to a system that suits our players better. We don't have the defensive capacities to play possession football, so let's show some guts and attack more. No guts, no glory.
If we continue down this road of possession football, we can be certain we'll never be really successful.
28 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Maire Ofeire 7 months ago
Good article Guido.
Can't say I know a whole load about the Dutch league but I have seen the Dutch national side play and I can see what you mean. Also, Holland are always those teams that you expect to play well for a few games, argue the crash out.
Do Holland not have a few good young keepers out there - why recall Van der Sar?
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Guido 7 months ago
I know, eternal losers... It's our faith to play lovely football but crash out too soon. Still, we could play better if we attacked more...
As for the whole goal-keeping debate, I agree we should've just given someone else a chance. We do have a few excellent young goalies. For more info, I'd like to link you to this article I wrote over a month ago.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/65333-wont-van-der-sars-international-return-hinder-the-development-of-young-talent
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Maire Ofeire 7 months ago
I'll check it out thanks, that confused me as to why they would not go for a younger goalie
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Guido 7 months ago
Afraid to lose against Norway and Iceland. Gambling on the youths would've been a liability, whereas Van der Sar is as reliable as a bank (just not an Icelandic one, if you pardon the (poor) pun).
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Barney 7 months ago
Good stuff Guido!
Now, pardon me if I sound a complete fool here, and I daren't question your football knowldge, much less Dutch football knowledge, but I thought it was Cruyff's (yes thats Cruyff :P) philosphy to play Total Football which is far from boring? Of course, the current Ajax team isn't as talented as the Dutch team of '74 or even Ajax teams of the past, but isn't Curyff's philosophy still the same? Correct me if I'm wrong!
POTD and 5 stars from me!
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Guido 7 months ago
Thanks Barney.
Total Football can be very interesting, but it's not the same as possession football. In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no player is fixed in his nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.
Possession is important in Total Football, but possession football and Total Football are not necessarily the same thing. The way our national team and Ajax play is not really Total Football anymore, they just emphasise keeping the ball, without the fluid rotating of players and attacking mind-set.
The Cruijff (yes, with ij :p) philosophy hasn't changed, but Ajax have interpreted it in a different way. They had to... The players they now have are not as good as the players we used to have. Also, Cruijff's ideas are a thing of the past, it's almost impossible to play Total Football in a modern-day match.
The games are too high-paced for most players to play in such a style. You'd need world class players (like Barcelona, for example) to execute this style to perfection.
A second point involves training labour. It takes quite some time for a team to get accustomed to Total Football. Routines have to be practised over and over and over, for them to become standard for players. When player A does this, player B has to that and player C has to do another thing, to compensate for player A's initial movement. This takes time to train and master, I'd say at least a full season and perhaps more. Alas, with today's open market regarding transfers, most teams can't keep their squad intact long enough. The better players are always picked up by foreign clubs.
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illya mclellan 7 months ago
I still believe in total football and think possession football works very well, just not for Ajax. Barcelona still play the game the way that Cruyff coached, that is, don't give the other team the ball and they probably won't score. But as for the Dutch sides, I agree with you that they have been disappointing in European competition, both club and international for a few years now. I think the biggest problem they seem to have now is lack of money compared to the other stronger European leagues. Big Dutch stars just don't play in their own country anymore, well not enough of them anyway. Good article Guido but I think the problem lies deeper than just how they choose to play their football.
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Guido 7 months ago
Total Football and possession football are not necessarily the same thing, Illya. In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no player is fixed in his nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.
Possession is important in Total Football, but possession football and Total Football are not necessarily the same thing. The way our national team and Ajax play is not really Total Football anymore, they just emphasise keeping the ball, without the fluid rotating of players and attacking mind-set.
As for the Barcelona thing... Barcelona is a top side, with the financial means to keep their squad intact for several seasons in a row. Teams that cannot afford top players and/or cannot keep hold of their top players are, in my eyes, unable to play an effective Total Football style.
It takes quite some time for a team to get accustomed to Total Football. Routines have to be practised over and over and over, for them to become standard for players. When player A does this, player B has to that and player C has to do another thing, to compensate for player A's initial movement. This takes time to train and master, I'd say at least a full season and perhaps more. Alas, with today's open market regarding transfers, most teams can't keep their squad intact long enough. The better players are always picked up by foreign clubs.
As for our clubs being absolutely shit in Europe... Yeah, we are... We lack the financial resources to compete with the main European leagues and because our academies are being pillaged (players leaving as young as 15), we can't even build a decent club-side like Ajax have done in the past, because there's always some foreign club luring players away with higher wages then we can afford. Even the teams near the bottom in the Premiership and the top sides in the Championship can rival Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord and AZ as far as wages are concerned. We don't stand a chance.
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Stefan Sanders 7 months ago
I respectfully disagree. We should continue to play the game our way. It worked against France and Italy and it could've worked against Russia, had the players been more alert.
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Guido 7 months ago
I say we lack the resources to execute this style properly, so we should move on to a style that suits our players better.
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S B 7 months ago
I`m afraid I`d have to disagree. I am a fan of Dutch football. I think it`s the best in Europe and Holland always hands Brazil the best match of any world cup. ...win or lose.
I love the style. It`s a little different from Brazil but non the less entertains and gets results without resorting to the German violence, the Italian boredom or the English 3000 long balls per match. Hehe now half of Europe hates me- but I have to call it as I see it or what`s the point.
As for club level well when Dutch teams play other Euro clubs the question is - Are you really playing a Euro club? ...or Brazilian, Argentinian, African clubs? I think another fantastic thing is that the Dutch clubs still have a very Dutch face to them...with the occasional star or two from outside - but still playing like Dutch.
It would sadden me to see any changes to this extraordinary and entertaining brand.
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Guido 7 months ago
As far as aesthetics go, you are absolutely right. We generally play spectacular and offensive football, trying to adhere to the style of Cruijff as much as possible, but the thing is... We hardly ever win anything with it...
We crashed out against Russia during Euro 2008, despite having played rather well against title favourites France and Italy. Our club-sides don't make it into the final of major tournaments anymore and these days, a former European top-side like Ajax struggles to beat European minnows like (no offence intended) Zilina.
I'm not saying we should lose our trade-mark style completely, but we need to evolve it into a new style, that encorporated some of the better parts of the old Total Football, but also looks at the demands of modern football.
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Baris Gerceker 7 months ago
Guido keeps on stressing the difference between total football and posession football but it seems like people keep on confusing them both. I guess basing the article on Cruijff's (did i type it right, guido?) principle makes people move onto the total football side of his philosophy.
Total football, just like guido mentioned in his article and comments is really difficult to execute lately. Since many teams rely on their disruptive central midfielders who are like computer viruses, which do not much except ruining things running the ball may not work like it used to.
This also is caused by the misinterpretation of statistics in football. Football is not like basketball, it is not that open to statistics which can be really deceiving. Percentage of passes complete and possession percentages are two of them, along with distance covered. These are highly vague in football because two players can pass the ball to each other in a 1-meter-square area 10 times in a row which would increase their pass completion rate ridiculously, and also the possession too. But they may even have gone backwards while doing that, so they have covered some distance too. What have they added to the game in scope of the spectators, the fans, tv viewers? Nuthin'!
Possession is definitely important but ball is not something made of fire that you keep away from opponents. It is a golden-egg-hatching chicken which lays those eggs only in opponents goal. So chasing a chicken all over the pitch is really not what football is about...
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Guido 7 months ago
That's what I meant. Possession in itsself should never a goal, but always a means to and end. Less possession and a more direct approach might be beneficial for us.
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Alex Stamp 7 months ago
You have had a productive day Guido. I like your concept and its perhaps a reason why Holland have struggled, too offensively minded and too focused on this wonderful possession game. I think you could have a valid argument, but I wonder whether many in Holland would be willing to undertake such a change in strategy? By the way, with this article, you could have easily scrubbed out Holland and put Arsenal, and replaced Cruyff with Wenger. Personally I think Arsenal suffer from the same problem!
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Guido 7 months ago
I was thinking that last thing actually. Arsenal play a sort of Total Football as well, but they seem to struggle against physical and aggressive teams this season.
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Baris Gerceker 7 months ago
i am not aware of age distribution in ajax team but arsenal's suffering against physical sides come from their low age average in my opinion. they are too young to be tough enough, both physically and mentally.
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Guido 7 months ago
It is typical though, they do well against footballing sides, like Man Utd, but fail to impress against sides that play a more physical game and are more bent on defending rather then attacking and thus giving away space for Arsenal to exploit.
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Tim Janssen 7 months ago
I'd like to see us play a more direct approach. All our internationals play for foreign clubs that utilise a more direct style of play, which seems to suit them well enough at club level.
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Guido 7 months ago
Exactly!
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Alden Sing 7 months ago
Excellent article Guido.
You certainly give depth to the Dutch style of play and I greatly enjoyed reading your article.
Well I guess possession football can be good. And certainly interesting to watch. It beats watching a team hoof the ball up at every opportunity.
I don't think the Dutch team is that bad in passing the ball around. Sometimes you cannot take a certain style of play away from a team (ask Arsenal or Brazil to start whacking long balls up and you will get curious stares)
So once the Dutch team have found something suitable there is a tendency they will stick to it and try to perfect it. As you said, Cruijff's words are divine. So it won't be easy for the Dutch to be swayed to play an entirely different style of football.
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Guido 7 months ago
Thanks Alden.
We shouldn't completely ditch our old style, just make it a bit more direct. Possession is not a goal in itsself, it's a mean to an end. Unfortunately, we seem to treat possession itsself as a goal that has to be achieved.
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illya mclellan 7 months ago
I really thought PSV would have made a stronger showing in the Champions League this season, they certainly seemed to have the players to do it. But as you say the possession game they played was out-muscled and out-thought at Anfield. They in one sense dominated the match but could not fashion enough openings. From this they were opened up by individual skill combined with good team play on the occasions they conceded. I agree with what you say about definitions of total football and possession football, I was guilty of over-simplifying the idea's. Cruijff maybe had some utopian ideal in mind when he thought of a future based on total football, where every player would be able to do as his team mate could do. We still see players very much suited to positions and styles according to their role on the pitch. But in the very top teams of the world game it is actually possible on occasion to see this ideal in practice when you look at the very high skill level across the team sheet. It was able to be seen in practice by the play of none other than Gio Van Bronckhorst when he was so influential in the victory over Italy.
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Guido 7 months ago
PSV are another example. They have more possession, yet fail to convert possession into chances because they see possession as a goal in itsself, rather then a mean to an ends. Any decent team will tear PSV to shreds because of this attitude. Liverpool outplayed PSV, Marseille outplayed PSV and Atletico outplayed PSV. This style of football is no longer suited for modern football.
Cruijff's ideas are still good ones, but they need to be updated to suit the needs of modern football. Cruijff trained with some of the worlds finest at Barcelona. With players like that, you can still use the system. As soon as the players are not world class footballers AND athletes, you're in big trouble. See Arsenal, who play a Total Football-esque tactic. They lack physical strength, so they will suffer when they play an aggressive side.
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Jordon Tefft 7 months ago
Good article!
I half agree with what you have here. I think Possession Football is the greatest way to play. BUT only if most of the possession is going to goal. Constantly dropping the ball to defense and the keep is annoying, and boring. Of course, occasionally, a drop back is needed.
My personal playing thought is always go forward. I get complaints I don't play a drop very often... =/
I think a key to it all is to have some physical players. One attacker who can hold up the ball, the central defenders, and a holding mid. (those being the key ones!)
=)
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Guido 7 months ago
Possession football and an attacking mindset don't go hand in hand unfortunately. Most teams that play possession football use it as a defensive tool, thus making matches incredibly boring.
I do agree that physique is becoming more and more important.
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Anthony Sanchez 7 months ago
Really interesting article Guido. Perhaps there is a place for posession football but only after aggressive attacking play has put you in the lead. Like you say the players holland produce would be wasted otherwise. I enjoyed reading this. I think everybody has a soft spot for Dutch football. Despite not having the most sucessful national team they capture the imagination. I always want them to win.
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Guido 7 months ago
Thanks for the POTD, Anthony.
I agree, we can use possession football, but we can't play it for ninety minutes. Matches would become a borefest.
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