Memphis Depay puts Van Gaal on edge

Memphis Depay had an idea during the Netherlands – Poland. The FC Barcelona striker drowned in the Polish defense and when he recovered the ball, he often handled it carelessly. When Orange’s replacement roster grew and two new forwards came onto the pitch in Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst, Memphis did something remarkable. But above all: something that Van Gaal had not (yet) thought of – Memphis as an attacking midfielder instead of a striker – and therefore quickly recovered.

Memphis Depay has had a special status with the Dutch national team for years. From the time Louis van Gaal, the national coach who made Memphis captain Orange against Poland, took him to the 2014 World Cup, the former PSV, Manchester United and Manchester United striker he Olympique Lyon is a must in Orange. Memphis has been the star of the team for years, the man from whom the danger and the goals must come and above all the player who often let Van Gaal enter the 2014 World Cup as one of the first and now the player who the national coach is first on his match sheet. However, the fact that Memphis was allowed to wear the captain’s armband against Poland also made him feel more like a coach than an extension on the pitch – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Memphis Depay

If there’s one player in the Dutch national team squad who has the balls to take on Van Gaal, it’s our merry friend from Moordrecht. The striker unflinchingly admitted he thought Van Gaal should have taken Wijnaldum with him on the current international trip and also showed his influence with his feet against Belgium (two goals) and Poland (one assist) . With that, the FC Barcelona striker has taken his total Orange output to 41 goals and he’s only ahead of him Robin van Persie on the Dutch national team’s top scorer list. That Memphis has those ambitions isn’t just written in pencil – after all, Depay has already said so in the national press. Then it seems strange that the captain of Orange decided against Poland himself to play as an attacking midfielder, while Van Gaal wanted him in the point.

With the introduction of Cody Gakpo, who is stronger than Depay in depth, and Wout Weghorst, a better point of contact, it wasn’t even such a bad way to think about it from Memphis. However, the national coach thought otherwise and overturned Depay’s one-man decision, Van Gaal told NOS afterwards. Above all, Memphis had to stay in front and be as accessible as possible around sixteen, do his actions and create space for himself or a teammate. He has already proven in Lyon that the FC Barcelona striker can do this like no other. Especially in a two striker system where Memphis is not the first point of contact, as with the French in the past and with the Oranges in the present, there are few players who play space so well and have the footballing ability to be able to file a statement, like that of Depay at Orange.

Still, Memphis made the decision, outside of the national coach’s influence, to drop one position and fill out the rest of the offensive lineup on their own. Van Gaal, however, turned out not to be Carlo Ancelotti, who is more than once advised by his players, but in this case it’s more sin than salvation. Memphis will never become health secretary. Judging by recent international matches, he is the absolute Minister of Football Affairs. And based on his decision to run ten, pretty good.

Dutch football team

The fact that the FC Barcelona striker was not in the game was perhaps the biggest understatement of the evening. Memphis played with the intensity of a training session, moved at the pace of a holiday-hungry worker and compounded his personal discomfort by kicking a penalty into the post well before stoppage time. The best decision, especially in the game against Poland, was to return to the attacking midfield position. There, Depay’s specific qualities showed themselves better than when he was stuck against the box.

Judging by a situation with Cody Gakpo, Weghorst and Depay as the picks for the three spots at the front, Van Gaal’s choice is quite remarkable. Of course: the Poles have given up little space behind the defense and in the small space we benefit more from Memphis than from Gakpo: Memphis was already stuck between the bricked lines of the Poles the whole game. The only position to create the necessary space for action was mainly on the flanks of the Memphis position. The fact that Depay showed up a lot in the left zone was good for the feeling, but it does mean that Memphis is well over ten yards from the position where you actually want him: a maximum of twenty yards from goal with his nose. towards the goal and the ball at his foot.

Depay had little chance against Poland. If the FC Barcelona striker found himself in this situation, too many Poles or too few playing opportunities were in a dangerous position and the big downside to Depay’s game came into play: purity in his game. , concentration in his passes and awareness of the whole environment so that he makes the right choice. These are indeed fundamental qualities that a number ten, certainly in the game system of Orange, must have to meet the requirements of the position. Memphis has shown throughout his career that he also has enough game acumen and speed of action to play an important role in Orange’s game with his passes and assists. As it applies to Poland, it applies to all (extremely) defensive opponents: so Memphis has to leave the attacking position anyway to create space to position themselves nose to goal.

Louis van Gaal

Van Gaal is not a manager whose plans are converted by a player during the match. He’s still a coach who talks to his players between companies. It’s likely that Memphis’ individual action could become a topic of conversation. Especially when De Telegraaf’s coverage is based on the truth and Orange will face Wales with another new attacking couple: Vincent Janssen and Noa Lang. After Orange training, the national coach was busy chatting with the players from Monterrey CF and Club Brugge. The fact that the third link of the attack was missing may indicate that Memphis is resting or that Bergwijn is outside the first eleven.

It is certainly not a certainty that Memphis will get his way and he can start as a shadow striker for the Dutch national team, or in the striker against Wales. With players like Janssen and Lang as co-attackers, this is in principle not necessary. Instead of a fast, dynamic cue point (Bergwijn), you have a strong cue point (Janssen) that can hold a ball while it stays in position. This offers runners in midfield and attack (Noa Lang, Memphis Depay and Klaassen for example) to connect, go over and penetrate the opposition’s defense and with Frenkie de Jong you have a ‘six’ that with Frenkie de Jong a pass can create danger in the way the central defender normally gives that cross pass / pass behind the last line.

In this case, it doesn’t matter whether Lang or Memphis plays as a shadow attacker: Lang sinks anyway to pull the game towards him, so space is created in this area for Memphis, for example, to dive, open up and then initiate a follow (pass/dribble) nose to goal. Because one thing is clear after Poland and Wales: without the individual qualities of De Jong, it is difficult to play football at a high pace.

However, “we” will have to find something based on this wisdom. If Frenkie cannot bring it, the national trainer will have to propose another variation to mark Orange. If it doesn’t go through Frenkie because he’s being followed or the cross is skillfully covered, that also means more space for one of those forwards. You can say what you want about Memphis (his style), one thing is certain: of all our attackers, you want to bring Memphis into this space. Van Gaal’s job is to get it there against Wales or any other defensive opponent.

TIP: Will the Netherlands and Wales score four or more goals? The rating is 4.15!