Source: FOOTYMAD
Cloggy's World Cup Preview - Group E
Group E is up next, with my very own country fighting it out to advance. The boys in orange from the Netherlands, the dynamic Danes, the indomitable lions of Cameroon and the samurai warriors of Japan. The Netherlands *Nickname: either Oranje (meaning Orange and referring to the royal family who founded the Netherlands) or Oranje Leeuwen (Lions of Oranje; the animal on the crest of the Oranje family) *FIFA Ranking: 4th *Manager: Bert van Marwijk *One to look out for: Ajax right back Gregory van der Wiel. Graduated out of the famous Ajax academy, he started his career as a center back but was molded to a fullback about a year and a half ago. Since then, the Amsterdam born defender has been a huge factor in Ajax's attacking play. Great going forward, quick, mobile, blessed with a good crossing and passing ability Gregory has a tremendous future ahead of him. Even more pleasing, we have finally found a quality right back after years of putting a center back in that position. This kid will go far in my unbiased opinion. *Team's pros: The strike force one of the best of this tournament. The inclusion of former outcast Mark van Bommel is crucial. Sailed through qualifying and friendly games; team spirit is very high. *Team's cons: No van der Sar in goal; and that is a loss. If confidence get's too high, that's when their biggest enemy reveals itself; complacency. Left back is vulnerability. *Cloggy's verdict: I could talk hours and hours about my national team but I'm not going to do that! What I will say is that I think we will be right up for this world cup. The vibe around the camp is really good, this group after all, has been together for quite some time and they've all matured a lot. In Robin van Persie we have one of the best strikers of the tournament, and behind him an abundance of creative talent. The inclusion of Mark van Bommel is also key to us. He provides defensive steel in midfield as well as grit and determination. Defensively, people keep banging on about how vulnerable we are (even though we've been unbeaten in 18 matches and have only conceded 4 goals in total) but that's not entirely true. What is true is that our usual left back Van Bronckhorst is a liability; the former Arsenal and Barca man is just not a natural left back! He's a midfielder, not a fullback. He's been placed in that position and has played the majority of his games there yes but he doesn't think like a defender, he thinks like a midfielder. His lack of pace is also becoming apparent. The other problem is the goalkeeper; Maarten Stekelenburg has come on leaps and bounces and he's become a reliable good goalkeeper. The problem is; he's not van der Sar. With van der Sar, we had a world class goalkeeper, a captain who embodied experience and calmness. With Stekelenburg we have a good goalkeeper, but that's it. He's not a leader figure. Looking at this group, we will scrape through it as group leaders. The real tests lie beyond the group stage for us and that is where we'll see what we are really made of. Hup Holland, hup! Laat de leeuw niet in zijn hempie staan! Denmark *Nickname: Danish Dynamite (because of their fast attacking playing style) * FIFA Ranking: 36th * Manager: Morten Olsen * One to look out for: The youngest player of the tournament - Ajax's creative midfielder Christian Eriksen. The 18 year old shot into Ajax's first team during last season, playing as the left central midfielder in their 4-3-3 system. Eriksen has the ability to make incisive runs behind the opponents midfield and also has a magnificent shot on him, both with his right and his left foot. Though not expected to start in Denmark's own 4-3-3 system, Eriksen has already been singled out by coach Morten Olsen as the Danes secret weapon and most promising midfield talent. *Team's pros: Plenty of routine and experience in the side, coupled with a very experienced manager. Despite the fact they are getting on a bit, the Danes's wingers will provide flair and width down the flanks. Very well organized side, you might beat them..but you won't thrash them. *Team's cons: Striker position is meagerly occupied. Don't deal well with pace of the opponent. Most of their starting 11 have played very little first team football last season. *Cloggy's verdict: I've always had a bit of soft spot for the Danes. Perhaps it's because they share the same attacking philosophy as we do. Perhaps because of their likeable manager Morten Olsen (who used to manage Ajax as well). Perhaps due to the fact we've had a lot of good Danish players in our league before, and the current squad still contains a few Eredivise based players. Whatever the reason may be, I hope they'll go through with us. A lot will depend on their game against Cameroon, who are their biggest rivals for second spot. The defensive is the best line of the Danes, with the likes of Liverpool's Daniel Agger, Fiorentina's Kroldrup, Stoke goalkeeper Sorensen, Simon Kjaer of Palermo and Blackburn's Lars Jacobsen usually consisting of it. The problem for the Danes lie upfront where most of their players have been either plagued by injuries ( such as Arsenal's Bendtner) or haven't played a lot of football (Gronkjaer, Tomasson, Jorgensen). Still, I believe the Danes will nick the results they need to qualify for the next round due to their overall experience and organisation. Cameroon *Nickname: Les Lions Indomptables (the Indomitable Lions) *FIFA Ranking: 19th *Manager: Paul le Guen (French) *One to look out for: Center back N'koulou from AS Monaco. The 20 year old has established himself as first choice regular for both club and country in quick succession. Despite not being the tallest of defenders (1.80 meters), he makes up for that with a lot of pace and vision. Is seen by many Cameroonians as the natural successor of veteran Rigobert Song (which doesn't say a lot as we all know) and will most likely keep the former West Ham defender on the bench. *Team's pros: Lot of height and physical power in the side. In Samuel Eto'o, a prolific mobile striker upfront. Very unpredictable team; can beat the best on their day. *Team's cons: Their 4-3-3 doesn't seem to really work for them. Manager and a few players have been at odds recently. Very unpredictable team; can be defeated by the worst on their day. *Cloggy's verdict: Also a likeable team, ever since the heydays of the great Roger Milla. You always expect them to be the African team to do well in a World Cup yet they've been very disappointing in the recent tournaments. This time around I don't think it will be any different. Despite having a few very good players (such as goalkeeper Kameni, Alex Song, Bassong and Assou-Ekoto of Spurs, Eto'o and Lyon's Makoun) they do not seem able to fully grasp the manager's 4-3-3 system. Eto'o in particular has looked bewildered playing in it. Often he has been used as a left winger upfront instead of as the center forward and this has had a negative effect on both Eto'o himself as his team's attacking performance. Manager Le Guen also has ruffled a few feathers in the team by sacking a couple of first team regulars (Alex and Rigobert Song, Kameni) and this has created uncertainty in the team. I feel therefore that this internal struggle will kill Cameroons chances of going through. Japan *Nickname: Samurai Blue *FIFA Ranking: 45th *Manager: Takeshi Okada *One to look out for: Striker Takayuki Morimoto. Plays for Serie A side Catania and was recently labeled by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato as being ‘one of the best young players in the league’. Although he's been a little off the pace last season, he was one of Catania's top scorers in the 2008-2009 season with 10 goals and a handful of assists. Japan's best chances of going through will be if he's in the side to score the goals. *Team's pros: Disciplined, hard working side. Play a quick passing game instead of long ball stuff. In Keisuke Honda a dead ball specialist. *Team's cons: Manager seems to create a soured atmosphere in the squad. Scoring goals is still a problem for them. Judging solely on recent form, a certain early exit is guaranteed. *Cloggy's verdict: Poor Japan. Their preparation for the World Cup has been marred by bad friendly results (such as losing 2-1 against England through 2 own goals and drawing against Zimbabwe) and now the manager seems ready to rather commit Hara-Kiri (suicide) than manage the side in an orderly fashion. Japanese players have recently slagged him off for not bringing any structure to the side and not showing enough leadership. As if things weren't bad enough, they face an uphill task in this group not to get pounded by the other three teams. The main threat for them is star midfielder Keisuke Honda who has one of the best left foots I have ever seen. The former VVV Venlo ace now plies his trade in Russia with CSKA Moscow and has a terrific delivery from dead ball situations. A lot depends though on his shoulders as Okada has gone for a far more defensive approach to games than he did in the qualifying games of Japan. It leaves Honda isolated in midfield as he is now forced to play from the right in a 4-5-1 system instead of playing in his favorite position as an attacking midfielder behind the striker. Japan; it'll be sayonara I’m afraid!
