Welcome back! After we talked with 11 tegen 11 about tactics, the Eredivisie and Dutch football in part 1, we continue with an instruction in match analysis.


Q: "When you watch a football match, what are the things you look for in terms of tactics? Can you give us an advice how to analyse a match?"

11tegen11: "When I watch a match, I tend to figure out the line-up as well as the expected formation in advance, so that I don't have to spend the opening minutes figuring that out. Then, in the opening five or ten minutes, a lot becomes clear. Note both teams defensive line, their preferred passing style, players that tend to see more of the ball than others. If you'd start analyzing matches I'd make sure to note these type of things systematically. It may even help to write it down for future reference, or to check your own observations if you want to improve your analytical skills.
After this opening phase of the match, check for conflicting issues between the teams formations and playing style. For example if you'd watch a 4-2-3-1 vs 4-4-2 match, you'd expect the 4-2-3-1 playmaker to be able to find space between the two banks of four of the 4-4-2. Given that the manager of the 4-4-2 team already expected that, try to observe his plan to minimize this threat. Do this for as many conflicts between the teams as you can and you'll get a good picture of the battle that the particular football match is."


Q: "Tell us something about the Dutch view on German football. And maybe you can give a prognosis about the game Twente Enschede against Werder Bremen next month."

11tegen11: "The Dutch view on German football has been of particular interest, especially during the past few years. The Bundesliga received a lot more attention recently, after the transfers of important Dutch players like Van der Vaart to HSV and Robben to München. Of course, Van Gaal at the helm of a big club like Bayern helped raise attention too. The more recent tranfers of Van Nistelrooy and Huntelaar will continue to guarantee a lot of Dutch interest for the coming years too.
Regarding the view on Dutch football I should certainly mention the recent World Cup, where Germany offered an excellent display of attacking football. Of course this was aided by some of their opponents playing into their hands, like Australia's failing 4-6-0 plan (there's the withdrawn striker again!) and Argentina's lack of midfielders. But still, the performances of the likes of Özil, Müller and Schweinsteiger have not gone unnoticed in The Netherlands.
Giving a prognosis on the Twente - Werder Bremen matches is always going to be a risky business, but one thing is sure. It will be two very entertaining matches, as by the way, are all of Werder's matches, aren't they? Schaaf's attacking style of play generates attractive matches and it will be very interesting to see which formation he will turn to, given the recent problems that Tottenham's 4-2-3-1 gave them in the first Champions League group match."


Thank you for taking the time. Dank u wel!

Das war das "kurze" Interview zum niederländischen Fußball im Rahmen des Blogpokals. Die Auswahl der Fragen hat euch hoffentlich gefallen. Für weitere Fragen oder Diskussionen nutzt den Kommentarbereich unten. Ich empfehle den Besuch vom 11 tegen 11 Blog, eine Seite mit interessanten Spielanalysen aus der Eredivisie und dem holländischen internationalen Fußball.
Die Taktikecke lädt jeden Interessierten ein sich in der Gruppe zu beteiligen oder einfach nur mal vorbei zu schauen.

Tot ziens.

An alle, die auf die deutsche Übersetzung gewartet haben. Teil 1 und 2 sind online.