PSV v Rangers: PSV for victory

[ian1964 10,411]

Thursday, Europa League last 16

ESPN, 6pm

By Paul Forsyth

 

FOR a club based in one of Holland's less fashionable regions, PSV Eindhoven have the most distinguished history. Quite apart from the European Cup, the UEFA Cup and the 21 domestic titles on their CV, they also have been a launch-pad for many of the game's superstars, from Ruud Gullit and Ruud van Nistelrooy to Ronaldo, Romario and Ronald Koeman. Until the season before last, they had a firm grip of the Dutch Eredivisie, and were almost a fixture in the Champions League.

 

Success of that sort brings a level of expectation that is increasingly difficult to meet. As the game's riches gravitate ever more to the big clubs in the big countries, the need for the money that comes with Champions League football grows greater by the year. Although Rangers have filled their pockets with some of that this season, PSV have had to content themselves with the Europa League, where the two clubs are about to meet in the last 16. Whisper it, but progress to the quarter-finals is not a priority for either of the teams who will meet in Thursday's first leg. What both of them desire more than anything is the domestic success that will guarantee them a place in Europe's most prestigious competition. That's where the money is nowadays. When they miss out on that jackpot, as PSV have for the last two years, they find themselves trying to do the same old things with only a fraction of the resources. Big clubs in small countries; who would be one?

 

The Netherlands' big three are trying desperately to remain dominant on a playing field that no longer slopes in their favour. "For clubs like Ajax, it's terrible," says Arthur Numan, the former PSV and Rangers player. "Their supporters expect them to win the league at least every three years, but it's six or seven years since they've done it. Feyenoord are even worse. They used to be the big team in Holland but they are in a terrible situation now. They have debt, and for the last five or six years, have been forced to sell players."

 

By those standards, PSV are in decent shape, top of the league, and led by a resourceful coach but they, too, are feeling the pinch all right. Spending has been reduced, wages cut and, at the end of last year, they sold their best player, Ibrahim Afellay, to Barcelona for a reported �£2.6 million rather than risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season. According to some, they even considered ditching their lifelong sponsors, Philips, in favour of a more lucrative arrangement, but loyalty got the better of them.

 

Fred Rutten, who made his name with Twente Enschede, is the man charged with bringing the title back.

 

The 48-year-old coach, who spent four years at PSV as an assistant to Guus Hiddink, returned two summers ago from an ill-fated stint with Schalke 04 in Germany. Although last season never fulfilled its early promise, there is optimism that this one will. His team are a solid unit, as disciplined at the back as they are quick and imaginative going forward. Numan, left, is a big fan of Rutten's. When the two played together at Twente, he could see that the older man was a manager in the making. In the second of two spells in the Twente dugout, Rutten rebuilt a club that had almost gone out of business. According to Numan, the title they won last year under Steve McClaren, the former England coach, would not have been possible without the work of his predecessor. Without Rutten's vision a few years back, Twente would not be in their current rude health, challenging PSV for the title.

 

"I can see him becoming the coach of a big team in Europe," says Numan. "He has the qualities. He has the kind of football mind that attracts a lot of clubs. He wants the structure to be right. You could see that at FC Twente. They have done really well in the last three years, especially when McClaren won the league, but Fred Rutten was at the start of it. Twente had so much debt they nearly went bankrupt, but he was their coach for two years, laying the foundations. It's all down to him that the club is where it is now."

 

Rutten is not the most flamboyant of souls. Sometimes derided for his softly-spoken manner, he makes no attempt to compete with the charisma Frank de Boer brings to Ajax, but he earns the respect of his players. Numan says that very few, even those who are left out of the team, have a bad word to say about him. He is honest and true to himself, the kind of character they appreciate in Eindhoven.

 

With a reputation as the "tractor boys" of Dutch football, there is a homespun feel to PSV, however successful they have been. Numan, who was there for six years before his move to Ibrox in 1998, talks of a family atmosphere that made him feel welcome. That may explain why so many prodigious young footballers have chosen the club as the stage on which to prove themselves.

 

"They are a provincial club. Ajax are from Amsterdam, the big city. Feyenoord are from Rotterdam, another big city. Eindhoven is in the south, where people are more relaxed. The supporters call themselves "farmers". That says enough, I think. In the west, people have big mouths and lots of opinions. In Eindhoven, the people are warmer. It's a good place to go if you are a young player."

 

With Afellay gone, PSV's biggest asset is now Balazs Dzsudzsak, a 24-year-old Hungarian who terrifies defenders. Signed three years ago from Debrecen, he is a crowd-pleasing, left-sided forward with pace, tricks and a thunderous free-kick. He has signed an extension to his contract but talks about his plans to play in England's Premier League.

 

"I'm 100 per cent sure that a lot of big clubs are knocking on PSV's door, trying to take him away," says Numan. "He goes inside, outside, creates chances, scores goals. You can see his confidence growing with every game, and a lot of that is down to Rutten."

 

The coach has given PSV a nice mix. They are bolstered at the back by Wilfred Bouma, who returned from Aston Villa to his spiritual home last summer, and captained in central midfield by Orlando Engelaar, a 6ft 5in player whose languid style isn't to everyone's tastes. In attack, they have two 24-year-old Swedish strikers who played in the 3-0 defeat of Scotland last August. Marcus Berg is on loan from Hamburg. Ola Toivonen, who scored in Stockholm that night, can be brilliant one day, invisible the next, but he will be invaluable when consistency is added to the package.

 

Numan is too diplomatic to predict a winner but, reading between the lines, his money is on the Dutchmen. "We know how Rangers play, especially away from home in Europe. Very defensive, five defenders, four midfielders, one striker. PSV are a more attacking side. If you're pushing me, I think PSV have more quality, especially up front. Rangers will be the underdog."

 

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/PSV-v-Rangers-PSV-for.6729219.jp?articlepage=1

[pete 2,499]

While I agree with some of this,I will also say what a lot of shite. Rutten brought fc Twente back from the grave? Bullshit! The vision of chairman joop Munsterman brought twente back from the grave and is still pushing them forward long after Rutten left.