A large number of the Dutch internationals are sure of an invitation to the approaching European Championship without injuries, but there is also a group that will wait in suspense whether there will be a phone call from Frank de Boer this month. Football zone lends him and the other seventeen million national coaches a hand by zooming in on the latter category. In the first episode, the focus is on Joël Veltman, who as a player of Brighton recently clashed hard with the Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes and showed his best side against an English superstar.
By Thijs Verhaar
“Yes, they play with Ibrahimovic and Cavani, but we have Veltman,” said Frank de Boer in 2014, when he was asked as Ajax coach how he was going to arm himself against the already strong attack of Champions League opponent Paris Saint. -Germain. Due to a mistake by Nicolai Boilesen and a fabulous free kick by Lasse Schöne, the game would eventually end in 1-1 and Veltman played a great match, as he often put on the mat in his 246 appearances in Ajax’s main force. The defender was a fixture under De Boer and his successors Peter Bosz, Marcel Keizer and Erik ten Hag, until he left for Brighton in England last summer.
In those 246 matches in Ajax I, however, he also regularly had moments of attention, which often caused damage to him and his team. Which football fan cannot remember a ‘Veltman’? After all, there must be quite a few if your own name is linked to a recurring error. Just ask former FC Utrecht goalkeeper Franck Grandel. He never got rid of the stamp grabber in the Netherlands, but it is fair to say that Veltman in turn has made few Veltmannjes in recent years. He has become more self-assured and, he says, is partly thanks to De Boer.
The tipping point for the defender was a duel in the preliminary round of the Champions League against Rapid Wien in 2015. In Vienna, Veltman’s clumsy ball loss led to Robert Beric’s 2-2, which Frank de Boer rightly pointed out afterwards. “Veltman needs to know when to choose the footballing solution and when not to. We have indicated to him that this is not possible at this level. Joël’s mindset has to change ”, said the elected lord, who can conclude six years later that Veltman has started working on his warning. The defender has subsequently indicated several times that he is more comfortable in his own skin and has looked at his own mistakes time and again to improve himself.
His learned solidity and innate game intelligence ensured that trainers and teammates in Amsterdam always talked about Veltman with reverence and respect. Yet in his eight seasons in the main force of Ajax he never managed to convince all fans, as he is also viewed with suspicion in the Dutch national team by some of the the Dutch supporters. However, you do not just get to 27 international matches and he has a good chance as a defender of Brighton Hove & Albion to go to the European Championship this summer. Since Frank de Boer has been at the helm of the Dutch national team, Veltman has been called up every time so far. However, he only played in two of the eight international matches, which is of course no shame with competitors such as Virgil van Dijk, Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Aké.
As is known, however, there is little chance that the injured Van Dijk will make it to the European Championship, as there is a big question mark behind the name Daley Blind. This means that the category below can cherish hope for an invitation. De Boer was probably planning to call up four center-backs, while he may now appoint a fifth man now that UEFA has announced on Tuesday 4 May that all national coaches can call up three extra players for this European Championship. Provided they are fit, De Vrij, De Ligt and Aké are sure of their place and behind them men like Veltman, Sven Botman and Jeremiah St. Juste are the main candidates, while the young talents Jurriën Timber and Jordan Teze may also see a chance for themselves.
Since Frank de Boer has been national coach, Veltman has always been called up for the the Dutch squad. He did play only two of the possible eight international matches.
It is most likely that with his three extra options, De Boer will bring a reinforcement in each line, whereby versatile players are extra interesting for logical reasons. Good news for Veltman, who has already played three different roles at Brighton this season. His coach Graham Potter strives to put offensive position play on the mat with a 3-5-2 formation, although he opts for more certainty with a 4-3-3 variant against the top teams. “Veltman is therefore regularly positioned centrally, but has also proven himself as a defensive right back and as an offensive one wingbackExplains Goaljournalist Patrick Gleeson at the request of Football zone from.
The Brighton club watcher believes that Veltman’s experience has contributed to the defensive stability of the Seagulls. “In the back it is, partly thanks to his input, well. For example, they have as many or as few hits as Liverpool, ”said Gleeson, who admits frankly that he did not have too high expectations of the Dutchman beforehand. “He was collected for only one million euros and was the second right back behind Tariq Lamptey at the start of the season. However, his competitor was injured in December and Veltman has replaced him excellently, while he can also manage very well centrally if necessary. I am really impressed with his technique and peace of mind on the ball. ”
So no Veltmannetjes, although the defender gave to the local newspaper in April The Argus admits that he had to get used to the Premier League in his first months in English service. “The pace is so high. It’s really comparable to the Champions League. In that tournament I used to play with Ajax every three weeks and now it feels like I play a few Champions League matches every week ”, said the 29-year-old defender, who, according to club watcher Gleeson, is sometimes a ball underneath in his first appearances. due to the fast pace. “Let’s call it start-up problems, because it didn’t lead to any goals against and he is now solid as a rock.
Veltman celebrates his first goal in the Brighton shirt, against arch-rival Crystal Palace.
Veltman has already participated 28 times in the Premier League this season in the service of Brighton. In the last ten matches he missed not even a minute, while according to Gleeson that will continue to be the case when his direct competitor Lamptey has recovered from his hamstring injury. “I expect Veltman to just stay in the right back, unless he is needed more centrally. In any case, I cannot imagine Potter taking him out of the team, because he has become far too important for that ”, praises the journalist from Goal. “As far as I am concerned, Veltman is even a good candidate for the best purchase of the year, because it is difficult to find quality for little money. I am still amazed that he came for almost nothing and that he has such a good season. ”
Figures from Opta show, however, that he has it more difficult at a higher level than at Ajax. In his last season in the service of the team from Amsterdam, he achieved a passing accuracy of 88.3 percent in the Dutch league, while at Brighton this has dropped to 78.7 percent. The statistics office does, however, argue that he now often reports as wingback plays, which means that he automatically has to put more risk in his game. At the same time, he scores better on offensive aspects than the competitors mentioned above for a place in the the Dutch selection, although it should be noted that Botman, St. Juste, Timber and Teze all play as central defenders at their clubs and therefore in principle less. often come forward.
All statistics are calculated per ninety minutes and rounded to 1 decimal place. In reality, Teze shoots 0.03 times every ninety minutes.
Veltman is about as often central to the defense this season as he is on the right side of the defense line. According to Gleeson, there is no difference between his performance in either position, nor will he perform better or worse if he has to play as a defensive or offensive back. However, he played his best game of the season in February against Aston Villa (0-0). There he was forced as a right back to chase the English star player Jack Grealish and Veltman did that with verve. “I know how to frustrate opponents”, the Dutchman spoke radiantly afterwards BT Sport. “Jack hates it when you sit close to him and stay close to the ball all the time, so I did a good job.”
Trainer Graham Potter saw the same and added that Veltman had also been of great value against offensively the Villans. “He also almost scored the winner and made sure their biggest threat was eliminated. Then you just did very well ”, praised the coach, who had to take on for Veltman at the beginning of April when Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United was furious with the Dutchman after the mutual match. The Portuguese grumbled after that someone almost broke his ankle on a late tackle when he gave the pass from which Marcus Rashford scored the winning goal (2-1).
It cannot be said with certainty whether Fernandes, in his anger, did not want to mention the name of Veltman – who, incidentally, did not receive a card for the incident – or whether he just really did not know. However, the latter seems most likely. If you buy just a million euros from a mid-engine in the Premier League, you are simply not a big name. And if you only do solid things, most football fans simply do not notice it that quickly, just as it was not always clear at Ajax what made Veltman so popular with his teammates. However, he also managed to convince his new team, trainer Potter and club watcher Gleeson this season, in no time, so now it is up to Frank de Boer whether that is enough to take him to the European Championship.