NEC HAS had a flying start to this Eredivisie Season with Two Wins from Two Matches. The Hyper-Attacking Approach of the New Coach Dick Schreuder is proofing to be excellent so far. “We Calculate That It Sometimes Goes Wrong.”
It was a striking moment last weekend. In the 28th minute, not Long After Heracles, Received a Red Card, the Substitution Board Went Up For NEC Defender Brayann Pereira. He was replaced by Striker Youssef El Kachati.
By Bringing in El Kachati, Only Two Pure Defenders Remained at NEC, which Start Playing Full Attack After Only Half An Hour. Pereira was visible surprised, as were many analysts. That did not Apply to NEC goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz.
“This characterizes coach Dick for Me,” Says the Spaniard Laughing on Friday at the training Field Next to the Goffert Stadium. “Hey probably saw this as the best option to win the match. Then he does not hesitation to take measures.”
Crettaz Knows This. He Played Under Schreuder at the Spanish Club Cd Castellón for the Past Two Seasons. In Spain, Crettaz Already Saw Schreuder Fully opt for the attack to achieve a good result.
Even if that entailed huge risks. “His playing style initially felt like kamikaze. But I quickly came to appreciate the attacking philosophy of this coach.”
NEC Consciously Chose This Philosophy This Summer, After A Few Uninspiring Seasons Under Rogier Meijer. The Nijmegen Fans Needed to Be Entertained More. So far, that has leg successful, with large victories about Excelsior (5-0) and Heracles (1-4).
These Victories Were Achieved with Attractive Football. NEC Chooses the Attack, in A 3-4-2-1 Formation with Seven Or Eight Offensively Oriented Players. They must put pressure in the opponent’s half and stand very ‘high’.
All with the aim of scoring as many goals as possible. “I Sometimes Miss That Teams Play Football to Win,” Says Schreuder. “You can win in Several Ways. We want to do that in a very offensive, fun and entertaining way.”
That is Why Schreuder Puts As many of his good midfeelers and Attackers as Possible, from Tjaronn Chery and Sami Ouaissa to Bryan Linssen and Koki Ogawa. They are mainly allowed to focus on attacking.
“I myself have leg an attacher,” Says Schreuder. “And I found it much fun to defend in my own half. I think that gives much more pleasure, for players and supporters.”
Schreuder’s Philosophy is inspired by that of Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona) and Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay), Among Others. Coaches Who Promote Attacking Football, But are also criticized for implementing it to an extreme extent.
Schreuder calls it “nonsense” that his tactics are kamikaze tactics. But he recognizes that the playing style mean that nec gives away large spaces and therefore goals. “It can and will sometimes go wrong.”
The Coach Wants Crettaz, For Example, to Keep boxes or meters in front or his goal. Against Heracles, The Goalkeeper Regularly Stood Against the Halfway Line. “After Working with Dick for More Than Two Years, I Feel Comfortable There,” Says Crettaz.
“But in the first week I was in shock. Suddenly I had 50 meters in front of my goal. It orten went wrong. Still does Sometimes. But we calculate that in. Sometimes we take too much risk, but it yields a lot for us.”
Schreuder is also convinced of this, partly because of his time at Philadelphia Union in the United States. “There IT was extremely difficult to win away games due to temperature and time differentials. Yet we always play full risk. Then you sometimes cool away, but in the long term it yielded more points and more appreciation.”
Schreuder is now also Receiving that appreciation at NEC. There are many fans along the training field on Friday morning. And the players, spread over the Large Number of Media Present, are positive about the playing style and their coach.
But Schreuder Steps on the Brake. He knows that nec has not really bone tested by low-flying excelsior and heracles. “I want to remain realistic. Even Champion PSV had a bad phase last season. We will get that too.”
The Question is Whether Schreuder’s Playing Style Will Still Be Viewed With Such A Positive View. “If we lose a few times, you will hear the word kamikaze again. And that we have to play with four defenders,” Says the coach. “That’s part of it.”