9-27-09 Blog #3

 It’s 7:00 AM at the airport in Amsterdam and I’m awaiting my flight to Porto, Portugal. I can still hear and feel the energy from last nights game of FC Utrecht and AZ. FC Utrecht beat AZ 1-0 and was the better team for all but 10-15 minutes. The 22,000  fans of FC Utrecht were singing and chanting all night long and were able to help their team in the victory. It’s difficult to explain the atmosphere of a football match in Europe, but it is nothing that I have ever experienced in the United States (with any sport). It’s an amazing feeling and something I recommend everyone experience at least once in their life. When the fans start singing, cheering, and chanting it fills the stadium with energy. The players feed off this energy and it makes the opposing team feel like they are playing against a 12th player (and sometimes 13 as the referee also seems to be influenced).
 
AZ last years champions in Holland and participants in this years UEFA champions league are mere images of the team from last year. They have not won a game in their last four matches and struggled much of last night. They have talented players in many positions, but do not seem to play well together. They lost a few players from last year, but much of the blame is falling on new coach Ronald Koeman. In listening and talking to many of the fans last night, many blame Koeman for the performance of the team. He has big shoes to fill as the new coach of AZ, as Louis Van Gaal has moved on to Bayern Munich. AZ has had a lot of success the last few years, but with this current spell of bad performances Koeman is feeling a lot of pressure. Many are questioning his track record as a coach and what he did with the other clubs he worked with: FC Porto, Valencia, and PSV. Most people seem to believe he did not live up to expectations at those clubs and is doing the same thing now with AZ.
 
Joost De Groot and I met up with Pannie and a bunch of his friends at the game. Pannie had business lounge tickets for us, which included food, drinks, and mingling with some of the top soccer people in Holland. Every time I turned around their was a face I recognized from TV, as the business lounge was full of ex-players, coaches, scouts, business men, and the players families.. A couple of highlights for me was seeing Co Adriaanse  and Michael Mols. I have to give a big thanks to Pannie for setting this up.
 
During the day yesterday, I stopped by two professional clubs in Rotterdam: Excelsor and Feyenoord. I was able to watch 3-4 games. For me this is always a highlight as I love to compare players from the Untied States versus other countries. It gives me a good gage on where our players are as players and a standard to try and achieve. I was able to witness a U9, U13, U17 and U19 game and watch the 1st team of Feyenoord train. It was a beautiful day (80 degrees) walking around the two clubs and taking in the energy that surround the clubs facilities.
 
The only bad news I received was a call from Pepijn. He said they moved the FC Porto game vs Sporting to that night. They made the decision last minute as I believe they wanted to give FC Porto more rest before Wednesdays UEFA Champions league clash with Atletico Madrid. Pepijn said we could go watch another game tonight or find something else to do in Porto. Oh, well. One door closes and another opens. It is a fairly short plane trip to Porto and I should arrive mid morning. I will have a chance to relax and settle in, as I will be in Porto for the next 6 days. So far, what a trip and it’s only been 2 days.
 
I want to give a big thanks to Joost De Groot for being a great host.
 
Gabe Rood