de Rood-Witten

That one loss is a blot on an otherwise sensational season, next time has to be 34-0-0

KNVB Cup (N) : Ajax 2 - PSV 5


Mark van Bommel would have to make a hard choice and there was much second guessing from the fans and media. This time De Topper would mean something, there was a trophy on the line, but this time van Bommel would send out the second squad to face them. His reasoning was simple with Atlético Madrid coming to the Philips Stadion in less than a week he had to save their legs, he needed every advantage possible to try and hold on to their slim lead and felt the second team was up for the challenge.

“I trust every single one of these guys, absolutely, or I wouldn’t select them” responded van Bommel to a question about a weakened squad “they have earned it as well, they shouldered a lot of the load in the league. We know we can beat Ajax, we know we can retain the cup.”

Where the last game was a dull affair, this one turned into an exciting shoot out rather quickly and made it seem like Vincenzo Montella was going to get revenge for the last game. Montella went back to the 4-1-2-3 formation, and it clearly worked well on PSV’s second squad to start the game. Things were going Ajax’s way until 13’ in Antonio Valencia took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch and crashed inside to take a shot across André Onana’s face, catching him crowding the near post, and put the ball in the side netting on the other side. Valencia’s first goal of the season couldn’t have come at a better time, but Ajax weren’t finished. Moussa Sissoko and Joshua Brenet would shock the champions, a goal at 26’ and 32’ would conclude the scoring in the first half and put PSV in a 2-1 hole.

Down for the first time in a while van Bommel turned on the hairdryer and Maximiliano Romero listened. Romero would score from just inside the box after three simple long passes found him splitting the central defenders and suddenly PSV were even at 2-2. Derrick Luckassen would head in at 58’ on a corner for the lead and then Romero would take over. A nicely place through ball by Gravenberch would get his second assist feeding Romero on a through ball at 79’ as Ajax faded away late and had nothing left down 4-2. Just to rub it in a penalty in extra time would give Romero a hat trick and seal a 5-2 win.

Champions League (H) : PSV 4(5) - Atletico Madrid 0(0)


Tensions were high among the fans for this game, but if you saw the managers you wouldn’t have had a clue about the stakes. Atlético Madrid’s fans were very confident, but there was an undercurrent of frustration with being down 1-0. The Spanish media were also confident, but their comments were always tinged with doubt and Diego Simeone became the target of numerous passive-aggressive attacks.

It only took 8’ for all the teeth gnashing to turn into a panic as PSV scored off a short corner for the first time this season. Erick Gutiérrez received a pass from the corner and took a shot that was blocked by Lucas Hernández, but Jan Oblak didn’t see it coming so he moved to the left himself, and the deflection found Luuk de Jong on the penalty spot for an easy opening goal. At 30’ Gastón Pereiro scored on a header after a great cross from Antônio Carlos picked him out unmarked on the back side, now down 2-0 it was time for the visitors to panic.

Gratuitous shots of Atlético Madrid fans with their hands on their heads or slumped down in their seat filled the halftime broadcast, Simeone would really need to turn things around if they were going to stay in the competition. Atlético Madrid was fouling PSV quite a bit, it was their chosen recourse against their general lack of possession and it just wasn’t working. Atlético Madrid were also giving up possession regularly to 50-50 balls that ended up in PSV’s favor, and it led to what was likely the final nail in their coffin. A hurried clearance was headed back by Luckassen, played out wide by Pereiro, and crossed by Eugune Konoplyanka to a streaking Antonio Marin who beat Oblak across his face and found the side netting. 3-0 after 59’, which was really 4-0, was truly a hole Simeone couldn’t climb out of and Atlético Madrid started to look like they wanted to go home. At 76’ de Jong scored again, a great shot from the top of the box after finding a crease in the defense and his 20th of the year, and the rout was complete.



PSV would book their ticket to the final in Turkey and hope that Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium would turn into the scene of their second Champions League victory. After beating Barcelona 1-0 and drawing 1-1 Liverpool would be PSV’s opponent and a substantial favorite to deny the underdogs. Win or lose, the board were so pleased with van Bommel that they agreed to increase the payroll for next year and raised the transfer funds from £15M to £24.8M thanks to a £87M bank balance.

Just walking through quality teams like they are nothing at the moment

Two excellent results, in particular the latest one against Atletico. If that doesn't show the strength in this PSV side now, I don't know what does! You are cementing yourselves as a formidable force and very much a dark-horse.

It’s hard to believe that a team that was blasted by Atlético Madrid 2-1 and 5-0- in the first knockout round and didn’t alter their roster all that much could make it this far, but Mark van Bommel has pulled off a miracle season. The first and last time PSV made it this far was 1988 and they managed to slip by Benfica 6-5 in penalties after a 0-0 draw. With a double already in the bag there wasn’t much pressure on van Bommel to win this one, though he would never admit it, nobody would hold it against him if they lost to a bigger team like Liverpool who came into the game 5-4 favorites.

Jürgen Klopp’s now famous gegenpressing approach would come out in a 4-1-2-3 formation, something PSV fans have learned to fear, with joint top goalscorer Federico Chiesa leading the attack. For once both teams would be known for an attacking approach, so van Bommel wouldn’t need to be as worried about getting killed on the counter attack. Based on how aggressive Klopp tends to be it was widely assumed that van Bommel might take a more balanced approach like he did against Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid.

It only took 8’ for all of the pundits and purveyors of the status quo to sigh in relief. Mohamed Salah took a free kick from a brutally dangerous area, just barely outside the box on the far left side, and it whizzed across the box to find Virgil van Dijk who headed it down at Jack Butland’s ankles and into the goal. The natural order of the Football World had been restored, and now it was up to Liverpool to finish PSV off. Turns out van Bommel was unwilling to fold after 8’, and PSV went right back to spinning a legendary underdog tale. At 17’ PSV turned back a Liverpool attack and broke on a counter, the ball found Antonio Marin and he took on Kieran Tierney on the outside to get past him and loop toward the end line. He sent a hard low cross across the face of goal and found Luuk de Jong on the back side, he knocked it out of the air and hit the inside of the post to send it bounding into the goal. 1-1 and Klopp was already brewing one of his famous tirades, he had plenty to say to his defense just then.



Liverpool desperately needed the halftime break as the tide was turning against them after giving up the goal to de Jong. It didn’t get much better in the second half, in fact it started getting much worse as they ceded possession to PSV and had trouble getting the ball back deep in PSV territory. Klopp was already stalking the technical area when PSV scored again at 53’ to send him into a fit, and he had good reason to be angry. Eugene Konoplyanka received a pass from Gastón Pereiro well above the arc and took a shot at the far post that never left the ground, to call it speculative would be generous, and to the horror of Liverpool it rolled in to make it 2-1. Alisson was not prepared for the shot so he wasn’t in position when it made it through the back line of the defense, he dove to his left but just barely missed it with his finger. He did not look like one of the world’s most expensive GK. Roberto Firmino went off injured at 65’ after twisting his ankle on a tackle and all the life drained out of Liverpool. The looked like the walking dead when Fabinho was booked for a crunching tackle on Konoplyanka inside the box, and then they just completely gave up after Marin made it 3-1 on the subsequent penalty. Klopp’s ‘discussion’ with the referee made some of van Bommel’s death stares look tame, and he had nothing good to say about them afterwards.



Thirty two years after lifting their first and only Champions League trophy PSV would do it again and seal their second treble and likely the greatest season in PSV history. It might even be argued that van Bommel managed to put together the greatest season in Dutch history, something Ajax fans would likely argue against.

62% against Liverpool o.O

2019-05-03 16:07#256511 Justice : 62% against Liverpool o.O

I think if I ran the game 100 times I couldn't replicate that, I really have no idea what happened. I don't get why some superpowers just melt like that.

Competitions
Eredivisie - Winner (17 Points over Ajax)
KNVB Cup - Winner
Champions League - Winner

Roster & Awards
Antonio Marin - Young Croatian Of The Year
Pelayo Morilla - Dutch Young Player Of The Year (Romero & Gravenberch finished 2nd & 3rd)
Mark van Bommel - Head Coach Of The Year (beat Vincenzo Montella of Ajax)

It’s hard to think this season could have gone much better for PSV, winning a treble and setting numerous Eredivisie records along the way have cemented Mark van Bommel’s place in Dutch history. PSV are definitely trending up, a team that had 7M in the bank at the beginning of van Bommel’s tenure now have £115.6M and there are no signs that trajectory is going to stop. As van Bommel’s notoriety grows so does his suitors, news that Fulham and Benfica asked to interview him exploded all over the British media only to vanish quickly when he turned them down. He continued to be connected to other job openings, but all of them were simply rumors.

PSV did have some of their staff stolen, but at least this time it was rather minor. MVV Maastricht approached U-19 head coach Steven Verstraten and succeeded in hiring him away, Sacha van der Most was quickly promoted from U-19 assistant to manager

The future looks bright in Eindhoven, the season the U-19 squad had is evidence of that, as PSV players locked up the Dutch Young Player award nominations. Morilla took home the award, thanks to his (11) goals and (7) assists, but Maximiliano Romero (2nd) and Ryan Gravenberch (3rd) were just behind him to sweep the category. Even though van Bommel lost to Ajax twice this year, the team triumphed when it mattered and he bested Vincenzo Montella for the coach of the year award. Now the pressure is on to show it wasn’t a fluke and continue their march to pass Ajax.

With everything PSV managed to accomplish this season it’s going to be hard to forget their Champions League victory. Nobody picked them to win it all, it was hard to find someone picking them to make farther than the 1st knockout round. When they drew Real Madrid, they found themselves severe underdogs and few media outlets saw a path to victory. Each round beyond that was the same. Even after beating Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Atlético Madrid they were picked to lose as if it was inevitable. The secret to their success was on display when the Champions League awards were handed out, especially the odd choice of the Golden Boot. Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa was handed the award with (10) goals scored, which tied him with PSV’s Antonio Marin and Luuk de Jong.

With £115.6M in the bank it didn’t take the PSV board long to jump on some expensive upgrades, mainly yet another stadium expansion. This time they would be adding 11,500 seats to take the total capacity to 55,000 and make the Philips Stadion the largest in the league. The board would also sink some of that money into further upgrades to the youth facilities, something van Bommel would have asked for if they hadn’t made that decision on their own.

For once, this season was more about excellent performances than it was about problems. Management rid themselves of troublesome players (Nicolas Isimat-Mirin) before the season even really got going, and eliminated the next biggest problem (Jeroen Zoet) at the mid-season window. The players who filled in these areas were excellent, especially Jack Butland who has an argument for team MVP. While Isimat-Mirin had already been marginalized, Zoet found himself at the center of some questionable performances. It seems like splitting hairs to complain about winning 4-1 instead of 4-0 in the Eredivisie, but some of the saves Butland made during the Champions League were the type of goals Zoet would have let in. The fact that PSV was 4th in goals allowed during the first half of the season and finished 1st is no accident, the combination of an improved and coordinated central defense and a much better GK really changed the way van Bommel was able to manage games.

Putting aside all of the team achievements, the story of the season was Antonio Marin. How PSV have not received a single transfer bid for Marin is a total mystery, perhaps it was the fact that he didn’t enter the senior squad with the level of hype surrounding Antônio Carlos or Boudewijn Dembélé. After putting up an incredible rookie season it was hard to imagine such a jump in production from Marin, but he put up a stellar performance across all competitions. Marin would lead the team with (27) goals and third with (9) assists, if he were on a Premier League team he could have found himself in the Ballon d’Or conversation, but he’s playing in the relative obscurity of the Eredivisie. He even managed to eclipse the hype around Antônio Carlos, who he formed a solid working partnership with on the right side, to turn in an MVP type season.

2020-21 Season Expectations

This might be the most difficult season to predict, and the board is going to need to discuss a number of issues with van Bommel. Was this team a Champions League caliber squad, or was this one of the luckiest runs in history? Certainly the group stage is a given, but can fans really expect PSV to advance to the final again? The semifinal? It’s going to be difficult to find out where their ceiling is especially because the roster needs some work, a number of players have demanded to be sold so it’s unlikely that everyone will be back again.



PSV is once again tasked with winning the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup, but now that Holland has moved up three places to 8th in the European coefficients table PSV will move directly to the Champions League group stage. Considering the treble of trophies sitting in Eindhoven right now, it’s going to be hard for van Bommel to live up to last season but he’s going to need to advance beyond the 1st knockout round now that they are automatically in the group stage.

What a season! Congratulations on a remarkable season, summed up with capturing the biggest prize in club football - the UEFA Champions League! A great achievement for a club like PSV in today's modern climate, where you are at a huge disadvantage financially.

With two Eredivisie titles and KNVB Cup trophies in his first two seasons as manager, not to mention a surprise Champions League trophy, it looks like Mark van Bommel and Toon Gerbrands are ready to head into what they have referred to internally as “Phase II” of their plan for the future of PSV. It isn’t a secret that they want to eclipse Ajax, but how they plan on making it a reality has been a little more private. Transfer window dealings have provided a bit of a clue, but a lot of this can be attributed to the realities of the football economy.


Massive changes here, with more to be explained later. While all the details of Phase II are not being made public, it seems that purging the roster of players that want to transfer and replacing them with a wave of promising prospects must be part of it.

Goalkeepers
This group has changed the most since last season with literally everyone in the picture at the beginning of 2019-2020 gone. Jack Butland is the unquestioned starter, even without his heroics and generally high level of play he would be a lock to start. With Butland in goal van Bommel can relax, there is no more risk of speculative shots finding the back of the net. After Butland, it’s a steep drop off with a lot of dreams for the future. Wallenius olde Heuvel (17) basically came out of nowhere, as anonymous as a 6’-8” player can be, and went from the U-19 squad to Jong PSV starter in a single season. He lapped presumptive Hot Prospects Shane Walters (17) and Volkan Atalay (17) who looked like the future of the GK position. Early reports have olde Heuvel backing up Butland with Walters and Atalay likely to be stuck at Jong PSV, it’s also likely two or three of them will get a chance over the course of the season.

Best Player : Jack Butland (Captain)



Defenders
The most stable and deepest group, something van Bommel has worked hard to be able to say. After trotting out a thin central defense in his first year it was satisfying to see this group come together and anchor his back line. César Montes (23) and Bruno Viana (25) return and will form the first team starters, the departure of Derrick Luckassen opens the door for a player that was poised to kick the door down in Boudewijn Dembélé (17). He will team up with Danilo Boldewijn (17), newly promoted from the Jong PSV squad, in the second team. Dembélé has been hailed as the next great Dutch defender and PSV had to fend off £8M+ offers for him from teams like Manchester United and Barcelona even before he played in a single game for the U-19 squad. The bench / emergency role will likely be taken by Thierry Okoye (17), who got some senior squad minutes last year, or Wim Havekotte (17) who has impressed coaches over the past year. It’s pretty obvious that van Bommel’s central defense suddenly got very young, they will likely struggle early but PSV has faith in their development.

The RB position is now solidly Antônio Carlos’ (17) after he dispossessed Antonio Valencia of the role last year. He has also been the subject of substantial bids that were quickly rejected, he’d still improving and could be a superstar soon. He’s backed up by another youth surprise in Ivanildo Wennemars (17), another Dutch player with Brazilian heritage. Wennemars has been billed as a poor man’s Antônio Carlos, but he has scouts raving about his all around ability and technical skills. He’s a major upgrade over other players that have been called up from Jong PSV, and he doesn’t look to be headed back anytime soon. LB is going to be van Bommel’s Achilles’ heel, even though youngster Philippe Wiltord (17) started a few senior games and came in as a sub when injuries hit Nick Viergever and Angelino, he’s literally the only option. Many in the organization feel he can handle the role, but it’s one thing to throw someone in the deep end on the second squad and another to try and defend a Champions League title with one. This is one position Toon Gerbrands may need to break open the checkbook for, the only other options are youngsters Valentyn Alimov (17) and the previously mentioned Havekotte.

Best Player : Antônio Carlos

Midfielders
The middle of the field is going to look very different and very young this season. With the sale of Willian Arão and and the departure of Gastón Pereiro after refusing to sign a new deal, the only remaining elder statesman is Tonny Vilhena (25). Vilhena is locked into the box to box midfielder position on the right while Ryan Gravenberch (18) gets promoted from the second to first squad to fill the deep lying playmaker role. The second team is now all fresh faces coming off an incredible season at Jong PSV. Marco der Meyde (17) will play the BBM role with Jaap Danso (17) taking DLP, the two played together in the U-19 and Jong PSV squad so there is some built in familiarity but there will be a steep learning curve. There isn’t much behind those four, injuries are going to force a transfer or some creative roster juggling on van Bommel’s part.

The central attacking midfielder role is going to be very interesting, Pelayo Morilla (18) returns to take Pereiro’s spot in the first team. After Morilla there are a number of exciting options from the U-19 and Jong PSV teams. It’s looking like Wim de Boom (17) will get the first shot, but he also has experience as a deeper lying midfielder and may be forced into that role if injuries strike. Jahir Hurtado (18) and Guilherme Miguel (17) are ready to step in, with Hurtado likely to be loaned out, either one has promise but likely isn’t ready for a long stint in the senior squad.

Best Player : Tonny Vilhena (Vice Captain)

Forwards
Another group that was gutted but still retains some familiar faces in the first team squad. Antonio Marin (19) returns as his PSV legend swells with every game and will not be dislodged from the RW unless someone comes calling with a 100M+ offer. LW Bruno Henrique (29), who was shopped but did not want to leave, has been moved to the first team with the departure of Eugene Konoplyanka. The youngsters take over the second team much like the central midfield with Prince Diomandé (17) getting a permanent promotion at LW and Johan Bastyanus (17) surprising the pundits as Marin’s back up. The attacking winger options at Jong PSV are impressive so van Bommel will have a deep stable to draw from if there are injuries or performance issues here.

Captain and talisman Luuk de Jong is gone, and the dirty little secret is that he was not as good as Maximiliano Romero last year. Romero moves into the first team after scoring (20) goals last year, and then there is a steep and frightening drop off at striker De Jong and Romero were stunningly durable last year, avoiding any injuries that kept then out for more than a few days, so maybe there is some wisdom in rolling the dice here. Rinus Bakayoko (17) will get first crack at backing up Romero with Erwin de Winter (17) looming at PSV. There are plenty of players capable of playing the advanced forward role, but very very few (including Bakayako) are completely ready to handle the Eredivisie. This may be van Bommel’s greatest gamble.

Best Player : Antonio Marin

A phenomenal season, the sky really is the limit with this group!

Looking forward to seeing how next season pans out with this squad!

2019-05-06 14:18#256575 ScottT : Looking forward to seeing how next season pans out with this squad!

I feel silly sitting on so much transfer cash, but in reality PSV wouldn't run out and spend 50M on someone and I think my teenagers are better than the guys I would buy for realistic sums (5-10M). Just going to ride it out and see!

There were a lot of unconfirmed whispers and loads of digital ink spilled on the rumors as PSV fan sites worked themselves into a frenzy, and today Toon Gerbrands confirmed most of them. Nike and Philips have returned to partner with PSV, the good old days are back and fans are about as excited as you can be for corporate sponsorship. With PSV’s Umbro deal ending and the Brainport sponsorship only a year long deal it seemed obvious some changes would be made, according to inside sources the Champions League victory pushed things in PSV’s favor as Gerbands was able to seal a long term deal with both Nike and Philips.


The Nike deal is reported to be for (10) years, and Philips will sponsor the kit for (5) with a mutual option for additional years. Philips was actually not the highest bidder as Unilever and Aegon were fairly aggressive, but the fact that Philips has a relationship with PSV and was founded in Eindhoven sealed the deal. There were rumors that Royal Dutch Shell explored a bid, but they did not feel PSV had a high enough profile.

There are also rumors that the kits for 2021-22 will be more of a departure from last season, especially the away and third kits. PSV and Nike have asserted that the vertical red stripes, black shorts, and white socks will become the standard home kit. There may be some alterations and swapping between third and away, but fans can count on the red and white stripes at the Philips Stadion.

Simple but effective, I like it.