PSV’s Christmas report: ‘Impressive, supreme and excellent’

Exactly halfway through the season, the Premier League has entered the winter break. The players and coaches of the Premier League clubs are enjoying Christmas dinners with their families and some well-deserved rest these days before the football season resumes in early January. A good moment to take stock.

With a Studio Voetbal panel consisting of Rafael van der Vaart, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Theo Janssen, we look back on the first half of the season for the clubs from the traditional top three. They answer four questions about the past months and the coming months. Today in part 1: leader PSV.

Van der Vaart: “I think PSV is impressive. A lot of individual quality and very good play. Peter Bosz is a coach after my own heart, with always attacking football.”

Van Hooijdonk: “Supreme. They win their matches with great ease. They lost it for a moment against Heerenveen, but that is also human. off day and coincidentally all of us at the same time. They have so much quality, a fantastic midfield and a fantastic midfield on the bench.”

Janssen: “Excellent. For the Premier League. They are the better in all positions. The bench is also even better than what Ajax is based on. They can fill two teams. I enjoy PSV every week.”

Van der Vaart “I enjoy Noa Lang the most, but Ricardo Pepi has undergone the greatest development. He is actually unstoppable, although Bosz will not easily remove Luuk de Jong. He has improved at a high pace. We knew that he works hard and can score, but that he can also play football like he does now… I didn’t expect that.”

Van Hooijdonk: “Malik Tillman. Super versatile. He has played controlling, at 6, and also at 8 or 10. Physically good, box-to-box. Has a good shot, scores goals, also scored from a free kick. He is a guarantee for eight goals or more as a midfielder.”

Janssen: “Noa Lang. He is a bit crazy, a bit different. I was different, so was he. That is partly the reason I choose him, but he can also play great football. A player with great potential, more potential than he shows. I hope he will play for a very big club next year.”

Together with data agency Opta, we selected three striking facts about PSV’s first half of the season:

Van der Vaart: “Johan Bakayoko is very disappointing. It seems as if the speed has lost a bit, he can no longer pass his men. The freshness has been gone for a while.”

Van Hooijdonk: “I expected a little more from Rick Karsdorp. He didn’t do badly, but I thought it would be easier for him in the Dutch competition with the best team. I don’t have the feeling that it will be easy now. “

Janssen: “I completely agree with Pierre. The center is good, left back Mauro Júnior or Matteo Dams is fine, midfield is great, up front too. I also end up at Karsdorp.”

Van der Vaart: ‘For me they are title candidate number one. The only thing that could go wrong is laziness. That has happened a few times in recent months. In the Premier League they think about it too easily. PSV should not go to – let’s say – FC Twente and think that they will win for a while. That doesn’t work.”

Van Hooijdonk: “I think that the European program may get in their way. But I have no doubt about the supremacy. I understand that everyone except the PSV supporters hopes that it will still be exciting. I don’t see that happening.”

Janssen: “PSV has the best team. Based on the quality of the selection, PSV is far above the rest.”