Good Player Guide #17 – Kevin Strootman

Kevin Strootman
(PSV Eindhoven / Holland)

The town of Ridderkerk in the province of South Holland doesn’t hold many claims to fame but the rise of one of their sons could put it on the map. The meteoric rise of Kevin Strootman – born in 1990 – has seen him go from playing in the second tier of Dutch football with Sparta Rotterdam to scoring for the national team (L’Oranje) in the space of a year.

The former New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez’s assertion ‘better to be lucky than good’ applies with Strootman, though he’s been lucky but also rather good due to good old fashioned hard work that has seen him rise up the ranks.

Bert van Marwijk, the Dutch national team manager, described him after his exemplary performance against Finland (only his second ever start for Holland) as a mixture of Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart ‘not too conservative but not too offensive’ in the words of Goldilocks ‘just right’. He’s not tough tackling and wouldn’t be classified as a defensive midfielder though he routinely plays as the sole screening midfielder for club PSV Eindhoven.

A contrast to his days as a trequartista with Sparta whom he joined in 2007 playing for their youth team his performances saw him promoted to the senior team in January 2008 and after his first full season – which ended in Sparta relegated – he began to garner attention from a hosts of top clubs at home including FC Twente who came close to his signature in the summer of 2010.

A move did come a few months later as he swapped Rotterdam for FC Utrecht and a change of position, becoming more of a deep-lying playmaker (regista), though his attacking instincts remained as he often played a box-to-box role as he still does with PSV.

The strongest facets of his game are his distribution (either short passes or long across the ground or aerially), spatial awareness, intuition, recycling possession and retaining the ball once lost. His languid frame sometimes would give off the wrong impression to his style of play as his mobility and movement across the pitch are some of his more underrated features. Another is his leadership and former Sparta boss Foeke Booy – who made him skipper – believes he will bring that much needed role at PSV.

It was his continual notable performances with FC Utrecht that caught the eye of Van Marwijk who handed him his debut against Austria in February 2011, a performance he was later praised for especially by teammates, including Wesley Sneijder who complimented him on his rapid assimilation. He was also one of the few to shine in Holland’s summer trip to South America to face Brazil and Uruguay. His standout performance against the Seleção as a regista alongside Nigel de Jong was much lauded back home.

At club level Utrecht would finish ninth in the Eredivisie and Strootman was expected to remain for another campaign at Stadion Galgenwaard, but suitors came sniffing. After the failure to sign Stijn Schaars from AZ who chose Lisbon instead of Eindhoven, PSV swooped for Strootman alongside teammate Dries Mertens in a combined deal work €13M which could end up as a steal if it wasn’t already.

“I could have continued my development at Utrecht, but PSV is one of the top clubs in Holland, where I can quickly become a better player,” Strootman in an interview just after completing his €4.5 million move to PSV.

“This was the most logical step. There have been a number of steps in quick succession, but I do not think about it. I wish every day to get the best out of myself and see where it leads.”

Another advantage in his move to PSV will be working with one of Holland’s great captains and PSV in the shape of assistant coach Phillip Cocu. Like Strootman he too was an elegant left-footed midfielder.

After a few games he’s already settled in playing his natural game which has complimented Fred Rutten’s side. And against SV Ried of Austria in the Europa League he scored his first goal for his new club, a delicate stroke into the goal.

With the absence of Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart he was given the nod to start alongside Mark van Bommel for L’Oranje in their games against San Marino and Finland. It seems at the moment he’s bypassed the likes of Schaars, Theo Janssen and Demy de Zeeuw in the pecking order.

Also it seems Strootman has benefited from Van Marwijk’s apparent change to his midfield system after last summer’s World Cup borne out of necessity rather than design at the time. A regista alongside either one of De Jong or Van Bommel has allowed the Dutch to play a more fluid game which has echoed past sides of the last 30 years. While Van der Vaart in the earlier qualifiers slotted in expertly so has Strootman.

In the 11-0 rout of San Marino, aside from two elegant assists he did not really have much to do. However in Helsinki everything that’s good about his game shone as he excelled in midfield often rotating with Wesley Sneijder and both combined for him to score his first goal for his country, a picturesque goal worth framing.

Strootman has come a long way in a short space of time and one can forgive him if his head has yet to comprehend everything that has happened. Before the internationals he spoke of still trying to keep his feet on the ground but with the likes of Tottenham and AS Roma already having him on their radars before his move to PSV one wonders if more clubs will add him to their list if his impeccable rise continues.

Mohamed Moallim is a columnist for Just Football focussing on Dutch football and football history. Read more from him at La Croqueta.

FC Utrecht, Good Player Guide, Holland, Kevin Strootman, PSV Eindhoven