Vitesse Arnhem have looked to progress after Peter Bosz’s departure to Maccaibi Haifa with his ideals and vision intact. Rob Maas who was hired until the end of the season has a young and capable squad at his disposal as he hopes to complete the season in a fashion that can lay the groundwork for more success in the future.

  • By Chaka Simbeye
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maas vitPeter Bosz turned Vitesse Arnhem into one of the most compelling teams in the Eredivisie with his own brand of the traditional Dutch school. He leaves Vitesse in 5th place two points behind Heracles as the club will look to finish the league in a position to qualify for Europe. Vitesse under Bosz also became a hub for exiting young talents as they thrilled fans and neutrals alike and with the announcement that Rob Maas, a former assistant of Bosz will take over then one can only hope that the club builds on what his predecessor started.

The first thing Maas will need to do is strike a balance between the Chelsea loanees and the Vitesse youth products in order for the club to properly benefit from all the capital they have at hand. Players like Marco Van Ginkel and Davy Propper have progressed from the youth academy recently and on to bigger things while the likes of Bertrand Traore and Lucas Piazon have graced the Gelredome while on loan from the English Premier League club. In this time some academy products like Adnane Tighadouini and Brahim Darri have slipped through the cracks as it is a sign that there needs to be a sense of impartiality in picking teams. Bosz rarely fell victim to this as last season he picked youngster Kevin Diks over Wallace as the Dutch youngster has soured since, exemplifying the immense talent that the Dutch National Team will have at right back in the future.

The second will be continuing the brand of exhilarating football that has been linked with Vitesse since Bosz’ arrival and the brand of football that the manager has been known for since his spell at Heracles. Vitesse can press and play quick transitions at a high tempo leaving the other team chasing shadows at times as both Ajax and PSV have had to dig deep to get wins at the Gelredome this season. The current crop have been wonderful to watch on their day, playing a flexible 4-3-3 formation. The midfield components of metronome Lewis Baker, dynamo Marvelous Nakamba and the creative Valeri Qazaishvili can be devastating on their day. The midfield do well to support the dynamic front three of Denis Olynik, Dominic Solanke and the surprise package of the season, Milot Rashica. They possess the ability to stretch teams with both wingers holding the touchline while also being able to slice through teams with skilful approach play.

“We would like to entertain the public. We try to score a lot of goals and most importantly to win every game.We’ve got a big ambition. We want to win everything, if you want to win everything it’s a big ambition. We want to do that with attractive football which I believe is possible,” said Bosz to SkySports two seasons ago.

However, this season they have struggled against the big three as the team manage to hold their own for majority of games but fall victims to goals at the latter stages of games. Against Ajax, they hustled and harried the league leaders, pressing high and not allowing them to leave their half. Marvelous Nakamba was magnificent in recycling the ball in midfield and although the team who were at home on the day managed to create chances, they only took a one-nil lead in the 51st minute. That was before Ajax managed to score 2 goals between the 71st and 73rd minute before killing the game off in the 86th minute to win 3-1. Against PSV they conceded through the last kick of the game to lose 1-0, that was all before, against Feyenoord they lost through two goals in the latter stage of the game.

Vitesse have all the potential to challenge for the honours in the Eredivisie and KNVB Bekker but they need to show more reslience in the big games in the future. Maybe the growth could come with more maturity or not losing vital components of their side season after season. However, Maas’ has been given a huge vote of confidence by the outgoing coach Bosz.

“In my eyes, it would be pretty stupid if they did not go with Rob. Mark my words, this will be a very good head coach. You have not typical assistants, that’s Rob. He has other particular qualities that you are looking at a real head coach. Moreover, he knows the club the way of working and the players respect him. No, Vitesse need look no further. They have a new coach already in place, ” said Bosz to Voetbal International.

Vitesse are 13 points behind league leaders Ajax so a title charge is way out of the question but they should at least qualify for the Europa League while look to end the season with sustaining a period of stability. One of Bosz’ last acts as head coach was to bring on Mitchell van Bergen off the bench for his first appearance at 16 years-old and that exemplifies the type of coach he is. He created an atmosphere for young players to develop and express themselves and it is a hope that Vitesse can continue that in the long term.

The Gelredome has been home to many stars over the past few years in the music industry and it is a hope that FC Hollywood, as they are more affectionately known, can add to the excitement of their fans in the stadium. The appointment of Rob Maas until the end of the season signals the club’s attempt to preserve and build on the project that was started by Bosz who was already expected to leave at the end of the season. The club also have characters like Jon Dahl Tomasson and Raymond Van Der Gouw at the club as one can only hope that Vitesse are in safe hands. Maas’ starts his tenure against Cambuur this weekend before a trip to Amsterdam to face Ajax which proves that the manager has to hit the ground running.




Chaka Simbeye (69 Posts)