Change has been good for Frankie
DUTCH fans know him as “Frankie Two Fingers”.
Dundee United star Frank van der Struijk has proved he’s worth the moniker by giving the digits to the “Total Football” of his homeland.
Van der Struijk racked up almost 300 appearances in the Dutch top division before signing up for United’s Championship challenge in the summer.
In ditching the land of tulips for Tannadice, he swapped a league built on mastery of the ball for one where, first and foremost, balls get booted up the park.
But as a noted battler, whose nickname derives from a hand gesture he made to NEC Nijmegen fans whilst playing for Vitesse Arnhem in 2011, Van der Strruijk believes Dutch football is suffering from a lack of Scottish fighting spirit.
He said: “In Holland they only want to play football, football, football. You have to be able to do more. “There’s no plan B. “You could see when Louis Van Gaal was in charge of the national team the last time, when we finished second in the World Cup, and he played with five at the back, everyone in Holland said: ‘What the hell is he doing?’.
“But he knows his team and thinks about what’s best for them.
“If you do anything different from 4-2-3-1, everyone in Holland’s first question is: ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“You have to change. Football is changing. But in Holland they only play one way – keep the ball, don’t lose the ball. It hasn’t changed in years.
“Sometimes you have to play the long ball and get pressure on the defence of the opponent.
“You can see it in Germany and England, they’re at a much higher level because they can do both. In Holland they only do one thing.”
When United tangle with Hibs today, van der Struijk will, like his countrymen, only have one concern.
However, instead of weaving pretty patterns with the ball, the no-nonsense United star, who is rapidly finding his feet after a slow start to life in Scotland, is dead set on boosting his new club’s promotion hopes.
“Everyone knows how it goes in Scottish football – it’s fighting football.
“I play a little bit the same so I like it,” he said.
“I had many clubs who wanted me in the summer. I wanted to stay at my old club Willem II and sign for two years there but I was waiting and waiting and eventually I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I hadn’t played in three-and-a-half months before coming here.
“I have to get fitter and fitter. After three matches last week I got a little bit tired in my legs, but it will come with some time.”
He added: “I’m looking forward to playing Hibs. The stadiums we’ve played in so far have been a little bit smaller but Hibs is a big club, and they’ll have a big crowd.
“When stadiums are full, every place is nice to play. That gives me more energy to play the game, the more people the better.”