Joey Veerman is quickly becoming a midfield metronome for Netherlands
The Netherlands ushered in a new era under Xavi this month, banishing the bitter memories of a poor World Cup campaign under Ronald Koeman, who resigned from his post following their Round of 32 exit at the hands of Morocco.
While the Spaniard continues to figure out his tactical systems and the best formation of players, he might have just uncovered the metronome in midfield who can control their play and dictate tempo in his possession-based style of play.
Joey Veerman delivers a midfield masterclass
The Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 in the Nations League for Xavi's first win as their manager and the architect behind it was Joey Veerman. Almost everything that the Oranje did on the night in Belgrade seemed to flow through him, even their winning goal by Mexx Meerdink in the second half.
Deployed in the central midfield role with Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders on either side, the 27-year-old was the chief distributor of the ball, completing 90% of his 117 passes. And he wasn't merely racking up the numbers. Every pass he made seemed to serve a purpose, whether it was building attacks or straight up launching them.
What's also worth noting is that 77 of his passes came in the opposition box, which highlight just how aggressively he sought to get the Dutch forward, while pressing Serbia hard off the ball too. His prolific dueling ability is reflected in the fact that he won five of his eight on the day.
Veerman involved in the winning goal
The Borussia Dortmund player wasn't merely passing - he was the being the conductor of the Oranje orchestra, guiding a melodious symphony of silky passes that eventually helped them find a second goal to win the match.
Spotting Guus Til in a pocket of space between two Serbian defenders, Veerman squared the ball to him ahead. Til saw Meerdink racing in and played him on, letting the striker dart forward before he sumptuously guided it low into the far corner for 2-1.
Veerman may not score goals or assist often, but he excels at creating them. Besides, he also finished with a game-high of five key passes, which once again demonstrate his ability to find the right attacking player to pass to, and to be a reliable creative outlet from the deep.
In two games under Xavi, he's created the most number of chances for the Netherlands with nine, while his tally of 135 touches on the ball against Serbia is the highest for a Dutch player in a single game since Wesley Sneijder's 147 against Latvia in November 2014.
Borussia Dortmund truly have a game-changer on their hands in Joey Veerman.
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