Premier League: Can Eljero Elia fulfil his potential at Southampton with the support of Ronald Koeman?

Eljero Elia has made a promising start to his Southampton career and there is hope that the winger can finally fulfil his potential under Ronald Koeman, writes Adam Bate...

Former Netherlands manager Leo Beenhakker coined the term ‘patatgeneratie’ – the fries generation – to describe those players for whom everything seemed to be coming a little too easily. Eljero Elia wasn’t even born when Beenhakker made the phrase famous but he was in danger of becoming the personification of it. Now at Southampton, he has the chance to change his story.

Released by Ajax as a 15-year-old, when Beenhakker was the club’s technical director, it’s been a circuitous route to the Premier League for Elia with a reputation for questionable focus threatening to leave his talent unfulfilled. This is a man, after all, who turns 28 next month. But with two goals against Newcastle in his second start for Saints, his impact on the Premier League has been instant.

Elia’s qualities are obvious. His pace and skill first caught the eye at FC Twente where he scored nine goals for Steve McClaren’s side in the 2008/09 season, attracting interest from around Europe. A move to Hamburg was followed by a scintillating debut for the national team that coach Bert van Marwijk called “amazing”, adding that “Elia really is a great player”.

He played in the World Cup final the following year, featuring alongside Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie as part of Holland’s front four for the final 50 minutes of the game. The potential to kick on was clear but a move to Juventus in 2011 proved difficult and Elia’s progress has stalled badly. The question that might concern those at Southampton is why.

“My style of play would be perfect for England,” said Elia just prior to joining Juventus and the suggestion that a move to Italy might not be a step up didn’t exactly endear him to supporters of his new side. A miserable debut against Catania in which he was substituted at half time added to the awkwardness, with the tactical discipline required in Serie A proving rather tricky for the winger.

Outbursts on Twitter earned Elia unwanted press in Italy, but it was Antonio Conte’s decision to abandon the 4-3-3 in favour of a 3-5-2 formation that really ended his hopes of success at Juventus. The role of wide forward had disappeared. Elia could be excused perhaps. Less explicable was the subsequent struggle to impress back in Germany with Werder Bremen.

Off-field issues undermined him. Most notably, there was the curious case of being stopped by police in a 3am car race with team-mate Marko Arnautovic. Elia still disputes the detail but his club were not sympathetic.  “We cannot tolerate such unprofessional conduct,” said head coach Thomas Schaaf and the player found himself frozen out.

Although Elia was given a second chance under Schaaf’s successor Robin Dutt last season, ranking among the top 25 dribblers in the Bundesliga, four goals and three assists were not enough to convince many suitors that this was a man back to his very best. Fortunately for Elia, Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has a long memory.

It’s not easy to brush off the best part of four years of underachievement. However, old buddy Arnautovic’s encouraging efforts with Stoke City over the past 18 months, coupled with the fact that Koeman has already identified a specific role for him with Saints, offers hope that there is a way back for such a gifted individual.

“Sometimes I was asking myself the question, ‘What happened to Elia?’” said Koeman after the win at Newcastle. “I think one is that he needs the confidence of the coach. Second is that he needs the position out of his qualities. How he played today is the best position for him. He’s fast, he’s strong and he’s very sharp in and outside the box.”

Positive

The early evidence has certainly been positive. Surprisingly selected ahead of Dusan Tadic in an extraordinary show of faith having not started a game in over two months, Elia was part of a strong team performance against Manchester United in which he produced a delicious piece of skill to leave Phil Jones looking foolish. He then followed it up with that brace in his next appearance.

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The finishes at St James’ Park owed a little to luck but more telling was the reaction – a race towards the touchline and a hug for Koeman. “I wanted to thank him that he gave me the chance to play for Southampton,” explained Elia. “He was the only one that believed in me.” An anecdote from Koeman’s early days as a player at FC Groningen suggests that might be appropriate.

Koeman’s old team-mate Rob McDonald told Sky Sports: “We had a coach called Theo Verlangen and he didn’t like us putting mayonnaise on the table for a meal. This waiter through no fault of his own put some mayonnaise on the table. There were some potatoes there and Ronald picked up a chip with a big dollop of mayonnaise on it.

“The coach shouted at him: ‘If you eat that chip it’ll cost you 500 guilders.’ So Ronald put it in his mouth and said: ‘Make it 1000.’” Could there be a better man to get the one-time personification of the patatasgeneratie focused on football again? We’ll find out more against Swansea on Sunday when Eljero Elia makes his first Premier League appearance at St Mary’s.

Watch Southampton v Swansea live on Sky Sports 1 HD this Sunday at 3.30pm