Patrick Kluivert is one of the sexiest strikers I’ve ever seen. Sexy being the only adjective appropriate to describe the way he played football. Consistently exquisite control, and always with the right touch to put it past the keeper.
Here he his making Carlos Roa his first victim at France ‘98 to open the score in that classic Quarter-Final between the Netherlands and Argentina. Finishing off a well-made Dutch buildup made in Total Football heaven.
What now for the Dutch?
The international mid-week break really had one or two high-profile surprises in the mix. None more so than the 4-2 thrashing the Netherlands suffered at the hands of their not-so-endowed neighbours Belgium. This hasn’t been the first time the country that brought us Tintin have upset the Dutch applecart though. In USA ’94 Belgium defeated the Dutch 1-0 and then drew with them 0-0 four years later in France ’98, not to mention that famous 5-5 draw in late ’99. But wait, this was only a friendly right, so why should this defeat be of any significance? 
With the appointment of seasoned coach Louis Van Gaal last month, I have really had to look at the Der Oranje from a certain perspective. What I have been wondering since then is where is this Dutch team going? The cracks were exposed at Euro 2012 (obviously). But even when things went well under Van Marwijk, they were accused of playing ugly football. Even I would admit that that pragmatic version of the beloved “Total Football” that took them to the World Cup Final was a far cry from the sexy teams of the late 90s. No need to lament on the Poland/Ukraine tragedy, Van Marwijk has already called it quits. Enter Louis Van Gaal, Champions League winner with Ajax in 1995 and two-time La Liga winner with Barcelona in Spain.
What about his international credentials though? I would forgive a lot of fans for being unconscious of the fact that this is indeed his second stint as national coach. His first spell came after Frank Rijkaard resigned after the Euro 2000 debacle. The mission was to qualify for Korea/Japan.
Van Gaal’s first tenure immediately took a turn for the worst as a 2-2 draw with Ireland and a 2-0 defeat to Portugal both at home, saw the Netherlands in dire straits from the off. A year later, they drew in Porto then managed to lose 1-0 at Lansdowne Road to crash out of the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup. How does any coach fail to reach the World Cup with the likes of Davids, Kluivert, Van Nistelrooy, Cocu, Overmars, Van der Sar, Hasselbaink, Makaay and Van Bommel? Seemingly the flaws in Van Gaal’s management style were there to see years before.
When he reached the pinnacle of the European game with his native Ajax, he left for Barça in 1997. He was transformed into a coach who believed that he knew it all and cast aside anyone who did not share his views. The once-unassuming coach from Amsterdam became convinced he was a demigod.
The four matches against the Portuguese and the Irish were influenced by costly decisions from Van Gaal. For instance, with a man advantage against the Irish in the last 32 minutes in the fate-sealing 1-0 defeat, he brought on Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink giving the Dutch four strikers and Gio Van Bronkhorst, but no-one to supply the forwards after Marc Overmars and Boudewijn Zenden were replaced. After the defeat Van Gaal stated that he evaluates himself everyday and came to the conclusion that he made no mistakes; his players lost their heads. So after being a fixture in the international game since 1988, Holland would miss the 2002 World Cup.
That was 11 years ago however obviously those events bear no relevance to the current team right? Van Gaal has had a successful spell at Bayern Munich recently which shows that he still has the tactical nous required. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if the KNVB made the right decision after the 4-2 humiliation in Belgium. It is still early days yet and just because he failed at one qualifying campaign for the World Cup doesn’t mean it should happen this time. However after Euro 2012 it could not be more evident that the team needs to be overhauled.
Holland have played in three World Cup Finals winning none; including that famous upset in 1974. They have also come close with teams to rival the 1974 and 1988 generations; most notably in France ’98 and Euro ’00. Not to mention numerous near-misses sprinkled in between. They have employed a coach who was responsible for their last failure to reach a major championship, and have lost in his second debut in charge. There is also the lingering issue of over-sized egos and ageing legs in a superannuated Dutch team. So again I wonder: What now for the Dutch?
Orange is not the only fruit.
The implications of yesterday’s defeat are endless. Cristiano Ronaldo responded well after being heavily criticised after the scrape of a win against Denmark. However it was never going to be easy as the Dutch went ahead through a Rafael Van der Vaart curler. Ronaldo beat the offside trap to finish confidently at the near post (similar to a chance he spurned on Wednesday). Then a text book counter attack led to him patiently picking his spot after leaving Van der Viel sprawling in his wake. A late Van der Vaart strike struck the post, but a draw would not have been the tally required to save the sinking Dutch fleet.
With all the permutations making an amazing subplot for the final round of matches in the group of death, Holland for once finally looked the part for the first ten minutes. They then went ahead when Van der Vaart wrapped his left boot around ball, placing it into the far corner. When Germany went ahead versus the Danes in Lviv, things finally seemed to be going the oranje way. What the Dutch didn’t account for was Ronaldo showing up when it really mattered. They couldn’t say they weren’t warned. Twice the Real Madrid forward came close; hitting the post then heading powerfully straight at Stekelenberg. It was third time lucky for him as he timed his run expertly then made sure the ball hit the back of the net and not the advertisers like in the Denmark encounter. Portugal finished the first half with all the possession.
In the second half, Ronaldo’s pace down the flank was irrepresible as he picked out Contrão, then Nani who should have finished with the keeper at his mercy. However in the 74th minute, he started a rapid counter attack, made a 70-yard sprint to the Dutch penalty area before receiving the return ball from Nani, cutting inside and sealing the deal.
It seemed apt that the Dutch wore black to the occasion as their hopes of survival were buried by a Madeiran. Coach Van Marvijk was a forlorn figure in the post-match press conference, but he has to shoulder a lot of the blame for the failed campaign. The creaking legs of the captain Van Bommel were unable to protect the vulnerable back line in a group like this. Plus a lot of players ultimately did not show up; Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder, Huntelaar and the centre of the Dutch defense were all culpable. With this current generation of Dutch players beginning to age and/or lose form at this stage of their respective careers, I can only assume that a lot of wholesale changes would be made with World Cup qualifying beginning in September. Starting with Van Marwijk.
Taylor
Oranje progress reduced to a mathematical equation.
“The Dutch fans are orange in the tops but red in the face.” Those were the words of the BBC commentators at half time of the do-or-die clash with the tournament favourites. That seemingly innocuous one-liner encapsulates the overall feeling of the dutch players. Holland have to hope that they get a miracle in the final round of games in order to qualify for the last eight.
In the wake of the narrow Portugal victory, as things stand if der oranje defeat the Iberians by at least three goals and Germany win against Denmark then there is the distinct possibility that the Dutch will qualify. However it is also likely that Joeleon Lescott will be the top scorer at Euro 2012.
It all went wrong with the intial defeat against the Danes, which in a group such as this is suicidal. Van Marwijk’s tactics are ineffective mainly because we’ve all seen it before. We know that Robben will inevitably cut inside from the right and set himself for one of his famous left footers, we know that Wes Sneijder is going to have games filled with invariably uninventive passes. Not to mention the centre of the Dutch defense is ageing among other overt problems. So coming into the group of death, all Holland had to offer was the same old story up front, an increasingly dire situation at the back and most importanty, a coach that refused to paper over the cracks. Why wasn’t Klaas Jan Huntelaar a starter in the opening match? With Arjen Robben becoming more and more inefficient it was reasonable to assume that two forwards instead of one should have been used against a solid Danish squad. Van Marwijk instead chose to use tactics that worked two years ago in South Africa. Bear in mind that they also leaked a lot of goals for a finalist (five before the final compared to Spain’s two).
Thus when Holland took on the Germans yesterday, it came as no great surprise that Germany were able to take their well-constructed chances in the first half, and resist the expected orange tide in the second half. When Robin Van Persie pulled one back, it just seemed to make things even worse for the Dutch as Germany shut-up-shop with pragmatic possession football, playing down the clock.
Der Oranje’s best hope in the final fixture at a glance is that Van Marwijk needs to change his setup (obviously). The friendlies against Germany (0-3) in Hamburg late last year and earlier in the season against England (3-2) were the signs that Van Marwijk should have been re-evaluating his options on the pitch; particularly in defense. So it seems that the script has already been written for the Dutch. However if Chelsea’s Champions League campaign is any example of the unpredictability of the global game, then expect some fireworks in Sunday’s match. The question is whether the Dutch have the character to defy elimination and reach the last eight.
Taylor
The age-old enemies meet yet again tomorrow. Der Oranje take on Die Mannschaft in a do-or-die clash for both teams. A win means survival for the Dutch, while it can possibly put the Germans in the last eight.
The football history between these two is turbulent. The pinnacle match being the 1974 Wcup final. The rivalry has subsided, but during the decades when the Germans were known as West Germany fury boiled over. Case in point: Frank Rijkaard spitting in Rudy Voeller’s hair as both players are sent off during Italia ‘90.
Euro 2012 Team Profiles
Group B
The group of death tosses up three of the most potent teams in attack in Europe at the moment. It would have been really mind-blowing if Portugal still had their players from the “golden generation.”
Everything seems to be poised for Germany to win their record fourth title. They have their best crop of young talent in years, and their best team on paper since 1996. The Klinsmann intervention in the mid 2000s really paid off in the long term perspective. The team he managed at the World Cup in Germany ‘06 were attacking, talented, but still raw. Jogi Loew has improved on the Klinsmann model and it showed in the subsequent tournaments. Now we have a German team that still plays the power football characteristic of Die Mannschaft, but with a plethora of technically gifted players. That’s a scary thought. Poldolski, Mertesacker and Schweinsteiger are still all in their 20s but are the senior figures in the team. Manuel Neuer is one of the best keepers in the world currently. Plus they have a lot of youngsters with buzzing skill like Ozil and Goetze. And if you aren’t swayed by the team’s impressive CV consider that Germany have always went on to win the Euros after placing as runners up in the previous edition. The disappointment of the Champion League final could prove to be the psychological factor that just might affect the team in the latter stages. Especially if Germany becomes as profligate as Bayern was when it really mattered.
The current “platinum” generation doesn’t exactly have the character of Figo and co. years before. What’s worse, is that they still lack a striker who can deliver at international level. Their midfield and assorted advanced wingers in particular will be burdened with the responsibility of scoring the goals. Portugal has a heavy reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo who is their best hope for goals in Poland/Ukraine. However the Real Madrid record-breaking goalscorer hasn’t replicated his form at international level for quite some time now. And judging from Portugal’s warm up friendlies, their defence needs some work as well; thus thickening the plot. It is going to take a mammoth collective effort from the team ranked 5th in the world. (which says a lot about the credibility of a system that gives points for meaningless friendlies.) This may be the hour for CR in particular to finally live up to the hype he gets from the his exploits in the club game. If he doesn’t, an Iberian nation may be in agony at the end of the group stage.
The Dutch again come into another tournament as the favourites, and again we have our fingers crossed that they live up to that billing. It seemed they were well on their way in 2008 when they thrashed both of the 2006 world cup finalists in their first two matches four years ago. They crashed out against the Russians in the last eight. In South Africa they were inches away from the cup when Iniesta and Spain snatched it from them with both hands. The real disappointment in 2010 was that Holland didn’t play their typical flowing “Total Football” attacking brand - they preferred the pragmatic approach. After their 6-0 victory over albeit an average Northern Ireland team last weekend, they seem to be ready to return to the international stage with their sexy football. Their history with Germany is noteworthy as well. Every time the two met at the Euros or the Wcup, one or the other has made that edition’s final. They’re also familiar with the Portuguese who they lost to in their Euro 2004 semi final as well as the brawl at Nuremburg. With Wes Sneijder, Robben, RVP, Huntelaar and Afellay seemingly peaking at the right time, let’s see if the future is finally going to be Orange.
Denmark should not be overlooked in this brutal group. Yes, they’re the underdogs, but they also won their qualifying group (at the expense of Portugal). They do still have the experienced players at critical areas of the pitch; Agger in defense, Poulsen in midfield and Rommedahl with Bendtner in attack. Then there is the revelation in attacking midfield; Christian Eriksen of Ajax. This may be a challenge too far for the Scandinavians but it is very likely that they will create a couple upsets and determine which of the other three doesn’t make it to the knock out stages.
Chances:
GER - 85%
NED - 80%
POR - 73%
DEN - 40%
Taylor
Inter’s Germans v Milan’s Dutchmen. It’s something of a coincidence that the match between West Germany and the Netherlands was at the San Siro in Italia ‘90.
Matthäus, Klinsmann and Brehme v Rijkaard, Van Basten and Gullit
That was a Milan Derby at its very best
(via inventfootball)
