Netherlands
Factsheet:
Euro 2012 Group B: 09-06-12: Netherlands – Denmark, 13-06-12: Netherlands – Germany,
17-06-12: Portugal - Netherlands
FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking: 4
Previous European Championship Appearances: 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
Qualifying record:
Interesting facts: Netherlands was the team to score most goals on their way to qualify
to Euro 2012, 37 goals in 10 games.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar was the top scorer in the Euro
2012 qualification round with 12 goals.
Netherlands is the only national team to top the FIFA
World Ranking (August-September), without actually having won it.
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They say that 31 teams come to win the World Cup and
only the Dutch come to teach the others play. This saying has always been
actual and the current team is not an exception. Their scoring average was 3,7
per game during the qualification, where the Netherlands registered the biggest
ever win in their history; 11-0 against San Marino.
On the other hand the World Cup runners up have
probably the most effective and pragmatic team ever. The last big tournament
showed that the Oranje have also learned how to save their energy, keep the
score, wait for the final whistle, etc. This new revolutionary achievement, not
so popular at home though, is the invention of coach Bert van Marwijk. When
compared to a typical Dutch national team, this team doesn’t assume four
defenders running forward at any occasion. The main asset the defense has got
is mutual understanding created by continuously playing together. The coach
doesn’t experiment much with this line, considered to be the weakest part of
the team. And the front line has become more of a killer type, where the
opponent does not drown in the numerous Dutch attacks; just the scoring
percentage of few attacks is very high.
Van Marwijk coach is not as famous as many of his
countrymen. He is just famous for bringing his son-in-law Mark van Bommel back
to the national team and giving him the captain’s armband. He repeated the best
results of Netherlands in the World Cup history, now he will be looking for
repeating the best result of them in the European Championships. He is lucky
enough to have so many world class players in his team. Regardless the Euro
2012 outcome van Marwijk will remain at his post until 2016, as the Royal Dutch
Football Association (KNVB) recently extended his contract.
The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004
The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004
Statistics against Denmark: 30+12=10-8 59-42*
The match we remember: The 22nd of June
20 years ago is yet another day when Netherlands, hot favorites to win the
trophy, left a major competition earlier than expected. This time it was
Denmark, sudden guests at the tournament, to stop them. The match ended 2-2 and
the Danish legend Peter Schmeichel saved the after-match penalty from the Dutch
legend Marco Van Basten, thus sending the Netherlands home after
semi-finals.
Statistics against (West) Germany: 38+10=14-14 63-75
The match we remember: Writing poems, punching each
other on the pitch, cleaning ass with rival’s shirt and spitting on each other
have been part of the rivalry between Netherlands and (West) Germany national
football teams. In 1988 European Championship the Dutch not only equalized but
also scored the matchwinner on the 88th minute of the semi-final in
Hamburg, entering the final. They went on to win the tournament, but the trophy
was hardly worthier than eliminating the Germans in their own turf. This
historical match is considered to lessen the war-related anti-German sentiment
in the Dutch society.
Statistics against Portugal: 10+1=3-6 5-12
The match we remember: Only once have the Dutch won
against the Portuguese so far, with the “battle of Nuremberg” being no
exception, when at the World Cup 2006 Round of 16 match the sides received 16 yellow
and 4 red cards in total, a FIFA all-time record. The Portuguese managed to
score a goal at some point when the night was young. 1:0.
Two profiles:
Arjen Robben: Once Netherlands' Best Young Player (2003)
turned to become one of the European superstars. Outside his home country he
already played for Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, winning
championships with all of them. He is indispensable for his current club, where
bad days for Robben assume bad days for Bayern. Despite the many injuries, he
helped his club reach the Champions League final 2 times in the last 3 years. He
became the Player of the Year in Germany in 2010, fourth foreigner to receive
this prize ever.
The reason I chose Arjen Robben
as one of the two Dutch prolific profiles at this Euro is that he seems to be
the most unpredictable footballer to me. If some of the players are great
dribblers, the others are astonishing shooters or passers, Robben is
surprisingly good in anything possible. Many many boring matches have we seen,
where Robben emerges out of the blue, does something extraordinary, scores his
goal and the match is won. A diamond for Bert van Marwijk’s tactics!
Robin van Persie: Another great player that did not get lost after
being praised at young age. With a senior team debut at the age of 17 and
several awards for his talent, he was a permanent member of Netherlands youth
squads.
Arsene Wenger appreciated
his talent and saw great central forward skills in the left winger. After
Thierry Henry departed from Arsenal, van Persie occupied his role and started
to score more and more. He has become Arsenal’s captain this season. Van Persie’s
talent and playing style let experts regard him as Marco van Basten’s
successor. It is not strange that van Persie is the top scorer of Premier
League this season.
His discipline was a big
issue in his young years. An interesting fact about Robin van Persie’s career:
in 2004 he had to change his club due to long-time disagreements with the
Feyenoord manager… Bert van Marwijk.
He has won lots of awards
and recognition. But this year we see a player and a personality that has
developed into a mature footballer. As a captain, a leader and a great goal
scorer, he is absolutely ready for this Euro and it is going to be now or never
for Robin van Persie to become a legend for his native Netherlands.
My prediction:
As always the Dutch talent development system brings
countless stars for every major tournament. This time Bert van Marwijk will
have the pleasant problem of choosing among fantastic emerging talents like Jeffrey
Bruma, Kevin Strootman, Ola John, Georgino Wijnaldum, Luciano Narsingh, Bas Dost, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and Luuk de Jong,
with the eldest of them being 22 years old. Each and every of these players is
a separate story to tell. It is not a fact that all of these players will get
the chance to replace current heavyweights in their national team, but looking
at these players shine in the Eredivisie, it is clear to me that Netherlands
have nothing to worry about their nearest future.
But now we have to talk about the present team, which
was very close to bring the World Cup to the Netherlands for the first time in
2010. It is not a secret that they have numerous world class players, able to
decide the outcome of any single match. Klaas Jan Huntelaar is one of them, who
without any doubt will soon be Netherlands’ all-time highest scoring player
(only 10 goals left to score for this 28 year old striker). Kuyt and van der
Vaart haven’t become worse either.
Comparing to the World Cup 2010 squad, this team is
more experienced. Now they understand the coach and each other much better. However,
team leaders of 2010 Mark van Bommel and Wesley Sneijder had terrible seasons for
their clubs. If these two players don’t find their best shape, reaching the
final will be too much to ask from them.
Otherwise, one of the best teams at Euro 2012 will
play under the Dutch flag. Semi-finals are an absolute must for them to reach. Van
Marwijk is pragmatic enough not to repeat the Netherlands’ mistakes of Euro
2008. The circumstances and the opposite team will decide a lot at semi-finals.
One thing is sure, van Marwijk’s pragmatic tactics is capable of winning
against any team, including the hot favorites Spain, but Netherlands have
always been vulnerable in the semi-finals of major tournaments. Inerasable
memories of 1992, 1998, 2000, 2004…
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* 6+2=3-1 7-7: played 6, won 2, tied 3, lost 1,
scored 7, conceded 7
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