The Dutch team is on the verge of reaching their third World Cup finals in the history of Dutch football.
In 1974 and 1978, it went horribly wrong for us. West Germany was too strong in the 1974 finals (as you will all remember) and in 1978 it was the Argentinian goal post that robbed us from the trophee (although Argentina played very good in the extra 30 minutes!).
So, after 32 years we could be in the finals again. We will need to get past Uruguay first of course.
Most experts are convinced Bert van Marwijk shouldn’t change his strategy and use similar types for the two suspended players, Van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong.
Aron Winter: “Bert has a concept in his head with two players per position. Khalid Boulahrouz is the number 2 for the RB spot. He played their against Cameroon and should be playing there against Uruguay again. I hear people say that Van der Vaart should play instead of De Jong, but I don’t think so. You’d change the DNA of the team a tad and I’d go with De Zeeuw to avoid this. De Zeeuw and Van Bommel play well together and the Ajax-midfielder has had a number of excellent games for Oranje. Like the Romania game at the EC and the away game in and against Australia. I personally would shift Van Persie to the left and put Kuyt centrally. Dirk is in good shape and Robin seems to need some more time and space. That’s not really available centrally for him, particularly not against Uruguay.”
Bert: “I can’t help but laughing when ex-players start to give advice on the line up…”
Pi-Air van Hooijdonk is concerned about Van Persie as well. “I’m watching him closely and he sort of oozes this frustration. It’s like he is powerless in the center striker position and you can tell it’s eating away at him. I wouldn’t want him to lose himself. That line is pretty thin, you know.”
Arsene Wenger, Robin’s coach, doesn’t say it with as many words…. ” The Uruguay defense is the toughest at the World Cup. Argentina has the name and the Africans can be ruthless, but Uruguay is tough as nails and Robin will have a tough night against them. Uruguay without Suarez will play 100% counter football. Space will be at a premium and I’m not sure if Robin will be able to shine against them. Which is sad, because in theory, Robin could still be key for Oranje in their quest for gold. Holland will have to be very cautious.”
Bert: ” Holland has to be cautious?? Is that the best he can come up with??”
Sir Alex Ferguson tips a tournament win for Holland. “Holland hasn’t played top football yet and they always will at some stage. Players like Robben, Van Persie, Kuyt, Sneijder and Van Bommel on the pitch means trouble. I can see them score an early goal and then taking the game to Uruguay. If they get the swivel in the hips in this semis, they will be ready to peak in the finals.”
Leo Beenhakker – ex Real Madrid coach, ex Ajax coach, ex Oranje team manager and currently technical director of Feyenoord… “I like the way Bert works. If back 1 is suspended, you use back 2. It’s logical. Van der Wiel is suspended, you use Boulah. I’d use De Zeeuw instead of De Jong. Don’t make a fuss. Get out there and play the best football you have.”
Ex Ajax coach Henk ten Cate praises Bert van Marwijk. “To have 23 top players with top ego’s and wishes and ideas and to have them play as a team for 2 years is a terribly tough task and the hand of Bert is clearly visible. He did well and he shouldn’t change a thing.”
Kuyt: “I’m part of Team Edward and I will bite you in your neck now, you little man!”
Aad de Mos – ex Ajax, ex KV Mechelen, ex PSV went to the Jan-school of thought: “I hope Holland learned from the Brazil game. We need to play more offensively and more dominating.”
Diego Forlan has something to say as well: “Holland has phenomenal attackers and creative players and a solid defense. They are by far the favorites. But…we know how to play them. It will be a tough match but we’re ready for it.”
Ruud Gullit: “We were lucky this tournament, I hope the players recognize that. The own goal of Denmark, the mistake of the Japan goalie and the Julio Cesar mishap… The players should count their blessings and use that luck. We had it in 1988 too. The two England balls on the post. Marco scored one off-side goal. Kieft’s lucky goal… The Champ is always lucky. I am glad to see three offensive teams in the last four and I actually think Uruguay was pretty attractive to watch too. Football wins.”
Carlos Tevez has his own ideas. The Man City player is back in Argentina and he knows why. “We had good players but we didn’t know how to play like a team. Holland doesn’t have superstars, but they sure know how to play like a team and therefore they win games.”
Compliments all around and the highest form of compliments are concrete offers from other clubs. Barcelona seems to have a Plan B, in case Fabregas will stay at Arsenal. The Guardiola-led club wants to make an offer to Arjen Robben if Cesc doesn’t come.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been emptying his piggy-bank and wants to offer 30 million euros to Inter Milan to sign Wesley Sneijder for Manchester United.
Sebastian Abrue, the man who shot Uruguay into the semis: “Our coach showed us videos of Holland. We’ve never really seen them play. They’re good. We’ve discussed how to stop Robben. It all makes sense on paper but we will need to do on the field and that’s a tad tougher…”
The final training sessions make clear that De Zeeuw indeed will play for De Jong. He may not have played for some time, but “Ooijer and Boulah demonstrated that that shouldn’t be a problem”, according to Bert van Marwijk.
Clarence wears his Oranje kit when analyzing for the BBC
Clarence Seedorf: “Holland has the right mentality and approach to games and the players know that Holland is better than Uruguay. They can’t soften up this game and they can’t give anything away. It’s a strong team, mentally, as we’ve seen against Brazil. Team manager Bert van Marwijk gave this team an identity. They have grown enormously. I think Holland will with this World Cup.”
Ex team manager Foppe de Haan, last but not least:
“The focus needs to be on Uruguay, not on the finals. That risk is present. The goal might be winning the title but we need to win the semis first. Uruguay is probably not as strong without Suarez, but you never know what kind of forces will come to the surface with them. By the way, it’s ridiculous that Suarez is being demonized. What he did was a professional foul and he was penalized. A red card, a suspension and a penalty for Ghana. They missed it. That wasn’t Suarez fault. So, the rules of the game say: when a player touches the ball with his hand, the others get a penalty. That all happened. But for us, the Suarez suspension is great. The Ajax striker is so dangerous. But without Suarez, it’s not like Uruguay is weak. They have a strong team and they could go all the way as well. They didn’t get to this stage by luck. They grew into the tournament and Forlan is their leader. Oranje needs to focus on him. Not by Heitinga or Mathijsen, but by Van Bommel. Forlan is not a striker. Although he scores easily, he seldom shows himself in the box. He’s the creative midfielder and he needs to be played with dynamic play. With guts and confidence.
“Knock knock, who’s there. Gha. Gha who? GhaNA, hahahahaaaa…… Get it? Ghana. Go Now? Hahaha….I’ve had to laugh so loud I have to pee……”
Most people seem to think Sneijder is Oranje’s leader but I don’t agree. He’s been important and a great player, but to, Mark van Bommel is the real leader. He’s playing a tremendous tournament. Van Bommel needs to do it without De Jong and I think Van Marwijk will actually use Van Bommel’s opinion about who he wants next to him. Afellay is an option too, apart from De Zeeuw and Schaars, and Ibi is more adventurous. I’d prefer the PSV midfielder. He can put pressure on the Uruguay team and he has a tremendous shot from distance.”
