Group E - Netherlands

Group E

Netherlands

Denmark

Japan

Cameroon

Nickname: Oranje; formerly they were known as Clockwork Oranje; informally they’re also known as Holland and the Dutch.

Colors: If orange is your favorite color, this is the team for you. They’re away kit is white with a chevron of red and blue like their flag.

Current World Ranking: 4

Manager: Bert van Marwijk

The thing about managers for the Dutch National Team is, they’re always Dutch. In fact, since 1974 only one non-Dutch manager headed up the team. Van Marwijk is a former player who took the helm of the national team in 2008. In 11 games he’s one 8, drawn 2, and lost only 1.

History: The national team has been around since 1905 but aside from a few appearances in the Cup back in the 30’s they really didn’t make any noise on the international stage until the 70’s after the invention of what is known as Total Football. Conceived by “The General”, Runus Michels, who was the manager of both the club team Ajax and the Netherlands National Team at the time, and made successful by one of the best players to ever set foot on a pitch, Johan Cruyff, Total Football is a system wherein every outfield player on the pitch can play any position. If one player moves out of position for some reason, another player is ready to step up and fill his role. Strikers play midfield play defense and vice versa. Obviously it relies on a very disciplined, very versatile, and very athletic group of players. It was so successful for Ajax that they won 46 straight home games, lost only one game overall, and won 5 trophies in 1971-72. The Dutch national team also went to two successive Cup finals in ’74 and ’78, losing to each of the hosts, West Germany and Argentina.

According to Soccernomics, "In Holland, soccer is a thinking man's game. When the Dutch talk about it, the concepts to which they always return are technique and tactic. Passion was a quality they associated with unsophisticated soccer players from other countries."

The Oranje still play Total Football today, though it’s just a glimmer of what it once was. The only other team in the world to even come close to Total Football now is club team FC Barcelona, though it doesn’t even really do it justice, although it worked well enough for them to win 6 trophies last season, surpassing Ajax’s previous record.

The Dutch have also exported Total Football to an extent with the number of Dutch coaches managing other international squads. Most notably, “Lucky” Guus Hiddink successfully led South Korea deep into the 2002 Cup, helped Australia qualify for their first Cup in 2006, and helmed an under-manned Russian squad to a surprise performance in the 2008 Euro Cup.

After the era of true Total Football passed the Netherlands went through another drought of World and European Cup appearances in the early 80’s before wining the Euro Cup in ’88 under Rinus Michels, who returned as manager, and behind the boot of one of the all time Dutch greats, Marco van Basten.

They’ve gone trophy-less since then and even failed to qualify for the 2002 Cup. 2006 saw the emergence of the next generation of Dutch footballers, many of who will be back for this tournament. They were runners-up in their group after three solid performances, losing out to Argentina only on goal difference, but did so with a distinct air of discontent within their locker room as the old veterans didn’t care too much for relinquishing their roles to the new guys. Netherlands went on to face Portugal in the Round of 16 in what has been called the “Battle of Nuremberg” for the 16 yellow cards and four red cards that were shown in that match. Portugal went on to win though in my opinion they instigated all of the shenanigans. Unfortunately the Dutch couldn’t hold their own composure to rise above it all.

Holland was the first team without an automatic bid to qualify for the 2010 Cup after going through their relatively weak group undefeated. They’ve hit a bit of a rough patch in the last few months in friendlies with three successive 0-0 draws to Australia, Italy, and Paraguay. They got back on track back in March by beating the Americans, and looked good for 85 minutes. But anyone who watched that game saw the Netherlands go to sleep at the end of the match and saw the US pounce all over them. They have three more friendlies against Mexico, Ghana and Hungary to get them ready for the cup.

Players: If you like prematurely balding Northern Europeans who look more like 40-year-old accountants than football players and who have names that include a lot of “van’s” and “der’s”, then this is your team. Despite their appearance these guys are quick, with excellent ball control, and a flair for the dramatic. Their biggest weakness is a propensity for injury, especially from their top players. You’d think they play in wooden clogs or something given the amount of time some of them spend on the injury list.

Arjen Robben – Striker/Midfielder

At 26 years of age, Robben has already won 4 league titles with three different teams – Dutch side PSV, two with English club Chelsea, and 1 with Spanish giants Real Madrid. He’s currently playing in the German league for Bayern Munich. He started his international career in the 2004 Euro Cup and has since amassed 45 caps having played in the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 Euros. I first became aware of him in the ’06 cup and was immediately blown away by his lightning quick speed, ridiculous ball skills, and thunderous shot. For me, he was one of the top 5 players in the Cup that year and his stock has only risen in my book since then. In fact, there are probably only 2 or 3 other players in the world that I fear more than Robben when they’re facing one of my teams. He proved it recently scoring one of the most amazing volleys I’ve ever seen against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League then followed that up a few days later in the German league by scoring a hat trick. If there’s a downside to his game it’s that he is always injured. He has missed huge chunks of seasons with serious and minor injuries, which has contributed to the fact that he’s played for so many teams in so few years. He’s invaluable to have on the field when he’s healthy, but he’s not worth shit when he’s injured in the stands. I hope he’s healthy for the Cup because he’s a pure joy to watch.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst – Defense (Captain)

As captain of the team van Bronckhorst has the most caps of any active player at 97 and has featured in two World Cups (1998, 2006) and three Euro Cups (2000, ’04, 08). At 35 he now plays in a leftback position whereas he started his career playing in the midfield. He’s played for some of the most storied clubs in the world including Rangers, Arsenal (where he won a league title) and Barcelona (where he won two titles). Currently he plays for the club he supported as a child, Feynoord, in Holland. Unfortunately he also has the distinction of being one of the 4 players red carded in the loss to Portugal in the last World Cup.

Wesley Sneijder – Midfielder

Sneijder has been a fixture for the Dutch side when he’s been healthy since the 2004 Euro Cup and has established himself as a quick, ambidextrous player with excellent skill on the ball. He was also recently voted as the best free kick specialist by the Dutch fans. At 25 he’s already played for three of the biggest clubs in the world, Ajax, Real Madrid, and now Internazionale where he will feature in the UEFA Champions League Final in a few weeks (if he’s healthy). As with a lot of these Dutch players he’s had his fair share of injuries, which is the only thing to keep him from an even more illustrious career.

Interestingly Sneijder comes from a footballing family – his father played as did his older brother and now his younger brother as well. Even more interesting, all three of the Sneijder boys have played for Dutch club Ajax at some point in their careers.

Rafael van der Vaart – Midfielder

Like most of his compatriots, van der Vaart started in the Ajax youth system, debuting for the senior team at age 17 before moving onto bigger European clubs like Hamburg in Germany then Real Madrid. Sneijder, Robben and van der Vaart were all actually at Real Madrid together briefly in 2008 but injuries and competition with other star players such as Kaka, Ronaldo, and Benzema sent the other two packing. Van der Vaart remains as a creative central midfielder, though it hasn’t been easy for him among all the other big names. As with all the others, injuries have impacted his career along the way, especially at the international level. He debuted for the senior squad at 18 but failed to make a lasting impact and work his way into the starting 11 until the 2008 Euro Cup. At this point though, he’s become an integral part of the Dutch lineup.

Dirk Kuyt – Striker/Midfielder

I have a love-hate relationship with this guy as he plays for my team, Liverpool. I often hate him because he seems to constantly botch the simplest passes and the most basic goals, but just when I get to absolutely despising him, he steps up and scores the most crucial goal imaginable. Then when I start to give him the benefit of the doubt, he goes and misses a wide open net to win the game. Despite my opinion of the guy, he has a top class work rate, which is to say he’s like the Energizer Bunny on ecstasy, and if you ever watch a match that he’s playing in the commentators will bring it up at least 5 times. Because of his work rate he often chases down balls that otherwise can’t be won, and troubles defenders into making mistakes. He’s also a great opportunistic goal scorer, putting himself in position to capitalize when the team needs him most. Opposite to his fellow countrymen, Kuyt never gets hurt. He’s I feel like he’s played in every single Liverpool match I’ve ever watched, sometimes much to my chagrin.

It’s also worth noting he’s one of the ugliest mugs to ever step onto the pitch.

Robin van Persie – Striker

In contrast to Kuyt’s beastly appearance, van Persie is all beauty. He got his start playing for several Dutch clubs before making the move to English side Arsenal in 2006. He came in behind legendary striker Thierry Henry so playing time was scarce for him. When he did play he performed well, but you get the drill now – injuries have been a constant set back in his career. After Henry left Arsenal van Persie became the number one striker and started scoring goals by the boatload. But injuries prevented him from ever getting a consistent run of games under his belt, which caused Arsenal to go out and get Togolese striker, Emmanuel Adebayor. Van Persie once again became second fiddle or at least had to share the pitch with Adebayor until the big African baby left for the greener pastures of Manchester City last summer. In 2009-10 Van Persie was again impressive as the number one striker in the early season but a horrible ankle injury on international duty back in November threatened his season and his chances of making the Cup squad. He’s just no come back for Arsenal and hopes to be back in top for by this summer. When he is fit he’s unbelievably fast with the ability to strike the ball in the blink of an eye. He’s also a free kick specialist, but who isn’t on the Dutch team?

Prediction: I think this team has what it takes to win it all and so does the guy who makes my subs at Jersey Mike’s. I’m not going to say they will win it but I do think they’re the 4^th best team in the world right now as their world ranking suggests. They really shouldn’t have any trouble in this group, although they can’t sleep on Denmark and Cameroon will be an absolutely handful with home-continent advantage. If they make it out of the group on top and get through the runner-up of Group F in the Round of 16 they’re likely to face Brazil in the quarters. I think they can win that match but it will take something pretty close to Total Football to make it happen.