Holland v Brazil afterthoughts: Team Kuyt

Holland v Brazil 2-1
'10 Robinho
'53 Sneijder
'68 Sneijder

First off: Holland had no business being in that game in the first half. Brazil was better on all possible fronts. To be more accurate: Holland made Brazil look very good in the first half, even with this defensive team the ´seleção´ could play cliché jogo bonito and samba football.
In the interval I was considering if I should rush to learn who is riding in the Tour de France or just enjoy the sun. I was completely ready to just forget about the cruel game that is called football and that lot of orange impostors who think of themselves as professional footballers.

The only sound you could hear in the interval around the neighborhood were orange flags flapping in the summer breeze. I was actually surprised that my neighbor wasn’t busy removing the inflatable orange doll sitting on his balcony.

I decided to watch the second half just for a minute to make sure the self embarrassing process would continue. But it was kind of strange to see those orange dudes actually putting some pressure on those blue guys at the beginning of the second half. I made myself sit down and watch until Brazil made it two, what was surely just a matter of time. But then a series of unlikely events happened in quick succession: a mistake by the world’s best goalkeeper, a header by a dwarf, an attempt to amputate a leg (that didn’t injure a ‘man of glass’, what was surely the biggest surprise of the day) and loads of chances missed in the most comical ways possible. Causing me to jump up and down in ecstasy, screaming and sweating like a crazy man and pleading with a Japanese guy, who was 6000 miles away, to blow his whistle for the last time. The most remarkable turnaround in the history of oranje just happened, hours later I still couldn’t believe it.

Dirk Kuyt is surely the embodiment of this team, it’s kind of ugly, bulked up but not very fast, hardworking, you may not want to really see it but in the end he succeeds, well... sort of.
It’s certainly not pretty, the guys who should provide the flashiness: Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben and Van der Vaart haven’t clicked for one minute this world cup, while the blue collar players like De Jong, Van Bommel and Kuyt have earned the wins for oranje. Nobody could have guessed Holland would even get out of the group stage without ‘the big 4’ excelling. The defense which was rightly laughed at before the tournament now is a Dutch strength, proving that team organization is far more important than individually über talented defenders. Speaking of the Dutch defense, surprisingly Brazil was rarely able to trouble the almost retired Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Also if members of this seleção look back at this game, they must be tearing their hair out if they realize that the 36 years old, very slow and unemployed Adre Ooijer had a very comfortable game.

Coach Van Marwijk has been criticized by a big part of the Dutch media (and me) for his conservative playing style, but he should be applauded for the change of style by oranje after halftime. Any other coach would have made at least two substitutions after the disastrous first half, but Van Marwijk decided to keep his faith in this team. And the team rewarded him in the second half with the best Dutch performance so far.
Van Marwijk isn’t as quotable as Mourinho, doesn’t have the arrogance of Van Gaal or the charisma of Hiddink and he isn’t a tactical genius like Lippi. But he is a down to earth man, with decent coaching’s skills, who really hates outside distractions. He dealt admirably with possible problems like the ill advised Eljiro Elia internet video at the start of the tournament and the Van Persie/Sneijder saga, and made them seem like insignificant incidents. His mood doesn’t change a lot and always seems to have a calming influence on the team and the ‘outside world’. Also there is no danger Uruguay will be underestimated under Van Marwijk, as he can make his teams focus on their opponents like not many coaches can at this world cup. There is no doubt if his strategy is somewhat more adventurous he would be the perfect fit for this oranje.

The way this Dutch team plays is still a real issue in Holland. Even with the victory against Brazil, the tendency with the Dutch media and pundits is still: ‘we won, but...’. But if Holland actually becomes World Champion, I am sure everyone would forgive Bert, and will be held in very high regard in the Netherlands for the rest of his life.

Also many characterized the win against Brazil team as lucky. I will concede that the football Holland has shown is dull and, against Brazil they were thoroughly outplayed in the first half. But I won’t qualify them as lucky. Lucky how exactly? Where were the rattling crossbars against Brazil? Any clearances of the line? Where were those blown referee calls that benefited Holland? I didn’t see them. Maybe Sneijder’s first goal against Brazil? But wasn’t that the same luck Brazil got with the Dutch scandalous defending of Robinho’s goal? Dull? Yes. Outplayed at times? Definitely so. Lucky? No.

The (casual) fans don’t seem to be bothered by the way Holland win their games as there was a jubilant mood in the country just after the match. The last time there was this aura of happiness and relief Dennis Bergkamp scored his spectacular goal in the quarter finals of the 1998 world cup against Argentina.
On the hottest day of 2010, people were jumping in the (very filthy) Dutch canals and running around naked in our city centers. There is no telling what would happen if by some miracle Gio van Bronckhorst is able to receive the trophy on the 11th of July. Pandemonium, at least.


Golden clog
Although opinions are divided on his performance, I thought Nigel de Jong had a spectacular game. Never lost the ball, expertly patrolled midfield and stole the ball countless of times. For me he was a real Dutch destroyer, and there is no doubt Holland will miss him against Uruguay due to his suspension. I would like to see Van der Vaart at his position but considering Van Marwijk’s conservative ways, Demy de Zeeuw is the odds on favorite to play alongside Van Bommel.