Oranje Heartbreaks – UEFA Euro 2008.

Ever since I witnessed Holland win their first ever international title in 1988, being a fan of the Oranje has been nothing but heartbreaks and bitter disappointments. With the Oranje not being part of the 24 teams playing this summer in France for the European Championship, let’s revisit their previous disappointments in this tournament since 1988.

The Lead-Up:

Two years after losing to Portugal in the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup, the Oranje were back in the UEFA European Championship. This was their second consecutive elimination by Portugal in four years after losing to them in the Semi-Finals of Euro 2004. It was a truly awful game that saw more fouls than beautiful football. Marco van Basten was the manager of the 2006 team and this was his chance to redeem himself following a forgettable showing by the Orange at the World Cup.

Holland qualified after finishing second in their group. For this tournament, UEFA decided to change the qualifying format by having seven groups, with the top two teams automatically qualifying for Euro 2008. Holland battled Romania and Bulgaria for a top two finish that saw them come in second place. Their other opponents in the group featured Belarus, Albania, Slovenia and Luxembourg. Holland had been grouped with Belarus and Luxembourg in 1996 and once again, the Oranje would up losing a game in Belarus. They also failed to beat Romania in both matches, a draw and a loss, but did draw in Bulgaria before defeating them 2-0 in Amsterdam. Thus, Romania finished in first place with 29 points, while the Oranje finished second with 26, just one point ahead of Bulgaria. Holland had assured qualification with a game in hand, thanks to their victory over Bulgaria, so their loss against Belarus in the final qualifying match did not impact them.

This also meant that the Oranje were going to be playing in their sixth consecutive UEFA European Championship. That summer also marked the twenty year anniversary of the 88 Euro Oranje team winning their first and only European Championship. Could fate repeat itself with the star of that 1988 tournament now managing the side?

Austria and Switzerland were co-hosts for the 2008 edition. Holland were grouped in Group C with the defending World Cup champions, Italy, the other World Cup finalists, France, and the team that topped their qualifying group, Romania. 

Group A consisted of Portugal, the side who eliminated Holland in Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006, Turkey, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Group B consisted of Germany, Croatia, Austria and Poland. Group D consisted of Spain, Russia, coached by former Oranje manager Guus Hiddink, Sweden and defending European champions, Greece.

Euro 2008 saw the return of the familiar faces from the past such as Edwin van der Sar and Giovanni van Bronckhorst along with the new faces from Euro 2004 such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Rafael van der Vaart, John Heitinga, and Wilfred Bouma. There had been a falling out between Marco and Ruud during World Cup 2006, but they were able to patch things up in time for Euro 2008. However, the same could not be said regarding Marco and Mark van Bommel who stated he would not play for the Oranje as long as Marco was in charge, thereby ensuring he was not going to be a member of this team. The rest of the team consisted of those who made their Oranje debut in an international tournament at the World Cup two years ago or this European championship.

This was the first European championship for the likes of André Ooijer, Joris Mathijsen, Demy de Zeeuw, Robin van Persie, Orlando Engelaar, Mario Melchiot, GK Henk Timmer, Tim de Cler, Maarten Stekelenburg, Nigel de Jong, Dirk Kuyt, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ibrahim Afellay, Khalid Boulahrouz, and Jan Vennegoor of Hesslink. Boulahrouz’s call up came at the last second after Ryan Babel suffered an injury during training which caused him to miss the tournament. That injury would turn out to be a blessing in disguise thanks to Boulahrouz’s performance.

Holland kicked off their Group with a resounding 3-0 victory over the World Cup champions Italy. Holland got their revenge for their Euro 2000 exit at the hands of the Italians by displaying superb counter attacking football that saw van Nistelrooy and Sneijder give the Orange a 2-0 after 30 minutes with van Bronckhorst scoring the third in the 79th minute. Their next match was against France, and the Oranje crushed them 4-1. Kuyt gave the Oranje the lead after nine minutes for the only goal of the first half. Oranje then doubled their lead at the hour mark through Van Persie but France managed to pull one back through Thierry Henry in the 71st minute.

However, the Oranje responded a minute later after Robben scored an extraordinary goal to make it 3-1 before Sneijder scored the fourth in stoppage time. After two matches, Holland had qualified to the knockout stages and ensured they would remain victorious after defeating, and eliminating, Romania 2-0 through goals from Huntelaar in the 54th minute and van Persie in the 87th minute. Marco van Basten opted to rest most of his starters so this allowed for Stekelenburg to make his first ever start for the Oranje at a tournament while Huntelaar scored his first ever goal in a tournament. Italy went on to defeat France to finish second.

Holland were just unstoppable as they scored 9 goals through 7 different players in the group stage. The team was on a roll and showed they were dangerous with or without the ball. There had been concerns about their defending leading up to this tournament but the last minute addition of Boulahrouz proved to be rewarding as the team seemed solid at the back. Marco van Basten had just managed his team to impressive victories over both World Cup 2006 finalists and many felt that they were the favorites to reach the Final.

Holland’s opponents in the Quarter-Finals would be Russia. Defending champions Greece exited in the group stage so a new champion was going to be crowned. Germany would meet Portugal, Croatia would meet Turkey, and Spain would face Italy. Could the Oranje celebrate the 20 year anniversary of their Euro 88 triumph with another title?

The Heartbreak:

It was strange watching Guus Hiddink sit in the dugout of Russia and not Holland. Just ten years ago, he was coaching the Oranje at the World Cup and now, he was coaching the Russians, the team Holland defeated to capture Euro 88. Marco van Basten, who just two years ago was thought to be inexperienced, had his team playing well with confidence and, for once, there was team harmony.

Sadly, just when things were going well, tragedy struck. During Euro 2008, Boulahrouz’s wife, Sabia had been attending Euro 2008 along with the other players’ spouses and girlfriends. Sabia was pregnant at the time, and a few days before the match against Russia, she had to be taken to the hospital because of pregnancy complications.
Sadly, she gave birth to a premature born baby daughter who passed away. This tragic news not only affected Boulahrouz and his wife, but the entire team as well. The KNVB stated, “Players and staff of the Dutch team are upset by the death of Anissa, the daughter of Khalid Boulahrouz and his wife Sabia, who was born prematurely.”

Mentally, the team was affected and this affected their training for the clash against Russia and van Basten gave his players some space to deal with this awful event. The team would also be affected on the pitch when Robben was ruled out of the Quarter-Finals against Russia because of a groin injury. Marco van Basten left it to Boulahrouz to decide if he wanted to play against Russia and the defender chose to play. When the teams lined up for the match, the Oranje players, with Boulahrouz in the starting lineup, donned black armbands in solidarity with their teammate.

Edwin van der Sar was in goal with van Bronckhorst and Boulahrouz as the starting fullbacks while Ooijer and Mathijsen played in the center of the defense. Up front was van Nistelrooy with Sniejder, van der Vaart and Kuyt supporting him while Engelaar and de Jong watched over their backs. Most of the starters had not played against Romania so they were rested for this match.

The Russians though started the match strong and threatened early against the well-rested, but distraught Oranje. In the 7th minute, van der Sar was forced into making a diving save to stop Yuri Zhirkov’s free kick effort. Two minutes later, Roman Pavlyuchenko headed Igor Semshov’s cross over the bar. Hiddink’s plan to have his team be aggressive and limit space for the Oranje was working.

Holland’s first real chance came in the 20th minute, after Sneijder managed to break into the box, only for his shot to be blocked by a Russian player. Ten minutes later, van der Vaart whipped in a cross that neither Van Nistelrooy nor De Jong could not put away, although replays showed their shirts were being tugged. Suddenly, Russia’s number 10, Andrei Arshavin, came alive in this game and curled a low shot towards the far post which forced van der Sar to fully extend himself to make a save. The veteran goalkeeper didn’t have much time to relax because on the ensuing corner, Denis Kolodin had an effort on goal which forced him into a coming up with a good stop for another corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball was cleared from the box and Kolodin struck a shot from near midfield that van der Sar managed to tip over the cross bar.

Holland would then reply with a few chances of their own. In the 37th minute, Boulahrouz sent van Nistelrooy through on goal but his effort was stopped by Igor Akinfeyev. A few minutes later, Sneijder sent a free kick over the bar. A minute before the interval, van der Vaart had a chance to give his side the lead, but his effort was right at Akinfeyev. The halftime whistle blew and this match was still up for grabs.

Kuyt’s night was over as van Basten opted to replace him with van Persie at the restart, who proceeded to waste a chance in the opening minutes. Russia were the better side after the restart while the Oranje could not generate anything. The Oranje would be forced into making a second substitution in the 54th minute when Boulahrouz picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Heitinga. In what was one of toughest weeks of his life, Boulahrouz seemed to have reached his breaking point mentally and physically with that injury. This substitution would also impact the Oranje as their backline had just been weakened.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Russia would strike first blood two minutes later when Sergei Semak’s cross from the left was volleyed in by Pavlyuchenko to give his side the lead. This was the first time that Holland were behind in Euro 2008. The Oranje were in shock after that goal and struggled to recover, and van Basten made his final substitution by taking off Engelaar for Afellay in the 62nd minute. In the 71st minute, Pavlyuchenko’s superb one touch chip over van Bronckhorst fell to Aleksandr Anyukov inside the box. Fortunately, van der Sar managed to fully extend his arm to get a hand on the ball and deny Anyukoy’s effort at the far post. The ball stopped upon impact and bounced down in front van der Sar.

The Oranje’s confidence was gone and they were struggling against the Russians. Even dead ball situations were being wasted. In the 72nd minute, Holland had a free kick at the edge of the box and both Sneijder and van Persie stood over the ball before van Persie blasted it over the wall, over the goal, and into the stands. Pavlyuchenko was denied by van der Sar in the 78th minute and a few minutes later, Sneijder had a shot from some distance that went over the bar.

It looked bleak. It looked hopeless. It looked like the Oranje were going to crash out. Yet, the Oranje somehow managed to equalize in the 86th minute. Holland were awarded a free kick from some distance. Sneijder swung in the free kick and somehow the ball fell perfectly to van Nistelrooy to head in the equalizer from close range. 1-1 and the Oranje just gave themselves a second chance.

Right before the final whistle, it seemed that the Oranje were going to face a shorthanded Russian side when the referee Ľuboš Micheľ showed Kolodin what appeared to be his second yellow for a foul Sneijder. However, Micheľ ran to the linesman who convinced him to change his mind, thereby allowing Kolodin to stay on the pitch. Some would say it was the wrong decision but both teams would have eleven players heading into Extra Time.

That equalizer should have been demoralizing for Russia and provided Holland with an extra boost momentum needed to claim victory. No one though told the Russians because it seemed to spur them on, especially Arshavin, and they were the better and dominant side for the remainder of the match. Seven minutes into Extra Time, Russia came close to scoring when Pavlyuchenko struck the crossbar, and three minutes later Arshavin caused havoc before finding substitute Dmtri Torbinski, whose shot was stopped by van der Sar.

The first half of Extra Time came to an end and the Oranje were listless but still not out of this game. Nonetheless, fatigue was setting in and it showed in the second half of Extra Time. In the 17th minute, Zhirkov went down inside the box, claiming he was fouled by Heitinga. Referee waved play on but it was obvious that there were some tired legs out there. Then the inevitable happened; Russia scored. In the 112th minute, Arshavin managed to get to the by-line and was given enough space by Ooijer to somehow loop the ball across the goal. Unfortunately, van der Sar misjudged the ball and allowed it to get behind him. That allowed Torbinski to sprint past van der Vaart and nudge the ball in for the go ahead goal.

You could tell that there was no coming back from that goal for the Oranje. Arshavin was playing like a player with an extra lung, which was not that astonishing since this was only his second match of Euro 2008 after serving a two-match suspension at the start of the tournament. It was no surprise that he scored the third and final goal of the match four minutes later. Arshavin managed to beat the off side trap and got the ball at the edge of the box, then fooled Ooijer before seeing his shot on goal take a slight deflection off of Heitinga, whose attempt at blocking the shot resulted in the ball going between van der Saar’s legs. 3-1 and any chance of another late equalizer had vanished.

In a matter of 120 minutes, Holland’s great run in this tournament came to a grinding halt. The Russians celebrated their surprising win while Holland would once again exit a tournament filled with regret and disappointment. Overall, this was a wonderful tournament for the Oranje until they played the Russians. The positives from this tournament was that we saw that the young talent from Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 can deliver for the Oranje and are capable of greater things. No doubt this tournament served as a building block for the World Cup in two years’ time.

The Aftermath:

Spain eliminated Italy, then Russia before facing Germany, who eliminated Portugal and Turkey, and defeated them too, to celebrate their second ever European championship. Marco van Basten stepped down as manager of the Oranje after this tournament. His successor would be Bert van Marwijk, Mark van Bommel’s father in law.
Two years later, most of these players, would finally reach the 2010 World Cup Final in South Africa. There, they would suffer a painful loss to Spain in Extra Time. It seems that the Oranje traded exits through penalty shootouts with exits after Extra Time.

Sadly, this tournament marked the end of an era as Edwin van der Sar retired from the national team after Euro 2008. He had been the Oranje’s starting goalkeeper since Euro 96 that saw him start in four European Championships and two World Cups. Ruud van Nistelrooy also played in his final major tournament for the Oranje. Under van Marwijk, Ruud would not feature for the Oranje until after the World Cup where he appeared in a few Euro 2012 Qualifiers. He was also ignored for that tournament. Nonetheless, this core of players marked a new era for the Oranje that would be remembered down the road for the highs and the lows.

Oranje Heartbreaks – UEFA Euro 2004.

Ever since I witnessed Holland win their first ever international title in 1988, being a fan of the Oranje has been nothing but heartbreaks and bitter disappointments. With the Oranje not being part of the 24 teams playing this summer in France for the European Championship, let’s revisit their previous disappointments in this tournament since 1988.

The Lead-Up:

Fresh from missing the 2002 World Cup, the Oranje made sure to qualify for the 2004 UEFA European Championship. Louis van Gaal was at the helm when the Oranje failed to qualify for the World Cup and stepped down. His successor was Dick Advocaat, who last coached the Oranje ten years prior at the 1994 World Cup, and was not a popular choice among the fans.

Holland qualified for Euro 2004 through the playoffs after finishing second in their group. They battled Czech Republic for first place but came up just short. Their other opponents in the group were Austria, Moldova and Belarus. Holland finished in second place, behind the Czech Republic with the difference being the Czech’s 3-1 victory over the Oranje in the penultimate group match which allowed the Czechs to win their group by just three points.

Therefore, Holland and Scotland would meet in the playoffs. Fears about missing a second consecutive international tournament reared its ugly head after Holland stumbled in the first leg in Scotland with a 1-0 loss. Fortunately, those fears were put to rest following a crushing 6-0 Oranje victory in Holland thanks to a hat-trick from Ruud van Nistelrooy along with goals from Sneijder, Ooijer, and Frank de Boer. It was one hell of a way for the Oranje to punch their ticket to Euro 2004.

Portugal were the hosts for the 2004 edition. Holland were in Group D with the Czech Republic yet again after facing them in the qualifying stages and the Euro 2000 group stage. Their other opponents would be their arch rival, Germany, and Latvia, who were making their first ever international tournament appearance. Group A consisted of hosts Portugal, Spain, Greece and Russia. Group B consisted of defending European Champions France, England, Croatia and Switzerland. Group C consisted of Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Italy, the team that eliminated Holland in Euro 2000. 

The Nike kit for that tournament was nice but ruined with the decision of having the shirt number inside a circle, thus resembling billiards balls.

Many players from previous Oranje teams such as Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Michael Reiziger, Jaap Stam, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Frank de Boer, Clarence Seedorf, Edwin van der Sar, Boudewijn Zenden, Paul Bosvelt, Roy Makaay, and Pierre van Hooijdonk were still representing the Oranje. However, this tournament would mark the debut of many new Oranje players, with some who still represent the Oranje to this day.

After missing Euro 2000 because of injury and the subsequent failure of not qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, Ruud van Nistelrooy was now going to get his chance to represent the Oranje at the international tournament and be their new scoring threat. The new crop of players making their debut for the Oranje in this tournament were Wilfred Bouma, Andy van der Meyde, Rafael van der Vaart, John Heitinga, Arjen Robben, and Wesley Sneijder.

Holland kicked off their Group D with a 1-1 draw against Germany. Torsten Frings scored an early goal for the Germany but van Nistelrooy grabbed a late equalizer to salvage a draw in what was a rather disappointing showing by the Oranje. The Oranje’s next match was against the Czech Republic that saw the Oranje take an early two goal lead courtesy of goals from Bouma and van Nistelrooy after just 19 minutes. However, the Oranje allowed two unanswered goals from Jan Koller and Milan Baros before Vladimir Smicer scored the game winner two minutes from the final whistle.

Oranje fans were outraged by this result and blamed Advocaat for taking off the best player on the pitch that night, Robben, in the 58th minute. Holland never looked the same without Robben and the Oranje suffered a bitter loss while the Czechs celebrated winning the group with this result. Some fans were so outraged that they even bought Advocaat a plane ticket and left it with the front desk of the team’s hotel, so he could fly back to Holland. Even the assistant manager, Willem van Hanegem, when asked about the substitution in a news conference, his response was that if Advocaat tried to make any bad substitutions, “I will beat him down then.” Fortunately, Latvia surprised everyone when they held Germany scoreless and gave the Oranje some hope of making it to the knock out stage.

The final group match would see the Oranje face Latvia while the Czechs would meet the Germans. Germany and Holland had to win their respective matches, and also hope the other stumbles in order to advance. At first, it looked bleak for the Oranje when Michael Ballack gave Germany an early 1-0 lead after 21 minutes. Holland took the lead through a van Nistelrooy penalty in the 27th minute and things began to turn their way when Marek Heinz scored the Czechs’ equalizer. Ruud scored in the 35th minute and substitute Makaay scored in the 84th minute to give Holland a 3-0 lead. Milan Baros helped ensure the Oranje would advance to the knockout stage by scoring the game winning goal and thereby eliminating Germany from Euro 2004.

Holland’s second place finish meant their opponents in the Quarter-Finals would be Sweden. The Czechs would meet Denmark, Portugal would meet England, and defending European Champions France would meet Greece. Holland and Sweden played to a scoreless, and dull, draw which meant one thing; a penalty shootout would have to decide this. Holland had yet to win a penalty shootout and had exited four of their last five tournaments through a shootout.

Fortunately, the Oranje finally ended their penalty jinx with a 5-4 penalty shootout win. Cocu was the fourth penalty taker and the only one to miss for Holland. Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed his shot for Sweden and after Olof Mellberg missed the sixth shot, Robben stepped up and scored the decisive winner. That was one long overdue celebration as Holland finally got that monkey off their back and released a huge sigh of relief. Finally, they had won a penalty shootout. Once again, the Oranje were back in the Semi-Finals of a major tournament and their opponents would be the hosts, Portugal.

The Heartbreak:

Holland v Portugal was perhaps the most forgettable performance by the Oranje at this stage of a tournament. It was not a classic by any means. A young Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal the lead in the 26th minute when he was left unmarked to head in Deco’s corner kick for the opening goal. Holland almost struck back immediately when a minute later, Overmars struck a volley narrowly over the crossbar from a tight angle inside the box. That was the only chance Holland would see in that half as Portugal caused two big scares with van der Saar making an amazing stop to deny Pauleta from close range in the 35th minute and a few minutes later, Luis Figo’s effort struck the post.

Advocaat took off Overmars for Makaay at the start of the second half. However, Portugal came close to scoring a second in the 54th minute, when Pauleta was one-on-one with van der Sar at the edge of the box. Fortunately the veteran goalkeeper stopped Pauleta’s effort with his legs. Advocaat made his second substitution by taking off Bouma and bringing in van der Vaart in the 56th minute.

Sadly, any hopes of Holland getting back into the game were dashed after Maniche scored an amazing thunderous goal in the 58th minute to double Portugal’s lead. A Jorge Andrade own goal in the 63rd minute, when he flicked van Bronckhorst’s cross over his goalkeeper Ricardo, restored some hope. Holland’s final substitution was van Hooijdonk for Robben in the 81st minute. Holland’s other best chance of the half was a free kick whipped in by Seedorf that fell to the far post of Ricardo’s goal but sadly van Nistelrooy tripped over his own feet and failed to react in time to volley the ball on target.

The final whistle blew and Holland came up short yet again in a Semi-Finals. It was a dreadful performance with only five shots on goal and only one on target. Portugal did a superb job in stifling the Oranje but the Oranje also came out flat and lacked any sort of creativity. Overall, this team provided us with more frustration than joy during Euro 2004. The few positives was that some of the younger players gave us hope for a bright future for the Oranje, and that the penalty jinx had finally come to an end.

The Aftermath:

Greece surprised the world when they eliminated France and then the favored Czechs to reach the final before pulling off one last surprise by defeating Portugal in the Final. This tournament was the end for some of the Oranje legends. Although Kluivert was called up, he never got to play for Holland in this tournament and would not feature for Holland again at major tournament. His Oranje career ended with him by being the all-time Dutch scorer with 40 goals until that record would be surpassed in 2013 by Robin van Persie.

Overmars would retire from football altogether after this tournament, with a brief return in 2008 to play for Go Ahead Eagles for one season. Meanwhile, most of the old guard, excluding Cocu, van Bronckhorst and van der Sar, would not represent the Oranje in the World Cup two years later. Reiziger, Stam, Davids, de Boer, Seedorf, Zenden, Bosvelt, Makaay, and van Hooijdonk had played their final Oranje tournament. Young star van der Meyde would not represent the Oranje in another tournament, unlike his Ajax alums Sneijder and van der Vaart.

Fortunately, Dick Advocaat was not going to manage the Oranje in their World Cup qualifiers. That responsibility fell upon Oranje legend, Marco van Basten. There was hope that he could guide the Oranje to success while possessing the dangerous scorer in van Nistelrooy along with the revelation of the tournament, Robben, and the rising stars Sneijder and van der Vaart.

Direction of Oranje under Hiddink?

With Guus Hiddink now in charge of the Dutch team for the next two years,what will the direction of this team be when he hands over the reins to Danny Blind. Will he be able to get them ready to win Euro 2016 or will he be laying the ground work for World Cup 2018?

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
• Follow Ibrahim on Twitter

Guus Hiddink announced his first Netherlands squad recently and it did not contain any big surprises. All the usual suspects were back along with players such as Gregory van der Wiel and Rafael van der Vaart who missed out on the last World Cup because of injuries. Yet, is this the correct approach to move this team forward by still relying on the old guard?

With Euro 2016 two years away and Holland’s first match under Hiddink set for September 3rd in a friendly against Italy, is it not time to start planning ahead for World Cup 2018 and start relying on younger players? Vorm, Verhaegh, van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben, Kuyt, van Persie, and Huntelaar are all 30 or older and were called up for the Italy friendly. They won’t be any younger in two years and one wonders how many can be still effective in four years’ time.

The team seems to be in safe hands when it comes to goalkeepers. Fortunately, the biggest concern I had of the Oranje prior to the World Cup, was how their young defenders would do. Low and behold, they managed to do well in the presence of 29 year old Vlaar. The midfield though still seems reliant on the old guard if Sneijder and van der Vaart are still getting called up. Sneijder had a horrible World Cup while Memphis Depay was introduced to the world as an up and coming star. One can hope that the likes of Kevin Strootman and Stijn Schaars can overcome their injuries and return to form and get called up for the Oranje along with Adam Maher if he can get back on track and live up to expectations. There’s also van Ginkel if he can ever find playing time so the midfield seems to be well stacked for years to come if the time comes to bid the veterans goodbye.

Up front is another story altogether. I don’t expect Kuyt to be starting in Euro 2016 but then again, he is like the Energizer Bunny and just keeps going and going. Robin van Persie, Huntelaar and Robben are all in the 30 age group. Robben shines for both club and country while van Persie never did perform well enough for the Oranje to be enshrined with the greats such as Cruyff, Rensenbrink, van Basten, Gullit or Bergkamp when it comes to scoring in knockout stages of competitions. Moreover, Huntelaar just never got enough starts to prove himself in these tournaments as he has for Schalke. Unfortunately, it appears that the youth movement in this area is basically slim pickings.

Besides Jermaine Lens, the pick of the litter is rather unimpressive. Ricky van Wolfswinkel doesn’t seem worthy of being called up while the jury is still out on the likes of Luuk de Jong, Luc Castaignos, Jürgen Locadia, Ola John, Quincy Promes, Jean-Paul Boëtius. None of them stood out like Huntelaar did at the youth level and the only other Dutchman to be top scorer of the Dutch League since 2008 was Bas Dost and he too is playing in Germany. Which one of these men will be leading the charge in four years’ time?

The Netherlands is a small country compared to its footballing rivals but they always find a way to stay competitive. The road ahead is uncertain but this nation always finds a way to get it done. Euro 2016 is only two years away so some of these veterans can help them win this title for the first time since Euro 88. However, would that serve a proper purpose or would it better to start relying on the youth to prepare them for the World Cup in four years’ time? One hopes that Hiddink lays the ground work for Blind when he takes over in two years and not have Blind go through this situation with only two years to prepare. At least I will end this on a positive note, and that is there is hope.

Holland 2-1 Mexico; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

With the recent passing away of the legendary actor, Eli Wallach, who played the role of Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez (The Ugly) in one of the greatest movies of all-time, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. I decided to dedicate my latest column in his memory, by looking back on Holland’s win over Mexico that featured all three aspects. Holland will now face another CONCACAF opponent, Costa Rica.

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
• Follow Ibrahim on Twitter

The Good

Holland’s never quit spirit. Kuyt was the perfect example of a player who did everything that was asked of him to do on the pitch. Sneijder, even though he continued to struggle and failed to step up, as noted by Adrian Bucher on this website not too long ago, also didn’t sulk or hang his head low and kept fighting and scored the equalizer. Mexico eased up after they went up a goal and Holland were determined to keep looking for that equalizer which they deservedly got. Depay and Huntelaar coming off the bench were great moves by van Gaal. Huntelaar scoring on a penalty, after missing his last few with Schalke, under such pressure was great and also a boost for this team. After so many expected a group exit for the Oranje, a return to the Semi-Finals seems very possible.

The Bad

Holland’s performance in the first 60 minutes was something to forget. De Jong’s injury hurt the midfield, as Blind struggled to fill in that role while the fullbacks were getting exposed constantly by Mexico. Cillessen looked shaky at times while Blind and Vlaar could have done more to block Giovanni Dos Santos’s effort that resulted in a goal. Perhaps the heat played a part in it but they cannot afford to start another match like this again. Sneijder without De Jong and Depay struggles and hopefully Depay can start besides Sneijder, but at whose expense in the starting lineup? Can Depay replace De Jong even though he is not as defensive savvy or will van Gaal prefer to go total football against Costa Rica?

The Ugly

The heat was one of the ugliest factors in this game for both, the players and the spectators in attendance. Good thing FIFA allows water breaks, which van Gaal used to his advantage by giving Sneijder a chat about tactical changes and rightfully so. It’s foolish to believe managers can’t talk to their players during these water breaks. What next? Players can’t talk amongst one another as if they’re in school?

Robben’s diving along with his subsequent confusing apology was not needed. We all know Robben likes to make a meal out of most tackles and Rafa Marquez did foul him for that penalty. Robben’s dive in the second half when he intentionally tripped over Layun’s legs was embarrassing and not needed. Obviously, he should have been awarded a penalty in the first half and perhaps his reputation played a role in the referee not to point to the spot. The Tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf comes to mind and I wouldn’t be surprised if referees doubt if he is being fouled or diving. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the referee gave the Robben penalty either after he realized he should have given one in the first half. Sooner or later, a referee will book him and the last thing we need is a player like Robben to be sent off, like Gheorghe Hagi against Italy in Euro 2000, in a knock out game. We need our best players on the pitch. His apology afterwards was confusing and just prolonged the controversy even more.

Costa Rica has impressed at this World Cup by advancing from a group that featured three former World Cup champions. Holland will be playing a later kick off when they face Costa Rica so perhaps the heat won’t be a factor in this matchup. However, Holland better avoid another Good, Bad and Ugly performance against Costa Rica if they want to book a ticket to the Semi-Finals where they await the winner of Argentina-Belgium.

Caution ahead of Oranje’s Euphoria

After watching Netherlands disappoint fans in previous international tournaments, Ibrahim Ayyub urges caution after the 5-1 hammering of Spain.

Holland’s impressive 5-1 victory over defending World Cup and European Cup champions Spain was one for the ages. Four years after that bitter defeat in the World Cup Final, Holland exacted revenge in the only way you can bury the past, with a crushing victory. However, Holland must put aside the euphoria and focus on the task at hand. History has shown us that Holland’s euphoria from results like these is usually overshadowed by bitter disappointment later on.

I have been cheering on the Oranje since I was young lad during Euro 88 and it’s not the first time that Holland has been in a position like this. Holland has a history of generating euphoria after a great result during an international tournament. However, they usually end up breaking our hearts after getting our hopes up with euphoria.

During Euro 92, Holland crushed then reigning World Cup champions Germany, 3-1 in what was Dennis Bergkamp’s coming out party for the world. This was just 2 years after their awful exit from the World Cup by the hands of the Germans in the knock out stages.  Holland looked like they were on a roll and were the favorites to defeat Denmark in the Semi-Finals. However, Denmark pulled off the upset and sent the Oranje home when Marco van Basten’s penalty was saved by Schmeichel in the penalty shootout. The next two competitions, World Cup 1994 and Euro 1996 did not present the Oranje and their fans any euphoria as they struggled for the most part to impress with the exception of defeating Ireland in the first round of the knock out stages of the 1994 World Cup which came as no surprise.

During World Cup 1998, Holland blasted South Korea 5-0 and spirits were up when they eliminated Argentina in the Quarter-Finals through a last gasp Dennis Bergkamp goal. Revenge for the World Cup final loss to Argentina in 1978 and hopes were high against a Brazil side that seemed to be not firing on all cylinders, especially after their nervy win against Denmark in the Quarter-Finals. Unfortunately, Holland’s euphoria was short lived as they were knocked out in the Semi-Finals by Brazil in a heart breaking penalty shootout.

Two years later, Holland put on a great show during Euro 2000 and euphoria was at an all-time high when they defeated Yugoslavia 6-1 in the Quarter-Finals. Unfortunately, Holland did their best at shooting themselves in the foot by crashing out to Italy in a penalty shootout. If the loss to Brazil was heart breaking, then this exit was gut wrenching seeing as they wasted two penalties against short-handed Italy in regulation time prior to missing three more in the ensuing shootout. Missing the World Cup later on was just a bitter pill to swallow after this painful elimination.

In Euro 2004, Holland finally ended their shootout nightmares after defeating Sweden in the Quarter-Finals in a shootout, only to be eliminated by Portugal in the Semi-Finals. Their lackluster performance against the Portuguese put a serious damper on the shootout victory euphoria. Their 2006 World Cup performance was very lackluster and their elimination by Portugal in the first round of the knock out stages brought more concerns.

Euro 2008 however saw the Oranje impress with crushing victories over the then World Cup champions Italy 3-0 and followed it up with an impressive 4-1 beating of the French in the group stage. The Oranje’s euphoria though was shattered when they were eliminated in the Quarter-Finals by Russia where they failed to impress. Two years later, Holland made it all the way to the World Cup Final in South Africa but failed to make the most from the biggest euphoria possible, making it to a World Cup Final, by losing to Spain in a negative performance which was criticized afterwards by many. Of course, the less said about Euro 2012; the better for obvious reasons.

So yes, Holland got us all pumped up about the Oranje after their 5-1 win over Spain when many had low expectations heading into this World Cup. They have Australia and Chile next. I highly doubt they will blow it against Australia so they will qualify for the knock out stages. Hopefully, the Oranje can build on this euphoria and finally end our misery. However, history has shown us that disappointment is on the books. One can only hope that van Gaal has these guys focused and are taking it one game at a time and not let this Spain result go to their heads.

I still have my doubts on this team. During their recent friendlies, I always wanted to see how they would respond if they were down a goal. Well, they responded against Spain alright. I still worry that this could be a repeat of Euro 2008 where they looked great on the counter attack but struggled when they had to chase the game with a subpar back four. We shall see but the important thing is to be cautious after this euphoric victory.

About the Author:

Longtime suffering Oranje fan from the late 80s and FC Barcelona fan since the mid 90s. I currently contribute to the Miami Penya / FC Barcelona Supporters Club & my own blog at http://ibes16.blogspot.com/

* Originally posted on http://www.football-oranje.com/

Oranje disgrace themselves at Euro 2012.

Well, it’s that time again where Holland break my heart and disappoint me following another international tournament. Usually that would be the case, but this summer, instead of feeling gutted or sad at watching my beloved Oranje fall short of winning a cup again since 1988, I felt disgusted, revolted and numb. What was supposed to be the tournament for Holland to follow up from their impressive World Cup two years ago became the nightmare that imploded all the hopes and dreams of success.

Holland’s three losses in the group stage were not only shocking; they were also demoralizing. Holland’s track record of advancing to the knock out stages since the 1980 European Championship finally came to an end this summer. This was the first time that Holland failed to win a group stage match for the first time in their history in this tournament.

What was the cause for this calamity? Was it the Oranje players’ egos ugly hear that we have been accustomed to seeing from the past? Was it a manager who lost control and failed to strengthen obvious weaknesses stemming from 2010? Was it a case of lack of luck regarding being picked in the group of death? All of the above would be the correct answer.

Group of Death

Obviously being in the group of death of the umpteenth time didn’t help Holland in Euro 2012. However, they have been in a group of death for the umpteenth time. They encountered similar groups in the past and not in the ancient past. In Euro 2000, they were in a group with then World Cup champions France, Denmark and the Czech Republic. In Euro 2004, they were in a group with Germany, Latvia and Czech Republic again. World Cup 2006 had Holland grouped with Argentina, Serbia and Ivory Coast and just four years ago, they were grouped with Romania, Italy and France. Every single time, Holland managed to make it of their group. So this excuse on its own doesn’t hold much merit.

Players are also to blame.

After the final whistle blew in their group match against Portugal, reports started coming out about the team being divided with egos being the driving wedge between teammates. There was talk that there was a lack of respect between players and manager and between the players themselves. There was a divided group between the Robin van Persie camp and Wesley Sniejder camp. Allegedly one group wanted to play football a certain way and another group wanted to play a different style of football. 

When a sad and disappointed Gregory van Der Weil spoke to the media following Holland’s elimination, he mentioned how his teammates shunned him on the pitch  and did not allow him to play to his strengths and that his relationship with his teammates was disastrous. Additionally, it was alleged that a member of the Oranje staff told Huntelaar to zip it or face getting thrown out of the team's hotel.

Unfortunately for all of us Oranje fans, the team’s amazing run to the 2010 World Cup final affected the players’ psyche. I guess the players forgot that they lost that final to Spain but their performance in the qualifiers leading up to Euro 2012 showed us that this team was confident and courageous. However, when Euro 2012 kicked off, the old habit of players’ egos getting in the way of the team reared its ugly head again.

What makes this more saddening is that eventual champions, Spain, faced similar divisions in their team. Yet, the Barça and Madrid players set their differences aside and thought of only one thing; representing their country as one united team. Which begs the question, why couldn’t the Oranje players do the same thing? Was it poor leadership by the veteran leaders? Why didn’t the manager come in and nip this issue in the bud?

Manager is also to blame.

Speaking of the manager, some of the blame has to be pointed at him. He dropped the ball in a major way when he obviously lost control and respect of some of his players. That happens to some of the best of them. However, he could have also taken control and made all the players realize that the wrong of their ways. Del Bosque had no problem making the Spanish players patch things up for the good of the team and their country. Bert van Marwijk could have tried the same.

However, he fouled things up with his tactics and lineups. I never considered van Persie as an important player for the Oranje. If people think Messi underachieved for Argentina, then what do you say about van Persie’s performances for Holland? He played hurt in World Cup 2010 and after a superb season for Arsenal, he could not carry that form for Holland last month.

I was a firm believer that Huntelaar should have started ahead of van Persie in Euro 2012. Huntelaar started the majority of the qualifiers and did a superb job on scoring a huge tally of goals for the Oranje. It seemed like the team had a perfect system. Nevertheless, the manager opted to use van Persie over Huntelaar for the first two games and when he started both in the final group match against Portugal; it allowed Holland to suffer defensively.

Speaking of suffering defensively, it was no secret that Holland needed help in the back four prior to the start of World Cup 2010. The manager had had two years to improve the back line.  Holland was in dire need of strong center backs and a left full back. Sadly, he opted to experiment and play players out of position. As they say, the rest is history. As journalist Ernst Bouwes said, Roel Brouwers of Borussia Mönchengladbach was voted, alongside Mats Hummels as center backs in the Kicker XI of the Season, yet he was not even selected.

It didn’t take long for the KNVB to fire van Marwijk. Even though he was the first manager to guide the country to a final for the first time since Rinus Michels, he completely lost the plot two years later. One poll had a majority of 57% voters believing that he should be removed as manager while 43% believe in keeping him for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Unfortunately, the sport of football can be a cruel one where you are more remembered for your most recent disaster than you are remembered for your great achievements, i.e., Frank Rijkaard with FC Barcelona.

Of course, Rijkaard’s was among the many names thrown out by the media as possible replacements to manage Holland along with Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Frank de Boer, Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal, Co and Adriaanse.  Frank de Boer seems destined to be the next Oranje manager but that is only after he has completed his project with Ajax Amsterdam. He seems to have the pedigree to do it and if he can have the likes of Bergkamp, Kim Jonk and twin brother Ronald de Boer on his staff, then hopefully the 90’s stars can show the current and future Oranje players on how it can go all wrong when a team is divided and how to overcome those issues to become a great team again.

Sadly, the KNVB opted to give the job to Louis van Gaal again. I thought he was only suited for club football and disagree with this appointment.  The pain of Holland failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup still stings to this day and I am not sure he is the right man for the job. How can you trust a manager who allows someone like Lucio to walk away and opt to start Demichelis instead?

A lot can happen in two years. Euro 2012 is living proof of how things can go sour real quick. Let’s hope the Oranje players learned a stern lesson from this humiliating experience and regroup for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But first things first, let’s hope van Gaal can steer them to qualification first and not suffer a repeat of the same fate that he experienced in the run up to the 2002 World Cup.

Hup Holland as always.