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.

Oranje Heartbreaks – UEFA Euro 2000.

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 Brazil in the Semi-Finals of the 1998 World Cup, the Oranje were back in the UEFA European Championship. This was their second consecutive elimination in a World Cup at the hands of Brazil. What made this exit painful was that their elimination came through a penalty shootout. This was the third time the Oranje had been eliminated by a penalty shootout this decade after Euro 92 and Euro 92. Manager Guus Hiddink stepped down after the World Cup and he was replaced by his assistant, the legendary Frank Rijkaard, who last played for the Oranje at World Cup 1994.

Holland and Belgium were the co-hosts for the 2000 edition. Thus, Holland did not have to go through qualifiers. However, they play in many friendlies to get ready for this tournament. They faced Croatia, Peru, Ghana and Germany in 1998. In 1999, Holland then faced Portugal, Argentina, Morocco, Denmark, and Belgium in a 5-5 draw in Holland, and Czech Republic. That year also saw them face Brazil three times, with the first two friendlies taking place in Brazil and the last one in Holland. In 2000, the Oranje faced Germany, Belgium, Scotland, Romania, and Poland in preparation for Euro 2000. This was the first Euro tournament to feature Nike as Oranje’s kit maker, after they switched from Lotto following Euro 1996. Personally, I consider the 2000 Oranje home shirt as my all-time favorite Oranje shirt.

The team from 1996 was now mature and battle ready, following their impressive showing at World Cup 1998 in France. Edwin van der Sar was in goal with Michael Reiziger as the right back and Frank de Boer as one of the two centerbacks. Ignored in 1996, Jaap Stam was now the other key center back for the team, with Arthur Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as the team’s left backs. The midfield saw the return of those who featured in 1996 such as Cocu, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, who missed the costly penalty against France in the 1996 shootout, and a healthy Marc Overmars. Boudewijn Zenden would also feature for the Oranje after getting his debut in 1998 World Cup. Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluivert would be the dynamic duo to lead the attack.

Defenders Bert Konterman Paul Bosvelt made their Oranje tournament debut in Euro 2000 along with the young striker Roy Makaay. Another player who was supposed to feature for the Oranje was Ruud van Nistelrooy but he would miss out after suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury. Thus, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Peter van Vossen were called up. The former got to play and scored in World Cup 1998 while the latter was representing the Oranje at a major tournament for the first time since World Cup 1994. Surprisingly, the lone holdover from Euro 88, Aron Winter, also made it on the team.

Group A consisted of defending European champions Germany, England, Portugal and Romania. Group B consisted of co-host Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Turkey. Group C consisted of Spain, Norway, Yugoslavia, and Slovenia, who was making its first ever debut in an international competition. Group D consisted of the co-hosts, Holland, France, the defending World Cup Champions and the team that eliminated them in Euro 96, Denmark, the team that eliminated the Oranje in 1992 Euro Semi-Finals, and Czech Republic.

Holland kicked off their Group A with an impressive 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic courtesy of a penalty kick scored by Frank de Boer in the 89th minute. The penalty was considered soft as Ronald de Boer’s shirt was being pulled inside the box by Jiří Němec, which affected Ronald’s chance of meeting Overmars’s cross. Holland then avenged their 1992 elimination by the Danes through an impressive 3-0 victory with Kluivert, Ronald de Boer and Zenden all scoring in the second half. Denmark could have pulled one back after van der Sar brought down Ebbe Sand inside the box in the 80th minute, but Michael Schjønberg missed from the penalty spot. After a slow start against the Czechs, this was a superb all-around performance by the Oranje.

Both France and Holland had won their first two group stage matches so the final group stage match would determine who would finish first and second in the group. Although France would rest the likes of Zidane, Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry and others. Holland only rested the likes of van der Sar for Sander Westerveld, and Reiziger for Bosvelt, but the rest of the lineup was strong with Bergkamp and Kluivert up front. This was a classic match where France took the lead twice and Holland managed to comeback twice before winning it 3-2. Christophe Dugarry gave France the early lead before Kluivert equalized in the 14th minute. David Trezeguet scored France’s go ahead goal in the 31st minute to give France a 2-1 halftime lead. Holland got their equalizer in the 51st minute courtesy of a superb powerful free kick goal by Frank de Boer from quite some distance. Zenden then scored the game winner right around the hour mark to avenge the Quarter-Finals elimination by France in 1996.

Defending Euro 96 champions, Germany exited the group stage so a new champion was going to be crowned. Would Holland be celebrating on home soil with the Final taking place in Amsterdam? The Quarter-Finals had France facing Spain, Italy facing Romania, and Portugal facing Turkey.

Holland’s opponents in the Quarter-Finals would be Yugoslavia. Holland, destroyed, and some would say peaked, in this match that saw the Oranje crush their opponents 6-1. Kluivert scored a hat trick and Overmars scored a brace. Dejan Govedarica scored an own goal, which we thought was going to be Kluivert’s third originally before he would score again a few minutes later. Savo Milošević scored Yugoslavia’s consolation goal in stoppage time. Holland’s victory meant a Semi-Finals showdown with Italy while Portugal would face France.

The Heartbreak:

For those who watched this match, I apologize for making you relive this traumatic nightmare. For those who lucked out and never got to witness this match, consider yourselves lucky. Watching the highlights or full match now will never compare to witnessing this clash as it happened.

Holland lost two players to injuries prior to this match. Arthur Numan tore a muscle at the bottom of his right foot against Yugoslavia, which meant Giovanni van Bronckhorst would be the starting left back. Also, striker Roy Makaay tore a ligament in right ankle during training a few days before the Semi-Finals and would be out. Although Reiziger started the first two group stage matches as the right back, he was on the bench in place of Paul Bosvelt, who started against France and Yugoslavia. Stam and Frank de Boer anchored the middle of the defense. Overmars, Davids, Cocu and Zenden formed the midfield supporting the front two of Bergkamp and Kluivert.

Italy decided to play it safe and started a back five with the intent of sitting back just to counter-attack whenever the moment presented itself. There were far too many shots to list them all in this lookback but Holland were the dominant side from the opening whistle till the end. Just after three minutes, Bergkamp spotted a surging run from Philip Cocu and delivered a superb ball but Cocu’s final effort saw the ball fly over the bar. In the 14th minute, Bergkamp managed to get through on goal but his effort glided past Italy’s keeper Franseco Toldo, and struck the far post before bouncing away from the goal.

Italy were struggling with the Oranje attack and both Gianluca Zambrotta and Mark Iuliano were booked in the 15th and 16th minute respectively. In the 34th minute, Zambrotta would see red for his second bookable offense on Zenden and the Oranje were going to enjoy an extra man advantage for the remaining hour. In the 37th minute, Holland were awarded a penalty after Alessandro Nesta held back Kluivert inside the box. Frank de Boer stepped up to take the penalty against Toldo, who was only starting after first choice Gianluigi Buffon (Yes, him!) broke his hand in a friendly a few days before the tournament kicked off. Frank had converted against the Czechs in the opening group match but on this day, he could not. Toldo guessed correct as he dived to his left and denied the Oranje from taking the lead.

Holland lost their composure after that penalty miss and played lethargically till the half time whistle. Italy, down a man, opted to just sit back and defend. It was the classic “Parking the Bus” strategy before the term was made famous many years later. Holland kicked off the second half by being more patient, but that did not stop Italy from threatening when Stefano Fiore tested van der Sar with a shot on goal that was stopped and resulted in a corner kick. However, with chances hard to come by, the Oranje became scrappy and sloppy. Oranje’s resilience to find a way did pay off when they were awarded a second penalty after the hour mark.

In the 61st minute, Iuliano brought down Davids inside the box for the Oranje’s second penalty of the match. Surprisingly, the referee did not give Iuliano a second yellow. Nonetheless, Holland had a second chance at taking the lead. This time, Kluivert was going to take the penalty. Kluivert stepped up and made Toldo guess wrong, however, the ball hit the post and bounced out and Bergkamp’s effort on the rebound was wasted. Even Pele, watching in the stands, could not hide his disbelief in the penalty miss.

Holland would struggle for the remainder of the half to get another great chance. They were either shut down or fouled by the Italian players. In the 77th minute, Rijkaard made his first substitution by taking off Zenden and bringing on van Vossen, who did well in helping the Oranje with their offense. In the 86th minute, Rijkaard took off Bergkamp and brought on Seedorf. This was a sad substitution as it meant that this would be the final time Bergkamp would represent Holland if they lost to Italy. Bergkamp, at the age of 31, had announced he was going to retire from the national team at the conclusion of this tournament. A combination of his fear of flying and the fact that the next World Cup was going to be in Japan and South Korea made this decision possible. Although, Bergkamp endured criticism in the early stages of the tournament after being accused of not being effective enough, he performed remarkably in the 6-1 thrashing of Yugoslavia to silence such talk. It was a pity that he would bow out this way.

Remarkably, it was Italy’s substitute Marco Delvecchio who nearly won the game for Italy in stoppage time as he went past Frank de Boer before unleashing a shot on goal. Fortunately, his effort was right at van der Sar, which did not trouble the keeper. Italy also brought on Gianluca Pessotto and Francesco Totti off the bench to help deal with Oranje attacks. The full-time whistle blew and Holland had 30 minutes to score a golden goal and win it on home soil or endure another penalty shootout. Five minutes into Extra time, Rijkaard made his final substitution.

With Makaay and Numan out with injuries, depth became such an issue that World Cup 94 starting keeper, Ed de Goey, who was the team’s third keeper, had a spot on the bench besides the other backup keeper, Sander Westerveld. The rest of the bench consisted of Konterman, Ronald de Boer, van Hooijdonk, and Winter. Rijkaard opted to use his final substitution by taking off Cocu and bringing on Aron Winter. Many, including myself were surprised Ronald de Boer or van Hooijdonk were not brought on instead. This substitution was historic as it allowed Winter to make his 84th appearance for the Oranje and thus becoming, at the time, their all-time capped player. Some believe Rijkaard made this substitution was not made as a tactical reason, but as a token of gratitude, in order for his former teammate Winter to break the record as he neared the end of his playing career.

Italy almost ended the match with a golden goal ten minutes into extra time. A long ball played from the Italian box fell to Delvecchio. It was like reliving Bergkamp’s Argentina winner but fortunately, van der Sar made a superb stop to keep the game scoreless. Holland’s best chances fell to Seedorf and Kluivert, who both managed to fire across the goal and out of play. Neither side could end it with a golden goal so penalties would decide the outcome.

For both teams, the penalty box was hostile territory. Neither side had won a penalty shootout before, with Italy being eliminated in the 1980 European Championship and World Cups 1990, 1994 and 1998 by a penalty shootout. For the Oranje, this was their third straight Euro penalty shootout after 1992 and 1996, with memories of crashing out to Brazil two years before still fresh in their memories.

Italians went first, with Luigi Di Biagio, the man who missed the decisive penalty against France in World Cup 1998, to take the first penalty. Even though van der Sar guessed correctly by diving to his right, Di Biagio’s effort strong was powerful and out of his reach. Frank de Boer would take Holland’s first penalty. He had taken Holland’s first penalty against Brazil and converted from the spot. Unfortunately, his earlier miss must have weighed on his mind because his weak effort was easily dealt with Toldo. Pessotto made van der Sar guess wrong as he scored from the spot. Jaap Stam was the second penalty taker and sadly, his effort flew over the bar and probably out of Amsterdam Arena.

Holland was already down 0-2 in the shootout when the young Totti stepped up to take Italy’s penalty. Totti proceeded to score from the spot with a well taken “Panenka” that offered an early glimpse of his self-confidence that he would display to this day. Kluivert took Holland’s third penalty and he blasted his penalty to the right side of the goal, freezing Toldo in the process. Paolo Maldini proceeded to miss from the spot to give the Oranje a glimmer of hope. Sadly, Holland’s fourth penalty taker was another defender, Bosvelt. Toldo guessed correct by diving to his right and stopped Bosvelt’s tame effort and the party was over for Holland.

This was the Oranje’s fourth elimination in the last five tournaments by the means of a penalty shootout. The lone exception was their 3-2 1994 World Cup Quarter-Final exit to Brazil. Losses to Denmark in 1992, France in 1996, Brazil in 1998 and now Italy in 2000 was how the Oranje would be remembered in defeat. One has to wonder, with a team full of attackers, how was it that the majority of the penalty takers were defenders. Would it have helped if Ronald de Boer or van Hooijdonk came in place of Winter as the team’s final substitution?

Ultimately, this was a painful elimination with a lot of what ifs. Just like 1992, it was a bitter elimination from a tournament that was theirs to lose. Overall, this was entertaining showing by the Oranje with memorable performances along the way before their most painful exit in memory.

The Aftermath:

This was a heart wrenching loss for many Oranje fans, including myself. Holland did everything right except get the ball into the goal. Final stats would show Holland had 65% of possession, 21 shots with 8 of them on goal. Sadly, their poor finishing and penalties caused them to miss the party that was in their back yard. Dennis Bergkamp had this to say afterwards, “Stupid. So stupid. We only have ourselves to blame. I don’t know why Holland can’t win a penalty shoot-out.”

A few days later, Italy would end up losing 2-1 to France in their own heart breaking fashion in the same stadium that they eliminated Holland. Thus, France were now World Cup and European champions. After this heart breaking exit, Rijkaard stepped down from the Oranje and Luis van Gaal would become the new Oranje manager. This would be the last time we would see Winter and Bergkamp represent the Oranje in a major tournament. The majority of these players would continue to represent the Oranje, albeit in disappointing fashion. Under van Gaal, Holland failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup and miss out on the important tournament for the first time since 1986.