The Netherlands has, so far, looked like a prosaic shadow of its former swashbuckling self, yet it's one very important win from changing the national psyche. With two lost finals ('74 and '78) and one flameout ('98 semis), the label of "Big Game Choke Artists" could finally be laid to rest. The Total Football glory days of Cruyff-inspired magic are as far removed from this Dutch side as is the requisite pregame frolicking in hot tubs with female fans.
The Oranje don't even have the panache of the Euro-winning Van Basten/Gullit/Rijkaard juggernaut of 1988 or the kind of Dennis Bergkamp genius that lit up their '98 World Cup run. But maybe the soccer gods have decided to reward the Netherlands for its life-affirming body of work because how else do you explain Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, a couple of talented munchkins by modern-day standards, scoring goals with their gleaming heads and why 35-year-old goal-shy defender Giovanni Van Bronckhorst is launching surface-to-air missiles from somewhere near the Cape of Good Hope.
Even with the Netherlands' affinity for theatrics, hissy fits and the flying leg whips of Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong, there's a feeling of destiny with this team. It's as if the Dutch realize that it's their responsibility to finally shuck off the weight of being the Best Team Never to Win the Cup and are prepared to do what it takes -- even if that means abandoning their legacy.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/columns/story/_/id/5362373/ce/us/10-things-learned-world-cup?cc=3888&ver=global
1 comment:
It was one hell of a scruffy game - for the grand finale!
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