116 minutes.
I watched my team hang on for 116 minutes, and the score was still 0-0. There were four more minutes to go for a penalty shootout, when the chances come down to 50:50 to win the trophy. And after seeing the 116 minutes already played, I was sure that was the only way we could have won it. Then, in a moment of genius by the Spaniards, all my hopes were shattered when Iniesta blasted a rocket into the bottom far corner of the Dutch goal and finished the contest with four minutes to spare. I know there are millions of Dutch fans around the world who felt the same way when that shot went in.
I was sad. I was sad the whole night. Then, the next day when I woke up and started thinking straight, I realized it was good that my team lost the finals. That is a difficult statement to make from someone who has been supporting the Oranje from the day he started watching international football. But believe me. I’m not drunk when I write this.
About ten years ago, when I started watching international football, I stood apart from everybody else I knew when I said my favourite team in the world was the Netherlands. It was not one of the obvious choices during that time, which were Brazil and Argentina. My childhood football hero was Edgar Davids. He was the master of freestyle when freestyle was not even invented. And to watch him play, I started watching the Dutch team games. That generation had a bunch of extremely talented players who were playing in big clubs in big leagues across Europe. Players like Edgar Davids, Cocu, Overmars, Zenden, Makaay, Bergkamp and Kluivert. These guys were my heroes. That was the best generation I’ve seen who have worn the Oranje jersey and went out on the field. But I was wrong. Looking back into the history books, I discovered greater individuals who have given more to football than anybody else. Players like Marco van Basten who was the best player in the world during his time. And then, the biggest name of them all, Johan Cruyff. The best player the Netherlands has ever produced. And the concept of Total Football which his team of 1974 gave to the world. Actually, the whole team of 1974 holds legendary status in football history for the way they played. Even today, the Dutch are known and respected by the way they play football - The total way.
Which is why I said I’m not sad that they lost the finals. A nation with such a beautiful history in football, who have given world class players like Cruyff and van Basten to the world, and who have defined the way football should be played - the total way, displayed a surprisingly startling strategy when they kicked around opponents and played disruptive football to try win the trophy that has eluded its greatest teams over decades. I cannot apprehend the fact that to win the biggest trophy in football, you can go to such extreme levels, where you consciously lose your integrity, and for a change play rugby in the FIFA world cup final match.
People have been criticizing the referee Howard Webb for officiating the match the way he did by handing out yellow cards to every person he saw wearing an orange shirt. But that is a biased reaction. He made a couple of mistakes in the overall course of the game, but then, he is Howard Webb. He makes stupid decisions all the time in the English Premier League. But that doesn’t hide the fact that the Dutch were playing negative football, with bits and pieces of Karate in it. They knew the only way they can have a chance against a Spanish side that resembled the Dutch team of 1974 was to kick them around, which made their game even more resentful. Accept it. The Spaniards were brilliant, and not just for the one final day. They played marvelously over the entire tournament, and finally scored the prize that has eluded them for so many years.
I’m sure I’ll see the Dutch lift the world cup trophy someday. They actually deserve it, for all the wonderful things they have given to the world of football. And that will be the day people will wash away the bitterness of the Oranje in 2010.
I watched my team hang on for 116 minutes, and the score was still 0-0. There were four more minutes to go for a penalty shootout, when the chances come down to 50:50 to win the trophy. And after seeing the 116 minutes already played, I was sure that was the only way we could have won it. Then, in a moment of genius by the Spaniards, all my hopes were shattered when Iniesta blasted a rocket into the bottom far corner of the Dutch goal and finished the contest with four minutes to spare. I know there are millions of Dutch fans around the world who felt the same way when that shot went in.
I was sad. I was sad the whole night. Then, the next day when I woke up and started thinking straight, I realized it was good that my team lost the finals. That is a difficult statement to make from someone who has been supporting the Oranje from the day he started watching international football. But believe me. I’m not drunk when I write this.
About ten years ago, when I started watching international football, I stood apart from everybody else I knew when I said my favourite team in the world was the Netherlands. It was not one of the obvious choices during that time, which were Brazil and Argentina. My childhood football hero was Edgar Davids. He was the master of freestyle when freestyle was not even invented. And to watch him play, I started watching the Dutch team games. That generation had a bunch of extremely talented players who were playing in big clubs in big leagues across Europe. Players like Edgar Davids, Cocu, Overmars, Zenden, Makaay, Bergkamp and Kluivert. These guys were my heroes. That was the best generation I’ve seen who have worn the Oranje jersey and went out on the field. But I was wrong. Looking back into the history books, I discovered greater individuals who have given more to football than anybody else. Players like Marco van Basten who was the best player in the world during his time. And then, the biggest name of them all, Johan Cruyff. The best player the Netherlands has ever produced. And the concept of Total Football which his team of 1974 gave to the world. Actually, the whole team of 1974 holds legendary status in football history for the way they played. Even today, the Dutch are known and respected by the way they play football - The total way.
Which is why I said I’m not sad that they lost the finals. A nation with such a beautiful history in football, who have given world class players like Cruyff and van Basten to the world, and who have defined the way football should be played - the total way, displayed a surprisingly startling strategy when they kicked around opponents and played disruptive football to try win the trophy that has eluded its greatest teams over decades. I cannot apprehend the fact that to win the biggest trophy in football, you can go to such extreme levels, where you consciously lose your integrity, and for a change play rugby in the FIFA world cup final match.
People have been criticizing the referee Howard Webb for officiating the match the way he did by handing out yellow cards to every person he saw wearing an orange shirt. But that is a biased reaction. He made a couple of mistakes in the overall course of the game, but then, he is Howard Webb. He makes stupid decisions all the time in the English Premier League. But that doesn’t hide the fact that the Dutch were playing negative football, with bits and pieces of Karate in it. They knew the only way they can have a chance against a Spanish side that resembled the Dutch team of 1974 was to kick them around, which made their game even more resentful. Accept it. The Spaniards were brilliant, and not just for the one final day. They played marvelously over the entire tournament, and finally scored the prize that has eluded them for so many years.
I’m sure I’ll see the Dutch lift the world cup trophy someday. They actually deserve it, for all the wonderful things they have given to the world of football. And that will be the day people will wash away the bitterness of the Oranje in 2010.
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