The Dutch Debacle

The most gullible bloke to the brightest of people considered the Netherlands as the favourites to not just to ease into the quarter finals but to even win Euro 2012. They were not over-rated, in my opinion, as they could have easily beaten any team with the resources they had. They went to Poland and Ukraine on the back of a good qualifying phase and their confidence was booming especially after reaching the last World Cup final. Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie, Huntelaar and Van Der Vaart to name a few were those on whose shoulders high expectations were placed.

Mostly everyone had been good in recent seasons with their respective clubs. Van Persie topped the goal scoring charts in England last season. The same was replicated by Huntelaar with Schalke in the Bundersliga. Therefore, on paper the Dutch attack just seemed so prolific and mega-destructive but thanks to reality, a different story altogether has been portrayed. The Oranje lost all 3 of its group games to Denmark, Germany and Portugal respectively. In total they scored just 2 goals with an attack that could have conquered any defence on their day. Many questions have since then been asked about the inability of the Dutch coach Bert van Marwjik to deliver success even with such a versatile team. But it would be a huge mistake just to blame him for his side’s dismal run. The players need to take equal the responsibility for this horrible show as well

A horrible defensive performance

Did they defend as a team? Did they defend with a mentality to win the ball back? Could one see any player tracking back and helping out the defence?The answer is a blatant NO.

Sadly, the Dutch gave away too much space and possession of the ball inviting default pressure and threat against top quality sides. The set-up was as if they just wanted to attack and not worry about conceding goals. Defensively, the coach didn’t do much wrong regarding his tactics but it was his players who let him down invariably. Maybe he should have played Dirk Kuyt at right back against Portugal. However, he was sensible enough to deploy two defensive midfielders to actually reinforce some order in the midfield and also to help out the defence. However , neither Nigel De Jong nor Van Bommel were helping the cause in any way. They became hugely anonymous as the matches progressed.

In the meanwhile, Robben and Sneijder hardly did their defensive duties on the pitch. They had to come back and help out an ailing defence which they never did. The centre backs, oh they were actually centre backs only on the team sheet. Even Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres would have faired much better than Ron Vlaar and Joris mathijsen. What infuriates me is the fact that even after the first game they didn’t tidy up their defensive displays but rather still continued playing very carelessly.

Catastrophe upfront

You win only if you score. You don’t win just because you have a Robben, Sneijder, Van der Vaart or Van Persie. The ball needs to find the back of the net no matter how classy the team is. And sadly enough for the Dutch , it happened just twice. They thoroughly based their game on playing quick attacking, attractive football and if the goals came by, pure quality was on display. But with their defence letting them down constantly, they started faltering going forward. The final ball was missing on many occasions. Robben and Sneijder simply remained non-effective as they were up against good organised teams, unlike their own and to compound matters further Robin Van Persie, whom everyone thought would shine on the big stage hit a cul-de-sac. His finishing was so poor , especially against Denmark , where he could have scored a hat-trick had he been more clinical.

Simultaneously enough, Marwjik did not organise his team the best way possible. Going forward they needed an effective plan, but it was not to be. Their play seemed just so predictable. Van persie started dropping deeper and deeper to help the midfield out and finally there was no target man to aim upfront. Against Portugal, they simply got owned in the middle of the park and all this just reflects how shameful the team has performed collectively.

Midfield force?

Another entity that the Dutch lacked was a solid central midfield partnership. Midfielders control games and they engineer goals. But having Van Bommel and Nigel de Jong to control and engineer I would be hesitant to say so. Both players simply couldn’t trigger any sort of attacking threat and neither were they good defensively. The rapport between them was absolutely shocking and they could not support play upfront as they kept losing the ball on many occasions. So even with all the big names in the team, an effective midfield combination was found lacking. Unlike the Netherlands, the Portuguese and the Germans possess a great midfield unit that instill vibrant energy within the team.

Therefore, the team collectively just couldn’t get their football going. Their shocking exit makes one thing clear. Football is all about hard work , focus and organisation. No matter how big your name is in the game, you have to perform when it matters most. Only teams that play with the utmost passion can emerge victorious in the end. If you’re not passionate, you’re not worthy of being a footballer.