Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

We have one of our finalists for the World Cup, the Netherlands, also known as Holland, Oranje, or Clockwork Orange among other things. They have won all of their games in the World Cup, scored 12 goals, conceded only 5, and knocked-out Brazil, the number one team in the world, at least according to FIFA rankings. On paper the Netherlands are legitimate contenders, but they always are. Is this their time? This story is a bit familiar.

In 1974, the Netherlands lost to East Germany in the World Cup finals and in 1978 they lost to Argentina. This was a golden-age for believers in the beautiful game. Those teams played a gorgeous system of soccer known as total football. In this system any player, accept the keeper, could slot in and take over the role of any other player. This elegant ever flowing system of play and its accompanying fluid passing game garnered the Netherlands the nick-name Clockwork Orange. The player that encompassed this dazzling style of play the most was Johan Cruyff, one of a handful of the greatest players ever. Further, in 1988, they won a European Championship with a host of stars including Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, and Frank Frank Rijkaard. The promise of the Dutch has been to win the World Cup beautifully.

Yet, the Netherlands never won the big one at the World Cup. Something always went wrong. To a certain degree they have been plagued with a history of unraveling at large tournaments. The current squad is no exception with quick self-destruct buttons for Mark van Bommel, Nigel de Jong, Robin van Persie, and Arjen Robben. This psychology of coming-undone could also be called Clock Work Orange. Additionally, this team does not play the brand of soccer we'd usually attribute with the historic beauty of past Netherlands teams. The current squad plays with two defensive mid-fielders, Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, who although provide protection also slow things down. However, it has been affective. Brazil was always known for its flair, but had a solid defense in its last two World Cup wins in 1994 and 2002. There are some similarities here.

If the Netherlands win, they may only fulfill half of their promise because it may not be very pretty. Nevertheless, having the Netherlands as a World Cup winner would be nice to see given their rich soccer history. If Spain were to win they could fulfill this promise. Spain has some strange connections with this Dutch Promise. Spain's current style of play reflects the legacy of Total Football through Johan Cruyff's influence at FC Barcelona. Spain started 6 players (Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and David Villa) from Barcelona and brought another one off the bench (Pedro) and yet another one of the bench that was developed in their youth academy (Cesc Fábregas). These players and the Spain side as a whole are known for a beautiful passing possession game and the players can interchange positions on the fly. Further, Cruyff and Rijkaard both coached Champions League winners at Barcelona.

Either way at the time of this writing, Spain still have yet to beat Germany and it would be foolish to write-off Germany. They always produce. However, the story that this World Cup may be about is seeing either the Netherlands or Spain fulfill the Dutch Promise.


Please send any feedback to skuzner@gmail.com.