World Cup: Spain vs Netherlands
June 13, 2014
In the Dutch style of 'Total Football' any outfield player can move to replace any other, allowing the team to constantly re-allign itself as one fluid attacking force. The method was inspired by Rinus Michels, a former Ajax coach, and the young Johan Cruyff, who would gain legendary status by the end of his career.
The style also led to a lot of success. Although the Netherlands have never won the World Cup, they have been central to the World Cup legend. The Dutch have finished runners-up on three occasions - 1974, 1978 and 2010. They also reached the last-four in 1998.
However, the 2010 World Cup final was the complete opposite of 'Total Football' (or totaalvoetbal as the Dutch call it), according to the immortal Johan Cruyff. The game was a battle.
There were 48 fouls, 14 yellow cards and one red card, while English referee Howard Webb had one of his toughest outings. "He'll never referee a harder match, if he lived to 100," said former referee Dermot Gallagher back then.
A combative midfield pairing of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong disrupted the pattern of Spain's passing football with some brutal challenges. De Jong was fortunate to remain on the field after a kung-fu kick on Xabi Alonso. He was subsequently dropped from the national team setup.
Through Cruyff's experienced eyes, this was far from how the Dutch should have played. "They didn't want the ball," he wrote in Spanish newspaper "El Periodico" at the time.
"It was ugly, tough, vulgar, barely watchable," Cruyff continued. "And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty."
Second time lucky?
Today in Brazil, in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup final, the Dutch face Spain in the northeastern city of Salvador to open Group B. Neither team would have been happy to face each other again in the draw in 2014. The Spanish would have preferred to avoid such a physical opponent, while Holland remains haunted by the 2010 defeat.
But since then, there have been changes in the Dutch camp. The values of 'Total Football' have been reinstated with 62-year-old Louis van Gaal at the helm. The former Bayern coach will take charge at Manchester United at the end of the tournament.
The Netherlands have lost twice in 21 matches under van Gaal who has swayed away from his tried-and-trusted 4-3-3 formation for a 3-5-2 structure that contains several homegrown picks and unproven youngsters.
Dutch underdogs
The team's supporters are not too confident of a successful 2014 campaign. They say the focus is on more than the 2014 World Cup, but the development of a new crop of young players. "We have a young team, but it is talented," said experienced Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben at a press conference on the eve of the game in Salvador.
"Experience is important, especially mentally," he said. "But on the pitch it is all about playing in the right way, doing what you have to do. And, it doesn't matter if you are 22 or 32."
In contrast, Spain's setup has largely remained the same, when compared to the 2008 European Championship win, the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 EURO win in Ukraine. Vicente del Bosque is the head coach, the style is still the 'tiki-taka' model and the squad is made up mainly with the same players as in previous years. The expectation is the same too: the team expects to emerge as tournament winners.
But there have been doubts cast over the longevity of this generation of Spanish players. Those involved in the nation's recent big tournament successes are entering the final stages of their careers - Xavi (34), Casillas (33) and Iniesta (30) - and naturally, they are expected to be facing some kind of decline in performance.
However, del Bosque disagrees: "We have a few players over thirty, but not many in the squad of 23," he said. "We are not afraid of anyone or anything."
The last three meetings between Netherlands and Spain have been decided by the finest of margins, just one single goal. Although this clash is earlier than expected in the tournament, when both sides are still trying to find their rhythm, this promises to be one of the most interesting match-ups of the whole World Cup.