There was that one cross by Oscar that came close to getting knocked in. It missed the legs of two Brazilians.
I wonder how Chili and Colombia fans look at this. Both Netherlands and Germany beat this Brazil easily. Chili had that ball on the bar. Colombia came back IIRC. They could have won, but could not. I wonder if they are conditioned to lose vs Brazil. That they did not really believe.
^^Columbia were fouled all over the pitch and couldn't cope with it which is a shame as they were the superior technical side. Fernandinho and Paolinho were two midfielders wielding hatchets and in this WC that type of play was permitted. IMO it was far worse than the Dutch play in 2010.
Great WC2014 finish by Oranje!! Perhaps the NT should wear the all blue jersey's more often they seem to bring the team good luck!! Only Argentine bunkering & coaching mistakes in the semi final kept Holland out of the WC2014 final. Congrats Netherlands on another great WC tournament!! Going forward i expect Holland to field another strong team for Euro2016. Cheers from Canada!!
Don't like what RvP did on national TV. One more sign that he is not captain material. Robben is the leader of this team, not RvP. In extra time previous games it was also Robben who spoke to the group not RvP. Let him fight his personal battles on the phone or by email with Pierre. If he sits there he does that as a captain. Worst is that he is not entitled to lash out. He f*cked up our WC title in 2010 and he did it again this WC. Checking out when the KO round starts, when the boys are separated from the men. Then and there we need a striker to just make that goal. We had to carry him in the game vs Mexico, in the game vs CR and in the game vs Argentina. Never did he look close to step up in those games, on the contrary, he cost us. His coming off for Huntelaar costed us the the sub for Krul at the end who should have come on for Cillessen. That was the key sub that could not take place. Going into a shoot out with a keeper that can actually stop a penalty, tends to help the cause of winning it. That RvP feels in a position that he somehow can lash out, like he has vindicated himself with that pen vs Brazil, is the sign of a loser. Nothing was vindicated with this game. This was the loser final. Teams not good enough play for silverware. We are after Germany the country with most top 4 placements in Europe, WC's/Euro's combined, but we never close to deal. 10 top 4 placements, only 1 cup in 1988, just like Greece and Denmark have 1 Euro cup. We never close the deal and RvP is a poster boy why that is. Checks out every single time in the KO stage and feels vindicated with a pen conversion in the loser final. Maybe we can organize a boat tour again celebrating bronze this time like we celebrated silver in 2010. That being said, this team overachieved looking at the personal quality of players. My anger comes from the fact that the players that should have stepped up to pull off a miracle failed again and that we went home after losing a shoot out, after I thought we had the principles down. In the very next game we did wrong what we did right before. I guess that pisses me off. This shameful display of RvP on TV triggered something with me.
What was shown? The only thing I saw following the match was him giving the armband to a Dutch fan. Maybe you are talking about something only shown on NED TV? More important to me in retrospect is he should have been truthful with van Gaal and told him that he could not start against Argentina. It was clear in the CR match that something was wrong with him fitness wise and that coupled with the stomach problem made thing worse. The captain has to be a big enough leader to know when to stand down. I thought he played much better today. IMO, I won't be surprised if Hiddink does not pick him for the Euros.
That was unnecessary Robin. Pierre was intimidated by an 18 year old kid at Feyenoord and had since a hard time to say anything positive about van Persie. Robin is someone from the street (kuil), a place where you are verbally physically attacked so you always have to defend yourself, so I understand where this burst comes from, but to fire back at Pierre at this time and at his age is completely unnecessary. He will regret this. He wont be captain after this. But I will be surprised if he is still not the first choice in two years. We still don't have anyone adequate to replace him.
A really stupid and out of the blue rant vs Pierre van Hooijdonk, who is pundit on Dutch TV. I don't watch all coverage of NOS (Dutch TV) so maybe I have missed something, but my guess is that Pierre was critical about Robin after past game (as he should be I would say). RvP was non existend in 3 KO games. We had to carry our captain rather than the other way around. The interviewer asked where the expression of vindication came from after scoring his penalty vs Brazil and Robin basically first played it cool that it was for the critics, but very fast he went all out vs Pierre. That nobody wants him/is waiting on him and that he should play rather golf than doing the job he has now on TV. It was not 1 soundbite, he took his time and it was for me completely unnecessary and unprofessional to do it on national TV. Above all, a feeling of vindication can never happen in a loser final. If he feels vindicated by scoring a penalty in such a game, it exposes him and his mediocre mindset.
Give your guys a warm welcome when they land ... other UEFA sides owe you that tip of the hat (as long as Germany finishes the job) ... nice way to end a good tournament. PS as it turns out a PSO isn't regarded as a draw in case of the confed. multipliers ... regardless, if Germany wins UEFA drops to 0.99 and if they lose we'll drop to 0.98 ... still seems odd that the confed. with 2 podium places loses out ... weirdly a win in the group stage against a minnow is as important as a win against a superpower in the final.
BTW congrats on your 3rd place in the FIFA ranking ... would have been 6th (behind Belgium) had you lost ... this win is also important for the upcoming trnys (EURO2016 seeds, WC draws, Nations League, etc.).
Brazil have turned in to hacks. They were utter shite. I am proud of Oranje. Many thoughts and many things on my mind about this group, Van Gaal, etc., but for now I am very sad that we won't lift the World Cup once again. That said Oranje have done well.
Oh I forgot to add that Congratulations to Blatter and the Corrupt FIFA. What a complete farce this referee was. 3rd World refs ENOUGH!
Congrats to the Netherlands for getting third place. The Dutch have never been third before and this is the first time the Netherlands ended their world cup campaign with a win. However for a group of players many of whom have silver medals from 2010 I would understand why this might not be a big deal to them. The final I was rooting for was Germany v Netherlands and despite being part German part of me actually hoped the Netherlands would win the world cup. They are by far the greatest footballing nation to never win one and have come so close so often I truly feel sorry for the fans. I wish all the best for the Netherlands in Euro 2016 and beyond.
Apparently there's some tension between RVP and Robben as Robben has constantly been giving pep talks, calling the guys as "MY BOYS" and willing them on. Robben thinks due to his performances, he should lead the team and is the true leader while LVG backed and supported RVP till the end. Wonder what Gus will do as Robben will definitely want the captaincy for Euro 16
Word het zo'n avond???????????????? Ja hoor, het word zo'n avond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RvP must STFU after his disgusting rant on national TV. While Robben had warm and nice words, almost went into full cry mode for not reaching the final, RvP used the post match WC wrap up as a podium to settle an old score with Pierre van Hooijdonk. Also Robben is right. He carried us game in game out. Not RvP. Robben carried Bayern in CL KO games year in year out. What has RvP done for Arsenal and United in this respect? What qualifies RvP for knowing what is asked at those stages? Robben knows, RvP does not. I am going to make the case that Vlaar has been more of a captain than RvP this tournament. In terms of consistency, not giving in, fighting, leading his defensive line, inspiring by example, Vlaar was a brighter star than RvP for his attacking line. Kuyt was a brighter star than RvP. De Jong was a rock when fit. Of all the older players RvP was maybe the least leader like player this tourney. Robben is such a unique player. I think there is a case to put him in the all time Dutch 11.
I understand he has a beef with Pierre but it's totally inappropriate to do this after a match and especially as a captain! In such a role you're supposed to stay cool when facing criticism about yourself, the coach, or the team. When he scored it was also the first thing that came into his mind so he's really concerned about it. IMO he can't be a captain next time, this is just embarrassing. Two years ago he didn't speak with the media because Arsenal didn't allow him? At least he could talk about the Dutch NT? Don't remember he did. I doubt he will be replaced because after him and Huntelaar the alternatives are depressing. He also said before the tournament he wants to stay for many years in the team (think he said 35 maybe).