Review: Dutch NT - WC 2014 preparation thread

Discussion in 'The Netherlands' started by DRB300, Dec 3, 2013.

  1. DRB300

    DRB300 Member+

    Sep 21, 2007
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Oke so now qualification is done, we move on to the next phase. First we get the group draw on Friday (can also be discussed here) and in the next year we will play friendly's to prepare ourselves for the finals in Brazil. The first friendly in the new year will be played on Friday the fifth of March 2014 against France. When club season is over the NT will gather and we will play some other preparation games I presume.

    I also know the group Netherlands will be drawn into:

    • Germany
    • Netherlands
    • Chile
    • Australia

    Tough one.


    Cheers
     
    Brilliant Dutch and Rebaño_Sagrado repped this.
  2. Mr.S

    Mr.S Member

    Oct 22, 2011
    How you know that this will be the group?

    I would love to see Germany in the same group and Chile is a good team too. Australia is not that strong and facing a Strong African team will be an interesting challenge too
     
  3. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Are you psychic....LOL
     
  4. BaritoPutra

    BaritoPutra Member+

    Jan 26, 2007
    Pot 1 - would not mind getting a legitimate contender (Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain) to avoid getting drawn against them in the knock-out phase. Belgium would make a very interesting match. I am up for it.

    Pot 3 - would like to get one of the African teams.. they tend to be hit-and-miss in the W.C. South American teams will have a strong fan base. Would almost be like playing an away match.

    Pot 4 - anything but U.S. Would hate to see Klinsi haunting back on Oranje.
     
  5. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    US team is quite poor; I doubt they will make it out of whatever pool they are in. They don't have very good defenders and their attack relies too much on Dempsey and Donovan. I would be happy if we drew them.
     
  6. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    FIFA have made the Pot Assignment. We are in Pot #4 with the other Euro teams.
     
  7. Quackmore

    Quackmore Member

    Jun 5, 2011
    The Netherlands
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Still a chance to be drawn into pot 2.
     
  8. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Best draw for us is (assuming we are not the unlucky Euro team drawn into Pot 2):

    1. Switzerland
    2. Ecuador or Algeria
    3. Any of the teams EXCEPT: Japan, Korea, or Mexico
    4. Netherlands
     
  9. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Apparently France are now in pot 4 according to FIFA. So we can't draw them anymore:

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Mr.S

    Mr.S Member

    Oct 22, 2011

    They are a lot of tricky teams like Chile and Japan who can cause upsets but over-all despite this and a couple of teams Pot 2 & Pot 3 is pretty weak. Honduras, Algeria, etc are very beatable.

    Pot 1 has Big Heavy-Weights and some Decent Teams. Would not like to draw Switzerland and potentially meet Brazil in Round of 16. Would rather play them @ the group stage.

    Pot 4 is the hardest of them all. All teams are reasonably good with France, Italy, Portugal, Croatia, England all capable of beating Pot 1 teams
     
  11. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    It depends on that 'special pot' draw: if France or Holland is drawn into pot 2 ... you can still end up in the same group ... of course instead of France you can also draw one of the other non-seeded UEFA teams: Italy, Portugal, Croatia, England, etc. ... 5 groups will have 2 UEFA teams in them while 3 C-BOL groups will have 1 UEFA team ... so you're more likely to be joined by another UEFA team (either a top seed or that 'special pot' team).
     
  12. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I still dont understand why FIFA is calling pot 4 not pot 2, which is really what it is :thumbsdown:
     
  13. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    Because of the 'flow' of the draw ... 'special pot' draw happens first (1 UEFA team moves to the subcategory of pot 2 that can only be drawn into a C-BOL seeded group ... the other 2 subcategories are the CAF teams, can be drawn into any group, and the C-BOL teams that can only be drawn into an UEFA seeded group) ... of the non-seeded teams they like to start with the pot that is divided into subcategories ... pots 3 and 4 have no subcategories.

    PS Brazil already knew when & in which venues they'll be playing (position 1 of Group A) and the rest of us will find out on Friday. Weirdly France won't necessarily be that special pot NT as the 9th european team will be drawn at random from the 'UEFA pot' and be put into pot 2 with the C-BOL & CAF teams first (this team will join a South American team drawn from Pot X). E.g. Italy could end up as that special pot team but who knows ... the C-BOL teams might get lucky and the UEFA team with the worst odds is drawn instead. Blatter simply justified this change in procedure by saying "We are in a draw, so we draw the teams". That clears it up then.

    PPS the schedule could prove to be a tougher test than the opponents you draw ... playing in the North or North East means very high humidity and heat while distances between venues are sometimes huge, e.g. Manaus ... although you might enjoy watching a game in prime time in Europe, playing during the hottest moments of the day means the pace will be nowhere near that of the UCL or big leagues in Europe (the more humide it is, the less sweating helps to cool down ... body temp. can even reach fatal levels and this caused players unions to 'take action' yet those unions seldomly affect major change ... Buffon also complained during the confed. cup while conditions could be worse).
     
    Brilliant Dutch repped this.
  14. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I actually wont mind it if we draw Brazil or Germany so long as the other 2 teams are whipping boys. We'll just come in 2nd and we wont have to worry about Brazil or Germany till the late knockout stages
     
  15. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    If you face the Germans ... the heat & humidity could give the edge to the team that plays an energy efficient game ... even without a high intensity game, they still will be a hard nut. There are plenty of strong teams around ... still I fear a boring World Cup (cfr. 1994 or 2010 ... 2002 had excitement yet often due to controversial referee decisions) ... matches played in the South (comparable to European weather conditions) could be more interesting.
     
  16. In the Brasil conditions the teams that manage to let the others run around with good position play will have the upper hand.
     
  17. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I don't think it can be any worse than the 1994 WC that was held here in the US. Dutch played in Washington, DC, three times in Orlando Florida and once in Dallas Texas. It's questionable to me whether any of the venues in Brazil will have worse weather for football.
     
  18. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    At venues in the North & North East, like Manaus, you'll face similar conditions as in Orlando ... humidity over 90% ... 3 matches will start in the heat of the day (2 at 3pm and 1 at 4pm) ... those venues I'd like to avoid (also because travelling back & forth to e.g. Manaus will cut into recuperation time).
     
  19. MrOranjeBal

    MrOranjeBal Member

    Apr 7, 2009
    Club:
    AZ
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Did someone just say that 2010 was boring :eek:????
     
  20. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    For the most part the weather in South Africa was very good for football!
     
  21. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    Given the caveat that this will always be based on a subjective feeling/personal experience ... which WC was more attractive in your opinion ... France1998 or S.Africa2010? In my view France1998 has it hands down ... the matches in which Holland didn't feature were more exciting while the Dutch performance was many times better too.

    Cruyff would rather lose playing good football than win playing ugly football. He said of the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany that losing the final made Holland more famous than it otherwise would have. In S.Africa Oranje achieved a better result than in France ... still 1998 was a 'tour de force' as evidenced by a boost in reputation ... undeniably the 1998 squad has left a better legacy to football than the 2010 one.

    “It’s better to go down with your own vision than with someone else’s” - Johan Cruyff.

    Cruyff often speaks about simplicity ... to play with excess contradicts what passing was supposed to achieve: simplicity ... less is more. E.g. at Barcelona Cruyff once criticised a goal that was scored because he claimed that the goal should have been scored earlier. The extra passes were unnecessary and increased the chances that a mistake would happen. Simplicity increases efficiency and effectiveness (including energy conservation). Granted Van Marwijks vision was effective enough to reach the final and to some extent beauty was created ... however on the whole that performance pales in comparison to those of 1998 and 2000.

    Although I enjoy jaw dropping combinations, I’m not a fan of a pass move game ... I’m a fan of direct attacking football ... this has a major impact on the way I experience what happens on the pitch. I'm enthralled by a high intensity game and usually get bored of a 'controlled' one with minimal effort and exertion. When everything comes together La Roja and Oranje are a sight to behold ... Spain's tiki-taka during EURO2008 made them look invincible yet when I saw the Spaniards in 2010 my jaw only dropped to let out a yawn. I also have to admit that I was more impressed by the German display during S.Africa2010 ... besides Germany I didn't see a team that had a string of attractive matches ... the cup that Spain lifted was one to forget ... in the bulk of the WC2010 matches, I felt the desire to gouge out my eyes to prevent me from watching them untill the final whistle. BTW one of the reasons why I like Hiddink is that you usually see players with guts on the pitch ... he's not afraid to go all in with raw talents.

    PS during USA1994 the stormclouds, thunder and lightning were a bigger spectacle ... at that time the weather was unusually active in W.Europe ... still the weather should never overshadow a big event. Actually images of an unglued Maradona, a downcast Baggio and baby rocking Bebeto & Romario have stuck with me more than the actual play. Brazil2014 could very well be a repeat ... however there are many exciting teams ... so I'm hoping we'll get to see the best football from around the world.
     
  22. MrOranjeBal

    MrOranjeBal Member

    Apr 7, 2009
    Club:
    AZ
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I'm not going to compare 2010 to 1998 or 1994. Maybe an other incarnation of the tournament was better but that does not mean 2010 was boring. And to me it just was not.

    Your Cruijff quote applies to Bert van Marwijk just as much as to 1974 or Guus Hiddink. Van Marwijk followed his vision, and got just as far.

    Come to think of it, Cruijff may actually have meant to say: "It's better to go down with my vision, than with the vision of someone else." But that is another matter entirely. ;)

    Anyhow, about the legacy thingy: look back at the Dutch matches in 2010 before the final and you'll find some great passing and direct, even counter attacking, highly effective football. Plus they actually managed to hold onto leads and to come back from behind. In 1998 we never did that, except against Korea. The media's (winners' perspective driven) view / retrospective on the 2010 final kind of blurs out the rest of the Dutch tournament performance, which was to me pretty entertaining.

    I thought the Germans were entertaining, saw a match with SA that was fun, Uruguay's semi-final, a USA game (I think v. Algeria) that was worthwhile watching, and that is just off the top of my head.

    Truth is, most WC's have plenty going on that is perfectly forgettable and a bit that is entertaining. Which bits, varies slightly over the years.
     
    Orange14 repped this.
  23. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
  24. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Our group B:

    Spain
    Chili
    Australia
    Holland

    I dont think thats too bad actually
     
  25. Mr.S

    Mr.S Member

    Oct 22, 2011
    Tough tough Group.

    Chile are going to be a handful playing in Brazil. Can definitely see them knocking some one out. I always fancied the group with Chile becoming the Group of Death.

    The Australia match is crucial as its a must win and whoever loses it is going to be in trouble. Australia although good is a beatable team IMO
     
    JAIME CHILE repped this.

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