And what a rollercoaster it's been. I bet you all had a great time slagging off Advocaat. But guess what - we're in the semi-finals, so what are you complaining about? I reckon we've been so lucky so far, we'll probably win it. Oh and I love the lovely oranje fans. Best fans in the world.
glad you're back, glad you had an incredible time... but we're kinda in the semis DESPITE you know who - at least he finally left us in a proper 433 and i guess that's all i can ask of him
That's true, although Advocaat still has to make the right moves in orde to make thing better...The best thing about this squad however, is the team spitit they're showing. Maybe people will stop saying Holland aren't operating as team now. I've never seen 'em more determined an unified....
Exactly! Funny how the international media are always moaning about Holland not playing as a team, and now that they are playing as a team, everybody's all of a sudden stopped liking us. I reckon that's because they now see us as a real threat to win it.
indeed! now that they can't b!tch about controversy and lack of will to win, they're shifting their focus to the lack of aesthetics.....
Completely agree on the team spirit, never seen it before, and Im loving every minute of it. The grit, determination, and mental toughness are great to see especially when wedded to the Oranje's customary skill. I reckon I'll have to fly out to Amsterdam should we go all the way!! Hup Oranje Hup!
I have been a huge critic of Advocaat, to which Neeskens can attest. However, I have two observations: 1. As critical as I am of Advocaat, no one deserves the type of hateful speech and abuse he received from the Dutch media and others. It is a shame that people crossed the line from rightfully criticising a coach with regard to footballing matters to the personal sorts of attacks that were used against the coach - not even Advocaat deserved this type of treatment. 2. You don't make the semifinals of the European Championships just by being lucky. Advocaat had made some very poor decisions in the tournament, but he did lead Oranje to the final four. If we are critical of the coach when we are not performing well, then we must be fair and give him credit when they do well. Portugal were the better side today and Oranje have travelled a long way from watching WC Korea 2002 on T.V. to the final four of Europe. We should all be proud of our team including Advocaat. Hope you had a great time, Neeskens!
we are at the moment a 2nd tier European Nation, just not good enough to beat France, Chech Republic, Italy, Spain, Portugal. We can make a game out of it but yet fall short 9 out of 10 times We will do better against others but it wil not be easy for the Dutch to beat the Swedens, the Denmarks, the Englands of Europe whom I also consider 2nd tier nations, imo the Dutch are just slightly ahead of those coutries at the moment but could lose to them very easily when we are not "on". We will every now and then also struggle or lose to the lesser European coutries call that Dutch arrogance We made the semi final by beating a nobody..Latvia That is how tournaments work, sometimes you are just lucky enough to squeeze in through the backdoor. Nobody will want to be in a qualifying pool with us as you never know but I doubt we are feared too much at the moment. we need young new players to replace the old guard. we need a better coach who is can organize his team, maybe even a non Dutch guy to get rid of all the politics and favoratism we need to get better tactically and teach our players to adjust to different systems, they should be able to go from 433 to 442 to 352 to ? at a moments notice without missing a beat.
Feynoord, I'm sorry but you can't rely on luck only to reach the final four in the second greatest footballing event in the world. If you say this for the Dutch, you must also say this for the Greeks and this would demean their effort and their accomplishment. The Dutch had to win to get to the final four and they did win when they had to against Latvia and against a very good Swedish side - Germany didn't so they went home. By the way, what is second tier anyway? Because of the wholesale purchase of the best talent in world from wherever it is and the relaxed restrictions of "foreign players" in domestics leagues (EU), ALL of Europe is getting better! And, as a result, the big nations with the big leagues are: 1. Allowing more foreign players to develop in the top leagues. 2. Hampering the growth of domestic talent. Germany, England, Spain, France, Italy are all guilty of this. And while Spain, France and Italy remain formidible, Portugal and the Czech Republic are sending their best and brightest to the big countries to develop. Germany and England are forced to deal with not enough homegrown talent to win and they both have/had great coaches. I heard a statistic that 67% of the strikers in the Premiership are FOREIGNERS! This is astounding! England need more players like Rooney developed in their own country. The Dutch still produce some of the best soccer talent in the world. I don't think this is the problem. Every coach after Michels in '88 will live with the tremendous pressure of having to live under his shadow. Advocaat, a very conservative coach and a non-believer in "Total Football", has the horses to run, but locks them up in a pen. I think the Dutch need a coach like Morten Olsen from Denmark who won't feel as pressured to walk in Michels footsteps. Or, we need to bring back Hiddink who, after his success in S. Korea, perhaps will feel he can go his own way and be afforded respect. Just my thoughts.
And I see people still continue to overestimate Dutch football. In Holland people knew prior to the tournament that we weren't going to be good enough. A group of veterans, a couple of youngsters with no experience on the highest level, and just two absolutely worldclass players - they were never going to win it. In short, it's an amazing achievement for this group to have made it to the semis. And no manager in the world could have led them to a win. Oh and also: there is no way that the Dutch FA will appoint a non-Dutch manager. And rightly so.