I am curious. I am a fan of the Dutch National Team for many years, however, I was wasn't following soccer very much during the last couple of years so I am not aware of the public reaction in Holland to their team not qualifying for the World Cup. Was it one of horror or there was there a general acceptance that it was a long time coming. Was there an overhaul in the coaching staff? What happened?
Well, they weren't happy. Of horror, it's not like somebody expected Holland not to make it to the WC even if they played some not so great games during the qualifications. Before not making it to the WC: van Gaal = coach After not making it to the WC: Advocaat = coach* *with van Hanegem as his sidekick Not many orange things being on the street this time around.
besides the SLIGHT drop in usual form, several factors did them in 1- being placed in a bull**** group - i mean two WC semifinalists in the same group? + ireland, a clearly underrated side? - when a country like poland gets a virtual walk into the finals, you know its time uefa seeds a little better for these things - if HOLLAND, which was also a euro2000 semifinalist gets another top5 fifa team and one in the high teens... well it just seems kinda counterproductive if uefa wants their best teams on the world stage 2- odd, lengthy, and to date, unsubstantiated bans for stam, de boer & davids (ie the defensive middle three) - IIRC davids and FDB saw their suspensions end the day after the heartbreaking 1-0 ireland loss 3- a questionable penalty awarded to figo deep into stoppage time in portugal - the ensuing goal earned them a 2-2 draw... without the PK, HOLLAND advances that being said, im not dutch and i dont live in holland, but i think i may have cried like a girl and i defintely remember laying awake at night stewing with the thought that the mighty ORANJE had to wait until 2006 - i was miserable for like a month - im sorry (sniff) i cant talk about this any more