Well....I love their football but until they do prove it I'll have to disagree with that. Their fans are amazing so I think they deserve to host it and all the visiting fans would have a "blazing" time!
yes it is small but the oranje fans have huge hearts and would probably host the funnest cup of all time.
I hear you. But, what the heck? Their greatness is undeniable. And I'm a believer in the practical game.
haha, i mean sorry but what is so great about 1 euro title? sure the players are great, but when you put them together they fizzle.
Coming from an American no less Come back and talk to us when you make it further than the World Cup semi-finals
dont you just love people as ignorant as this?! you clearly know nothing about dutch football and have probably just watched your first euro. you also support chelsea and Juve which just makes you a yuppie. but thanks for making my day ... i enjoyed that
I'm interested in your point of view. Which players are great, exactly, and how exactly do they fizzle? A detailed answer would be much appreciated.
Clearly you don't understand how difficult it is to win a European title. Germany's won more than anyone (three), so to have one at all is an accomplishment. It's a mark of greatness that no one with a clue would laugh at. Beyond that, the Netherlands has historically produced some of the best football (soccer for us Yanks) players in the world, and some of the greatest football minds are from the Netherlands.
Rensenbrink hit the post seconds before the extra-time in the 1978 world cup final. What do they have to prove more?
I really don't think it's that much of an insult to say a team can't win a World Cup. I wouldn't go as far as to say the Oranje can't, but a team that plays the style of the Netherlands is always going to have trouble finding consistent results in a tournament format. Case in point: last month. The Dutch were EASILY the class of the group stage and then got knocked off by a Russian team that couldn't sniff Spain's collective jocks. It's that little bit of inconsistency that has the Dutch just a fraction behind, say, a grinding team like the Germans or a massively talented team like the Brazilians. By all accounts, the Netherlands should be a second tier soccer nation in Europe simply based off of population. But it isn't. The Dutch are some of the most brilliant players and innovators in the game. It is the team I find the most delight watching from a purely aesthetic stance. The 70s proved that the Dutch have the talent to compete with all of those top squads... it just needed that little bit extra to grind out a dirty win like the vastly inferior Germans did. Same with against Argentina, and that was a depleted Netherlands squad. But, just because an American comes in and says that he doesn't think the Dutch can win and doesn't really say it as an insult doesn't mean everyone should jump down his throat. I think the Dutch can win... but, I don't put it at a high ratio. Only 7 teams have ever won a World Cup out of the 18 times the tournament has been held. As an American, I don't expect the USA to win... but it won't stop me for rooting for them hard. Just because someone doesn't think the Dutch will win, doesn't mean they hate the Dutch or are trying to troll... maybe a collective deep breath should be taken? Or the thread closed?
I also think that the chance that Oranje will ever win a WC is less then 1%. We are mentally not strong enough. We don´t have players who will stand up when things do not go well. And I do not see any youthplayers who will be that kind of player in the future. Also we are just a small country, and it will be difficult to have at least the first 11 all be top players, like in 1998 for example. Now days we our strikers are worldclass but the defenders are just average. I think, if you play like the Dutch, you will need at least 11 topclass players to have a chance of winning the WC. About hosting the WC; the FIFA is not very enthusiastic about a nomination of the Netherlands and Belgium. But I think we showed at Euro 2000 and youth WC we can host international tournaments. Also most Dutch are enthusiastic about the possibility of hosting a WC. Still I think it will be very difficult, also because of the strong competition.
What excites me about our youth in particualr is that they are not fitting into the traditional dutch stereotype. they are winners and have proved it with back to back championships. along with strong attacking potential, we have a lot of young solid defenders. marcellis on PSV has already broken into the first team, Drenthe has shown enormous potential, and players like Donk and Zuiverloon (to name a few) have all the potential in the world. Heitinga is still young and improving as well. I cant realistically see Holland hosting for a while. In the next 20 odd years I think theres gonna be a lot of growth within the country (in terms of stadia and attendance) and we can ask those questions then. But as for the product on the field, the future looks as good as ever
I agree with you FFL. This new generation of youngsters may not have as much talent as the generations before them, but they kick arse. I'm v. optimistic about the future. As for our chances of winning world cups; for a relatively small country with a modest domestic league, we're doing well enough.
I agree. Given NL population Oranje generally performs brilliantly. No sense discussing whether Oranje can win this or that. The dice hasn't been kind to us during WCs, whereas I think we were often lucky during '88. (remember Kieft's goal against a very tough English squad?) Posters here talk as if they are capable of making sense of a slot machine.
this past euro match against the russians was difficult...oranje had a winning system in place and van Basten had little choice but to stay with it, why would he change it for the russians...the russians/guus had watched the games and a plan to stiffle the oranje game plan, van Basten could only adapt during the match...Guus was the difference... past WCups , luck plays a huge part in any tournie, in league play the best/most consistant teams win, not so in tournies, one officials call, one unfornutate mistake or a unlucky bounce of the ball and you go home...oranje hasn't won any WC's and maybe never will but they could have just as easily won 3-4, they are good enough to be ranked consistantly in the top 10 of the world... and yes absolutely they can host the WC, the stadiums can be built and the fans will be there....
To answer more on the topic: NO. Although the Dutch are great hosts, the trains are well operated and they have a fun team, the stadiums are too small. FIFA wants to get the best bang for their buck, the Dutch dont build big enough stadiums. Outside Ajax & PSV, are there any other stadiums that seat over 30000? I'm asking b\c I don't know.
You're missing our "Wembley" in that list. Possibly the greatest stadium ever built. De Kuip - 50,000 ish -Feyenoord is also planning a new stadium with a capacity of over 105,000 -and you can bet if Feyenoord go big, Ajax will always try and out-do them. We wont host anytime in the forseable future but Dutch attendances are rising and many clubs are planning to move into bigger stadia. We know how to host / organize / put on a great show. I have every confidence in that.
Of course! How could I forget? Most of my time in Der Nederlands has been spent outside of the Randstad.