Matooke Republic
Saturday, July 5, 2025
  • Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Gossip
  • Features
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Photos
  • Relationships
Matooke Republic
  • Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Gossip
  • Features
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Photos
  • Relationships
No Result
View All Result
Matooke Republic
No Result
View All Result

Netherlands; where it’s gone wrong

Matooke Republic by Matooke Republic
September 7, 2017
in Featured Stories, Sports
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Fresh from missing out on Euro 2016 and looking very likely to miss out on next year’s World Cup in Russia, what has happened to the Netherlands football team? 

The Oranje—as the Dutch national football team are affectionately known—were once a representation of everything beautiful about football. They gave the world Total Football—along with Johan Cruyff. A little later, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten. Then Dennis Bergkamp. Even Arjen Robben. But now, they lie third in their World Cup qualifying group and if they stay there, will not even make it for the World Cup play-offs in the European qualifying section.


At a cursory glance, the Netherlands put together quite the run. Only two other European nations have reached more semi-finals at major tournaments than the Dutch since 1982, and even before then they were one of the greatest influencers in world football.

RELATED POSTS

Uganda Cranes defender Elio Capradossi joins Romanian club

Otai’s Four-Star Show and Akoj’s Iron Wall Define Competitive Ngo League Season 5

But that reign has come to a sad halt. The Dutch, for so long a European power with the best playing and coaching talent, has devolved into an afterthought. Last week’s 4-0 loss to France followed defeats to Bulgaria and Sweden, putting the country that produced Cruyff in serious jeopardy of missing a second major tournament in a row. Manager Danny Blind lost his job, but that has not yet arrested the slump as had been hoped.

It is a dramatic fall for a nation many people recognise as the pioneer of attractive attacking football. It now feels like two proper flukes that the Dutch got a World Cup final in 2010 and a third-place finish in Brazil in 2014. Even those ‘successes’ were achieved with the most ‘unDutch’ teams in recent history.

Dearth of quality
Fast forward to the years following the World Cup in Brazil and it is not difficult to see why the Dutch are in the situation they are in: a lack of adequate playing talent is one but so too the lack of coaching talent that left Blind with the national team job in the first place. His son Daley, while decent as a utility player, is neither Frank de Boer when played as a central defender nor Philip Cocu as a central midfielder. That said, the Netherlands have a good squad of players but, as has been the case for the past few years, no truly quality youngsters have come through to replace the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie or Arjen Robben—32, 34 and 33 respectively.

There is also the case of unfulfilled or yet to be fulfilled potential for many youngsters; from Eljero Elia to Royston Drenthe (remember him?) to Memphis Depay. Mentality problems, for long the missing 10% in the Dutch teams, now seem to have become an even bigger problem. When one mixes limited talent with even more limited self-belief, what you get is a Dutch side failing to emerge from a qualifying group with teams like Iceland and Turkey, as Netherlands just did for the Euros.

Failure to evolve
That was not the only bad thing to happen to Dutch football though. The team regarded as vanguards of attacking football looked on as Spain and Germany took their tactical template and modified it to create beastly machines that won four straight major championships put together. How did Netherlands try to respond? By attempting to kick Spain into submission in the 2010 World Cup final. It is one method that has been shown up to be painfully inadequate.


Related

Share1Tweet1Send
Matooke Republic

Matooke Republic

Freshly peeled info from area code 256

Related Posts

Johnnie Walker commemorates first She Walks anniversary with a powerful celebration of women in leadership

by Matooke Republic
1 hour ago

...

Article by Aamir Hussain, the Head, Corporate Banking at United Bank for Africa Uganda Ltd.

OPINION: Corporate Banking provides value to society

by Matooke Republic
1 day ago

...

The late businessman Apollo Nyegamehe.

Properties owned by late billionaire Aponye at risk of auction over Shs15 billion loan arrears

by Matooke Republic
1 day ago

...

Singer Ykee Benda, fiancée Emily Nyawira hold Kukyala ceremony

by Matooke Republic
1 day ago

...

Joel Ssenyonyi and his wife, Febress Nagawa.

Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi graduates with Master’s Degree

by Matooke Republic
1 day ago

...

Next Post

Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu adds Range Rover to his fleet

5 ways to save money while improving your home

RECOMMENDED

Johnnie Walker commemorates first She Walks anniversary with a powerful celebration of women in leadership

July 5, 2025
Article by Aamir Hussain, the Head, Corporate Banking at United Bank for Africa Uganda Ltd.

OPINION: Corporate Banking provides value to society

July 4, 2025
  • 643 Followers
  • 23.9k Followers

MOST VIEWED

  • Here is how to use NIRA’s new online portal to register or renew your national ID

    3817 shares
    Share 1527 Tweet 954
  • Dj Karo finally wins over Cedric Babu’s heart, introduction underway

    180 shares
    Share 72 Tweet 45
  • Kampala University proprietor Prof Kateregga’s wife rejects DNA results indicating one of three children is not his, demands fresh test in the United States

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • DNA test confirms late MP Ssegirinya was father to only 4 of 9 children presented after his death

    89 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 22
  • Pastor Bugingo’s daughter Doreen Gift awarded scholarship to Arizona State University in the US

    59 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
Matooke Republic

Uganda's only free Newspaper. Out every Thursday. Freshly peeled info. kiwatule, Kampala, Uganda.

  • Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Gossip
  • Features
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Photos

© Matooke Republic 2024

© Matooke Republic 2024

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.