FIFA World Cup 2010: Dutch Manager Revels In The Moment
Holland scored a comprehensive victory over Uruguay in the first semi-final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in doing so Dutch have reached their first World Cup final in over 32 years. The last time Netherlands played in the World Cup final was in 1978 when the World Cup was held in Argentina, Dutch lost that final to the hosts.
Netherlands are known as the under-achievers of international football, despite having great teams in the past they have failed to win the world cup. Usually Holland’s World Cup campaigns have been affected by in-house conflicts and fights between the manager and the players, while other times players with big egos have failed to reconcile their differences.
Bert van Marwijk, the present Dutch national team manager revealed his joy after Holland secured a place in the finals of the FIFA World Cup of 2010. He told the press that the feeling was unbelievable, the fact that his players had managed to get to the final of the World Cup. Wesley Sneijder, Van Bronckhorst and Robben were on target for the Dutch as they defeated Uruguay by three goals to two.
Van Marwijk has been criticized by ex-Dutch footballers because he has abandoned their beautiful style of Total football. However, Van Marwijk is not paying heed to such condemnations. He said that this is the world cup and it doesn’t matter how you win as long as you get the results.
He also went on to explain that Spain are playing the best football in the tournament right now but also said that Germans are the best team so far at the World Cup. His Dutch side will face either one of the two teams in the final of the World Cup.
He reserved his preference as to which team his Dutch side will like to play in the finals but also revealed that if Germany make it through it will be a replay of the 1974 World Cup final, which the Dutch lost. Van Marwijk said that it will be unique to play Germany after all the history. The Dutch manager said that Johan Cruyff is the best footballer ever to play the sport and it was he who led the team against Germans in 1974 but Holland lost the match despite playing better football.
He stated that his Dutch side are happy to be in the final and are not thinking in terms of revenge should the Germans make it through as well. Van Marwijk’s side have won 14 matches in a row now including the qualifying games for the World Cup, he said that this was possible only because the players believed in their ability.
Marwijk remarked that if you believe in something, you can bring it to materialization. He also commented that his team had learned not to be complacent over the past two years.
Wesley Sneijder who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Dutch has been one of the best players of the tournament so far and is currently the joint top goal scorer in the FIFA World Cup 2010. He scored his fifth goal against Uruguay in the semi-final. Sneijder said that the match was a hard one and Uruguay despite being the underdogs gave Holland a tough time.
He then remarked that the Dutch players have to just focus on the final match. He also said that the most important thing was now to win the final match because World Cup is the biggest thing and the feeling inside the Dutch camp right now is fantastic.
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