Real Madrid’s Rejects are Dutch’s Treasure
Looking at this World Cup, it’s obvious that a large part of the Netherlands’ success was due to the dynamic duo of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. They proved that they are world class footballers which has to have Real Madrid squirming knowing they once had both these players.
The Spanish giants’ rejects Sneijder and Robben have showed their former club what they lost as they led the Oranje to the final. The two have unbelievable chemistry and caused problems for every team in the tournament.
The two have come through in the clutch and their dominance was emphasized in the semifinals as the pair each scored a second half goal en route to a 3-2 victory over Uruguay. The Dutch pairing have helped Holland reach its first final since 1978.
Uruguay’s star forward Diego Forlan gave the Oranje a scare equalizing late in the first half, following captain van Bronckhorst’s opening goal. The dynamic duo sealed it for the Netherlands before Uruguay came back with a late goal to bring the score to 3-2.
Sneijder and Robben were sold by Real Madrid to make way for the club’s major signings of Xabi Alonso, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Robben ended up at Bayern Munich and Sneijder went to the San Siro. Both led their clubs to a mountain of success this past season.
Bayern Munich and Inter Milan both won their league’s titles and squared off in th Champions League Final when Sneijder’s Nerazzurri ended up taking the crown.
Both men were very happy at Madrid and did not want to leave, but the move ended up being a huge gain for their new teams. Real Madrid may question their moves of trying to assemble a dream team, when it turns out that Sneijder and Robben are providing a dream team for the Dutch right now.
Real sold Robben to the Bavarian giants for 24 million euros, but he immediately made an impact with his new club, scoring two goals in his first game for the Germans and was their feature player on the way to winning the Bundesliga and German Cup.
Robben is known for his fantastic runs down the wing and those runs led to 20 goals with Munich and helped them claim both domestic titles.
Sneijder has been equally effective and has become a huge star in Milan. He brings powerful free kicks, has incredible vision and has given the Italians a whole new dimension of play in their attack.
With his performance in South Africa, his transfer to Inter for 15 million euros is looking like a steal for the Italians now.
His brilliant performances for the Nerazzurri helped the club to its first treble, winning the Scudetto (league title), the Coppa Italia and the club’s first Champion League title since 1965.
If Real Madrid continues to disappoint this coming season, even with Jose Mourinho as their new coach, then they will really have to begin to doubt these moves. They moved Sneijder and Robben in order to form a dream team but all the players they brought in did not lead them to the top of La Liga and did not bring them close to a European Championship. The players they shipped away did lead their clubs to greatness and that may provide a lesson.
Sometimes so called dream teams are not what they’re cracked up to be. Chemistry and teamwork can beat out talent alone, and Sneijder and Robben have talent to go along with their chemistry and creativity. Real Madrid attempted to buy a championship whereas Robben and Sneijder went out to earn them.
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