|
|
|
|
Netherlands national football team
|
| |
|
| |
The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany and Argentina. At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precision passing.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Netherlands national football team' Start a new discussion about 'Netherlands national football team' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany and Argentina. At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precision passing. In many countries the team is colloquially referred to as "Holland". It is ranked 3rd in the FIFA World Rankings.
History
The Netherlands played their first international match in Antwerp against Belgium on 30 April 1905. The Dutch won the game 4–1, with all four of their goals coming from Eddy de Neve. De Neve would score six goals during his international career, which would span only three games. Technically, however, the Dutch had played four games prior to this under the guise of a squad selected by Cees van Hasselt, who would also be the coach for the game against Belgium and for the following three years. These games were not sanctioned by the KNVB because of the absence of an organization to arrange them, which would not occur until the inception of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association in 1904. These first four unofficial games were played against an equally unofficial English side and were played annually from 1901 until 1904.
The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934, and after coming back in 1938, the Dutch national team entered the wilderness of world football.
History to 1970
Not until a shift to a national league and full professionalism in the 1950s did the fortunes of the Netherlands improve at both club and international level. In the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, they finished 2 points behind Austria, having lost 3–2 in Vienna after leading 2–0. The team saw continuous improvement throughout the 1960s.
Total Football
They came out of this wilderness in the 1970s with the invention of Total Football , pioneered by Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruijff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made huge strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade.
in the final of the 1974 World Cup.]]
In 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, despite having gone 1–0 up through Johan Neeskens' early penalty kick before any German had even touched the ball. The Dutch were trying to embarrass the Germans at home while they were only up 1–0. This would prove their undoing. Supported by the crowd, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the late game-winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans. In spite of losing the final, the "Clockwork Orange" and Johan Cruijff had already written a new page in football's history.
By comparison, Euro 76 was a disappointment. The Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to Czechoslovakia, as much because of fighting within the squad and the coach George Knobel, as well as the skill of the eventual winners.
In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be again beaten by the hosts, Argentina. This side played without Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem and Jan van Beveren, who refused to participate in the World Cup. It still contained players such as Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol and Rob Rensenbrink from the 1974 selection. This time the Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages, as they qualified only as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland. In the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3–1 after two extra time goals from Argentina in the hostile environment in Buenos Aires. Agonisingly for the Dutch, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1–1.
Euro 80 was the last tournament that the generation of Total Football qualified for, but they did not advance past the group stage, despite the tournament format being expanded that year. Veterans such as Krol and Rensenbrink retired soon afterwards and the Netherlands missed the 1982 World Cup, Euro 84, and the 1986 World Cup in succession.
European Champions
Rinus Michels returned to coach the team for the Euro 88 tournament. After losing the first group match against the USSR (1–0), the Netherlands went on to qualify for the semi-final by defeating England 3–1 (with a hat-trick by the tournament's top scorer Marco van Basten), and Republic of Ireland (1–0). For many Dutch football supporters, the most important match in the tournament was the semi-final against West Germany, the host country, considered a revenge for the lost 1974 World Cup final (also in West Germany). Marco van Basten, who would later become national team coach, scored in the 89th minute of the game to sink the German side. The game is also remembered for its post-match shenanigans, including Ronald Koeman, who, in front of the German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it were toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted. The Netherlands won the final with a convincing victory over the USSR, a rematch on the round robin game, through a header by Ruud Gullit and a volley by Van Basten. This was the national team's first major tournament win and it restored them to the forefront of international football after almost a decade in the wilderness.
Despite high expectations as the team entered the 1990 World Cup, that tournament was not a success. Van Basten failed to score, as he was frequently marked by opposing defenders, while Gullit was ineffective having not fully recovered from injury. The Dutch managed to advance despite drawing all three group games, meeting their arch-rivals West Germany in the round of 16. The match is most remembered for the spitting-incident involving Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler as the Netherlands lost 2–1.
The team subsequently reached the semi-finals in the Euro 92, which was noted for the emergence of Dennis Bergkamp, but they were eliminated by eventual champions Denmark, with Van Basten's kick in the penalty shootout being saved by Peter Schmeichel. This was also Van Basten's last major tournament, as he retired shortly after due to injury.
In the 1994 World Cup, Dennis Bergkamp led the team with 3 goals and the Netherlands advanced to the quarter-finals, where they lost 3–2 to eventual champions Brazil.
1998 World Cup and Euro 2000
At Euro 96, after drawing 0–0 with Scotland and beating Switzerland 2–0, they faced the hosts England in the pool A decider, with both teams on 4 points. After 62 minutes, with Scotland beating Switzerland 1–0, The Netherlands were 4–0 down and looked like finishing third behind Scotland on goal difference and going out of the tournament, but Patrick Kluivert converted a Dennis Bergkamp assist and scored in the 78th minute to see the Dutch finish second on goals scored. They then played France in the quarter-finals, drawing 0–0 and being eliminated 5–4 on penalties.
In 1998 World Cup, Netherlands, whose team included Marc Overmars, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer and Patrick Kluivert, met Argentina in the quarterfinal, a rematch of the 1978 final. Near the end of regular time, after an unsuccessful dive to draw a penalty, Argentinian Ariel Ortega head-butted Edwin van der Sar. Ortega was sent off and the Netherlands won 2–1 after a Bergkamp goal in the 89th minute. Bergkamp's goal was famous because of its quality--he touched down a pass from Frank de Boer then reverse-flicked it inside Roberto Ayala and finally volleyed it past the Argentine goalkeeper. In the semi-final, the Netherlands took Brazil to a penalty shootout after a late Kluivert goal tied the match 1–1, but Brazil won the shootout 4–2 and advanced to the final. Netherlands lost the 3rd place match 2–1 to upstart Croatia.
Netherlands co-hosted Euro 2000 with Belgium and were one of the favourites coming into the tournament. Getting all three wins in the group stage, including a win over reigning World Cup champions France, they then crushed Yugoslavia 6–1 in the quarter-finals, with Kluivert getting a hat-trick. In the semi-finals, their opponents, Italy, went down to ten men in the first half and the Netherlands were awarded two penalty kicks but failed to convert either chance. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo made two saves in the shootout (in addition to his penalty saves in regulation time) to eliminate the Netherlands. Coach Frank Rijkaard was widely criticized by the press as the Dutch had squandered several chances to kill the game and he resigned, with Louis van Gaal taking over. Dennis Bergkamp retired from the national team after Euro 2000, having failed to score during the tournament.
Recent
Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, with crucial losses to Portugal and the Republic of Ireland, the latter of which eliminated them from the Finals tournament. Van Gaal resigned at the conclusion of the Netherlands' unsuccessful campaign.
Netherlands reached the semifinals of Euro 2004 but lost to Portugal. Coach Dick Advocaat was criticized for his tactics and player changes and stepped down after the tournament. Also, many of the team's World Cup veterans like Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Jaap Stam, and Patrick Kluivert had either retired or were not selected for the upcoming World Cup by new coach Marco van Basten.
The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and finished second in Group C after beating Serbia & Montenegro (1-0) and the Ivory Coast (2-1) and drawing Argentina (0-0). Both Argentina and the Netherlands finished the group stage with 7 points, but the Argentinians had a superior goal difference and finished first as a result. The Dutch were eliminated in the second round after losing 0-1 to Portugal, in a match that produced 16 yellow cards (which matched the World Cup record for most cautions in one game set in 2002) and set a new World Cup record of four red cards (two for either side) and was nicknamed "the Battle of Nuremberg" by the press. Despite criticism surrounding his selection policy and the lack of attacking football from his team, Marco van Basten was offered a two-year extension to his contract by the Dutch FA, which would allow him to serve as national coach during Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The move was widely regarded as a vote of confidence in Van Basten and his assistants by the KNVB officials.
The Netherlands began their Euro 2008 campaign with a win in Luxembourg on 2 September 2006. On September 8, 2007 the Oranje beat Bulgaria at the Amsterdam ArenA on goals by Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy. On September 12, 2007, the Netherlands won a hard fought victory against Albania, with Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring the winning goal in stoppage time. This win takes the Dutch squad into second place in group G, on level with Romania for points, but behind on goal differential. The Oranje were beaten 1-0 in Romania on October 13, 2007, but four days later the Netherlands' 2-0 victory over Slovenia, while rivals Bulgaria could only draw in Albania, left the Dutch needing one win from their last two games, at home to Luxembourg and away to Belarus, to qualify for Euro 2008.
The Netherlands played their first game in 2008 against Croatia in Split. The team, without Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Clarence Seedorf, Orlando Engelaar, and Arjen Robben, won the match 3-0. The first goal was scored by John Heitinga on a header, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the second goal on assist from Tim de Cler. The final goal came from Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. The team used a new formation under Marco van Basten, scrapping the previously used 4-3-3 formation for a 4-2-3-1.
Euro 2008
The Dutch team was a participant in the 'Group of Death', together with France, Italy and Romania. They began Euro 2008 with a 3–0 win over World Cup Champion Italy in Berne on 9 June 2008. This was the Netherlands' first victory over Italy since 1978. In their second group match against France on 13 June 2008, the Netherlands won convincingly with a 4–1 score. The Dutch closed out an incredible group stage campaign with a 2–0 win over Romania. However, they lost in the quarter-final to former coach Guus Hiddink's Russia with 3–1, despite a late 86th minute equaliser by Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Russians ended the Dutch run with two goals in extra time.
Last and next games
KEY: F = Friendly match; WCQ2010 = 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Strip
The Netherlands national football plays in a bright orange shirt. Orange is the historic national colour of the Netherlands, originating from the coat of arms of the Dutch founding father William of Orange-Nassau. The top red band of the current flag was originally orange. The current Dutch away shirt is "nassau blue", with a small trim on the chest containing the colors of the Dutch flag.
Nike is the kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1996 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018.
Competitive record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|
| 1930 | Did Not Enter | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1934 | Round 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | | 1938 | Round 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | | 1950 | Did Not Enter | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1954 | Did Not Enter | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1958 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1962 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1966 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1970 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1974 | Final | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | |
| 1978 | Final | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 10 | | 1982 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1986 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1990 | Round 2 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | | 1994 | Quarter-Finals | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | | 1998 | Semi-Finals | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3* | 1 | 13 | 7 | | 2002 | Did Not Qualify | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2006 | Round 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | | 2010 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2014 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total | 8/18 | 2 Finals | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 59 | 38 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.
- **Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Current squad
|
| Netherlands line-up v. Tunisia February 11 2009 |
Squad by national team manager Bert van Marwijk for the international friendly match against Tunisia on 11 February 2009.
Caps and goals as of 11 February 2009
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Recent call-ups
The following players have all recently been called up to the Netherlands squad. Bracket shows last call-up time.
Previous squads
FIFA World Cup squads:
UEFA European Football Championship squads:
- 2008 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 2004 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 2000 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 1996 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 1992 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 1988 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 1980 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
- 1976 European Football Championship squads - Netherlands
Past managers
Cees van Hasselt 1905-1908
Edgar Chadwick 1908-1913
Jimmy Hogan 1910
Tom Bradshaw 1913
Billy Hunter 1914
Jack Reynolds 1919
Fred Warburton 1919-1923
Jim Waites 1921
Bob Glendenning 1923
Billy Townley 1924
J.E. Bollington 1924
Bob Glendenning 1925-1940
Karel Kaufman 1946
Jesse Carver 1947-1948
Tom Sneddon 1948
Karel Kaufman 1949
Jaap van der Leck 1949-1954
Karel Kaufman 1954-1955
Friedrich Donenfeld 1955
Max Merkel 1955-1956
Heinrich Müller 1956
Friedrich Donenfeld 1956-1957
George Hardwick 1957
Elek Schwartz 1957-1964
Denis Neville 1964-1966
Georg Kessler 1966-1970
Frantiek Fadrhonc 1970-1974
Rinus Michels 1974
George Knobel 1974-1976
Jan Zwartkruis 1976-1977
Ernst Happel 1977-1978
Jan Zwartkruis 1978-1981
Rob Baan 1981
Kees Rijvers 1981
Rob Baan 1981
Kees Rijvers 1981-1984
Rinus Michels 1984-1985
Leo Beenhakker 1985-1986
Rinus Michels 1986-1988
Thijs Libregts 1988-1990
Nol de Ruiter 1990
Leo Beenhakker 1990
Rinus Michels 1990-1992
Dick Advocaat 1992-1995
Guus Hiddink 1995-1998
Jan Rab 1997
Frank Rijkaard 1998-2000
Louis van Gaal 2000-2002
Dick Advocaat 2002-2004
Marco van Basten 2004-2008
Bert van Marwijk 2008-current
Players
Notable past players
Listed according to when they debuted for Netherlands (year in parentheses):
Most capped players
As of October 19, 2008, the ten players with the most caps for the Netherlands are:
Players in Bold are still active, at international level.
National B team
The KVNB re-instated the national B team in October 2008 after an absence of 20 years, this because the U21 national squad failed to make the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. It will be led by Johan Neeskens and Dennis Bergkamp will be his assistant.
National B Squad is :
See also
External links
Titles
|
| |
|
|
