The Underachievers

Other than the Three Lions, I have always had a soft spot for the Orange Army.

Then again, ever since they missed two penalties in normal time on the way to a morale sapping defeat to Italy in Euro 2000, I have barely been able to distinguish if the soft spot was as a result of me hero worshipping the holy trinity of Dutch football, Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaardn when I was 10, or that it is just a humanistic bout of pity.

For a team with the lineage of players such as Johan Cruyff, the aforementioned trio and more recently, the nucleus of the European Cup conquering Ajax team in 1995, it amazes me that they've never won a World Cup.

Are they going to do it this year? Onus is, less than likely. The current team looks terrily imbalance and inexperienced. With the exception of Robben and Van Nistelrooy (whose consistency appears to be finally creaking), they lack explosive players that have proven themselves in the international stage, and more importantly, capable of turning matches around.
But alas, less and worst was probably said of the frighteningly efficient Greece team that took the title in Euro 2004 with the power of brute strength and German organization.

But for a team that invented 'total football', the Dutch have no intrinsic ability to rest their laurels on 1-0 victories.

Such a pity indeed.

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