As in any sport, the great names have staying power in soccer, and few countries can match the Netherlands for pure star quality. It’s the coveted trophy that seems to elude the Dutch. Now, as Europe takes full control of the World Cup, the Dutch have a chance to win it for the first time in their glorious history.
Tuesday marked the occasion of Uruguay’s last stand, too outclassed and undermanned to reverse the tide in a 3-2 semifinal loss. The Dutch scored three of the most wildly different goals imaginable, a testament to their formidable scoring potential and newfound team harmony. These guys actually like each other, after decades of internal discord, and now comes a berth in Sunday’s final against the winner of today’s semifinal between Spain and Germany.
If the final score made the game seem close, it really wasn’t. It was 3-1 into the 85th minute, when Uruguay’s great Diego Forlán was forced to leave the game. Forlán’s 30-yard bullet, his fourth goal of the tournament, had tied the game at 1-1 in the first half, but Forlán had been dealing with a thigh injury all night.
“From the first minute, he had a problem,” said his coach, Óscar Tabárez. “I’m not dumb enough to take him out at 3-1 when the match wasn’t lost. He was injured and could not continue.”
It spoke volumes about the Uruguayans’ will (they were pretty feisty- we have to admit) when Maxi Pereira drove home a goal in extra time, but it served only to close the gap. Uruguay had been hindered from the start, playing without the suspended Luis Suárez (whose hand-save triggered international debate after the quarterfinal against Ghana), top defender Jorge Fucile (also suspended) and the youngster believed to be the new hope of Uruguayan soccer, Nicolás Lodeiro, who made the trip but was sidelined with a broken foot.
So the result seemed fitting, especially in light of the Netherlands’ inspired attack. The first goal was an absolute bolt of lightning, a 35-yard bullet from Giovanni van Bronckhorst when the defender found himself with plenty of space on the left side of the pitch. All things considered, it might have been the goal of the tournament, a magnificent left-footed drive into the far top corner.
It’s still hard to believe that the Netherlands’ second goal actually found the target. There were three defenders in the way when Wesley Sneijder drilled one from about 15 yards away on the left side, but it deflected off one man, might have grazed another and slipped under the cleat of Sneijder’s teammate, Robin van Persie, who very well might have been offside, before sliding into the net.
Sneijder’s goal was his fifth, putting him in a tie for the tournament lead with Spain’s David Villa, and the Barcelona striker will be a focal point as Spain takes on Germany today.
“FINALS!” screams the front page of the popular Telegraaf daily with a picture of a roaring lion, the Dutch national symbol, and a half-page action shot of the third goal scored by winger Arjen Robben.
“Oranje (the team’s nickname) smells gold,” it continued, adding: “The Netherlands has had to wait 32 years for it” - referring to the country’s last appearance in a World Cup final in 1978, when they lost to Argentina.
The newspapers were filled to the brim with photos of Holland fans celebrating in the Netherlands and South Africa, as the Christian daily Trouw stated that the Dutch triumph over Uruguay should help settle the “trauma” of the 1974 and 1978 World Cup losses.
So Germany take on Spain tonight- what a game that’s going to be! I’m pretty interested to see how the well-oiled German machine will strategise their match. I’m with Germany Springleapers. What are your thoughts??
