A lack of Depth

The comment made by Bob in the World Cup Blog Power Rankings and a phrase from an article I posted earlier got me thinking. The Dutch are really lacking in some areas of player development. We are really getting down to the bottom of the barrel in terms of defending and goalkeeping. I mean no disrespect to the players chosen for those positions but one can’t argue that the pre-provisional squad list on Marco van Basten’s desk was over flowing with quality contenders for the defence and goalkeeping spots. They just don’t exist. The bit that caught my eye in the article was:

“In goal, Edwin Van der Sar is uncontested — to the extent that injury to the trusty Manchester United ‘keeper would expose the yawning gap in Dutch goalkeeping.”

Here is my thesis: a country’s strength in depth often lies in the position of their most famous player. Look at the evidence. In Germany, a stubborn and indomitable sense of solidity and defense personified by the defender, Franz Beckenbauer. In Italy it is the same with players like Maldini, Bergomi and Baresi all coming to mind (although the attacking talent of Rossi is an exception). Now look at Brazil. Pele, Jairzinho, Garrincha and Vava are the first that pop into my mind. Now think of the current Brazilian side’s strength in depth in those attacking positions compared to that of their defense. The comparison is striking in my opinion.

Then we have the Dutch. Isn’t it likely that the majority of the Dutch youth envision themselves bursting into the penalty area and bulging the net with a sublime effort a la Cruyff? These are just thoughts and maybe they’re misformed but all I can do is call it like I see it…