Johan saw good and bad points…

In his post-match analysis, Johan Cruyff was particularly impressed by Robin van Persie’s game. “That free kick was enormous. He struck the ball so hard, the keeper never saw that ball, even though it went in the corner of the goal where the keeper positioned himself”. Cruyff also congratulated the defense: “They were the most criticised part of the team, but they stood their ground. They really grow into the tournament. I also liked the team spirit of this group. You could tell when they celebrated that they really operate as one. That’s an important factor in tournaments like these.”
JC was less impressed with our midfield. Hmm…why doesn’t that surprise me. “Our midfield had it tough today. They had trouble supporting our strikers and our defense. The change-over from possession to reclaiming was too slow. But, as I said earlier on, if you get past the group stages, something powerful could emerge within the team…”

The Dutch papers were critical on the Oranje team but celebrated the win with big colourful pictures on the front pages. The Ivory Coast papers, on the other side, were devastated, with claims that the referee didn’t give IC enough support. Still, the IC team did their country proud and we will see more of them in the tournaments to come…