Thanks to the fans…

Head down, disappointment in the body language… That’s how Sneijder walked behind his team mates doing the “thank you” rounds on the pitch to applaude the fans. Not a happy trooper…

Straight after the last whistle, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Melchiot and Bouma immediately left the pitch. Spin doctor Kees Jansma was standing close to the exit, ignorant of the players leaving, until an angry captain van der Sar pushed the former NOS anchor to retrieve the dissident players. Not much later, the four players returned to pay respect to the fans.

Van der Sar, after a cooling down period: “When you qualified for the EC you need to thank your fans, they supported us most of the match. It’s your duty!”

Van der Vaar apologized for his escape. “I was very disappointed about the game. That’s why I just wanted to hit the shower. But that was wrong and I came back immediately. Obviously, we needed to go back and thank the crowd.”

It was one of those birthday parties where no one wants to go to. The birthday boy wasn’t happy to be having his birthday and the guests didn’t enjoy themselves. After the match, again a screaming whistling concert was the reward for Oranje, just like after the Slovenia match.

This time however, the fans cheered the team on until the end. Even when the goal fest wasn’t to be. It was after the late chances for the guests that the fans turned against the team.

“I think the fans were reasonable tonight,” said Van der Sar. “Before the match, when we came into Rotterdam, they were cheering us widely. And also during the game. It was the last five minutes that pissed them off. And rightly so. We just can’t give those chances away, it’s just not on. No, I am not happy…”

Most players were struggling to look happy, in contrast with say Poland or Italy. Only later, the players had a modest celebration in bar Cinema.

“We won’t go dancing or something,” Van Nistelrooy predicted. “Just a drink with the wives. But the most important thing is that we will be there when the draw is on.”

Van der Vaart: “We should be thankful we have the best keeper in the world. But, we qualified without real headaches. And that’s good. I think we will do better against better opponents.”

“It wasn’t a football fiesta,” according to Marco van Basten. “The last five minutes determined the overall feelings of the players and that led to disappointment. But, I truly need to compliment the fans, they supported us all the way.”