The Game according to the Dutch Media
“Arjen Robben was substituted during the 2004 European Championships in Portugal with a 2-0 lead to the Czech Republic. Oranje eventually lost the match 3-2. Marco van Basten did not make the same mistake that Dick Advocaat made. Our current coach placed his trust in Robben and the Chelsea winger showed it was warranted during the opening match at the World Cup. He was at the center of the victory over Serbia and Montenegro with a beautiful goal and sublime individual moves.”
- de Telegraaf
“Not all, but many questions about the strength and the weakness of the Dutch XI have been answered, the first match in Germany did provide hope for a successful continuation of the campaign in Germany. In Leipzig, besides the exceptional play of Robben, noticeable was the effectiveness and strength of our defensive back line.”
- de Volkskrant
“Holland did not shine as a unit against Serbia and Montenegro, a team that also had little to show. But Oranje did get off to a good World Cup start thanks to the individual class of Arjen Robben.”
- Voetbal International
Sourced from the Paint Germany Orange site
All good points Stuart, good analysing! Let’s hope these points can all be improved on, then we’ll be sensational…
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Interesting…I watched that match, and I wouldn’t describe the Dutch backline as “strong”. While they enjoyed the better control of play, they let a few excellent changes occur simply by not engaging the attack farther from the box.
Robben clearly came to play, but the others looked slow and hesitant to pass quickly on attack. I saw many occations where I think they’d have created beautiful chances, and possibly a few goals, if they’d passed a step sooner.
I don’t think Netherlands showed their best stuff yesterday, but they need to start bringing it to the for if they intend to hang around for any amount of time. I don’t see the side I saw yesterday beating Argentina at this point.