Unique chance for Young Oranje

Young Oranje can write history tonight by winning the EC as the host country for the first time. Oranje’s opponent is the strong Serbia team.

Foppe de Haan is known to be a down to earth kind of guy. But when the reporter of Omrop Fryslan (Friesland’s broadcasting service; Foppe’s province) asked him if he was proud that the whole nation supported him, he had to gasp for air and tears welled up in his eyes. But he quickly got himself together and said: “It is very special to be able to win the EC for the second time.”

And special it is. Not only will it be the first time ever for a host to win, it would also mean that Oranje will be the third nation ever to win the Cup two times in a row. Only England and Italy were able to do this.

Since De Haan is the director of Youth Teams at the KNVB, things have changed in Holland. In the past, Dutch youth teams never really achieved anything against smarter and physically stronger countries like France, Italy and Germany. De Haan approached his job very seriously indeed, as Collins Jonh and Quincy Owusu-Abeeyie can confirm. Both hugely talented youngsters were kicked out of the group because they couldn’t deliver the professional behaviour De Haan demands.

The team that will play Serbia tonight made a strong impression as a tight and strong collective. The play wasn’t always great and maybe this generation is not the most talented but the team exhales fun and unity.

“Last year’s team, with Huntelaar, Schaars and De Zeeuw had much more individual talent and class,” De Haan admits. “But this team has spirit. There aren’t a lot of similarities. Daniel de Ridder is the only player who played last year in the finals.

“The impact of this tournament is much bigger than last year. In terms of media, fans… Full stadiums, that really impresses… Winning tonight is definitely not a certainty. De Haan showed the players some footage of Serbia, playing in this tournament. The euforia Oranje had after the England game, disappeared rapidly.

“That is one hell of a team,” says Ron Vlaar, who’ll miss the finals due to an injury. “Serbia has a strong defense. It’s a physically strong team with great individual skills. We will need to play our passing game to perfection. We tried against England, but that didn’t work. We will need to up our game.”

De Haan emphasizes that Serbia will be the strongest opponent ever. “They are more mature than Portugal or England. They operate as a team unit.” Still, Foppe is confident. “When I look at the boys’ faces, I am confident. They radiate strength and self-confidence. That’s good. But, you can win and you can lose… But I do have a good feeling about the game.”