EK 92, General Michels’ last stand

Ooohhh…. the butterflies are waking up in my stomach… Only a couple of weeks left…

Let’s look back a little, shall we?

In 1988, Oranje won their first and only official prize (we were named best of the world in 1974 but forgot to win the last match). The next big tournament in 1990 was a bit of a disaster. So, when Rinus Michels decided to get back on board for the Sweden EC we felt we were ready for some revenge. Not only did we still have names like Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten in our squad, we also had this quaint shy kid from Amsterdam called Dennis Bergkamp in our midst. So how did we do again?

12 juni 1992 Tough victory over Scotland

The starting line up against Scotland was a disappointment for Danny Blind. Van Aerle, back from injury, got the benefit of the doubt. Blind had played all qualifications matches as right full back, but Michels said he would from now on be Ronald Koeman’s understudy. It was Ruud Gullit who shone in the first hlf hour of the match, but it took till late in the game for Oranje to score. Rijkaard had a decent shooting opportunity in the first half, but it was the tight defending of the Bravehearts that put Oranje to the test. Ronald Koeman had some free kick attempts in the second half, but it would be Bergkamp who scored a late header after preparation work of the Milanese trio: 1-0.

15 juni 1992 Goalless against Russia

Michels used the same line up for the second match against Russia. Oranje again started with flair. Van Tiggelen had a good run forward, Van Basten’s header sailed just over the bar after a Brian Roy cross and on the other side, Van Breukelen denied Joeran a goal. Dennis Bergkamp had a huge chance but with the Russians countering dangerously, Oranje started to get a tad nervous.

Goalie Sjarin would become the hero of the game. He stopped a header and a shot from Rijkaard, denied Wouters his backwards header goal and kept the scoreline clean. Dennis Bergkamp impressed with a run over 50 meters to no avail and when Oranje finally scored - a Van Basten header on a Wouters’ cross - the linesman had spotted off side. TV replays showed the linesman was wrong. The Russians were happy with the draw, Oranje ran out of steam. After two matches, Germany led the group with Holland on a second spot.
1 Duitsland 2 1 1 0 3 3-1
2 Nederland 2 1 1 0 3 1-0
3 GOS 2 0 2 0 2 1-1
4 Schotland 2 0 0 2 0 0-3

The final game in the group between Holland and Germany would be crucial. Germany only needed a draw.

18 juni 1992 Oranje beats Weltmeister Germany

Berry van Aerle was injured and a young Frank de Boer was his replacement against world champs Germany. Oranje scored in the third minute already, which is always nice, but certainly against our neighbours Germany. Frank Rijkaard won a header-duel on a Koeman free-kick. Fifteen minutes later, the Oranje Legion could cheer again. Another free-kick and while everyone expected Gunner Koeman to pull the trigger, it was current Oranje assistant Rob Witschge who blasted the ball through the wall and in the goal. The Germans were ready to be slaughtered. Van Basten crushed the bar whiel Roy and Gullit missed huge opps. The Germans fought back in the second half. Jurgen Klinsmann scored the 2-1 and Germany went for the equalizer. But it was Oranje that scored again. Marco van Basten was the director, pointing sub Aron Winter where to cross the ball. Dennis Bergkamp was the recipient of the cross and the Menace scored. Of course he scored. The defeat wouldn’t have any negative consequences for the Germans though. Scotland beat the Russians and both Holland and Germany advanced to the semi finals.

22 juni 1992 Penalty kick syndrome starts

Denmark came into the tournament to replace the Yugoslavian team. They were picked from the Spanish beaches, was the saying. The Danes were Oranje’s opponent in the semis. A beach-team? We’ll see… As onecan expects, no one in the Dutch camp gve this match a lot of attention. Everybody spoke about the wonderful victory over the Germans (revenge on 1974, yes…yet again and revenge for the spitting match in 1990) and about the finals of the EC, Oranje - Germany again! This had it’s effect in the semis. The ball circulation was slow, we lost most duels on midfield and Ruud Gullit and Brian Roy could never settle in the game. The Danes scored first, with a huge mistake by Van Breukelen after lacklustre defending by Frank de Boer. Dennis Bergkamp brought Oranje back in the game but half an hour later, Danish Dynamite scored again. Again, sloppy defending. In the last minutes of the game, a desperate Oranje tried to get back in the game and Frank Rijkaard made it happen.
In the extra time, Brian Roy had the winner on his feet but hit the ball into Peter Schmeichel. It would end in penalties and in tears. Germany had already beat Sweden in the other semi finals (3-2) and they could be seen smiling on the stands. The Danes didn’t miss a single penalty. Oranje did. None other than former best player of the world Marco van Basten missed and Denmark would proceed into the finals.

The good thing was, of course, that Denmark gained so much confidence that they also defeated the Germans in the finals: 2-0.

The Miracle of Sweden was a fact. Germany lost another finals, and Holland…? Well, we again played a wonderful match against the Germans, but again we forgot to take the silverware…

This EC marked the end for Marco’s career in big tournaments but - like The King is dead, long live the King - Dennis Bergkamp’s reign had just started.