Dutch thrive on disharmonic convergence | World Cup 2010JOHANNESBURG – For the most part, the World Cup’s most dysfunctional teams have packed up their egos and gone home, taking their strikes, mutinies and refusals to train with them.
With the quarterfinals upon us, one fractured squad is still here.
The Netherlands has charged toward glory despite the fact that its players don’t get along. Rumors and reports of strife in the Dutch camp have been prevalent since the start of the tournament, the disharmony including personality clashes, arguments and general unrest.
On Wednesday, two days ahead of his team’s showdown with Brazil in the last eight, head coach Bert van Marwijk even made it official, taking the unusual but possibly inspired step of bringing his squad’s issues into the open and admitting his players don’t like each other.
“Being friendly with each other is not important so it doesn’t concern me,” Van Marwijk said. “Yes, there are some situations. That is the way of it. Some players don’t like each other; it is not important. It doesn’t concern me and it doesn’t concern them.”
The most public display of angst involved Van Marwijk himself when forward Robin van Persie raged at the coach after being substituted against Slovakia in a 2-1 win in the round of 16. Following that spat Van Marwijk called a team meeting in an attempt to clear the air.
Dutch squads have regularly suffered with internal strife in the past, a factor that is widely believed to have contributed to the way they often fall apart during the business end of major tournaments.
At the 1996 European Championships, Edgar Davids was sent home following a rift with other players and negative comments about head coach Guus Hiddink. This time around, a hopeful nation is praying that Van Marwijk can overcome the lack of cohesion and lead his team to victory over Brazil in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The coach, though, seems to have little problem with the collision of egos. He even insisted that the edgy atmosphere between the players could have a positive effect.
“If everybody is happy and friendly all the time it is not always a good thing,” Van Marwijk said. “It is not always the best way to have a successful team.
“What matters is that everybody wants to win. They don’t have to want to win for each other. They just need to have that desire and belief and commitment. Other things don’t matter. Fortunately, our players understand that and are happy with it.”
The Netherlands will go into its clash against a rampant Brazil side as the underdog, but it is considered to have a fair fighting chance of upsetting the South American favorites. The technical and dynamic style employed by the Dutch gives them the opportunity to go head-to-head with Brazil, and the result could be one of the most entertaining games of the tournament so far.
And with some outstanding attacking talents such as Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Van Persie, the Netherlands won’t be fazed by the prospect of getting involved in a shootout against the World Cup’s most dominant force to date. There is just one thing that Van Marwijk will demand from his troops before they enter a match that provides a huge opportunity – a semifinal date against Uruguay or Ghana.
“There must be respect,” he said. “Anything else is irrelevant. But that is one thing they must have for each other. That is one thing that is crucial to function properly.
