Discover Benelux | Culture | Fifa 2014 World Cup
Ruminations on a Dutch face in the final TEXT: JOHANN WIEBE | PHOTO: DREAMSTIME.COM
their appreciation for the achievement with a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam.
Almost four years ago and for only the third time in history, the Netherlands reached the FIFA World Cup final after beating Brazil and Uruguay in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. Following a bloodcurdling 120 minutes of football in the sweltering heat of South Africa’s FNB Stadium, also known as The Calabash thanks to its resemblance to the tradition African cooking pot, Andres Iniesta of Spain scored the only goal of the evening, securing Spain’s first FIFA World Cup victory.
The national team’s balance of experience and youthful flair has been championed as the reason behind their brush with success and this is reflected in a generation of established professionals that play on a weekly basis with the highest echelons of European football, complemented by a couple of motivated, eager, success-hungry youngsters.
The defeat came as a blow for the Dutch players, staff and supporters, who have been unable to win any meaningful silverware in international football other than the Euro Cup in 1988. However, upon their return to the Netherlands, the Dutch gave their heroes a warm welcome, expressing
At this year’s World Cup in Brazil, the Dutch are pooled together with Chile, Australia and Spain in Group B. Ironically, Spain vs. the Netherlands will be the first match for both nations, bringing back memories of that special night four years ago that ended in joy for the former and tears for the latter.
Despite the fact that the Netherlands managed to qualify pretty convincingly for the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, expectations of a repeat show in the final have been tempered. On paper, the Dutch still have a decent squad with some promising new faces, however, driven by the debacle during the EURO Cup 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, with not a single victory in the group stage, moderate scepticism of their ability to secure any silverware prevails. Therefore, favourites to win the Copa Mundial 2014 are Argentina, Germany, Spain and of course the hosting nation Brazil. The Dutch Lions will be no more than a dark horse.
Issue 5 | May 2014 | 59