Third place at World Cup to the brink of European exile — it’s a total... DUTCH DISASTER
LITTLE over a year ago, Holland were a penalty s hootout away from the World Cup final. Now they stand on the brink of failing to qualify for the European Championship.
Sunday night’s defeat by Turkey means that Danny Blind’s side now face an uphill battle even to pick up a play-off place — in what should have been their easiest ever qualifying campaign.
So how have the side which finished third at the World Cup, and were runners-up four years earlier, fallen so far, so fast?
A MISSING GENERATION
Dutch superstars Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder are all the wrong side of 30. But Holland have plenty of young talent coming up through their ranks. Memphis Depay i s the stand-out name, but 12 of Blind’s current squad are 24 or under.
The problem lies in between. Of the starting line-up against Turkey, only two players were between 26 and 30. Those two were Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen — still young for his position — and full back Gregory van der Wiel, who has 46 caps but is yet to play for PSG this season having fallen down the pecking order.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Not only do Holland lack players at their peak but they may also be suffering from inflated expectations.
Despite their thirdplace finish, Holland weren’t all that impressive in Brazil, aside from the 5-1 win over Spain. The Worl d Cup earned many of the players big-money moves, with 15 of the 24 men involved (including manager Louis van Gaal) since changing clubs.
But f ew have really impressed in the last year, and it may just be that the Dutch side of 2014 have been seriously overrated.
POWER VACUUM AT TOP
Van Gaal may not yet have Manchester United playing Total Football, but his departure has left a power vacuum in the Dutch set-up.
Guus Hiddink’s return lasted 10 months, with the 68-year-old winning four of his 10 matches.
Now Blind ( l eft) i s already having to quash rumours that he will be the next man to go after losing his first two games in charge.
DOMESTIC SLUMP
Underlying Holland’s international slump is a f ai l i ng in their domestic league.
No Dutch club have reached the knock- out stages of the Champions League since 2007, when PSV beat Arsenal before being thrashed by Liverpool.
This season Ajax have failed to get through qualifying, so PSV will be the lone Dutch side in the group stages. Holland’s league is now ranked as the 10th best in Europe and may slip down again next season. This could see them lose their only automatic qualification spot for the Champions League.
No longer can Ajax bring through a generation of Dutch stars and hold on to them. Instead young players depart — mostly for the Premier League — before they’ve matured and this means some internationals are spending too much time on the bench.
Ibrahim Afellay is the perfect example. Injuries and the quality of his team-mates prevented him breaking through at Barcelona and now, having drifted around Europe, he must try to prove himself at Stoke City.
BAD LUCK AND INJURIES
Holland’s group is one of the toughest around, with Iceland — so close to making the last World Cup and currently leading the group — coming from pot five. They could have been given Macedonia, Cyprus or Georgia instead.
Then there are injuries. Arjen Robben missed out against Turkey and a fit Ron Vlaar would add muchneeded experience to the squad. Bruno Martins Indi’s suspension has left the defence exposed.
But the real blow is the loss of Kevin Strootman, who last played for his country in March 2014.
The Roma midfielder ought to be the man driving the new generation forward, bridging the gap between old and new.
But a cruciate ligament injury, which ruled him out of last summer’s World Cup, recurred in January, and his career is, once again, on ice.