The Dutch diaries: Part 1 - Friday the 13th

Robin van Persie guiding the ball into the net

16 years ago, the Netherlands registered a historic triumph as they defeated Argentina 2-1 in the quarterfinals, thanks to a peach of a goal by Dennis Bergkamp, who converted an inch perfect cross-field diagonal pass from Frank de Boer.

Fast forward to 2014, and Robin van Persie produced a beautiful moment of inspiration as he improvised to loop a header over Casillas following a lovely pass from Daley Blind.

Friday the 13th turned out to be quite the day for the Netherlands. And yes, for Spain too.

Three moments characterized the match –

1. That van Persie header.

2. Iker Casillas deciding that he was playing on a Sunday evening in the park when he took that first touch for van Persie’s second goal

3. Gerard Pique lifting the ball with the outside of his boot when they were trailing 1-5, only to see it being converted into a rasping volley by Robben. Casillas did very well to save it, but the lax attitude was there for all to see.

Netherlands’ tactical upper-hand

Credit where it’s due, Louis van Gaal showed why he is one of the most complete managers around. His ability to infuse the confidence necessary in his side to take the fight to the reigning European and World champions is commendable.

Also, he exhibited that well known tactical genius of his. The first half saw the Netherlands sticking to their plan to perfection. They recognized the fact that the Spanish centre-backs were playing a high line, and despite a couple of close off-side calls, persisted with the concept of trying to put balls in behind Spain’s defence.

Playing the 3-4-1-2 was another great choice made by van Gaal, as he could use the flying wing-backs as proper fullbacks in a 5 man defence when under siege, and alternatively, could keep the possession focused in Spain’s own half by pressing them intently.

This system allows van Persie and Robben to be very direct, and indulges their counter attacking tendencies. It also allows for genuine width in the form of Janmaat and Blind, both powerful, roving wing backs who work very hard for the team.

His decision to move away from his preferred 4-3-3 to a more progressive 3-4-1-2 worked very well as it created confusion in the Spanish ranks. With Busquets marking Sneijder, and both Pique and Ramos trying to prevent Robben and van Persie from getting in behind them, the full backs Alba and Azpilicueta had to move up the field to try and track Blind and Janmaat.

This opened up space in behind them for van Persie and Robben to run the channels and so allowed the possibility of multiple 1 on 1 situations with the goalkeeper.

The use of a 3 man defence allowed the Netherlands the luxury of an extra man in defence to deal with the threat posed by Spain. With one of Iniesta or Silva continuously dropping deep into midfield to receive the ball, it helped create overloads in defence for the Netherlands, who dealt with the situation comfortably.

Ron Vlaar was exceptional as the last man in defence, as he stayed on his feet till the last moment, and always ensured his body was in between the goal and the ball.

His ability to read the game, and make last ditch interceptions was pivotal to Spain having only a couple of chances in the first half, and none in the second.

Indi Martins was solid, as he man-marked Diego Costa for most of the match, following him all over the field, and making sure he wasn’t much of an influence.

Both van Persie and Robben were decisive and direct, with van Persie’s ability to hold the ball up, and bring others into play a great advantage. Robben was Robben, pacy, strong and selfish when there was a better placed teammate to finish. However, he did manage to score 2 goals, and could have had 2 more, so maybe let’s cut him some slack.

The man of the match though, was Daley Blind. The reigning Dutch player of the year, Blind was a revelation as he played the role of the left wing back to perfection. His ability to pick those diagonal passes, and link up well with both Robben and van Persie was critical to their success.

Daley Blind was at the heart of everything for the Dutch

The Dutch dilemma

Their centre midfield though is still an area of concern. The loss of Kevin Strootman to injury prompted the change in formation that van Gaal enforced.

Nigel de Jong still seems intent on continuing where he left off in 2010, getting involved in every little skirmish possible on the field. Jonathan de Guzman was tidy, but he did not offer much support going forward, and his passing lacked incisiveness.

Sneijder’s best moment in the game came when he provided the lovely pass that prompted Arjen Robben to make Sergio Ramos feel like Usain Bolt’s rivals. But apart from that, he was slow to the ball, his touch was laboured, and he missed the Netherlands’ best chance in the first half.

What went wrong for Spain

Spain were among the favourites before this game, and I do not believe this game has changed much for the bookies. However, it definitely has taken away the aura surrounding their tiki-taka based possession football, which is probably the biggest blow the Spaniards could have suffered.

Tactically, Spain were set-up differently when compared to the 2012 Euros. They had a proper goal-scoring striker in Costa; who could run the channels, be the focal point and finish emphatically.

This was supposed to be the tournament that Spain were at their most dangerous, as they now had a plan B in addition to using possession and passing to pummel their opponents into submission. With a squad bursting at the seams with quality, Spain probably have the best midfield in the entire competition.

But it was their inability to control midfield that was the primary cause for their capitulation against the Oranje. Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso hardly got onto the ball, and apart from one lovely pass and the penalty conversion respectively, both of them were conspicuous by their absence.

Also, with the Netherlands working hard to crowd the Spanish midfield, it put that much more emphasis on their defence to be sharp with their passing and positioning, which sadly wasn’t the case.

Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique were both slow and laboured around the field and frankly did not provide much resistance when faced with the countering at pace Dutch.

Also, Iker Casillas showed us exactly why Real Madrid have kept him on the bench regularly the last couple of seasons.

Going forward

For teams that are looking to sign a left back this summer (read Manchester United), Daley Blind could be a real bargain. Maybe this will convince the powers that be to stop playing Football Manager in search of so-called wonder kids to play left back. (or not)

Also, many thanks to the Goal line Technology pioneers for confirming each goal and tracing the ball’s path when the ball was comfortably seated in the back of the net.

Can Spain still qualify? Yes. Will they be able to qualify? Time will tell.

Should Casillas be dropped for the next game? Probably. Will he? Probably

The Netherlands did not play a perfect game. They were hesitant in the first half, but the equalizer just before half time gave them the confidence to harass Spain into making mistakes, and to start playing their own game with a lot of fluency. Were they good enough on the day to defeat Spain? Definitely.

They were not fancied before the game and although a fairly heavy victory has raised expectations, it doesn’t mean anything unless the Dutch make it count.

What matters though is the start.