HE HAD ill-advisedly discussed the match in the context of the Second World War, but, for Ruud van Nistelrooy, it represented nothing so much as a personal crusade. Making his long-awaited first appearance in a leading tournament at the age of 27, the Manchester United forward was forced to endure 81 minutes of isolation and frustration last night before he came to life, scoring a spectacular goal to spare Holland from a damaging defeat by their most bitter rivals.
Until then it seemed that Germany, producing their best performance since the 2002 World Cup, would compound the misery of their neighbours, who, as so often, had had their preparations disrupted by internal squabbles. A fortuitous 30th-minute goal from Torsten Frings had put Germany on course for a precious victory, but Van Nistelrooy saved his team-mates and Dick Advocaat, the Holland coach, from a result that would have heightened talk of a crisis in the camp.
It was a special moment for Van Nistelrooy, who missed the last European Championship finals because of injury and then had to watch the World Cup as a spectator after Holland’s failure to qualify. So carried away was he during the build-up to this tournament that he dared to mention the war, causing outrage in the German media, but, with what he called a “loaded” fixture having passed off safely, it appeared that his faux pas would have no lasting repercussions.
Germany’s form in the build-up to Euro 2004, which included embarrassing defeats to Hungary and Romania, was even worse than Holland’s, but they started the game impressively, quickly asserting themselves on the field if not necessarily in the stands, where they were heavily outnumbered. Even before the breakthrough came, Kevin Kuranyi had tested Edwin van der Sar with a fine shot from 25 yards while Christian Wörns, the central defender, appeared surprised to find himself in goalscoring positions on three occasions, twice from the menacing dead-ball delivery of Frings.
The next time he was asked to take a free kick, Frings sent the ball deeper, perhaps over-hitting it slightly, and it sailed past forwards and defenders alike, including a horrified Van der Sar, before going in off the post.
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Germany were good value for their half-time lead and Advocaat, whose initial selection had raised eyebrows, made a double substitution, taking off the tempestuous Edgar Davids. Slowly but surely, an improvement ensued. Although Germany continued to threaten on the counter- attack, the introduction of Marc Overmars on the left-hand side provided Holland with a cutting edge that Boudewijn Zenden had lacked in the first half. Even so, Germany appeared to be coasting towards victory, with Rudi Völler, their coach, feeling confident enough to send on two of his least experienced players as substitutes.
But Holland were coming closer and closer. A speculative shot from Overmars forced Oliver Kahn, the Germany goalkeeper, into a fine save in the 74th minute before, with nine minutes remaining, Germany’s resistance was broken. Andy van der Meyde, beating Philipp Lahm for almost the first time, crossed well to the near post, where Van Nistelrooy, under pressure from Wörns, stretched out his right leg to volley past Kahn.
If Advocaat was briefly tempted to regard a draw as a moral victory, the intense inquisition he was forced to endure in the post-match press conference suggested otherwise. He was asked why it had taken him until half-time to send on Overmars and Wesley Sneijder. He gave the impression of a man who realised he had made mistakes.
Völler, by comparison, was cheerful as he said that his team, having entered the tournament with such low expectations, would now take on Latvia on Saturday with renewed confidence. The biggest smile in the stadium, though, belonged to Van Nistelrooy. War may have been over-stating it, but, without doubt, this was a personal battle won.
GERMANY (4-4-1-1): 1 O Kahn — 3 A Friedrich, 4 C Wörns, 5 J Nowotny, 21 P Lahm — 19 B Schneider (sub: 7 B Schweinsteiger, 68min), 8 D Hamann, 6 F Baumann, 22 T Frings (sub: 18 F Ernst, 79) — 13 M Ballack — 10 K Kuranyi (sub: 9 F Bobic 85). Substitutes not used: 2 A Hinkel, 14 T Brdaric, 17 C Ziege, 15 S Kehl, 16 J Jeremies, 20 L Podolski, 11 M Klose, 12 J Lehmann, 23 T Hildebrand. Booked: Kuranyi, Ballack.
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HOLLAND (4-4-1-1): 1 E van der Sar — 18 J Heitinga (sub: 17 P van Hooijdonk, 73), 3 J Stam, 4 W Bouma, 5 G van Bronckhorst — 7 A van der Meyde, 6 P Cocu, 8 E Davids (sub: 14 W Sneijder 46), 22 B Zenden (sub: 16 M Overmars 46) — 11 R van der Vaart — 9 R van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: 2 M Reiziger, 15 F de Boer, 21 P Bosvelt, 19 A Robben, 9 P Kluivert, 12 R Makaay, 13 S Westerveld, 23 R Waterreus. Booked: Cocu, Stam.
Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).