A chain of famous, supposedly cerebral, footballers snaked across the halfway line to Christie’s tones. After initial confusion they even managed to co-ordinate an about-turn at the end of every stanza. Holland are all going in the same direction at last.
They celebrated so long and loud not only because the Ivory Coast had given them such a tough game and they had exceeded their own expectations (“I didn’t think we’d get through to the last 16 in just two games,” Ruud van Nistelrooy said) but because they feel their inexperienced team has captured a spirit that is special. For once the Oranje are not in segments. They are together. They were outgunned by an Ivorian midfield underpinned tenaciously by the Manchester United target Didier Zokora, and were pushed back in their own half for most of the later stages, but they held as a unit and prevailed. It was almost German.
Marco van Basten’s decision to drop established but sometimes fractious players, such as Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids, in favour of younger men and yeomen from PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar, has promoted cohesion and hunger, and has mended fault lines.
Where the Dutch once arrived at a World Cup with hubris in their suitcases, now they pack humility. Arjen Robben sometimes plays the prima donna for Chelsea, but his demeanour here is exemplary.
Named man of the match for his performance in Stuttgart on Friday, the first thing that Robben was asked at a press conference was “Do you deserve to be here?” The question was either grimly existentialist or downright insulting. Robben merely smiled.
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Arsenal’s Robin van Persie had suggested that perhaps his teammate should look up and pass to colleagues more. Robben was selfless against the Ivorians. When Van Persie bent a gorgeous free kick past Jean-Jacques Tizie to make it 1-0, Robben and Robin embraced.
Van Nistelrooy, who sat on the bench as cheerfully as Banquo’s ghost when Sir Alex Ferguson dropped him for the Carling Cup final, gave an initial “Who, me?” gesture when, for the second game running, he was substituted, but he swallowed his disappointment and shook hands with his coach.
Argentina look so refulgent, they may outshine any amount of Dutch sweetness and light when the sides meet in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Van Basten’s defence can be as wooden as a pair of clogs, and what Leo Messi, Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez and Juan Roman Riquelme could do to them is potentially frightening. Both nations are through, however, so Messi and Co may not be reaching for the jugular. “I’m glad we don’t have a decisive match against them,” Van Basten admitted.
Holland’s front line gives them a chance against any country, and even if their opponents play flat out, an Argentina victory is not inevitable. In both games Robben has been on fire. Against the Ivory Coast he prevailed against the excellent Emmanuel Eboué. Early in the match Robben pushed the ball past the Arsenal full-back, bolted, got his shoulder ahead of him and reached the ball first. For the rest of the evening Eboué was compromised.
Van Persie has also been a marvel, full of bravery and invention, winning the free kick he curled past Tizie with a moment of individual skill. “I thought Van Persie was marvellous,” Martin Jol, Tottenham’s manager, said. “Johan Cruyff said he was the strongest physically, and that’s an unbelievable compliment, because before he went to England, Van Persie was regarded as a little weak.”
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Van Nistelrooy’s goal against the Ivory Coast offered a masterclass of his greatest art. He has learnt that it does no harm to lurk in an illegal position until the final instant the ball is played. When he comes back onside, it is often momentary. Over the course of an entire move the time he spends, positionally, on the right side of the law might be minimal — but enough.
“I was emotional after that goal,” Van Nistelrooy said. “To score a goal in my first World Cup is something you dream about as child. I’ve scored a lot, but it was definitely the best.”
With Robben stretching them at one extremity and Van Persie at the other, and Van Nistelrooy poking around their guts, teams facing the Dutch forward line must feel they are experiencing something akin to being drawn and quartered. Argentina next.
The Dutch will remember France 98, when the teams met soon after Argentina had thrashed Jamaica 5-0 and
were looking ominously good. Holland prevailed, with Dennis Bergkamp scoring one of the great goals of any World Cup and the South Americans losing their cool. Ariel Ortega butted Edwin van der Sar and got sent off.
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Van der Sar and Phillip Cocu are the two survivors from the Dutch team which beat Ortega and Co in that quarter-final in Marseilles. Argentinians will prefer to recall the 1978 final, when Mario Kempes brought them ecstasy against a Cruyff-less Dutch. Either way, even if it doesn’t mean as much this time, this fixture is a classic.