Dutch Football - National Team - Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk warns for too much opportunism

"The intellectualisation
of football has
always foundered
on a simple problem-
-the players. Doing
all your most
rewarding thinking
with your feet seems
to dull the philo-
sophical impulse.
Unless, of course,
you are Dutch.
According to legend,
Europeans played
a moronic, muscular
version of the world's
game, until Holland
proclaimed its vision
of total football in the
1974 World Cup,
and enlightenment
dawned."

From:
Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk warns for too much opportunism

Wednesday 17 December 2008

At the annual Christmas meeting of the KNVB in Huis ter Duin in the city of Noordwijk, Holland boss Bert van Marwijk was clear in his judgment.

"We booked some decent results with the Dutch national team in 2008. During the last European Championships it was clear to see that it was important to be able to defend well. For Holland Edwin van der Sar played an important par in that. From the moment I took over I have tried to add balance between the offense and the defense. Some will call that boring. I call it realistic. I also feel we should guard ourselves against too much opportunism around the national team. The easier we win games with Holland, the weaker our opponents are made out to be. And that of course is not the case. But if we fail to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa have failed. Let that be clear."

During the gathering at which Van Marwijk's assistants Frank de Boer and Phillip Cocu were also present the emphasis was on common sense, realism and clarity.