Arthur Numan: "Holland are outsiders, but that's a good position to be in"

Monday 24 May 2010

Arthur Numan played 45 games for Holland and he was a member of the (in our opinion) best Dutch team ever during the 1998 World Cup in France, a tournament he still remembers very well.

Numan against Blanco of Mexico in the last group game (2-2) of the World Cup of 1998

"Oh yeah, it was a fantastic tournament and there was a great atmosphere. We had such a quality team and a great balance. We had players who would make the chances, players who scored and players who prevented goals. The players felt that they could reach the final even before the tournament started. Every training session was a final. Enormous competition among the players. Looking back it was the highlight of my career."

Numan missed the semifinal against Brazil for his two yellow cards in the quarterfinal against Argentina. "That was very disappointing. The first card was wrong. Daniel Ortega went diving. But the second was justified. I believe it was Juan Veron who went flying 3 meters high up through the air. I knew straight away I was off."

Numan had to watch from the side line how Holland was eliminated on penalties against Brazil after arguably the best game of the tournament. "That was tough. When I played I always created this tension around me. I needed that to perform well. Once the bus arrived at the stadium that tension would disappear. But now I was in the stands, unable to have any influence on the game, like all the other supporters, just hoping they would reach the final."

But that didn't happen. Although Holland had the team to win it that year.

"Yeah, we could have won it. I'm not saying we would have, as France had a fairly decent team and they did beat Brazil in the final (3-0, df). It was a shame we went out that way. Apart from me being suspended, Marc Overmars was out with an injury. That meant that almost the entire left wing was failing."

Numan thinks the current Dutch side is an outsider for winning the tournament.

"But that's a good position to be in. It will be relatively quiet around the team and they can quietly grow into it. It's not good to be under pressure from day one. When I talk to people outside the Netherlands they feel the favorites are Brazil, Spain and England. Holland will perhaps meet Italy in the second round. It's an advantage that they already met them in a friendly this season. Holland have a great team but you need a bit of luck to go a long way in the tournament."

Even though Numan made his debut in professional football as a forward, he finished his career as a defender. These days captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst plays on his position and he too started out as a striker. Numan doesn't think much has changed in the way you have to play in th left back position.

"I believe it's still the same. First of all you have to be a good defender, but when in possession you have to be able to take part in the build up and go on the overlap. It will be the last tournament for Van Bronckhorst. There's been some discussion about him, but Gio will do just great. He has so much experience, he's the captain and a steady asset to the team."

At the moment there is more discussion about who Van Marwijk will take along as a second behind Van Bronckhorst: Vurnon Anita or Edson Braafheid. Both are young and inexperienced and not yet of proven quality.

"It's up to Van Marwijk of course. But Vurnon has done great for Ajax this season. He has the advantage of being able to play in several positions. He is a positive kid. For a coach he's an ideal character to have on the team. Edson went to Celtic as to not endanger his spot in the team. But after a few weeks he ended up on the bench. That must have been disappointing for him."

Looking at today's players who play in his position Numan is a fan of Manchester United's Patrice Evra. "He's got this urge to go forward and he can cross the ball. All top teams have such players nowadays; players who will come forward when the opportunity is there."

As was the case so many times before internal bickering could ruin the chances of the Dutch team to go all the way in South Africa. "And that is why it is key that players remain respectful towards each other. They'll be spending a lot of time together for weeks. Everyone must be prepared to make sacrifices for the team. With 23 players on the team Van Marwijk will have to make tough choices. Some players will be disappointed, but they will have to accept it and be professional about it. There's only one goal and that is to win it in the end."