Van Marwijk: "This will be totally different"
Wednesday, 30 June
2010
Holland are putting
down an incredible series during this World Cup campaign.
When we take it from the start of the campaign in September
2008, the first qualification game against Macedonia,
Holland are maintaining a 100% score: they have won
all eight qualifiers, and now during the finals they
have won all four games they have played. That is twelve
victories in twelve World Cup games - an unseen record
for Holland, and probably (we haven't checked) very
close to the world record.
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| Luis Fabiano is a lethal goal scorer,
although a bit one-dimensional (we think) |
But so far all opponents
were second grade. On Friday it's one of the top teams
in World Football. Playing the national football team
of Brazil is as hard as football gets. They have won
the World Cup five times and are the current number
1 in the FIFA
World Ranking. Yet the Brazilians will be thinking
along similar lines; Holland are after all the number
4 of that ranking (which was issued in May - Holland
will be third in the new issue), and although the Netherlands
have never won the World Cup, they have always given
Brazil a very hard time.
Holland boss Bert
van Marwijk knows it. "This will be a totally different
game, with a totally different situation to start from.
So far we have been the favorites in each game. But
I think now we are the underdogs. "
Expectations vary
in the Dutch media, but all are confident that a good
result against this Brazilian team is possible. Van
Marwijk: "Brazil have no secrets for us, and they
will know everything about us, they'll know exactly
how we play. They have a team that never adapts to the
opponents, but that can give us an advantage."
Robinho is nowhere
near Arjen Robben
Looking at the quality of the players there is little
difference. Brazil have a little edge in the center
of defense, and Maicon and Bastos are definitely better
than Van der Wiel and Van Bronckhorst. Then there's
the holding players in midfield. For Holland there's
Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong. Brazil secure their
defense with Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo. Both pairs
have been equally solid this World Cup.
Comparing the forwards,
Holland clearly have an advantage over the 'Divine
Canaries'. Robinho is nowhere near Arjen Robben
and when we have to pick either Sneijder or Kaká,
we think we will opt for the Inter Milan midfielder
most of the time. Luis Fabiano has scored a few goals
at this tournament, but we prefer Van Persie anytime,
as he is a much more complete player, who causes a defense
a lot more problems than the one-dimensional Fabiano.
The same goes for the comparison of Kuyt and Elano:
the Liverpool man would be our first choice without
a doubt.
But with good teams
it's not about the individuals as much as it is about
the way they gel and interact. Wasn't it Louis van Gaal
who said that the value of a good team is greater than
the sum of it's 11 players? Comparing these two assets
we see little difference, and the same goes for the
tactics. Both play a modern style football, where the
most important defensive tasks are no longer carried
out by the back four, but by the two center backs and
the two defensive midfielders. Both teams lean heavily
on the block of six at the back and rely on the four
up front for goals.
"Brazil have
always been a good team," says Dutch midfielder
Ibrahim Afellay. "And this year they have again
really impressed me. They have individual qualities
but they are also a team."
A quick glance at
the coaches tells us that Van Marwijk has a lot more
experience than Carlos Dunga, for whom his appointment
as manager of Brazil is his first coaching job, whereas
Van Marwijk has extensive experience at club level,
winning the UEFA Cup with modest Feyenoord.
And that is why the
Dutch Bondscoach is confident: "It's a real
challenge to play against Brazil. But not just a challenge.
We will play to win."
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