Uruguay-Netherlands 2-3
Van Marwijk: "Mission is almost complete"

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Bondscoach Bert van Marwijk managed to remain reasonably calm after the semifinal victory over Uruguay (3-2). "At my first day of work two years ago I told these boys that we're on a mission. It's great that that mission is now almost complete. But we're not there yet," he said on Dutch TV.

Van Marwijk that his mind had wandered back to those lost finals of 1974 and 1978. "Yes, I know it's been 32 years since we have been in the final. I feel that as a small country we can be proud. I won the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord and then we didn't have the best players, but we did have the best team. With this Dutch team we have come to believe in this mission. The players have started to understand what I mean. Then you can create the atmosphere that's needed."

Van Marwijk admitted that the forced substitution of Demy de Zeeuw changed Holland's play for the better. "We started well, but after that there was a phase in which we weren't that great. During the break De Zeeuw turned out to be too affected to play on. We put on Van der Vaart and with him we saw more of the ball."

The best moments of Holland's linkup play twice led to goals. Goals that turned out to be decisive. "And we should have scored a few more. When they scored their second we saw some very close moments. But we survived. There was great relieve in the dressing room."

Van Marwijk thought Holland have grown. "We can play good football and we can play attractive football. But often we get complacent and get eliminated. I have tried to teach the team to defend as a team That's the difference. Look at Barcelona. Even a player like Messi carries out his defensive tasks. We've made that step as well."

Cards
21' M. Pereira
30' M. Caceres
	30' Sneijder
	78' K. Boulahrouz
	90'+2 M. van Bommel