Sneijder: "Two more games and we might lift the World Cup"

Tuesday, 6 July 2010
By Willem Vissers

"I have been in a hotel room for six weeks. Then you start to think. Two more games. Two times 90 minutes and you might lift the World Cup. That brings out so much power, it's impossible to describe. The game against Uruguay is what it is all about now. After that there is plenty of time to start preparing for the final."

"Being the top goal scorer is not my aim at this tournament. When you the amount of text messages I get about the personal prizes I could win. I don't even read them anymore. We have Uruguay on our mind; When you get knocked out now, you have nothing at all."

"Ahead of the tournament it was all about the Big Four. In the end things went a little differently. He will not be left out anymore. Impossible. I never had my doubts about Dirk. But the confidence of the manager is important as well, and to repay that. At Inter I experienced it with Mourinho. It brings about something I can not describe."

"Robin van Persie was easily pushed off the first three balls he got against Brazil, but he was up against a pair of gorillas. But after that he improved so much. He was very steady on the ball. Robin has been very useful in all those games. He's not as present as we know he can be, but there's two more games to come. He's huffing and puffing and helping the team. You must believe that you will get rewarded."

Believe
"The feeling that we reach the final is dominant. We all believe in that. But we still have nothing. I have heard that in Holland people have already been jumping in the canals for joy, but I will only jump in on July 12. And it's like that for the whole team."

"At Euro 2008, when we beat Italy and France, we left the stadium and the bus was one big party. We were banging the windows, going mad. Not now. Now we're quiet, relaxed, even after the game against Brazil. The focus was already on the next game. The word focus keeps coming back, it's starting to become an annoying word. But it's true. We have to focus on the next game, because we want to play the final."

"Yes, the Germans are at ease as well. Their coach (Löw, df) is calm and relaxed, just like Van Marwijk. They're not like Maradona, on the touchline like a nervous wreck, or Dunga. There's no point in that.""

"At every previous tournament we said: 'now we have a real team, now the atmosphere is good'. But this time it's real. It's not fake. Not that I'm saying it was fake then, but now you can tell from every little thing."

"I read a piece about Dirk Kuyt, before the game against Brazil, and he said: 'we're going to beat them'. Everyone had that feeling. We didn't display our best football. But when it was necessary, like in that second half against Brazil, we were there."

"My game can be compared to that of the Dutch team. You don't get that many chances against teams that don't allow it. But when a chance does come around you must be ready. And I have proven that in the four games before Brazil, as I was involved in almost every goal. Against Brazil I showed I was feeling well, and at some moments I can be the difference. And I demand that of myself. Opponents don't leave me room anymore. Those days are over. But looking at all nine goals I was involved in seven of them."

"In the past I would get upset when I didn't get enough balls. Now I don't. I used to sometimes do too much. I learned from those times. I am 26 and I have some experience. Against Brazil I believe I was in our own box at least ten times. Then it's a matter of waiting, waiting for the right moment. Even if you have to wait for 90 minutes. We know we will always score a goal."

"In football nowadays there is so much more involved than just play along when you're in possession. When you don't have the ball you have to make sure you're defense is positioned right. I work my socks off every game, because I have a goal. When you focus on that goal constantly things will work out. That is the key to success."

"We haven't lost a single game in qualifications, in the warm-up games or during the World Cup. Now you can say those games were against the smaller teams, but there are no more small teams - or it would to be against the reserves of Afghanistan. When you keep on winning you gain confidence. That's hosanna. When at the World Cup you can't put it on display, because the opponents have analyzed you well it's about the mental part. What will you put against it then. Especially on those terms we have made progress.

"Perhaps the game against Uruguay will be more difficult than the one against Brazil. They know how we can play. They're not stupid and won't give us an inch. We must win, at all expenses. After that the final is a game of it's own. A game you will never play again. You must try and enjoy that as well."

"I understand the mood in Holland is that we will simply brush away Uruguay. But we don't feel that way. When now, after six weeks, in the semifinal of the World Cup, you don't realize that you have to give everything to get to that final, you might as well go home. You might as well quit all together."