Netherlands National Football Team Facts & History - Netherlands Football News and World Cup Results

Nickname(s):

Oranje, Clockwork Orange, Orange Crush, The Orangemen

Association:

Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond

Confederation:

UEFA

Home stadium:

Head coach:

Marco van Basten

Assistant coach:

Captain:

Edwin van der Sar

Top scorer:

Patrick Kluivert

Facts & History

1 Team Overview
2 History
3 Stars of the Current Squad
4 Team Legends
5 Team Honours
6 Management
7 Uniforms
8 Important Links
9 References

Team Overview

The Netherlands National Football Team was founded in 1889 and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. In the 70s, the team was really famous for its Total Football, reaching 2 World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978, but lost both of them. Winner of the 1988 Euro, the Orangemen qualified for the 2008 Euro, finishing at the 2nd place in Group G, 1 point behind Romania. They are now in Group C with France, Romania and Italy.

Road to Euro 2008
Despite an easy qualifying group G with teams such as Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Slovenia…, Netherlands finished only at the 2nd place, 1 point behind Romania. The Orangemen had a hard time, scoring only 15 goals in 12 games (Romania scored 26 goals in 12 games!), losing against Belarus and Romania! They are now in Group C with France, Italy and Romania, which is the hardest group of the 2008 Euro.

History

The first appearance of the Dutch national team in an official competition was at the 1934 World Cup, losing 3-2 against Switzerland. Football was professionalized in Netherlands in the 50s, which is later than most of the other European leagues. From 1950 to 1970, The Orangemen did not play any World Cup final stages, but the team was constantly improving.

In the 70s, national team coachRinus Michels came up with the invention of Total Football. Total Football is a very simple idea: a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus the team is keeping its original formation. Basically, it means that every player can play at any position on the field, which puts high technical and physical demands on the players. Led by playmaker Johan Cruijff, Netherlands would eventually reached 2 World Cups final in a decade.

In the 1974 World Cup, in the second group stage, they first beat Argentina 4-0, before wining 2-0 over Brazil, and finally reached their first World Cup Final. Unfortunately for Krol and his teammates, they lost 2-1 against West Germany, despite scoring first on a penalty, 2 minutes after the kick-off: in fact, they scored before any German had even touched the ball. This is Total Football!!

The 1976 Euro was a huge disappointment, compared to the 1974 World Cup. The Orangemen lost 3-1 against Czechoslovakia in the semi-finals, indeed they didn’t score in that game (own goal from the Czechoslovakian player Ondrus).

In the 1978 World Cup, the Dutch reached the final again, despite having a hard time in the first group stage. They were playing without players such as Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem and Jan van Beveren. Having helped the national team qualify for the upcoming World Cup, they refused to go in Argentina for political reasons: actually, 2 years prior to the event, the country suffered a military coup, and those players didn’t want to show any support to the new government. Netherlands finished as runner-up for the second time in a row, after losing 3-1 against Argentina in final.

In the 1980 Euro, Netherlands didn’t advance past the group stage. It was the last tournament of the Total Football’s generation. Moreover, experienced players such as Krol retired right after the competition and the team didn’t qualify for the 1982 World Cup, the 1984 Euro and the 1986 World Cup.

Rinus Michels came back to coach the team through the 1988 Euro. The Dutch lost their first game against USSR, but they managed a 3-1 victory over England and reached the semi-final: they won 2-1 over West Germany. They advanced to the final and took their revenge against USSR in a 2-0 victory. For the first time in its history, Netherlands won the European Championship.

The 1990 World Cup was, again, a disappointment. Despite drawing all 3 group games, the Orangemen reached the round of 16, but they lost against Germany 2-1.

In the 1992 Euro, the Dutch finished at the first place of the group stage; they even managed to win 3-1 over Germany. The team reached the semi-final, but lost against eventual champion Denmark. The tournament is also remembered as Van Basten’s last international tournament, and as the emergence of Dennis Bergkamp.

In the 1994 World Cup, they advanced to the quarter-finals but lost against Brazil (2-3). In the Round of 16, they beat the Republic of Ireland.

In the group stage of the 1996 Euro, they lost 4-1 against hosts England, but were still qualified over Scotland because of their goal difference. However, they were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.

The 1998 World Cup was the first international tournament for most of the new generation of players (Overmars, Cocu, Davids…) and probably was on the best for Netherlands since the 1988 Euro. They finished first of their group, then beat Yugoslavia in the Round of 16. They played Argentina in the quarter-finals, which was considered as a rematch of the 1978 final and managed to win 2-1. However, the Dutch lost in semi-final against Brazil, and then against Croatia for the 3rd place.

Netherlands co-hosted the 2000 Euro with Belgium therefore were one of the favourites. Winning all 3 games in the group stage, they then won 6-1 over Yugoslavia. However, the Orangemen completely missed their semi-finals: despite Italy went down to ten men in the first half, despite being awarded 2 penalty kicks (Italian goalkeeper Toldo saved both of them), they were eliminated in the shootout (Toldo made 2 other saves!!!). Having failed to score during the tournament, Bergkamp retired from the national team.

After failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, Netherlands were under a lot of pressure when entering the 2004 Euro. In the quarter-finals, they won against Sweden and reached the semi-finals, which the Dutch will eventually lose against Portugal, host of the competition.

In the 2006 World Cup, Netherlands reached the Round of 16, but lost against Portugal. That game produced a World Cup record of four red cards (two for either side) and was nicknamed "the Battle of Nuremberg" by the press.

The Dutch National Team qualified for the 2008 Euro. However, they are now in Group C, along with France, Italy and Romania!

Stars of the Current Squad

Edwin Van der Sar is the captain and the goalkeeper of the Dutch national team. Moreover, he is the most capped player in its history (122). In 1990, he joined the Ajax's youth centre. In 9 years with Ajax, he played in 226 games, won the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 Champions League. He then moved to Juventus for 2 years, before he joined the Premiership with Fullham. He has been playing for Manchester since 2005, Sir Alex Fergusson consider him as one of the best goalkeeper in the world. He started his international career in 1995 against Belarus, and has played all the major international competitions since then. On October 2007, he said he intends to retire from international football following the 2008 Euro.

Clarence Seedorf is a Dutch-Surinamese midfielder. One of the most capped player in his national team (86), he started his international career in 1995. He is the first and the only player to have won the Champions League with 3 different clubs: Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998) and AC Milan (2003 and 2007). Ignored by coach Van Basten for the 2006 World Cup, he was recently called up for the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Wesley Sneijder is a regular member of the Dutch National Team. He started his international career in 2003, only 2 years after his debut in professional football. He played with Ajax for 5 years and was transferred to Madrid in 2007 for a €27 million fee, making him the 2nd most expensive Dutch Football player ever. He scored 8 goals in 41 appearances for the Orangemen.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy is considered as one of the best striker in the world and is currently playing for Real Madrid. Since he started his professional career in 1993, he has scored a total of 300 goals in 458 games! He started his international career with the Dutch National Team in 1998 and has been playing in all major competitions since then, scoring a total of 30 goals in 59 appearances. In January 2007, after being left over by coach Van Basten, he announced his international retirement. 5 months later, after multiple conversations between Van Basten and him, he finally decided to come back to represent Netherlands at the 2008 Euro.

Team Legends

Johan Cruijff is the most famous exponent of Total Football and he is still considered as "the total footballer”. The complexity and precision of his angled passes, his ability to play anywhere on the field, his speed and acceleration, his vision of his team-mates' positions: those are the main qualities of that extraordinary player. 3 times Ballon d’Or (1971, 1973 and 1974), winner of the 1984 Dutch Golden Shoe, he led his team to a runner-up medal in the 1974 World Cup and was named Player of the Tournament. He retired from international football in 1977, after helping the national team qualify for the upcoming World Cup: he refused to participate to the competition in Argentina because of the military coup the country had suffered in 1975 and didn’t want to show any support to the new government. He scored a total of 33 goals in 48 appearances.

Ruud Krol is a former defender. He made his international debut in 1969 against England and was an important component in the Total Football formation in the 70s. He could play in any positions, from midfielder to defender. Runner-up of the 1974 World Cup, he then became captain of the Dutch National Team, after Cruijff’s retirement, and led his team to its second World Cup Final in 1978. However, he was unable to prevent Netherlands from losing 3-1 to Argentina. He also played at the 1980 Euro, but the Dutch were knocked out by Germany in the first round. He retired from international football in 1983 with a personal record of 83 caps and 4 goals.

Ruud Gullit is a versatile player: he could play as a striker or midfielder or even as a defender. He was considered as the new generation of Total Football. He made his international debut on his 19th birthday, in 1981, as a substitute against Switzerland. The beginning of his international career was disappointed as the Orangemen failed to qualify for the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and for the 1984 Euro. However, in 1988, under coach Rinus Michels, he was one of the key player, helping his country win the 1988 European Championship: he scored the 1st goal in the final against USSR with a beautiful header. However, he was injured for the 1990 World Cup, and his team was eliminated by West Germany. His last international tournament was the 1992 Euro, but Netherlands were eliminated by Denmark, the eventual winner. In 1993, after a long running dispute with head coach Dick Advocaat, Gullit left the national team, but he returned on May 1984. A few months later, shortly before the 1994 World Cup, he left the pre-tournament training camp, putting an end to his international career. He scored 17 goals in 66 appearances.

Frank Rijkaard is a former midfielder. He started his international career in 1981, only 1 year after his debut as a professional footballer. Winner of the 1988 Euro, he played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, and also in the 1992 Euro. He played his last game in a 3-2 defeat against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup.

Most International Matches Played

Rank	Player	Career Dates	Caps	# Appearances

Most Appearances

Rank	Player	Career Dates	# Appearances
1	Edwin Van Der Saar	1995-present	122
2	Franck de Boer	1990-2004	112
3	Philip Cocu	1996-2006	101
4	Marc Overmars	1993-2004	86
5	Clarence Seedorf	1994-present	86
6	Aron Winter	1987-2000	84
7	Ruud Krol	1969-1983	83
8	Patrick Kluivert	1994-2004	79
9	Dennis Bergkamp	1990-2000	79
10	Ronald Koeman	1983-1994	78

Most Goals

Rank	Player	Career Dates	# Goals
1	Patrick Kluivert	1994-2004	40
2	Dennis Bergkamp	1990-2000	37
3	Faas Wilkes	1946-1961	35
4	Abe Lenstra	1940-1959	33
4	Johan Cruijff	1966-1977	33
6	Ruud Van Nistelrooy	1998-present	30
7	Bep Bakhuys	1928-1937	28
8	Kick Smit	1935-1946	29
9	Marco Van Basten	1983-1992	58
10	Leen Vente	1933-1940	21

Player Recognition & Awards

Edwin Van der Sar – Best Goalkeeper of the Year – 1995
Clarence Seedorf – UEFA Midfielder of the Year – 2007
Johan Cruijff – Ballon d’Or – 1971, 1973, 1974
Ruud Gullit – Ballon d’Or – 1987
Marco Van Basten – Ballon d’Or – 1988, 1989, 1992

Team Honours

World Cup Record

Runner-Up: 1974, 1978

UEFA Euro – European Championships Record

1960 : did not enter
1964 - 1972 : did not qualify
1976 : third place
1980 : Round 1
1984 : did not qualify
1988 : winner
1992 : semi-finals
1996 : quarter-finals
2000 : semi-finals
2004 : semi-finals
2008 : qualified, in Group C

Management

Coach: Marco Van Basten succeeded to Dick Advocaat as Netherlands Head coach after Euro 2004. One of his first moves was to drop veterans such as Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars, Frank de Boer. His first international competition was the 2006 World Cup, but the Orangemen were eliminated in the Round of 16, losing against Portugal. Before this game, Van Basten dropped Van Nistelrooy in favor of Dirk Kuyt and his decision was heavily criticized. Under contract with the national team until 2008, he was offered a 2 years extension, but expressed his intention to leave his post when the contract expires.

Netherlands

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