Prepare yourself, Dutch football is about to be back in a big way
Dutch soccer appeared to be wallowing in its own despair.
Not since the 1980s had Netherlands missed out on two consecutive major international tournaments. They were made to watch from home as the rest of the world soccer elite congregated in Russia for the 2018 World Cup. A lot has changed since then, though.
The period between 2014 and 2018 will be remembered as something of a nadir for the Dutch game, but that fallow spell allowed green shoots to appear through the scorched earth. Indeed, Netherlands now boasts a crop as exciting as anything produced by the country since the 1990s, underlined by their impressive Nations League semifinal win over England last week
In the past year, Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong have risen to the top of the European game, with one already set to join Barcelona this summer and the other expected to join him. Memphis Depay has gone some way to fulfill the potential that initially led Manchester United to sign him, while Donny van de Beek, Quincy Promes and Nathan Ake have emerged and Virgil Van Dijk is widely considered the sport’s best central defender.
There have been wins over Germany, France and of course England as well as draws away to Belgium and Italy. But Netherlands’ progress over the past 12 months cannot be summed up merely through the development of players and the achievement of a few impressive results. Something bigger has happened.
International football is often defined by great teams, but more accurately, by great philosophies. The early part of the 2000s, for instance, was defined by the Brazil side of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho and their trademark ‘Joga Bonito’ style. Then it was Spain’s turn to set the zeitgeist. Indeed, ‘Tiki-Taka’ didn’t just change the international game, but the sport as a whole. Their influence is felt even to this day.
Germany’s personality as a team wasn’t quite as distinct, but their efficient pragmatism moved soccer on from the idealism of ‘Tiki-Taka.’ Now, Germany have been toppled and it is time for the next prevalent zeitgeist to be established. This is where this current Netherlands team could make their greatest impression.
Ronald Koeman has harnessed the dynamism of his group of players. It’s not just that they are comfortable on the ball – that is, after all, expected of the modern soccer player, particularly at the elite level. It’s that their positional fluidity makes them among the most difficult teams to play against in the game right now.
That, of course, is an ideology borrowed from Johan Cruyff’s ‘Total Football,’ a notion that has informed Dutch soccer for decades. Netherlands by no means possess a complete team. There are holes in their starting lineup, most notably in attack where they lack a true goalscorer to lead the line. But the Dutch boast a trait all great soccer teams have in the modern age – a common ideology. It is embodied by the likes of de Jong and de Ligt, but it permeates through the national game, trickling from the top to the bottom.
What we are witnessing now from Netherlands is only likely to be the start of something. For instance, de Ligt won’t turn 20 until August while de Jong also has the look of a player who will operate at the top of the sport for a decade, maybe more.
On top of this, Netherlands only won the Under-17 European Championships last month.
There should be more to come from this group of Dutch talent, with the past year only offering a preview of what could become an Oranje generation. If this, a team that made the final of the Nations League, losing only to Cristiano Ronaldo and the Finals hosts, by beating some of the best teams going and is now considered among the favorites for next year’s Euros, is just the start, then what follows from this point on will be special.