Netherlands Team: When the Tulips Wither

The 0-3 defeat to Türkiye not only narrowed the door to Euro 2016 for the Netherlands, but also exposed a series of serious problems in the football of the land of tulips.

History is a series of concentric circles. When the Netherlands lost the qualifying round yesterday, September 6, and lost the right to decide the race to the final next summer, did anyone remember that the Netherlands did not participate in the Euros held in France in 1960 and 1984 (in 1984, because they failed to qualify and did not participate in 1960). Now, history is returning, bringing with it dark memories.

In the 26th minute of the match between Türkiye and the Netherlands, Arda Turan, surrounded by three or four Dutch players, still rushed in, broke into the space and scored past Jasper Cillessen. 2-0 for Türkiye, when the match had only passed a third of the time. That strong play by Turan, along with the weakness and frailty of the Dutch defenders, is the image of the two teams today. When having to compete in a match that plays a vital role in a place in the play-off round to hope to be present in France next year, only one team showed strength, desire and courage. That team is not the Netherlands.

What happened to this team, when just a year ago in Brazil, they were considered the third best in the world? The departure of Louis Van Gaal left behind shortcomings in both personnel and playing style, but in fact the problems of Dutch football have been festering for half a decade. And the Euro 2016 qualifiers were just the time when those wounds burst open.

The Netherlands are far behind other football nations. Even Türkiye (in red) can now bully them easily, as in yesterday's match in Konya. Photo: AFP.

Five years ago in South Africa, the coach of the Netherlands, Bert Van Marwijk, presented a completely different side to the tradition. The Netherlands of the 2010 World Cup was a pragmatic, dry and even violent team. If in the past, missing a match of the Netherlands meant missing a sumptuous feast, then in South Africa that day the feast was full of stones.

It can be said that the shock of losing in the quarter-finals to Russia at Euro 2008, despite presenting a fiery style of play, was the main reason for that change of the Netherlands. But the third defeat in the final of the 2010 World Cup made this unlucky team even more uncertain about old and new tactics. Fans were willing to forgive the "bad winds" if the Netherlands won the championship, but the defeat made everything even harder to accept. And then at Euro 2012, the hesitation between the tradition of attacking or proactive defense caused the Netherlands to be eliminated right from the group stage, in a group that also included Portugal and Germany.

When Louis van Gaal led the Netherlands to the 2014 World Cup, he did not use the traditional 4-3-3 formation, but switched to 3-5-2 with the goal of not losing first and attacking later. The Netherlands could be considered successful at this World Cup, but that is when another problem appeared: people. Looking at Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder playing in Brazil that year, someone asked "Where will this team go if these three elite players retire?" Indeed, the Netherlands is living in a period of depression regarding the next generation.

Blind took over the Dutch national team at a time when the country's football was in a crisis, both in terms of personnel and playing style. Photo: Reuters.

In the past, this never happened. The Dutch youth academy was too good. After Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, they had Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, then Edgar Davids, Dennis Bergkamp, ​​Ruud van Nistelrooy, Patrick Kluivert, the De Boer brothers... then Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder... but when the three best players of the generation born in 1983-1985 are on the other side of their careers, where do the Dutch look among Memphis Depay, Stefan de Vrij, Daley Blind, Bas Dost, Jordy Clasie or Bruno-Martins Indi. All are just average names in Europe.

The thing is, Ajax Amsterdam were pioneers in youth development. They were the first team to establish the "gold standard" for youth player input, called the "TIPS Standard". TIPS stands for "Technique", "Insight", "Personality" and "Speed". At that time, Huw Jennings, a youth development expert in England, described it this way: "All the latest ideas about how to develop young players started at Ajax".

But when football began to become a giant economic machine, Ajax became a victim. Big clubs across Europe copied Ajax's ideas and model, and defeated their "father" with money and modern facilities. Eventually, due to poor financial conditions, Ajax had to harvest and sell "green rice", preventing many potential young players from developing to their full potential. The lack of a successor generation today is the result of a series of mistakes in macro football management by the Royal Dutch Football Association over the past decade. And now it is backfiring on them.

Behind Van Persie and Sneijder is a scary void, as the Netherlands cannot find any truly outstanding new players to place their trust in. Photo: Reuters.

Dutch football has created legendary stories. Before Johan Cruyff appeared with the Total Football of his master Jack Reynolds, the Netherlands did not have much of a voice on the world football map. "Saint Johan" and his fiery attacking football at that time turned the tide, bringing the power of the Netherlands with a style of play that terrified opponents and captivated those who witnessed it, thereby affirming the role and strong vitality of the "Orange Hurricane".

Nearly half a century has passed, mentioning the Dutch team is mentioning a "bogeyman" of the football world. A team that is passionately admired, a team of glory but also brings a lot of pain, instability and bad luck. Therefore, Euro 2016 without the Netherlands is like a party that has lost a part of its spice - a spicy, hot spice, always lingering with a bitter taste of unfinished.

According to VNE