It
is five days since the beginning of Euro 2012 and it must be said that so far
it has been a pleasantly surprising start, on the footballing side of things at
least. With the first round of matches complete and the second round of group
fixtures having begun on Tuesday, there has been no shortage of excitement. The
first nine matches have produced 25 goals, two red cards, upset, villains
controversy, heroes-both familiar and less well known, and some exhilarating
and brilliantly colourful atmospheres; but few are likely to be as intense or
as colourful as for this evening’s clash between Holland and Germany.
The
two European neighbours have an intense national rivalry, footballing and
otherwise, which stretches back to the German’s brutal occupation of the
Netherlands during the Second World War. The first time that the two nations
were able to, truly, pit their wits against each other on the pitch, after the
end of hostilities in 1945, came on the greatest stage of all, the 1974 World
Cup Final.
The
tournament itself was staged in West Germany, giving the Germans home
advantage. This was the Dutch team of Cruyff, Neeskens, Jansen and Jonny Rep.
Under Rinus Michels this was the team dubbed “A Clockwork Orange” for their
Total Voetbal style, which saw each player able to rotate, slot in and play wherever necessary.
They were widely regarded, and rightly so, as the best team in the World.
However
such was the bitterness and resentment towards the German nation within the
Dutch squad, that the desire to humiliate their opponents was their own
downfall. Despite taking the lead through a Johan Neeskens penalty in the
second minute, the emotional Dutch would go on to lose 2-1 to the more
pragmatic German team, which included Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Mueller.
The
match and the result is known in Holland, to this day, as "De moeder aller
nederlagen" ("The mother of all defeats") and it only served to
intensify the animosity felt by the people of Holland towards their wartime
oppressors. A testament to the seething
resentment felt by the Dutch about the
game and the Germans, and why, is summed
up perfectly by this statement from Wim van Hagenem, who played in midfield for
Holland at the tournament.
“I
didn't give a damn about the score. 1–0 was enough, as long as we could
humiliate them. I hate them. They murdered my family. My father, my sister, two
of my brothers. Each time I faced Germany I was angst-filled.”
The
teams met again at both the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championships.
Both matches were aggressive, if not downright violent, affairs. Fights broke
out on the pitch amongst players, with Toni Schumacher and Huub Stevens coming
to blows on one occasion and Bernd Schuster receiving a punch in the face from
Rene van der Kerkhov on another. Both matches occurred in group stages of
tournaments and as such the scorelines were secondary to the on-pitch rivalry.
Fast-
forward eight years to Euro 88. Again
West Germany is the backdrop, this time it’s staging the European
Championship. West Germany, once more,
face Holland, meeting in the semi-final. This is the Holland team of Koeman,
Gullit, Rijkaard, van Basten, still under Rinus Michels, facing off against the
W. Germany of Matthaeus, Voeller, and Klinsmann under the tutelage of The
Kaiser himself, Franz Beckenbauer.
After
taking the lead in the second half through a Matthaeus penalty after a foul by
Rijkaard on Klinsmann, the Germans were pegged back just under twenty minutes
from time when van Basten was toppled in the box. Koeman converted and then,
with the match heading for extra time, slid a fantastic ball through to van
Basten who, sliding in, angled the ball past the despairing Immel into the back
of the net.
Holland
went on to win the final against the Soviet Union and win their first, and
only, major tournament trophy. It was the semi-final victory, however, that
meant more to the Dutch nation than a thousand trophies. These sentiments were
summed up perfectly by Rinus Michels when he addressed the crowd during the
victory parade in Amsterdam.
"We
won the tournament, but we all know that the semi-final was the real
final"
The
players realised what their achievement meant to their countrymen, this can be
seen by the words of Hans van Breukelen (GK) and Ruud Gullit the Captain of the
Dutch squad, who said respectively.
“I
had been waiting for that moment for fourteen years. Before the game I
remembered my feelings watching TV as a teenager, and that boosted up my anger.
I am happy to have been able to give this gift to the older generation, the
ones that lived through the War.”
“We
gave joy to the older generation. I saw their emotions, their tears.”
Although
the German sides over the years could never quite grasp the full nature of the
Dutch hatred towards them, likely because they didn’t fully grasp the horror
that the Dutch nation was subjected to at the hands of their forefathers, this
victory in 1988 exorcised a lot of demons for the Dutch nation. German sentiment
on the Dutch rivalry is explained in these quotes, the first from Karl Heinz
Rummenigge in 1978 and the second from Karl Heinz Foerster in 1980.
“The
pressure was tremendous. The popular press was blowing up the old rivalry. We
knew that on the pitch the Dutch were ready and waiting for us. We had to stay
focused. I think it's a true shame and pity that they regard football as an
outlet for their hatred from the Second World War.”
“Before
the game we knew that it was going to be tense. We had sworn to win, because
that victory was so important to our sense of pride. To them, beating us is the
best thing there is. They hate us so much more than we hate them.”
The
two sides met again in a fiery encounter in the 1990 World Cup, a game infamous
for the spitting incidents between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voeller, which
resulted in both players being dismissed. West Germany won 2-1 and, although
the game was bitterly contested, the animosity was more of a footballing nature
than of a political one. Somewhere between the 1988 semi-final and the 1990
second round, the poisonous hatred been the two nations had been detoxified and
had instead evolved into a more common football rivalry, in the style that
might be seen at a bitter local derby.
Since
then, a victory for Holland in the group stage of Euro 92 and a 1-1 draw at
Euro 04 are the only two competitive matches that have been played between the
two nations. The two met in a friendly late last year, with Germany making
short-work of their opponents who put in a rather lacklustre display on the
night.
As
tonight’s game approaches, the rivalry is set to be renewed properly on the
European stage. Germany eventually saw off a stubborn if unimaginative Portugal
side 1-0 in their group b opener and sit joint top of the standings with every
chance of going through. Holland conversely had a nightmare against Denmark in
their opening encounter. An over-confident Holland began in second gear against
the Danes, who took the lead midway through the first-half. Once behind, the
Dutch had no answers. Denmark defended well but, in truth, Holland lacked
creativity and struggled to lift the tempo of their game to truly cause Denmark
real problems.
These
two results mean that Holland must win this evening to have any real chance of
qualification for the quarter finals. Going out in the first round is
unthinkable for van Marwijk’s World Cup finalists. Pre-tournament third
favourites and packed full of superstars, the Dutch must up their game
completely and a change of tactics in midfield may be necessary from the coach
if he is going to achieve optimum impact from his array of attacking riches.
Should
Germany win the match, Holland will be out, after two games and, at the hands
of their fiercest historical rivals! This would be too much for the Dutch
nation to bear and their team of extremely well paid superstars would feel a
torrent of anger and discontent. Should defeat occur, van Marwijk will lose his
job, unquestionably. Cruyff has been vocal in his criticism,even before this tournament,
about the team’s style of play under its current coach and, as we know, when
Cruyff speaks in Holland people listen.
The
Dutch need to come together, like they did in 1988, perhaps truly for the only
time in their history as a footballing nation. They must defeat a German side
that matches them in talent but surpasses them in spirit and unity. Individual
differences must be put aside, players must play from their hearts, the soul of
Dutch football and the Dutch nation must once more come together to defeat that
most hated of enemies, Zie Germans!
By Neil Patterson
Email: neil.b.patterson@gmail.com
Facebook: http://goo.gl/MJce0
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Neil1980
