World Cup Final

Spain meet the Netherlands in the World Cup final on Sunday. Most people regard this contest as a foregone conclusion and some even deride the Dutch as boring and being ‘the worst Dutch side ever’. The general perception seems to be that you need to play beautiful football to win.

Many pundits are waxing lyrical about Spain’s superb technical ability and they are not wrong. In terms of sheer talent the Spaniards are the best in the world. They keep the ball brilliantly and their Barca-esque distribution is wonderful to behold. The truth is, however, that in a knockout tournament, the best side doesn’t not always win. Mental strength, team spirit, organization and astute tactics can bridge the gap. Think of the old West Germany and the classical Italy teams, the defensive strength of the former and the dour, workman-like organization of the latter. Arrigo Sacchi once demonstrated in a training session with AC Milan how five organized defenders could hold out against ten talented but disorganized attackers. This in no way implies that the Spanish are disorganized. Rather it highlights the fact that an organized defence can make life difficult for even the most skilful of opponents. Indeed, if skill always carries the day, Brazil would have won almost every World Cup. And we would not have had an European champion in Greece!

Contrary to popular opinion, greater ball possession does not necessarily imply superiority. It is what you do with the ball, and not the amount of time you have it that ultimately determines the outcome of the game. Barcelona enjoyed overwhelming possession against Inter over two legs of the Champions League semi-final but were ultimately knocked out. In this World Cup, Uruguay has only an average of around 40% of possession but still reached the semi-finals. There have been plenty of league games in which slightly dominant teams lost the match. Spain may be able to keep the ball exceedingly well, but they may find it difficult to break down a highly compact outfit. For all their bewitching flair on the ball, they only did manage to beat Germany from a corner. When they went behind to Switzerland, they continued to pass the ball, at times with such a causal air that it seemed they didn’t bother with the urgency. They might have scored an equalizer if they had switched to a more direct style, but they continued their usual game and duly lost it. Lacking a Plan B perhaps?

Despite being written off by most people, the Netherlands are grossly underrated. They may fail to show their best in a few matches but to attribute their spluttering performances purely to their technical inadequacies is unreasonable. They were perfect during their World Cup qualifying campaign and in this World Cup they have recorded six straight wins despite not firing all cylinders.

It has been said that the Dutch setup is simple but effective. Robben, van Persie, and Sneijder attack, Kuyt runs everywhere, and seven Dutchmen stay back and defend. This tongue-in-cheek way of evaluating the Dutch is amusing but hardly an accurate analysis of the Dutch method. For those who dismiss them for their inelegant style of play, they forget that one of the principle rules in football is to learn to defend first. All great sides have a solid base from which to launch their attacks. Since the heady days of Total Football the world had grown to expect nothing less from the Dutch in terms of attacking endeavor. However, the Dutch have never won the World Cup so the verdict is out on whether their traditional bold and expansive play is the best way.

The Dutch may not have be as swashbuckling as their predecessors had been, but they have acquired a certain fortitude lacking in previous sides. Against Brazil they had a torrid first half but came back from the dead to win 2:1. One could argue that Brazil self-destructed when they conceded a soft goal and Melo stupidly got himself sent off but it does not negate the fact that few sides ever come from behind to beat Brazil. In Bert van Marwijk, the Oranje has one of the best tacticians in the World Cup. He has, for the most part eradicated the bickering and infighting that have traditionally plagued Dutch sides and even instilled in the current batch a willingness to fight for one another. Having achieved the footballing equivalent of teaching a cat to swim, one will expect him to come up with a tactical plan to stop the Spaniards. We will see if he does.