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Netherlands

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Oranje, Clockwork Orange, Orange Crush, The Orangemen
Association	Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond
Head coach	Marco van Basten, (2004-)
Captain	Edwin van der Sar
Most caps	Edwin van der Sar (116)
Top scorer	Patrick Kluivert (40)
FIFA code	NED
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	6
Highest	2 (November 1993)
Lowest	25 (May 1998)
First international
Belgium 1 - 4 Netherlands (Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April, 1905)
Biggest win
Netherlands 9 - 0 Norway (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1 November, 1972)
Biggest defeat
Netherlands 2 - 12 England Amateur (The Hague, Netherlands; 1 April, 1907)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up, 1974 and 1978
European Championship
Appearances	7 (first in 1976)
Best result	Winners, 1988

The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association.

It has won the 1988 European Football Championship (Euro 88), and having reached two consecutive World Cup finals, but losing both (1974 and 1978). At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precision passing.

History

The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934, and after coming back in 1938, the Dutch national team entered the wilderness of world football.

Total Football

They came out of this wilderness in the 1970s with the invention of Total Football (Dutch: Totaalvoetbal), pioneered by Ajax Amsterdam and led by playmaker Johan Cruijff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made huge strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade.

In 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, despite having gone 1-0 up through Johan Neeskens' early penalty kick before any German had even touched the ball. Supported by the crowd, goals from Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller led to a victory for the Germans. In spite of losing the final, the "Clockwork Orange" and Johan Cruijff had already written a new page in football's history.

In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final, only to be beaten by the hosts, Argentina. This side played without Cruijff, who refused to participate in the World Cup because Argentina had suffered a military coup only two years earlier and he objected to playing in a country where torture and murder were continuing to be perpetrated by the junta. It still contained players such as Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol and Rob Rensenbrink from the 1974 selection. This time the Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages, as they qualified only as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland. In the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3-1 after two extra-time goals from Argentina. Agonisingly for the Dutch, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1-1.

European Champions

The team's main success has been winning the Euro 88. After losing the first group match against the USSR (1-0), the Netherlands went on to qualify for the semi-final by defeating England 3-1 (with a hat-trick by the tournament's top scorer Marco van Basten), and Republic of Ireland (1-0). For many Dutch football supporters, the most important match in the tournament was the semi-final against West Germany, the host country, considered a revenge for the lost 1974 World Cup final (also in West Germany). Marco van Basten, who would later become national team coach, scored in the final minutes of the game to beat the German side. The game is also remembered for its post-match shenanigans, including Ronald Koeman, who, in front of the German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it was toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted. Holland won the final with a convincing victory over the USSR, through a header by Ruud Gullit and a sublime volley by Van Basten.

The team subsequently reached the semi-finals in the (edit conflict × 92) tournament.

Recent

In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Dennis Bergkamp led the team with 3 goals and the Netherlands advanced to the quarterfinal, where they lost 3-2 to to eventual champions Brazil.

At Euro 96, after drawing 0-0 with Scotland and beating Switzerland 2-0, they faced the hosts England in the pool A decider, with both teams on 4 points. After 62 minutes, with Scotland beating Switzerland 1-0, Holland were 4-0 down and looked like finishing third behind Scotland on goal difference and going out of the tournament, but Patrick Kluivert scored in the 78th minute to see the Dutch finish second on goals scored. They then drew with France 0-0 in their quarter final and went out 5-4 on penalties.

In 1998 FIFA World Cup, Netherlands, whose team included Marc Overmars, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer and Patrick Kluivert, met Argentina in the quarterfinal, a rematch of the 1978 final. Near the end of regular time, after an unsuccessful dive to draw a penalty, Argentinian Ariel Ortega headbutted Edwin van der Sar. Ortega was send off and the Netherlands won 2-1 after a Bergkamp goal in the 89th minute. Bergkamp's goal was famous because of its quality--he chested down a long pass from Frank de Boer and volleyed it high over the Argentine goalkeeper. In the semifinal, the Netherlands took Brazil to a penalty shootout after a late Kluivert goal tied the match 1-1, but Brazil won the shootout 4-2 and advanced to the final. Netherlands lost the 3rd place match to Croatia 1-2.

Netherlands reached the semifinals in both the Template:Ec2 and Template:Ec2, but failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and finished second in Group C after beating Serbia & Montenegro (1-0) and the Ivory Coast (2-1) and drawing Argentina (0-0). Both Argentina and the Netherlands finished the group stage with 7 points, but the Argentinians had a superior goal difference and finished first as a result. The Dutch were eliminated in the second round after losing 0-1 to Portugal, in a match that produced a World Cup record of four red cards (two for either side) and was nicknamed "the Battle of Nuremberg" by the press. Despite criticism surrounding his selection policy and the lack of attacking football from his team, Marco van Basten was offered a two-year extension to his contract by the Dutch FA, which would allow him to serve as national coach during Euro2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The move was widely regarded as a vote of confidence in Van Basten and his assistants by the KNVB officials.

The Netherlands begin their Euro 2008 campaign in their first qualifying match against Luxembourg on 2 September 2006.

Origin of shirt colour

The Netherlands national football team does not wear the colors of the Dutch flag of today, but instead plays in bright orange. Orange is the historic national color of the Netherlands, originating from the coat of arms of the Dutch founding father William of Orange-Nassau. The top red band of the current flag was originally orange. The current Dutch away shirt incorporates the flag colours as a diagonal stripe.

Rivalry with Germany

The Dutch national football team has a long standing rivalry with Germany. Although it might date back to the Second World War, usually people date it to the

, where the Netherlands lost the final to Germany, despite being regarded as the better team. Other notable clashes between the two nations were in the semifinal of (edit conflict × 88), where Marco van Basten slid the winning goal in the last minute past the German keeper, and the game in the Round of 16 in the

, with Germany beating the Dutch after a famous spitting incident involving Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler.

Competitive record

World Cup Year Finish Matches Wins Draws* Losses Goals Scored Goals Against 1930 Did not enter 1934 Round 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 1938 Round 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 1950 Did not enter 1954 Did not enter 1958 Did not qualify 1962 Did not qualify 1966 Did not qualify 1970 Did not qualify 1974 Runner-up 7 5 1 1 15 3 1978 Runner-up 7 3 2 2 15 10 1982 Did not qualify 1986 Did not qualify 1990 Round 2 4 0 3 1 3 4 1994 Quarterfinals 5 3 0 2 8 6 1998 Fourth place 7 3 3 1 13 7 2002 Did not qualify 2006 Round 2 4 2 1 1 3 2 Total 36 16 10 10 59 38 Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

European Championship Year Finish 1960 Did not enter 1964 Did not qualify 1968 Did not qualify 1972 Did not qualify 1976 Semi-finals 1980 Round 1 1984 Did not qualify 1988 Champions 1992 Semi-finals 1996 Quarter-finals 2000 Semi-finals 2004 Semi-finals Summer Olympics Olympic medal record Men’s Football 1920 Antwerp Team 1912 Stockholm Team 1908 London Team

Current players

• WC06 indicates player was part of 2006 World Cup squad.

Famous past players

Listed according to when they debuted for Netherlands (year in parentheses):

2006 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Coach: Marco Van Basten

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	1GK	Edwin van der Sar (c)	29 October 1970	113	Manchester United
2	2DF	Kew Jaliens	15 September 1978	1	AZ
3	2DF	Khalid Boulahrouz	28 December 1981	13	Hamburger SV
4	2DF	Joris Mathijsen	5 April 1980	10	AZ
5	2DF	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	5 February 1975	59	Barcelona
6	3MF	Denny Landzaat	6 April 1976	25	AZ
7	4FW	Dirk Kuyt	22 July 1980	20	Feyenoord
8	3MF	Philip Cocu	29 October 1970	101	PSV Eindhoven
9	4FW	Ruud van Nistelrooy	1 July 1976	53	Manchester United
10	3MF	Rafael van der Vaart	11 February 1983	36	Hamburger SV
11	4FW	Arjen Robben	23 January 1984	22	Chelsea
12	2DF	Jan Kromkamp	17 August 1980	11	Liverpool
13	2DF	André Ooijer	11 July 1974	21	PSV
14	2DF	John Heitinga	15 November 1983	20	Ajax
15	2DF	Tim de Cler	8 November 1978	3	AZ
16	3MF	Hedwiges Maduro	13 February 1985	11	Ajax
17	4FW	Robin van Persie	6 August 1983	12	Arsenal
18	3MF	Mark van Bommel	22 April 1977	39	FC Barcelona
19	4FW	Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink	11 July 1978	7	PSV
20	3MF	Wesley Sneijder	9 June 1984	25	Ajax
21	4FW	Ryan Babel	19 December 1986	6	Ajax
22	1GK	Henk Timmer	13 December 1971	2	AZ
23	1GK	Maarten Stekelenburg	22 September 1982	2	Ajax

Player records

Footnotes

1. "Cheeseheads vs Krauts": 30 Years of Enmity, Ajax-USA.com, June 14, 2004
2. Marco Van Basten Euro '88 The Best Goal In The World at YouTube

See also

• Netherlands national under-21 football team
• Netherlands women's national football team
• Royal Netherlands Football Association

• Aruba national football team
• Netherlands Antilles national football team
• Sint Maarten national football team

External links

• Official site (in Dutch)
• Analysis of 2006 World Cup Performence
• RSSSF archive of results 1908-
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches
• Netherlands National Football Team History
• Story of Holland at the 1974 World Cup
• Story of Holland at the 1978 World Cup
• Holland: "The unbearable Lightness of being Oranje..."
• Coca-Cola Cans set of Netherlands World Cup France 1998 National Football Team
• National stadium

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See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

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• European national football teams
• Football in the Netherlands
• UEFA European Football Championship-winning countries
• 1905 establishments
• Netherlands national football team