In-depth: Where is it all going wrong for abject Netherlands?
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ByEurosport
Updated 04/09/2015 at 09:37 GMT
Holland’s Euro 2016 participation is now in grave doubt, after Danny Blind’s side lost 1-0 to Group A leaders Iceland in Amsterdam on Thursday. The Dutch are now six points behind Czech Republic in the race for the second automatic qualification spot – with only three games remaining.
Holland's Stefan de Vrij reacts in disbelief
Image credit: Reuters
WHAT HAPPENED?
Well, if you work that out, would you mind letting Danny Blind know? The new Dutch national team coach looked somewhat nonplussed as his side crashed to an embarrassing home defeat on Thursday, with Bruno Martins Indi’s first-half red card kicking off a disastrous evening that was capped off when Gylfi Sigurdsson squeezed home a 51st-minute penalty for the game's only goal.
The result means Iceland have beaten their more illustrious international rivals home and away in qualification this year and now – like fellow ‘minnows’ Wales – look almost certain to qualify for next summer’s showpiece in France.
Czech Republic are also almost there, leaving the Dutch needing to hold off Turkey (who they face in Istanbul on Sunday) over the final three games if they are to even have a shot at making the finals through a play-off.
All in all, it has been a disastrous (and rapid) fall from grace from the Oranje, especially after last summer’s run to the World Cup semi-finals had created great optimism about the country’s immediate future. Instead they are already one coach down (Guus Hiddink leaving earlier this year) and in danger of failing to qualify for a tournament that, on paper at least, offers a very easy path to most big nations.
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Iceland celebrate their win over Holland
Image credit: Reuters
HOW DID EVERYONE REACT?
Not well, it must be said. Arjen Robben, recently handed the captaincy by Blind, reacted by pointing the finger of blame directly at Martins Indi, whose red card after lashing out at Kolbeinn Sigthorsson left the home side a man down for most of the game. Robben said:
As captain I will always stand by my players, but I can't say anything else then that this is very stupid. He really lets his team-mates down and I think that's a big shame.
Blind was similarly unconcerned about protecting the 23-year-old:
It went wrong with the red card of Martins Indi. We knew this was going to be a tough match. They play with a lot of discipline and don't give away many chances. We had some trouble with finding Robben, but after while we succeeded more and more.
And then came the moment that we give it away ourselves. I really blame Martins Indi for that, you know what the stakes are. I haven't seen it, but I heard it was a deserved red card. It's part of football, that you control yourself. There was no reason to do that and we paid a big price for this.
ICELAND MUST HAVE ENJOYED IT, THOUGH?
Of course. Around 3,000 away fans travelled to the game – about 1% of the country’s entire population – and they were rewarded for their passion with a memorable result that should secure their first ever appearance in a major tournament finals.
Losing out in a playoff against Croatia for a place at last year’s World Cup was clearly just a precursor to even greater exploits from the tiny nation.
"We are all flying now," said co-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. "This is the biggest achievement in our football history."
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM FOR THE DUTCH THEN?
Again, if you work it out then please, by all means, let Blind know. Clearly there are certain organisational issues off the pitch – when it was announced after the game that Virgil van Dijk and Jeremain Lens had been added to the squad, Blind claimed that was also news to him – but the essential issues are on the field of play.
The Dutch have not been playing good football since the World Cup, a problem that started under Guus Hiddink and has seemingly continued under Blind. The gradual decline of ageing stars like Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder has made it harder for them to be relied upon, while persistent injury problems for that trio (and other more established names) have meant those stars have invariably not been available for selection anyway.
That has certainly deprived the Dutch of a certain stability and consistency, and has meant an increasing reliance on up-and-coming players like Memphis Depay, Luciano Narsingh and Davy Klaassen - a responsibility and expectation that those fledgling talents are clearly not quite ready to handle.
Add into that mix a litany of individual mistakes - alongside Martins Indi's indiscretion, Gregory van der Wiel hardly covered himself in glory as he conceded the decisive penalty - and you have a recipe for disaster.
It is worth remembering that many expected the World Cup to be a difficult occasion for the Dutch team due to exactly that changing dynamic, a fate coach Louis van Gaal managed to avoid through a mixture of tactical awareness, astute substitutions and, unavoidably, a lot of good fortune. With Van Gaal leaving on the high created by that run in Brazil, it is tempting to suggest that he only managed to postpone the inevitable - and those chickens are now coming home to roost.
The Dutch FA certainly did not fear such a drop, however, as they made the almost unprecedented decision to announce not just the new coach but the coach after that in preparation for Van Gaal’s exit. Guus Hiddink was appointed until the end of the Euro 2016, with Blind due to succeed the former Chelsea manager after that, a meticulously plotted succession plan that was utterly decimated when Hiddink’s tenure got off to such a horrible start.
The 68-year-old walked away early, allowing his assistant to assume the top job, but Blind’s tenure has hardly got off to the best of starts either. Considering Blind has continued with the same staff that worked under Hiddink, you wonder if the issue is with the coaching as a collective rather than simply the man at the top. Then again, how much responsibility can the coach carry for so many individual mistakes?
Either way, should Blind's side lose again to Turkey this weekend then perhaps the Dutch will be looking for another new coach before the Euros even get underway.
Considering Blind’s limited managerial experience, it is tempting to suggest the job is just too big for him - while the fact he also has to manage his son, Daley, certainly has the capacity to make things awkward in the dressing room. His decision to replace Klass-Jan Huntelaar with a defender following Martins Indi’s red card (after Robben had already gone off injured) was booed by the crowd inside the Amsterdam ArenA.
"I'm not thrashing myself but I will look at the choices I made. But I feel we prepared well," said Blind. "We now face climbing a mountain. I have to try and stimulate the team and we need to get some points.”
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Daley Blind shows his frustration
Image credit: Reuters
OUR VIEW
Clearly the Dutch system is still producing a number of quality young players – as evidenced by the demand for the likes of Memphis Depay, Jordy Clasie and Georginio Wijnaldum by European (English) clubs this summer. But the national team is also evidently in a transitional period right now, slowly moving on from the Van Persie/Robben era to one built around the next generation, and are stumbling somewhat in an interim of confused and conflicting ideas.
The immediate priority now is to ensure the Oranje reach the finals in France – to not even claim a play-off spot would be unthinkable for a nation of such talents. That means the visit to Turkey on Sunday now becomes of paramount importance: Who knows, perhaps in the fires of the Istanbul atmosphere a new team spirit and cohesion will be formed.
As Robben noted: "The beautiful thing about football is that you always get another chance. This is a huge disappointment, but we have to take our final chance."
In the longer term, however, Blind and his staff need to nurture the young players to take on the roles formerly held by Robben et al. Unfortunately, that is a process that will take time - time Blind may not be given.
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