In case you haven’t already noticed, Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup. The tournament has, sadly, not suffered in their absence. A generation is used to it by now and besides other nations are carrying on some of their traditions. Here’s a checklist. Recycling the same coaches? Check. Being the outlier playing three at the back? Check. Playing it too safe when faced with a gifted opponent? Check. Scoring a breakaway goal against the run of play? Check. Suffering penalty shootout heartbreak? Check.
In Monterrey on Monday, the Netherlands, a football nation diametrically opposed to Italy, seemed to lose their religion against Morocco. Calvinists turned Catholic. Totaalvoetbal became, if not catenaccio, then gioco all’italiana. Ronald Koeman dropped a midfielder for an extra defender. Tijjani Reinjders gave way for Nathan Ake. A centre-back, Micky van der Ven, played left wing-back, against Achraf Hakimi.
The choices were predictably met with some consternation back in Amsterdam.
“It’s typical of Koeman, though,” said Rafael van der Vaart. “At Ajax, he always played a 4-3-3, but in the Champions League, he always used five at the back. That’s what he’s doing now, too. It does show that he’s adapting to an opponent whom I think we’re better than. I hope it works out well. I wouldn’t do it myself.”
Why? Because Van der Vaart’s Dutch. He’s Ajax born and bred. Schooled in the ways of Johan Cruyff. Few countries on earth have as clear as football identity as the Netherlands. “If I had to do it again, I’d do it again,” Koeman said, unrepentant. He found the reaction to the Netherlands’ exit in the round of 32 to be illustrative of outcome bias. “If that goal hadn’t gone in — the 1-1 in stoppage time — I’d be getting the praise, and now I’m being pretty much torn to shreds for picking five defenders.”
To an extent, Koeman has a point. He isn’t the first Dutch coach to play three at the back. It was a trademark of Louis van Gaal as well and, frankly, it’s a long time since the Netherlands played a style or produced players conforming to our historical expectation of them. This is a nation now famous for centre-backs rather than cerebral centre-forwards in the Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp or Robin van Persie mould. Aside from Cody Gakpo’s goal, which got going after a hydration break with a flick-on from big man to little man, Wout Weghorst to Summerville, what were the stand-out moments for the Netherlands against Morocco? They were defensive interventions, impeccably timed recovery tackles from Van de Ven and then Van Dijk.
Van de Ven’s brilliantly timed challenge (Photo: ANP via Getty Images)
The irony was Morocco played more like the Netherlands lingering in our imagination, now an Oranje figment no longer grounded in reality. Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Salah Eddine, Ayoube Amaimouni and Sofyan Amrabat were all born in the Netherlands. Ismael Saibari left for the World Cup a PSV player and will return to Europe a Bayern one. The slick one-touch football and positional changes from the Moroccans were evocative of where many of these players received their football education. Not only the Netherlands, but Spain, France and Belgium too.
Having out-played Brazil in their opening game by nimbly passing the ball around Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes, history repeated itself in Monterrey. Morocco deserved to win in normal time. “Frenkie de Jong played the worst match I’ve ever seen him play,” observed van der Vaart, whose own punditry was heavily criticised earlier in the tournament. “Really disappointing, but that’s partly down to the system too. I think Morocco’s midfield is their strongest area, and yet we decided to play against them with just two midfielders. I’m very disappointed and thought it was a disastrous tournament.”
Koeman’s justification was not only respect for Morocco. AFCON champions and World Cup semi-finalists four years ago, he noted their position ahead of the Netherlands in the FIFA rankings. The judgement he made was also, in Koeman’s telling, based on how the Netherlands defended in the group stage. They gave up 1 xG against Sweden. Too much, apparently, in a 5-1 win. They then allowed Tunisia 0.4 xG and Japan 0.5 xG. Hardly enough to warrant the changes Koeman made against Morocco.
“A match is won in midfield, and Morocco were completely in control,” the former Dutch international of Moroccan descent, Ibrahim Affelay commented. “Morocco played the Dutch way. You can expect that because you know you’re up against a very good side, but you have to offer something in return. How often did we see Gakpo, Summerville and (Brian) Brobbey in action? The wing-backs didn’t get a look-in either. The Netherlands were outclassed on all fronts. If the Netherlands had won, Bart Verbruggen should have been given a statue: what a performance he put in between the posts.”
Cruyff came up with many aphorisms over the course of his life. One of them was “Italians cannot beat us but we can certainly lose to them.” It felt, at times on Monday, like the Dutch couldn’t beat Morocco but Morocco could lose to them as the game passed the 90th minute with the Netherlands improbably 1-0 up.
“I think we were quite taken aback to see their formation,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “When we saw it, we knew they wanted to defend, so we needed to adapt… I’m not sure what the opposing coach might say or not, but I really didn’t expect this kind of low block. They’re the Netherlands, they like to have the ball. I saw this type of play as a form of respect.”
They’re the Netherlands. Unrecognisably so.
Koeman did not immediately tender his resignation after the game. “Maybe I’ll come to a conclusion tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “I haven’t reflected on it now.”
Later on Tuesday it was confirmed Koeman had departed.
Arne Slot is available. Erik Ten Hag seems poised to become technical director of FC Twente.
What direction will the Netherlands go in? It has tended to take its cue from Ajax. But how are things going over at the Johan Cruyff Arena? Ajax spiralled back into crisis after the Italian Francesco Farioli left for Porto last summer. They went through three coaches and finished fifth. Next season, a Spaniard, Michel, will take the reins. They seem caught in their own identity crisis. As such, is it time for the Netherlands to also consider appointing a foreign coach for the first time since Ernst Happel in the late 1970s? Pep Guardiola is, in a football sense, descended from Cruyff. Hiring him, though, seems distinctly improbable.
For now, there is no one to perform a Cruyff turn and take Dutch football back to where it ideologically wants to be.
