THE DUTCH TEAM AND ME

THE DREAM TEAM



My favourite clubs were defeated in the football season 99/00. Dutch nationals played in most of the clubs I supported When I thought about it, I came to a conclusion. They were losing in order to win an even greater victory in June, the Euro, to be held on their soil. Those losses meant they would all come together in Oranje and seal a victory for that talented generation of football players.

I came to know the Dutch team, officially, at World Cup ’98. They struck me when I first saw them and found the beauty of their team. Their football style was delightful; I was amazed when I saw them play. I am convinced they formed the best team at the 1998 FIFA’s World Cup and the 2000 UEFA’s Cup though they didn’t receive any trophies. .



My Players



These are the players that formed the Dutch dream team. First, Edwin van der Sar, the famous Dutch goalkeeper. He was amazing at the goal with his impressive height. I could hardly see him smile when he was younger. He had a proud look with a heart of gold. He has been one of Europe’s best keepers. He was assisted by Ruud Hesp, Sander Westerfeld, and Ed de Goey….



Ronald and Frank de Boer are my best football players. Frank and Ronald are identical twins. I love them because they are always together, The Inseparable Brothers. I was unable to distinguish one from the other in the past. Later, I found some differences between them. Frank was defender while Ronald played forward. Ronald looked more emotional than Frank. I judged this when I compared their attitudes when they lost their penalty kicks at World Cup ‘98 and Euro ’00. Frank was not as dejected in 2000 as Ronald was in 1998.



Dennis Bergkamp was the emblematic figure of that generation. It was Bergkamp’s Generation. He was the cornerstone of the team because of his exceptional talents. One would have expected him to be captain but Bergkamp was full of humility. He was calm yet liberated a joyful rage whenever he scored a goal. Bergkamp knew how to score goals but was not its master. The master of goals in the orange team was the tireless Patrick Kluivert.



Patrick Kluivert was the leading goal scorer of the team. Kluivert was terrific when he played. He was always ‘in the zone.’ Yet sometimes, Kluivert was badly ‘out the zone.’ In such instances, there was no way to bring him back. Marc Overmars, the bicycle, was relentless. He was able to make a 100m race and Usian Bolt would see nothing He knew how to transport the ball from Frank and Numan’s defence to Patrick’s attack. And he also scored goals. Edgar Davids was very combative but it was difficult for him to score a goal. Clarence Seedorf was the great midfielder of the crew together with Philip Cocu, who sometimes got lost only to emerge decisive. Ruud van Nistelrooy was one of them though unfortunate to be selected in those times.



Since I am short of information about other Dutch players, I will only list their names: Boudewinj Zenden, Winston Bogarde, Michael Reiziger, Wim Jonk, Roy Makaay, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Jaap Stam, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Aron Winter, Pierre van Hooijdonk and all the Dutch players that you know so well.