Brazil look formidable and should have too much for Holland, but Argentina are the team playing all the football, writes Ken Early
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England’s World Cup campaign echoed so many of their previous failures that it bordered on self-parody. At least one other nation seems determined to honour its World Cup traditions, at least according to unreliable evidence provided by Dutch lipreaders.
They’re saying that when Holland coach Bert van Marwijk subbed Robin van Persie in the second half against Slovakia, the enraged Arsenal striker was seen to shout at his coach, “You need to sub Sneijder!” Van Persie denies it: “I didn’t mention any names.” He says he was just frustrated at his inability thus far to score: “It was gnawing at me”. And it’s clear that Sneijder has been one of Holland’s best players so far, so if van Persie had wanted him subbed, it could only have been for reasons of personal bitterness.
That’s plausible because there is plenty of bitterness between them, dating back to Euro 2008, when van Persie took Sneijder out in training with a filthy tackle, then missed a free-kick Sneijder had been planning to take against Russia. If that makes it sound like van Persie was the aggressor, who knows what provocation he’d had to put up with from the arrogant little Sneijder. Over the following months they took shots at each other in the media – Sneijder: “Robin broke team agreements”; van Persie: “I expected more class from Wesley.” The magazine Voetbal International polled readers and found that 70% wanted Sneijder to take the free-kicks, and these days he does, but it seems van Persie’s not prepared to forgive and forget.
Holland have succeeded thus far partly because they’ve worked together as a team. Why would personal rivalries now begin to cause cracks in their united front? Maybe because van Persie knows that after Holland are eliminated as a team, they will be judged as individuals. If he doesn’t score, many people, probably including Sneijder, will say that Holland failed because they didn’t have a reliable goalscorer in the class of Rep, van Basten or even Kluivert. So his desperation to pad his stats against Slovakia is understandable, especially as the inquest could begin as early as Friday night, if Holland are eliminated by Brazil.
Holland’s style so far has been patient and effective, if not exactly thrilling. The two central midfielders, Nigel de Jong and Marc van Bommel, never try anything risky. They play a disciplined game, covering the defence and providing a base for the four attacking players to do damage. Such is the quality of Holland’s attackers that they can be relied upon to create four or five good chances in the game, so as long as the defence does its job, Holland win. As goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg observed, the likes of Japan and Denmark can be beaten simply by waiting for them to get tired and make a mistake.
Brazil don’t get tired, they don’t make many mistakes and they will have noted how Slovakia managed to punch holes in the centre of the Dutch defence. With Holland leading 1-0 in Durban, Miroslav Stoch played Robert Vittek in for a chance that Vittek put straight at Stekelenburg. A couple of hours later the game between Brazil and Chile saw a carbon copy situation unfold, but when Kaka played Luis Fabiano through the defence, the centre-forward bounded past the keeper to score.
Dunga’s Brazil are not a popular team, not least with their own media who are as usual complaining that the side no longer plays the beautiful football it last played in 1982. But they fuse skill and tactical discipline with an athleticism nobody else can match. At one point in the friendly against Ireland at the Emirates, Brazil won a corner on the far side. From the low vantage point of the Emirates press box, I watched as the ball came swirling in and three massive Brazilians attacked it, breaching into the air like a school of killer whales on the hunt. They missed the ball but created an unforgettable impression of purpose and power.
Clearly there are weaknesses Holland can look to exploit. Bizarrely, Kaka has three yellow cards in three matches and will miss the semi-final if he’s booked again. (He’s been cranky for a long time now – even in the Ireland friendly he should have been sent off for slapping Keith Andrews). The arch-provocateur van Bommel will be sure to test his patience. Michel Bastos is not a stay-at-home left-back and he might give Robben a few yards of space. But most of Brazil’s defence plays with Sneijder at Inter and will know how to shut him down, while Luis Fabiano’s ruthless form suggests the Dutch back four will quickly regret any mistakes.
Even though Brazil look the best all-round team, you suspect most Brazilians would prefer them to be more like Argentina. While Dunga is a stern and dictatorial figure, Maradona has built a side according to the specifications of Leo Messi, who asked him to change the defensive style used in qualification to incorporate more attacking players with whom he can combine. It’s been incredible to watch and Maradona has enjoyed it more than anyone. There is a childlike quality to Argentina, with their brilliant street footballers in attack and their error-prone schoolboys at the back, and Javier Mascherano sometimes seems like the only grown-up in the team, watching anxiously over the defence while everyone else pours forward.
Maradona’s team is playing the joyful, off the cuff football Dunga says no longer works, but if Argentina go further in the World Cup, the Brazilian public will rise up in revolt and demand a return to the football of 1982. The respective fates of these old rivals could shape the future of international football for years to come.
