Netherlands History

Turning talent into trophies

English immigrants brought football to the Netherlands in 1865, but with their sumptuous ball skills and brilliant players, the Dutch have made the game all their own.

Early success
Early incarnations of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) were in existence as far back as 1879, but it was not until 30 April 1905 that the Netherlands played their first international game, travelling to Belgium and returning with a 4-1 win against their neighbours - with Eddy de Neve scoring all four goals.

Lean period
Olympic bronze medallists in both 1908 and 1912, the Netherlands declined to appear at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, and took part in 1934 only to bow out against Switzerland in the first round. Their fortunes were not to improve in the 1938 competition as Czechoslovakia quickly ended their hopes of international glory.

Professional squabble
The Netherlands was devastated by the second world war, and the post-war football scene was scarred by the decision of several players to take professional contracts with foreign teams - excluding them from the Dutch national side under KNVB rules.

Scene set
Arguments over professionalism were finally settled in 1954, as the Netherlands embraced professional football and set the scene for the successes that would follow in the coming decades, as players from the Netherlands and the Dutch colonies began to make an impact at the highest level.

Amazing team
As the 1960s gave way to the 1970s, the Netherlands began to build one of the great teams of the age, featuring the likes of Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens and Ruud Krol. With AFC Ajax the great club side of their age, the Dutch were confidently expected to triumph at the 1974 World Cup finals.

Near misses
However, they were to lose 2-1 to West Germany in the final, and after finishing in third place at the 1976 UEFA European Championship, they were again losing finalists at the 1978 World Cup finals, with Argentina emerging as 3-1 winners - something that may have had a bearing on their poor display at the 1980 European Championship.

Triumphant legacy
Indeed, it was to take eight years before another Dutch team reached a major finals tournament, but the new look Netherlands of Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten were not to accept their predecessors' legacy of near misses, winning the 1988 European Championship after playing some marvellous football.

Unfulfilled potential
However, for all of their brilliance, this was a team prone to in-fighting and unrest, and their displays at the finals of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and the 1992 European Championship saw as much talk of unfulfilled potential as potent football.

New team
Quarter-finalists at EURO '96™, the 1998 World Cup finals saw the Netherlands boast the likes of Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp and Edgar Davids, but again they were to get agonisingly close to the final, only to lose out to eventual runners-up Brazil in the last four.

Close call
Thus the stage was set for UEFA EURO 2000™. Playing on home territory and having finished as quarter-finalists and semi-finalists at their previous major tournaments, the Netherlands had a great chance to go all the way. As it was, they were to falter in the semi-final against Italy, and were knocked out of their fourth successive finals on penaltries.

Massive burden
Failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup placed a massive burden of expectation on the old heads in the Dutch side, but with an exciting new generation of players breaking into Dick Advocaat's squad for UEFA EURO 2004™, good times may yet be on the horizon.

Country Info

A nation of innovation
 

AREA: 41,526 sq km
POPULATION: 16,150,511
NEIGHBOURS: Belgium, Germany
LANGUAGES: Dutch, Frisian
CAPITAL CITY: Amsterdam

Always at the vanguard of modern thinking, the Netherlands has been a hot-bed of new ideas since the middle ages, and they have been innovators in terms of football, as anyone who saw the great Dutch teams of the 1970s will agree.

Medieval splendour
The old tribes of Batavi and Frisii who occupied the area covered by the Netherlands in ancient times were superceded by the great traders and city-dwellers of the middle ages. However, their success was to bring problems, as the area was effectively seized by the Spanish crown, eager to cash in on Dutch success.

Protestant revolt
However, as Protestant ideas became widespread in the 16th century, the Dutch revolted against their Roman Catholic rulers in 1568. The struggle for freedom, led by Prince William of Orange, was to be long and bloody and it was not until 1648 that the Netherlands finally freed itself from Spanish tyranny.

Cultured capital
The revolutionary period saw the Netherlands become a major player on the European stage, with Amsterdam quickly settling into the role of one of Europe's most cultured capital cities. Meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company set about bringing wealth to the nation with colonies and trading posts throughout the world.

Colonial power
The Dutch colonies spread to south-east Asia, and for a while they even had a bolt-hole in north America - the original name of New York was New Amsterdam. The south American colony of Surinam was also to have a long-term impact on Dutch football with  Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert all of Surinamese origin.

New kingdom
Those golden days were not to last, as Napoleon's French army crushed the Netherlands in 1795. However, when the occupation ended, a new united kingdom of the Netherlands was formed incorporating Belgium and Luxembourg. William I of Orange was crowned as the state's first king in 1814, and while Belgium and Luxembourg soon won independence, the House of Orange is still established in the Netherlands.

Devastating war
The Dutch successfully maintained their neutrality during the World War One, but their occupation by Nazi forces in World War Two was to prove a devastating experience, not least for Amsterdam's substantial Jewish population despite the best efforts of a sizable resistance movement. 

Model Europeans
Since then, the Netherlands has become a model European nation, with liberal social policies and, of course, a magfnificent football team. The early history of Dutch football may have been inauspicious, but once Dutch clubs embraced professionalism in 1956 standards rose sharply.

Total football
By the early 1970s, the Netherlands boasted perhaps the most exciting team of their age featuring the likes of Johnny Rep, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens and the exceptional Johan Cruyff. Marshalled by visionary coach Rinus Michels, their 'total football' style beguiled the world, but although they reached FIFA World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978, they never claimed the trophy itself.

Major trophy
It was not until 1988 that they finally converted potential into silverware with a win in the UEFA European Championships thanks to the superb trio of Gullit, Rijkaard and Marco van Basten. However, since then there has been plenty of potential but no tangible success, with the Dutch reputation for in-fighting now almost as strong as their renown for footballing brilliance.

Today year 2004 Netherlands team

Player name list

Cocu Phillip Midfield Davids Edgar Midfield de Boer Frank Defender Heitinga John Defender Kluivert Patrick Forward Makaay Roy Forward Overmars Marc Forward Reiziger Michael Defender Robben Arjen Forward Seedorf Clarence Midfield Sneijder Wesley Midfield Stam Jaap Defender Van Bommel Mark Midfield Van der Meyde Andy Midfield van der Sar Edwin Goalkeeper Van der Vaart Rafael Midfield Van Nistelrooij Ruud Forward Waterreus Ronald Goalkeeper

Group D
	PLD	W	D	L	GS	GA	PTS
Czech Republic	2	2	0	0	5	3	6
Germany	2	0	2	0	1	1	2
Netherlands	2	0	1	1	3	4	1
Latvia	2	0	1	1	1	2	1

←Back