Soccer: Do the Dutch have what it takes?

Marco van Basten's team may not have the ability the Dutch had thought. Picture / Reuters

"Dutch World Cup shock: no splits."

In one tournament after another, the Netherlands squad have been riven by divisions.

Thirty years ago it was Amsterdam against Rotterdam. A decade ago there were allegations of a racial rift.

This time, if the atmosphere is awkward, it is only because the players have discovered that the salubrious but aged hotel that serves as their headquarters in Germany is not fitted with air-conditioning.

Marco van Basten knows all about bad blood and the effect it can have on a team. He was the principal striker when the Oranje arrived at the 1990 finals as European champions. They left without a win.

Before going to Italy, the players voted almost unanimously to remove the coach, Thijs Libregts, and replace him with Johan Cruyff.

The Dutch federation, led by the technical director credited with creating "Total Football", Rinus Michels, installed Leo Beenhakker instead.

Van Basten was among the most vocal dissenters. Now, as coach himself, the great former Ajax and Milan centre-forward, whose mentor is Cruyff, has evidently learned the lessons of history.

There has been an untypical peace and harmony in the Netherlands' base at Freiburg.

Rafael van der Vaart, the 23-year-old who plays in the north with Hamburg, made a pointed comparison with Dick Advocaat's Euro 2004 squad. "Team spirit has really improved," he said.

"Van Basten is also younger than his predecessors, so he's closer to us. He knows what's going on and what we need."

With two victories, by a one-goal margin against Serbia and Montenegro and Ivory Coast, and yesterday's draw against the much-fancied Argentinians, the Netherlands appear set for a strong run in a tournament in which they have twice finished beaten finalists.

Why, then, is there such a feeling of disquiet back home? After the 1-0 win over Serbia, an opinion poll showed that 60 per cent of the Dutch expected them to reach the semifinals. The 2-1 defeat of the Ivorians, far from sending expectations soaring, saw the figure plummet by 10 per cent.

Respondents cited doubts about the quality of Van Basten's side after they had spent the second half grimly defending against an African team in their first finals.

Gunter Netzer, the former West Germany playmaker who has been nearly as ubiquitous on television in Germany as Franz Beckenbauer, posed an incredulous rhetorical question after the display against Ivory Coast, asking: "Was this a Dutch side?"

Van Basten's standing remains undiminished.

The Netherlands went a goal behind 60 seconds into his first game, which came after he had been coaching for 10 months, but they have hardly looked back. He is also something of a television personality for his occasional savagings of the Dutch equivalents of commentators Alan Hansen and Andy Gray.

The squad he brought to the finals - which had no place for Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert or Roy Makaay - was both youthful and more Dutch-based than on previous occasions.

However, the suspicion is growing that, for all the emphasis on unity, he may not be blessed with the talent many thought he had after a qualifying campaign in which his side twice beat the Czech Republic.

There is no shortage of technical ability. Dutch footballers learn that as soon as they can walk. But many critics - not including Cruyff, who is unstinting in his support of his one-time protege - argue that where there was once the element of fantasy provided by, say, the wondrous No 14 of Dennis Bergkamp, there is now functionalism.

"We didn't play well against the Ivory Coast, but we showed spirit and kept fighting," Van Basten said. "To see a real team makes me proud. But it isn't just the spirit that's important. We also want to control and dominate matches. We still haven't done that satisfactorily."

He was pleased with the organisation his team showed in the 0-0 draw against Argentina.

"If we can bring a bit more footballing quality, it may be time for us to start winning."

The Netherlands now face Portugal in Nuremberg on Monday.

The Portuguese are regarded as their bogey team, having beaten them in the semifinals of Euro 2004 and effectively scuppering their chances of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

But Van Basten does not believe in jinxes, and noted that the Group C runners-up had an extra day to prepare.

Then, perhaps, given that young teams often grow during tournaments, we shall begin to learn whether the Netherlands are a spluttering imitation of the Oranje sides - or a breath of fresh air.

- INDEPENDENT