Cynical Dutch are traitors to football.

Byline: John Gibson

EVEN Johann Cruyff, their most famous and revered son, was prepared to commit high treason by publicly wishing Holland to once again fail at the very gateway to glory.

Cruyff urged Spain, his adopted country, to "strike a blow for football purists" by claiming the World Cup and in doing so plunge 16.5 million of his kinsfolk into deep mourning.

That's equivalent to Alan Shearer praying for Manchester United to break Geordie hearts on the opening Premier weekend.

When your country is little more than a speck on the globe and the whole world - even your own royalty - are against you, the gods inevitably turn their backs as well.

So it came to pass as the Dutch and their defiant Orange army, colourful enough to light up a depression, were put to the sword in controversial fashion after defying all for 116 often savage minutes.

Yet in truth, there is much in what Cruyff wished, because had the Dutch lifted football's most prestigious trophy after this cynical performance it would have been a travesty.

Total Football, that created by Cruyff and Co, was replaced by brutal football from Holland, with English referee Howard Webb the busiest man afoot during the two hours of conflict.

Webb booked eight Dutchmen and five Spaniards as well as sending off Everton's central defender John Heitinga deep into extra time.

However, Holland could have been down to 10 men, probably nine, before half-time, with dreadful fouls by Mark van Bommel and Nigel De Jong deserving of red not yellow.

Of course, such snapping aggression stifled a lot of what Spain do so well, but just as it seemed the lottery of penalty kicks was upon us came the relief of a winner.

Cruyff, who failed in Dutch orange in the final of 74, dismissed those of lesser talent than his when he said: "Some players hear the clock ticking but they have no idea what time it is."

Well, Andres Iniesta and Xavi are the Rolex in Spain's midfield, the smooth timepieces whose relentless assault upon the defences of the brave inevitably bring eventual success.

And, appropriately, it was Iniesta who mined gold in a country famous for it. Sub Cesc Fabregas played him in on the right and the Barcelona superstar took one touch before stroking the ball across the keeper and into the far corner of the net.

The villains of the piece, the Dutch, protested vehemently to Webb. Ironically, for once, they may have had a case, with a blatant block on their player at the other end of the pitch, but those who live by the sword often die by it too.

If the destination of the World Cup was determined by a genuine star performer, then the tournament's two leading scorers, who were expected to engage in a shoot out, David Villa and Wesley Sneijder, never got in on the act.

Inevitably, the game could have been won in regulation time.

Arjen Robben, Holland's most inventive player, had two great oneon-one chances with keeper Iker Casillas, who did well both times, while Villa had a close-in effort bravely blocked when he could have scored, Sergio Ramos missed a free header inside the box, and Fabregas was denied by the legs of a diving Maarten Stekelenburg, all before Iniesta restored sanity.

This was Holland's first defeat in 25 matches - they are hard to beat, press well, are happy to be cynical, and have a splash of colour up top - yet it came against new world champions who lost their very first World Cup match in South Africa against Switzerland. How unusual is that? Well, very, because it has never happened before!

Not only did Cruyff and the vast neutral swathes of the globe wish a Spanish victory, but Paul the Octopus forecast it, and he's never wrong.

Under the circumstances, Holland didn't have a chance.

CAPTION(S):

VOICE OF DISSENT: Joris Mathijsen furiously argues with referee Howard Webb over a decision in the build-up to Spain's winning goal KICKING-OFF: Nigel de Jong was lucky not to be red-carded for this foul on Xabi Alonso

Article Details

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Title Annotation:	Sport
Publication:	Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England)
Date:	Jul 12, 2010
Words:	687
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