The last major Dutch title: when Van Basten decided the 1988 European Championship with a dream goal

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It is a gate for eternity. In the 54th minute, Marco van Basten was almost passed from the right side of the penalty area by Arnold Mühren. The striker takes the ball directly, hits it perfectly and works it into the far corner. USSR goalkeeper Rinat Dassajew can only watch as the ball flies over him and twists into the net. Then, four minutes later, Dutch goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen saves a penalty kick, the euphoria in Orange increases and when the referee blows his whistle, the cheers in the Olympic Stadium in Munich know no bounds.

The 1988 squad included football legends such as Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and current Orange coach Ronald Koeman. The team created an incredible euphoria in the Netherlands. An estimated 9 out of 15 million Dutch people took to the streets to celebrate. For the country, the win came as satisfaction for losing the 1974 World Cup final at the same venue, losing 2–1 to West Germany.

The eternal second

Since then, 35 years have passed and the Netherlands is waiting for a men’s title. In 2010, they narrowly missed out on their first World Cup triumph in a blood-curdling final against Spain – Andrés Iniesta blasted Furia Roja in the 117th minute to a 1-0 win.

The current generation individually offers a lot of world class – including Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Aké, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. But they don’t bring titles either: in 2016 and 2018 they even missed qualifying for the major tournaments.

In 2019, the Dutch reached the final of the Nations League, but again had to bow to the opponent – this time Portugal. And the following European and World Cup tournaments – 2021 and 2022 – also finished early in the knockout phase (round of 16 and quarter-finals). Ronald Koeman is currently on the sidelines after defeats against France, Croatia and Italy as much criticism as DFB coach Hansi Flick.

The women do

Women have been more successful than men in recent years. The Lionesses were European champions in 2017 and can boast some of the best football players in the world in the top divisions. The Dutch women are one of the favorites at all major tournaments, including the upcoming World Cup.

Van Basten now works for FIFA. As technical director, he made several rule proposals, including an adjustment to the work rule. (nsa)

Source : Blick