The Oranje have impressed off the field but not on it at
Euro 2024, where Ronald Koeman’s team limped into the knockout stage after
finishing third in Group D.
Koeman, who was a key defender on the Dutch team that won
Euro ’88 in West Germany, is back for his second stint as coach. But he’s
clearly unhappy with his charges, who are maintaining a longstanding Dutch
tradition of disappointing at major tournaments.
“We have to come up with some response as a team for the
next match, because that’s what’s at stake, it could be the final knockout for
us,” Koeman warned after his team’s 3-2 loss to Austria on Tuesday.
It was Austria’s first win over the Netherlands since 1990
and the latest lackluster display from a team boasting highly regarded
individual players across all positions who seem to underperform when playing
in the national team’s famous orange shirt.
Memphis Depay missed several shooting chances in the opening
2-1 win over Poland, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was the key player in the
scoreless draw with France, and it was Donyell Malen’s turn to miss chances in
the defeat to Austr”a. The luckless Malen also scored an own goal.
Wednesday’s final group games determined the Netherlands
will play Group E winner Romania in the round of 16 in Munich on Tuesday. A
Dutch win could set up a quick rematch with Austria in Berlin in the
quarterfinals, if Austria gets past Turkey in its round of 16 clash.
Koeman’s team is missing influential Barcelona midfielder
Frenkie de Jong, who failed to recover from an ankle injury in time for the
tournament. Midfielder Teun Koopmeiners dropped out after getting injured
warming up for a test match.
The demise of Ajax Amsterdam, a four-time European champion,
is another factor hampering the Netherlands. Ajax had long been known as the
country’s “football factory,” producing young players who would go on to star
for the national team. Many a Dutch squad has been built on an Ajax backbone.
But last season was one to forget for the storied club. Ajax
had issues off the field and on, slumping to last place in the Eredivisie
before former player John van ’t Schip took over as coach and steered it to
fifth.
Koeman has only two Ajax players – forwards Steven Bergwijn
and Brian Brobbey – in his squad for Euro 2024. Neither has played a minute in
the tournament so far. The 26-man Netherlands squad is made of players from 19
different clubs which doesn’t help Koeman’s ability to forge a cohesive unit.
Dutch disappointment in recent tournaments is nothing new,
but it’s humbling for a country that has contributed so much to modern soccer.
The Dutch team of the 1970s led by Johan Cruyff was known for “total soccer,”
where every outfield player could play in any position, and it reached World
Cup finals in 1974 and 1978.
Coach Bert van Marwijk led the Netherlands to the 2010 World
Cup final with a negative style of play, and his team was criticized by Cruyff
after its group stage exit at Euro 2012.
But Dutch expertise is still valued abroad. Manchester
United and Liverpool both have Dutch coaches in Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot,
respectively.
Koeman is not afraid to make changes, but so far, none have
paid off. He started with speedy right-back Jeremie Frimpong up front for the
France game and dropped Xavi Simons for the Austria game, then brought him on
in the first half for the disappointing Joey Veerman.
Veerman had a brilliant season helping PSV Eindhoven to the
Dutch title but hasn’t been able to build on that at Euro 2024. It’s been a
recurring problem for Dutch players, who rarely carry their club form to the
national team.
The 21-year-old Xavi is a reported target for Bayern Munich
after a stellar Bundesliga campaign for Leipzig, with 10 goals in 43 games
across all competitions last season. But Koeman publicly criticized his work
off-the-ball in qualifying and he repeated that criticism after the draw
against France.
Confidence is an issue. Both Malen and Tijjani Reijnders
lacked composure and mishit the ball when presented with scoring opportunities
against Austria.
Koeman was scathing of his players after the match.
“We’re going to need some time because I can list quite a
few mistakes,” the coach said. “We started very badly in many aspects. We did
not defend well. There were many openings for the opponent and we weren’t
aggressive. There was a lack of pressure and we lost the ball as well,
particularly at the start. We were really very bad.”
Despite the problems, the Netherlands will be favored to
overcome Romania in the round of 16, potentially giving Koeman another shot at
Austria in the quarterfinals. AP