The Dutch soccer team, sadly, followed my prediction... and mind you, I almost wanted to be proved wrong. They flattered to deceive, and they flattered oh so well!
One always wondered how they would react when put behind- Nistelrooy's 85th minute equalizer had me believing that this time things would turn out different, that the Dutch claim to European glory ( twenty years after) was made of sterner stuff.
But, the Russians seemed to want it a lot more, and seemed to be fueled by that urge to rise from footballing anonymity. Ashravin embodied that desire, to perform at the big stage and earn his due place at a Barcelona or a Real Madrid...
A lot of things surprised me about the Dutch, in a good way- Nistelrooy became less of a ball-hogging, wasteful striker and more of a wandering-in-the-deep move-maker. For a stretch against the French, Robben and van Persie truly were mesmerising Flying Dutchmen (of course, only for a brief stretch).
But the man who was my hero, as much of a trier as van der Vaart, but with greater talent, was Wesley Sneijder. I confess that I haven't tracked his career, despite the fact that he is now at Real Madrid. Yet his rasping shots and relentless runs, even when the rest of the Dutch team looked dead and beaten, were inspiring.
I hope now that Spain wins this tournament- at least one team should get what it deserves for being talented and playing the beautiful game.
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