An instant classic

Amazing. The best team in UEFA, by far, yet few are giving the Dutch a chance to beat Brazil.

Never mind Robben. Never mind Sneijder. Never mind Van Bommel. Or Van Persie or Van der Vaart or De Jong or Van Bronckhorst. Forget the emergence of Elia or Affelay or Van der Wiel. Or the damage that a Kuyt or Huntelaar can inflict if you ignore them in favor of the Big Names.

It is because of matches like this that the CounterAttack decided to talk. The conventional wisdom is on Brazil. It’s hardly a surprise, no need to elaborate on the record of the Selecão.

And that’s fine. But consider that people were surprised – shocked! – that England fell out of the World Cup. That surprised the CounterAttack more than the fact that the Dutch were given short shrift over their chances of winning the Cup.

The genius of Holland is that their tactics adapt as the game evolves. Always, though, the Dutch move in their triangles. It is a masterclass of tactics to watch. Germany employed similar tactics when they erased England from the tournament.

Against a wide-open spread attack of Brazil, we expect to see a patient Holland. Count on the Dutch masters to retain possession, simple one-touch passing to move the ball around and deny Brazil the opportunity to charge. They will use their triangles to move forward, side to side, around the pressing Brazilians.

The Brazilians, on the other hand, will defend and attack in numbers. Like a pack of lions with the scent of blood, they will swoop in curves across the pitch, looking to pierce Holland’s relatively vulnerable defenders (relative to the might of the Dutch midfield and attack, that is). Long balls, short passes, individual twists and turns – whatever is necessary to move around the Dutch midfield, that’s what the Selecão will do.

The CounterAttack believes that the Dutch midfield will win the day and change the fortunes of the match. 3-2 to Holland in one of the best matches ever in the World Cup. And it shouldn't be considered an upset.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope so – all tournaments deserve a match with this potential!


image via Martin Meissner/The Associated Press