Quarterfinal Preview: Holland versus Brazil

 VERSUS

Match Preview: HOLLAND versus BRAZIL

Stage: Quarterfinal

Winner Plays Versus: Uruguay or Ghana

Time: 1600h GMT +1

Venue:  Port Elizabeth Stadium – Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth – The best match played here so far was South Korea’s 2-0 demolition of Greece, but the camera work has been distant and uninspiring so far. Many long range pivotal views, and too little close ups combine with some mediocre live editing can hopefully be improved for this classic, and we will be able to hear both the Dutch and Brazilian fans over the Vuvuzela drone.

Referee: Yuichi Nishimura of Japan has kept a clean, controlled, and impressive record so far refereeing at this tournament, and certainly has been right up there with the big name referees like Rossetti who have already been sent home blamed for FIFA’s shortcomings. He did a great job with Uruguay-France. He is one of the few fully professional referees in this tournament, and we can only hope for more in future World Cups. 

Date of Birth: 17.04.1972

Height: 181 cm

Occupation: Professional Referee

Mother tongue: Japanese

Other languages: English

International since: 2004

First international: Thailand-United Arab Emirates (13.10.2004)

Hobbies: Golf

Fondest memory: FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007: Final Spain - Nigeria

Overview: The revolutionary differences in this World Cup so far could not be better described than by two teams that historically represented the flowing, entertaining attacking game Brazil and Holland, now impressive more for their tactical and defensive styles despite the vocal dissatisfaction of many of their fans.

Holland is the most extraordinary team in World Cup history that never won anything, with the Golden Generation of the 1970s only managing second places and one of the most talented teams ever to grace the World Cup Holland of 1994 getting kicked out in the.... quarterfinals in a historic 3-2 match, which was settled by Branco’s famous dive and freekick very late in the game.

Nevertheless, the talent collected on the pitch today is more than enough for us to witness a real classic. Powerhouse Brazil versus talented Holland should not be missed, as only one of these top teams is going to the final.

Install seat belts on your couch, and turn off all other media, this will be a thrill ride.

Historical Match Up:

The teams have played 3 games at the World Cup, with one win, one loss and one draw each.

Brazil’s coach Dunga, and Holland assistant Frank de Boer were both on the pitch during World Cup 1998 when the two clashed in Marseille for a riveting semifinal, which ended 1-1 after a Ronaldo ‘46^th minute goal after half-time cancelled by Patrick Kluivert in the 87^th minute and forced into penalties. The extra time led to penalties, where Frank hit his and his twin brother Roland saw his penalty saved to send the Brazillians through. Dunga scored the winning penalty.

In 1994 in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl, Holland’s Golden Generation met the future World Champions in the Quarterfinal, only to lose 3-2 in one of the most thrilling game in the history of the competition. Dunga was again on hand as was Frank de Boer, and the match was 2-2 until the 81^st minute. Then Branco, the Brazillian wingback obviously dived for a foul, and smiled cunningly while the Costa Rican referee awarded a freekick which he stepped up to take and scored, eliminating Holland on a referee mistake.

This was sweet revenge for the Brazillians, for the 1974 2-0 demolition that Holland gave their own golden generation, with the legendary Johan Neeskens and Johan Cruyff scoring both goals for a major upset of the then World Champions in front of 52000 fans in Dortmund.

Suggested Menu With Your Game:

Don’t eat before... this will be a gut-wrenching thriller.

Squad Analysis:

HOLLAND:

Unofficial Theme Song to Accompany Style of Play:

Again its 2 Unlimited as it worked last time, and its a tribute to the 1994 generation that lost:

An oldie, Dutch ‘90’s dance group 2 Unlimited provides us with “Are you for this?”  and “No Limit” (One of the best electronic songs of al time really) because we still haven’t seen the real Holland and now is the time, and so far Holland has looked limited... and because there is no limit when Holland plays at its best.

Statistics so far:

7 goals for and 2 against

63 fouls committed 65 suffered including 8 yellow cards

2 penalties given away (against Cameroon and Slovakia)

45 attacks (17 on left, 19 in the center and 9 from the right)

14 times offsides

55% percent average ball possession (good)

74% pass completion rate (52% for long, 31% for crosses, 82% for medium, 72% for short, 25% for corners)

Most shots on goal – Wesley Sneijder with 15

Highest player statistical-ratings according to the Castrol Index so far:

Right wingback Gregory van der Wiel – 9.11

Central midfielder Mark van Bommel – 9.06

Attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder – 9.03

Tactics: This is the most defensively minded, and secure at the back Holland the World Cup has seen since the 1970s. Playing a similar 4-1-1-3-1 formation with a defensive midfielder (De Jong), a central midfield organizer (Van Bommel), a central free-roaming playmaker (Sneijder), 2 great wingers (Robben and Kuyt), and a technically skilled attacker with creative ability (van Persie) Holland looks very attacking on paper and exposed in defence... but in practice the opposite is true.

All the players have contributed defensively so far, and van Persie has been rather inefficient in front of goal. The attacking midfield has a little more work given the defensive posture going forward, but if anyone can break Brazil’s defence its Holland with the attacking options on both sides and through the center, even if Chile didn’t manage.

Strengths: Skill and experience at the top level is not lacking in this Holland team, and there are a number of very talented offensive players, not in the least the hard working Dirk Kuyt , lighting fast Robben and top-of-the-World Wesley Sneijder.

Weakness: The defence has not yet played a top opponent, and looked vulnerable for the first 45 minutes against Denmark and at the end of the game against Slovakia.. can they hold Brazil?

Key to beating Brazil: The Dutch and Brazilians have been two of the best teams in football history, but Brazil has won it 5 times to Holland’s 0.

The Dutch must exhibit a determined resistance to Brazil’s attack, taking the model of Portugal in their 0-0 draw perhaps, and counterattacking with the skill and speed of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. Van Persie has been on poor form and I would perhaps start Klaas Jan Huntellar for this game as he seems in better finishing form.

If the Dutch hold and hit back efficiently, they can really win this game and have a bit of historical revenge.

If anyone in this tournament can beat Brazil, Holland should be able to. The best approach is hit hard, hit first, and keep attacking without sitting back.

Key Squad Members:

Maarten Stecklenburg has received praise for his World Cup performances, but the Ajax keeper will be truly tested with Brazil’s shooting ability thus far. Is he up for it?

Mathijssen of Hamburg and Heitinga of Everton are really up for a challenge today,and have to disprove all of the worries about the state of the Dutch central defence that arose before the tournament arose.

Nigel de Jong has performed excellently against weaker opposition, but will his defensive midfield talent be enough for Brazil? His fast pace and rather good technique will be applied to limiting opportunities caused by Kaka.. and this will be a very interesting matchup given Kaka’s poor form.

Wesley Sneijder is one of the best performing Dutch players at this tournament, and will be another member of the Inter team on the field Friday. His long range shooting and creativity for Holland has been key, but it will take something really special to beat Brazil.

Dirk Kuyt is a very hard working right winger for Holland, although is normally an attacker. His efforts and goal have been important for Holland, and here will need to unsettle a spectacular Brazilian defensive. This will be a historic match for Kuyt is he up for it?

Weakest Link: Robin van Persie has had a miserable tournament so far even though he has scored a goal it was much less than is expected of him. His injury ridden season with Arsenal seems to have affected his physical form, but what drove him to arguing with Dutch coach van Marwijk when subbed against Slovakia? There is a possibility he will start on the bench, or be quickly dropped to it if he fails to score. BRAZIL:

Unofficial Theme Song to Accompany Style of Play:

One of the best Samba rhythms from Rio de Janeiro sings about what else than football.... “O mundo e uma Bola” or “The World is a Ball” was performed by the Beija Flor Samba School in 1986 in support of their team and became something of an anthem... and is a perfect example of a rhythm that Brazil need to find in order to please their fans, the neutrals, and progress at the same time:

Statistics so far:

8 goals for and 2 against

58 fouls committed 59 suffered with 6 yellow cards and one second yellow for red (Kaka)

0 penalties given away

59 attacks (15 on left, 21 in the center and 23 from the right)

4 times offsides

57% percent average ball possession (very good)

80% pass completion rate fantastic! (60% for long, 23% for crosses (poor), 85% for medium, 79% for short, 46% for corners)

Most shots on goal – Robinho with 10 although this is more distributed for Brazil than Holland.

Highest player statistical-ratings according to the Castrol Index so far (very defensive):

Central defender Juan – 9.56

Left wingback Michel Bastos – 9.34

Central defender Lucio – 9.30

Defensive midfielder Gilberto Silva – 9.28

Tactics: Brazil has historically been the best attacking team, and now after defensive midfielder Dunga became the manager and revolutionized the side, they defend like the World’s best. A highly disciplined Brazil deploys the classic Brazilian 4-2-2-2 formation but with many changes.

The most important difference between the South American teams and the European teams in this tournament has largely been that the old-world teams deploy symmetrical, tested formations and force the players to fit in, while Brazil and the South American teams deploy unsymmetrical, tailor-made formations to accentuate their players abilities. There are off course drawbacks to both ways, but the Brazilian 4-2-2-2 sees all the 2s with rather unique ability-centred responsibilities on the pitch.

For example, Robinho plays wide as a playmaking forward and Luis Fabiano as the dedicated penalty box terrorizing striker in the offensive duet, while Kaka plays centrally and Elano or Dani Alves wide in the offensive midfield duet.

The result is, that Brazil have been carefully constructed to complement their player’s abilities, and thus there is little room for non-conformist superstars like Ronaldinho, Adriano, Pato or Diego in the team.

Strengths: A defensive and offensive punch like few other teams, despite a sacrifice of creative freedom. Brazil showed against Chile that if you give them a finger they take your entire hand.

3-0 was the score,  but the game was far closer in terms of attacking and possession, what Brazil showed is ruthless efficiency with the opportunities they had, and a disciplined, tight defensive game to base their attack on.

Individually they have a squad of 11 players that on any given day can count themselves among the best in the World.

Weaknesses:  It hard to attribute weakness to Brazil, but they have been rather attackable, and it hasn’t been impossible to reach their penalty area on counter attacks.

It remains to be seen, but the Brazillian team has a lot of negative pressure to win, which could result in the team coming unstuck in the middle of a big game and losing their current harmony.

Key to beating Holland: Test and stretch the Dutch offense, especially on the wings with the experienced but slow van Bronckhorst on the left, and the fast but inexperienced van der Wiel on the right, the Dutch should be vulnerable to good crosses. Marking out Wesley Sneijder has to start with high pressure against Nigel de Jong and van Bommel in midfield... simply prevent the forward line from getting the ball high up on the pitch and the Dutch attack will be frozen.... easy right?

Key Squad Members:

Julio Cesar has been superb for European Champions Inter all season and is in terrific form for Brazil... such goalkeeping has often been the key to World Cup Winning teams.

Maicon the unusually strong right back, is another treble winner with Inter, has scored perhaps the goal of the tournament, but now his performances give slight indications of getting more and more relaxed. He will have the tough task of stopping the superb Dutch wingers, and contributing to the offense.

Lucio of Inter gets all the credit and is more famous, but Roma’s Juan has been superb in defence for Brazil winning the deserved Man of the Match award against Chile and contributing a perfectly timed headed goal. They have formed the defensive unit to beat so far.

Gilberto Silva is Brazil’s veteran defensive midfielder, and plays the same role for Brazil as Dunga in their 1994 win and1998 road to the final. Today he will have to stop one of the best attacking midfielders in the World right now Wesley Sneijder, and show that at 33 he is not yet over-the-hill.

Luis Fabiano thinks the World of himself, but many fans doubt he can emulate the performances of Ronaldo or Romario in the past. He is a skilled diver and con artist, has scored a goal with a double hand ball, but possesses truly incredible finishing power and skill which he still has to show. His finishing and run will be vital to Brazil’s success, especially if he can create space between Dutch defenders Mathijssen and Heitinga.

Weakest link: Based on input to the tournament so far, Kaka has been inefficient with his passing and shooting, and picked up a red against the Ivory Coast although a controversial one. His weak(er) form for Real Madrid this season is causing rumours of an impending sale and this could be a reason for his apparent lack of focus in this tournament.

Expected Result: Brazil are favourites to beat Holland 2-1 more or less.

A Slight Surprise: Holland beat Brazil 2-1 in a tight game after extra time.

A real shocker: Either team wins big.

Obi Wan Asterix Says: I am saying Holland will pull a 2-1 upset here... its more of an intuitive guess but I often support the underdogs.