SALVADOR, Brazil (AP) – Don’t mention the final.
On the eve of the rematch of the 2010 World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain, the Dutch were playing down any talk of seeking revenge for the agonizing 1-0 defeat in Johannesburg four years ago.
“It’s history. It doesn’t matter any longer,” winger Arjen Robben said yesterday, ahead of the two teams’ World Cup Group B opener at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. “I don’t believe in revenge – 2010 was a final, this is a group match. You can’t compare it.”
In a possible indication of the way the Netherlands will play today, coach Louis van Gaal defended the tough tackling four years ago that earned eight players a yellow card and one a sending off as the Dutch lost their third World Cup final.
“Physicality is part of the game of football,” Van Gaal said. “Four years ago the Dutch team didn’t go over the top.”
Van Gaal’s team in Brazil, a mixture of youngsters and a handful of veterans of the South Africa campaign, has been physical in training, too, with Nigel de Jong and Bruno Martins Indi felling forwards like Robben and Wesley Sneijder.
The hard work and hard tackling is a way of overcoming the quality deficit the Netherlands have compared to Spain.
These Dutch are widely perceived as weaker than those who reached the 2010 final. Van Gaal has totally rebuilt his defence and key midfielder Kevin Strootman is missing the tournament as he recovers from knee surgery.
“We will do everything we can to be the surprise of the tournament,” Van Gaal said.
The 62-year-old Dutchman, long a champion of attractive attacking football, has become more pragmatic as he plots to spring that surprise in his first World Cup. He has ditched the traditional 4-3-3 attacking system beloved of the Dutch and instead will play a five-man defence to counter Spain’s quick-passing style and hope to score on the counter.
“What is very important is that when the opponent has possession we need to be compact,” he said, adding that the Dutch have to “bypass stations” when they have the ball – hinting at a long-ball game unfamiliar to Dutch fans.
After their opener, both teams have to play Chile and Australia in Group B.
Match time: 3 p.m.
