Now a 33-year-old winding down his career with Al Ahli, in 2010 Nigel de Jong was responsible for a moment that is as memorable as any associated with the World Cup final.…
Tag: holland
“With so many great players in one team, you make art. You don’t mean to but you do.” These were the thoughts of one of the crucial cogs in the Dutch totaalvoetbal…
Johan Cruyff is one of the true legends of football, and without any doubt the biggest Dutch star of all time, however it wasn’t always that way. In his younger years at…
“Dad, your record’s gone.” Roy Makaay couldn’t believe it. For four years, his opportunistic strike against Real Madrid had been the quickest goal in Champions League history. Now, a text from his…
Ajax Amsterdam are one of the most successful football clubs in the world and the most famous of the Netherlands’ club sides. Famed for their highly successful youth academy, the early to…
At the turn of the Millenium, football was suffering a decline in the southern Dutch region of Limburg. All the main local clubs found themselves in dire financial straits, yo-yoing between the first…
Wheeling away in celebration, Patrick Kluivert attempts to take his top off only to think better of it halfway through. It’s the 85th minute in the 1995 Champions League final and he’s just…
SET TO THE BACKDROP of a harsh and heavy winter sky, a January evening spectating at the Johan Cruijff Arena can feel an unforgiving endeavour. The air’s damp chill – aided by…
TRADITIONALLY, ‘while Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works’ – or so the saying goes. Extending the stereotype, Ajax Amsterdam often appear to mirror their hedonistic city’s defiant confidence. It appears – wrongly – as…
IT MAY HAVE BEEN RONALD whose dreams to eventually coach Barcelona seemed to spectacularly combust at Goodison Park, but he wasn’t alone – his brother was also part of the journey. From…
BARRY HULSHOFF – beard unkempt, socks rolled down and a mullet with a life of its own – was something of a prototype. Looking something like the love child of Rod Stewart…
At 34 years of age, Arjen Robben shows no sign of slowing up. The flying Dutchman retired from international football this season, following on from Holland’s failure to qualify for the 2018…
WE ALL HAVE OUR FOOTBALL MEMORIES. As fans, we cherish them. We need them, whether they’re good or bad. They have shaped our journey. For those of a certain vintage, the apex…
The date is 13 June 2014. It is the 44th minute at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, and the Netherlands are playing defending champions Spain in their first group stage match…
TO SOME, HE’S ONE OF THE BEST MANAGERS OF THE PAST TWO DECADES, willing to sacrifice style for substance and flair for formality. To others, he’s an unnerving disciplinarian, an expert at…
SUPPOSE YOU’RE IN AN AMSTERDAM COFFEE SHOP and you happen to be sharing a table with a Dutchman big on their football. You talk for a while and come upon the topic…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The multifarious sphere of footballing history encompasses many greats. Some prove greatness via a trophy cabinet, some gain notoriety for a single goal or piece of skill, some…
Nature or nurture? It’s a question psychologists have debated for centuries. In the context of sport, it’s interesting that so many gifted individuals have raised children who have also gone on to…