"Ugly Game" works for the Dutch

Van Persie must have made Wesley Sneijder mad. His goal and "assist" (on the Felipe Melo own goal) gave the Dutch safe passage to the World Cup final. Sneijder and Van Persie even looked chummy after the game, patting one another on the bottoms, etc. I'm surprised they didn't exchange a bouquet of colorful tulips. I guess Bert Van Marwijk was right that it wouldn't effect the team and he did a fine job managing the spat between the two stars. I think maybe Van Persie was simply mad because he can't take a free kick without orbiting Jabulani into the South African cheapies. This in-fighting is something teams like France and England couldn't overcome. Well in England, they hate their entire country (Ashley Cole) and love each others girlfriends (John Terry), but that's another topic. Either way, the Dutch rarely had chances and are lucky to be advancing despite playing slightly better than Brazil in the second half.




The other key to Dutch victory was Arjen Robben. It wasn't his attacking down the wing or even distribution, but his cunning. He frustrated Brazil by simply holding the ball. Brazil was complaining about his flopping, his embellishment of any contact. I think the ref did a good enough job to maintain control and be fair, but this obviously got under Brazil's skin. Essentially, this was the final chapter in Brazil's self destruction, a desperate implosion of their defense (and offense). In the first half, Brazil was slicing apart the Dutch defense like a serrated knife through a blood orange. The Netherlands had a few half chances at best and were flailing around the pitch just to keep up. Brazil was playing to their potential and the Dutch were still acclimating to the sweaty pace.

Felipe Melo was credited with the first own goal, but this was a goalkeeping error. Maybe the drone of the vuvuzuelas caused deafness in the defense, but Julio Cesar should have been screaming for the ball. They both had a legitimate shot at the ball, but when they hit one another it was in the back of the net. But the the sense of guilt haunted Melo. When the pest (Robben) held the ball one too many times, Melo was fed up with the perceived gamesmanship. He fouled Robben (just a foul), fouled him again (yellow card), then stomped on Robben's leg (red card, bye).

At this point, Brazil still had a fighting chance in the game. The Dutch continued to look flawed when the South Americans surged forward. Kaka could have held the ball a bit more, finessed the attack. But they were floundering. They needed some of the U.S. teams "come from behind" spirit. And like the U.S. team, they shouldn't have had to play from behind. The difference in this scenario is that Brazil looked like they didn't know how to play from behind. They looked confounded all over the field. You could see it in their demeanor and when Melo took his petty kick at Robben, it was curtains. I actually feel bad for Dunga because this is exactly what he was warning the team, and the nation about. He wanted to build a solid defensive unit that didn't have to rely on outscoring opponents. But they fell asleep. Twice. Where was Lucio? He was advancing into the attack after they were down 2-1, but where was his leadership on the set play that put Holland ahead?



Brazil (the team and nation) need to realize what Dunga already knows: defense wins the World Cup. The Dutch did need some luck to win this game, but their back line held strong in the second half and pushed around the Brazilians enough to win the game. The Dutch's "Ugly Game" won this time, and maybe Brazil needs to make their game even less "Beautiful" to win a match like this.