Dutch Delight as the Oranje Reach Finals

Holland reached their third World Cup final by beating Uruguay. The Oranje will certainly be hoping for a different script as they look to win their first World Cup in the country's history. This is a Holland team that has somewhat flown under the radar throughout this tournament however, not bringing too much attention towards itself as some other previous squads may have had.

Indeed coach Bert van Marwijk put together a very blue-collar squad for this World Cup. In effect, looking through the 23-man squad, the squad does not boast of the same star power as some other teams in previous tournaments. But it seems to have all gone right for Marwijk as the Oranje find themselves in this summer's finals. Actually the past underachievement of many Dutch squads before has been due to the number of high-profile players and big egoes in the dressing room. It was never an issue of lack of quality, but indeed of too much quality for the Dutch. The likes of Edgar Davids, Seedorf, Van Bommel, and Ruud van Nistelrooy have been the big personalities of past squads as well as the source of some dressing room unrest.

Marwijk's squad is different however. It contains many more workers than it does flair player. Still he included important impact players like Sneijder, Robben and van Persie. Like we have seen it with many teams in this tournament, this Dutch squad plays with two holding midfielders. This is a change from the expansive and free-flowing Totaalvoetbal (Total Football) the Oranje is known for, which is sacrificed for tactical discipline and defensive stability. To this effect Van Bommel and De Jong have been two of the most important players for Holland. After all Holland qualified from the group stages having conceded only a single goal.

Holland were the first team to qualify out of the group stages. They were neither flashy nor particularly dominant in their opening games. They seemed to play reserved and did not come up with particularly challenging opposition. Of course this all changed when the quarterfinal draw was made against Brazil. The Dutch beat their South American foes and largely dominated play in the second half. This was a significant moment as it begged the question if Holland would be able to kick into the next gear should they have come up against more testing opposition. Marwijk's men passed this test with flying colors.

As one might have expected, despite this new look Dutch squad, the likes of Sneijder and Robben are still the difference makers of this squad. Sneijder is the orchestrator and main danger-man. The play goes through him as he pulls all the strings from midfield and sets up the attack. Robben is very much the gamebreaker and Marwijk will consider himself a genius for having gambled on him. After all, Robben had injured himself mere days before Holland's opener. Marwijk decided to keep the Bayern Munchen winger however, and this decision has paid great dividends.

Marwijk's men have quietly snuck into the World Cup finals. Of course their first challenge came in the quarterfinals, when they faced Brazil. But the real test is after the quarterfinals and dealing with the added spotlight and pressure of expectations. After all, it would have been difficult to remain under the radar after defeating the five-time World Cup champions. But the Dutch dealt with the pressure and delivered an impressive performance to beat Uruguay in the semifinals. They have now reached the final frontier and will look to move one step better and lift the coveted World Cup trophy.