Features

Holland: Nul points - What the papers say - 18-06-2012

Dressed appropriately in black, the Dutch team lost convincingly to Portugal last night. ‘Historic fail’ ‘The laughing stock of Europe’ were among the kinder headlines. What the papers say.

‘Robben shouted 'shut up' and admitted ‘things happened’ is the Volkskrant’s headline although disappointingly, apart from the fact that Robben was very impolite to his coach several times during the game when urged to stop attacking and start defending, the ‘things’ are not explained.

‘Things happened in the team and that is where they will stay’, a taciturn Robben is quoted as saying. Mark van Bommel was prepared to say a little more but nothing that explained the team’s zero points: ‘I can’t speak for the others but the atmosphere was different from two years ago, the situation was different and so were the players, because of the transfers they’ve made.’

Nrc Next features a bin bag with a toy lion in it to be put out with the other rubbish. ‘A lack of innovation, big egos, a dramatic – self inflicted – travel scheme and simply a lack of quality’, is what did for Oranje, the paper writes.

The Telegraaf has the word ‘Afgeschminkt’ plastered over the front page meaning the boys have had to take their make-up off, booed off the stage like an over-the-hill diva after 'the worst European Championship performance ever for the Dutch'.

All papers think coach Bert van Marwijk will probably go sooner than later although Van Marwijk himself has not said as much. The Volkskrant quotes him as saying: ‘I have failed and so have the players. (..) I am not considering my future as coach at this point. My contract doesn’t run out until 2016 but I am disappointed and I feel responsible.’

Trouw asked a psychologist what the fans should do if the Dutch lost: ‘Turn off the television straight away and say to yourself: we can learn from this, on to the next championship. People underestimate their capacity to put a positive spin on things. And the grief will be much less intense than they thought it would be.’

The AD has a better idea: get saviour Johan Cruyff to sort out the national team.