well a magical run comes to its finality on sunday...couldn't be any more proud of the oranje this turn...de jong returns and along with van bommel will be matched with xavi and iniesta in a brilliant chess match of midfield possession...finally a team who wants possession as much as the dutch...will torres start or come off the bench? can villa do it all himself again?..i hate casillas and make no qualms about it(have never liked him)though stecklenburg was exposed last match for positioning he has gotten away with so far...the defense of spain is tight though sergio ramos better be careful on sunday and remember he is a fullback and not a winger cuz the dutch could expose that rather quickly with robben running down the wing....the midfield matchup is so intriguing to me any way you slice it we are talking world class on both sides...villa will be in tight situations v. the dutch defense...he will be shadowed by heitenga, i believe with help from mathijsen...someone will need to step up to assist villa..where that comes from is anyone's guess...we know torres hasn't helped him much...have many more thoughts and will throw them out as the days roll on....as for who i am taking..well i have been riding my dutch every game and they have yet to let me down...now the dilemma(if it even is one!!!).back in april when i was in vegas i put down a dime on the dutch at 15-1to win the wc(believe it or not, i had to put in 10 seperate $100 bets at mgm casinos cuz they wouldn't take a strait $1000 bet on a future...shocking i know)...so i am looking at a possible 15k payout if i stand still...full well believing the dutch can win...but mama didn't raise no dummy and will throw a hedge on the spanish to win(pains me to even write this..but this is free money now)will be out looking for the best price on them til sunday...cheers
The spanish are tactically superior to Oranje, in my opinion. But if van Bronckhorst takes good care of Villa, I don't see us losing. Too bad we didn't get the germans, it would have been a much more enjoyable victory. The bookies have Spain as favourite for this one at 11/10 while Holland is at 13/5 on William Hill. I'm not sure what to say.... Why don't we have a Paul of our own? 
I'm a German so I may be biased, but I must say I did not see much magic in the Dutch play. There was not one single game where they really impressed me. Yes, they have won all six games so far, but five of them were against inferior opponents and against Brazil they needed a lot of luck to advance.
I believe it would be a big upset if Holland really wins against Spain.
seems like people can't get over the fact that "total futbol" is dead..but a hard nosed way to win is the new breed for the dutch...everyone's opinion is totally kool...and it doesn't bother me in the least that most everyone is calling for a spain victory....and i wouldn't be suprised in the least bit if they did win...everyone said they would lose to brasil too....and that game wasn't lucky...the dutch outplayed brasil in a marvelous 2nd half of futbol....brasil and everyone else the dutch have played have not been able to take advantage of the usual 10-15 'dutch malaise' they seem to go thru...i thought uruguay had done it the last match when forlan scored after seemingly having taken control of the last 15' of the first half...then came the 2nd half and the dutch controlled everything til the last 3' and inj. time....when they get 'bored' you better take advantage of them...personally, don't think this is an upset in the least if the oranje win....they are just as talented as the spanish...cheers
It's not that they don't play "total futbol", it's that they only seem to score by accident, like that Danish own goal or the goalkeeper mistake against Japan. And if don't score that freak equaliser against Brazil I don't see how Holland could have won this game. For all the talent they have they don't seem to be able to create opportunities.
Agree with you. I have said this before and will say this again: Nobody disputes the talent that the Dutch team has, they rival any other team in the world but I think this team comprised of *individuals* rather than a cohesive unit with 1 single objective in mind.
RVP, Arjen and even Wesley S are a joy to watch but sometimes they just try to do too much for their own good. If they can combine their skills with the efficiency of the Germans, man that would be a deadly combination.
i still haven't even hedged yet!!!....without a doubt i would bet the dutch at whatever price i could get in the 90'...i think they are gonna win, even if i am in the vast minority....the last thing the dutch want is pk's/overtime....everywhere i look, spain is being crowned champs with their last set of 1-0 games...iker casillas is impregnable...villa can't be stopped...torres is ready to bust out....i don't know...maybe it's me and i am blinded by oranje...2 more days!!!
some more thoughts:many pundits are driving hard to the hole w/the amazing spanish defense that has only conceded 2 goals this tourney...while the dutch had allowed 5....2 of those were pk's...so we are talking about a 1 goal difference...uruguay allowed 2 goals going into the semis and they gave away 3 to the dutch...hopefully robben and kuyt get back on their respective wings and realize just like paraguay u can beat the spanish from the wings and endlines with crosses....spain won't let you come up the middle and will never let robben do his lil cutback routine..that you can be assured of...cheers
cocktails - i'm a little worried about the netherlands getting frustrated not being able to posses the ball all game. no secret that both of these teams want to dominate possession. i worry that the dutch can be frustrated and eventually lose focus and discipline, ending up with bad penalties or open spanish chances on goal.....especially if spain scores first.
convince me that one of these dutch lapses won't be their undoing......
convince me that one of these dutch lapses won't be their undoing......
If you guys like the Dutch in this game, why not sprinkle some coins on the Over 2 in regulation? It is currently sitting at -111 at pinny or thegreek.
The way I look at this match is quite simple: If Spain were to prevail in regulation, it will most likely be 1-0 or 2-0 at the most...If the Dutch were to take it all, it will probably be 1-1 or 2-1 in regulation.
I do not see the Dutch getting a clean sheet in this one. As a matter of fact, the odds on Pinny right now for that -287. Pretty steep if you ask me and IMO, Pinny believes Spain will have at least 1 goal.
Just some thoughts here fellas. Feel free to provide your counter-arguments ahead of the big game on Sunday.
The way I look at this match is quite simple: If Spain were to prevail in regulation, it will most likely be 1-0 or 2-0 at the most...If the Dutch were to take it all, it will probably be 1-1 or 2-1 in regulation.
I do not see the Dutch getting a clean sheet in this one. As a matter of fact, the odds on Pinny right now for that -287. Pretty steep if you ask me and IMO, Pinny believes Spain will have at least 1 goal.
Just some thoughts here fellas. Feel free to provide your counter-arguments ahead of the big game on Sunday.
yeah KRH7....the 'dutch malaise', as i like to call it... almost caught up w/them v. uruguay...uruguay took the last 15' b4 half definitely.. but the dutch came out of the half in another gear...i have stated b4, the way to get these guys is to make them pay when they 'go thru the motions'....maybe uruguay took too much relaxation at the halftime and got caught with their pants down....hey, i am not out on the pitch so i don't know what goes thru their minds but i can tell you this..they will not be intimidated in the least by spain and what they bring to the table.....if for some reason there was no score at the half and spain scored late like they did v. germany then...yeah i believe it is game, set, match 4 spain....if they score early in the game v. holland...i am not worried....the dutch contain substantial firepower(although, not at its peak in this tourney, admittedly)...they did after all comeback v. brasil....and canabiz-i agree that spain can and most likely will score v. the dutch...i just see the dutch scoring a few tims on iker casillas(whom i have no love for)...he is a smoke and mirror goalie...incredible at any given moment and then you are left scratching your head the next....spain can be beaten on crosses from the wings by the likes of kuyt and robben...van pussy better show up in the box to knock at least one or two of those crosses in.....
Kuyt said: "We are not afraid at all. You could see the Germans were afraid of Spain. They didn't try to attack. We are going to attack and then you will see weaknesses coming to the surface. If you play like the Germans you are definitely going to lose. We don't have players who are afraid and we don't have players who feel small against the big opponents. There is respect, but not fear."
word up...the way to beat spain is to throw everything you got at em..if you wait for them to make a mistake and then counter, you gonna be waiting all game. Netherlands just needs to have Robben push that shit alll game, right at Cap. could get very interesting...this is by noooo means a easy win for Spain. yall drunk. Wesley going for it alllll tomorrow....I think Kuyt will get a header. only way you gonna really score off of Casillas unless Ramos lets him down. you gotta pull for Holland here.
