{"id":879,"date":"2010-09-23T14:58:26","date_gmt":"2010-09-23T14:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=879"},"modified":"2014-07-18T14:41:45","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T14:41:45","slug":"world-cup-2010-the-aftermath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/world-cup-2010-the-aftermath\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2010: The Aftermath"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Dutch, this summer was an emotional roller coaster \u2013 and we are not a people accustomed to a high emotional pitch.\u00a0 While the world watched, the Dutch national team ascended to its first World Cup final since 1978.\u00a0 In the weeks leading up to the final match in South Africa, voetbal<\/strong><\/em> pundits made much of Holland\u2019s status as the \u201cbest team never to have won the championship.\u201d\u00a0 Die-hard romantics like Brian Phillips of Slate<\/a><\/em><\/strong> even hoped for a Dutch loss<\/a>, arguing that totaalvoetbal<\/strong><\/em>, the style of play that grew out of Rinus Michels\u2019 coaching in the 1960\u2019s, was too beautiful to be marred by an inevitable strain toward victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

I do not understand enough about the complexities of the game to grasp the beauty of totaalvoetbal<\/strong><\/em>, but during Spain and Holland\u2019s final showdown, which I happened to watch in a smoky hotel bar in Abu Dhabi, surrounded by ambivalent expats rooting halfheartedly for Spain, it seemed to me that neither team was making a particularly beautiful effort.\u00a0 Spain\u2019s eventual victory felt like something of a relief, after an hour and a half of rough and uneventful play, culminating in the now-famous image of Dutch player Nigel de Jong kicking Spain’s Xabi Alonso smack in the middle of his chest.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For many Dutch men and women, of course, \u201cde teleurstelling is nog groot<\/a>\u201d\u00a0\u2013 the disappointment is still a big one.\u00a0 I, for one, am grateful for the summer\u2019s struggle, if only because I now feel well-acquainted with the members of the Dutch national team, a noteworthy bunch of voetballers<\/strong> <\/em>who are spreading out over Europe now, back to the professional clubs they are paid to play for, as the real voetbal<\/strong><\/em>season begins.<\/p>\n

Vocabulary of note:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Teleurstelling<\/em> = disappointment<\/span><\/p>\n

Ongestelbaar = <\/em>unchangeable<\/p>\n

Onverklaarbaar = <\/em>inexplicable<\/p>\n

Pijnlijk = <\/em>painful<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the Dutch, this summer was an emotional roller coaster \u2013 and we are not a people accustomed to a high emotional pitch.\u00a0 While the world watched, the Dutch national team ascended to its first World Cup final since 1978.\u00a0 In the weeks leading up to the final match in South Africa, voetbal pundits made…<\/p>\n

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