By Mark Gleeson
ALKHOR, Qatar (Reuters) – Usually the Dutch like their football delivered in style and resplendent with clever tactics but their veteran coach Louis van Gaal has taught them to be practical.
The Netherlands’ progress into the knockout phase of the World Cup in Qatar has come with little charisma or conviction but with the job done and top place in Group A secured.
Previously there would have been a chorus of protest from purists had the team not combined victory with flamboyance and flair but with Van Gaal results are the priority and ‘winning ugly’ is no longer a sin.
The veteran coach, who led his side to a 2-0 win over Qatar in their final group game at the Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday, can get away it with in a nation where debate over tactical formations is taken more seriously than in most countries.
The 71-year-old Van Gaal has enough currency with the Dutch football fraternity to temper any unhappiness, after ripping up their traditional playbook in 2014 and taking the team to the World Cup semi-final in Brazil.
At first, the Dutch were outraged when he ditched the ‘Holland way’ and played three centre backs instead of employing the traditional 4-3-3 approach that allowed the small country to punch above its weight in world football in the 1970s.
But the debate quickly faded as Van Gaal’s team advanced to the last four in Brazil, winning him an army of believers.
He was quick to return to the 5-3-2 formation when he was parachuted in for a third spell as national coach after their disappointing European Championship last year and has stuck to his guns as well as springing surprises with some selections.
In Qatar, his team have done the necessary but not much more. They have won two group games without impressing and drew in between in a physical battle with Ecuador where they were harried off the ball and looked uncomfortable, yet still got a vital point.
The Dutch were able to amble through their last group game, with Tuesday’s victory over hosts Qatar again revealing little about their potential.
For this World Cup, Van Gaal has sought to persuade all that he has a team who can “go all the way” in the tournament. “The more you say it, the more the players believe it,” he said before their departure for Doha.
But they will need to lift their game several notches from Saturday onwards, when they begin the knockout phase.
The dynamism and sharpness seen in the Nations League in June and September has yet to show itself in Qatar and Van Gaal will know the time for tinkering is at an end.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)
