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Netherlands

Netherlands

Nickname	Oranje
Association	Royal Netherlands Football Association (Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond)
Coach	Marco van Basten, 2004-
Most caps	Frank de Boer (112)
Top scorer	Patrick Kluivert (40)
First international Belgium 1 - 4 Netherlands (Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905)
Largest win Netherlands 9 - 0 Norway (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1 November 1972)
Worst defeat Netherlands 2 - 12 England Amateur (The Hague, Netherlands; 1 April 1907)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up, 1974 and 1978
European Championship
Appearances	7 (First in 1976)
Best result	Winners, 1988

The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association.

Netherlands is consistently one of Europe's strongest national teams, having won the European Championship in 1988, and having reached two consecutive World Cup finals, but losing both (1974 and 1978). At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precise passing.

The Netherlands made their first World Cup appearance in 1934, and after coming back in 1938, entered the world of football wilderness. They came out of it in the 1970s with the invention of Total Football. Pioneered by Ajax Amsterdam and lead by the creative genius of Johan Cruijff and Rinus Michels, the Dutch made huge strides, getting to two World Cup finals in the decade. The team has been strong since, winning Euro 88, reaching the semi-finals in Euro 92, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, and finishing fourth in the 1998 World Cup.

The Netherlands are considered by many to be the finest footballing nation never to win the Football World Cup.

World Cup record

1930 - Did not enter
1934 - Round 1
1938 - Round 1
1950 - Did not enter
1954 - Did not enter
1958 to 1970 - Did not qualify
1974 - Runners-up
1978 - Runners-up
1982 - Did not qualify
1986 - Did not qualify
1990 - Round 2
1994 - Quarterfinals
1998 - Fourth place
2002 - Did not qualify
2006 - Qualified

European Championship record

1960 - Did not enter
1964 to 1972 - Did not qualify
1976 - Semi-finals
1980 - Round 1
1984 - Did not qualify
1988 - Champions
1992 - Semi-finals
1996 - Quarterfinals
2000 - Semi-finals
2004 - Semi-finals

Famous past players

Current squad

Goalkeepers:

Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United) (captain)
Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders:

Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburger SV)
Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona)
Tim de Cler (AZ Alkmaar)
Johnny Heitinga (Ajax)
Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV)
Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool)
Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar)
Mario Melchiot (Birmingham City)
Barry Opdam (AZ Alkmaar)
Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord)

Midfielders:

Mark van Bommel (Barcelona)
Phillip Cocu (PSV)
Edgar Davids (Tottenham Hotspur)
Denny Landzaat (AZ Alkmaar)
Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax)
Andy van der Meyde (Everton FC)
Wesley Sneijder (Ajax)
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburger SV)

Forwards:

Ryan Babel (Ajax)
Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord)
Roy Makaay (Bayern Munich)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Arjen Robben (Chelsea)
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (PSV)

External links

• Official site (in Dutch)
• RSSSF archive of results 1908-
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches
• Netherlands National Football Team History
• Story of Holland at the 1974 World Cup
• Story of Holland at the 1978 World Cup
• Holland: "The unbearable Lightness of being Oranje..."

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