Netherlands thrashes Spain 5-1 in World Cup opener

荷蘭捶打西班牙5-1在世界杯首戰

AP
June 14, 2014, 1:46 pm TWN

His decision to field five defenders against Spain though, proved a masterstroke.

SALVADOR, Brazil -- Louis van Gaal, one of the game's greatest coaches, was criticized before the World Cup for being too defensive for a nation that loves attacking play.

His team thrashed the defending world champions 5-1 Friday with a clinical display of counterattacking football that had Spain chasing shadows at the end as Dutch fans roared "Ole!" each time their team passed the ball.

"If you see how he prepared us, and how he predicted the game would go, and you see how it went — unbelievable," said Robin van Persie whose stunning header to equalize just before half time turned the tide of the match and lit up social media accounts around the world. "It went exactly as the entire technical staff predicted."

It was Spain's worst loss in the tournament since a 6-1 defeat to Brazil in 1950.

In the day's other matches, Chile beat Australia 3-1, leaving Spain at the bottom of Group B. In Group A, Mexico edged Cameroon 1-0 on a 61st-minute goal by Oribe Peralta to take second spot behind Brazil.

But it was the Dutch performance that shocked even casual fans on the second day of World Cup, showing why Manchester United was so keen to sign Van Gaal to rebuild the storied club.

He starts work at Old Trafford when the Netherlands leave Brazil. If they keep playing this way, he could keep Manchester fans waiting until mid-July.

The 62-year-old Dutchman has a history of getting the best out of teams and blending youth with experience, taking Ajax to the Champions League title in 1995.

He is bidding to make the Netherlands world champions for the first time after losing three finals — including four years ago when Andres Iniesta's extra-time goal won it for Spain.

It wasn't shocking for the Dutch to get revenge for that loss, but the way they demolished Spain — the dominant world football power since 2008 — sent a signal that the run of this generation of Spanish stars may be coming to an end.

Spain, which won the last two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, will probably have to beat Chile and Australia to qualify for the next round, where a likely date with favorite Brazil awaits.

"They were better than us in the second half, you have to recognize that," Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said. "It's a delicate moment for us. We need to find solutions now."

Spain showed flashes of its slick-passing, ball-control, "tiki-taka" style, but never recovered from Van Persie's masterful goal.

"The equalizer was very crucial at that point," Netherlands midfielder Jonathan de Guzman said. "I think we took advantage of that."

In the second half, Spain's usually rock solid defense crumbled in the face of wave after wave of Dutch attacks, many starting off of long passes from defenders.

Veteran goalie Iker Casillas shouldered the blame.

"It wasn't one of my best games, I wasn't at the level I needed to be," he said. "I have to accept all criticism."

Van Gaal always insisted his five-man defense wasn't as negative as it sounded, and he was proved right.

Left back Daley Blind surged forward to provide two pin-point accurate passes for assists — Van Persie's header and Arjen Robben's first goal. Center back Stefan de Vrij, who caused the penalty that gave Spain the lead, cropped up at the other end of the pitch to push in Wesley Sneijder's free kick for de Vrij's first international score.

美聯社
2014年6月14日，下午1:46 TWN

他決定到現場5辯護人對西班牙雖然，證明了一個主線。

巴西薩爾瓦多 - 範加爾，本場比賽的最偉大的教練之一，在世界杯之前被批評為過於保守的國家愛進攻的發揮。

他的球隊慘敗衛冕世界冠軍5-1週五反擊足球的臨床顯示屏，西班牙曾追影在年底作為荷蘭球迷大吼“好極了！” 每一次他們的球隊把球傳給。

“如果你看到他是如何為我們準備的，他是如何預測比賽會去了，你看看它是如何去 - 令人難以置信，”範佩西，其驚人的頭，以平衡之前一半的時間翻了比賽的局勢，亮了起來說：世界各地的社交媒體賬戶。“這又正是因為整個技術人員預測。”

這是西班牙在比賽中因為6-1慘敗給巴西在1950年損失最慘重。

在當天的其他比賽中，智利擊敗澳大利亞3-1，西班牙留在B組的底部在A組，墨西哥由織部佩拉爾塔一個第61分鐘的進球把僅次於巴西的第二點小幅喀麥隆1-0。

但它是荷蘭的表現，關於世界杯的第二天震驚即使是休閒的球迷，說明為什麼曼聯是如此熱衷於簽署範加爾重建傳奇俱樂部。

他在老特拉福德開始工作時，荷蘭離開巴西。如果他們繼續玩這種方式，他可以保持曼聯球迷等待到7月中旬。

這位62歲的荷蘭人已經獲得最佳的出隊和青年融合與經驗，同時對阿賈克斯的冠軍聯賽冠軍，1995年的歷史。

他正在爭取讓荷蘭世界冠軍，第一次失去了三決賽後 - 其中包括四年前，當伊涅斯塔的加時賽進球贏得了為西班牙。

這不是令人震驚的荷蘭報復該損失，但他們的方式拆除西班牙 - 自2008年以來佔主導地位的世界足球強國 - 發出了一個信號，這一代西班牙星星的運行可能即將結束。

西班牙，從而贏得了最後兩個歐錦賽和2010年世界杯，將可能必須擊敗智利和澳大利亞晉級下一輪，其中一個可能的日期與最喜歡的巴西等待。

“他們比我們在下半場，你必須認識到，更好，”西班牙主帥博斯克說。“這是一個微妙的時刻，我們，我們現在需要找到解決辦法。”

西班牙顯示出它的光滑，傳球，球的控制，“忻塔卡”的風格閃爍，但範佩西的高超的目標再也沒有恢復過來。

“均衡器是非常關鍵的在這一點上，”荷蘭中場喬納森·古斯曼說。“我認為我們採取的這種優勢。”

Even Van Gaal was stunned by the margin of victory.

"To be quite honest, we did not expect it," he said. "This has got to do with strategy and the dedication of the players to execute with conviction."

Fitness also appeared to play a role in Spain's second-half collapse. While the veteran Spanish players tired, the Dutch still looked fresh despite the humidity at the Arena Fonte Nova.

Van Persie's header is an early contender for goal of the tournament.

As Blind's 40-yard pass sailed toward him, the striker glanced up and saw Casillas off his line and in no-man's-land. Van Persie dived full-length and sent a looping header over the stranded goalie and slid on his stomach on the wet grass before running to the sidelines with his fists clenched to exchange a high five with Van Gaal.

"Unbelievable," Van Persie said of the victory. "For the whole Netherlands, this is a dream come true."

Robben had a masterful goal of his own, reaching high to stop a long Blind pass with his left leg, cutting back quickly with his right as defender Gerard Pique spun out of position, and scoring with his left as Sergio Ramos dove toward him.

If Robben hadn't yet buried the memory of his crucial miss in the 2010 final — he helped Bayern win the Champions League in 2013 — his play Friday should do it.

"This is just pure enjoyment," he said. "I'm top fit this season and this is a beautiful confirmation of that."

在下半場，西班牙的通常堅如磐石的防守波荷蘭人的攻擊，許多出發的長傳防守隊員後在崩潰波的臉。

老將守門員卡西利亞斯肩負的責任。

“這不是我最好的比賽之一，我是不是在我需要的是水平，”他說。“我必須接受所有的批評。”

範加爾一直堅持他的五人防守並不像它聽起來負，而他證明是正確的。

左後衛戴利盲向前邁進提供兩針點準確的傳球助攻 - 範佩西的頭球攻門和羅本的第一個進球。中後衛斯特凡德，各系統，誰造成的，給了西班牙領先的點球，出現了在球場的另一端，以推動在斯內德的任意球為德，各系統的第一個國際得分。

即使範加爾被驚呆了勝利的邊緣。

“老實說，我們沒有想到它，”他說。“這有什麼關係戰略和球員以堅定的信念來執行的奉獻精神。”

健身也出現在西班牙的下半場崩潰起到一定的作用。而老將西班牙球員累了，荷蘭人仍然不顧濕度在競技場Fonte Nova酒店顯得清新。

範佩西的頭球是一個早期的競爭者比賽的目標。

由於盲人的40碼傳球駛向他，前鋒抬起頭，看到卡西利亞斯摘下線和無無人區。範佩西跳水全長和發送一個循環頭對滯留守門員和運行場邊與他的拳頭面前滑到他的肚子上濕草握緊與範加爾交換擊掌。

“難以置信，”範佩西說勝利。“對於整個荷蘭，這是一個夢想成真。”