Arjen Robben says he and his Holland team-mates are determined not to let their opponents Spain control Sunday’s World Cup final (Holland 11/4 to win – 90 minutes).
The Spaniards dominated their semi-final against a very defensive Germany side and the Bayern Munich midfielder is determined his side will not suffer the same fate.
“We will defend from the front,” said Robben. “No-one here feels they are too special to get their hands dirty.
“I was surprised with how freely Germany let Spain play. We have to start pressing them earlier.”
Spain have dominated possession in their games so far in the tournament with players such as Xavi, Iniesta and Xabi Alonso controlling the pace of the game with their patient passing approach.
The key to a Dutch success could be down to the performance of the Oranje’s defensive midfielder Mark Van Bommel who has been key alongside Nigel De Jong in breaking down play and winning the ball in order to give it to Holland’s more creative players.
The Bayern midfielder came under criticism for a number of robust challenges in the semi-final against Uruguay, one which led to Holland’s first goal and was eventually shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away in the final moments.
However, Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijk, who is also Van Bommel’s father-in-law says he sees no problem in the midfielder’s aggressive approach.
“I don’t agree with what people are saying,” said Van Marwijk. “The yellow card on Tuesday was his first in the entire competition. He has shown a lot of discipline in his play.”
Despite winning all of their six games so-far in the tournament, the Oranje have come under fire for shunning the traditional Dutch style of ‘total football’ in favour of a more pragmatic approach.
The total football philosophy was first employed by the Dutch side in 1974 who went on to lose 2-1 in the final to hosts West Germany. They went on to lose again in the final in 1978 and Robben says his side are happy to expense with his nation’s traditional flair in the favour of winning football (Robben 9/1 first goal scorer).
“I would much prefer to win a very ugly game than lose a beautiful one,” said Robben. “We can still play attractive football but we can always rely on our good organisation as well.
“If you are organised, you know one goal could be enough, which has been the case so far. The point is, we are in a World Cup final. From now on how you actually play no longer matters.
“Of course, the intent is there to play good football but the result is far more important.
“We have heard enough of talk about how our football is very nice. But it gets you nowhere. We want to achieve something.”
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Arjen Robben is ready to take a gamble by playing against Cameroon on Thursday for the Netherlands (Holland 1/33 to win Group E).
Bert van Marwijk has played down fears Arjen Robben is an injury concern ahead of Holland’s World Cup opener against Denmark in Johannesburg on June 14.
German champions Bayern Munich lock horns with their Italian counterparts Inter in the first UEFA Champions League final to be played on a Saturday and both sides are eagerly anticipating the biggest game of the season excluding the World Cup.