Netherlands national football team

 Netherlands

Nickname(s)	Clockwork Orange Holland Oranje The Flying Dutchmen
Association	Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond — KNVB
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Bert van Marwijk
Captain	Mark van Bommel
Most caps	Edwin van der Sar (130)
Top scorer	Patrick Kluivert (40)
Home stadium	Amsterdam Arena De Kuip Philips Stadion
FIFA code	NED
FIFA ranking	2 [1]
Highest FIFA ranking	1 [2] (August 2011-September 2011)
Lowest FIFA ranking	25 (May 1998)
Elo ranking	2
Highest Elo ranking	1 (Mar 1911 – Mar 1912, Jun 1912, Aug 1920; Jun 1978, Jun 1988 – Jun 1990, Jun–Sep 1992, Jun 2002, Jun–Sep 2003, Oct 2005, Jun 2008, Jul 2010.)
Lowest Elo ranking	56 (October 1954)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Belgium 1–4 Netherlands (Antwerp, Belgium; 30 April 1905)
Biggest win
Netherlands 11–0 San Marino  (Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2 September 2011)
Biggest defeat
England Am. 12–2 Netherlands (Darlington, England; 21 December 1907)[3]
World Cup
Appearances	9 (First in 1934)
Best result	Runners-Up, 1974, 1978 and 2010
European Championship
Appearances	8 (First in 1976)
Best result	Winners, 1988
Honours Olympic medal record Men's Football Bronze 1908 London Team Bronze 1912 Stockholm Team Bronze 1920 Antwerp Team

The Netherlands National Football Team (Dutch: Nederlands nationaal voetbalelftal) represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands. The team was first assembled in 1905.

The football team is colloquially referred to as 'Het Nederlands Elftal' (The Dutch Eleven), 'Holland', referring the Netherlands as a whole (although it is actually the name of a smaller region), and 'Oranje', a tribute to the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever winning the final. They finished second in the 1974, 1978, and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively. They won the European Championship in 1988. At the peak of their success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed Clockwork Orange for its precision passing.

In August 2011, the team was ranked number 1 in the FIFA world rankings, thus becoming the second national football team, after Spain, to top the rankings without previously winning a World Cup. The Netherlands National Football Team remains one of the strongest football teams in Europe and the world.

History

Dutch squad for their first international match

The Netherlands played their first international match in Antwerp against Belgium on 30 April 1905. The players were selected by a five-member commission from the Dutch football association. After 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, but because the match was for a trophy (the "Coupe van den Abeele"), the game went into extra time, in which Eddy de Neve scored three times, making the score 1–4 for the Dutch side.^[4]

The Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 it took till 1974 before they performed on the highest stage again.

Total Football in the 1970s

The 1970s saw the invention of Total Football (Dutch: Totaalvoetbal), pioneered by Feyenoord and Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruyff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made huge strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade. The captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Alberto, went on to say "The only team I’ve seen that did things differently was Holland at the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Since then everything looks more or less the same to me…. Their ‘carousel’ style of play was amazing to watch and marvellous for the game."^[5]

In 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, despite having gone 1–0 up through Johan Neeskens' early penalty kick before any German had even touched the ball. However, supported by the crowd, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans.

The Dutch team before their 1–2 loss against West Germany in the final of the 1974 World Cup

By comparison, Euro '76 was a disappointment. The Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to Czechoslovakia, as much because of fighting within the squad and the coach George Knobel, as well as the skill of the eventual winners.

In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be beaten by the host, this time Argentina. This side played without Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem, and Jan van Beveren, who refused to participate in the World Cup. It still contained Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol, Wim Jansen, Jan Jongbloed, Wim Suurbier and Rob Rensenbrink from the 1974 selection. The Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages. They qualified as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland. In the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3–1 after two extra time goals from Argentina. Unfortunately for the Dutch, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1–1.

Failure:1982-86

Euro '80 was the last tournament for which the Total Football qualified, but they did not advance past the group stage, despite the tournament format being expanded that year. Veterans such as Krol and Rensenbrink retired soon afterwards and the Netherlands missed the 1982 World Cup, Euro '84, and the 1986 World Cup in succession. Qualification for Euro 1984 was within reach, but the Dutch ended the campaign on the same number of points as rivals Spain, and the same goal difference (+16). Spain advanced having scored two more goals. The failure to reach the 1986 World Cup was also very close. In a play off with neighbours Belgium, the Netherlands lost 1-0 in Brussels, but were leading 2-0 in the home leg in Rotterdam with a few minutes remaining. Belgium scored to end the tie 2-1, and overall play off 2-2. Belgium advanced on the away goal rule.

European Champions

The 1988 trophy on display in Amsterdam

Rinus Michels returned to coach the team for the Euro '88 tournament. After losing the first group match against the Soviet Union (1–0), the Netherlands went on to qualify for the semi-final by defeating England 3–1 (with a hat-trick by the tournament's top scorer Marco van Basten), and Republic of Ireland (1–0). For many Dutch football supporters, the most important match in the tournament was the semi-final against West Germany, the host country, considered a revenge for the lost 1974 World Cup final (also in West Germany). Marco van Basten, who would later become national team coach, scored in the 89th minute of the game to sink the German side. The game is also remembered for its post-match shenanigans, including Ronald Koeman, who, in front of the German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it were toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted.^[6] The Netherlands won the final with a convincing victory over the USSR, a rematch on the round robin game, through a header by Ruud Gullit and a volley by van Basten. This was the national team's first major tournament win and it restored them to the forefront of international football for the next three years after almost a decade in the wilderness.

Despite high expectations as the team entered the 1990 World Cup, the tournament was not a success. Van Basten failed to score, as he was frequently marked by opposing defenders, while Gullit was ineffective having not fully recovered from injury. The Dutch managed to advance despite drawing all three group games, meeting their arch-rivals West Germany in the round of 16. The match is most remembered for the spitting-incident involving Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler as the Netherlands lost 2–1.

The team subsequently reached the semi-finals in the Euro '92, which was noted for the emergence of Dennis Bergkamp, but they were eliminated by eventual champions Denmark, with Van Basten's kick in the penalty shootout being saved by Peter Schmeichel. This was to be van Basten's last major tournament as he suffered a serious injury shortly after, eventually conceding defeat and retiring at the age of 30 in 1995.

In the 1994 World Cup, in the absence of the chronically injured van Basten and the striking Gullit, Dennis Bergkamp led the team with three goals and the Netherlands advanced to the quarter-finals, where they lost 3–2 to eventual champions Brazil.

1996–2004

At Euro '96, after drawing 0–0 with Scotland and beating Switzerland 2–0, they faced the hosts England in the pool A decider, with both teams on 4 points. After 62 minutes, with Scotland beating Switzerland 1–0, the Netherlands were 4–0 down and looked like finishing third behind Scotland on goal difference and going out of the tournament, but Patrick Kluivert converted a Dennis Bergkamp assist and scored in the 78th minute to see the Dutch finish second on goals scored. They then played France in the quarter-finals, drawing 0–0 and being eliminated 5–4 on penalties.

The Netherlands at Euro 96 in a match against Scotland.

In the 1998 World Cup, Netherlands, whose team included Marc Overmars, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, and Patrick Kluivert, met Argentina in the quarter-final, a rematch of the 1978 final. Near the end of regular time, after an unsuccessful dive to draw a penalty, Argentinian Ariel Ortega head-butted Edwin van der Sar.^[7] Ortega was sent off and the Netherlands won 2–1 after a Bergkamp goal in the 89th minute. Bergkamp's goal was famous because of its quality — he touched down a 60-yard (55 m) pass from Frank de Boer then reverse-flicked it inside Roberto Ayala and finally volleyed it past the Argentine goalkeeper. In the semi-final, the Netherlands took Brazil to a penalty shootout after a late Kluivert goal tied the match 1–1, but Brazil won the shootout 4–2 and advanced to the final. Netherlands lost the third place match 2–1 to upstart Croatia. Soon after the World Cup exit manager Guus Hiddink resigned after two tournaments in charge and was replaced by legendary ex-midfielder Frank Rijkaard.

Patrick Kluivert the team's leading scorer of all time was a crucial component to the rise of the Oranje in France 1998 and Euro 2000

Netherlands co-hosted Euro 2000 with Belgium and were one of the favourites coming into the tournament. Getting all three wins in the group stage, including a win over reigning World Cup champions France, they then crushed Yugoslavia 6–1 in the quarter-finals, with Kluivert getting a hat-trick. In the semi-finals, their opponents, Italy, went down to ten men in the first half and the Netherlands were awarded two penalty kicks but failed to convert either chance. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo made two saves in the shootout (in addition to his penalty save in regulation time) to eliminate the Netherlands. Dennis Bergkamp, who failed to score during the tournament, retired from the national team after Euro 2000 (partly due to his fear of flying effectively ruling him out from the 2002 World Cup which was to be held in East Asia.) Coach Frank Rijkaard was widely criticized by the press after the defeat to the Italians as the Dutch had squandered several chances to kill the game. Rijkaard resigned, with Louis van Gaal taking over. Van Gaal is credited with initially bringing through the backbone of this Dutch side whilst manager of Ajax durting the mid ninieties, including Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Michael Reiziger, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert and the de Boer twins.

Netherlands at the 2006 World Cup

Surprisingly the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, with crucial losses to Portugal and the Republic of Ireland, the latter of which eliminated them from the Finals tournament. Van Gaal resigned at the conclusion of the Netherlands' unsuccessful campaign.

Dick Advocaat returned to coach the Netherlands for a second time and led the team to the semifinals of Euro 2004 but lost to Portugal and, after receiving criticism for his tactics and player changes, stepped down. This was to be the end for the many of the team's World Cup veterans (mostly made up of the Ajax generation of 1995.) Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Jaap Stam, and Patrick Kluivert had either retired or were not selected for the upcoming World Cup by new coach Marco van Basten.

2006–2010

Training in Germany

The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and finished second in Group C after beating Serbia & Montenegro (1–0) and the Côte d'Ivoire (2–1) and drawing Argentina (0–0). Both Argentina and the Netherlands finished the group stage with seven points, but the Argentinians had a superior goal difference and finished first as a result. The Dutch were eliminated in the second round after losing 1–0 to Portugal, in a match that produced 16 yellow cards (which matched the World Cup record for most cautions in one game set in 2002) and set a new World Cup record of four red cards (two for either side) and was nicknamed "the Battle of Nuremberg" by the press.^[8] Despite criticism surrounding his selection policy and the lack of attacking football from his team, Marco van Basten was offered a two-year extension to his contract by the Dutch FA, which would allow him to serve as national coach during Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The move was widely regarded as a vote of confidence in van Basten and his assistants by the KNVB officials.^[9]

Netherlands – France at Euro 2008

The Netherlands began their Euro 2008 campaign with a win in Luxembourg on 2 September 2006. On 8 September 2007, the Oranje beat Bulgaria at the Amsterdam Arena on goals by Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy. On 12 September 2007, the Netherlands won a hard fought victory against Albania, with van Nistelrooy scoring the winning goal in stoppage time. This win took the Dutch squad into second place in Group G, on par with Romania for points, but behind on goal differential. The Oranje were beaten 1–0 in Romania on 13 October 2007, but four days later, the Netherlands' 2–0 victory over Slovenia, while rivals Bulgaria could only draw in Albania, left the Dutch needing one win from their last two games, at home to Luxembourg and away to Belarus, to qualify for Euro 2008.

The Netherlands played their first game in 2008 against Croatia in Split. The team, without Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Clarence Seedorf, Orlando Engelaar, and Arjen Robben, won the match 3–0. The first goal was scored by John Heitinga on a header, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the second goal on an assist from Tim de Cler. The final goal came from Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. The team used a new formation under Marco van Basten, scrapping the previously used 4–3–3 formation for a 4–2–3–1.

The Dutch team was a participant in the "Group of Death", together with France, Italy, and Romania. They began Euro 2008 with a 3–0 win over World Cup Champion Italy in Bern on 9 June 2008. This was the Netherlands' first victory over Italy since 1978. In their second group match against France on 13 June 2008, the Netherlands won convincingly with a 4–1 score. The Dutch closed out an incredible group stage campaign with a 2–0 win over Romania. However, they lost in the quarter-final to former coach Guus Hiddink's Russia by 3–1, despite a late 86th minute equalizer by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Netherlands – Denmark at the 2010 World Cup

Under new coach Bert van Marwijk, the Dutch team went on to secure a 100 percent record in their World Cup 2010 qualification campaign, winning all eight games and becoming the first European team to qualify for the World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on the 4 December 2009 saw the Dutch being placed alongside Denmark, Cameroon and Japan in Group E. On June 14 the Dutch won 2–0 against Denmark in their opener at the World Cup. On June 19 they then beat Japan 1–0 with a goal from Wesley Sneijder. They were the first team to qualify for the Round of 16 after a 2–1 victory from Denmark over Cameroon. In the first knockout round they faced Slovakia. At the end it was 2–1 victory after goals from Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. The conceded goal came in injury time from a penalty taken by Róbert Vittek. They advanced to the semifinals with a 2–1 victory over the favoured Brazilians on July 2, 2010. Brazil, who had held a 1–0 lead at the half, was the favourite to win the cup, had never lost in 37 World Cup matches (35–0–2) in which they had held a halftime lead. The first Dutch goal was originally ruled an own goal by Felipe Melo, but was later officially changed to a goal by Wesley Sneijder. The second came from a corner kick headed into the net by Wesley Sneijder despite being the shortest player on the field. In the semi-final the Dutch beat Uruguay 3–2 to advance to their first World Cup final since 1978. The Dutch lost the final to Spain with a score of 1–0 after extra time in what was to be Giovanni van Bronckhorst's last match in professional football.

Euro 2012

The Netherlands in 2011.

The Dutch went on after the World Cup tournament and started with the full score of 24 points from 8 matches in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.^[10]

In between the qualification matches, the team went on a trip to South America for rematches of the World Cup quarter and semi-finals against Brazil and Uruguay. Although the matches ended in draws, coach Bert van Marwijk saw it as "a good test for his players, to prove they were fit to overcome hostile circumstances also". "It was a very useful experience," Van Marwijk, "We could even have won these two matches and that is a compliment to the players."

On 2 September 2011 the Netherlands defeated San Marino 11–0, their biggest ever victory^[11].

On 6 September 2011, the Dutch defeated Finland 2–0, ensuring a place at the Euro 2012, either as Group E winner or as the best runners-ups.

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group E

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Netherlands 10 9 0 1 37 8 +29 27  Sweden 10 8 0 2 31 11 +20 24  Hungary 10 6 1 3 22 14 +8 19  Finland 10 3 1 6 16 16 0 10  Moldova 10 3 0 7 12 16 −4 9  San Marino 10 0 0 10 0 53 −53 0

2014 FIFA World Cup

On 30 July 2011 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw, The Netherlands were placed in Group D. They commence their qualifying campaign in late 2012 in a group that features contenders Turkey, Hungary and Romania. ^[12]

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Last 10 and known next games

Date	Venue	Opponent	Competition	Result
November 17, 2010	Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands	Turkey	Friendly match	1–0 W
February 9, 2011	Philips Stadion,  Netherlands	Austria	Friendly match	3–1 W
March 25, 2011	Stadium Puskas Ferenc,  Hungary	Hungary	ECQ2012	0–4 W
March 29, 2011	Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands	Hungary	ECQ2012	5–3 W
June 4, 2011	Estádio Serra Dourada,  Brazil	Brazil	Friendly match	0–0 D
June 8, 2011	Estadio Centenario,  Uruguay	Uruguay	Friendly match	1–1 D
September 2, 2011	Philips Stadion,  Netherlands	San Marino	ECQ2012	11–0 W
September 6, 2011	Helsinki Olympic Stadium,  Finland	Finland	ECQ2012	0–2 W
October 7, 2011	De Kuip,  Netherlands	Moldova	ECQ2012	1–0 W
October 11, 2011	Råsunda Stadium,  Sweden	Sweden	ECQ2012	3–2 L
November 11, 2011	Amsterdam Arena,  Netherlands	Switzerland	Friendly match
November 15, 2011	HSH Nordbank Arena,  Germany	Germany	Friendly match

KEY: ECQ2012 = UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Colours

Dutch fans wearing the traditional orange colours of the national team at a 2006 World Cup match at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart

The Netherlands national football team famously plays in bright orange shirts. Orange is the historic national colour of the Netherlands, originating from the coat of arms of the Dutch founding father William of Orange-Nassau. The top red band of the current flag was originally orange. The current Dutch away shirt is white, with two thin lines outlining a chevron containing the colours of the Dutch flag. Occasionally, orange socks are worn instead of light blue socks, such as in the qualifier against Scotland on March 28, 2009.

Nike is the kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1996 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1930 Did Not Enter 1934 Round 1 9th 1 0 0 1 2 3 1938 Round 1 14th 1 0 0 1 0 3 1950 Did Not Enter 1954 1958 Did Not Qualify 1962 1966 1970 1974 Final 2nd 7 5 1 1 15 3 1978 Final 2nd 7 3 2 2 15 10 1982 Did Not Qualify 1986 1990 Round of 16 15th 4 0 3 1 3 4 1994 Quarter-Final 7th 5 3 0 2 8 6 1998 Semi-Final 4th 7 3 3* 1 13 7 2002 Did Not Qualify 2006 Round of 16 11th 4 2 1 1 3 2 2010 Final 2nd 7 6 0 1 12 6 2014 Qualifying 2018 2022 Total 9/19 3 Finals 43 22 10 11 71 44

UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1960 Did Not Enter 1964 Did Not Qualify 1968 1972 1976 Third Place 3rd 2 1 0 1 4 5 1980 Group Stage 5th 3 1 1 1 4 4 1984 Did Not Qualify 1988 Champions 1st 5 4 0 1 8 3 1992 Semi Final 3rd 4 2 2 0 6 3 1996 Quarter Final 8th 4 1 2 1 3 4 2000 Semi Final 3rd 5 4 1 0 13 3 2004 Semi Final 4th 5 1 2 2 7 6 2008 Quarter Final 6th 4 3 0 1 10 4 2012 Qualified 2016 To Be Determined Total Champions 9/14 32 17 8 7 55 32 Summer Olympics Host nation(s) / Year Result GP W D* L GS GA 1908 Third place 2 1 0 1 2 4 1912 Third place 4 3 0 1 17 8 1920 Third place 4 2 0 2 9 10 1924 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 11 7 1928 Round 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 1948 First Round 2 1 0 1 6 5 1952 Preliminary Round 1 0 0 1 1 5 2008 Quarter Finals 4 1 2 1 4 4 Total 8/31 23 10 3 10 50 45

*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout.

**Gold background color indicates the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.'

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Notes
Manager	Bert van Marwijk
Assistant Manager	Phillip Cocu
Assistant Manager	Ernest Faber
Goalkeeping Coach	Ruud Hesp
Fitness Coach
Physiotherapists
U-21 Manager	Cor Pot
U-19 Manager	Wim van Zwam
U-17 Manager	Albert Stuivenberg

Players

Current squad

The following players were named as part of the squad for the matches against Switzerland, on November 11, 2011, and Germany, on November 15, 2011.

Caps and goals as of October 7, 2011.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Maarten Stekelenburg September 22, 1982 (1982-09-22) (age 29) 42 0 Roma GK Michel Vorm October 20, 1983 (1983-10-20) (age 28) 9 0 Swansea City GK Tim Krul April 3, 1988 (1988-04-03) (age 23) 2 0 Newcastle United DF Joris Mathijsen April 5, 1980 (1980-04-05) (age 31) 76 3 Málaga DF John Heitinga (Vice-Captain) November 15, 1983 (1983-11-15) (age 27) 72 7 Everton DF Khalid Boulahrouz December 28, 1981 (1981-12-28) (age 29) 33 0 VfB Stuttgart DF Gregory van der Wiel February 3, 1988 (1988-02-03) (age 23) 28 0 Ajax DF Edson Braafheid April 8, 1983 (1983-04-08) (age 28) 8 0 Hoffenheim DF Ron Vlaar February 16, 1985 (1985-02-16) (age 26) 4 0 Feyenoord DF Vurnon Anita April 4, 1989 (1989-04-04) (age 22) 3 0 Ajax MF Rafael van der Vaart February 11, 1983 (1983-02-11) (age 28) 92 17 Tottenham Hotspur MF Wesley Sneijder June 9, 1984 (1984-06-09) (age 27) 78 23 Internazionale MF Mark van Bommel (Captain) April 22, 1977 (1977-04-22) (age 34) 72 10 Milan MF Nigel de Jong November 30, 1984 (1984-11-30) (age 26) 54 1 Manchester City MF Stijn Schaars January 11, 1984 (1984-01-11) (age 27) 15 0 Sporting MF Kevin Strootman February 13, 1990 (1990-02-13) (age 21) 8 1 PSV MF Georginio Wijnaldum November 11, 1990 (1990-11-11) (age 20) 1 1 PSV FW Dirk Kuyt July 22, 1980 (1980-07-22) (age 31) 82 24 Liverpool FW Robin van Persie August 6, 1983 (1983-08-06) (age 28) 60 25 Arsenal FW Klaas-Jan Huntelaar August 12, 1983 (1983-08-12) (age 28) 48 30 Schalke 04 FW Ryan Babel December 19, 1986 (1986-12-19) (age 24) 40 5 Hoffenheim FW Luuk de Jong August 27, 1990 (1990-08-27) (age 21) 4 1 Twente FW Derk Boerrigter October 16, 1986 (1986-10-16) (age 25) 0 0 Ajax

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Jasper Cillessen April 22, 1989 (1989-04-22) (age 22) 0 0 Ajax v.  Uruguay, June 8, 2011 GK Jelle ten Rouwelaar December 24, 1980 (1980-12-24) (age 30) 0 0 NAC v.  Uruguay, June 8, 2011 GK Sander Boschker October 20, 1970 (1970-10-20) (age 41) 1 0 Twente v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011 DF Erik Pieters July 8, 1988 (1988-07-08) (age 23) 14 0 PSV v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011INJ DF Hedwiges Maduro February 13, 1985 (1985-02-13) (age 26) 18 0 Valencia v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ DF Peter Wisgerhof November 19, 1979 (1979-11-19) (age 31) 2 0 Twente v.  Austria, February 9, 2011 MF Ibrahim Afellay April 2, 1986 (1986-04-02) (age 25) 36 3 Barcelona v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ MF Demy de Zeeuw May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26) (age 28) 27 0 Spartak Moscow v.  Brazil, June 4, 2011 MF Urby Emanuelson June 16, 1986 (1986-06-16) (age 25) 14 0 Milan v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011 MF Royston Drenthe April 8, 1987 (1987-04-08) (age 24) 1 0 Everton v.  Turkey, November 17, 2010 FW Jeremain Lens November 24, 1987 (1987-11-24) (age 23) 4 1 PSV v.  Sweden, October 11, 2011 FW Arjen Robben January 23, 1984 (1984-01-23) (age 27) 53 15 Bayern Munich v.  Moldova, October 7, 2011INJ FW Ruud van Nistelrooy July 1, 1976 (1976-07-01) (age 35) 70 35 Málaga v.  Hungary, March 29, 2011

Notes

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Past managers

Cees van Hasselt 1905–1908 Edgar Chadwick 1908–1913 Jimmy Hogan 1910 Tom Bradshaw 1913 Billy Hunter 1914 Jack Reynolds 1919 Fred Warburton 1919–1923 Jim Waites 1921 Bob Glendenning 1923 Billy Townley 1924 J.E. Bollington 1924 Bob Glendenning 1925–1940 Karel Kaufman 1946

Jesse Carver 1947–1948 Tom Sneddon 1948 Karel Kaufman 1949 Jaap van der Leck 1949–1954 Karel Kaufman 1954–1955 Friedrich Donenfeld 1955 Max Merkel 1955–1956 Heinrich Müller 1956 Friedrich Donenfeld 1956–1957 George Hardwick 1957 Elek Schwartz 1957–1964 Denis Neville 1964–1966 Georg Keßler 1966–1970

František Fadrhonc 1970–1974 Rinus Michels 1974 George Knobel 1974–1976 Jan Zwartkruis 1976–1977 Ernst Happel 1977–1978 Jan Zwartkruis 1978–1981 Kees Rijvers 1981–1984 Rinus Michels 1984–1985 Leo Beenhakker 1985–1986 Rinus Michels 1986–1988 Thijs Libregts 1988–1990 Leo Beenhakker 1990 Rinus Michels 1990–1992

Dick Advocaat 1992–1995 Guus Hiddink 1995–1998 Frank Rijkaard 1998–2000 Louis van Gaal 2000–2002 Dick Advocaat 2002–2004 Marco van Basten 2004–2008 Bert van Marwijk 2008–present

Individual all-time records

  Still active players are highlighted

Most capped players # Player National career Matches Goals Total career 1. Edwin van der Sar 1995–2008 130 0 1988–2011 2. Frank de Boer 1990–2004 112 13 1988–2005 3. Giovanni van Bronckhorst 1996–2010 106 6 1993–2010 4. Phillip Cocu 1996–2006 101 10 1988–2008 5. Rafael van der Vaart 2001–0000 92 17 2000–0000 6. Clarence Seedorf 1994–2008 87 11 1992–0000 7. Marc Overmars 1993–2004 86 17 1990–2009 8. Aron Winter 1987–2000 84 6 1986–2003 9. Ruud Krol 1969–1983 83 4 1968–1986 10. Dirk Kuyt 2004–0000 82 24 1998–0000 11. Dennis Bergkamp 1990–2000 79 37 1986–2006 Patrick Kluivert 1994–2004 79 40 1994–2008 13. Ronald Koeman 1983–1994 78 14 1980–1997 Wesley Sneijder 2003–0000 78 23 2002–0000 15. Joris Mathijsen 2004–0000 76 3 1998–0000 16. Edgar Davids 1994–2005 74 6 1992–2010 17. Hans van Breukelen 1980–1992 73 0 1976–1994 Frank Rijkaard 1980–1994 73 10 1980–1995 19. Michael Reiziger 1994–2004 72 1 1990–2007 John Heitinga 2004–0000 72 7 2001–0000 Mark van Bommel 2000–0000 72 10 1992–0000 Last updated: 2 September 2011 Source: voetbalstats.nl (Dutch) Most goals scored # Player National career Goals Matches Average Total career 1. Patrick Kluivert 1994–2004 40 79 0.51 1994–2008 2. Dennis Bergkamp 1990–2000 37 79 0.47 1986–2006 3. Faas Wilkes 1946–1961 35 38 0.92 1940–1964 Ruud van Nistelrooy 1998–0000 35 70 0.50 1994–0000 5. Abe Lenstra 1940–1959 33 47 0.70 1935–1963 Johan Cruyff 1966–1977 33 48 0.69 1964–1984 7. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 2006–0000 30 48 0.63 2002–0000 8. Bep Bakhuys 1928–1937 28 23 1.22 1925–1947 9. Kick Smit 1935–1946 26 29 0.90 1924–1950 10. Robin van Persie 2004–0000 25 60 0.42 2001–0000 Last updated: 12 October 2011 Source: voetbalstats.nl (Dutch) Titles FIFA World Cup: Runner-up (3): 1974, 1978, 2010 Fourth place (1): 1998 European Champions: Winners (1): 1988 Third place/Semi-Final* (4): 1976, 1992, 2000, 2004 Olympic football tournament: Third place (3): 1908, 1912, 1920 Fourth Place (1): 1924 See also List of Netherlands international footballers Netherlands national under-21 football team Netherlands national under-19 football team Netherlands national under-17 football team Netherlands women's national football team Royal Dutch Football Association Aruba national football team Curacao national football team Sint Maarten national football team Germany and Netherlands football rivalry References ^ The Netherlands reached the top spot in the FIFA ranking on August 10, 2011. FIFA will publish the ranking on August 24. ^ http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=ned/ranking/gender=m/index.html ^ Note that this match is not considered to be a full international by the English FA, and does not appear in the records of the England team ^ "Netherlands: Full "A" internationals (1905–1910)". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. http://www.iffhs.de/?29da14a8db55291a14681bd4685fdcdc3bfcdc0aec28d6eda0a61c. Retrieved 15 May 2010.  ^ "Tactics: Were Holland 1974 the last true innovators?". Football Further. 2010-07-14. http://www.tomwfootball.com/2010/10/15/tactics-were-holland-1974-the-last-true-innovators/. Retrieved 2010-10-18.  ^ "Cheeseheads vs Krauts": 30 Years of Enmity, Ajax-USA.com, June 14, 2004 ^ Phil Jones (1998-07-04). "The Netherlands pay back controversial loss to Argentina". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/events/1998/worldcup/news/1998/07/04/philjones_04/. Retrieved 2007-08-22.  ^ Stuart Watt (2006-06-26). "Portugal wins battle of Nuremberg". www.abc.net.au. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1671528.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-22.  ^ "Van Basten on right track". Football.co.uk. http://www.football.co.uk/holland/van_basten_on_right_track_230197.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-22.  ^ Kuyt kills off brave Hungary for Netherlands by Berend Scholten on UEFA.com ^ "San Marino on the end of record Netherlands win". Berend Scholten on UEFA.com. 2 September 2011. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/matches/season=2012/round=15171/match=2002054/postmatch/report/index.html#san+marino+record+netherlands. Retrieved 2 September 2011.  ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=1483519/index.html External links Official site (in Dutch) RSSSF archive of results 1908– RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers RSSSF archive of coaches Nederland – List of International Matches Netherlands national football team History IFFHS Archive:1905–1910 Story of The Netherlands at the 1974 World Cup Story of The Netherlands at the 1978 World Cup The Netherlands national team ELO rating Oranje Statistics Preceded by 1984 – France  European Champions 1988 (First title) Succeeded by 1992 – Denmark  Awards Preceded by 1999 Brazil  FIFA Team of the Year 2000 Succeeded by 2001 Honduras