For the Netherlands, there is something special about tournaments in neighbouring Germany. The defeat to the hosts in the1974 World Cup final caused a national trauma, but it did gift to the world the famous Total Football played by Johan Cruyff and co. Then, at Euro1988, the Dutch got their revenge when, with Rinus Michels again at the helm, Oranje won their only major trophy to date with a team containing superstar players like Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit. And finally, at the 2006 World Cup – the last time Germany hosted a major international tournament – we saw the notorious “Battle of Nuremberg” with the Netherlands’ clash against Portugal featuring no fewer than 16 yellow cards and four reds.
Could this be yet another tournament to remember for the Dutch, with Ronald Koeman – now in his second stint as national team head coach – aiming to become only the second man, after Germany’s
