What if Holland World Cup 2002
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| Holland 2002 vs Germany |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index
Holland All-Time 23 member team
Surnamese-Dutch
North Holland, South Holand
The rest of Holland excluding North and South Holland
Holland After Johan Cruyff
United Kingdom 1970
United Kingdom 1982
France 1994
Yugoslavia 1994
USA 2010
England 1974
What if Argentina sent this team to Sweden 1958
This is my selection of the Dutch National Team for the World Cup Finals in 2002.
Ajax won the UEFA Champions' League in 1995. That team was considered one of the greatest club teams ever assembled. The tournament also marked the beginning of a new Golden Generation for Holland. The Dutch national team found successes at the World Cup Final 1998 and the European Championship in 2000, reaching the semi-final before getting eliminated by penalty shootouts. They were perceived to be a dark horse for the World Cup Finals in 2002. Unfortunately, they failed to qualify. Two years later, Holland also managed to reach the semifinal of Euro 2004. So the code of the 2002 team reached three semifinals of a major tournament in a 6 year span.
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| Holland vs USA 2002 |
Team
GK: Edwin Van Der Sar
Van Der Sar is the most capped player in Holland's history with 130 caps. He went to 1994, 1998 and 2006 World Cup and Euro 1996, 2000 and 2004. He was best remembered for being the Ajax keeper in 1995 that won the Champions' League and then, later for Manchester United for 6 seasons. He won the Champions' League in 2007-2008. In between, he also played with Fulham and Juventus.
GK: Sander Westerveld
Westerveld's first professional match was for FC Twente in 1994. After two seasons there he moved to Vitesse Arnhem. He was sold to Liverpool becaming the most expensive goalkeeper in British football for a reported fee of £4 million during the summer of 1999. At Liverpool, he found little successes. Late in his career, he played for various clubs. He earned 6 caps attending Euro 2000 and 2004.
GK: Ronald Waterreus
He started his career in 1992 playing for Roda JC. After joining PSV Eindhoven in 1994, he established as a top keeper in Holland. He later played for Manchester City, Rangers, AZ Alkmaar and New York Red Bulls. Capped 7 times. He went to Euro 2004 as a backup.
RB: Michael Reiziger
He was a member of the Golden Generation from Ajax that won Champions League with Ajax in 1995. After a brief stint with AC Milan, he moved to Barcelona in 1997. He was capped 70 times for Holland. In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer.
RB: Mario Melchiot
Melchiot started his career in the youth system at Ajax. he later played for Chelsea, Birmingham City, Rennes, Wigan and Umm Salal. He was capped 22 times from 2000 to 2008. He appeared in Eyuro 2008.
CB: Jaap Stam
He was at one point the most expensive Dutch player and the most expensive defender in the world when Manchester United bought him for 10.6 million pounds. He played for several European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, A.C. Milan and Ajax. As well as club trophies, he won several personal awards, including being voted the best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. Stam played 67 international matches for the Netherlands, scoring three goals. He was in their squads for three UEFA European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
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| Jaap Stam |
At one point, Frank De Boer was Holland's most capped player. He was a part of Ajax's Champions' League winning team in 1995. He was an important player in the late 1990's. He captained the Oranje to the semi-finals of both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. He also played with Barcelona for 6 years. His twin brother Ronald also played with him for Oranje.
LB/CB: Wilfred Bouma
He won 37 caps for Holland. He played in three European Championship: 2004, 2008 and 2012. From 1994 to 2005, he played for PSV. In 2005, he moved to Aston Villa, where he had a successful career before returning to PSV.
CB: Kevin Hofland
In 1997, Hofland made his Eredivisie debut with Fortuna. he went on to play for PSV, Wolfsburg, Feyenoord and AEK Larnaca FC. Earned 7 caps.
LB: Arthur Numan
Numan started with Haarlem and Twente before making a name with PSV. he played for them between 1992 and 1998. Then, he joined Ranger in Scotland. Numan was capped 45 times. He was a key defender at the WC Finals in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.
LB/DM: Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst played for his country in three FIFA World Cups, in 1998, 2006 and 2010, as well as three UEFA European Championships, in 2000, 2004 and 2008. He was the captain of Holland at World Cup 2010, where Holland finished second. He played 106 times for Holland. He won the Champions' League for Barcelona in 2005-2006. He also played wirh Feyenoord, Arsenal and Rangers.
DM: Mark van Bommel
In Holland, his career was associated PSV, where he had two separated stints. However, his most famous part of his career was spent with Bayern Munich. He was their first ever non-German captain. He played 79 times for Holland and was a main player as Holland reached the Final of South Africa 2010.
CM: Edgar Davids
Nicknamed "the Pitbull", he was one of the greatest defensive midfielders in the world. He won the European Champions' League with Ajax in 1995. He was an important player at the WC Finals in 1998 when Holland reached the semi-final. He also spent 7 seasons with Juventus at the height of his career.
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| Edgar Davids |
He started his professional career at AZ. He played for Vitesse Arnhem, PSV Eindhoven, FC Barcelona and Al Jazira. With 101 caps, Cocu is fifth on the list of most Dutch international appearances. He also played at the 1998 and 2006 World Cup, as well as the 1996, 2000 and 2004 European Championships.
CM/LM: Clarence Seedorf
Seedorf is the first player to win three Champion League titles with 3 different clubs. He was a member of the Golden Generation from Ajax that won Champions League in 1995. In 1996, he moved to Real Madrid, where he quickly established himself as a star. He would win two Champions League title there. He later played for both AC Milan and Inter Milan. He was a key player for the Dutch national team.
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| Clarence Seedorf |
Known for his speed, Overmars was a member of the youthful Ajax team that won the European cup in 1995. He moved to Arsenal in 1997, where he starred playing under Arsene Wenger. He won the Double in 1997-1998. He later moved to Barcelona and Go Ahead Eagles. His career with Oranja lasted from 1993 to 2004, and was an important player. He won the Best Young Player Award at USA 1994.
After making a name for himself at Ajax from 1997 to 2003, he went on to represent Inter Milan and Everton, his spell at the latter club being cut short due to several problems, both on and off the pitch. He also had an unsuccessful spells with PSV. He earned 7 caps. He was a key player at Euro 2004, but seldom received a call up after that tournament.
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| Andy van der Meyde |
LW: Boudewijn Zenden
Named the 1997 Dutch Football Talent of the Year, Zenden played for four teams in the English Premier League, totalling 180 games and 19 goals. He also played in the highest leagues in the Netherlands, Spain and France, for PSV, Barcelona and Marseille respectively. Internationally, Zenden earned 54 caps and scored seven goals for the Netherlands, whom he represented at two UEFA European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
FW: Ronald de Boer
On the professional club level, De Boer played for Ajax (1988–91 and 1993–99), Twente (1991–93), Barcelona (1999–2000), Rangers (2000–04), Al-Rayyan (2004–05) and Al-Shamal (2005–08). In both Qatari clubs, he was reunited again with his twin brother Frank, his teammate at Ajax, Barcelona and Rangers. De Boer won 67 caps and scored 13 goals for the Netherlands national team. He played for the Netherlands in the 1994 and the 1998 World Cups, where he played in six matches and scored two goals. He missed a penalty in the penalty shootout against Brazil in the 1998 semi-finals. De Boer also played in Euro 1996 and Euro 2000.
ST: Roy Makaay
Makaay played for Vitesse and CD Tenerife before becoming a big star with Deportivo La Coruna. He helped them to win their first ever La Liga title in 1999-2000. In 2002-2003, he scored 29 goals and became the European Golden Boot winner. In 2003, he moved to Bayern Muinch. He won two Bundesliga title. For the national team, he was only capped 43 times, largely because he was playing at the same time as Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kuivert and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
ST: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
He was late bloomer where he played with smaller clubs until he moved to Portugal in 1995. His best stint was probably in England with Leeds United and Chelsea. He was the Premier League Golden Boot winner in both 1998-1999. 2000-2001. He only played 23 times because of Holland loaded with forwards during the peak of his career.
ST: Patrick Kluivert
The teenage star of the great Ajax team of 1995. He was also a star with Barcelona. He joined Milan in 1997, but he quickly left for Barcelona a season later. He had a relatively successes at the club, but left for Newcastle United in 2004. His career was never the same due to injuries. He was an important part of the national team from 1996 to 2004. However, his career was shortened due to various issues.
ST: Ruud Van Nistelrooy
He was a prolific goal scorer. He won the top scorer award in three different European domestic leagues. He started with PSV Eindhoven. He spent 5 seasons with Manchester United where he was voted as their best player twice. With Real Madrid, he finished second as the European Golden Boot. Van Nistelrooy earned 70 caps and scored 35 goals for the Netherlands.
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| Ruud Van Nistelrooy |
Rafael van der Vaart, Paul Bosvelt, Patrick Paauwe, Denny Landzaat, George Boateng, Victor Sikora, Pierre van Hooijdonk, , Fernando Ricksen, André Ooijer.
Squad Explanation
-- I did not look deep enough to study the injury situation in the summer of 2002.
-- In 2002, Fernando Ricksen played frequently for Holland, but he held a single cap before the end of the World Cup Qualifiers. Mario Melchiot played more during the World Cup Qualifiers. Melchior might have gone to the WC Finals if Holland qualified.
-- Kevin Hofland was a key player during the World Cup Qualifiers. I feel that he would have gone ahead of André Ooijer.
-- Bosvelt was very good in 2002, but I went for players with bigger names internationally. This probably would be the biggest mistake on my team.
-- Rafael van der Vaart made his debut for Holland in 2001. So he was in the player pool, but he was injured before the WC Finals. Both Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben made their debut in 2003.
-- Andy van der Meyde made his international debut in the summer of 2002. He was a star back with his club in 2001-2002 season. In the summer of 2002, we would not know what would happen to his career. He would have been a key player in the 2002 WC Finals.
-- Pierre van Hooijdonk might have picked up more caps than Hasselbaink and Makaay, but I often preferred them over him. I always feel van Hooijdonk's career was limited by not playing for a bigger club. His exposure to fans outside that region was limited.
Formation
Numan was the preferred choice over Van Bronckhorst in 2002, but I decided to play Edgar Davids who was a bigger name than van Bommel in 2002. Cocu played frequently throughout that period so he got the start. Seedorf also did not play much for the national team during that period. So I started Zenden.
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