Hiddink praises Germanic attributes of Dutch

Former Dutch coach Guus Hiddink praised the 2010 vintage saying that they had sacrificed their historic traditions of freeflowing football and taken on attributes which had been successful for German teams of the past.

Hiddink - who guided the Dutch to a 1998 World Cup semi-final where they lost on penalties to Brazil - conceded their style was not that pleasing but what they had achieved by getting to Sunday's World Cup final, where they will play European champions Spain, was extraordinary.

"The Dutch have become a little like the Germans of yesteryear: realism has replaced beautiful football," Hiddink told daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

"Of course, it is not always pretty to the eye, and I would like more time spent playing nice football, but what (the coach Bert) van Marwijk and his players have succeeded in doing is extraordinary," added 63-year-old Hiddink, who is now Turkish coach.

Hiddink, who also took co-hosts South Korea to the 2002 semi-finals, said that to criticise the Dutch style of play in South Africa was too easy, as some like Johan Cruyff had been doing.

"Who am I to criticise when I have never coached a team that has reached the World Cup final?

"Van Marwijk has given the team a lot of assurance. We could see against Brazil (in the quarter-finals when the Netherlands turned a 1-0 deficit at half-time into a 2-1 victory) how difficult it is to play against the Dutch."

Cruyff, who is supporting Spain in the final, did express his admiration for Dutch duo, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and Liverpool wideman Dirk Kuyt, who he told De Telegraaf had surpassed themselves during the tournament and were major reasons for the Dutch reaching the final.

Cruyff, who was on the losing Dutch side in the 1974 final and who played and coached at Barcelona, also praised Van Marwijk for his success in constructing this team, many of whom were in the side under Marco van Basten that impressed in the group stage before being beaten by the Hiddink-coached Russians in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals.

"It has not always been pretty to watch but this team has played in a fantastic manner," commented 63-year-old Cruyff, who will watch the final on television at home rather than travel to Johannesburg for it.

Cruyff, who coached Barcelona from 1988-96 and is presently the coach of the Catalonia regional team, said that not all the players had performed to their best.

"Half of the players in the team are very good, the other half have still to show that they are," he said.

"Stekelenburg and Kuyt have surpassed themselves and played at a level that nobody thought previously they were capable of."

Cruyff, a three-time European player of the year and who coached Barcelona to the 1992 European Cup, had written in Thursday's edition of the newpaper El Periodico de Catalunya that he had to set aside patriotic sentiment and support Spain for the title.

"Spain, a replica of Barca, is the best publicity for football," Cruyff wrote.

"Who am I supporting? I am Dutch but I support the football that Spain is playing."