The date was June 21, 1988; Volksparkstadion in Hamburg was the venue for the European Cup semi-final between hosts Germany and their neighbors Netherlands. It was a rematch from the 1974 World Cup final that also took place on German soil, but on this night the Dutch were able to exact some revenge and beat the Germans en route to being crowned champions of Europe.
Since then the stadium has been completely renovated but returning to the same site of the nation’s biggest footballing accomplishment was a strong contingent of Oranje supporters that were not shy in reminding the home crowd of the memorable feat that took place over twenty-three years ago. Germany finished qualification for this summer’s European Cup unbeaten with ten wins and an amazing tally of thirty-four goals scored, only conceding seven times in the process. Had it not been for a loss to Sweden on the final day of qualifying Netherlands would have finished unbeaten as well but Bert van Marwijk decided to rest a key number of starters since the game was meaningless to the Dutch by that point.
Both teams decided to field strong starting line-ups for the friendly fixture in Hamburg, the rivalry is hotly contested although the games have been relatively tame in comparison to years past, which has a lot to do with player integration amongst the various leagues in Europe. Robin Van Persie was given the night off by van Marwijk at Arsene Wenger's request, and Rafael van der Vaart was nursing an injury. Both would be sorely missed on the night.
The home side established their dominance right from kick-off showing early signs of what was to become a long and forgettable night for everyone in orange. Germany took control and never let up for a moment, attacking in waves that created cracks through the Dutch defensive line. Moving the ball well into space with pinpoint precision and timely runs, Netherlands were visibly struggling to keep up and were committing silly challenges that in large part went unnoticed by the official. Clearly behind the pace the Dutch were looking more like the squad that was condemned for their roughhousing during the 2010 World Cup final rather than the side known for their entertaining brand of total football.
Miroslav Klose timed his run to perfection setting up the first of three for Germany, staying onside and one-touching Toni Kroos' sublime cross right into space for Thomas Muller to bury into the bottom corner of the net, leaving Maarten Stekelenburg frozen to his spot. It looked almost too easy and Netherlands never recovered. Forcibly losing possession in dangerous area's that allowed the Germans to exploit the space on the counter. Another goal seemed inevitable under all that pressure, and it came before the half-hour mark courtesy of Thomas Muller, running through the gaping hole on the right side of mid-field instantly drawing any surrounding defenders inside before releasing Mesut Ozil free down the wing. Klose was left unmarked in perfect position to score one of his trademark headers past Stekelenburg who for the second time was left rooted to the spot.
The heavy tackling continued by the visitors, Mark Van Bommel being the biggest offender, which is not surprising given his reputation, Ozil was on the receiving end of one of those reckless challenges which brought a huge uproar from the crowd but failed to provide even a warning by the official. One of many that should have resulted in a stiffer penalty.
Muller and Ozil did the most damage creating opportunities by ripping every defender they came across to shreds with tantalizing runs, mainly focusing on the obvious weakness down the right side and humiliating Edson Braafheid continuously throughout the match. It was astonishing that van Marwijk opted not to make a change going into the second half considering the damage that had been done by this point.
Caught out of position the Dutch could not create anything offensively and gave away the ball far too easily, having had a couple of half-chances go wide early on, the first shot to reach Manuel Neuer happened right on the hour mark, Ryan Babel took a shot from distance that was easily handled by the German goalkeeper. Netherlands found it impossible to break through the blockade despite desperately throwing players forward, eventually getting caught for their lack of focus on the opposite end of the pitch. Nigel De Jong made the unfortunate error minutes after entering the match, failing to control the ball awkwardly and gifting possession to Muller who did well to fight of Braafheid. Klose and Ozil then finished off a nifty pass combination which was finished off with easy touch into the gaping net by the Madrid midfielder.
The lop-sided result really demonstrated how powerful this German side has now become. Their young stars have grown tremendously, constructing a force which is extremely dangerous on both ends of the field. Despite only being a friendly it was the ease in which they dismantled the Netherlands that was impressive. Die Mannschaft will be one of the favorites heading into Poland and Ukraine for next summer’s European Cup, in great position to do one better than their runners-up medal from 2008. Dethroning Spain will not be an easy task but the potential of a new German dynasty taking over international football is a realistic possibility.
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