Ladies and Gentlemen, "Total Football" is back.
At least, that is how it would seem after Holland put on a fantastic showing against the World Champions last night.
The Netherlands beat Italy 3-0 in a wonderful match. And Italy didn't even play badly!
In by far the best match of an otherwise dull Euro 2008 so far, the Dutch scored one controversial goal, and two brilliant ones.
It truly was a great match, one of the best i've seen recently. The football from both sides was good, the match was open, and there was plenty of attacking football on display.
Every time Holland went forward they looked dangerous.
There were many players who had superb games (Khalid Boulahrouz repaid Marco van Basten's faith in him by putting in a great display), but another man who had a great game was the referee.
So far this European Championships, the referees have given away too many soft free-kicks, every time a player hits the deck. However, this ref ignored most of the players throwing themselves to the floor, and let the game flow. Praise also has to go to the players who didn't throw themselves to the floor too often, or at least not as often as I expected them to.
And a special mention to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who could have gone down and won his team a penalty, but stayed up and stayed honest. Good on you Ruud!
However, in this match I saw a handful of players who I would love to see in the EPL. Six in particular struck me as players who would just thrive in England, and I hope someone gets them here.
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The first of these players is Gennaro Gattuso. I've liked him for a long time, and I still think he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. And I think, if he came to the EPL, he could be as big of a success as Roy Keane, and maybe an even bigger one. And that is no exaggeration.
His style of play suits the Premiership very well, and he shares a lot of similarities with the Manchester United legend. His mad eyes, his will to win, his 100 percent dedication and commitment, and his never-giving-up attitude.
I'm surprised he hasn't come to England yet, and I hope he does before his career is over.
The next player was Wesley Sneijder. I've seen him a few times for Real Madrid, and he impresses me every time. His passing, skill, and free-kick abilities are among the best in the world.
I think £20-25 million could be enough to get him, and he could be well worth the money. I can see him taking the Premiership by storm in a Liverpool shirt.
Andrea Pirlo was the next player. His passing and free-kick abilities are probably even better than Sneijder's, and I can see him playing deep, knocking 70-yard passes and occasionally getting forward to contribute goals as well. Much like Xabi Alonso does at Liverpool now.
Could Pirlo be the perfect replacement for the seemingly outward-bound Alonso? I wouldn't be complaining!
Luca Toni is another player who would thrive in the EPL, I think. He could be another Les Ferdinand figure, dangerous on the ground and even more so in the air. He would be a great buy for a team lacking that cutting edge up front, perhaps a Manchester City or a West Ham. Whether those teams could get him or not is a different story.
Orlando Engelaar, Holland's giant central midfielder also struck me as the type of player who would relish the opportunity to play here. He was one of Holland's best players today—which is saying something—and looks like he could be one of the stars of the tournament.
He would be a great buy for Tottenham, Everton, Blackburn, or even as a replacement for Mathieu Flamini at Highbury.
The final player who really stood out for me was Alessandro Del Piero.
The Italian legend is still doing it on the biggest stage, looking dangerous when he came on. After being the Serie A top scorer this season, he has shown that his career isn't dwindling down into nothingness just yet.
I can see a last hurrah for him happening in England, and for some reason I can see him in a Fulham shirt. Much like Vincenzo Montella was a few years back.
But whoever these players go to, I just hope someone will bring them to the EPL, because it will make it even bigger, even better, and if they play like they did last night every week, it will make it a lot more entertaining as well!
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2 months ago
Barney, I agree with you that the game was great and was the best match by far. I think your article about bringing all these players from the game to the ELP is belittling to the rest of the great leagues in the world. Sure the Champions League final was between two ELP teams it does not mean that is the only worthy league in the world. La Liga and Serie A are right up there with the ELP and probably better top to bottom than the ELP.
Going to the ELP is not the ultimate goal for ever player. A very good point coming from your article is that the there are all these amazingly talented players out there for Premiership teams to look at around the world.
2 months ago
The goal wasn't controversial, it was legit. Many people do not really understand the offside rule, but it was a good call, the italian player was never granted permission to leave the pitch, therefore he is "in play"
On another note, attracting foreign talent to the EPL is not all its cracked up to be (IMO)... couldn't this be one of the main reasons why England isn't even in the Euros this year??? Getting star players from other countries fills the spot of a domestic player, thus limiting his development... England has had no roots of youth talent for the last 5-10 years, directly corelating to thier poor performance at the international level... Just ask Mr. Cappello
2 months ago
well that goal only happened because the traditional italian style (rolling on the floor and pleading for a penalty in a fake and awfully acted out manner) came back to bite them....... watch series A i enjoy the timing during the regular season because its the most boring thing i have ever seen. its that and bass fishing is what i watch if i want to sleep
2 months ago
the goal was controversial, even right decisions can be controversial. loads of people were arguing about it which makes it so. and i don't belittle other leagues, i simply state that it would be good to see them in our league.
also, this talk about foreigners being the reason england arent in the euros is stupid. 30 years ago it was mostly english players in the leagues, but england didn't do anything special, same with 20 years ago. The players of the future then ar now the players of today, and still england dont do anything special. who says the next generation is going to be any different?
2 months ago
Whether or not the goal was good or not, the Dutch dominated the entire match and deserve the win!
2 months ago
I don't really understand why the EPL think they can just buy up every quality player in the world and just leave other leagues hanging. You brought up Del Piero. Now as a Juventus fan, I feel kinda insulted that you would say that he should be brought to England. For a time this fall, Del Piero was rumored to be leaving Turin while he was in a contract dispute with team management, but that was more Italian media gossip more than anything else. And seeing Inter Milan resemble a EPL side more than a classic Serie A side, consisting of only one Italian regular, it may not be the best thing. It's always going to be the big four in England. Just keep the Italians in Italy...that's all I want.
2 months ago
ok let me just clear something up, i didn't say or mean that i thought these players needed to come to england to further or complete their careers, i just said that i would love to see them in england because they are great players, and i thought their style of play would suit it. im not saying they should leave the league their in now because it isn't good enough for them, im saying I want to see them in england!
2 months ago
Yes it's nice too see your opinion out there for everybody to judge on, but what if we just look at the facts for what they are. Are there any true stars out there besides Messi, can anybody carry a team like he does. Should we compare fantastic football on a skill level? Then we can on the english league because the ball travels to the upper 90 on most players that one time it on goal. And why is that? Can we see that on other leagues....? Not really right? Not so often... Magical goals most of them year after year...so that's why it would like an experiment to see all the great ones jump in and join the greats like Liverpool and Manchester and Arsenal and so on...because they got the smooth karma I guess. The ball rolls like in no other league and we all know it, maybe less sun is better or maybe the humidity helps to relax a player or who knows..but it looks like a freaking video game. That's my opinion and I stand by it, thanks...I don't think bringing up good things is likely to be done without being harsher on yourself first, who wants to look like an idiot?!
2 months ago
One to watch out for is a Dutch player who didn't step onto the field the other day. I believe young Huntelaar would have a great season in England.
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