Football in the Netherlands is about more than just winning, it’s about playing the game with a certain style.
Even Dutch fans in Australia like Pieter van Rijn feel passionately about the way its team approaches the game.
“In Holland, a country with 16 million inhabitants you've got at least 17 million coaches, so everybody knows, everybody has got an opinion and everybody knows better,” he said.
The World Cup is the most important tournament for the country’s national team and while it’s reached three finals in 1974, 1978 and 2010, it’s failed to win football’s most coveted prize.
But the famous Dutch team of the 1970’s will forever be remembered for its new approach to the game, called Total Football.
“They didn't won the World Cup but what they did win was a lot of respect and people are still talking about the change that team brought to world football,” said Melbourne Heart coach John Van’t Schip.
This time the Netherlands will be facing Spain, Chile and the Socceroos in the group stage.
While fans here may be circumspect about the team’s chances of World Cup success in Brazil, they are just hopeful this Dutch side can entertain like it did in the 1970’s.
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