Guus Bosman

This morning we watched the first game for the Netherlands at the 2006 soccer World Cup. I woke up exactly at 9.00 am, and immediately switched the TV on to watch the match.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no second goal after Robben's goal in the 18th minute, but it was a nice game to watch. The Netherlands is one of the few teams at the World Cup to play in a 4-3-3 formation, which typically makes for attractive soccer. Apparently it was very warm in Leizpig, where the game was played, and according to coach Van Basten that was the reason there were no other goals after the first. The final score was 1-0 for the Netherlands.

It's been a long time since the Netherlands participated at a World Cup -- four years ago the Oranje team didn't qualify. Sasha and I watched some of the games of that tournament in Frankfurt, Germany, right after David & Milena's wedding. Turkey did surprisingly well, and so did South Korea, beating Italy and Spain.

Four years earlier, in 1998, Sasha and I were in the United States in Tannersville and I would take long lunch breaks to see the Dutch team playing. The Netherlands lost from Brasil on penalties in the semi-finals.