If we are talking about Dutch football in the past, what do we have in mind? Yes, of course each person, especially admirers or fanatics of this country football will have many interesting proposals or stories in his mind. Maybe someone immediately said that total football, Johan Cruyf, Ajax Amsterdam, runner up the world cup three times (1974, 1978 and 2010), European champion or the Dutch trio.
Whatever was mentioned above, everything is true. Indeed, when talking about the past of Dutch football, it is very famous for the total football game scheme, where all players are required to have strong physical endurance and must be able to attack and defend equally well.
With this total football, Dutch football is one of the teams that is highly respected by all the teams under the sky in the era of the 70s to 80s.
Unfortunately, the total football scheme which is very contradictory to the Italian latch or Catenaccio defense pattern is only able to entertain the audience without being able to get the world champion trophy.
Just look, at the 1974 World Cup, the Dutch squad was filled by the world’s top players, Johan Cruyf and Johan Nerskeens. They both succeeded in transmitting the total football game scheme at his club Invite Amsterdam to the national team. Evidently, they successfully penetrated the final round before finally losing to West Germany by a score of 1-2.
Four years later, Dutch football’s total success again penetrated the final round. However, again they had to settle for being runner up, after losing in the final to Argentina with a score of 1-3.
Since then, the Netherlands has often been a team that is always favored as champions, although the results are still disappointing.
Until finally, the opportunity to become world champion came back in 2010. Wesley Sneider and his friends returned to the final round against Spain. Back to the topic, Andre Iniesta’s only goal broke the Dutch national team to become world football champions for the first time.
Although often failed to become world champion, the Dutch national team had felt the beauty of lifting the trophy champion. Namely, at the European Cup soccer championship in 1988. This title is the only one that has ever been won by the orange team in the international soccer arena.
Without prejudice to the role of other Dutch players at the time. For example, the Koeman brothers, Aron Winters, and Dany Blind. There are three figures whose central role in the Dutch national team at that time was able to bring the European Cup tropy to their country, after the final bend the resistance of the Soviet Union by a score of 2-0.
The three names are Rud Gullit, Frank Rijkard and Marco Van Basten. And, then became legendary as the “Dutch Trio”. The relief of the Dutch trio was not only able to carve a pretension at the national team level, but was also successful at the club level. Incidentally, the three of them had played together under the banner of AC Milan, in the decade of the late 80s to early 90s.
With the existence of the Dutch trio, AC Milan at that time was trained by Arrigo Sacchi to become one of the most respected teams of European clubs.
Evidently, during his time together at the Italian club, the Dutch trio was able to carve a glorious achievement by snatching two European Cups (now the Champions League) as well as four Italian Serie A League champions or the Scudetto and Super Copa Italia within five years. In addition, they also successfully won the UEFA Super Cup twice.
As a unity of the Dutch trio, Rijkaard is technically responsible for launching attacks from AC Milan, then to Rudd Gullit who holds the midfield control as a playmaker, who plays his role as attracting the attention of opponents.
From Gullit, the ball usually goes straight to Van Basten who appears as a predator, and terrorizes the heart of the opponent’s defense. Harrmonization or the Dutch trio partnership is one of the most successful in the history of football games. Whether it’s a game at the national team level or at the club level. The following is a brief profile of the three players from the country of this windmill:
1. Marco Van Basten.
He is a player born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 31 October 1964. Before becoming a mainstay of AC Milan in attack, he was the squad for Ajak Amsterdam. Thanks to his impressive performance at Ajak, with 128 goals from 133 appearances, AC Milan recruited him in 1987. At the San Siro-based club, Marco Van Basten played for five years and scored 90 goals in 147 appearances.
2. Ruud Gullit.
He is a player born in Amsterdam in 1962. Both in the national team and his club AC Milan, a player who is famous for his dreads is a feed supplier that spoil Marco Van Basten. Gullit was recruited by AC Milan together with Basten, in 1987. Together with this eternal rival club Intet Milan, Gullit only worked for six years before he finally decided to move to Sampdoria in 1993.
During AC Milan’s uniform, Ruud Gullit recorded 117 appearances and collected 35 points.
3. Frank Rijkaard.
This player completes pieces of legend called the Dutch trio. Before joining AC Milan in 1988, this player was a squad of Sporting CP. With AC Milan, Rijkaard played for six seasons and scored 16 goals in 142 appearances.
These 3 Dutch players became AC Milan legend and their teamwork became a story to tell to the next generation.
