Arjen Robben twisted and turned with the ball only to find himself confronted by an impenetrable thicket of blue-shirted Brazil defenders. During that time the South Americans took an early lead with a suave Robinho goal that seemed to preface an afternoon of dominance and a continuation of their progress towards a sixth World Cup. After the interval, however, Robben's talents as a dribbler and a provocateur proved decisive in giving his side a place in the last four for the first time since 1998.
The first Brazilian own-goal in 97 World Cup matches, off the head of Felipe Melo, set up the victory with which Holland avenged their defeat at Brazil's hands in the semi-finals 12 years ago. Robben had a role in setting up both goals, the second of them scored by Wesley Sneijder, while also provoking the perpetrator of the own-goal into a nasty stamp that saw Brazil playing the last 17 minutes a man short.
Now the inquests will start on Dunga's regime after his side started so smoothly but descended into flailing incoherence long before the final whistle. Dutch industry and confidence had eaten away at their own self-belief, leaving a spectacle that will be angrily picked over by those who thought the manager, the captain of the side that took the trophy for the fourth time in 1994, had packed his side with artisans at the expense of the more expressive players left at home.
On the eve of the match Dunga and his opposite number, Bert van Marwijk, had been unanimous in their declaration that total football and samba football were archaic concepts with no relevance to the present day. And from the moment Juan barged Robin van Persie out of the path of Dirk Kuyt's looping cross in the opening minute, this was always going to be a match with an edge. Melo's red card was merely the climax of an afternoon full of physical confrontation, some of it spiteful.
There was a late change for Holland when Joris Mathijsen, who had played all four of their previous games as the partner to John Heitinga in the middle of the Oranje defence, suffered a knee injury in the warm-up and was replaced by André Ooijer, formerly of Blackburn Rovers. The change may have had some influence on the opening goal, which came in the 10th minute when Melo, from inside his own half, measured a straight ball that invited Robinho to run behind the two centre-backs and stroke the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg from 15 yards as unfussily as a man peeling a ripe banana.
Brazil had two clear chances to increase their lead before the interval, first when a right-wing corner was returned to Dani Alves, whose cross was met by Juan with a first-time drive that just cleared the crossbar, and then when Robinho's persistence provided an opening for Kaká, whose curling right-foot shot was turned around the post by the diving Stekelenburg. They would come to regret their profligacy.
For Holland there were no such clearcut openings by that stage. Every time Robben, stationed wide on the right, turned inside to try to exploit his strong left foot, he found himself outnumbered and stifled, while Sneijder and Van Persie seemed powerless to provide shape and structure.
It was the breakdown of one of Brazil's best combination moves that led to the equaliser after 53 minutes. Robben broke so quickly that he finally found himself one on one with Michel Bastos, who had been booked in the first half for persistently fouling the Bayern Munich winger. Going to ground this time under minimal contact, Robben turned the free-kick back to Sneijder, who drove a long diagonal ball at head-height into the middle and watched as the goalkeeper Júlio César's attempt to punch clear was impeded by the jump of Melo, the ball skimming off the defender's scalp and into the net.
Robben was now sowing panic in the left flank of the Brazil defence and his technical ability paid further dividends after 68 minutes, when he swung in a corner from the right that Kuyt, at the near post, glanced on to Sneijder, who had no need to jump in order to guide the ball home despite being, at 5ft 7in, the smallest man in a crowded penalty area. Five minutes later Melo's stupidity saw Brazil reduced to 10 men and no longer able to mount the co-ordinated attacks that might have kept them in the competition.
Instead they were reduced to individual efforts that came to nothing. Kaká, straining to justify his reputation, raced in from the left with six minutes to go but was caught by a defender who deflected his close-range shot away from Stekelenburg's goal. The hulking Lúcio broke forward on the stroke of normal time, tried to feed Nilmar, the substitute for the ineffective Luís Fabiano, and was brought down by Mark van Bommel, but Alves's free-kick went straight into the wall.
As the final minute of stoppage time ticked away, Holland found themselves with three attackers against the Brazil goalkeeper and a single defender, but Alves raced back to dispossess a dawdling Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – on as an 85th-minute substitute for Van Persie – leaving Robben and Kuyt fuming at the missed opportunity. But Brazil had run out of time, leaving the World Cup as they left it four years ago, to the sound of knives being sharpened.
SOURCE : GUARDINA .co.uk, internet
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