Kuyt, van Bommel, Heitinga: Unsung grafters take Dutch to the brink of World Cup glory

World Cup Betting / Ben Lyttleton / 05 July 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Dirk Kuyt embodies the hardworking brand of football espoused by manager Van Marwijk

Germany, Spain and Uruguay can all point to the star names carrying them through the tournament but the Netherlands rely on teamwork to pull them through, says Ben Lyttleton

"Kuyt is the perfect Van Marwijk player. He was born in a fishing village in the west of Holland, Katwijk, where hard work is the most coveted of virtues."

It's easy to pinpoint the heroes of three of the four semi-finalists:
Germany have been outstanding in midfield, where the holding play of Bastian Schweinsteiger, the playmaker skills of Mesut Ozil and the pace and movement of Thomas Muller have combined to devastating effect, with three four-goal hauls in their five games. Spain have been less impressive but are in the final four thanks to David Villa, whose five goals so far have included winners in the two knock-out matches against Portugal and Paraguay (interestingly, on both occasions the goals came after Fernando Torres had been taken off).

Uruguay have been solid at the back but also outstanding in attack, with Diego Forlan's long-range efforts against South Africa and Ghana among the goals of the tournament. His strike partner Luis Suarez has also been impressive, his winner against South Korea the pick of his goals, though it was his intervention at the other end that earned him worldwide headlines as the subject of an ongoing 'hero or villain?' debate.

And then there's the Netherlands, who are ([1.67]) to beat Uruguay and [3.3] to lift the World Cup. Wesley Sneijder is their top scorer with four goals, but he hasn't shown anything like the form as he inspired Inter Milan to a Champions League, Italian league and Cup treble last season. And the other members of Holland's so-called Fab Four, Robin van Persie (one goal), Arjen Robben (one goal) and Raafel van der Vaart (no goals) have not sparked to life.

Instead, the Dutch heroes have been those who embody Bert van Marwijk's new-look pragmatic style: Mark van Bommel in defensive midfield, Johnny Heitinga at centre-back and there, at right-wing or sometimes on the left, is Dirk Kuyt, tracking back, bombing forward, flying into tackles, creating chances, never complaining.

Kuyt has been a crucial figure in Holland's march to the semi-final: he scored in their opening-game 2-0 win over Denmark and unselfishly set up Sneijder for what turned out to be the winning goal in the Round of 16 win over Slovakia. He also provided the assist in the win over Brazil, flicking on Robben's corner for Sneijder to head home. And his work ethic and unflappable nature is in stark contrast to more demanding individuals such as Sneijder and Van Persie (who famously have had a few issues with each other in the past).

Kuyt is the perfect Van Marwijk player, which is not surprising considering that the coach also signed him for Feyenoord to replace Pierre van Hooijdink in summer 2003. He was born in a fishing village in the west of Holland, Katwijk, where hard work is the most coveted of virtues.

"I grew up as a normal player, a striker who scores goals but also worked very hard," Kuyt once said. "Basically, I was the same as I am now only I practised more then. Even at an early age, my mentality was to work hard. Putting in a lot of effort has always come naturally to me."

Kuyt is ([4.2]) to score the opening goal against Uruguay, with Van Persie ([2.62]) and Sneijder ([3.55]).

He is not the only unsung hero still left in the tournament. Uruguay's holding midfielder Diego Perez has been superb throughout, while mention must also go to German centre-back Arne Friedrich, seen as a weak link before the tournament but playing like the personification of composure.

His goal against Argentina has also got the superstitious backing Germany to win the World Cup at ([3.15]). As betting.betfair's James Eastham pointed out, at least one defender for the last six World Cup winners has scored a goal in the tournament: Jose Luis Brown 1986, Andreas Brehme 1990, Branco 1994, Laurent Blanc/Lilian Thuram 1998, Edmilson 2002, Fabio Grosso/Gianluca Zambrotta 2006. It's tenuous, but who even gave Germany a chance before the tournament began?

Tags: Diego Perez, Dirk Kuyt, Germany, Mark van Bommel, Spain, The Netherlands, Uruguay, World Cup