With eight yellow cards, one red and endless arguing that even spilled over beyond the final whistle, the Netherlands lost much more than 1-0 to Spain in the final — it lost a lot of its credibility as creative masters as well.

Coach Bert van Marwijk changed the "Total Football" of flair and spontaneity of the 1970s into "Result football," using cynical plotting for victory. The outcome was the same — the Netherlands is still waiting for its first World Cup.

Van Marwijk took his silver medal off as soon as he walked off the podium, with a look of disgust on his face.