Eredivisie: Doing it the Dutch Way!
The Netherlands national side
Andres Iniesta scored 4 minutes from time, at the Soccer City, Johannesburg: A sea of Oranje Supporters cried a river out. Every fan wearing the orange shirt did display an incredible amount of passion for the game. It was a relentless final and the Dutch had given it the old hammer and sink.
The Dutch talent on display at the 2010 World Cup was simply breathtaking – a testimony to the effectiveness of the Eredivisie as an arena for young talent to showcase their skills and produce entertaining football at its core.
The club football in Holland is still relatively pristine and hasn’t been affected by the big money spenders in the Hoi Polloi soccer leagues. A sight every soccer fan loves to see is that of a young footballer making his mark at the biggest stage. The Eredivisie has always sported a great talent pool; however the current state sees an exodus of players leaving Netherlands for the big money leagues.
Ajax
Ajax
It’s not possible to look much further than Ajax when speaking of Dutch soccer. By far the most successful club in Holland, Ajax holds 32 Eredivisie titles along with 4 Champions League honours. Among other prestigious honors are 18 KNVB cups, 8 Johan Cruijff Shields, 2 International Cups, 2 UEFA Super cups, 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge.
If that is not enough, Ajax is the only club ever to keep the European Cup and accomplish the continental treble. The Amsterdam Arena, Ajaz’s home ground, is a footballing fortress and a nightmare for the visiting teams.
Ajax has produced legends and some of the men to take the pitch at the Amsterdam Arena can only be described as footballing geniuses. Johan Cruijff, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davies, Marc Overmars, Edwin Van Der Sar – to name an illustrious few. Ajax, today, no more has the same kind of impact on a European scale however, their national domination is unquestionable.