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«The Dutch seem to have an allergy to authority, leadership and collective discipline. Their teams behave like armies of generals. (...) Even Wim van Hanegem, who famously hated to lose, chuckles when I ask why the Dutc make life so difficult for themselves in major tournaments: "For Holland, problems are normal and healthy. If things around the national team are quiet, everyone thinks everyone is sick. If we don't have a problem, we have to create a problem. Personally, I think it's better when things are quiet, Bur for every World Cup or European Chamionship we have to hav problems. I don't know why".»

«"The Dutch take an almost nationalistic pride in denying tha we have a national identity. (...) The art of being Dutch is t transform our vulnerability into moral superiority. We are samll and we lack power, but we think the whole world will adopt us as a model of enlightenment. We have such a strong sense of moral superiority that it's not so important to us if we win or lose." (...) "We lack the ability to describe who we are. We know who we are, but we deny ourselves the idea of describing it because we seek our identity in the denial of that identity. We make it difficult to mobilise our own national energy or use nationa symbols for ourselves."» [political scientist Paul Scheffer]

«"There is some kind of death wish in it connected to our Dutch, Calvinist shame of being good. Our Calvinistic culture makes us deeply ashamed of being the best."» [psychoanalyst and novelist Anna Enquist]

«The Isreali-born paranormalist Uri Geller reckons there could be a curse on the Dutch football team because of "some devastating occurrence that happened may years ago". "It may sound very bizarre to you, but theses things happen. I don't know what it could be, but I will check the history." He senses a "very powerful wave of lack of confidence" among the Dutch players, wich is passed down from generation to generation. He also thinks there's a problem with the Dutch fans. "Orange is a very powerful, assertive colour and Dutch supporters make a lor of noise, but there is something dead in them. There's no life, no spirit. If they had the spirit, then they'd start winning. Maybe it's in the psyche of the Dutch people. Someone has to teach them the power of prayer, belief and faith. If you could teach the players also and combine that with the fans, then you would definitely star winning cups." Geller suggests a televised ritual involving chanting of 'key words' before a match might get the whole country behid his team. There are surely more rational explanations for this Dutch affliction – and less exotic cures.»


As citações são retiradas do livro Brilliant Orange. The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, de David Winner.