Euro 2012: Portugal 2-1 Netherlands: Dutch Dissolve As Rampant Ronaldo Hits Stride (Photos & Highlights)

Chris Wright

18th, June 2012

11 Comments

By Chris Wright

“Everybody do the Duck Walk!”

Well, that’s Bert van Marwijk out of a job then. Ten early minutes of masterful control culminated in a fantastic Rafael van der Vaart curler from the edge of the area to put Holland within one goal of the winning margin required to stand a chance of making it out of Group B alive, but a Dutch side top-heavy with at least one too many squabbling, diva-ish malcontents soon reverted to type – gradually dissolving into a fine mist while allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to step into the breach, get his arse in gear and finally put in a shift befitting his imperious domestic season.

Sensing the weakness in a resolutely average Dutch defence, Ronaldo’s interest was piqued – pulling Portugal level after half an hour, putting the finishing touch to Joao Pereira’s delicately incisive throughball, tear-arsing up and down all night and giving Gregory van der Wiel seizures before sticking the winner past Maarten Stekelenburg in the 74th minute – stepping inside to give Nani’s beautifully measured low cross the finish it deserved as Holland dwindled to the square-root of nowt.

Next up for the Portuguese? The Czech Republic. Next up for Holland? A whole boat-load of finger-pointing and self-pity plus – one would assume –  a P45 in the post for Van Marwijk.

Photos…

Highlights…


Португалия 2-1 Голландия footyroom.com

Photos: PA

Posted in Euro 2012, Photos, Videos

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11 Comments

  1. nat says:

    how do you miss THAT punani?You’re barely worthy of lacing ronaldo’s boots, as tho there’s ever been any doubt tho.

  2. Jake says:

    Did u even watch the game, nat? One huge miss aside, it was a brilliant performance from Nani. I thought Moutinho played well too.

  3. Rob says:

    By Rampant do you mean he was back to constantly shooting and scoring from 2 easy chances?
    I heard a stat that during the 3 Euros he’s played in, he has taken 95 shots and scored only 6 goals, that’s pretty awful.

  4. Teddy says:

    Rob you’re the type of guy who makes ma actually root for Ronaldo. Just Ronaldo doing something good makes your blood boil. Imagine if he wins the thing. Very plausible since Portugal face a weak Czech team plus after that their next opponent would be Spain who they already beat 4-0 last year. Germany could be their opponent in the Final which from their 1st match seemed very close. I very much hope Portugal do win the Euro so I can see people like you rip your hair out when you see the greasy haired fella lift the Euro trophy up.

  5. Nuno says:

    @Rob
    To make these “easy chances” he had to create them. Both goals were through good passes, but he created the opportunity, he was in the right place. Just before 2nd goal he gave an assist to Nani on a golden plate. He hit the post twice. And he created many other chances and the dutch couldn’t really handle him.
    Portugal doesn’t have a great team and everybody expects him to carry us to the final. If he doesn’t shoot he “wasn’t up for the responsibility”. If he shoots, he’s selfish. He can’t do it all by himself and we play with Postiga upfront, ffs. It’s like he’s playing alone.

  6. Rob says:

    Wow Teddy, calm down mate.
    Just stating a fact. As well as being a complete douchebag, the guy needs to look up and pass the ball every now and again, why does that upset you so much?
    Keep your own hair on my friend.

  7. BigAl says:

    Why does everyone have a problem with accepting that Portugal put in a masterful display against the Dutch?

    Like him or loathe him, Ronaldo put in a proper shift. He scored two, hit the post twice, set up Nani (who missed a sitter), set up Coentrão (who’s great effort was saved) and generally ran the whole show.

    But it wasn’t just Ronaldo who put in a great performance. Bruno Alves and Pepe were superb at the back, as were Pereira and Coentrão. Moutinho and Meireles did a great job of stifling the Dutch presence in midfield and Nani was tireless once again.

    While these are probably not the best group of players Portugal have ever had, Bento has them playing like a team that could cause any other side in this tournament serious problems.

    Also, Pies will probably hate this, but I think Pepe has been their best player. He has put in some truly titanic performances in the last three games.

    • Chris says:

      @Big Al: We’re inclined to agree. He’s obviously a terrible shit, but Pepe’s been excellent at the back for Portugal.

  8. Veej says:

    Anyone catch the fit dutch birds at 1:36? Best part of the vid!!! :P

  9. DJ says:

    So, think we can start the “Guardiola to manage Holland” rumours now?

  10. dc says:

    @BigAl,
    Pepe puts in a lot of good performances. Doesn’t mean he isn’t still a MASSIVE CUNT

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