World Cup Diary | World Cup diary: Netherlands not just good at football
Apparently there is another World Cup going on at the moment - good timing, guys
A simply magnificent performance from Holland. Dutch masters. Oranje crush. Etc.
We are talking, of course, of the Netherlands women's thrilling victory over Australia in the final of the Hockey World Cup - why, was there something else on?
Hockey is nearly as popular among the Dutch as being tall is, and the men's team can make it a double in their own final on Sunday. But talk about being overshadowed. It's doubtful whether even their own families were paying too much attention after that unbelievable win over Spain.
You have to wonder - did nobody involved with hockey's World Cup think it might, just might, have been an idea to move the tournament forward a couple of weeks? Or did they notice only at the last minute that it was going to clash with a slightly more popular World Cup?
Meanwhile, back in the land of proper sport, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal's decision to allow his players 'family visits' from wives and girlfriends on the morning of the Spain game is one possible reason for their win, according to the Dutch press. We have a hard time not replacing the word 'family' with 'conjugal' in that phrase, but maybe that's just our filthy mind.
"Van Gaal does things his own way and to throw open the hotel to the families ensured he took away some of the pressure," columnist Jaap de Groot (magnificent name) reveals.
"It was totally unexpected, I think it will have surprised some of the players too," added Toon Gerbrands (nearly as magnificent), who worked with Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar. "It’s a new dimension in coaching, typical of Louis," he said, somewhat hyperbolically.