Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp talks exclusively to World Football's Mike Geddes about one of football's most enduring and popular mysteries...
As Scotland found out in Amsterdam this week, the Dutch are a footballing conundrum.
As the build-up to their crucial Euro 2004 play-off was overshadowed by rumours of disharmony in the Dutch camp, many were expecting the team to self-destruct once again.
The history of Dutch football is full of such stories, and the tag of 'underachievers' has hung over them since the infamous 'lost final' of the 1974 World Cup when they were defeated by West Germany.
Instead they simply blew Scotland away, winning six-nil.
So just why has a nation which regularly produces some of the world's finest footballers found it so hard to deliver?
It's one of football's most enduring mysteries. We've all heard the clichés, I put them to perhaps the archetypal Dutch player of his generation - Dennis Bergkamp.
'The Dutch are too arrogant'
"I would never consider us arrogant. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves, and that's not only created by the media but by the Dutch people as well.
"We just feel we know what we can achieve and we think there aren't many teams better than us, and we play those teams with a certain attitude. People can see that as arrogance - I don't think that's true".
'The star players think they are bigger than the team'
"If you look at the Dutch in general we all have our own opinion about things and sometimes that's a different opinion than the coach!
"We like to speak out and not to hide things, and when everyone speaks out you have a lot of problems and I think that's what happened in 1994 with Ruud Gullit and in 1996 with Edgar Davids.
Penalty agony for the Dutch at Euro '96...
"But always we have the team on our mind".
'They never listen to the coach'
"When you think about it we've had all sorts of coaches. I think a good idea might be a mixture of maybe two coaches - one who makes the decisions and one who is among the players and is some sort of player himself.
"The players have to know exactly what their job is within the team and not to do too much talking.
"It is difficult when you have to deal with players who all think they know how to play football.
"I think the most successful teams we have had in Holland were those with three or four players in it who have their own opinion, and not 11 or 12 and that's what's been happening recently I think".
'The Dutch are always defeated by the big occasion'
"I think that's difficult to explain. A lot of people look for explanations as to why it has gone wrong for us so many times.
"But if I look in my ten years and where it went wrong - we lost four times on penalties. I suppose then you could say it's a penalty problem.
"But in 2002 we didn't even qualify for the World Cup, there were no penalties - so then it's another reason. People are always trying to find the real reason.
'The Dutch can't take penalties'
"The pressure is harsh on everyone involved.
"It's difficult to think of a reason. It's easy to say we are rubbish at penalties... it's just at those moments it's probably some sort of mental thing. And that's very difficult to explain".
'The Dutch would rather play well and lose than play badly and win'
... and again at Euro 2000 in their home country
"I don't think the idea of the 'beautiful losers' applies at all anymore.
"That is something we have tried to change in the Dutch teams. We just try to win games.
"We always try to play football, but I think the main thing, especially in tournaments, is you have to win games no matter what.
"If you get that in your mind, plus the talent we have then you will have much more chance of winning".
'The Dutch have no 'killer instinct''
"I don't think you can teach this but I think as a team you can work hard for it, you can battle.
"If I take me for example I can actually train in front of goal to be more of a killer - just get it in the goal and if you practice that hard enough you will do it.
"I think it might be helpful if our players weren't so talented, so the would have to work harder as a team!"
Bron:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_football/3233646.stm 
