| Revenge at last, titled De Telegraaf paper after that goal. For once in the game Marco van Basten had escaped Juergen Kohler when he took up Jan Wouters' pass and slid it into the net past Eike Immel to give the Netherlands an 89th-minute 2-1 winner against Germany. Van Basten scored 296 other goals in domestic leagues, European cups and national team games, but that goal in the Euro 1988 semi-finals in Hamburg will always stand out. This game in Hamburg was very special for us. A victory against Germany, in Germany, doesn't happen very often, he recalled. The goal which paved the way for the Dutch's only major title arguably sent the nation into its biggest frenzy since the end of German occupation in 1945. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets although it was never quite clear whether they were still thinking of World War II or just the 1974 World Cup final which the Dutch lost as the better team to the Germans in Munich. Hamburg '88 is as mythic for the Dutch as Berne '54 for the Germans, said German paper Der Tagesspiegel in reference to Germany's first World Cup title in 1954. Praised as an outstanding footballer even by his eternal rival Kohler, the tall forward van Basten was a major threat in general and for Germans in particular. Van Basten was on target as AC Milan beat Bayern Munich in the semis of the 1990 Champions Cup and during his Ajax Amsterdam days got the winner in the 1987 Cup Winners' Cup final against then East German Lok Leipzig. The Germans got their revenge in the form of a 2-1 win en route to the 1990 World Cup title but van Basten even continues to haunt them now. Van Basten could not hide a smirk when he drew the Dutch, Portugal and Denmark to join seeded Germany for the Euro 2012 group stage. The coaches were not quite as amused. Aged 47, van Basten still has hero's status in his home country even though he is considered secluded and stubborn, and does not shy away from criticising coach Bert van Marwijk or midfield star Wesley Snijder in his rare interviews. Van Basten, who will coach Dutch club Heerenveen next season, has been in charge of the national team as well but Oranje were eliminated in the first knockout game at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008 after a strong group stage. He enjoyed more success on the playing field, winning two World Club Cups and three European Cups with Ajax and Milan before a nagging ankle injury forced him to quit early at age 28. However, Euro 88 remains the highlight and his astonishing tight-angle volley for the 2-0 scoreline in the Munich final against the Soviet Union is considered one of the finest strikes ever. I was a little tired, he recalled with a grin. The ball came from Arnold Muhren and I thought: 'okay, I can control it and take up all these defenders. Or I do it the easy way and risk the shot. | |||
