Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football (2001) is an historic and poetic investigation into the culture and sport of the Netherlands by English journalist David Winner. At the heart of the book is the story of the Amsterdam club AFC Ajax which rose out of the Dutch version of 60's counterculture with a new style of play, Total Football. The club dominates Dutch football and becomes the first team from the Netherlands to make an impression in Europe as well winning three consecutive European Champion's Club cups from 1971-73.

Just as quickly as it rose the club falls apart amid intrasquad rivalries and star players moving on to richer fields in other countries. But many of the same players are reunited in 1974, this time representing the national team of the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup. The Dutch side makes it to the finals only to lose to their rivals from West Germany. According to Winner, this loss takes on a national hubris and the lasting effect of the loss on Dutch culture takes up a whole chapter on its own.

There are many stars of Dutch football - in fact the key to Total Football is that all the players are highly skilled and versatile enough to move from positions to position - but there is one central figure that dominates this book, Johan Cruyff. Winner even contends that Cruyff is the most famous living Dutchman, and who am I to argue since I can't think of anyone other contenders for the title.

These are the central themes of Brilliant Orange, a book that also mixes in:

• the effect of the Dutch landscape on Dutch architecture


• the Dutch hatred of Germany and the reasons they give for it


• how appreciation for football as the 'beautiful game' tends to overcome the desire to win


• the Netherlands 'anticlimactic' return to the World Cup final in 1978, again versus the host nation Argentina


• the oddity of Ajax's fan base identification with Judaism


• interviews with Dutch football stars past and present

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De auteur, Engelsman van geboorte, ontwikkelde zijn liefde voor Nederland onder invloed van een Nederlandse au pair. Zij gaf hem het gevoel dat alle Nederlanders warmhartig, grappig en fantastisch zouden zijn. Na de in 1971 in Engeland gespeelde wedstrijd Ajax tegen Panathinaikos (Ajax won), rees bij hem de vraag waarom Nederlanders in staat zijn het voetbal tot iets kunstzinnigs te verheffen. Het idee van het Nederlandse totaalvoetbal komt, volgens de auteur, voort uit de Nederlandse cultuur, traditie, het relativeringsvermogen en de moed om continu onder het wateroppervlak te durven leven. Ook de vlakke polders met hun rechte lijnen van wegen en kanalen zouden in onze intelligente en elegante manier van voetballen terug te vinden zijn. Een plezierig leesbaar boek, dat uitgebreid weet te vertellen over belangrijke wedstrijdsituaties, gebeurtenissen, uitspraken van grote voetbalvedettes en legendarische voetbalarchitecten (coaches) van de laatste 40 jaar. Een ieder die het voetbal een warm hart toedraagt of iets over de ontwikkelingen en gebeurtenissen rondom het Nederlandse voetbal wil weten, kan in deze uitgave veel informatie en leesplezier vinden. ( )

Looks like I am the only person on Librarything that currently owns this book. Admittedly being a fan of Dutch football does help, but as the author points out in his intro, this is more a book about the idea of dutch football, and there are sections of the book that transcend the normal sporting book. I would not hesitate to say that it is the best book I have ever read about football, and definitely the best about Holland. Cruyff rules totally! ( )