My Oranje Story (32nd anniversary edition)

*You probably wonder why a Chinese guy who spent his childhood in Hong Kong and who lived in Canada for the last twenty years would actually root for the Dutch National team. Well, here is my story.

I was only a little boy when I first started to pay attention to football. It was the early 70s and the Oranje (the Dutch National team) were becoming a football powerhouse. 1974 was my first World Cup experience and, although I didn't really know much about football then, the Oranje's performance left a strong impression on me. They finished the first six games with five wins and a draw, they had scored 14 goals and had only let in one - and even that lone goal was scored by a Dutch player! We didn't get live broadcasts for every game so had to make do with a highlight show after the evening news on my family's old black and white television set. Nevertheless, I quickly fell in love with them and was confident that they would win the whole thing, even though they had yet to play the host - West Germany - in the final.

It was the only game televised live in Hong Kong during the tournament. The game kicked off at midnight, Hong Kong time, but luckily, as it was during the school summer vacation, I was allowed to stay up late to watch it. The game started controversially, The Oranje were awarded a penalty kick in the first minute. A German player was yet to touch the ball when Neeskens put Holland ahead. But the Germans came back, scoring two goals and leading at the half time interval.

Yet I was still confident, and I was right. Holland came out and stormed the German net. It had to be simply a question of when they would score. The clock ticked, the ball went flying around the German goalmouth: it hit the post, the bar, the goalie… Everything… Except the back of the net…

I was stunned. I couldn't believe what had happened. The only unbeaten team in the competition had lost in the final. I choked up with tears over what became my first heartbreak! I would woke up in the middle of night convincing myself it was just a nighmare, and the game was still yet to play. I was completely lost, and it took me quite some time to get a grip on reality again.

They say the first cut is the deepest and it created a strong bond between me and The Oranje. And if one broken heart wasn't enough, it was almost the same story four years later when they had to play another host, Argentina, in the final. In the dying minutes of regulation time, the game was tied and everyone was expecting extra-time. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Rob Resenbrink got a breakaway chance only for the ball to hit the post… Another heartbreaking moment in Dutch World Cup history. It was summer time in Hong Kong all right, but it was winter in Argentina and in my heart for sure. The game went into overtime, Argentina scored twice and Holland finished as runners-up once again. It was a little bit easier to swallow this time, but it sure was difficult to hold back the tears.

Holland didn't make the World Cup Finals at the next two tournaments as, one after another, big names like Cruyff, Krol, Neeskens, Muhren and Rep retired. In the early 80's, even though they did produce a couple of great players - Peters and La Ling - it was the Dutch players who went to play in Hong Kong that really impressed me. Seiko Sports was my favorite team back then. They were the first team to successfully sign Dutch players. Wildbret, Muhren and De John all made a great impression during their stays in Hong Kong. Pretty soon, it was almost like a reunion of that great Dutch team. Willy v.d. Kerkhof, Nanninga, and even Haan and Jansen all made brief appearances. At one time, Seiko arranged an exhibition game with Ajax, who brought La Ling (the Dutch player with a Chinese family name) to Hong Kong. For me, it was a clash between two generations of Dutch football. Ajax won the game 5-4, and it was the best game I remember.

It's now 32 years since that heartbreaking game in Munich and Team Oranje is still looking for her first World Cup championship. My passion with The Oranje remains the same, I am not that disappointed after all. Life is about the journey, not the destination. Looking back through the years, this team is just such a joy to watch. The Dutch have one of the finest systems of producing football players as brilliant players came out in bunches during every decade. There were Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard in the 80's, Bergkamp, Davids, Kluivert and Overmars in the 90's… Today, we have van Nistelrooy, Robben and van der Vaart to carry the torch.

This year the World Cup is once again being held in Germany (no more East or West), I am just hoping and praying that this year will be our year and we will finally win the World Cup! And wouldn't it be something if we would play Germany again in the final! Even if we lost, I won't be losing sleep this time; but when we do win, you bet I'll be choking up with tears of joy right in front of my high-definition television set. And it will bring out the little boy in me, jumping and dancing in celebration! Heck! I might lose sleep again!