David Winner, author of "Brilliant Orange, the Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football", writes in the
Telegraph how Holland are dealing with their new pragmatic style of football. "Oranje has struck a
Faustian bargain with pragmatism and this has triggered an anguished debate in Holland. One point
of view is a version of the Biblical rhetorical question: "For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole World Cup, and lose his own soul?
David Winner, author of "Brilliant Orange, the Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football", writes in the
Telegraph how Holland are dealing with their new pragmatic style of football. "Oranje has struck a
Faustian bargain with pragmatism and this has triggered an anguished debate in Holland. One point
of view is a version of the Biblical rhetorical question: "For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole World Cup, and lose his own soul?
As an avid reader my entire life my mood toward material is constantly changing. Every couple of
months I am into something else. Sometimes it can be non-fiction that includes material on great
leaders, real life travel journals, serial killer profiles, organized crime; other times it is
fiction that includes Paulo Coehlo, Chuck Palahniuk, Kurt Vonnegut, and Truman Capote.
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Our fourth spotlight on World Cup Stars looks at one of Germany's finest der bomber! Check out
previous posts on World Cup Stars here.
"(He) was short , squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast", wrote David
Winner in Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football.
Top 10 Reasons to Support Uruguay:
10. The population of Uruguay is 3.3 million people, about the size of Greater
Cape Town.
9. The first black international in either the World Cup or the Olympics was
Uruguay's José Leandro Andrade.
The Dutch and the Germans Make Peace, For Now Great article from the author of Brilliant Orange.
The last time Argentina were humiliated 0-4 in a World Cup quarterfinal the dark skies sundered and
rain fell with the force of a monsoon. That game took place 36 years ago in Gelsenkirchen, West
Germany and left observers reeling with admiration for the Dutch victors, led by Johan Cruyff,
playing
Top 10 Reasons to Support Uruguay:
10. The population of Uruguay is 3.3 million people, about the size of Greater
Cape Town.
9. The first black international in either the World Cup or the Olympics was
Uruguay's José Leandro Andrade.
How did Spain and the Netherlands come to be in the final? How can this be? These are
my two favorite National teams to watch (after the USA, of course). These are surely the two
greatest footballing countries to have never won a World Cup. Okay, yes: I predicted
these two would be in the final in my bracket predictor (and consequently I am on the verge of
winning $200 in my group's pool), but I honestly didn't think these two sides would both be there
in the end.
I couldn't sleep at all last night, so instead of tossing and turning in anticipation of the
2010 World Cup Final today in South Africa between the Brilliant Orange Netherlands and Bloody Red
Spanish, I picked up one of my favorite reads, "Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch
Football.
During the World Cup, Pacifica Radio published quite a few podcasts with some unique people /
personalities involved with, or enamored of the "jogo bonito". David Winner is a personal favorite,
his book, "Brilliant Orange" is the best book I have ever read on Dutch football and society.
Click on the image to go to the podcast.
