June 1988

Ajax… Fifteen Years Ago

Holland vs Romania, a friendly in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday 01 June, is the last opportunity for the home crowd to 'wave the troops goodbye' before departure to West-Germany. The freshly crowned European champions of PSV have joined the squad, after having enjoyed an extra week off. The Oranje squad of coach Rinus Michels is complete.

The starting line-up for Euro 88 slowly begins to take shape: former Ajacied Frank Rijkaard seems to have won a spot in central defense. Ajacieden Van 't Schip, Wouters and Mühren also seem sure of their spots. The battle between the three central forwards, however, is tight and all but decided. Johnny Bosman seems to have the best chances, being the topscorer of Holland's qualification campaign. Wim Kieft, however, had a tremendous season with PSV. And then there's Marco van Basten, who had a disappointing first year in Milan due to a persistent ankle injury and joined the Holland squad while recovering from a broken cheekbone. Van Basten seems unhappy in a squad in which most others can live with their position.

Bosman and Kieft underscore their excellent form by making it 1-0 and 2-0, respectively. Van Basten is brought on in the second half, as an unlikely left winger. He fails miserably.

The 'Big Adventure' commences on 02 June, Arnold Mühren's 37th birthday. From the KNVB's headquarters in Zeist, Oranje sets off to West-Germany. Their destination is a hotel/resort named Gut Höhne, in the quiet village of Mettmann, near Düsseldorf. From its German operating base Oranje plays its last friendlies in the south-eastern Netherlands, against Roda JC and amateur sides De Treffers and Quick Nijmegen. The support is heart-warming: 20,000 people watch the Roda game, and people are up in the trees at De Treffers' ground to get a glimpse of 'the boys'.

The team attends the Euro 88 opening ceremony in Düsseldorf's Rhein Stadium on Friday 10 June and watches hosts West-Germany and Italy share the points in the opening game (1-1). Two days later Cologne's Müngersdorfer Stadium completely turns orange for Holland vs the Soviet Union. The Dutch eleven are: goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen, defenders Berry van Aerle, Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard and Adri van Tiggelen, midfielders Gerald Vanenburg, Jan Wouters, Arnold Mühren and (on the left!) John van 't Schip, and forwards Ruud Gullit and John Bosman. They wear a new orange jersey, specially designed for Euro 88, with an unusual, scaly pattern.

Holland plays well. Shots by Gullit, Koeman and Wouters are saved by Rinat Dasaev, one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The goal is scored on the 'wrong' side of the pitch: a low, diagonal volley by Soviet midfielder Vassily Rats, just after the break. Holland's barrage of Rinat Dasaev's goal in the remaining 37 minutes is relentless, but unsuccesful. Holland 0, Soviet Union 1, a result that puts a whole nation's feet back on the ground. No-one expected this. What an unbelievable comedown.

Holland's task will be simple from now on: the two remaining group games, against England and Ireland, must be won. The next morning, Michels announces that both of the Johnnies (Van 't Schip and Bosman) are out for the next game. The coach wants a real left-footer on the left flank: Erwin Koeman. Much to everyone's surprise the prodigal son of the team, Marco van Basten, is to to play as the 'target man' against England, much to the dismay of Wim Kieft.

The game on Wednesday 15 June is as important for England as it is for Oranje. The English also suffered a totally unexpected defeat in their first game against Ireland (1-0). Today's loser can book plane tickets home. Holland escapes by the skin of its teeth in the first half, in which Gary Lineker and a superb Glenn Hoddle free-kick hit the post, but just before half-time Van Basten tricks Tony Adams and diagonally fires past Peter Shilton. After 133 minutes of football the immense orange horde on the stands finally has a goal to celebrate. By an unexpected scorer, to say the least.

Bryan Robson equalizes for England in the second half, but 15 June 1988 is the day of Marco van Basten's big revenge. He shoots England's hopes to pieces with two more goals in three minutes' time: 1-3. Michels, the man who took the risk, replaces Holland's new hero in the 88th minute so that the 35,000 Dutchmen can give him a standing ovation. "Do you think Van Basten proved you wrong?" asks TV reporter Kees Jansma after the game. Michels' dry answer: "When players prove me wrong by scoring three goals, I have no problem with it."

Holland is still alive, yet a win over Ireland on the 18th in Gelsenkirchen's Park Stadium is a must. Prior to the game, Ireland boss Jack Charlton accurately describes the secret of Ireland's success: "If we win we get drunk. If we lose we get drunk, too." His line-up contains a name that sounds vaguely familiar to Ajax fans: Frank Stapleton, the man who left De Meer through the backdoor after a disastrously short, six-game Ajax career.

Holland once again needs help from heaven in the opening minutes. A slamming Paul McGrath header hits the post, after which the ball miraculously stays out of goal in a scrimmage on the goal-line. 50,000 Dutchies on the stands hold their breath. But Holland soon grabs the initiative, starting its race against the clock. The 'Green Army' fights for every inch. A draw will see them through to the semis.

Holland applies pressure but creates no chances. As the final fifteen minutes of the game tick away, the hoarse singing from the green end of Park Stadium gets louders, while the orange sections turn silent. Kieft and Bosman are brought on. Holland plays with three central forwards now, but there are no openings in the concrete Irish wall. Gerald Vanenburg pumps the ball in front of goal. The defense clears. Ronald Koeman attempts to volley, but doesn't hit the ball full on. It bounces on the ground, then gets grazed by the blonde head of Wim Kieft. The oxygen is sucked out of the stadium as the lurching ball spins out of Pat Bonner's reach and into the nets. 1-0. 82nd minute. Good God.

There's no time to celebrate, as the next day sees a trip to Hamburg for the semi-final clash with the country whose mere name makes Dutch football fans grind their teeth: West-Germany. Holland has not beaten its big neighbour for 32 years. Since the traumatic World Cup final of 07 July 1974, the words 'West-Germany' have become an equivalent for 'injustice' to the Dutch.

The cold war starts immediately. Much to Michels' annoyance the tournament organization books Oranje into the Intercontinental Hotel in the busiest and noisiest part of downtown Hamburg. The quiet Park Hotel, outside of the city, was Holland's accomodation of preference, but it was assigned to coach Franz Beckenbauer's Mannschaft. The KNVB receives an allocation of only 10,000 tickets. Upon arrival at Volkspark Stadium on 21 June, TV reporter Kees Jansma walks up to Rinus Michels, asking: "This last game is probably the most emotionally charged one, don't you think?" Michels' answer, yet again, is typically short and stoical: "Don't think it's the last one."

Holland plays its best game of the tournament, but history seems to repeat itself ten minutes after the break as Jürgen Klinsmann dives over Adri van Tiggelen's knee and wins a penalty. "Ooooh no!" screams commentator Evert ten Napel on Dutch television, with breaking voice. "Oh no, we've fallen for it. Again! It happens again!" Goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen's fingertips vainly graze Lothar Matthäus' shot: 1-0.

But for the third time this tournament, luck is on Holland's side at a crucial moment: Jürgen Kohler slides, Marco van Basten goes down. Foul? Absolutely no way, but the whistle of referee Igna saves Holland. Ronald Koeman converts the penalty. 74th minute. 74... 1974... Is it an omen? Will this be the night? With only two minutes left to play, Adri van Tiggelen passes to Jan Wouters, who sends a low thru-pass in Marco van Basten's direction. It seems too hard and aimed too far to the side, but Van Basten slides just before Jürgen Kohler reaches him and pushes the ball past goalkeeper Eike Immel. A split-second later the most ecstatically celebrated goal in the history of Dutch football is a fact. 1-2.

What happens in The Netherlands that very moment comes close to an earthquake. An estimated nine million Dutchmen, some 60% of the population, hit the streets for one of the most surreal Dutch celebrations ever: everyone instinctively seems to feel a link between this football game and World War Two. The T-shirts hitting the stores the next day say enough: 'World War Two: 1940-1988', 'In '40 they came, in '88 we came!', '21 June 1988: Liberation Day'. In the euphoric days after the game Dutch poet Jules Deelder publishes a poem entitled 21-6-1988, which is concluded by these lines on Van Basten's goal: '

'... and those who fell
rose cheering from their graves.'

No-one talks about the final. Not yet. Holland finally, finally took revenge for 1974. And for 1940-1945. For everything.

Four days later, on 25 June in Munich's Olympia Stadium, an orange banner sums it all up: 'The final was on Tuesday'. Today, in the 'real' final, Holland is up against the Soviet Union again. Every Dutchman can rattle off the Oranje line-up by now: Van Breukelen, Van Aerle, Rijkaard, Ronald Koeman, Van Tiggelen, Vanenburg, Wouters, Mühren, Erwin Koeman, Gullit and Van Basten. Michels never changed his winning team since the win over England.

Holland starts nervously. Conceding a goal may be fatal again against the flawless 'football factory' of coach Valery Lobanovsky. The opening goal in the 33rd minute comes out of nowhere. The scorer is Ruud Gullit, Holland's captain, who never was the superstar he can be. He effaced himself for the team and for his Milan buddy: Marco van Basten. The latter nods an Erwin Koeman cross back to the penalty spot, where an onstorming Gullit slams his forehead against the ball with such tremendous force that even the unbeatable Rinat Dasaev is beaten: 1-0.

The Soviets are not as clinically perfect as in the first game, and never come close to equalizing. The knock-out blow follows nine minutes after the half-time break. The scorer is Marco van Basten, the unlikely superstar of Euro 88. It will be remembered as one of the most spectacular goals in the history of the game. Arnold Mühren's left-footed cross seems too hard and too high. It goes way past Dasaev's goal, so that Van Basten has no other option than to volley as hard as he can and see what happens. The ball curves over Dasaev's fingers from an almost impossible angle and slams home at the far post: 2-0. At the sideline Rinus Michels can not believe his eyes.

The Soviets get an unexpected chance to get back into the game as Hans van Breukelen fouls Gotzmanov rather clumsily and referee Michel Vautrot resolutely points to the penalty spot. But Igor Belanov's hopeless shot, straight into Van Breukelen's body, summarizes the final for the Soviets: it's just not their day. The remaining minutes tick away while the Dutch on the stands are already celebrating Holland's European title. As Vautrot whistles for the last time, Oranje is no longer that country that plays nice football but never wins something. Holland is the European champion of 1988!

The team celebrates its historic succes on the 14th floor of the Munich Hilton, still unaware of the madness back home. The next day the team plane lands at Eindhoven airport. The thousands of people along the highway between Eindhoven and Amsterdam are just an 'appetizer'. More than a million people dressed in orange wait in Amsterdam, where the official celebrations will take place at Museumplein. During the team's boat trip through the canals of the capital, hundreds, maybe thousands, of fans spontaneously jump into the water when Oranje passes by.

On Monday 27 June, Rinus Michels and his team are welcomed by Queen Beatrix. Michels receives the highest royal decoration in The Netherlands. Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard (in that order) were voted the three best players of Euro 88. AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi offers Rijkaard a contract to make him the third Dutchman to play at Milan's San Siro next season.

What a month it was... While the European champions pack their bags for a well-deserved vacation, the Ajax board and technical staff get back to business. There's no reason for euphoria at De Meer. There will be several new faces and a lot will have to change. (MP)

Next month:

• Back to business with a new head-coach
• Preparing for the 1988-1989 season

Related links

• Discussion: Ajax History
• History: 1986-1988: 'J.C.' SUPERSTAR