This Holland side is as much of a one-man team as Argentina were in 1986. When that man plays as thrillingly as Arjen Robben did today, or Diego Maradona did throughout Mexico 86, it's not a problem, but don't be fooled: the rest of the Holland team aren't up to it, and Robben will have to be fast-tracked into the pantheon of football's true greats if they are to win this World Cup.
He is not quite ready for that, but the fine margins and momentum of sport are such that, if Holland can escape this group, he could carry them a long way. Freed from Jose Mourinho's tactical shackles, he was magnificent against Serbia & Montenegro: running constantly at defenders, facing up to his opponent, body twitching and left arm jerking repeatedly for disguise until he picked the time to knock it sideways and then forward and scoot down the line. Last night Argentina's Juan Roman Riquelme evoked Ferenc Puskas with the languid beauty of his passing; today there was a touch of George Best about the devastating economy and lack of elaboration in Robben's performance.
It's ironic that the first Dutch team in decades to genuinely have an all-for-one, one-for-all mentality are actually incredibly dependent on the form, fitness and mood of one man. Because apart from Robben, there is nothing to fear going forward: Wesley Sneijder schemes nicely, and Phillip Cocu did what Phillip Cocu does, selfless donkey work, but neither of them really drive into the box. Mark van Bommel does, but he seems preoccupied with playing the angry young man; Ruud van Nistelrooy, by contrast, is a lazy old man, and Robin van Persie, so obviously left-footed, will always struggle to influence games on the right wing. Wrong-footed wingers have many significant advantages, not least the ability to come infield and shoot, but their inclusion contravenes the Dutch take on 4-3-3, which is all about getting round the back in wide positions.
At the other end the young Dutch defence looked slightly jittery at times, although it's hard to appraise them until they get a proper test. They will certainly get that on Friday, when they meet the turbo-charged Ivorians in what already looks like an absolute humdinger. The problem for Holland is that groups of death play by different rules. Ordinarily, a win in the first game pretty much guarantees qualification. Groups of death are different: look at Norway in 1994, Italy in Euro 96, Norway again in Euro 2000, Argentina in 2002, Spain in Euro 2004. All of them won their first games; all of them went out. Given the supreme quality of yesterday's contest between the Ivory Coast and Argentina, I think the same fate will befall Holland.
Unless Arjen Robben does something about it.
