When the Netherlands beat current title holders Spain 5 – 1 in their opening group match, the Dutch were immediately considered to be a likely contender to hoist up the World Cup for their first time on July 13th.
Less than a month later, they find themselves fighting for a third place position, rather than the coveted title winner’s spot.
Always a bridesmaid and never a bride, the Oranje has been runner-ups three times (1974, 1978, 2010) and finished once in fourth (1998) during all their World Cup campaigns; 2014 will not be much different.
However, the Netherlands’ position was decided long before the team took the field against Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final match. Their position had been decided in the 121st minute with the Tim Krul for Jasper Cillessen substitution as the Costa Rica game went to penalties.
For many, it was the first goalkeeper substitution ever seen, not due to injury; pundits, players, and those watching around the world seemed equally confused as they did intrigued by the unconventional — practically unheard of — move by van Gaal.
And what an intriguing move it was; despite confusion on field at the time of the substitution, the Dutch coach said post-match that it had been his intent all along.
Quoted by ESPN post-match, van Gaal stated: “We always felt that Krul would be the most appropriate player to stop penalties. It would be disappointing for [Cillessen], but every keeper has his specific qualities. We felt Krul had a better track record of saving penalties. Fortunately, this worked out.”
Despite van Gaal’s confidence in his statement, many people questioned the decision, especially because Krul is not exactly known as a penalty saving prodigy. In fact, the Newcastle United keeper has only saved 2 out of 20 penalties for his domestic club.
In other words, Tim Krul is not exactly viewed as the second coming of Edwin van der Sar. 
And yet, Krul was Holland’s penalty saviour, stopping two out of five penalties taken by Costa Rica. Van Gaal’s gamble seemed to pay off. And not just the calculated gamble of a tactical change, but the less obvious calculated gamble of a psychological change.
Bringing in Krul as a substitution for penalties through off the balanced ineffable ecosystem of traditional, conventional, soccer. With the move, van Gaal had essentially told Costa Rica that he was prepared to accept a non-win during the game and as such, Costa Rica should be prepared to accept a non-win during the penalties.
Krul was their secret weapon and he worked.
Sort of.
While the substitution may have been a wise move during the quarter-finals, van Gaal did not anticipate the psychological ramifications it would have on his own team, come the semi-finals.
After the match against Costa Rica, van Gaal admitted that he did not talk about the substitution with Cillessen pre-game, stating: “First and foremost, the coach decides who is going to play and who is going to be a substitute. We said nothing to Cillessen because we didn’t want to face this before the match.”
The statement is understandable, given the circumstances, however van Gaal lacked the foresight to see how the substitution would not only affect Cillessen and Krul, but the entire Holland team.
The keeper switch certainly spooked Costa Rica — all part of the plan — but did it also spook his own team?
Their match against Argentina was dull, lacklustre at best; it does not seem like the same Dutch team showed up as they had for every other match leading up to the semi-finals.
In fact, it was the first time all tournament under van Gaal that Holland seemed unsure of themselves.
With van Gaal’s sneaky, pre-meditated move last match, who could blame the players for having a lack of confidence in themselves, while questioning if their coach does as well.
A coach needs to trust in his players to get the job done; if the Netherlands felt their confidence was be question by van Gaal, it certainly showed on the pitch.
The Krul substitution was more than a tactical move, it was a managerial move that could not help but make other players question their own role within the squad and confidence within themselves. Cillsessen, who had started and performed well for Holland all tournament was not viewed as being good enough to take the team into the semi-finals and was replaced by a keeper who would get all the glory, for all of Cillsessen’s work.
And so, Krul became the hero. He was the player singled out, not because of merit, but because van Gaal placed him ahead of the rest of his team. After all, playing Krul was van Gaal’s secret plan from the very beginning.
How could other players not also question their value in van Gaal’s greater plan? And their hesitation and lack of creativity that had previously demonstrated in other matches overpowered both the team and the game.
And that was the gall of van Gaal: his calculated gamble may have won the fight, but in the end, it made him lose the war.
