But We Have No Place to Stay
Humble and unassuming to literally a fault perhaps, the Dutch were so convinced they wouldn’t be progressing too far in the knockouts that they didn’t bother to book hotel accommodations for the team beyond the semis. So now, should they win, they will have no place to stay.
The KNVB (the Dutch football association) made reservations at the Sandton Hilton in Jo’burg only through July 5 (that was yesterday for those of you lacking a calendar).
FIFA handles arrangements for teams the night before and after the match—this makes sense as teams have to travel for most matches—so the Dutch are covered through their semi in Cape Town, but come Wednesday, they have no place to stay as the Sandton is fully booked for the rest of the tournament.
It seems the Dutch though have one of the first graduates of the Ari Fleischer School of Reality Management. From team spokesperson Martine Bruggink: “It is not the case that we will be homeless after the semi final. FIFA is searching for another accommodation.”
If the Dutch beat Urugauy today, they’ll be playing in the final at Soccer City. If not, it’s the meaningless money grab third place match in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
I’m sure the Dutch were not alone in thinking that they would not be part of this stage of the tournament. I, for one, had them knocked out in the Brazil match…
Yeah, but you’re not arranging their logistics.
We dutch all knew they’d reach the final so this story sounds a bit odd to us. The KNVB wanted holland to atleast reach the semi finals and van Marwijk himself said that he’s only at the world cup to win it. Nothing else counts. so yah, this story is bulls**t :x
Odd, because this is being reported in many different places right now. Is the team still at their original hotel?