Tweet08-07-2010 om 14:17 by Amanda Potter

The Oranje team has made it to the World Cup Finals and will be facing off against Spain this Sunday at 8:30 pm in Johannesburg. This is very exciting. The Netherlands has only made it to the finals twice (1974 and 1978) and have not yet taken home the trophy. Spain is also making their first attempt at winning the final. I’m rooting for the Dutch, but no matter who wins, this is sure to be an exciting game.

Exploring a bit about the Oranje team, I found that they have an extra connection to the Maastricht Region. The coach, Bert van Marwijk, worked for several football clubs in the Limburg area including FC Herderen, RKVCL Limmel, SV Meerssen, and Fortuna Sittard, and also played a bit for Fortuna Sittard. Although a few of the games have been a bit boring (in my uninformed opinion), his style of coaching clearly is doing something right by the team.

Of course making it to the Finals means the Netherlands event planners have been scrambling to set up special viewings for the game and to reorganize major Sunday events so there is no overlap.  Here in Maastricht the Sunday performance of Andre Rieu has been pushed up to 1 pm so that the concert will be over in time for kick-off. Elsewhere, people have been selling off tickets to other major events and buying last-minute flights to Johannesburg. A little crazy? Perhaps. But being from Boston, I understand.

Catch the Game

If you want to catch the game somewhere other than on your own television, watch for cafes and town squares with big screens. The VVV in Maastricht has an online list of some of the cafes with extra screens available and I’ve found the Vrijthof, Markt Square and Platielstraat to have the most activity during previous games. Since the Final is at 8:30 pm, you may want to do dinner out to secure a seat early.  Wear your orange (or red if you’re cheering on Spain) and don’t forget to toast your team!

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