Matthijs De Ligt should not take all of the blame for Holland’s disastrous Euro 2020 exit… goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg MUST hold his hands up for his embarrassing fumbling of a routine cross
All very statesmanlike from Matthijs De Ligt as the discoloured, sour Oranje peeled away from Budapest. ‘I am responsible at the end of day,’ the defender said, speaking to his sending off for deliberate handball.
‘I need to take a look in the mirror. I had it under control. I fell to the ground and got pushed, which made me use my hands.’
A bit of poetic licence in claiming a push by Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick there, but we’ll allow De Ligt that after a frankly ludicrous act that indicated he knew Stuart Attwell was manning the VAR controls.
Matthijs De Ligt was sent off as Holland were beaten by the Czech Republic on Sunday
The defender handled the ball after losing his balance but he should not take all of the blame
If anyone was going to allow a player to pick the ball up and walk off with it to prevent a goalscoring opportunity, even after watching 86 replays…
Regardless, De Ligt is to be applauded for fronting up – although he should not shoulder the entirety of the blame for Holland’s disastrous exit.
Collective failure all over the place made sure of that, and the Dutch press were casting glances towards veteran Maarten Stekelenburg.
His embarrassing fumbling of a routine cross for a corner – and by fumble, see also lobbing it into the stand – left Daley Blind wearing the indignation of a man who’d left his radiators on back home and ultimately contributing to the Czech’s opener.
Maarten Stekelenburg must hold his hands up for an embarrassing fumbling of a corner
As the television pictures cherished this mistake from every conceivable angle, becoming more and more eyebrow-raising with each viewing, the eye was drawn to Stekelenburg’s wrists. His gloves appeared to be snaking up his arms, vines wrapping bark.
Sportsmail’s painstaking research – cross-referencing an image of Holland’s surprise No 1 and heading across to the adidas website – told us these were a pair of ‘Predator GL Pro’ edition and they are exceptionally popular among the keeping fraternity at this tournament.
‘On the flexible knit backhand, 288 Demonskin 2.0 elements spread more widely to help you master every punch,’ the manufacturer say. ‘In the palm, URG 2.0 foam ensures confidence when the ball’s fired in your direction.’ No, us neither.
The shot-stopper was wearing a pair of ‘Predator GL Pro’ edition gloves but they could not help his performance
Yet adidas have clearly developed a smart glove that enhances performance of elite goalkeepers.
And they cannot legislate for Stekelenburg’s rick, whose performance led to you questioning whether in fact he had tending his goal with a pair of multi-coloured marigolds.
Apparently not – we checked and double-checked – though he might as well have been treating his back-garden weeds for all the use he got out of them. Even the best kit is only as good as those who use it, kids.
