[size=6]How Van Marwijk made the difference for the Dutch[/size]

Until the start of this World Cup, I thought I knew what to expect from the Netherlands in major football tournaments. For the last 20 years, I have watched a succession of talented players in orange shirts put on some dazzling displays before falling short, sometimes having fallen out with each other first.

True, the Dutch may still leave South Africa empty-handed - they have to beat Spain in Sunday's final to get their hands on the game's ultimate prize for the first time - but they have shed pretty much every preconception I had of them along the way.

Solid rather than spectacular and a team unit rather than a collection of star individuals, the Oranje have won all six of their games en route to the final without ever showing more than the occasional flashes of the flowing football for which they are famous.

What else has changed? Try the head coach for a start.

Bert van Marwijk, a previously unheralded 58-year-old whose only major triumphs in a 28-year managerial career have been winning the now defunct Uefa Cup in 2002 and the Dutch Cup in 2008, both with Feyenoord.

He has made up for his lack of international experience as a player - he was a skilful winger but won only one cap for his country, playing only 45 minutes for his country - by naming Frank de Boer and Phillip Cocu as his assistants. Between them, the pair appeared 213 times for the Netherlands - on many occasions alongside members of the current squad - and it is a blend that seems to work.

Since his appointment as national boss in the summer of 2008, Van Marwijk's approach has not quite been to win at all costs but it is not far off - and it is certainly effective.

Tuesday's semi-final win over Uruguay was his side's 14th consecutive competitive triumph - they won all eight of their qualifiers, too - and they are on a pretty healthy-looking 25-game unbeaten run, having lost only once since he took over.

The Dutch media, who enjoy their team's reputation as one of football's great entertainers far more than they mind them being labelled one of the game's biggest under-achievers, were highly critical of Van Marwijk's pragmatic tactics in the press conference after their 2-1 win over Cameroon in a their final group game on 24 June.

Strangely, when they returned to Cape Town on Tuesday, that same press pack were complaining a lot less. I saw nothing but smiles from them after the win over Uruguay but then reaching a World Cup final tends to play havoc with your emotions - the usually impassive Van Marwijk was fighting back tears as he faced journalists at the final whistle.

What is Van Marwijk's secret? Other than his undoubted tactical nous, some people see him primarily as a peacemaker, keeping his players happy and stopping egos from clashing, as has happened inside Dutch camps in the past.

But there is far more to his man-management than just achieving harmony in his squad. I spoke to De Boer shortly after the Dutch had reached their first final in 32 years. He said Van Marwijk has given the squad the self-belief they can lift the trophy on 11 July.

De Boer told me: "The first thing that Bert said to these players on his first day as coach was 'we have a mission and that mission is to be world champions'.

"From day one, we tried to give them the belief they could win this World Cup. A lot of our players didn't believe it, while some said they did. I knew they didn't really think it.

"Getting them to actually have that belief was so important and it is a process we have been working on for the past two years. The fact it is working is a compliment to everyone in our camp from the kit man to the head coach.

"For us, since we have been in South Africa, it has been all about winning the final. That is something I didn't have in 1998 when we reached the semi-finals. Then, reaching the final four was enough.

"I saw the same in the Uruguay players before kick-off in our semi-final. Some of them came on to the pitch with cameras and were filming themselves and the stadium. That showed they were happy just to be there. Our approach was much better and now we have to keep that focus."

From what I heard from the Dutch players I managed to get near to in a very crowded post-match mixed zone, the coaching staff have indeed succeeded in convincing them of their potential. Dirk Kuyt, for example, mentioned he had the "belief" to win the World Cup about eight times in a two-minute interview before scurrying on to the coach.

But as well as making his side mentally strong, Van Marwijk has taught them to be disciplined, too.

The 4-2-3-1 formation that he favours is not his invention - his predecessor Marco van Basten used it with far more flair and far less success. The Dutch shone brightly in the group stages of Euro 2008 before, in a repeat of their fate at the 2006 World Cup, crashing out after losing their first knock-out match.

Van Marwijk also uses largely the same squad as Van Basten did, with the exception of Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, now retired (again) from international football, and son-in-law Mark van Bommel, who has returned to add some steel to the midfield after falling out with the previous coach.

De Boer, who won a Dutch record 112 caps for an outfield player and is behind only Van der Sar (118) in his country's record books, added: "In the past we would go to tournaments as one of the favourites, have two or three good games then crash out. But now this team has shown it is much more stable even if we don't hit top form.

"If we don't play our best, we still win, or draw. We don't lose. The only reason that happened against Australia [in September 2008] was because we were down to 10 men. The reason we are so stable is because the players trust the system we play in."

The reaction to just about every Dutch victory in South Africa has been along the same lines - that they can play much better than they just did, although they were pretty impressive during the second half of their extraordinary fightback against Brazil.

Personally, I'm not so sure there is much more to come, or that they necessarily need to produce it to beat Spain, who do not exactly appear to be on top of their game either.

Like several other sides at this World Cup, the Oranje have a couple of world-class performers - Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben - and a couple of players with the potential to reach that level. Robin van Persie is one and has worked hard despite looking uncomfortable in his role as a lone striker.

They have all played their part in getting their side this far. While improvement is clearly possible, it is not imperative because more of the same could well suffice.

Don't get me wrong, the Netherlands will be worthy winners if they do overcome European champions Spain at Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium on Sunday but there have been more roundly-talented Dutch teams that have left tournaments empty-handed.

Van Marwijk is probably closer to getting the maximum out of his side than it may seem at first glance and deserves a lot more credit than he has received so far.

He has already matched what former Dutch bosses Rinus Michels and Ernst Happel did in 1974 and 1978 but with a much less stellar squad. The irony for a nation used to seeing their teams fail to live up to their promise is that this time Van Marwijk has overachieved just by taking them to the final.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chrisbevan/2010/07/how_van_marwijk_has_made_the_d.html