The legend of the ‘Clockwork Orange’ began to be written in the 1974 World Cup, when the Netherlands dazzled the world with colorful and effective football that, despite its impact, failed to be crowned champion. Since then, the Dutch team has become the team that has played in finals the most times without lifting the trophy.
That innovative group from the seventies, led on the court by Johan Cruyff and from the bench by Rinus Michels, revolutionized the game with the so-called ‘total football’, a system without fixed positions that marked an era.
However, in the final played in Munich 1974, Netherlands could not maintain the initial advantage gained with a penalty from Johan Neeskens and ended up falling 2-1 against the host Germany.
Four years later, in Argentina 1978, the Oranje once again competed for the title, this time without Cruyff. At the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, the Dutch fell 3-1 against the local team in a match that was decided in extra time after a tie in regulation time.
A streak that hurts
The third final came in South Africa 2010. In Johannesburg, a more pragmatic team resisted the dominance of Spain, but ended up losing in the 116th minute with Andrés Iniesta’s memorable goal.
This particular record of three lost finals places Netherlands as the greatest exponent of teams that bordered on glory without achieving it. Czechoslovakia and Hungary also appear on that list.who were runners-up on two occasions.
The history is completed by Sweden and Croatia, who lost the only final they played in: the Scandinavians in 1958 against Brazil and the Balkans in 2018 against France.
Even the great ones fall
The weight of lost finals is not exclusive to teams without a title. Germany leads this section with four runners-up finishes (1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002), a sign that sustained success also involves living with painful defeats.
Argentina appears in second place with three lost finals (1930, 1990 and 2014), while powers such as Brazil, Italy and France record two losses each in decisive matches.