Dutch Courage or Krul Antics?

So there we have it. Holland's penalty shoot-out triumph over Costa Rica last night confirmed a star-studded semi-final against Argentina whilst in the other match hosts Brazil play Germany. Europe vs South America is the theme and we are in for an a couple of cracking matches. But it could have been completely different were it not for the mind-boggling decision of Louis Van Gaal to bring on substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul solely for the penalty shoot-out.

The rest is history. Krul dived the correct way for all five of the Costa Rican penalties, saving two and ultimately sending his team through to the semi-final, as well as ensuring the first Dutch penalty shoot-out success in five attempts. However, there were two consequential outcries following the game; 1) that Tim Krul's antics before each kick were unsporting and disgraceful and 2) that Louis Van Gaal is a tactical genius.

Let's start with the latter. So the incoming Manchester United manager is supposedly a tactical wizard. There can be little question that the introduction of Krul was a masterstroke. Clearly his height and preparation gave him an edge over Jasper Cillessen although his Premier League record of just two saves in twenty attempts leaves a lot to be desired. However, for me the real stroke of genius was the message it sent to Costa Rica. Van Gaal basically said, 'We've got this weapon on our bench. We're going to use it. What have you got?'. The simple answer was that they had nothing. Keylor Navas, unquestionably one of the goalkeepers of the tournament, failed to even get his fingertips on any of the four Dutch penalties whilst his Dutch counterpart did the business.

So undoubtedly Van Gaal made the correct decision in bringing on Krul and must be applauded for that. Yet it would be foolish to ignore the other 120 minutes where the Dutch failed to break down Costa Rica. In their defense neither did Italy or England but a team with Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder leading the line should realistically pick apart a Costa Rican side ranked 27th in the highly accurate and credible FIFA rankings. When you consider that Van Gaal also threw Huntelaar and Lens into the fray later in the game then questions have to be asked as to how outstanding the tactical nous of this man actually is. Surely a fully fledged tactical genius would have finished this quarter-final match in regulation time rather than having to rely on a penalty shoot-out to complete the job. So Van Gaal reacted to the situation well, but don't be too quick to hurl praise at him. We'll see if he deserves that praise if they're still around this time next week.

So what of Tim Krul. Well in my opinion the only crime he is guilty of is theft. His penalty heroics stole the headlines from another remarkable performance by Keylor Navas but it was his gamesmanship which received the most criticism during his brief stint on the pitch. The wily substitute ensured he patrolled the box as the Costa Rican players wandered from the half-way line, demonstrating his control of the box and sending a message that 'I'm in charge'. Then when they reached the penalty spot he walked right up and told them that he knew exactly where they were going, going right up to the faces of each individual player.

Now this is the part that garnered criticism and I ask you what he actually did wrong. As an ex-goalkeeper myself, (albeit for the third team in my college - a high standard indeed), I can only applaud the Newcastle man for getting inside the mind of the opponent. He told them where they would go and ultimately got all five right, even if he didn't save each and every penalty. But the main question is whether his behaviour was sporting. Is it fair to go towards the penalty taker and talk to them before they take it? Well I don't really see the harm. Players do it all the time around the pitch for free-kicks and just generally in open play so why when it happens in a penalty shoot-out did it receive such negative criticism. It's not like he committed a deliberate handball to prevent a last minute winner or bit someone (hint: a certain banned Uruguayan footballer). Also, its in the World Cup quarter-final. You want to do absolutely everything within the letter of the law to distract your opponent and as the referee did nothing about it then clearly it was within the confines of the law.

So I abhor you to reassess your praise and criticism and actually just have a think about last nights action. I am by no means saying I don't understand the argument behind Krul's criticism and Van Gaal's praise, I'm just saying perhaps a bit more thought and perspective ought to go into both circumstances. All of that said, a special mention to the much unfancied Costa Rica who did not actually lose a single game in normal time during this World Cup. Who had money on that before the tournament? Yeah I thought not.