Germany–Netherlands football rivalry

Germany–Netherlands

Two German fans wave their flag at a group of Dutch supporters during UEFA Euro 2008 in Basel.
Locale	Europe (UEFA)
Teams	Germany  Netherlands
First meeting	24 April 1910 Netherlands 4–2 Germany (Arnhem, Netherlands)
Latest meeting	14 November 2012 Netherlands 0–0 Germany (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Statistics
Meetings total	40
Most wins	Germany (15)
Most player appearances	Lothar Matthäus (8) Ruud Krol (8)
Top scorer	Jan Thomée (5)
All-time record	Germany wins: 15 Netherlands wins: 10 Draws: 15
Largest victory	West Germany 7–0 Netherlands (Cologne, West Germany; 21 October 1959)
Largest goal scoring	Netherlands 5–5 Germany (Zwolle, Netherlands; 24 March 1912)
Longest win streak	West Germany (4) 1.   1–2     3 April 1957, Amsterdam 2.   7–0   21 October 1959, Cologne 3.   2–4   23 March 1966, Rotterdam 4.   2–1     7 July 1974, Munich
Longest unbeaten streak	Netherlands (6) 1.   4–2   24 April 1910, Arnhem 2.   1–2   16 October 1910, Kleve 3.   5–5   24 March 1912, Zwolle 4.   2–3   17 November 1912, Leipzig 5.   4–4     5 April 1914, Amsterdam 6.   0–0   10 May 1923, Hamburg
Netherlands Germany

The Germany–Netherlands football rivalry is one of the few longstanding football rivalries at a national level. Beginning in 1974 when the Dutch lost the 1974 FIFA World Cup to West Germany in the final (though deeply rooted in Dutch anti-German sentiment due to the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II) the rivalry between the two nations has become one of the best known international football rivalries in the world.

Both football nations have been among the top ranked according to the strongest football nations by Elo Ratings, and have met a total of 40 times (of which 8 matches were competitive) which resulted in 15 victories for Germany, 15 draws, and 10 victories for the Netherlands.

For the Dutch, the origins of the rivalry are primarily based on the anti-German sentiment resulting from World War II in which, during a five-year German occupation, a quarter of a million Dutch people died and the country itself was devastated. In particular, matches up until 1988 show a strong emotional connection between war experiences alongside the sportive element among the Dutch, but this inevitably lessened with the passage of time.

I didn't give a damn about the score. 1–0 was enough, as long as we could humiliate them. I hate them. They murdered my family. My father, my sister, two of my brothers. Each time I faced Germany I was angst-filled.

When Germany and the Netherlands met in the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup (which was also their first competitive match since 1945) the Dutch, despite being strong favorites, lost to the Germans which resulted in a national trauma which is poetically referred to as "De moeder aller nederlagen" ("The mother of all defeats") in Dutch. NOS sports commentator Herman Kuiphof's remark on air after the winning goal was scored - "We are fooled yet again" - became a catchphrase.