Blind leading the Blind
Dutch hero Daley shares joy with No.2 dad
DALEY BLIND darted over to his dad to celebrate his goal – amid scenes of pure joy of celebration among all those in orange.
It was a special moment between father and son as Blind embraced the Holland assistant coach. Danny Blind’s seen it all before, he has won a Champions League and is trusted by Louis van Gaal as his right-hand man.
But on the pitch former Manchester United defender Daley is one of the leaders guiding this Dutch side into a quarter-final with Argentina after beating USA on Saturday.
Blind Jnr said: “I can’t remember what he said to me, he just grabbed me. It was just a moment between father and son. We will talk about it again when we drink a coffee in the morning and in the evening when we drink a glass of red wine!
“It is crazy having this experience together. I’m proud we can share it.
“This is what kids dream about, right? Scoring in a World Cup? Even being able to play in a World Cup? Ah, what can you say? There is a lot of joy, a lot of emotion and happiness. This is what we are here for.”
The Dutch may not be thrilling everyone at this World Cup but they are effective and van Gaal’s side were ruthless against America.
Memphis Depay broke the deadlock from a Denzel Dumfries cut back before he also provided for Blind to score the second.
After Haji Wright pulled one back for the USA, who briefly threatened a fightback, Dumfries sealed the victory.
There has been criticism over the style of play but when you score three and get into the quarter-finals then it is hard to question van Gaal’s football.
Especially when, for their first goal, there were 20 passes before Memphis found the net.
Defender Nathan Ake admitted: “Sometimes in the first few games we were too slow on the ball, didn’t go forward, didn’t create a lot of chances. Today was much better. There’s still a long way to go, we can do even better.”