Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff said in a column Monday that Chile "has taken over" the Netherlands' traditional role of most attractive team at the World Cup.
"The best team I've seen so far is Chile," Cruyff said in his column for Monday's edition of Dutch daily De Telegraaf. "Chile has, on its own, created more chances than just about all the other teams combined."
Cruyff, who starred in the Netherlands team that narrowly lost the 1974 World Cup final to Germany and was known for anchoring the legendary era of "total football," compared the South Americans favorably to his own national team.
"It was always our quality to offer fans something extra," Cruyff said of past Netherlands teams. "We may never have won the ultimate prize, but the whole world talked about us. Chile has taken over that role from us."
His comments were published the day the Netherlands was to play Slovakia in the round of 16 in Durban. Chile was facing Brazil later in the day in Johannesburg's Ellis Park and could meet the Dutch in the quarterfinals.
Cruyff was a three-time European player of the year and guided Barcelona to the European Cup as a coach.
And he advocated good football over results - a view not shared by current Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk, who insists that his team set a foundation of dominating possession and patiently probe for openings.
"At the end of the 32-team tournament, there can be only one champion," Cruyff said. "So while the chances of winning the title are limited, the opportunity of pleasing the fans watching you is in your hands. Luckily, Chile has grasped that."
The Netherlands also lost the 1978 World Cup final to Argentina, without Cruyff. Its only major tournament victory was the 1988 European Championship.
Van Marwijk's philosophy has resulted in workmanlike victories over Denmark and Japan before a more attractive 2-1 win against Cameroon.
For all its attacking, Chile has only scored three goals so far in South Africa. It beat Honduras and Switzerland 1-0 before losing 2-1 to Spain.
