Evening of Curacao and the Netherlands

 Columnist Nico Dijkshoorn sat in front of the TV last night and overnight, watching the Curacao-Côte d'Ivoire and the Netherlands-Tunisia matches. There were touching moments right at the beginning of the evening. Studiogost Vurnon Anita said that Dick Advocaat was dancing next to the bus with Curacao players a week ago. Tears ran down my cheeks. Yes, that's what Dick is like. Ruthless when he can get someone out of work, but also a charming, sympathetic puppet when the situation requires it. Let Dick lead Italy in four years and let him throw about four hundred kilos of wet pasta into it just before a match. I'm slowly starting to appreciate its ability to absorb the colors of its surroundings. I perked up when runner Churandy Martina from a beach bar in Curacao repeated his credo that anything is possible if you just try. Put Martin in a supermarket next to a fifty-eight-year-old merchandiser and suddenly he'll think, "Yes, he's right, if I try hard enough, I can become a cash register manager."