Netherlands (Football)

The sport of football in the Netherlands is administered by the Royal Dutch Football Association (Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond; KNVB). The Netherlands was a founder member of FIFA in 1904 and of UEFA in 1954. The team has reached three FIFA World Cup finals but were always runners-up; their only major honour is winning the 1988 UEFA European Championship.

The most notable clubs in Dutch football are Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven who have all won European competitions. The greatest Dutch footballer is Johan Cruyff, widely regarded as the greatest-ever European player and, worldwide, second only to Pelé. Other famous Dutch players are Johan Neeskens, Ruud Krol, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and Virgil van Dijk.

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