The Dutch team are just keeping up with the Joneses (as opposed to the Jonases - which they obviously can't do). They can be cynical these days - just as the Uruguayans, Argentinians, Italians and Germans have been for decades - and it's no coincidence that these national sides have been powerhouses. They can play lovely football at times, but can mix it up when their backs are against the wall. So it really is up to the authorities to stamp out the uglier elements.
The problems of diving, play-acting, time-wasting, gamesmanship, pulling/tugging, histrionics, etc, have not been addressed by FIFA. IMO, FIFA is a centralised authority (Switzerland, as usual) that has little interest in the essence of football - the same with UEFA ( also Switzerland, as usual); however, they are interested in world domination and making lots and lots of money (no better place than Switzerland, as usual). Their default position is: "is there lots of money to be made here?".
As a boy whose earliest memories are of those fine Dutch teams of '74 and '78 (Neeskens et al) that should have won the world cup but were stopped by the exploits of Germany and Argentina, I've retained a soft spot for The Netherlands. I don't care for RVP, Robben or de Jong, but I still hope they win the World Cup.
