Top 10 Dutch Players

The Dutch have produced many talented players over the years going back to at least the early to mid-70's when Johan Cruyff was around.

Cruyff unfortunately isn't on the list as this is the top 10 Dutch players from the modern era but had it been the top 10 Dutch players of all-time, he would probably be top of the list because of the magnificent player he was.

Despite the quality players they've produced over the years, the national team are somehow yet to win a major tournament in the modern era with the closest they got to winning one being the 2010 World Cup where they lost in the final to Spain.

The team they had at that tournament should've won something during their time together as they had such a talented team and were a side who reached the latter stages of tournaments.

The national team have surprisingly won just one tournament overall in Euro 88 where they had the likes of Van Basten, Koeman and Gullit in their side.

The majority of Dutch players have plied their trade outside of the Netherlands because clubs overseas have more money than the Dutch ones and the quality of football is arguably greater as well.

The Dutch Eredivisie is a league where most Dutch players make their breakthrough before going on to develop and do great things in other leagues and the players in the list are among them.

Here is the list:

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Robin Van Persie

Virgil Van Dijk

Dennis Bergkamp

Arjen Robben

Wesley Sneijder

Jaap Stam

Clarence Seedorf

Memphis Depay

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

10. Memphis Depay

Memphis is the record goal scorer for the national team with 54 goals and he broke the record very recently in fact during the Dutch's World Cup qualifying campaign.

But despite his goal record for the national team, I had to have him at no.10 because I don't think he's fulfilled his potential.

Big things were expected of him when he burst onto the scene with PSV and with the national team at the 2014 World Cup, but he never lived up to that hype as he's never been classed as one of the best in his position.

He was brilliant at Lyon after a poor spell at Man United where he was dubbed the new Ronaldo when he arrived there.

He's been an incredible player on his day as he's quick and very skilful, but he never went onto that world class level that a lot of people thought he would.

9. Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar

Huntelaar was a monster in the box on his day as he could score any kind of goal and was always in the right place at the right time to score goals.

There was a brief time where he was right up there among the best strikers in Europe with that brief time coming when he was at Schalke during the 2011/12 season where he netted 48 times in all competitions.

He had two spells at both Schalke and Ajax with the first spells being the better of the two as he got more goals and was in and around his prime at the time.

He did have a decent second stint at Ajax as he hit double figures for goals in all but one of his four seasons during that spell despite being in the latter years of his career.

He also had stints at Real Madrid and AC Milan which unfortunately didn't work out for him as he had just one season at each and was never really a regular starter.

8. Virgil Van Dijk

Van Dijk has arguably been the best central defender in Europe over the last five to six years because of his leadership, reading of the game and ability to make other defenders better.

He made an astronomical difference to Liverpool the moment he arrived there by making them stronger defensively and making the players around him better.

He and Alisson were the two signings that elevated the reds onto another level from being a top four team to a team that could fight to win trophies.

His influence and solid performances at the back have been key to Liverpool's success in recent years because of the difference he's made since he's been there.

7. Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder was one of the best midfielders in Europe on his day because of his ability to both create and score goals and pick out passes from anywhere on the pitch due to his incredible vision.

He was also a very good dribbler of the ball as he had quick feet and could get himself out of tight situations.

2010 was the year where he was right up there among the best midfielders in Europe as he played a starring role for Inter Milan as they won the treble under Jose Mourinho and was the national team's talisman as they reached the World Cup final in South Africa.

But his career began to go downhill in the years that followed due to injuries and his influence on the pitch decreasing.

He did have a successful spell in Turkey with Galatasaray where he carried on delivering the goods, but he was no longer considered as one of the best midfielders around as he was playing in a weaker league.

6. Robin Van Persie

Van Persie was the best striker in Europe when he was in his prime as he could score almost any kind of goal and score at an incredible rate.

It was towards the end of his time at Arsenal where he became that player and especially in his final season as he netted 30 goals to win the Premier League golden boot.

His goals that season earned him his big move to Man United where he proved to be the difference as his goals won him another golden boot and United the Premier League title in their final season under Fergie.

He was the record goal scorer for the national team for a number of years with 50 goals but only had one outstanding tournament in the 2014 World Cup where he scored 4 goals as Holland finished 3rd.

5. Jaap Stam

Stam was a hard as nails defender on his day as he was tough, strong, physical, tenacious and aggressive when going into tackles.

Very few players could get past him when he was on it because of how tough defender he was alongside his excellent reading of the game and aerial ability.

He was an integral part of the Man United treble winning side in 1999 where his solid performances at the back played a key role and made him one of United's most important players that season.

United was probably the club where he played his best football as he made arguably a bigger impact on the team by making them a tougher and stronger team defensively, and was in his prime years at the time he was at the club.

4. Arjen Robben

Robben had everything you wanted from a winger when he was playing in pace, the ability to get crosses into the box, agility, and the ability to cut inside and take shots at goal.

He was integral to every success he achieved at Bayern Munich where he won everything on offer and developed into one of the wingers in Europe.

He was always a player with ability right throughout his career but it was at Bayern where he made the most of it as he added more goals to his game.

He did have his fair share of injuries, but he still went on to have a great career and become one of the best in his position.

3. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy was a goal scoring machine when he was in his prime as he could score a variety of goals and was always in the right place to score them.

He was very much a box player as he had a knack of getting himself into the box and staying there so he could score the goals he scored.

It was at Man United where he had the best years of his career and became one of the finest finishers in Europe as he scored goals at such an incredible rate throughout his time at the club.

He was a prolific goal scorer for PSV and Real Madrid as well, but United was the club where he was in his prime and where he played his best football.

2. Dennis Bergkamp

Bergkamp was one of the most gifted players of his generation as he had an incredible first touch and could do almost anything with the ball at his feet.

He was a good all-round forward in that he scored goals and could also link up play and create with the latter being the part of his game that he became known for.

He would often drop deep to receive the ball and act as a deep lying forward which enabled him to be creative and link up with teammates.

That was what made his partnership with Thierry Henry so effective because he was the one who would come short and create the chances for Henry to score. Their partnership was crucial to every success they achieved together at Arsenal and especially during the Invincibles season.

He also scored some truly remarkable goals throughout his career such as that pirouette effort against Newcastle and that volley against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

1. Clarence Seedorf

Seedorf had to be my no.1 because he won the Champions League at every club he played for in Europe.

He won the competition four times in his career winning it with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

As a player he was a box-to-box midfielder as he was brilliant at both sides of the game and had bags of energy which allowed him to get forward to help his team out in attack and get back to support his team defensively.

He also had a bit of flair about him as he liked to perform the odd bit of skill whether that be a cheeky backheel or a flick over a defender.

MY TOP 10:

1. Clarence Seedorf

2. Dennis Bergkamp

3. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

4. Arjen Robben

5. Jaap Stam

6. Robin Van Persie

7. Wesley Sneijder

8. Virgil Van Dijk

9. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

10. Memphis Depay