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Dutch makes powerful case for World Cup sex

June 16, 2014
Netherlands' Robin van Persie celebrates with Netherlands' head coach Louis van Gaal after scoring a goal during the group B World Cup soccer match between Spain and the Netherlands at the Arena Ponte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Friday, June 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Netherlands’ Robin van Persie celebrates with Netherlands’ head coach Louis van Gaal after scoring a goal during the group B World Cup soccer match between Spain and the Netherlands at the Arena Ponte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Friday, June 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The World Cup, the pinnacle of human sport resuming every four years, is also a circular experiment on whether sex influences an athlete’s performance on the field.

There will always be teams that announce sex-bans ― as Mexico and Bosnia-Herzegovina did in Brazil ― because sex supposedly drains energy.

Then there are teams such as the Netherlands, which encourages their players to spend intimate time with women before games and go on to dominate their opponents anyway.

The Dutch made a huge statement in trashing defending champions Spain 5-1 in their World Cup opener in Salvador, avenging their loss in the 2010 final in South Africa.

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal showed his strength as a strategist, attacking Spain’s high defensive line with quick, long passes to allow Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie to wreck havoc in open space. But perhaps Van Gaal’s greatest move was made the night before the game when he allowed his players to spend time with their wives and girlfriends.

The Netherlands, which features a wealth of world class players including Robben, Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, expects to advance deep into the 1-month tournament. If it is going to be a long stay, Van Gaal would rather keep his players happy.

”My principle is the overall picture. The total person. The player,” Van Gaal told the Daily Mirror.

”His brain and his psyche plays a part. And the psyche is influenced by his environment. So on Thursday and this morning I gave permission for the wives to visit the hotel and so the players could be happy.

”But that doesn’t mean this is the reason for our victory. I told the players I would make sure there would be points in time where the wives and families would visit them.”

Lucky for the U.S. squad, Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has a similar philosophy.

Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari got a bit more specific, however, as he told his players to stick to “normal sex” during the tournament.