Johnny Heitinga ‘wanted to attack Howard Webb’ after red card in World Cup final and explains key decision officials got wrong which cost Netherlands in extra-time v Spain

In an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, former Netherlands defender Johnny Heitinga discusses his memories of the 2010 World Cup final against Spain.

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I wanted to attack Howard Webb after he sent me off in 2010 World Cup final

I’ve spoken with Howard Webb, who refereed that final in 2010, on a number of occasions. I talked with him a couple of months after that night and he told me it was so difficult for him. Also, from our side, we were not ourselves; we were nervous. It was difficult for everyone, but especially Howard and the linesmen – nowadays it’s much easier with VAR.

Of course, I received a red card myself on that night, in extra-time. I was full of emotion in that moment – and walking off that pitch, it just felt like such a long walk. I felt lonely. In my eyes, it was an unfair decision. It was very smart from Andres Iniesta for my second booking. I’ve played the game at the highest level for many years, and so has he. I touched him on his shoulder. I wasn’t holding on to him or anything like that, and he went down and gave Howard Webb a decision to make.

I felt really lonely, especially as I had to stay in the dressing room for the rest of the match. After the match, I was still upset. I look back now and I’m glad our manager grabbed hold of me, because I wanted to attack Howard Webb. In my eyes, it was an unfair decision he made.

We played so well with eight minutes to go. You just wonder what we could have done in that time with 11 players on the pitch.

But, in my eyes, there’s a key moment in extra-time and it comes just before Spain score the winning goal. Wesley Sneijder takes a free-kick which deflects off the wall and out for what should have been a corner. The officials decided it was a goal kick and Spain scored in that move.

If you look back throughout that game, everything just seemed to go their way; they got so lucky on that night. There were so many times we had the ball and then we lost it again. Things just seemed to bounce their way. [Rafael] Van der Vaart falls down on his arse as the ball is played to Iniesta… these things wouldn’t usually happen but they went Spain’s way on that night.

It was just so unfair that we didn’t get that corner kick. At least if that would have been rightly awarded, we could have killed another 45 seconds or so; and what we can say for sure is that Spain wouldn’t have scored the goal which they ended up scoring, because everything would have been set up so differently.

Almost all of the players were in tears in the dressing room after that final in 2010. We were so down and we all knew it would take a while to get over the result. But we were back together in a few weeks for the next qualification round for the European Championship.

We did something special,and no one blamed each other. We were a strong unit who shared some unbelievable experiences from qualification for Euro 2008 to the World Cup in 2010 and beyond.

📅 On this day, in 2010, Spain beat Netherlands 1-0 in extra-time to lift the World Cup for the first time in their history in South Africa. 🏆 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/7D9diAQZqg

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 11, 2022

Of course, still, when a tournament starts, like this one in Qatar, I cannot help but think of how close we were in 2010, and all of the emotions that came with that. It was the best thing that ever happened in my career, because playing for your country on such a big stage brings with it so much pride. Not many players can say they’ve done that.

But, of course, you still feel the pain. It never really goes away. You’re given a medal for finishing in second place, and that’s not what you set out to do. And that wait, by the way, is the longest part of the night. We’re waiting to receive our medals and then congratulate the winners. We’ll always do that and show that level of respect because that is what this game is built on. But it hurts… it hurts.

The one thing Wesley Sneijder told us not to do ahead of World Cup final…

There’s a funny story from that final which we played in 2010 against Spain. Wesley Sneijder had gone into the tournament off the back of a great season with Inter Milan, winning the treble under Jose Mourinho. Just before the final, he told all of us not to look at the World Cup trophy when we pass it on the way out onto the pitch. He told us it brings bad luck, and so if you look back at the footage from that game now, you’ll see none of us are looking towards the trophy on the way out. Of course, we went on to lose the game… so maybe it would have been better if we’d have looked at it!

In that first half, we simply were not ourselves – and if you had VAR in those days, we may well have gone in at half-time with nine men. In the second half, though, we were the better side. We had two one-on-ones for Arjen Robben. The first ended up being an incredible save from Iker Casillas, but the second one is the one which people often forget. Arjen is through on goal and Carles Puyol pulled him back. Robben, at the time, was known for going down easily and making a meal out of things, but on that occasion he was full of confidence that he was going to score. If he’d have gone down on that occasion, Puyol would have been sent off, I’m sure, and then it would have been 11 against 10 in our favour.

But even later on in the game, before they scored the winning goal – if you go back and watch the match, you’ll see we had a free-kick which hits the wall and should have gone out for a corner for us. Instead, the decision given was a goal kick, and within a minute they went and scored the winner. Spain and Andres Iniesta went on to score the World Cup winner from a transition which should never have been allowed, because we should have had a corner.

Spain, of course, probably had the better team, because they won both European Championships in 2008 and 2012, but we were so, so close – and I guess that’s sport, that’s football. One chance can make the difference. If Arjen scores one of those chances, our lives are completely different and we are walking around with a star on our chests.

We had so many great players – the only thing missing was a trophy

It was an emotional night from start to finish. So many things go through your head in the build-up to the game, and then during the match, and the frustration of being sent off, of losing, of waiting for the trophy presentation, and then being in the dressing room afterwards and heading back to the hotel to see our families.

Then, after what ended up being a short night because of how late it was, we flew back to Amsterdam, where there was a celebration. People were partying in the streets but, in my head, I didn’t want to be there. So, we were drinking… maybe a little bit too much, to help us out with our emotions on that day.

The next day, we met the Queen. That was something special, because the whole nation was standing behind us. We had over 100,000 people watching us on huge screens around Holland on the night of the final. We knew that the nation was behind us, but to what extent, we had no idea.

And by the time the celebrations started, it was just so special. I think there were over a million people celebrating us, and only in that moment did I finally start to realise that, while we didn’t win the World Cup, we did something special for our country, and for our people. As a small nation – we’re a small country – we did something unbelievable. We were so close to achieving the biggest thing we could have achieved in the game, and the nation were so proud of us. They gave us so much credit, but, as a sportsman, you want to win that trophy.

We had such a strong team… we had so many great players: Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben. The only thing that was missing was a trophy.