Until the 2010 World Cup final punctured the illusion, Dutch football was always placed on a pedestal when it came to aesthetics.
But some irritating Mark van Bommel's challenges and Nigel De Jong kung-fu tackles later, and the image has been tarnished somewhat.
But with a Netherlands legend like Ruud Gullit joining Off The Ball for a studio interview tonight, it's a reminder of the things we love about the football produced by the Dutch masters.
The players
For a country with a population of about 17 million, it's remarkable how the Netherlands has consistently produced players of the caliber of Johan Cruyff, Gullit, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and so many others, including the 1990s Ajax generation of Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedord and Patrick Kluivert, and latter day greats like Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben.
And these are not just great players. The poise, elegance and mastery of the Cruyffs and Van Bastens of this world have coloured our traditional view of what Dutch football has been about.
The style
What Dutch football's success has been built on traditionally is the concept of total football and fluid positional interchange. Often constructed around a 4-3-3 formation, it first took the world's breath away in the 1970s with the Dutch national side which reached two World Cup finals, as well as the Ajax side which won three European Cups in a row.
Total football's influence is also felt strongly today at Barcelona where Cruyff has been a guiding light and influence, first as a player and then as a manager.
The jersey
The Dutch national side truly stand out in those unique orange jerseys ...
Frank Rijkaard (Neal Simpson / EMPICS Sport)
The fallouts
As football writer Simon Kuper told us last night by way of anecdotes, Gullit is known for being strong-minded. That is a trait often visible in Dutch players, resulting in numerous fallouts.
Internal squad conflicts at Italia 90 and Euro 96, as well as even more recent tensions between the likes of Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder are examples.
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