Dutch fiasco is music to Berti's ears

The whole of Scotland is waiting to rise up and pay homage to Bonnie Prince Berti.

Vogts's Young Pretenders defend a 1-0 lead in Holland tonight and stand on the brink of what could be their greatest ever achievement.

The Scots are the masters of glorious failure, of course, with a history based on plucky defeats and hollow victories after the real prize has been lost, but beating the Dutch over two legs to reach the European Championship finals would be a supreme success.

This team have come a long way from the fortuitous draw in the Faroe Islands that opened their campaign.

While Scotland's young guns were calm and composed before their big day, the self-styled Dutch masters are in a state of disarray. Scandal and sniping has haunted their squad for the past decade, from Ruud Gullit's walk-out before the 1994 World Cup, through the racial tensions that marred Euro 96 to the current rivalry between players associated with PSV Eindhoven and Ajax, but they show no signs of learning their lesson.

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert continue to bicker like a pair of old ladies, while several members of the squad reportedly celebrated Saturday's first leg defeat by attending a rave in Amsterdam. The Dutch Football Association last night issued a statement rubbishing the reports, insisting that only Kluivert went to the club to meet his wife, but all is not well within the camp.

Vogts knows that the Dutch are feeling the heat and is determined to take advantage.

He said: "I couldn't believe it when I heard the rumours. These are professionals. The game was on Saturday and surely they know what they have to do to recover. They are not a youth team and are old enough to make the right decision.

"There's no pressure on my team, the pressure is on the Dutch. If I was Dick Advocaat I would be nervous. My boys are very focused on success, whereas the Dutch players can go back and play for their big clubs in the Champions League."