Posted by Leander Schaerlaeckens

Could it be?

Surely not.

Harmony? Did I see that right?

I think I did.

It was the sixtieth minute or so. The Netherlands was awarded a free kick on the right side of Slovakia's penalty box. Oranje was ahead 1-0 and while in control, they hadn't been blowing Slovakia away in their round of 16 matchup in Durban.

Midfield playmaker Wesley Sneijder and striker Robin van Persie both lined up behind the ball. Uh-oh.

It had been only two years since a similar scenario had set off a Cold War in the Dutch camp. In a Euro 2008 training session closed to the media, van Persie had allegedly set about a vicious tackle on Sneijder. The two players -- rivals for national-team supremacy since they were children representing Dutch youth teams -- had words and possibly a scuffle. In the next Euro game, a quarterfinal match against Russia, van Persie and Sneijder both stood over a free kick in a promising spot. It was in Sneijder's designated territory, so van Persie was to be the decoy. Except that van Persie took the shot, blasting it over the goal to the consternation of Sneijder -- who stood frozen, his hands still on his hips, visibly seething over what had just unfolded.

The Netherlands was knocked out by Russia in spite of having obliterated favorites Italy and France in its first two games by scores of 3-0 and 4-1 respectively.

Once again, team harmony proved elusive for the Dutch.

For months on end, the two warred in the press.

That made today's moment all the more special. Van Persie and Sneijder once again stood over the free kick. In the Netherlands, the attentive and informed viewer's heart surely sank.

And then? Sneijder whispered something in van Persie's ear. Then Sneijder resumed his spot and as van Persie slowly began his run-up, he broke away and sprinted over to join his teammates waiting for where the kick was supposed to land.

What? Did that just happen? Had the two actually joined forces? Had peace just broken out?

More importantly, if the Dutch have learned to get along with each other, what does that say about their chances in the World Cup? The consensus had always been that there was enough talent in the Dutch front lines to make up for the lack of talent in the back. It was always the clashing egos that was thought to hold the team back.

The free kick came to nothing. But it meant everything.