VAN BASTEN REMAINS MISTERIOUS
Things are continuously on the move at the Dutch National Team since Marco van Basten took over. No player is secure of his position and everyone who performs well has a shot of making it to the highest level of Dutch football.
"If you play well, I'll select you", Van Basten explains, "If a player is injured, I don't go fiddling with the 4-3-3 formation that is the very heart of our football culture, instead I look through the Eredivisie for the next best player. It's really quite simple, we have enough talent in our country"
Pierre van Hooijdonk, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben have all been left out compared to the previous squad that faced Andorra for the WC qualifiers in November. All of them are injured.
Edgar Davids has not been called on due to his recent loss of form, the same goes for AZ player Barry van Galen.
Defenders Nigel de Jong and Jan Kromkamp return while AZ keeper Henk Timmer and SC Heerenveen winger Ugur Yildirim make their debut.
The full squad:
GOAL: Edwin van der Sar (Fulham, England), Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar).
DEFENCE: Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburger SV, Germany), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona, Spain), Nigel de Jong (Ajax), Johnny Heitinga (Ajax), Jan Kromkamp (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar), Mario Melchiot (Birmingham City, England).
MIDFIELD: Mark van Bommel (PSV Eindhoven), Denny Landzaat (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax), Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax).
FORWARDS: Romeo Castelen (Feyenoord), Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord), Roy Makaay (Bayern Munchen, Germany), Ugur Yildirim (SC Heerenveen).
Source: www.vi.nl
--------------------
Well I'm just happy Heitinga is back and likely to start :extatic:
Another thing that Marco van Basten is reponsible for is the great amount of Eredivisie players in the NT. I think that's quite a good development and it's a good thing AZ Alkmaar are being rewarded for their outstanding play and 2nd division in the league.
ALSO: After Thierry Henry put in a request at the Dutch FA that the Dutch NT would support his anti-racism efforts, the Dutch NT will be playing a black and white outfit in their match against England on February 9 (not too sure about the date, but it's in that area).
If I had to guess, I'd say this would be the formation:
-----------------Van der Sar-----------------
--Kromkamp---De Jong--Heitinga---Mathijsen--
------Sneijder---Van Bommel---Landzaat------
-Yildirim------------Makaay-----Van der Vaart-
But Van Basten is a big mistery. I could never be sure.
Things are continuously on the move at the Dutch National Team since Marco van Basten took over. No player is secure of his position and everyone who performs well has a shot of making it to the highest level of Dutch football.
"If you play well, I'll select you", Van Basten explains, "If a player is injured, I don't go fiddling with the 4-3-3 formation that is the very heart of our football culture, instead I look through the Eredivisie for the next best player. It's really quite simple, we have enough talent in our country"
Pierre van Hooijdonk, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben have all been left out compared to the previous squad that faced Andorra for the WC qualifiers in November. All of them are injured.
Edgar Davids has not been called on due to his recent loss of form, the same goes for AZ player Barry van Galen.
Defenders Nigel de Jong and Jan Kromkamp return while AZ keeper Henk Timmer and SC Heerenveen winger Ugur Yildirim make their debut.
The full squad:
GOAL: Edwin van der Sar (Fulham, England), Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar).
DEFENCE: Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburger SV, Germany), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona, Spain), Nigel de Jong (Ajax), Johnny Heitinga (Ajax), Jan Kromkamp (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar), Mario Melchiot (Birmingham City, England).
MIDFIELD: Mark van Bommel (PSV Eindhoven), Denny Landzaat (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax), Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax).
FORWARDS: Romeo Castelen (Feyenoord), Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord), Roy Makaay (Bayern Munchen, Germany), Ugur Yildirim (SC Heerenveen).
Source: www.vi.nl
--------------------
Well I'm just happy Heitinga is back and likely to start :extatic:
Another thing that Marco van Basten is reponsible for is the great amount of Eredivisie players in the NT. I think that's quite a good development and it's a good thing AZ Alkmaar are being rewarded for their outstanding play and 2nd division in the league.
ALSO: After Thierry Henry put in a request at the Dutch FA that the Dutch NT would support his anti-racism efforts, the Dutch NT will be playing a black and white outfit in their match against England on February 9 (not too sure about the date, but it's in that area).
If I had to guess, I'd say this would be the formation:
-----------------Van der Sar-----------------
--Kromkamp---De Jong--Heitinga---Mathijsen--
------Sneijder---Van Bommel---Landzaat------
-Yildirim------------Makaay-----Van der Vaart-
But Van Basten is a big mistery. I could never be sure.
Buy on AliExpress.com
