Euro 2012 - Holland preview

Despite a difficult looking group with Germany, Portugal and Denmark the Dutch are hopeful of going one better than they did in the 2010 World Cup and winning the Euro’s. The Dutch qualified with relative ease for the competition, losing just once to Sweden. They racked up 37 goals in the process, including eleven at home to San Marino! The boys in orange will certainly be ones to watch.

Captain

Captain Mark Van Bommel isn’t the most exciting player in the Dutch ranks, but he is certainly one of the most important. The PSV midfielder sits deep for the Dutch allowing the attacking exploits of Van Persie, Sneijder etc to work their magic. At the age of 35 this could also be Van Bommel’s last opportunity to lift a trophy with his country.

Key players

Robin Van Persie was the English Premier League’s top scorer last year and the player of the year winner and anyone who watched him on a consistent basis wouldn’t disagree with that award. However in qualifying he was far from the star man when it came to goals. He was over shadowed by Klaas Jan Huntelaar. The Schalke centre forward racked up twelve goals in qualifying compared to Van Persie’s 6. He could be key to the Dutch’s success in a difficult group.

The other people to keep your eye on are the midfielders. The Dutch team is full of attacking talent, enough to scare any opponent. With Sneijder, Robben and Van Der Vaart all playing a role, if the creativity flows the Dutch will be hard to stop.

Young players to watch

The Dutch squad is one full of experience but the one young player to watch has to be Luuk De Jong. The 21 year old FC Twente striker has been in fine form this season hitting 25 goals in just 32 appearances. Links to a host of Premier League clubs have appeared and the big centre forward will be looking to enhance his reputation further in Poland and Ukraine.

Manager

The experienced Van Marwijk has been managing for 20 years now, mostly in his native Holland, winning the Dutch Cup and the EUFA cup in his time with Feyenoord. He has now been with the national team since 2008. In South Africa his team gained few fans due to their abrasive style but made it to the final. Since then though Van Marwijk has been determined to change the image of football again. Gone was the image of total football synonymous with the Dutch in the eighties and nineties and in was a new more aggressive nature. However since then the Dutch have sparkled in Qualifying. Credit goes to him on that as he has brought attractive football back to Holland and hopefully next he will bring silverware.

Holland squad

Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea), Tim Krul (Newcastle).

Defenders: Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Malaga), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven).

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona), Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Lisbon), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham).

Forwards: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Siem de Jong (Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich).

Holland fixtures - Group B

Denmark: Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, 9^th June, 5:00PM

Germany: Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, 13^th June, 7:45PM

Portugal: Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, 17^th June, 7:45PM

Prediction

They will hope to squeeze out of a difficult group but will probably have to beat Portugal on the last day or get a big win against The Danes. If they do get through there will be a Quarter final with a team from a weak group A. So should get Semi Finals as a minimum.