So that's it then, it's official, Robin van Persie is on his way.
It's a pity it's ended this way, with van Persie (prompted by his agents, Kees Vos and Darren
Dein) having forced his way out of the club by publicly undermining the club of which he was
captain. It was clear when he came on as a sub against Cologne at the weekend, when the Arsenal
fans in the house gave our erstwhile hero the most tepid of welcomes, that his statement had hit
home; his hero status had evaporated.
So that's it then, it's official, Robin van Persie is on his way.
It's a pity it's ended this way, with van Persie (prompted by his agents, Kees Vos and Darren
Dein) having forced his way out of the club by publicly undermining the club of which he was
captain. It was clear when he came on as a sub against Cologne at the weekend, when the Arsenal
fans in the house gave our erstwhile hero the most tepid of welcomes, that his statement had hit
home; his hero status had evaporated.
The Holland manager Bert van Marjwick must be thanking his lucky stars that he has got such a
talented bunch of footballers to make a serious attempt at winning the European Championships that
begin this week, and one of them, Ibrahim Afellay, feels he has a special relationship with the
Arsenal hitman Robin Van Persie, [.
What ho Arsenal fans? After two weeks of wandering in the interlull desert, with only the horse
flies that feast upon our vapid flesh for company, a light twinkles on the horizon. Norwich be thy
name! I can almost feel that 9am train beer (is there a better kind of beer?) slinking seductively
down my gullet and slaking the thirst.
Cristiano Ronaldo was back to his brilliant best as Portugal beat Holland 2-1 to send the 2010
World Cup finalists home after they failed to win a game at Euro 2012. The win helped Portugal
finish second in the "Group of Death, and they will now play the Czech Republic in the
quarter-finals next week, while Germany, who beat Denmark 2-1 will play Greece in their
quarter-final tie.
Well, that's Bert van Marwijk out of a job then. Ten early minutes of masterful control
culminated in a fantastic Rafael van der Vaart curler from the edge of the area to put Holland
within one goal of the winning margin required to stand a chance of making it out of Group B alive,
but a Dutch side top-heavy with at least one too many squabbling, diva-ish malcontents soon
reverted to type gradually dissolving into a fine mist while allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to step
into the breach, get his arse in gear and finally put in a shift befitting his imperious domestic
season.
The Flimsy 'Spine' of the Dutch Formation allowed the Portuguese Midfield 3 to blunt their
attack. And when the Dutch Full Backs Bombed forward, Ronaldo and Nani were afforded acres of prime
real estate in their favorite attacking zones to do their damage. Ronaldo punished them for this.
If Nani was on his game, the scoreline might have been 4-1.
Dirk Kuyt has expressed his dismay at losing his place in Holland's starting side and says he will
be doing all he can to regain his place at Euro 2012.
The 31-year-old has been a regular for the Oranje since making his debut in 2004 and played a
pivotal role as they reached the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.
Robin Van Persie finally scored after his 11th attempt (Six on target, 5 off). But so did Mario
Gomez, twice in fact. The German striker showed a wonderful touch, a sort of Bergkampesque
pirouette to score his first goal after receiving the ball from Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Schweini was on point again slipping in Gomez as the Dutch criminally went to sleep for
Germany's second goal.
After losing their opening game against Denmark, the Netherlands needed to get some points on
the board, albeit against an in-form German side. However, once again, a failure to put away their
chances cost the Dutch dear as Germany registered a deserved victory.
The Netherlands' quest to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Denmark in their Euro 2012
opener won't cost manager Bert van Marwijk his job, no matter how it unfolds.
Van Marwijk has been given a vote of confidence by the Dutch FA entering Wednesday's massive
match against Germany, one that could see the Oranje -- the 2010 FIFA World Cup runners-up and one
of the favorites to win Euro 2012 -- get eliminated from the competition.
Some quick thoughts thus far on Euro 2012: Poland vs. Greece (1 -1) I really liked the look of Poland in the early exchanges of the
game - they allowed the Greeks to have possession but once the ball was won - they attacked with
great speed. Their RB Pisczek (dunno how to spell his name properly) was impressive bombing down
the flanks as he combines pace, control and intelligence.
An exciting first day but today brings two highly anticipated matches since it's Group B the
undisputed Group of Death:
9 June 2012 - Final tournament Group stage (Group B) More » Netherlands 18.00 Denmark Referee:
Damir Skomina (SVN) – Stadium: Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv (UKR)
Players we'll be watching for: besides the established Dutch stars (Sneijder, Robben, Van
Persie, Huntelaar, van der Vaart), we'll be looking for younger guys like Ibrahim Affelay
(Barcelona) and Kevin Strootman to play.
La selección Holandesa (Holanda la naranja mecánica) en la Eurocopa Polonia y Ucrania 2012
uniforme, estadÃsticas, historia,seleccionados y análisis. Los PaÃses bajos,
Netherlands.
Cuando se piensa en la Eurocopa de naciones la imagen que se viene a la mente del aficionado
futbolero es el golazo de Marco Van Basten en la final de la Eurocopa de 1988, Gullit , Van
Basten,Frank Rijkaard y compañÃa causaron sensación con el entrenador Rinus Michels y ganaron el
único titulo de la naranja mecánica en su historia.
In attesa di scegliere i 23 definitivi, che saranno protagonisti a Euro 2012, il tecnico
dell'Olanda, Bert van Marwijk, ha operato una prima cernita el gruppone iniziale e diffuso la lista
dei 27 provvisori che sono stati chiamati a far parte del ritiro orange (parte oggi, ndr). Resta a
casa, sorprendentemente, il rossonero Urby Emanuelson,Continua a leggere .
Right then, stupid pointless, irritating internationals are out of the way, now we can get back
to the real thing.
So far there have been no reports of maimings, snappings, twistings or any other ings which
might prove damaging to an Arsenal player's chances of playing on Saturday. Robin van Persie played
45 minutes against England, Bert van Marwijk saying that he'd spoken with the skipper and because
he'd had a bit of a groin problem he agreed to only play him for a half.
This is the internationals wrap up thread. Try to contain your excitement.
We'll get back to Liverpool soon enough, as we're now more than halfway there, and for the most
part it was a successful Friday for Liverpool's internationals. It was a complete success for us,
though, as we didn't see anyone pick up an injury on the day.
How does the Netherlands Football Federation justify giving Bert Van Marwijk a contract till
2016? How? This was a beaten down Dutch team, a team full of passengers, a collection of
individuals, no matter how talented with no connection to the other excep to their self.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former Spurs boss Martin Jol on Monday quit as coach of Dutch fallen
giants Ajax, who said they had accepted his resignation. As Frank De Boer, assistant to national
coach Bert Van Marwijk, prepared to take over on a temporary basis, news of Jol's decision fuelled
rumours in England that he [.
Bayern Munich will play Holland in a friendly next year to compensate the German champions for
losing Arjen Robben to an injury aggravated during the World Cup in South Africa. The game will be
played at Bayern's Allianz Arena on May 22, 2012
The Dutch football association (KNVB) and Bayern had been embroiled in a war of words for many
months over Robben, with both sides pointing the finger of blame at the other for the former
Chelsea and Real Madrid winger's injury problems.
Their Words "We were looking for a trainer with a wealth of experience, with personal and technical
expertise. Van Gaal earned his spurs not only nationally, but internationally as well and we know
him as a dedicated and highly driven coach." KNVB director Bert van Oostveen. Other Sources Tim
Howard eyes future MLS return - from Fox Soccer's Ives Galarcep: "but that's something I'd like to
do long term.
We continue our Oranje analysis and will focus on our midfield now.
The Holding Block
Mark van Bommel & Nigel de Jong. It was the fixed due Bert van Marwijk deployed. No questions
asked. But also no prisoners taken. The lock on the door of the somewhat feeble defence. Chances
are these [read more]
Ibi Afellay was back in Endhoven for the friendly against Austria and he was there as a starter
( he got Van Marwijk's confidence when Robben got injured) and became a Barcelona player as
well.
Bert van Marwijk compared Afellay with Zidane, a bit, when he said: "Every creative player wants
[read more]
