"Because he[RvP] is one of the best no10's in the world" Van Marwijk.
The Dutch national manager Bert van Marwijk opted to play RvP behind the striker, in the no10
position, against Portugal last Sunday. He was desperate to turn things round and for once he gave
in to the strong calls in Holland to play Huntelaar, the Bundeslega top scorer, and RvP, the PL top
scorer, together up front.
"Because he[RvP] is one of the best no10's in the world" Van Marwijk.
The Dutch national manager Bert van Marwijk opted to play RvP behind the striker, in the no10
position, against Portugal last Sunday. He was desperate to turn things round and for once he gave
in to the strong calls in Holland to play Huntelaar, the Bundeslega top scorer, and RvP, the PL top
scorer, together up front.
There's no doubt that Arsenal striker Robin van Persie didn't live up to most people's
expectations at Euro 2012. In fact, nobody on the Dutch team had a performance they could write
home about. But he certainly isn't the first football star to have a mediocre major tournament and
he definitely won't be the last.
Countries have always had footballing stereotypes attached to them, often unwittingly reflecting
the nation's wider living philosophy. Erstwhile West Germany were all about strict formations,
defensive discipline and attacking organization; conversely, the Latin American countries exercised
their creative license with exuberance, as the samba beat of attacking laterals replaced the stoic
violin of conservative full-backs.
This article titled "Euro 2012 special, part two: when did Holland last play without a 'van'?"
was written by Barry Glendenning, James Dart and Rob Smyth, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 13th
June 2012 08.35 UTC
"When was the last time Holland played an international fixture without any players with
'van' in their name on the pitch or substitutes' bench?
It's D-day for Oranje. This is THE match, not only because of the disappointing start but also
because they are playing rivals Germany tonight. After the disappointing loss last Saturday
(Denmark beat them by 1-0) the Dutch guys have to be at their best behavior today. It will take a
lot of effort, skills and luck to beat Germany tonight.
Luck, we could posit, is more complex than simply being a matter of black and white. Whilst the
Netherlands have a right to feel a little aggrieved that a couple of refereeing decisions might not
have gone their way in Kharkiv this evening, there is a truth in the point that a team featuring
such names as Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and John Heitinga shouldn't be
depending upon the benevolence of the referees whistle in order to claim a point or more from a
match against the group outsiders in the finals of a major tournament.
There's a hot Dutch debate taking place across the sea concerning Arsenal's Robin van Persie and
Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. It appears the nation's football supporters are divided over who
should start as striker for the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
In one corner we have the 28-year-old Golden-Boot winner van Persie, who scored 30 league goals
for the Gunners this season and 37 overall, and in the other corner, 28-year-old Bundesliga
marksman Huntelaar, who scored 29 league goals and 48 overall in 47 games.
Good morning on this most bank holiday of bank holiday Mondays.
Actually, it's not a bank holiday for me, and neither is tomorrow. I get bank holidays, but
generally take them at other times of the year, and my wonderful and generous employer has chosen
not to give us the extra day tomorrow anyway, so while the rest of the country frolics in the
sunshine and the four day weekend, I'll be at work, trying to prevent babies from dying.
Arsenal are vying for the signature of Crewe Alexandra starlet
Nick Powell, who is also attracting interest from the likes of Manchester
United and Chelsea.
Robin van Persie and Tim Krul are finally making some moves to get past last Monday night's
altercations between the two of them. Tim Krul and Robin van Persie Dutch team-mates It was big
news when van Persie kept talking to Tim throughout the game, and was in front of Tim most times
the Newcastle goalkeeper got the [.
Robin van Persie and Tim Krul are finally making some moves to get past last Monday night's
altercations between the two of them. Tim Krul and Robin van Persie Dutch team-mates It was big
news when van Persie kept talking to Tim throughout the game, and was in front of Tim most times
the Newcastle goalkeeper got the [.
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul showed some rare maturity for one so young on Monday night, when he
didn't react too much to the taunts put out by his Dutch team mate, Robin van Persie. Tim Krul and
Robin van Persie - and these are team mates? The Arsenal captain was so intent on riling up KrulÂ
 throughout the game,  that we [.
Netherlands teammates Robin van Persie and Tim Krul nearly came to blows while playing on
opposite sides of Arsenal's 2-1 win over Newcastle on Tuesday. The following is a transcript of
their first meeting since that incident at the Dutch team's hotel for Euro 2012.
The Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie was in bullish mood after seeing the Gunners nick the win over
Newcastle in the 95th minute last night, and immediately confronted the Newcastle goalkeeper Tim
Krull. Van Persie had been frustrated by watching his Dutch team-mate continuously time-wasting
during the match and the Arsenal captain repeatedly complained to [.
Not content to simply score on goalkeepers at a near Ro-Messian rate, Robin van Persie seems to
have made it his mission to break them down mentally, as well. Even if they happen to be his
international teammates.
Throughout Arsenal's match against Newcastle on Monday, Van Persie, who scored an equalizer
seconds after Hatem Ben Arfa put the Magpies up 1-0 in the 14th minute, verbally prodded goalkeeper
Tim Krul.
Goodnight, Oranje. The Dutch team arrived at this years European Championships with high hopes,
having got to the World Cup final two years ago. This evening, however, they return home with only
three consecutive defeats under their belt and a nation wondering how a team with so many talented
individuals could have faltered so badly.
With the benefit of hindsight, there seems something inevitable about the crowning of Spain as
the world champions in South Africa two years ago. Yet the Netherlands came within minutes of
taking the match to a penalty shoot-out and since then have continued the form that they
demonstrated, becoming, in August of last year, only the second team in the history of the game to
reach number one in FIFAs world rankings without having won the tournament.
So there it is, then. The provisional England squad for the 2012 European Championships. On what
was at the time a slow news day, this was always likely to provoke a considerable amount of
comment, but the hysteria yesterday morning and earlier this afternoon might have taken the most
dedicated of frenzy-watchers by surprise.
So there it is, then. The provisional England squad for the 2012 European Championships. On what
was at the time a slow news day, this was always likely to provoke a considerable amount of
comment, but the hysteria yesterday morning and earlier this afternoon might have taken the most
dedicated of frenzy-watchers by surprise.
Germany vs Netherlands Matchday 2 of Group B Kharkiv, 20:45
One of the fiercest international rivals in world football takes place in Kharkiv today between
Germany and The Netherlands, and we'd bet our last penny that
Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler will be celebrating their 22-year
'anniversary' of bad blood by playing up the incident to anyone who wants to listen.
This article titled "Euro 2012: Wesley Sneijder slams 'pathetic egos' in Holland team" was
written by Marcus Christenson, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 13th June 2012 10.53 UTC
Wesley Sneijder has hit out at the "pathetic egos" inside the Holland squad as they prepare to
face Germany on Wednesday night.
Netherlands vs Denmark: Noon ET kick-off TV schedule Buy Holland and Denmark shirts It's time
for Holland and Denmark to do their talking on the pitch today. In the past several weeks, there
has been so many questions about the Dutch team, in...
This is the extent of their love for the "beautiful game" for these Polish deadbeats
Being behind the Iron Curtain infinitely beats the sort of crap that regularly infects the
Polish and Ukrainian leagues. The void left by Communism and increasing exposure to a
multi-culturalism has been filled over the years with even more racism and anti-semitism.
Euro 2012 has yet to begin, but the fears of fan racism have already begun to be realized.
During an open training session in Krakow, Poland, the Netherlands national team was reportedly
subjected to monkey noises and chants from fans in the crowd. The Dutch FA is not submitting a
formal complaint, so no action will be taken, but the incident highlights a bigger issue with the
tournament's opening games just hours away.
Euro 2012 News: Racism, John Terry, Ireland's stroll in the park and the next psychic -
originally posted on Soccerlens.com
After weeks of waiting, squad announcements, international friendlies and travel plans being
sorted, Euro 2012 is finally here! The first day of this three week-long journey sees the co-hosts
Poland in action against Greece and Russia take on Czech Republic, as a tight Group A will look to
take shape.
Arsenal players and transfer targets report from Holland v Denmark by BA Well that must have been
really frustrating for Robin van Persie. The Dutch team had loads of possession and 28 chances but
simply could not score. Van Persie missed a few half-chances and should still have done a bit
better but the Holland [.
Last night Bayern Munich played the Dutch national team in a friendly in Munich. Ironically, the
game was set-up as compensation for Arjen Robben getting injured while playing for Holland.
I say ironically as the Bayern fans vented their frustration at Robben's penalty miss in the
Champions League final against Chelsea on Saturday by repeatedly booing him.
Valencia advanced to the next stage of Europa League and simply glad not to pay for their
mistakes in throwing away a four goal advantage into only having two for the second leg against PSV
Eindhoven.
Adil Rami's goal was obviously the show for El Che on the night as not only he was the one
scoring the La Liga side's only goal in a1-1 draw, but the French international also got himself
send off, leaving some scarce in the last few minutes for his team.
Barcelona and Lionel Messi's spectacular showing in the Champions League on Wednesday apparently
inspired fellow La Liga sides on their Europa League adventure as once again, all of them picked up
important victories against their opponents.
Atletico Madrid, Athetic Bilbao and Valencia showed their credibility along with focus in the
competition, earning all a well deserved result which could a valuable asset for their upcoming
second leg fixtures.
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.
And so it begins. Following the many warnings about racial abuse and violence in Poland and
Ukraine, the BBC investigation revealing ugly incidents during matches and UEFA's ruling that
players will be booked for fleeing abuse, the first reported racist incident has already taken
place a full day before Euro 12 even starts.
All Americans participating in the Europa League reached the quarterfinals, with Jermaine Jones'
goal and assist helping Schalke to dominate Dutch team FC Twente.
