Sneijder: we can win the EC!

This week it’s exactly four years ago when Wesley Sneijder helped Oranje qualify for the EC2004 with one goal and three assists against Scotland.

Asked what he is still left of the magical night, when Oranje crushed Scotland with 6-0, the answer is quick and dry. “Nothing. Most interviewers ask me about that game, but I don’t want to live in the past. I still have the shirt of my opponent of that night somewhere in my closet, but that’s about it. People always ask me if that’s my breakthrough match for Oranje, but it wasn’t really. I only played a couple of minutes on the tournament. My real breakthrough came later.”

Sneijder likes to look at the present. And the future. Sneijder can qualify with Oranje tonight for another EC. The fact that team manager Van Basten again choses to play with a lot of creative players pleases Sneijder. ” I hope this will set a trend. I expect that the team manager will further pursue this concept and that we will finetune this towards the EC. He knows what our qualities are. There aren’t a lot of countries who can bring so many gifted and creative players to the fore.”

Sneijder sees a lot of potential for Oranje. But, there is still some improvement to be made. “Look at what we have: a defensive block that hasn’t given away much. We have control at the back. In my eyes, we don’t need to work to hard on that, towards the EC. In a defensive sense, I think we should be satisfied. Offensively, we need to get a block of four or five players who are capable of deciding matches. If those two blocks gel well together, well…we can have a great summer! We do have the material to win this EC.”

We saw a glimpse of what Sneijder means. In the first half against Slovenia. Van der Vaart, Van Persie, Seedorf and Sneijder had a multiple of positioning-plays and combinations. ‘We were threatening, we had variance and we deserved to lead 3-0 at half time. But we didn’t and the second half was pretty poor. So, it’s logical that the crowd was unhappy. You could see the importance of Van Persie and Van der Vaart in that situation, when they had to leave the pitch.”

When Robben came on, he played as a classical left winger which ended the position changes. Sneijder: “These are things we need to work on. It wouldn’t be logical for Robben and me to switch and for me to play left winger, but we will need to think about remaining creative and unpredictable when one or two players aren’t able to play. This is stuff we need to work on in the lead up to the EC.”

For Sneijder, the EC2008 is the tournament for him to present himself internationally. He got some minutes in the EC2004 and wasn’t too successful at the WC2006. Van Basten had him play in the holding midfielder’s role, right in front of defense. “That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have played there,” he says now.

“I had too many tasks. The holding position is not my position. I need the freedom to go deep, to shoot at goal and to enter the box. But you know, what do you do? You’re young, you want to play. I didn’t have any status in Oranje and I was glad I got the chance. But, with my current experience I now would put my hand up and say: coach, I don’t think it will work. With this EC, I think people may expect something from me. I have those expectations too. Now you should be able to see I am a Real Madrid player.”

His new Spanish side is exactly what he hoped it would be. Real is the top. In every aspect. If the team takes the plane to an away game, it’s a private jet with black leather chairs and the players’ names are embroide in the headrests. The medical staff is world class and there is ample room for improvisation on the pitch.

“The way we started against Slovenia is like we play at Real. Coach Schuster always tells the midfielders and strikers: go out there and do what you do. Have fun! So typical. And the way the players treated me in my first match. Guti immediately played the ball to me when I had two opponents next to me. Eh, I thought… in Amsterdam players wouldn’t dare to. That’s the type of attitude I miss in Oranje still. The guts to play the tough balls. Some guys don’t dare to play that risky pass, but sometimes that risky ball is the one ball you need to play to get ahead.”

Wesley Sneijder will become a better player in Madrid. Like the boys who went to play for Liverpool, Arsenal, AC Milan or HSV Hamburg. “If you can smelt these players into a team, with a lot of variety, we can play any opponent silly. I am certain of that.”

source: www.ad.nl