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Marco looks ahead to France…

June 12th, 2008 | By: Jan | 21 Comments »

“We shouldn’t be named favorites after one good match,” said Marco van Basten in the run up to the France game. “We are not there yet.”

Van Basten wanted to put a lid on all the euphoria surrounding Oranje after the win over the world champs. “Italy was a remarkable victory, but that match can’t be made the benchmark all of a sudden. I’ve seen wonderful stuff that we will use to build upon. We peaked as a unit. The players have realized that as well. Goal is now to hold on to that.”

“The most important thing for me, and for the players, is that everybody contributed. The team won. Some players excelled in assisting, others worked hard in creating space, they all had their value. That’s why I don’t want to go into that Man of the Match stuff. I can’t name just one player, because they all pulled their weight.”

“If I have to mention someone I’d rather mention players like Heitinga and Bouma, who were disappointed that they were benched but still showed a tremendous positive attitude off the pitch. That to me, is crucial.”

Marco: “Wes and Ruud weren’t my men of the match. It was Wilfred Bouma!”

The French team feels more pressure. William Gallas: “it felt as if we played with the brakes on. I can’t explain why. We may have to change our style, we may have to go back to the paced positioning play to outplay our opponent. We can neglect our defense but we need to think and look forward. We need points. We need a win. We need to take risks now.”

Marco van Basten: “France will probably play two strikers instead of three. We will change some details in the defensive strategy. And we expect a strongwilled and powerful France. Their opening game may have been a disappointment, but we know how hard it is to play Romania. We’ve met them twice in the qualifications and they are tough. France is still one of the world’s best football nations, so we won’t be expecting any presents.”

One present Van Basten did receive was Arjen Robben’s swift recovery. He trained with the group and seems to be ready for Romania. Wesley Sneijder in the meantime, had a fierce argument with a reporter who asked some cynical questions about Robben. “I’m sorry I lost my cool,” the Madrid danger man said later, “but I don’t like those kind of “man of glass” insinuations. I’ve seen how hard Arjen works to get back and I have shared his anguish, both now and in Madrid. He is so positive in the group and vital for our team, whether he plays or not. I needed to make a statement towards that reporter. I think Arjen deserves nothing but respect!”

Two other players weren’t on the training. Klaas Jan Huntelaar decided to rest his ankle as a precaution and Melchiot doesn’t seem to make good progress with his groin injury.

Robin van Persie also tried to tone the enthusiasm down a bit. “The France game will be harder. In the first place, they’ve seen us play against Italy and will be on their guard. This is not the Dutch team as they know it. Secondly, they have to bring the game to us, this time. They will have to attack and try to win. I rate them higher than Italy, today. They could have easily won the WC2006 finals, that was pretty close as I remember. The difference between the world cup holder and the runner up is never that big, so we’ve got another major opponent to play and we need to work really hard to be able to face them. But then again, so will they.”

Tags: Cruyff, Euro 2008, Henry, Holland, Melchiot, Oranje, Ribery, Rijkaard, Robben, The Netherlands, Van Bronckhorst, van Nistelrooy

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Comments

By bobotoh | June 12th, 2008 at 3:53 am

The most important thing is that they play for their country, not for themself (e.g, in order to be seen by scouts).

Posted from Indonesia

By Carlos | June 12th, 2008 at 4:24 am

Jan, if Holland does beat France, how would your team against Romania look ?

Mine would go like this

Sar (unless he asks for a rest)
Melchiot Heitinga Bouma de Cler
de Zeeuw Engelaar (de Jong has Yellow)
Affelay vPersie Robben
The Hunter

Other players get a rest…still a scary side huh ?

Posted from Singapore

By ferenc | June 12th, 2008 at 4:44 am

first of all we have to beat france and after we’ll have plenty of time to think about the rpumania game. i’m a little bit nervous. the italy game was beatiful but at the moment we should forget it for a while. france will be totally different. but they have their weakness. for ex as a barca fan i really know how vulnerable and slow thuram is. hope domenech will titularize abidal and not the more creative evra. we should beat them with our speed.

Posted from Hungary

By Jan | June 12th, 2008 at 4:58 am

Carlos, I guess Melchiot is a worry re: injury.
I’d probably rest Engelaar and let Heitinga do the holding role.
That forward midfield doesn’t look shabby. These types of players are actually needed against Romania. It depends, if Romania has a chance to qualify I wouldn’t play Robben nor Robin for the full game. It could be too challenging. Marco will want to finish first in the group to avoid Spain…

I assume he’ll talk to the players and anyone who wants to play - of the first starters - he’ll play. Some want the rhythm. Others (Sar, Ruud) may want a rest.

Posted from Australia

By frenchnetherlandsfan | June 12th, 2008 at 5:39 am

yes, first of all, beat france …
cause, dutch know how it’s difficult to play romania
don’t think france is under netherlands cause they played 0-0
the main chance we have is domenech will titularize malouda (strong but lost his technical skill since 2-3 years, he now loses most of his balls alone).
i disagree with ferenec .. thing u said in a previous post, makélélé is all but not slow.
if u see him play this year, last year, and ten years ago, u’d see his amazingly as fast and as precious.
thuram is a great man. he’s not as fast now that’s true, but he’s the most clever player i’ve ever seen, and do with experience, and think he played this year only aiming at being ready for his last big tournament with france. like in 2006 he’ll be there.
i really hope oranje won’t play with the 3-0 in their head, cause the match will be really different.
2-2 won’t be so bad.
@carlos, huntelaar is hurt for few days, not sur he’ll be ok for romania.

Posted from France

By sandesh | June 12th, 2008 at 6:20 am

it will be a pretty tough game against france
they usually start the tournament on a low but suddenly their big players perform and that makes the diffenence. its not the same french side we saw at world cup they r missing the zidane at centre. ribery is a good player but sometimes he looks way too disappointing. i watch bundesliga pretty much and their were not many instance wen he played that bad but wen i watched that game betn zenit and bayern he was way too bad. it happens sometimes but french team as a whole is not as fabuolus as we saw them at wc2006.
if henry is there then it will b a big challenge much bigger challenge i think anelka will b out if henry is fit. rest of the team will b the same.
wat i fear is dat our guys may get carried away by that 3-0 victory. and during the game too they may remember that game 4 days back. but this may not happen i know they have played many games at top level.and they kno their role. and keep their concentration and do it very calmly
many have seen wesley doing the tricks n all that and i biliv he will strongly marked against france so it may well b van der vaart who has take the responsibility this time around

Posted from Nepal

By RF | June 12th, 2008 at 6:29 am

Van persie is absolutely right, there’s no reason to believe the French game will be easier. Quite the contrary, in fact: since they know how well we play this time around, and they are seeking a victory, they will likely be a much tougher adversary than Italy. It’s truly the pool of death.

By Ono | June 12th, 2008 at 7:00 am

It’s gonna be an interesting match. France will seek the victory, and it will leave some space to be exploited by the Oranje. Thuram is a bit shaky, and I hope Afellay or Robben will have time to play even as a sub.

Posted from Japan

By Jan | June 12th, 2008 at 7:12 am

Robben is declared fit for the French game. And Chivu said that Romania will unleash hell on Italy

Posted from Australia

By van | June 12th, 2008 at 8:12 am

i think oranje should relax enough in the ec. it just the beginning. as some fans said ,we need to play 5 matches later.

also i expect the marco’s performance in next games. anyway, he gave us more surprise than any other members in oranje.

Posted from China

By ferenc | June 12th, 2008 at 8:28 am

frenchnetherlandsfan: i haven’t mentioned makelele,i said that thuram was slow.

Posted from Hungary

By richard | June 12th, 2008 at 8:32 am

France is a high-quality side, and this is a big game for France. They will be focused, so the Dutch must be as well. This will be a tough match, for sure. Score first–it will help!

Posted from United States

By Caleb | June 12th, 2008 at 10:22 am

I like the way that Sneijder defended Robben. It really seems like there is a good team spirit and unity with this group. That can only be a good thing.

Posted from Canada

By finnster01 | June 12th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

Very difficult and challenging game against a high quality side, but the key to this game is actually extremely simple: Put Kuyt on Ribery and man-mark Benzema at all times(preferably not Oijer, too slow). That’s it. We have at least a draw, which is all we will need.

Marco is reading this blog, right?

Posted from United States

By Phil | June 12th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

It’s worth noting too that this will be Holland’s second match in this stadium, at this hour… and they sure seemed to like it on Monday! Almost a home match for them!

Posted from United States

By Rob | June 12th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

Phil makes a good point - the lack of travelling is a real bonus for Oranje - means the support in the stadium will be great because all the Dutch fans have set up camp there and the players will be fresher.

Posted from Japan

By Rob | June 12th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

I also like the way he’s bigging up Bouma and Heitinga - sounds like he’s ready to rotate them in when needed.

Posted from Japan

By Mario Rosado (Dutch admirer) | June 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=545788&cc=3888

This group seems to be getting a long very well and they seem to be focused on the same goal: winning the EC.

By Marco VB | June 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm

Yes Finnster01, i regularly read this blog… just between us, i choose all my starting line-ups based on comments from this forum. I also base my tactics on the comments from this forum. It truly is a fountain of wisdom. On that note, have you guys got any more hints or strategies for me?? I really don’t know what to do about the France game coming up. I was thinking of putting Van Persie in a central defensive role just to give him some game time… does that sound right to you?!?! Also, i read somewhere that conjugal visits helped the Croatia team?!?! Maybe i’ll let Sylvie come along for the day to boost the boys spirits eh? Keep the tips flowing, and remember…… i’m reading every word you write.

By Jan | June 12th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

Marco, I thought you’d only consult me in private for this stuff!

Now you do it again. First you reject my Ajax plans and now you sort of bypass me and run to Finn for support.

I don’t want the bloggers to know who I really am, so keep a lid on buddy!

By the way, Danny says hello.

And remember: every disadvantage has it’s advantage!

Posted from Australia

By finnster01 | June 12th, 2008 at 10:22 pm

Marco,
only glad to help out mate. I’ll send my bill to KNVB.

Hup Hup Holland!

Posted from United States

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