By Nicholas Rigillo
NUREMBERG: There was tension in the Dutch camp ahead of Sunday’s Round of 16 match against Portugal amid reports that striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, midfielder Mark van Bommel and defender Khalid Boulahrouz had reacted furiously to news they would be dropped.
According to unconfirmed accounts from sources close to the Netherlands team, coach Marco van Basten was forced to hold an emergency meeting with his discontented players late on Friday in an attempt to restore harmony.
Van Basten had already made it clear in the preceding days that he was unhappy with van Nistelrooy’s performance, telling reporters Dirk Kuyt had a “big chance” of replacing the Manchester United striker against Portugal.
Another reason for dropping Van Nistelrooy may have to do with the fact that the outspoken striker was recently involved in a widely reported rift with Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair reportedly got into a fight during training in England and it has been claimed that the spat prompted Red Devils chief Alex Ferguson to axe the Dutch striker towards the end of last season.
Less expected was van Basten’s decision to replace van Bommel, who had been looking forward to facing his Barcelona teammate Deco in Nuremberg.
Dutch players have a reputation for infighting at major tournaments.
Back in 1996, for instance, Edgar Davids criticised then-coach Guus Hiddink and accused him of not listening to him and other black players such as Patrick Kluivert and Clarence Seedorf. Davids was eventually dumped from the Dutch squad, just days before the start of the European Championship in England.
And only last week, Dutch officials were forced to play down an alleged rift involving Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben after Van Persie had accused his teammate of being too egoistic.
The latest spat risked damaging Holland’s plans of avenging recent defeats against Portugal.
The Portuguese eliminated the Dutch in the semi-finals of the 2004 European Championship in Portugal and effectively prevented them from taking part in the 2002 World Cup thanks to a win and a draw against them in the tournament’s qualifying campaign.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s match, midfielder Rafael van der Vaart had said: “ We have a score to settle with Portugal. We lost against them two years ago but they had the advantage of playing on home soil.”
But the SV Hamburg star had also warned that crucial to Holland’s success would be the fact that the Dutch players should “play together as a team.” Defender Giovanni van Bronckhost, who returns to the squad after missing out on last week’s game against Argentina, added: “The last games (against Portugal) weren’t too positive for us. But this is a new game and offers us a new chance (to beat them).”
Van Bronckhost, who like Van Bommel plays his football at Barcelona, also warned that his good friend Deco was not Portugal’s only major threat.
“Of course he’s an important player for them, but they also have other great players like Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pauleta. Stopping Deco would be a big help, but it wouldn’t be enough to make us win,” he told reporters.
Van Bronckhost said both sides play similar styles of attacking football, meaning Sunday’s match was likely to be open and fun to watch.
Portugal’s Paulo Ferreira said his Chelsea team-mate Robben would be the man to watch in Nuremberg.
“I’ve known Robben for two years, I work with him every day, he is a very complicated player and it will be difficult to mark him. But I know some tricks of my own to stop him,” he said.
Ferreira was tipped to replace Miguel in Portugal’s defence precisely because of his first-hand knowledge of how Holland’s most dangerous man plays.
Ricardo Carvalho and Maniche also play alongside Robben at the London club.
Portugal were brimming with confidence after winning their group and have no injury concerns ahead of Sunday’s match.
According to Eusebio, Portugal’s all-time greatest, this side is better than the one that reached 3rd place in 1966, their best World Cup result to date.
“This team is better than the one I used to play in. I think they can reach the semi-final and even more,” Eusebio said. (DPA) |
