UEFA Euro 2012 Group B (NED/DEN/GER/POR)

[cgf]

But but but Van Persie is one of the best strikers in the world. ((

And Holland got 0 point with only 2 goals

The Dutch were also a broken team that had no unity or interplay. A bunch of talented individuals playing 1 on 5-6. That falls on the players, but also the coach for picking those players. Maybe if he played Huntelaar up front with Sneijder, RVP and Affelay behind him and Strootman as one of the pivots, maybe even Georginio or Fer if the coach was really bold, they could've had some fluidity and seen their players playing up to their abilities and working together rather than getting in each others way. Plus that poor kid at LB was out of his level, I'd have pushed De Jong into his spot since he'd at least be able to defend that spot well.

The Dutch **** the bed, but judging players based on their struggles for their national sides too harshly is silly, especially with the egos the have in the Netherlands.

[TheAdmiral]

But but but Van Persie is one of the best strikers in the world. ((

And Holland got 0 point with only 2 goals

That's what happens when the entire team isn't built around Diva van Persie.

[TheAdmiral]

The Dutch were also a broken team that had no unity or interplay. A bunch of talented individuals playing 1 on 5-6. That falls on the players, but also the coach for picking those players. Maybe if he played Huntelaar up front with Sneijder, RVP and Affelay behind him and Strootman as one of the pivots, maybe even Georginio or Fer if the coach was really bold, they could've had some fluidity and seen their players playing up to their abilities and working together rather than getting in each others way. Plus that poor kid at LB was out of his level, I'd have pushed De Jong into his spot since he'd at least be able to defend that spot well.

The Dutch **** the bed, but judging players based on their struggles for their national sides too harshly is silly, especially with the egos the have in the Netherlands.

Affelay? After the first match against Denmark it was obvious Affelay wasn't going to produce much. If I were the coach, I'd have replaced him with either Kuyt or Narsingh.

In my opinion, Van Marwijk should have selected Vurnon Anita (and perhaps Urby Emanuelson) and should have given the starting LB position to Anita. Those guys would have worked their asses off and have more (significant) minutes/games under their belts. That way, you'd be able to keep De Jong at the DM position. Willems will be a good player in the future from what I've seen out of him, but expecting the 18-year old to perform at a high level against the best players of the world is asking too much, especially since he lacks so much experience. He still has so much to learn.

Although Van Der Vaart didn't play his worst game yesterday, I firmly believe Van Marwijk should have given Strootman a shot. Sneijder, apparently wasn't happy starting yesterday's match from the left side, so van Marwijk switched things up in the second half, where Sneijder ended up in the middle, Robben moved to the left and Van Persie to the right. They still weren't able to produce ****. Portugal was by far the better team, just like how Germany basically dominated the Dutch.

There's still so much to 'analyse' about the performances from the Dutch, but I'll stop right here.

C. Ronaldo was playing at such a high level yesterday. Actually,the entire Portuguese team performed well. Anyway, as always, Ronaldo is fun to watch when he's playing like that. Let's see whether he can duplicate his current success in the next match.

[jax98]

Despite going home now, I think Denmark did well in a tough group.

[TheAdmiral]

Despite going home now, I think Denmark did well in a tough group.

Absolutely, they were the absolute underdogs. They shouldn't have lost against Portugal (they gave it away in the end), but other than that they definitely played well above expectations.

[Point forward]

Despite going home now, I think Denmark did well in a tough group.

Denmark can leave with their head held high. Instead of being cannon fodder, they scared all three other teams and could easily have ended with 5 points instead of 3. Guys like Bendtner, Agger, Krohn Dehli and Kvist were impressive, and they played as a TEAM. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 2-3 vs Portugal - a draw would have been gold. But still

[jax98]

I swear, I could hear like five houses just scream NOOOOO when Portugal's third goal hit its mark.

IMO, we should have had Anders Lindegaard (Manchester United) in the goal instead of Stephen Andersen.

[Andre3822]

Kudos to Denmark, played with unity.

That's the difference between the current Dutch team and the Dutch team in '10, the latter had unity - something the current team does absolutely not have. They are talented, obviously.
A strike force of Sneijder,VDV,Persie,Robben,Huntelaar should definitely produce better results.
I myself would have tried Strootman to dictate the midfield, but that change wouldn't of probably gotten them out of the group.

It was an interesting group, the Portuguese are good, like serious-good.
They played neck-to-neck with a strong German team and Holland didn't even have a chance against them. Portugal had 6-7 100% goal chances , could of easily ended up 6-1 or something in the likes of that if it weren't for poor finishing.

[Point forward]

That's the difference between the current Dutch team and the Dutch team in '10, the latter had unity - something the current team does absolutely not have. They are talented, obviously. A strike force of Sneijder,VDV,Persie,Robben,Huntelaar should definitely produce better results. I myself would have tried Strootman to dictate the midfield, but that change wouldn't of probably gotten them out of the group.

There are rumors that the Dutch team is split into 3 factions:
* The Sneijder faction who favors the finesse "total football" (Ajax and younger players)
* The van Persie faction who favors the physical English style (EPL and older players)
* The van Bommel faction of neutrals (Bundesliga players)

Apparently, van Marwijk tried to cater to both Sneijder and van Persie, but ended up by pi**ing both off. But then, if you have such a rift in the first place, it probably tells more about the players than the coach.

[Andre3822]

That's the difference between the current Dutch team and the Dutch team in '10, the latter had unity - something the current team does absolutely not have. They are talented, obviously. A strike force of Sneijder,VDV,Persie,Robben,Huntelaar should definitely produce better results. I myself would have tried Strootman to dictate the midfield, but that change wouldn't of probably gotten them out of the group.

There are rumors that the Dutch team is split into 3 factions:
* The Sneijder faction who favors the finesse "total football" (Ajax and younger players)
* The van Persie faction who favors the physical English style (EPL and older players)
* The van Bommel faction of neutrals (Bundesliga players)

Apparently, van Marwijk tried to cater to both Sneijder and van Persie, but ended up by pi**ing both off. But then, if you have such a rift in the first place, it probably tells more about the players than the coach.

Obviously there are a lot of egos in that team, Marwijk is a weak player manager.
I would love to see Guus Hiddink lead his country in 2014, the way he introduced Russia to world football in 08 was a masterpiece. The Dutchmen need an authority upfront...
Players must play for the team, not the other way around.

/e- Given Sneijder's run of recent form, I would question his abilities to dictate this team.

[USA]

Dutch teams always have quality players but team unity always seems to be their issue. A lot of hard headed players who think they are too good to work for each other. I think Robben is one of the worse.

[theTROOF]