Euro Cup 2012- Team Profile: Netherlands (Holland)

There is less than 12 hours to begin the world’s one of the most exciting tournament euro Cup 2012 where all 16 qualified European giants will fight for the cup.

   www.anantasports.com is bringing the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is Netherlands. Netherlands is taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of coach Bert van Marwijk. 

Bert van Marwijk’s side after losing the final agains Spain two years ago now wants to prove their talent in Euro 2012 and Holland qualify for the Euro 2012 as a winner of Group E ahead of Sweden Hungary and Finland. Holland returned to competitive action and Dutch clearly struggled to shake off the disappointment of missing out on their first World Cup title in history.

Nevertheless, after three unimpressive victories, the Dutch were back to their best as they put in breathtaking performances against Sweden and Hungary (twice) to make it clear that they are a force to be reckoned with in Poland and Ukraine.

Their only major piece of silverware came at the 1988 European Championship. Marco van Basten's famous volley and a Ruud Gullit header gave them a 2-0 victory against the Soviet Union.

Netherland Football Team for Euro 2012

Since then they have reached the knock-out stages of five successive tournaments but have not gone beyond the semi-finals. The Dutch have reached three World Cup finals (1974, 1978, 2010), but on each occasion they came out second best.

Coach Bert van Marwijk 

 Bert van Marwijk Van Marwijk replaced Marco van Basten as national team coach after Euro 2008 and has so far done everything right that his predecessor did not and oversaw Holland's flawless qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

He led his side to the final in South Africa, masterminding wins against Brazil and Uruguay, but Holland's robust approach in the defeat to Spain earned Van Marwijk plenty of criticism, with Johan Cruyff branding the Dutch display "anti-football".

Netherlands Coach Bert van Marwijk

Captain Mark Van Bommel

The influential midfielder didn't make a single appearance for Oranje from July 2006 until August 2008 because of a conflict with then national team coach Van Basten, but made his long awaited comeback the moment the Euro '88 hero left his position.

Van Bommel has since developed into a key player for the Netherlands and has been the engine that keeps the machine running in the past few years.

The player, who has annoucned he is leaving AC Milan to return to PSV, formed a superb partnership with Nigel de Jong as Holland's defensive midfielders at the 2010 World Cup and Van Bommel's intelligent movement, aggressive tackling, superb vision and leadership skills make him the first name on Van Marwijk's list ahead of every game.

Holland Captain Mark van Bommel

Player to watch:Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder has already made over 80 international appearances for the Netherlands since making his debut in April 2003 and the Inter playmaker is the 2010 World Cup finalists' undisputed star player at the moment.

The former Ajax and Real Madrid man is at the heart of every Dutch attack and his accurate long passes and intelligent through balls make life difficult for every defence, while Sneijder is a major threat from set-pieces and long-range strikes, too.
 With 24 international goals, he has found the net more often than any other midfielder in the history of Dutch football

Holland Midfielder wesley sneijder

Jersy:

Brand: Nike
Home Jersey: Orange
Away Jersey: Black with orange highlight on right shoulder

Holland Home and Away jersy

How Holland Qualify for Euro 2012:

Holland Qualify for the Euro 2012 as agroup winner of Qualifying group E ahead of Sweden, Hungary and Finland. 

GROUP E	GP	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Netherlands (Q)	10	9	0	1	29	27
2	Sweden (Q)	10	8	0	2	20	24
3	Hungary	10	6	1	3	8	19
4	Finland	10	3	1	6	0	10
5	Moldova	10	3	0	7	-4	9
6	San Marino	10	0	0	10	-53	0

Qualifying Results:

Sep 3, 2010: San Marino 0-5 Netherlands
Sep 7, 2010: Netherlands 2-1 Finland
Oct 8, 2010: Moldova 0-1 Netherlands 
Oct 12, 2010: Netherlands 4-1 Sweden
Mar 25, 2011:  Hungary 0-4 Netherlands
March 29, 2011: Netherlands 5-3 Hungary
Sep 2, 2011: Netherlands 11-0 San Marino
Sep 6, 2011: Finland 0-2 Netherlands
Oct 7, 2011: Netherlands 1-0 Moldova
Oct 11, 2011: Sweden 3-2 Netherlands

Team Squad of Netherland for Euro 2012:

Coach: Bert Van Marwijk

Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea), Tim Krul (Newcastle)

Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Malaga), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven)

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona), Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Lisbon), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham)

Forwards: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Luciano Narsingh (Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

Style of play: Coach Bert Van Marwijk normally uses a 4-2-3-1 system that stresses attacking soccer built on a solid midfield foundation. Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong are the twin midfield pillars operating in front of the back four, although de Jong does get forward in attack. Wesley Sneijder operates as the midfield creator in the centre of the park, while Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt offer options on the wings, often switching flanks to drag defenders out of position. Up front, Robin van Persie relies on the service of the midfield trio, but will also drop back and create chances for himself.