Chivu expects no favours in Berne
June 16, 2008 at 8:13 pm | In Netherlands | 2 CommentsTags: Cristian Chivu, Marco van Basten, Netherlands, Stade de Suisse, Tricolorii
Cristian Chivu is desperate to reach the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals but the Romania captain refuses to accept that his former AFC Ajax team-mates in the Netherlands camp will do him a favour by smoothing the Tricolorii’s progress.
Win needed
With the Oranje already through as Group C winners, coach Marco van Basten has admitted he may rest players against Romania at the Stade de Suisse on Tuesday. A victory would ensure Romania’s passage to a tie with Spain regardless of the result between France and Italy in Zurich, yet Chivu expects tough opposition in Berne whatever his Dutch connections.
Oranje fans show their belief
June 14, 2008 at 1:05 pm | In Netherlands | Leave a CommentTags: Marco van Basten, Netherlands, Ruud van Nistelrooy
Renowned for their ‘Total Football’ in the 1970s, the Netherlands’ impressive start to UEFA Euro 2008™ has got the Oranje faithful flooding into Switzerland full of belief and they are totally engrossed in the exploits of Marco Van Basten’s men.
Great success
‘Total Football’, the playing system pioneered by the Dutch, brought great success for Johan Cruyff’s Ajax FC in the 1970s and saw the Dutch national team reaching successive finals of the FIFA World Cup in 1974 and 1978. Following the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Italy in their first match at UEFA EURO 2008™, as many as 50,000 Dutch fans are expected to take in the encounter with France tonight, and a third big screen has been installed in the city of Berne to cater for the influx of Oranje supporters.
Huge expectations
But are the Dutch fans getting too carried away with that victory against Italy and are they expecting too much? Is this really the Netherlands’ time to shine again or are we reading too much into one game? Tell us what you think.
Grounded Dutch focus on France
June 13, 2008 at 11:57 pm | In Netherlands | Leave a CommentTags: France, Marco van Basten, Netherlands
The Netherlands and France may have played just one game so far in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group C, yet the moods in the respective camps could hardly have been more contrasting ahead of Friday’s meeting at the Stade de Suisse in Berne. While Netherlands coach Marco van Basten was doing his utmost to calm expectations following the superb 3-0 victory over Italy on Monday, his opposite number Raymond Domenech attempted to reassure French fans that the Les Bleus were ready to improve on their subdued goalless draw against Romania.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
