UEFA Euro 2012 Preview: Netherlands

The Dutch team is one of the favorites to win this tournament and they have certainly the potential to win it all. After being present in the 2010 World Cup final where they lost to Spain in Overtime, Netherlands has basically the same identity and the same core of players as in 2010. Two years ago, despite being a talented offensive team, Netherlands excelled in quick transitions especially from Arjen Robben, but this team is a more attractive squad than two years ago. They hold onto the ball for longer periods and the circulation of the ball is quicker and sharper.

Bert van Marwijk has been using a tradition double pivot formation in front of the back four and most likely Van Bommel and De Jong will be the two players chosen like they were in 2010. These two players have an excellent defensive positioning and play “hard”, they will allow players like Sneijder, Robben or Afellay to have more offensive freedom because they cover the field behind them. However having two holding midfielders’ means there is one less creative playmaker, so we cannot expect these players to create something relevant when they have the ball. This role is for Wesley Sneijder and although Sneijder is certainly capable of perform, he is coming from a very poor club season in Internazionale while in 2010, Sneijder dominated the clubs competition and was considered one of the best midfielders’ in the world.

Strenght(s):

• Attack: On the front, this team is simply devastating! They have objectivity, speed and technique in a variety of players. Robin van Persie enjoyed an excellent season in Arsenal and the same thing can be said of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in Schalke 04. Robben, Van der Vaart or Afellay are all versatile players and they combine pretty well with their striker.

Weakness(es):

• Defense: their defense is relatively weak! Giovanni van Bronckhorst has retired and they haven’t found yet an unquestionable good left back, Erik Pieters was the first option but he got injured and he is out of this tournament. Apparently the first choice is now Jetro Willems but he is only 18-years old and obviously experience isn’t a virtue. Their center back duo has some international experience, but in my opinion they aren’t top class players. In fact, this weakness, is probably the primary reason for Van Marwijk selecting two defensive minded players in his formation.