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 Sad man! Kluivest! | I'm sorry, Dutchpeople, but I really don't like your team. You have Kluivert in it. He is the most arrogant . . . . . . . Having said that, I reckon that the "fear factor" eclipsed the arrogance last night. The whole team was obviously as tense as can be - the oranje crowd, equally so. While the small percentage of Danish support bellowed their hearts out; the massive Dutch gathering remained largely sullenly silent. Here's another thing. You can't tar all people with the same brush, as they say; for instance, I am English - but that doesn't make me a hooligan (and I know of none of these excuses for "fans" - not even a potentially possibly could be one) - but I cannot help but compare the support from the Dutch fans last night - to the fans of Man Utd. Seems they only cheer when they're winning; perhaps the players could do with a bit of cheering up when they're struggling?? Anyway, the Dutch came out comfortable winners in the end - but the luck-factor was still on their side. The Danes hit the post. The Danes missed a penalty. Holland's first goal, followed a pass into the penalty area (or thereabouts) where two players were in obvious off-side positions. Oh well - can't say I'll miss the Danes, for sure!! The Scandinavian countries have all been pretty disappointing and presenting us with dull football. Stodgy. Give me the Latins any day!! :)
VIVA!!!! FORZA!!!! (Sorry, I got carried away; perhaps I should be! It's difficult to write about these games the day after!) |
Teams and things
DENMARK (4-4-2): 1 P Schmeichel (Sporting Lisbon) - 12 S Colding (Brondby), 2 M Schjønberg (1FC Kaiserlautern; sub: 6 T Helveg, AC Milan, 81min), 3 R Henriksen (Panathinaikos), 5 J Heintze (PSV Eindhoven) - 19 M Bisgaard (Udinese) 7 A Nielsen (Tottenham Hotspur; sub: 15 S Tøfting, MSV Duisburg, 60), 20 T Gravesen (SV Hamburg; sub: 14 B S Nielsen, AB Copenhagen, 67), 8 J Grønkjaer (Ajax) - 9 J D Tomasson (Feyenoord), 11 E Sand (Schalke 04). Substitutes not used: 16 T Sørensen (Sunderland), 22 P Kjaer (Silkeborg), 4 J Hogh (Chelsea), 13 M Laursen (Verona), 10 M Jørgensen (Udinese), 17 B Goldbaek (Fulham), 18 M Molnar (Kansas City Wizards), 21 M Beck (Derby County). Booked: A Nielsen.
HOLLAND (4-4-2): 1 E van der Saar (Juventus; sub: 22 S Westerveld, Liverpool 89) - 2 M Reiziger (Barcelona), 13 B Konterman (Feyenoord), 4 F de Boer (Barcelona), 12 G van Bronckhorst (Rangers) - 5 B Zenden (Barcelona), 7 P Cocu (Barcelona), 8 E Davids (Juventus), 11 M Overmars (Arsenal; sub: 16 R de Boer, Barcelona, 60) - 10 D Bergkamp (Arsenal; sub: 20 A Winter, Ajax, 74), 9 P Kluivert (Barcelona). Substitutes not used: 18 E de Goey (Chelsea), 6 C Seedorf (Internazionale), 14 P van Vossen (Feyenoord), 15 P Bosvelt (Feyenoord), 17 P van Hooijdonk (Vitesse Arnhem), 19 A Numan (Rangers), 21 R Maakay (Deportívo la Coruña). Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Reiziger, Konterman.
Referee: U Meier (Switzerland).
