Holland squad
Goalkeepers
Maarten STEKELENBURG
22.09.82
Ajax
10 caps (0 goals)
Second-choice keeper but will take the No 1 shirt when Van der Sar quits after Euro 2008. Has improved this season and is now a key player at Ajax. Good with the ball at his feet. Deaf in one ear.
Henk TIMMER
03.12.71
Feyenoord
5 caps (0 goals)
Third-choice keeper who has looked a bit rusty recently. Joined Feyenoord two years ago after a disagreement with Louis Van Gaal at AZ. Timmer’s first club, Zwolle, are naming a stand after him.
Edwin VAN DER SAR
29.10.70
Manchester United (Eng)
123 caps (0 goals)
Captain, record caps holder and the team’s best player in qualification. Seldom makes mistakes and is the leader of the defence. Will quit the national team after Euro 2008.
Defenders
Wilfred BOUMA
15.06.78
Aston Villa (Eng)
32 caps (2 goals)
Can play in central defence or at left-back and could keep Mathijsen out of the team. Has gained more physical power in the Premier League. Started career as a left-winger at Fortuna Sittard.
Tim DE CLER
08.11.78
Feyenoord
12 caps (0 goals)
Regarded as the best left-back in Holland. Loves to get forward and seems to have benefited from Van Basten’s new system. Has finally become a first-choice after being in and out of the team.
Nigel DE JONG
30.11.84
Hamburg (Ger)
20 caps (0 goals)
Utility player who provides cover at right-back or right-half but is at his best as a defensive midfielder. Has had a good season at Hamburg. Father Jerry won three caps in the 1980s.
John HEITINGA
15.11.83
Ajax
33 caps (5 goals)
Aerially strong central defender in the best form of his career and also a regular scorer right now. Will join Atletico Madrid this summer. His girlfriend is the sister of ex-international Boudewijn Zenden.
Joris MATHIJSEN
05.04.80
Hamburg (Ger)
29 caps (2 goals)
Usually a solid marker and normally strong in the air but lacks the ability to build from the back. A dreadful performance against Austria in March could cost him his starting place.
Mario MELCHIOT
04.11.76
Wigan (Eng)
20 caps (0 goals)
Strong-tackling right-back who loves to get forward. Returned from the international wilderness last year. Joined Wigan from Rennes last summer. Of Surinamese origin, born in Amsterdam.
Andre OOIJER
11.07.74
Blackburn (Eng)
34 caps (2 goals)
Central defender or right-back, strong in the air and a good marker. Forced his way out of PSV to join Blackburn two years ago. Has suffered a number of long-term injuries during his career.
Midfielders
Ibrahim AFELLAY
02.04.86
PSV Eindhoven
2 caps (0 goals)
Technically sound but injury-prone midfielder who loves to dribble. Can play on the right of midfield or in a creative role. Of Moroccan descent.
Demy DE ZEEUW
26.05.83
AZ Alkmaar
12 caps (0 goals)
Utility player who provides cover for the right midfield holding role in the national team set-up. Suffered a double fracture of
his right leg at the age of 20 and it is now misaligned.
Orlando ENGELAAR
24.08.79;
Twente Enschede;
3 caps (0 goals)
Holding midfielder in with a shout.
Wesley SNEIJDER
09.06.84
Real Madrid (Spa)
43 caps (8 goals)
Creative midfielder almost certain to start. Played as a defensive midfielder at the last World Cup but is really an attack-minded player. Shoots well with either foot and is a free-kick specialist.
Giovanni VAN BRONCKHORST
05.02.75
Feyenoord
75 caps (4 goals)
Won most of his caps as a left-back but has moved to midfield under Van Basten and will fill the left-sided holding role at the finals. Of Moluccan descent.
Rafael VAN DER VAART
11.02.83
Hamburg (Ger)
52 caps (10 goals)
Creative midfielder who finally seems set to get a starting place at a major finals. Likely to leave Hamburg this summer; he’d
prefer to go to Spain, the country of his maternal grandparents.
Forwards
Ryan BABEL
19.12.86
Liverpool (Eng)
23 caps (4 goals)
A Van Basten favourite and surprisingly made the 2006 World Cup squad. Learned his football on the streets of Amsterdam. Has speed and power but sometimes lacks ball control and vision.
Klaas-Jan HUNTELAAR
12.08.83
Ajax
11 caps (6 goals)
In-form striker, leading the Dutch League scorers’ chart and set to join a bigger, foreign club. A serious candidate to replace Van Nistelrooy in the Holland starting line-up. Lacks a bit of pace.
Dirk KUIJT
22.07.80
Liverpool (Eng)
35 caps (6 goals)
The forward isn’t considered an option out wide any more in the new system and will make the squad only if Van Nistelrooy or Huntelaar is injured.
Arjen ROBBEN
23.01.84
Real Madrid (Spa)
31 caps (8 goals)
When fit and on form, he is Holland’s best winger, creating havoc with his pace and dribbling skills. But Robben is so often injured he can’t be relied on. Has a reputation for diving.
Ruud VAN NISTELROOY
01.07.76
Real Madrid (Spa)
59 caps (30 goals)
Returned to the squad last year after criticising Van Basten’s squad selection. Should be the lone striker in the new system. Opted to have an ankle operation in March to be fit for the finals.
Robin VAN PERSIE
06.08.83
Arsenal (Eng)
24 caps (7 goals)
Will start on the right wing but given licence to come inside. Could form a deadly combination with Van Nistelrooy but that is untested. An enfant terrible during his time at Feyenoord.
Jan VENNEGOOR OF HESSELINK
11.07.78
Celtic (Sco)
14 caps (3 goals)
Tall striker who will be used as a supersub target man if Holland are losing. Strong in the air but lacks the pace and mobility to justify a starting place.
Newsletter
