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Euro 2012 Team Previews: Holland
Posted by: | CommentsDespite being one of the greatest teams in the world on numerous occasions the Dutch national team remains less decorated than the English, or Uruguay and on a par with Greece and Denmark due to the incredible fact they have one just one solitary tournament in their history. The 1988 side that beat the USSR to take victory is probably not the greatest Holland has produced, but remains their most successful.
The current side only lost once in qualifying, but a fairly easy group may have slightly tempered the enthusiasm of the fans who never fail to light up an international tournament with the colourful presence. The last time there was no orange representation at a European Championship was in 1984, four years before their win, and they haven’t failed to make it out of a group in that time period either.
Robin van Persie will surely be a key man in the team’s efforts to progress in this tournament, having had a stellar season at Arsenal, and Wesley Sneijder is another man who will need to have a good time for the team to be a success. The Inter maestro can drift in and out of games, but has the ability to unlock defences and his vision, combined with the intelligence of van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s lethal finishing could well make for some great viewing.
This may also be a last chance for a few men, with the likes of Kuyt, van Bommel and Arjen Robben all key men approaching the end of their useful playing days, and when the Dutch finished 6th in 2008 there was a definite feeling of underachievement. A difficult group won’t prevent the fans from expecting qualification, and if they can qualify for the quarters there isn’t much that Holland could meet there to make them worry, so a semi-final is a realistic minimum goal, with everything after that being entirely unpredictable.
The best price on the Holland side winning only their second major trophy is 7/1 with Bet365, and that seems pretty generous when set alongside the odds for the likes of Germany and Spain, but there is a slight feeling that Holland are a little bit fragile and lack some strength in depth. Personally they’re a team I love to watch, but would hate to be a fan of due to the stress and unpredictability, but they have the skills to win this competition.
Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide
Euro 2012 Team Previews: Holland
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Euro 2012 Team Previews: Denmark
Posted by: | CommentsDenmark are possibly the ultimate enigma in European football, going from ridiculous to sublime and then back again, but for a lot of people their 1992 victory was one of the great footballing moments. Having failed to qualify for the tournament in Sweden, the Danes were given a berth just ten days before it began due to international sanctions against Yugoslavia, and the team of Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup went on to win in a shock not equalled until Greece in 2004.
In qualification Denmark were drawn with, among others, Portugal and Norway, meaning there were both challenging and highly-charged games, but they eventually finished as group winners, something which will give them some confidence given their group. Drawn alongside Germany, Holland and Portugal in the competition proper, the Danes will at least be pleased to know they have come out on top over the team of Ronaldo and co, and may only need to draw with either Germany or Holland to go through if they can beat the Portuguese.
The men to watch for Denmark are young and this tournament could come a little early for them, but Christian Eriksen in particular has become one of the hottest properties in Europe for his performances with Ajax in the last couple of years. Liverpool’s Daniel Agger will partner Simon Kjaer in defence, the latter back on track after a difficult spell in Germany, and the pair have the potential to be world-class.
After going from 16th to 8th in Euro 2000 and 2004 respectively the improvement seemed to stall with a failure to qualify for 2008, which will have hurt the fans a lot. It is worth noting that teams like Denmark, who are not always given a great draw are more susceptible to missing out, especially when a 16-team tournament has two positions taken by hosts, but it was still a bitter blow. This time around it is pretty certain the Danes will be cast as whipping-boys in Group B, with both Germany and Holland to deal with.
In terms of outsiders for this cup Denmark are right there with the Republic of Ireland as 100/1 with VictorChandler, and for some of the best members of the squad this will be competition aimed at learning more than achievement. With qualification being so tough, if they do make it out of the group the Danes will be in great spirit and could trouble their quarter-final opponenets.
Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide
Euro 2012 Team Previews: Denmark
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