TNT Sports
Van Gaal blasts Dutch
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Published 12/06/2004 at 13:00 GMT+1
Former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal does not expect the inconsistent Dutch to reach the last four at Euro 2004, which starts on Saturday. "Their chances depend on the various personalities putting themselves at the service of the team," he told Reuter
Eurosport
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The Dutch have a history of discord in their camp ahead of major championships and it has been no different this time with midfielder Clarence Seedorf saying only last week that he would refuse to play anywhere other than behind the front two.
Seedorf is injured and will miss their opening Group D match against Germany on Tuesday but his demands could not have been met as coach Dick Advocaat has changed tactics after the front pairing of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert failed.
The Dutch will start with wingers and use Van Nistelrooy alone up front, a change Van Gaal applauded even though the former Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona coach said he understood Advocaat's attempts to play a midfield diamond formation.
WINGERS APPLAUDED
"If you play with wingers the positioning of the team is better and it's easier to play forward," said Van Gaal, who coached the Dutch from August 2000 until January 2002 when he quit after they failed to qualify for the World Cup.
"The 4-4-2 was a good alternative considering that we have four top class strikers. It's a waste that they could not work well together," he added, noting that it was almost impossible for Advocaat to influence the way his strikers played.
"As national coach you never have the opportunity to work with players for a long period. Only now before this tournament do you have some weeks to work things out," said Van Gaal.
The Dutch will also face the highly fancied Czech Republic and rank outsiders Latvia in the tournament's first phase.
As technical director of Dutch champions Ajax, Van Gaal now has very different priorities from his time as cach. Ajax have three players in the Dutch squad plus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Sweden and midfielder Tomas Galasek with the Czechs.
"For Ajax it's important players return fit to their team and also the mood they come back in will be important as we prepare for the new season," said Van Gaal, whose best season as a coach came when Ajax won the Champions League in 1995.
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