Huntelaar the key to Oranje success against Germany after Van Persie failure?
The Netherlands, one of the pre-tournament favourites to stop Spain from defending their title the 2012 European Championships, find themselves in a bit of hole. The Oranje were shell-shocked at the end of their first match, after being defeated by Denmark in their first Group B contest. So what went wrong for the Dutch? Where did they fall down? One of the big areas of failure for the Netherlands in the match, was Robin van Persie. The Arsenal man, who netted 30 goals for his club in the English Premier League last season, is the big hope for the Netherlands. He is the go-to man. Because Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk likes to play with just one man up front, the majority of the goalscoring responsibility falls upon the shoulders of Robin van Persie. However, for all of his brilliance in the Premier League, Van Persie looked as if the weight of exception was getting all a bit much for him on the international stage.
Of course he has been in this position for a long time. Van Persie is no stranger to the internationality stage, he has netted 28 goals in 66 matches for his country. However, the 28 year old really has to accept the fingers being pointed at him for being a key part in the Netherlands’ downfall in that first match. Van Persie was wasteful. He passed up so many chances to guide Holland to a comfortable win in that first match, a match which the Dutch would have been targeting as their easiest of the group. The bottom line is, that Van Persie looked up-tight and edgy, not his normal, relaxed and composed self. He wasted clear scoring chances either end of the first half, chances, which had they have fallen to him in an Arsenal shirt on a Saturday afternoon, probably would have been buried. But the weight on his shoulders was telling and he looked a stressed man. He really should have been firing on all cylinders after his tremendous season of form for Arsenal.
There was no excuse from Van Persie, but he wasn’t the only one guilty of wasting chances, his compatriots Arjen Robben and Ibrahim Afellay both had their chances as well. But Robin van Persie is the main man, and now having to face Germany next, Holland know that a defeat means that they could be packing their bags early. So now the Dutch have to pick themselves up off the floor, looking devastated and shocked at what had happened to them against Denmark. A total of 28 attempts on goal the Dutch had in the game, but they had left their shooting boots at home. So the question now for coach Van Marwijk, is whether to stick with Robin van Persie up front to face Germany. It seems implausible for the Premier League’s top striker to have his place threatened, but the Dutch needs someone confident, and will the Arsenal man be sacrificed for Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar?
It was Huntelaar who had made the starting spot his own at the start of the qualifying process for Euro 2012 in the national side. It wasn’t until he got injured that Robin van Persie took over again. Huntelaar had netted six goals in the first four qualification matches, but after Van Persie had come in to score in both games of a double header against Hungary, it was he who was back in favour. Huntelaar actually has a better strike rate for the national side than his peer, having scored 31 goals in 54 appearances. So will Bert van Marwijk roll the dice on Huntelaar, who only appeared for the last twenty minutes of the game against Denmark? The Dutch know that they need to produce against their bitter rivals, Germany, and they are unlikely to get as many chances as they did against Denmark to win the match. So will it be Robin Van Persie or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who has the strongest shoulders?
