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Martin Jol expects a real battle
Wednesday 18 February 2009
NEC coach Mario Been will have
to solve a little puzzle concerning his forward line
in tonight's game against HSV Hamburg, the club of Dutch
coach Martin Jol.
The three forwards he used on Sunday
are not available for different reasons.
Tim Janssen and Dennis Rommedahl
are injured and Rachid Bouaouzan has been put back to
the second team on Tuesday for lack of motivation.
On Sunday the winger was substituted
before the half-time whistle.
That means Jhonny van Beukering
- a player who himself got sanctioned by Been earlier
in the season for being overweight - will start against
HSV.
He will be supported on the wings
by Saïdi Ntibazonkiza and Lasse Schöne.
Arek Radomski returns to midfield
and take the place of Schöne.
Been demands a fighting spirit
from kickoff tonight.
"We lacked that on Sunday.
When we don't show any will to win tonight we might
as well pack it in and go the Reeperbahn," Been
said with a smile referring to a song that has been
a hit among NEC fans in recent days and that has caused
a commotion in Germany.
The song was made by one of the
financial directors of NEC.
In the song a certain 'Scheele
Daan' ('cross-eyed Daan') explains how the NEC fans
will all go the Reeperbahn (a street in the red light
district of Hamburg) and that they are of course the
best club in the world.
Scheele Daan wants to show the
players that they are not on their own in Hamburg he
says.
Just why the Germans are upset
by the song is unclear.
What is clear is that Martin Jol
is doing well in his first season in Hamburg.
The coach from Scheveningen is
in third spot in the Bundesliga, 1 point behind leaders
Berlin, his team is still competing in the German Cup
and with NEC he will compete for a spot in the round
of the last 16.
Jol would want to win a prize with
HSV of course but has mixed emotions nonetheless.
"They often say it is unwise
to bet on two horses, but it's the situation we are
in at the moment," Jol said on Tuesday.
The former coach of RKC Waalwijk
and Roda JC admitted that the chance to win the German
Cup is bigger than winning the UEFA Cup.
"But that doesn't mean we
don't want to win here on Wednesday. We are in a situation
that we are competing on three fronts."
On Sunday HSV play the important
league game against Bayer Leverkusen.
Jol did not want to say whether
he will rest players for that game.
The former Spurs manager described
NEC as a team with 'a lot of spirit'.
"That will have something
to do with their coach," he said with a smile.
Jol expects a real battle on the
soaked pitch in De Goffert.
"NEC are used to playing on
this pitch. They know what it takes to decide a battle
here. We will have to fight as well."
He didn't want to reveal much of
his plan for tonight's game.
"That depends on the course
of the game. It's all about conceding no goals an scoring
one or two ourselves."
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