Anita, Engelaar, Lens and Vlaar don't make last cut
27 May 2010
As was rumored all day long it's
indeed Vernon Anita (Ajax, Orlando Engelaar (PSV), Jeremain
Lens (AZ > PSV) and Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord) who got
the bad news from Holland boss Bert van Marwijk this
morning: they will be dropped from the preliminary World
Cup squad of 27 and not come to South Africa.
Given there will be no serious
injuries before 1 June the 23 that are now in the squad
will be the 23 Van Marwijk takes along.
The 23 are:
| Goal keepers |
Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax),
Sander Boschker (FC Twente), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht) |
| Defenders |
Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax),
André Ooijer (PSV), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB
Stuttgart), Edson Braafheid (Celtic), Giovanni van
Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Everton),
Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg) |
| Midfielders |
Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Rafael
van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Wesley Sneijder (Inter),
Stijn Schaars (AZ), Ibrahim Afellay (PSV), Mark
van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Nigel de Jong (Manchester
City) |
| Forwards |
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich),
Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Ryan Babel (Liverpool),
Eljero Elia (Hamburg), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan),
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) |
"Engelaar was most disappointed"
Bert van Marwijk informed the players in a private meeting
this morning and said Orlando Engelaar was most disappointed
of all.
In a press conference this afternoon
at 17h CET the Dutch manager explained his decisions
Vurnon Anita
"We took Anita along as he can play on several
positions," Van Marwijk explained. "He can
play either left or right. On the right we have opted
for Gregory van der Wiel and Khalid Boulahrouz, who
I thought played very well against Mexico. On the left
he and Edson Braafheid came very close. We chose Edson."
Orlando Engelaar
"Engelaar was most disappointed of all four. And
that's only natural as he has been with group the longest.
There wasn't much difference between him and Stijn Schaars."
Jeremain Lens
"We have observed Lens for 2½ weeks and
came to the conclusion that compared to Ryan Babel and
Eljero Elia he was lacking a bit. We've been very careful
with Babel, but he could have played yesterday. He'll
be 100% fit when the tournament starts."
Ron Vlaar
"Vlaar's hamstring injury was a problem. He had
to come off in the Cupfinal because of it. When that
same injury resurfaced here in Seefeld we had to decide
not to take him."
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