Aron Winter expecting a lot of Holland

Friday 21 May 2010

According to former Dutch star Aron Winter Holland have a squad full of quality although perhaps a bit less than the last World Cup squad that Winter was part of.

"I expect a lot of this team. Many lads are in their prime. That's a great perspective," he says.

Winter - playing for Inter Milan at the time - last played in the World Cup in 1998. With the best team of that World Cup he reached the semifinals where Brazil eliminated them on penalties.

"It's important that today's players focus on their target and don't get distracted. With a bit of luck beautiful things can happen. They have the quality to go a long way. During qualification their displays weren't always as spectacular, but very effective. That's important too," says Winter who will be in South Africa where he is working on several projects for children in poor neighborhoods.

Squad of 1998
Winter doesn't want to name Holland as favorites. Comparing the team to the magnificent squad of 1998, with players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Edgar Davids, Filip Cocu, Marc Overmars, Jaap Stam and Frank de Boer is going a bit too far Winter thinks: "I feel we had a bit more quality then. We were a bit more complete, had a better defense. I don't want to take anything away from today's team, but back then we had some exceptional players."

Winter played his last minutes for Holland at Euro 2000.