Van Marwijk will have to make a choice

Sjoerd Mossou
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Tuesday 14 October 2008

The blonde female reporter from Norway momentarily didn't understand, when she was looking at the list of players of the Dutch national football team.

When Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie all three are fit who will be the playmaker then?

It will be some dilemma for Van Marwijk for Wednesday's game in and against Norway.

For the first time since his appointment the former Feyenoord coach will have to make a choice between his three star players, who are all key members of their European top sides (Arsenal and Real Madrid).

"I am available," Van Persie said yesterday.

The forward said hamstring injury will not prevent him from playing 60 minutes Wednesday night, when Holland can set a major step towards South Africa.

"It's up to the manager how he wants to use me of course," Van Persie added.

In the plan of Van Marwijk there is room for two purely creative players among the three positions behind the center forward.

The third preferably is a player from the category Arjen Robben/Ryan Babel/Dirk Kuyt.

So chances are small that Sneijder, Van der Vaart and Van Persie are all in the team tomorrow.

The most logical choice seems to keep Van Persie on the bench for now and so not to take any risks.

A hamstring injury should be given time and for the coach it would solve a major technical dilemma - for now.

There's no way around Van der Vaart at the moment for Van Marwijk and Wesley Sneijder looked very eager when he came on as a substitute against Iceland.

Leave Ryan Babel on, and see there a pretty compatible trio.

A bit of understanding on the side of Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt - who would loose his place in such a scenario - would of course be welcomed by Van Marwijk.

And then of course there is Ibrahim Afellay, the PSV player who is in top shape and showed that by a magnificent 15 minutes as a substitute against Iceland.

But these are the choices a Holland manager will have to make, but it's a difficult one.

The recent bickering of Van Persie and Sneijder only underlined just how big these egos are.

Before you know it there is another row.

"We all spoke our minds," Van Persie said about the 'free kick affair'.

"And that was the end of it."

The Arsenal player worked on his fitness with physiotherapist Leo Echteld outside the Dutch training camp.

"I indicated that I feel best at ease with Leo and the medical staff of Oranje didn't mind. I am very happy about that."

During training behind the Katwijk dunes Van Persie looked sharp, but he held back when shooting on goal.

"After a previous injury I made the mistake to start shooting full force during my first training. I will not make that mistake again. But I feel good. I have trained very hard over the past few days and all tests were positive."

Confronted with the thesis that he could almost be labeled 'injury prone' he shrugs.

"Well, I have been injured frequently. Things are the way they are. But what ever people may call it is not important to me. I want to be as fit as possible and play as many games as I can. The whole pre-season with Arsenal went perfectly and in the league I was there. A strained hamstring can happen to everybody."