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Posts Tagged ‘Rues’

Holland winger Arjen Robben has admitted that he feels hurt after missing a golden chance in Sunday’s World Cup final.

Robben had an opportunity to give his side a 1-0 lead when Wesley Sneijder’s ball sent him through on goal with only Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas to beat.

But the Bayern Munich star saw his shot clip the leg of Casillas before bouncing wide of the post.

It would prove to be the most clear-cut chance during normal time as Andres Iniesta eventually settled the contest with a clinical finish deep into extra-time.

And as the Holland squad arrived back home to be honoured by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Queen Beatrix, Robben admitted to being haunted by thoughts of the opportunity.

“On a day like today, I think about it a lot. It hurts to miss such a chance,” he said.

Honours

Coach Bert van Marwijk, who was knighted along with captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst for his role in the World Cup campaign, says his thoughts are also being dominated by near misses.

“It is increasingly going through my head, we were so close. We had to win,” he is quoted as saying by AD Sportwereld.

Holland have faced criticism for their aggressive tactics in the final but Prime Minister Balkenende took the opportunity to pay tribute to the squad.

He said: “The Dutch team had balance. They were a strong team, mentally and physically. It was a team that was close and harmonious.

“It was a disciplined collective with a mission, with full resilience, fighting spirit and confidence.

“Look how far that attitude brought us. That is worth a great compliment, to the players and also to the staff, led by Bert van Marwijk.

“It had an impact on the country. Oranje was one, and the Netherlands stood as one behind Oranje.”

View full post on FIFA Updates – MSN

Holland winger Arjen Robben has admitted that he feels hurt after missing a golden chance in Sunday’s World Cup final.

Robben had an opportunity to give his side a 1-0 lead when Wesley Sneijder’s ball sent him through on goal with only Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas to beat.

But the Bayern Munich star saw his shot clip the leg of Casillas before bouncing wide of the post.

It would prove to be the most clear-cut chance during normal time as Andres Iniesta eventually settled the contest with a clinical finish deep into extra-time.

And as the Holland squad arrived back home to be honoured by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Queen Beatrix, Robben admitted to being haunted by thoughts of the opportunity.

“On a day like today, I think about it a lot. It hurts to miss such a chance,” he said.

Honours

Coach Bert van Marwijk, who was knighted along with captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst for his role in the World Cup campaign, says his thoughts are also being dominated by near misses.

“It is increasingly going through my head, we were so close. We had to win,” he is quoted as saying by AD Sportwereld.

Holland have faced criticism for their aggressive tactics in the final but Prime Minister Balkenende took the opportunity to pay tribute to the squad.

He said: “The Dutch team had balance. They were a strong team, mentally and physically. It was a team that was close and harmonious.

“It was a disciplined collective with a mission, with full resilience, fighting spirit and confidence.

“Look how far that attitude brought us. That is worth a great compliment, to the players and also to the staff, led by Bert van Marwijk.

“It had an impact on the country. Oranje was one, and the Netherlands stood as one behind Oranje.”

View full post on FIFA Updates – MSN

England manager Fabio Capello says young players coming through the ranks are not good enough to play international football.

The inquest into another failed World Cup campaign has got under way and answers are being sought from the Under 21 set-up.

The likes of Steven Gerrard, John Terry, David James and Frank Lampard are likely to have played in their last finals and new talent is being sought to take up their positions in future.

However, Capello believes the calibre of the players in the system at present is not up to standard – and admitted he has precious few other options to tinker with as sights are now set on the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Just not good enough

The Italian boss said: “Where are the young players? The best are in the U21 side but they are just not good enough at the moment. There are probably just two or three who would join us in the next six months.

“Adam Johnson and Kieran Gibbs at Arsenal. Then there is (Michael) Dawson, (Gabby) Agbonlahor and (Bobby) Zamora. And (Owen) Hargreaves.

“No, some are not so fit and not so young. We also hope Theo Walcott will recover fitness. And then there is Jack Wilshere.”

Capello indicated Hargreaves and Zamora were the only other players he would have picked for the finals had they been fit enough.

Qualifying for the championship in Ukraine and Poland starts against Bulgaria in September and the duo can expect to be involved, should they return to full health.

He added: “Bobby Zamora is not young and was injured, but he is a player we have spoken about. Another player we hope that will be fit is Owen Hargreaves. He did not play at all last season.”

The 4-1 loss to Germany compounded a disjointed campaign for the Three Lions, who looked sluggish even in the group stages.

Joachim Low’s team ruthlessly exposed the sloth in the Free State Stadium on Sunday as the virtues of swift counter-attacking football paid dividends.

Has to change

And the lack of tempo throughout the tournament left Capello questioning the schedule his team face with their domestic clubs.

He went on: “I understand something which is really important and why England did not win before. When English players get to the end of the season they are really tired.

“In total, we played seven games in this period and I never saw the players that I saw in the autumn before the heavy Christmas spell, or two months after Christmas.

“They trained well and were focused on everything but they were not the same fast players I know. Something has to change.

“There are too many games and at the end of the season it is Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday.”

England had fallen two goals behind in quick succession to leave them shell-shocked in Bloemfontein and the team looked abject in their quest to mount a fight back.

Appetite

The fear that gripped Capello’s players in the draws with USA and Algeria appeared to have returned, meanwhile, sloppy defending only allowed Germany to capitalise in ruthless fashion.

The manner of the exit left the 64-year-old unhappy, who added: “At 2-1 Germany played with fear, even (German general manager) Oliver Bierhoff said that when I saw him at the airport.

“But I am also angry about the defending and our positions on the pitch. We conceded five goals in total and three of them were avoidable.”

Pressure is now on the manager, however, Capello said his desire remained unchanged. He said: “Yes I have the appetite. I never stop. Ever.”

View full post on FIFA Updates – MSN

Fabio Capello admits news of David Beckham’s injury has come as a ‘big blow’ to his World Cup plans.

The 34-year-old midfielder snapped his Achilles tendon while in action for AC Milan on Sunday, breaking down towards the end of their 1-0 win over Chievo.

He is due to go under the knife on Monday, wasting little time in starting the recovery process, but he is still expected to be out of action for up to four months.

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