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Dutch Olympic team to face USA short-handed (and Dutch coach takes jab at U.S. team)

The Dutch Olympic team will be down at least two players when it faces the United States on Sunday.

Veteran Dutch striker Roy Makaay, one of the Netherlands over-age players, and midfielder Evander Sno, are set to miss the vital showdown against the USA on Sunday. Makaay suffered a foot injury in the first half of the Dutch team’s scoreless draw with Nigeria, while Sno is set to serve a suspension for his red card late in the same match (a red card he drew after a studs-up challenge on Columbus Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo).

The Dutch team is still stacked with talented attacking stars Ryan Babel, Jonathan DeGuzman and Roysten Drenthe, but the short rest and hot weather could make the absence of those two players tougher to overcome.

Tests on Makaay’s foot revealed no break, but he will miss Sunday’s match.

Dutch head coach Foppe de Haan is sure to cause a stir after making less than flattering remarks about the U.S. team ahead of Sunday’s clash.

"Nigeria is confident on the ball," he said. "They have two very good strikers. The Americans are more of a team on the same level. They don’t have anybody extremely good.

"They’re totally different than Nigeria, in my opinion."

Somewhere, Jozy Altidore is taping thate statement to a wall.

What do you think about the Dutch facing the USA short-handed? Will Makaay’s absence make a difference? Will Jozy Altidore make the Dutch coach eat his words?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The real knvb team would destroy the American national team, luckily for the US, the vast majority of Oranje’s best will be absent from the Olympic competition.

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  2. First of all, Mark, that was the post of the day. Classic. Secondly, Manu4eva (how gay is that, do you mean like track and field and basketball?

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  3. US Football- Its a pity that your country cant buy some perspective. Unattractive football played in a uninspired way- stick to the games you are good at ie those only played by the US. Holland 3-0

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  4. I suppose the Dutch coach is just saying that USA doesnt have any standouts. Altidore and Adu are both standouts but is that really enough? players like Holden, Edu, Bradley, Orozco, Wynne, and Altidore all need to have a good game. not to mention Adu. Adu is a key playmaker and creates opportunities for others and himself. I can only hope putting him behind two quality strikers helps the American side, assuming Nowak even takes that kind of Formation.

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  5. People are taking his comments out of context. It’s obvious the guy is saying that the US team is balanced. Which I think is the case for almost every US team no matter the age group. You could argue that Altidore and Adu are the stars of the team, but since the US plays well as a unit, no one really stands out as the star player. Ives is making something out of nothing really.

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  6. i’m glad now the dutch lost in the euro 2008, they were to overconfident.

    i thought jonathan deguzman was canadian? did he just get dutch citizenship?

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  7. I hope Nowak is taking those statements and plastering them all over their rooms in the Olympic Village and the locker room before the game. Please please please make this Dutchman eat his words.

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  8. While he may have a point on some level, remind me again of how many titles those arrogant A-holes have won? This is the same crap they talk in every tournament about how superior they are to everyone only to have their dike burst in (almost) all of them. Come on USA!!

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  9. we’re going to find out how really good we are when we play the Dutch, their best youth against ours. Personally, I hope their coach and their team gets rocked. Apparently, he’s never seen Jozy, Kljestan, Edu, Guzan, Rogers, etc.

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  10. The USA has always had a history of upsetting favorites in Olympics in all sports.

    besides he was trying to save face after tying nigeria

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  11. The Dutch coach’s comments were very condescending to the US and Japan. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose both of their remaining games and go home with tail between legs. I agree with freddie footballer. Novak will have the team play tight D and look to counter.

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  12. That Dutch coach is ungrateful. How dare he bad mouth the USA! If it wasn’t for us in World War II, he’d be speaking German. USA! USA! USA!

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  13. It’s a ridiculous comment by a coach who obviously knows little about the US team individually. At this age group the US can play with any team in the world. Unfortunately Nowak has done a poor job of harnessing that extra bit of creativity and skill that this team has. He has them playing a very compact, disciplined style that allows for little free thought. Something that stifles players like Adu, Rogers and Kjlestan. The US has players in Altidore, McBride, Rogers, Adu, Holden, Edu, Wynne and Guzan who can make plays by themselves to win games. Obviously they are not Lionel Messi or Ronaldinho type talents, but who is? As talented as Babel, De Guzman and Drenthe are, they are not in the same league as Messi or Ronaldinho either and they never will be. If the US can pulls it together they will beat the Dutch.

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  14. Foppe de Haan was Bradley’s first manager at Heerenveen, you would think he’d have something nice to say about him. Nothing he said offends me though.

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  15. Stupid to be saying stuff like that. It does show some arrogance and over confidence. I hope the Dutch coach gets to eat crow. Although he would probably call foul and say he was without his two best players.

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  16. For those saying the Dutch coach’s comment wasn’t negative, you should know the context. He said that a draw against Nigeria wasn’t bad because the the Americans and Japanese aren’t as good. The US doesn’t have standouts like Nigeria.

    …So, despite the Dutch’s supposed aversion to standout players, the comment wasn’t a compliment (or even neutral).

    That said, who cares. Personally, I’m more interested in the US playing better than they did yesterday than I am in debating the validity of this guy’s comments. The truth is, we’re not going to get away with another performance like yesterday’s.

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  17. I am very confused how a Dutch coach would fail to recognize Bradley. If Bradley and his 20+ goals in the Dutch League are nothing special…..what does that say for Dutch defenders???

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  18. If you watched film of the last 3 US matches (the two warmups and the match against Japan) you’d conclude:

    –we work hard

    –we’re good physically

    –we’re not that special on the ball

    –really don’t show any inventiveness or creativity

    –have no striker that presents significant problems or not especially talented player that is a “game changer” on a regular basis.

    Now, some might argue that the past 3 matches by the US are atypical, that we’re really an offensive machine. Or perhaps that Nowak was sandbagging the Dutch (he’s been known to do that to opponents). Whether our last 3 matches are a fair test or not is arguable. I suspect the Dutch haven’t paid much attention to anything prior (because they’re against sides that aren’t in Olympic form or aren’t going to the PRC this summer).

    Bottom line: as much as I like Altidore and McBride and Adu, the US is struggling to score goals right now. And Altidore and Adu didn’t exactly light it up this season with their respective clubs. And McBride’s real value has less to do as a goal scorer. What we probably have is a team that scores goals by committee and wins when it shuts out the other team or gives up no more than 1 goal.

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  19. I’m just not so convinced the Dutch are a HEAVY favorite, sure probably favored, but I would not think by a landslide. I think those days in U.S. soccer are over. This Dutch coach seems to come from the old European guard that thinks Americans can’t play soccer, and never will be able. Let him be that way. The Portugese learned a valuable lesson at the WC in 2002, as did Uruguay, Brazil, and Poland at the Under 20 WC in Canada in 2007.

    If the player pool we have competes to its potential, I think we’ll give the Dutch all they can handle. However, we shouldn’t get too focused on this coach’s comments. Sometimes that can become a distraction. Just go out and play to win.

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  20. The textbook has been written over many decades…USA is a growing soccer country and is not expected to come out of this tough group. So, our boys have a chance to add another chapter to that book. Will the chapter enhance, maintain or decrease our reputation on the football stage?

    Certainly my hope is we continue to grow and beat Holland 2-0.

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  21. I’m offended by some of you who have come here and say we don’t have a Messi or a Kalou on our roster and that the Dutch Coach is right. You’ve already proved his point by automatically typed your post in the form of defeat.

    NO KIDDING WE DON’T HAVE A MESSI OR A KALOU!

    Why do you think we are producing an Adu or an Altidore, a Szetela & so on & so on. So that one day American Players will be household names here in the states and beyond replacing a McBride, a Dempsey, a Ramos, a Harkes, a Meola & a Howard.

    Are you real US Supporters, or just a bunch of cowards already accepting defeat. If so please return your US Jerseys we don’t need you anymore.

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  22. I have worked with Dutch people. They defiintely do not mince words. I can see how this comment comes off. The dutch coach probablt meant nothing by it but I can see how this can rile the olympic US team.

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  23. Regardless of the percieved truth of his statement. It’s still bad form and totally classless for a coach to talk about his opponent in that sort of light.

    It does speak a bit to the lack of respect that some of the world has towards US Soccer. Short of winning a WC, not a lot of opinions will be changed.

    I’d really enjoy a good showing/win Sunday morning.

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  24. The way I see it is he’s done us a favor.

    He’s fine motivation as far as I’m concerned.

    Respect is earned on the field. I hope we earn plenty of it on Sunday.

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  25. you all know this isn’t an insult coming from the Dutch, right? this is a team, and a system, that abhors superstars. it’s also why missing two players is less important for the Oranje than many other teams would be. the US is totally different than Nigeria, and much closer to the Dutch than the SuperEagles. let’s face it, we have no proven stars on the senior international level (yes, McBride is a great American player, but he’s not making a major European National team, he just retired from European Football to play in MLS. besides that, what do we have? a 19 year old on loan to a Ligue 1 club? an 18 year old sold for a middling sum (by european standards) that will probably get loaned out on arrival in Spain?

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  26. we may be better as a team, but the coach’s point is that we are not more dangerous individually. That is probably true. mcbride may be a better finisher, but he is not more talented than all of nigeria’s forwards. nothing to be ashamed about.

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