Euro 2008: Dutch set to field new players
The Dutch papers are full of speculation about who coach Marco van Basten will field for tonight’s Euro 2008 match against Romania.
According to the Telegraaf, Van Basten is set to put nine new players into the starting line-up and rest a number, including Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dirk Kuyt and Khalid Boulahrouz.
But France and Italy (who play each other and need a Dutch victory to be sure of qualifying for the next round) should not worry, the paper says. ‘The reserves are tough’.
Away from Bern, where the orange hoards are gathering, Dutch café owners are furious at extra checks on noise nuisance during the football matches.
‘This is just trying to scare people,’ a spokesman for the hotel and catering association told the paper, commenting on the campaign by environmental health inspectors in parts of Zuid-Holland province. ‘It is hard to dampen orange fever.’
A spokesman for the inspectors told the paper that loud cheering would remain beyond any controls.
Shopkeepers in Amsterdam are also angry at being told to take down over-enthusiastic orange bunting and balloons. The Nieuwendijk between the capital’s main station and Dam square is the only orange-free zone in the country, the paper says.
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