Old habits die hard for Dutch

Paddy Agnew/Euroscene: As the Euro 2004 qualifiers enter the final straight with tomorrow night's penultimate round of games, it is reassuring to find some of football's finest traditions are still being honoured.

On a night of some intriguing ties (Denmark v Romania, Germany v Scotland, Serbia v Italy, Russia v Switzerland, etc), perhaps the most keenly-awaited match will be the Group Three tie in Prague between joint leaders, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

It is a winner-take-all contest given that in their final games next month, the Netherlands are at home to Moldova whilst the Czechs are away to Austria. For the loser, there is the worrying prospect of the play-offs which could involve formidable sides.

So then, on the eve of their biggest game since they were eliminated from the 2002 World Cup finals, what are the Dutch up to? Silly question: they are fighting amongst themselves, of course. In the wake of Saturday night's 3-1 home win against Austria, Dutch coach Dick Advocaat found his preparations for Prague tomorrow night began with a players-only, "thrash-it-all-out" meeting.

The reason for the meeting was the burgeoning squad tensions which flared last month when Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juventus midfielder Edgar Davids were involved in a training-ground spat during preparations for a friendly with Belgium. That row had followed on from a similar one last May between Davids and PSV Eindhoven's Mark van Bommel.

It may be the tensions are rooted in club rivalry between Ajax Amsterdam (Davids' former club) and PSV (van Nistelrooy's former club). There may also be a racial element to the tension between the black Davids (of Surinam origin) and his white team-mates.

Knowing Davids, though, it could also be some of the problems lie with his hardly tranquil character - his team-mates at Juventus like to call him "pitbull". Whatever the cause, the players got together on Sunday, leaving former Glasgow Rangers coach Advocaat to comment: "You can imagine what it was like after what has gone off here but I hope they have sorted things out. All the players decided to go into a room for an hour on their own. They assured me they had really good talks."

There are, of course, several historical precedents for this sort of thing. Johann Cruyff opted out of the 1978 World Cup finals, after months of speculation. Marco van Basten stomped out of the team hotel at the 1988 European Championships on the eve of the tournament, furious he might be left out of the team. Davids stormed out of the Dutch camp at Euro'96 , allegedly because of a row about wages.

There have been other such occasions and usually the Netherlands have lived to tell the tale. Even without Cruyff, that talented Dutch side went all the way to a controversial 1978 final with Argentina, losing a game which, had it been played anywhere other than Argentina, they might well have won. As for Germany 1988, Van Basten changed his mind, stayed and became the leading goalscorer as the Netherlands won the title.

You could argue, then, some serious pre-match tension in the Dutch camp does no harm at all. Davids is not certain to start tomorrow having been substituted during Saturday's game, while van Nistelrooy, suspended on Saturday, seems certain to return.

Need one say the Dutch had better get their act together. The Czech Republic, led by Juventus star Pavel Nedved in midfield and with Liverpool's Milan Barros partnered by Borussia Dortmund big man, Jan Koller, in attack, are a formidable unit.

On paper, there is nothing to choose between the teams which have identical records of five won and one drawn. That draw (1-1) came when the two sides met in Rotterdam in March.

Under Euro 2004 rules, an 0-0 or 1-1 draw would be enough for the Czechs tomorrow night, whilst a 2-2 or higher scoring draw will see the Dutch through. Given the propensity of both sides to attack, and given what is at stake, a draw may not be on the cards. This could be one just to watch rather than predict. When it is over, you can start hoping your team does not draw the loser in the play-offs.