From another source:

Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf ruled himself out of next month's European Championship on Tuesday, criticizing coach Marco van Basten for not giving him room to fulfill his potential.

"Since my return to the national team, the right conditions have not been created to let me perform at my best and to effectively excel as the team member I always strive to be," the 32-year-old Seedorf said in a statement. "We have seen from the past that some negative issues with the national team and players are recurring."

I really do not know who to believe or what to think in this case. Van Basten has obviously been an asshole much of his tenure and alienated excellent players from the team. But after he let up and Seedorf and Ruud were back in Oranje I figured he had made peace and that everything would be fine. This could be another reaction to Van Basten's coaching 'style' that has again wreaked havoc on Holland.

 However, considering Seedorf's past with the national team, it could very easily be that he just was not getting the 'star treatment' he though he deserved and wanted to be the man in the emidfield. After his recent perfromances where he played a but more withdrawn and defensive I thought that he was willing to be more of a Makalele type for Holland this summer. It is possible that he wanted to be the main playmaker in the side and when he saw i wasn't going to happen he left. This is not entirely unlike Seedorf especially considering he was a part of the shenanigans in 1996.

So what does it mean for Holland? I am sure Van Basten is happy because now all of his heroes like De Zeeuw and Landzaat and the other AZ and Feyenoorders he calls up for Holland get to start. An excellent player is lost, but there could be a silver lining. Seedorf has never been his best for Oranje. He underperforms and often has choked in ht eprssure situations. Maybe it can be beneficial to be rid of the egoes that tarnished the last generation and rely on mostly the new ones in attack.

 The problem remains of how to replace his quality. I envisioned a Seedorf-Gio partnership in front of the defense. Now it will just be Gio. This will probably mean that VDV and Sneijder can see the field at the same time. Time will tell if the youth movement can work for Holland.

Euro is on its way. I think this team has a less quality than previous Dutch teams, but I like the combination of youth in the squad. I think it gives the squad an audaciousness it has lacked. 'As for the Group of Death' it is the third time Holland has drawn the hardest group. (Argentina, Cote Divoire, Serbia in 2006 and Germany, Czech and Latvia in 2004.) I like Oranje's chances because only once have they missed out on the second stage and that was back in 1980. My thoughts.

Keepers-Van Der Sar is still first choice and has been class for Man Utd. Stekelngurg is a servicable backup. I never want to see Timmer wearing orange, or blue for that matter, again. He nearly cost us the game against Austria with three errors. Timmer should be replaced and Boschker can fill in for the third keeper spot, or maybe Velthuizen.

Defense-Certainly no Koemans, Staams, Israels, Krols, Suurbiers or Rijkaards in this bunch but they did concede little in qualifying and kept clean against Croatia a little while back. The goals in the match against Austria were due to horrific goalkeeping rather than poor defense, although it could have been better. I would rather see youth on the left with Emanuelson, but he is a bit raw. The rest are pretty interchangeable. Heitinga is a lock at centre back. The rest are of similar quality so it will come down to form when deciding who to start and who to sit.

Midfiel-Herein lies the rub. Will Marco choose the classic 4-3-3, the 4-2-3-1, or a 4-4-2. Starting spaces come down to Gio, Seedorf, Sneijder, VDV and Robben on the wing. A Gio Seedorf combo in midfield will provide a measure of balance and you can try to squeeze in Sneijder, VDV and Robben into attacking roles with a lone centre forward. Or make the tough decision to drop either Sneijder or VDV and allow a talented striker, RVP or Klaas to pair with Ruud. Or throw caution to the wind an dremove Gio and opt for Seedorf, Sneijder, VDV, with Robben and RVP in wide roles and Ruud in the center. The first seems the most likely, even if it sacrifices some up front fire power. I would personally make the difficult decision of dropping either Sneijder or VDV, I lean towards dropping VDV, and putting Gio and Seedorf together with Robben on the wings, allowing for two strikers. Anyways Holland has good midfield players the probles is getting the dangerous ones onto the field without leaving the back four exposed. Affelay is good for pace and creativity off the bench,De Zeuw, Landzaat and Maduro are competing for a spot because one is likely to be dropped.

Forwards-Robben on the wings seems to be a lock, especially considering his current form and his excellence for Oranje at tournaments. The centre forwards are the question. Ruud if healthy is a lock and seeing as his recovery is going well one must assume he will be good to go and looking to make ammends for his poor World Cup. The question is who else. Van Persie if healthy is a great weapon. Seeing as he will likely be fit for he tournament Holland would like his skill on set pieces and creativity. On the other hand Huntelaar has been on fire and scored thrice in his last two call ups. If Holland goes with a stacked midfield they both ride the benceh. As for the rest Babel is a good asset for the bench but starting is likely beyond him unless there is an emergency, same goes for Hesselink and Koevermans. The question is what purpose does Dirk Kuyt serve. He will likely not start and is certainly not one to bring off the bench to score a goal. As a squad player he may not be a terrible addition but he has never performed for Oranje. He is at risk of being dropped when the roster is cut to 26.

So in summation I think we will see a somewhat cautious lineup with Seedorf and Gio in the middle, Robben on one wing, Ruud up front, Sneijder/VDV in the center and RVP on the other wing. It may sound crazy but I would not mind seeing Seedorf and Gio in front of the back four, Robben on a wing, RVP on another with Huntelaar and Ruud up front. How is that for a lineup? Are you reading Marco?

So in all likelihood we will see Seedorf, Gio, Sneijder/VDV, Robben on one wing, RvP on the other and Ruud in the middle. But I hope he tweaks it and have Robben and RVP on the wings and Huntelaar and Ruud up front with on withdrawn.

As for the cuts, I can not see Timmer making it after the disaster in Austria. I am not sure which Defender will get the boot but I could see it happening to de Cler and Melchiot. MVB loves Landzaat so unfortunately he will probably stay, but I think de Zeeuw is gone. Engelaar, Maduro and de Jong are probably competing for two spots. Koevermans will probably not make the cut if everybody is fit, and Kuyt is hanging on by a thread so he is certainly at risk of getting dropped. So Timmer, I would guess Jaliens and maybe de Cler/Melchiot, de Zeeuw, de Jong/Maduro, Engelaar, Koevermans, Kuyt.

My formations.

Likely:

Seedorf-Gio
RVP Sneijder Robben
Ruud

Mad scientist?
Gio
Seedorf
RVP Robben
Huntelaar RVN

With the Euros approching, I took a look back at my original Oranje XI and decided a few changes had to be made. I made to many mental concessions to appease a sense of balance in terms of position, formation, era, etc. So I made a few changes. Originally I put Jaap Stam at RB to include a '90s era player even though he was a true centreback, and I put 1970's Feyenoord defender Rinus Israel at centreback. I removed both of them. Wim Suurbier replaces Staam and Rijkaard replaces Israel. I also left out Dennis Bergkamps as he played a similar attacking midfield role to Johan Cruijff. So I just decided to forgot them, because I am sure Rinus Michels would have found a way to get them both on the field. Faas Wilkes, a nod to the 1950's era was replaced. So the formation is not as strictly correct as it was before. Neeskeens was really a box to box central 'do everything midfielder', Cruijff was more up front, and Gullit was not really a striker nor a rigt wing/forward.  However, Holland especially when it plays well has always had an abandon towards formations. Enjoy, and let me know any ommissions I made as it was the comments below that goaded me to improve this entry.

Goalkeeper: The choice is really between two players. Van Breukelen the PSV and Oranje stopper during the 1980's with the scowl and great skill. Or the Gentle Green Giant Edwin van der Sar, the reliable quiet leader and all time caps leader. In the end a team with Van Breukelen has to be more enjoyable, and he was a bit better in my estimation. Edwin has a a seat on hte reserves. Other notables include Heinz Stuy, the Ajax keeper who never got called up,  Jan Jongbloed the reckless goalkeeper for the 1974 and 1978 teams, and Jan van Beveren.

Defense: Defense is not what Holland is predominantly known for, but there have been a fair share of stellar defenders.  Ronald Koeman is obviously a lock, and his incredible goalscoring ability in addition to his stout defense makde him arguably the finest defender in hte world in the late 80's and early 90's.  Ruud Krol is another lock as he was an excellent left wing for Ajax throughout the 1970's and for Holland even becoming captain. I must have been crazy to leave off Wim Suurbier as he and Krol are part of the same unit, you can't have one without the other. It takes wingbaks of true quality to play with only one centreback for nearly an entire World Cup (1978) and get a way with it. That tandem was legendary for Ajax as well. In my defense for leaving off Suurbier, I wanted to give a nod to Jaap Stam, one of the best defenders of the late 90's and a versatile one to boot. Few times has Sir Alex Ferguson been wrong about a player. Originally I had the other CB as 'Iron' Rinus Israel, the Feyenoord hardman who scored in the 1970 European Cup final and had been captain for country. I dropped him however, in favor of Frank Rijkaard. I know Rijkaard was not always a centreback, and even when he was he was always had a bit of midfield in him, but he was a rock in the middle and this is total football isn't it? Frank de Boer was not somebody I considered putting in hte first eleven, but his work rate and long tenure put him solidly on the bench.

Midfield: It is often hard to tell who should be a midfielder and who is a forward or even a defender. Cruijff was a midfielder but seemed to be centre forward in 1974, gullit was everywhere as was Neeskens. So I just decided to forget the formations and put the best trio I could think of. Cruijff in the center in the attack position, maybe more withdrawn maybe not.  Johan Neeskens as the do it all man with the huge workrate, who was the perfect compliment to his name sharer. Johann I and Johann II are a must. I wondered if a Marc Overmars, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids should make it as I felt I sold the excellent 90's team a bit short, and it killed me to leave off the versatile rocket boot Arie Haan, but Wim van Hanegem was a quintessential left side left foot player, and was good from set pieces so he gets the left side of midfield. Other names crossed my mind like Seedorf, Van de Kerkhof twins Willy and Rene, Jan Wouters,  Coen Moulijn and favorites like Wim Jonk and Aron Winter also were hard to ignore.

Forward: Ruud Gullit has to be put somewhere and while I do not imagine him as an up top striker he has the versatilit to be in many places in a single game, so think of him as a right sided attacking midfielder. Marco van Basten is a no brainer and he would be the up top 'striker.' Dennis Bergkamp would be the 'hole' player behind van Basten. He and Cruijff will have to work it out. Faas Wilkes was dropped, and I do not feel that bad because I included him to give a nod to the preprofessional days which lasted until the mid 1950's.  Abe Lenstra was another such old timer. For the more modern players, leaving off Rob Rensenbrink is hard. It is interesting that he is a virtual unknown as he finished runner up and third for Ballon D'or in the late 1970's as well as scored the 1,000 goal in World Cup history. Consumate team player, willing to be the goalscorer or the facillitator. He player for Anderlecht by the way, when they were good. Patrick Kluivert is the record goalscorer for Holland so it is hard no to mention him, although he rubs me a bit the wrong way but can't be too down on him. Johnny Rep was a stylish player for Ajax in the 1970's and certainly merits a spot on the bench. And last but not least is good old goalscoring machine Ruud van Nistelrooy. I had to leave him off because his performances for Oranje have never matched those for his club. maybe he can prove me wrong in the Euro.

                              Hans van Breukelen                                    

              Wim Suurbier       Ronald Koeman            Frank Rijkaard                     Ruud Krol

                          Johan Neeskens               Johan Cruijff                 Wim van Hanegem

                  Ruud Gullit                      Dennis Bergkamp               Marco van Basten  

Manager: Rinus Michels

Substitutes:

Edwin van der Sar (GK)     Rob Rensenbrink (F)    Rinus Israel (D)         Jaap Stam (D)

Frank de Boer (D)           Arie Haan (M)            Edgar Davids (M)          Marc Overmars (M)

     Johnny Rep (F)              Patrick Kluivert (F)      Ruud van Nistelrooy (F)

Kits:  1974 World Cup Second Group Stage Match Versus Brasil

 Older Legends

                                    Faas Wilkes                                     Abe Lenstra