International Friendly
18:30 +00:00, May 30, 2012
De Kuip Stadion , Netherlands
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Holland winger Arjen Robben insists he can cope with his Champions League final heartbreak and has been buoyed by his return to the international fold.
Robben missed an injury-time penalty as Bayern Munich met Chelsea at their Allianz Arena home on May 19. The west Londoners eventually prevailed on a penalty shoot-out and Robben was subsequently jeered by the Bayern fans when the German club played Holland in a friendly three days later.
The former Real Madrid winger was upset at his treatment but, having spent some time with the Oranje squad as they prepare for the European Championship, is adamant he is now fully focused on the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night's friendly clash with Slovakia in Rotterdam, he told De Telegraaf newspaper: "It was a special week but I am back here on the practice field with Holland and the Euros is the new target.
"I am comfortable with the national team and I am focused on the Euros.
"I think I have proved in the past that I have a lot of mental strength. I promise the fans that we will have a good tournament and I will be there against Denmark on June 9.''
Robben played the final 13 minutes of Saturday's surprise 2-1 home defeat by Bulgaria and was delighted with the reception he received from the crowd at the Amsterdam ArenA.
"It is a nice feeling when you are so welcomed in your own country,'' he added. "I want to thank the crowd.
"The positive feedback makes you want to play with your heart and soul.''
Holland boss Bert van Marwijk will be expecting his men to bounce back from their weekend setback.
Oranje were poor against the Bulgarians and today came under fire from former Holland playmaker Johan Cruyff.
Writing in his column for De Telegraaf, Cruyff felt the balance of the team was wrong.
He wrote: "Because (Rafael) Van der Vaart and (Robin) Van Persie were not using the full length of the pitch, there were hardly any crosses.
"That in turn meant few balls being cleared out of the penalty area to be picked up by the Dutch midfield and fired back at goal.
"Even an average team like Bulgaria can defend against that.''
Van Marwijk is expected to make changes tomorrow with Stijn Schaars one definite inclusion at left-back.
Source: Soccernet.com
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