Danish omission leaves Huntelaar fuming
Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on Tuesday said he was both disappointed and angry that he would not start up front in their opening Euro 2012 group game with Denmark on Saturday.
Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on Tuesday said he was both disappointed and angry that he would not start up front in their opening Euro 2012 group game with Denmark on Saturday.
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The 28-year-old - the leading scorer in the Bundesliga last season with 29 goals for Schalke 04 and also in the Euro qualifiers with 12 in 10 games - had been told, after the final training session last Friday before flying here, Robin van Persie would start.
"I already said that I am disappointed and angry," said Huntelaar after the squad's first training session here.
"Now I prefer to shut up and to continue to train hard. It would make no sense to say anything more."
It is the second successive major finals where coach Bert van Marwijk has preferred van Persie to the former Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan player, despite van Persie being totally off colour at the 2010 World Cup where he scored just once in seven appearances.
However, van Persie retained van Marwijk's faith and his two goals in the 6-0 hammering of Northern Ireland last weekend - in which he also created two of the other goals - and his astonishing 30 goals in the Premier League for Arsenal last season got him the nod ahead of Huntelaar.
However, according to media reports public opinion back in the Netherlands disagrees with van Maarwijk and would have preferred Huntelaar.