Van Marwijk promises attacking play

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk has warned his rivals that his side intend to play attacking football at Euro 2012.

The Dutch were heavily criticised for a circumspect approach at the 2010 World Cup, but Van Marwijk has made it clear that Oranje always look to go on the offensive against their opponents.

“We want to attack, but it has to be done in a responsible way. And sometimes you do it in a more attacking way than other times,” Van Marwijk said.

“We could put a little accent on attack, or play in a more defensive way.

“At the World Cup, we played large parts of games in our opponents’ half. That means you need to be very patient, because if you force yourself too much – and we know the level of football at the Euros – then you know you will face dangerous counterattacks, and we don’t want that.”

Netherlands start Euro 2012 with the Group B match against Denmark on Friday, before taking on Germany and Portugal.