Rafael van der Vaart says that Euro 2012 will only be considered a success for the Netherlands if they win the tournament.
The Dutch football association revealed earlier this week that Oranje’s goal is to reach the semi-finals, but the Tottenham star is aiming even higher as he intends to help his team to their first major trophy since 1988.
“The Euros will be a success for us when we win it. And you have to say that out loud as well, because saying things like ‘a semi-final is nice’ … no, we were finalists at the World Cup, so we also need to have the highest ambition now,” Van der Vaart told UEFA.com.
“It’s also a case of being the ideal age now. I won’t say it’s now or never, but it’s certainly a moment that you could describe as, ‘If you can do it now, then it should definitely happen’.
“A lot has stayed the same (since South Africa). I hope we play some better football than in 2010. I had the feeling then that we could even have been better, and we hope to do that now during the Euros.”
The Netherlands start Euro 2012 with a Group B match against Denmark on June 9.
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