Amsterdam  ­ Will national coach Marco van Basten succeed to transform the heterogenous group of Oranje football players into a close-knit team? This is the major question Dutch football fans are asking themselves at the moment.

The Dutch team consists primarily of players who are not used to play together as they are scattered throughout Europe.

Most players do know each other and play with each other in various other teams - but they have not done so as a single team.

During previous international competitions, national coach Marco van Basten was criticized by fans for failing to create a proper team spirit among the Oranje players.

Van Basten has already announced he will step down and move to Ajax after the European Championship. Therefore it is expected he will now do his utmost to counter the criticism and use the short time available to mold the players into a team.

But, things have already not gone that smoothly.

Early in May, one of the top players Clarence Seedorf ­ who has 87 caps - said he is not available for the Euro.

"Van Basten simply does not like me," he was quoted in Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Seedorf complained Van Basten had not selected him during previous international games, and therefore did not think it was necessary to join the Oranje players during the Euro games.

Before Seedorf had said he was not available, the preliminary list of the national team still contained 29 players ­ 6 too many. Van Basten is expected to present a final list of 20 players and 3 keepers on May 28.

Much is expected of Edwin van der Sar, team leader and first choice goalkeeper, who has announced he will be retiring from the national side after Euro.

Van der Sar is one of the Netherlands' most successful footballers, with a keen eye for strategy.

Buoyed by the Premier League title with Manchester United, van der Sar is now keen to add some glory with the national team.

But the truth is that the Dutch are facing strong competition in the upcoming championship. Drawn into arguably the toughest group, the Dutch will have to be at their best if they want to qualify for the next round from Group C, that includes both 2006 World Cup finalists in Italy and France, as well as Romania.

The expectations in the country are high and complete neighbourhoods have been transformed into orange islands, most stores are selling orange flags, hats, T-shirts and flutes and the postal services will be releasing a a special Euro football stamp. (dpa)