It's very difficult at this stage to argue against Dutch chances of Euro 2008 glory. Two games, two wins. Seven goals for, one against. And they've left in their wake none other than the World Cup winners and the runners-up.

Marco van Basten's turnaround has been nothing short of sensational. Heading into the tournament, a competition that they reached only as second-placed finishers to Romania, there was only a 43 per cent rating back home that the Oranjes would make it out of the Group of Death. How ludicrous that looks now.

But there were reasons to back up that thinking at the time. On the eve of the tournament, influential midfielder Clarence Seedorf withdrew from the squad, adding his name to the list of absentees who already included Mark van Bommel. The scene seemed set for the classic implosion which has crippled so many previous campaigns for Holland.

Van Basten, despite his legendary playing status, has never been afforded the same love and respect in his role as national team manager. His early days were filled with controversy, as he culled the failing old guard and moved from the classic Dutch 4-3-3 system with flying wingers, experimenting with relatively unsuccessful 4-4-2 system, before finally employing the current 4-2-3-1, which is so untypical of previous Dutch outfits.

Pre-Euro 2008, serious question marks were also being levelled at Van Basten's rearguard. Whilst the forward line was unarguably full of talent, the defence, save for Edwin van der Sar in goal, looked noticeably short.

Fans of the Premier League will have no doubt come across the usually totally abject performances of Andre Ooijer, who is at best anonymous and at worst a liability for Blackburn. His sidekick is none other than Khalid Boulahrouz, whose suicidal performance for Chelsea against Arsenal cites him as one of the worst buys made during the Abramovich era.