The Germany number one and his side are looking forward to the much anticipated encounter against Netherlands.
Joachim Low’s men face Bert van Marwijk’s side on Wednesday. After the 1-0 loss to Denmark, the Dutch find themselves at the bottom of Group B, just above Portugal. The Oranje have a real chance of failing in the first hurdle of
the Euro 2012.
Portugal face Denmark in their next fixture, if they beat Morten Olsen’s men then Cristiano Ronaldo’s side have a good chance of going through to the next round.
As compared to Portugal, the Dutch have a really tough fixture in which they face an old foe. The Germans would relish the chance to knock out their bitter rivals from a major tournament.
Ahead of the mouth watering encounter Manuel Neuer joins in the mind games. The Bayern goal keeper grew up close to the Dutch border and is expecting exciting atmosphere in the stadium.
"I grew up in Westfalen, which is close to the Dutch border,” he is quoted as saying in an interview.
The Germany international has played with a lot of Dutch players in his time at Schalke 04 and knows all about their unique technique.
"I have also holidayed there and I played with a lot of Dutch players at Schalke, of course we know all about their strengths. I am happy that we will play against them in this tournament," he added
Neuer is no stranger to Dutch players, he is well aware of his Bayern teammate Arjen Robben, who he thinks is an exceptional talent, capable of giving German defenders a tough time.
"At Bayern I play with Arjen Robben, who is a great reference point,” he further added.
The former Schalke man also revealed he attended this fixture as a spectator when he was young, and is well aware of the historic significance of the match.
"When I was young, I attended a match between Germany and Netherlands. The atmosphere was great. For the fans, this game is very special,”
Rinus Michels was famously quoted as saying “football is war” with reference to this fixture, and Bert van Marwijk would certainly use this quote to motivate his troops to beat Germany, in order to keep their qualification hopes
alive.
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