Half the provisional Holland squad are starting their pre-Euro 2012 training camp in the eastern village of Hoenderloo today.

The 19-strong training squad is mainly made up of players who no longer have any commitments with their club.

Among them are four uncapped youngsters: AZ Alkmaar players Nick Viergever and Adam Maher as well as Erwin Mulder and Stefan de Vrij from Feyenoord Rotterdam and Jetro Willems from PSV Eindhoven.
 
Several star players, including Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robben, will join the 36-man squad at a later stage. Huntelaar is recovering from a concussion sustained when his side Schalke 04 played a friendly in Philadelphia last week. Robben is preparing for Saturday’s Champions League final between his club Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
 
The biggest surprise in the group is goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, second choice at Ajax Amsterdam, while the club's No. 1, Kenneth Vermeer, has not been called up.
 
Holland coach Bert van Marwijk will narrow down his large squad to 27 players after the two-day training camp. They will face friendlies against Bayern Munich and Bulgaria on 22 and 26 May. Four more players will be discarded on 29 May for Holland’s final two friendlies against Slovakia and Northern Ireland. 
 
Holland's first Euro 2012 match, against Denmark, is scheduled for Saturday, 9 June.
 
(tt/imm)


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