Oversleeping Babel loses place in Holland team
Liverpool's Ryan Babel was omitted from Holland's team for
Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier with Romania because of
oversleeping, according to Oranje coach Marco van Basten.
Van Basten picked Real Madrid's Arjen Robben in place of Babel as a
punishment after the Anfield player twice missed team
meetings.
Van Basten said: 'It was the second time that Babel overslept on a
match day. That should never happen.
'That's why I left him out of the team. Robben trained hard and he
is fit, so he played instead.'
The Holland coach admitted Babel might feel deflated by the
snub.
He said: 'It is very well possible that Babel feels disappointed.
It is also not my style to handle these kinds of things this way.
But we also expect that players obey rules during a match.
'The first time that he arrived too late, he settled the matter
with a joke. The second time he joined us too late for the meal and
that was a bit too much. He has to appear on time, just like all
the others.'
Babel, 20, came into the match in the 78th-minute as substitute for
Robben but could not prevent the Dutch from losing 1-0 to Romania
in a clash between the two group leaders in Group G. Dorin Goian
scored the only goal of the game.
Romania need five points from their last three games to be sure of
qualifying for Euro 2008 while Holland are only two points ahead of
third-placed Bulgaria.
