Van Persie has been injured most of this season, or for that matter most of his Arsenal career. I doubt if there has been an injury free season for him at Arsenal. Even now he is desperately trying to recover from injury, and be fit for the first match against Italy. Van Basten had initially said, that he would not keep anybody in the team, who cannot be fit for the first match of the Euros. Why exactly has there been a sudden change in this philosophy, with Basten waiting to see if Van Persie can make it for the first match. Even now Van Persie admits he is not fit enough to play 90 minutes in a match. I saw him in the latter half of the season playing for Arsenal, where he wasn’t fully fit. Believe me, he isn’t half as good a player in that situation and Van Basten would make a big mistake if he starts with him. The Dutch have abundance of talent on the attacking front, though the defensive aspect is equally in shambles. With the likes of Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Robben, Van der Vaart and Sneijder to lead the attack, do they really need Van Persie? Agreed he does provide a different dimension to the ones mentioned, but still his fitness and form are long way off. I for one feel Van Basten would do well by using him a sub at max and that too not before he is fully fit (which somehow I get the feeling he hasn’t been for 9 months now).
Another major development in the same group has been the injury to Fabio Cannavaro. Italy losing their World Cup winning captain. That should be disastrous, what with even Nesta no longer playing for the Azzuri. However, if you ask me, it’s not really a bad thing. Cannavaro’s form for Real Madrid has been woeful for most of the last season. He has given many unnecessary penalties and just not been the same confident self that he was earlier. On the other hand his replacement (Gamberini) is coming in on the back of an excellent season for Fiorentina, helping them to reach the Champions League next year, and on a wonderful UEFA cup run. Now only if Matrix gets injured or Donadoni gets some sense to play Barzagli and Gamberini as the first choice center back pairing, the Italian defense would be lot better than it would have been with Cannavaro and Matterazi as the starters.
