[goldenHuddlestone]

Holland captain Edwin van der Sar has revealed he called Mark van Bommel and Ruud van Nistelrooy last weekend in a bid to get them to reconsider their decisions not to play for the national team. The pair rejected call-ups to the national team ahead of the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Albania after public spats with coach Marco van Basten.

However, after some sparkling displays for Bayern Munich, midfielder Van Bommel was then surprisingly named in the squad to face Bulgaria on Saturday and Albania four days later. Similarly, Real Madrid striker Van Nistelrooy was approached to join the group after an injury to Ajax starlet Klaas Jan Huntelaar. But both players showed no desire to link up with the current coaching staff.

"Of course they should be here," Manchester United goalkeeper Van der Sar told www.vi.nl. "It is my task as captain of Oranje to speak to the players, and both Mark and Ruud explained some things to me. Mark said that he took the decision after some serious thought, he doesnt want to play for Holland any more. But his situation is different to Ruuds. He didnt say that, therefore there is always a chance that he could make a return. We still have a reasonably good team without them. But reasonably good is not enough for me, I always strive for the best. I hope that others feel the same as me, I want to achieve so much for my country with the best possible team."

[theo kawala]

they deserve to be in the team