Maher: I can learn from Sneijder and Van der Vaart
Thursday, March 28, 2013 by Goal.comAdam Maher has revealed he is keen to learn from Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder at Netherlands' national side.
National team coach Louis van Gaal stated earlier this week that the AZ midfielder is one of three candidates for the No.10 position, but Maher accepts, for now at least, that the more experienced names remain ahead of him in the pecking order.
"The coach has told me that Sneijder and Van der Vaart are ahead of me in the hierarchy. I have to be patient and grab every chance I get. I can still learn a lot from them," Maher told Goal.com. "It's a good thing for the team if they continue to do well. They can still be decisive. We've all seen that. The team is all that matters."
He added, "They have World Cup and European championship experience. We have a good team with more experienced players and promising youngsters. That's the most important thing."
Maher came off the bench in the 74th minute of Oranje's 4-0 win over Romania on Tuesday, and he was over the moon with his fourth cap at senior level.
"It's fantastic that I got playing time. This is a really nice feeling. I got the chance to prove my worth and I think I did a good job. I tried to keep things simple," Maher explained. "We took a big step toward the World Cup, and it's now up to us to take that final step."
Netherlands needs two wins from its remaining four qualification games to book its ticket for the 2014 World Cup.
However, right back Daryl Janmaat has warned Holland not to get complacent.
"We are not there yet and the World Cup is still far away. Let's not get carried away. Still a lot of things can happen," Janmaat said. "I realize that we have taken a big step towards qualification and we cannot let this slip away from us. We have to seal the deal as soon as possible and then keep going."
Netherlands' next qualifier is the away game against Estonia in September.
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