Dutch coach Van Basten calls for joint Dutch-Belgian football league

Netherlands coach Marco Van Basten speaks to the press after the qualifying draw for the final stages of Euro 2008, January 2006, in Montreux, Switzerland. Van Basten has called for a joint Dutch-Belgian Football league to be set up to counter the gap between the Netherlands and the big European football nations.

Netherlands coach Marco van Basten has called for a joint Dutch-Belgian Football league to be set up to counter the gap between the Netherlands and the big European football nations.

"I think the Netherlands and Belgium should set up a joint competition. This way we can counter the (financial) strength of countries like Britain, Spain, Italy, France and Germany where they just splash money about," Van Basten said in an interview with the NRC.Next paper published Friday.

"The big football countries are sucking us dry. In my time as a professional football player there were five Dutchmen playing abroad, now there are fifty. That's just not right," he explained.

According to the a three-time European Footballer of the Year the joint league should bring together the best 16 clubs from the Netherlands and Belgium.

Former striker van Basten has been at the helm of the Dutch national side since July 29 2004. He is not the first to launch the idea of a joint competition with Belgium, but his comments have put the idea back in the spotlight here.