An attacking left-back in the Roberto Carlos mould, Drenthe won the support of the Feyenoord (Rotterdam) terraces with his committed displays in a difficult 2006/07 campaign for the club. He started out as a left winger before coaches suggested he take up a position as an attacking full-back. He made his debut on 15 January as a late substitute in Feyenoord's 1-0 defeat by Vitesse (Arnhem) at the its home stadium of Gelredome and one of the under-21 finals venues. He was seen as a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak season for Feyenoord and established himself as one of the side's lynchpins, making 26 league appearances.

Such is the belief in Drenthe that when U21 & Olympic team coach Foppe de Haan became concerned during a match against the Republic of Ireland in March 2008, he was reportedly placated by one of the other players saying: "Don't worry, Royston is on fire!" Drenthe went on to score in the 1-0 win.

He currently plays for Real Madrid and was selected as the player for the tournament during the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

A skilful intelligent playmaker, Hedwiges Maduro is a typically assured product of the Ajax academy. He was the captain of several Ajax youth teams and had made 55 first-team appearances.

He captained the Netherlands when they hosted the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and has notched up 12 senior caps. His senior debut was against Romania in March 2005 and his last against Argentina at the 2008 FIFA World Cup.

Maduro was voted the brightest emerging talent at Ajax in the 2003/04 season.

He currently plays for Valencia and was part of the UEFA Team of the Tournament at last year's U-21 championship.

Makaay was the European Golden Boot winner for the 2002-03 season for being the top scorer in Europe. He was first recognized as a talented striker while playing for Vitesse in the mid 1990s and honed his skills at the Spanish First Division with Tenerife and later with Deportivo La Coruña where he scored 22 goals in 36 appearances in his most prolific 1999-00 season.

His international caps for the Dutch national team have been limited due to the presence of players such as Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Makaay did, however, play for his country in Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. In the latter tournament, he scored against Latvia in the first round. He played 31 times for the U-21 national team for the Netherlands, which equals a record with Arnold Bruggink.

He currently plays for Feyenoord and is on record for scoring the fastest goal in a UEFA Champions League match - just 10.2 seconds after the kick-off.