Patrick Kluivert took a thinly-disguised swipe at his team mates on Sunday as he reflected on losing his place in the Dutch starting line-up for Tuesday's Group D opener against Germany.

Kluivert, the record scorer for the Netherlands with 40 goals in 79 matches, has had a torrid season, suffering long-term injury, being told by Barcelona to find a new club and now losing his international place to Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Coach Dick Advocaat has opted for the Manchester United striker to lead the attack in a 4-3-3 line-up with two wide men.

"Ruud (van Nistelrooy) played the whole season at Manchester United, so if Advocaat starts with him because he is in better shape then it is his choice," Kluivert told reporters.

"It leaves me with no alternative but to prove the contrary.

"That Ruud and I didn't work out together is not only our failure. Together we had to cover too much space and made runs of 50 meters, while I think our midfielders were supposed to do that."

Advocaat invited four players to discuss the tactical switch last week, although Kluivert was not one of them.

"The two strikers were forced to work hard in defence and then we simply did not have the power to be decisive up front," added Kluivert, who said his season had been disrupted by a knee injury sustained against Real Zaragoza in January.

"I have had a tough year and especially because I have never had long lasting injuries like this season.," he said.

"The toughest part is to get fit because coming in from the bench is not really my speciality.

"But now I feel good compared to the start of the training camp, but it's obvious my match rhythm is insufficient."

Kluivert's miserable spell could still end on a high, however, if he believes in history repeating itself.

At the 1988 European Championship Marco van Basten started on the bench for the first game, began the second and finished the tournament as top scorer to lead the Dutch to their sole European title.