Ronald de Boer blames lack of unity for Dutch exit

Former Netherlands international Ronald de Boer has identified a lack of unity as the reason for his country's Euro 2012 exit.

The Dutch lost all three of their first-round matches, ending with a 2-1 defeat to Portugal on Sunday and finished bottom of Group D. De Boer believes that there were too many egos in Bert van Marwijk's side.

"There were too many egos on the pitch, players who had great seasons, Van Persie, Huntelaar and Robben, and overall too many wanted to be the star of this tournament," said De Boer.

"Huntelaar and Van Persie are not only the top-scorers at their clubs, they are both top-scorers in the Premier League and the Bundesliga, but they're not playing well [for the Netherlands].

"Football is still a team sport. You have to do it together and we didn't see unity at this tournament."

De Boer earned 67 caps for the Netherlands.