On Monday, four soccer players from the Netherlands joined the rest of their country in celebrating a 3-0 win over Italy in the Euro Cup 2008 — one of the biggest tournaments in the world.

It didn’t matter that Rob Gevers, Jordens Peters, Paul Beekmans and Stef Doedee were several thousand miles and nine time zones away from home — they made sure not to miss the game.

“Everybody was required to wear orange,” said Tom Zomerschoe, who is hosting the players in advance of a soccer camp scheduled for Saturday through Tuesday.

Zomerschoe helped coordinate bringing the players to the United States for the camp, to teach local soccer players some of the techniques the Dutch use.

“The Dutch have a very well-known youth training system,” Zomerschoe said, adding he hopes to help local players and coaches with the camp.

Gevers, 27, and Beekmans, 26, both are from Vught. Peters and Doedee are both 21 and from Berlicum. All four learned their skills from years of playing with club teams in the Netherlands.

“The Dutch play attractive football,” said Beekmans, using the name the rest of the world uses for soccer.

“The possession game is very important,” added Peters.

The Dutch teams always try to control the ball, using patience while trying to set up an attack on the opponents’ goal.

“We try to play always on the offensive,” said Doedee, a goalie.

That system is very effective, but not easy to teach in the United States, Zomerschoe said.

“That’s something that’s always been hard to get out of the young kids because they are always goal-oriented,” he said. “It’s something we try to get, but it’s not instinct.”

While the Dutch teams will try to throw the opposition off by moving the ball around the field on offense, young players familiar with sports like American football and basketball want to push the ball to the goal as quickly as possible.

“We’re kind of hoping the kids get a grip of that,” Zomerschoe said, adding he and other area coaches also hope to learn new methods for teaching the players.

About 60 players are expected to take part in the four-day camp, which costs $100.

Zomerschoe is pleased that two of the Dutch players themselves have been youth coaches — Gevers and Beekmans.

The other two were part of their country’s 19-and-under national team and Gevers also spent two years with the national team.

All have extensive experience.

“We try to bring our vision,” Doedee said. “We can explain our exercises we do in Holland.”

“(We want) to help the local players to learn,” said Gevers.

All four players are taking a break from their respective club teams until training resumes on July 1.

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the Netherlands. The teams usually train six or seven times a week, while playing one match, which often draws as many as 5,000 fans.

During the Euro Cup, the nation becomes one, which is why along with trips to the beach, the dunes, the Rogue River, water skiing and an area sawmill, the group will be back in front of the television at 11:30 a.m. today for a match against France.

“In Holland, every street is orange,” Peters said.

On the South Coast, one home is the same way.

Notes: The soccer camp is for boys and girls from 10 to 18 years old and will be held at North Bend High School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday. A few spaces are still available. People interested in participating can download a registration form from http://epuertosoccer.com and drop the form and their camp registration fee off for Allan Ledesma at 2420 Marion St., in North Bend.