Ivory Coast hope to profit from Dutch links

NIEDERKASSEL, Germany, June 12 (Reuters) Ivory Coast forward Arouna Kone said today he hoped his inside knowledge of Dutch football from playing with PSV Eindhoven could benefit his team who face the Netherlands on Friday.

''I know them a little bit. When we start watching videos of Dutch games I can comment on the play and help the team,'' he told reporters during a news conference.

Ivory Coast captain Bonaventure Kalou also spent his formative years as a player in the Netherlands, playing with Feyenoord from 1999-2003.

''It will be strange to play against my adopted country and yes there will be lots of emotion,'' the captain told Dutch television in an interview. He added it would be sad not to have his younger brother Salomon playing alongside him on the Ivorian team.

However, he will at least not have to face Salomon as an opponent with the Dutch.

Kalou's bid for fast-track Dutch citizenship was repeatedly blocked, and the former Feyenoord striker who last month signed for English champions Chelsea will now play for Ivory Coast after the World Cup.

''The Dutch team is young like us. They do not have as much experience as the Argentines, but experience is not everything,'' Kone warned.

ORANGE-CLAD FANS Another link between the Dutch and the Ivorians may also benefit the African team -- the colour orange.

Although Dutch fans are likely to vastly outnumber supporters of the Ivorians, their traditional head-to-toe orange dress could end up making the Ivorians, who also play in orange kit, feel at home.

''The stadium may well be full of fans dressed in orange and from a distance it will be hard to tell whose side they are on,'' said Kone.

''But I guess once you get close up you can tell the difference by the skin colour,'' he laughed.

Debutants Ivory Coast, who despite a strong showing lost their opening match against Argentina 2-1, take on the Netherlands on Friday before facing Serbia&Montenegro in their final group stage match on June 21.

REUTERS PDS ND2108