Sneijder signs as Real go double Dutch

(CNN) -- Dutch players heading for Spain have traditionally favored Barcelona.

Ever since Johan Cruyff starred for the Catalan giants in the 1970s, later returning to the club as coach, there has been a strong oranje presence at Barca -- a tradition maintained in recent seasons by the likes of Patrick Kluivert, Philip Cocu, Marc Overmars and current coach Frank Rijkaard.

Now though it seems Barca's great rivals Real Madrid, already led in attack by Ruud van Nistelrooy, have decided to establish their own "Little Holland" at the Bernabeu.

While most attention has been focused on the ongoing saga of Madrid's efforts to sign Arjen Robben from Chelsea, this week the Spanish champions went double Dutch by signing midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Ajax and fullback Royston Drenthe from Feyenoord.

Given Madrid's very public interest in Robben, it is Sneijder's arrival -- for an eye-catching $36 million -- that constitutes the big surprise.

Like his international teammate, Sneijder is an attacking midfielder, at ease both wide or in a central attacking role. But does Real's pragmatic new coach Bernd Schuster really need two players cut from such a similar mould?

Despite the obvious comparisons -- both, at 23, bring both youthful potential and many seasons of top-flight and international experience -- Sneijder and Robben, if he signs, are hardly incompatible.

While Robben is a more direct attacking player, Sneijder prefers to operate in a playmaking role, prompting others with his passing and scoring most of his goals by ghosting into the penalty area in the style of Michael Ballack or Steven Gerrard -- a skill he has perfected to deadly effect at Ajax.

Both featured impressively in the Dutch starting line-up at the last World Cup and their possible pairing in a midfield geared up to supply the ever-prolific van Nistelrooy could only enhance the side's cohesion.

Schuster may also point to the fact that many great teams -- such as the legendary Dutch-powered AC Milan side of Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Rijkaard -- have also been built around clusters of foreign players, although Sneijder, Robben and van Nistelrooy would have some way to go before achieving that level of greatness.

For now Sneijder's priority will be simply to play his way into a side already loaded with midfield talent at a club where even a $36 million price tag hardly means a guaranteed first team place.

Standing directly in his way is club stalwart Guti, who, having seen the likes of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham come and go, is unlikely to feel too threatened by Real's latest acquisition.

"Let's not exaggerate. I'm going to have to work very hard to earn a spot on the starting 11. That's what I'm going to focus on at first," Sneijder told journalists after being unveiled at the Bernabeu on Monday.

With Schuster set to give Sneijder his competitive debut in Sunday's Spanish Super Cup second leg against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, the Dutchman does not have long to wait for his first chance to impress. E-mail to a friend