Dutch goal keepers endangered species
Tuesday 25 August 2009
Half the clubs in the Eredivisie have
a foreign goal keeper.
"They don't add anything,
but the level of our education is terrible."
Piet Schrijvers is tough in his
judgment.
Frans Hoek: "It will
take us ten years"
On 14 September all keeper
trainers of the Eredivisie will gather in Zeist
on the initiative of Frans Hoek, who has been
training keeper trainers for a year now and creating
the conditions to scout and guide young talents.
"One can indeed wonder
what we have been doing right over the past few
years," Hoek admits.
"Looking at the number
of foreign keepers the answer should be no. After
Van der Sar there is a big gap. There is talent,
but apart from Stekelenburg young keepers have
little international experience. They don't get
the chance. They have to make up for that and
it will cost us ten years."
Hoek is involving form er
top keepers like Jan Jongbloed, Hans van Breukelen
and Ronald Waterreus.
Piet Schrijvers is not alone
in his criticism. Pim Doesburg, keeper trainer
at Feyenoord for years, has little positive to
say about the scouting and training of talents.
"We've gone backwards
there. You can not make a keeper. You're born
that way, so you have to spot them at an early
age. The level is terrible. The Jupiler League
should be the breeding ground of new talents,
but none of the keepers there is ready for the
level of the Eredivisie."
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The former goal keeper of Ajax
and the Dutch national team is hurt by the fact that
only half the clubs in the Eredivisie have a Dutch netminder.
"I have warned the KNVB about
it years ago. The Association has been asleep for 20
years. It's ridiculous that all this time there has
been no real plan for scouting and educating goal keepers
and that only recently they have started a special course
for keeper trainer. Years ago me and some colleagues
I filed a ready made regional plan, but it ended up
in a drawer. Now we reap the sour fruit of that decision."
More and more often the clubs sign
a foreign goal keeper.
Heerenveen and Sparta have been
the most recent examples.
"But that was out of necessity,"
says Frans Adelaar, coach of Sparta.
"We wanted Ramos of PSV on
loan for another year. When that wasn't possible we
had to act quickly. Of course I prefer a Dutch goal
keeper, that is better for communication. But because
we were late we had few options and had to look abroad."
Pim Doesburg: "I always preferred
to work with Dutch keepers. Most foreigners add very
little. That's not so strange because the real top keepers
don't come to Holland. So you're always left with second
best and you see that in the Eredivisie. Only Romero
of AZ is an exception."
Piet Schrijvers ads: "The
KNVB has to intervene. A foreign player should really
be an enrichment, like Gomes was at PSV. Look what's
happening now. Take Heerenveen. With Vandenbussche,
Steppe and Lejsal they have three foreigners. Let's
be honest: none of these three are top. Just like Isaksson
at PSV isn't."
There's few club where young keepers
get a chance.
"Incredible," says Maarten
Arts, keeper trainer who discovered Michel Vorm at FC
Utrecht.
"Coaches are prepared to give
defenders and midfielders a chance, not goal keepers.
Learning the trade is a matter of trial and error."
Arts thinks clubs have no patience.
"And they are afraid of the
dark. There's nothing wrong with a foreign goal keeper
in itself, but clubs should first see what they have
in their own ranks and they should allow these guys
to make mistakes. That hasn't happened in recent years.
We're a long way from getting Dutch keepers back in
goal."
Arts find it incomprehensible that
an experienced keeper like Henk Timmer has been overlooked
by the clubs looking for a keeper in recent weeks.
"I don't know the reasons
why, but it's strange to say the least that clubs like
Sparta and Heerenveen sign foreign keepers who are no
bit better than Henk."
Timmer is not the only experienced
shot stopper without a club.
Harald Wapenaar is also waiting
by the phone to be released.
He understands the clubs are cautious,
but he thinks he can still be of value as a goal keeper
or as a coach.
"I understand that clubs are
not too keen on signing a 39-year-old who has been through
back surgery," he says.
"But I am fully fit and I
am ready to go. It doesn't even have to be as first
choice. With my experience I can be a great support
to a youngster. Clubs are not sensitive to such things.
It's a shame."
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