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Demy de Zeeuw: "It's a long run that
never turns"
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Last month Demy de Zeeuw was so
badly out of shape that on a Monday night he had to
go and play with the reserves of AZ against the reserves
of FC Groningen.
On Wednesday he will very likely
be a starter for Oranje when they play Norway in Oslo.
"Guess that is how it goes
in football," he says about a remarkable tour past
highs and lows.
But there are plenty of nice moments
in the life of of a professional football player, he
found Monday afternoon.
While those who didn't play on
Saturday had to work hard on the training ground the
ones who did could relax in the autumn sun, joking around
while lying on the grass after a relaxed training session.
A bottle with an energizer at hand.
"You see, it's a long run
that never turns," he says when he's reminded of
that away game with the AZ reserves to FC Groningen.
"During that bus trip I realized
that I had to change course dramatically. After that
I trained even harder and fortunately now I am of value
again both to AZ and to the national team. I guess I
needed that trip."
For a long time there had been
no time for reflection for the unknown player from the
GA Eagles who almost won the league with AZ.
"Everything worked after my
move to Alkmaar. I took it for granted and didn't realize
I wasn't making any progress any more. Unconsciously
I wasn't sharp and thought it would all work out by
itself."
A few good games at Euro 2008 should
have opened the gates to some European top side.
But closely before the start of
the tournament he lost his place to Nigel de Jong.
"I read in the newspaper that
De Jong was physically stronger than I was. I would
have preferred to have heard that from Marco van Basten.
But I believe that Heitinga also never received an explanation
as t o why he had lost his place. John also said he
wasn't happy about that."
De Zeeuw played one game in Switzerland,
with the B-team against Rumania.
Back at AZ his lack of form continued
and he was quite surprised when HSV Hamburg knocked
on the door just before the transfer deadline.
"I understood that HSV wanted
to pay the transfer fee AZ asked, but they were too
late. There was no time to draw up the contract before
midnight. It meant another big disappointment. After
that I discussed matters with my girlfriend and with
the people close to me. After that game against the
reserves of FC Groningen I started to fight back."
The result was he made it back
into the first team of AZ who went on to beat PSV (1-0)
and then excelled against Heracles (3-0), Willem II
(5-2) and Sparta (6-0).
So he was a happy man when Holland
manager Bert van Marwijk called his name after De Jong
had indicated he had to be replaced.
"It's a shame for Nigel of
course, but I was happy with that early chance to come
on. I really want to start against Norway, because it
is still my main goal to play in a foreign league one
time. But I am not the only player to have a dip after
a very good period. The only thing that counts now is
to come back even stronger."
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