‘When the Netherlands approached me, the choice was quickly made’

After twelve youth internationals for the Czech Republic, Joeri Heerkens switched to the Netherlands under-18 at the end of last year. Not a difficult choice for the talented goalkeeper. Heerkens emphasized this in ELF Football number 3, in which he is offered in our ‘Talent’ section. Part of the question/answer interview can be read here on the site.

“Both my parents are Dutch. A year before I was born they moved to the Czech Republic to start their own campsite. They have now built a beautiful campsite in a small Czech village with 350 inhabitants. A kind of I’m leaving story actually, haha.”

“I think I’m a modern goalkeeper, good with my feet. I like a bit of risk in my game; playing balls across the ground and building up from behind. I am often well short of my goal. Until I was fourteen, I always only played goalkeeper half and played left or right winger the other half. I liked goalkeeping better, so I decided to focus entirely on that. That worked out well.”

Photo: @jplatno

“When I was a little younger, I was not yet in the spotlight at the Dutch team. That was because I only played for Czech clubs. I was allowed to participate in a number of youth teams of the Czech Republic national team. When the Netherlands approached me, the choice was quickly made. I experienced many great moments in the Czech Republic and also had a good relationship with many people there. But I have been a fan of the Dutch national team since I was little. I especially have fond memories of the 2014 World Cup. It was a dream for me to play for the Netherlands.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to get the most out of myself. I hope to one day get to the big Orange. In the future I also want to go to the Netherlands to play at club level.”

The entire interview with Joeri Heerkens can be read in ELF Voetbal number 3. Our latest issue also includes the story behind the success of PSV and team Bosz. Interviews with Bert Konterman, Jeremy Bokila and we visited Hamburger SV to speak with the Dutch duo Ludovit Reis and Immanuel Pherai. We spoke to the fathers of three Jong PSV players who also went through life as professional football players. Their sons were there. We put together FC De Verliezers, drew up the other score based on loyalty and spoke to the internationals from the Kitchen Champion Division. And much more!

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