Do Eredivisie teams have different priorities when it comes to the goalkeeper position? João Virgínia certainly thinks so.
Portuguese goalkeeper Virgínia played in the Netherlands with former Eredivisie side Cambuur on loan in the 2022/23 campaign. For the first time in his career, Virgínia started to play week in week out for Cambuur and was even named in the Eredivisie Team of the Month for November 2022, with the Portuguese shot-stopper making the second-most shots per match (4.5) in the entire league.
However, Virgínia largely struggled in the Netherlands. Having excelled under Henk de Jong and interim coach Pascal Bosschaart, Virgínia was struggling to demonstrate his merits under new coach Sjors Ultee. And after losing 3-0 to Sparta Rotterdam, the writing was on the wall. Virgínia, who played every single minute of Cambuur’s first 17 league fixtures, failed to play another minute in the remaining 17.
“Overall, it was positive to go there,” stated Virgínia. “I really enjoyed playing every week, that’s something I want to do again as soon as possible. It was a different football there – they think more about attacking and are sometimes not as concerned about defending. They only want goalkeepers that can play out from the back, that’s their main priority. It’s a different way of seeing football – in England, the #1 priority is saving the goal, and in the Netherlands, they have a different priority. I don’t think it is the right one, but I definitely learned a lot from it.”
Similarly to Ramon Vega, Virgínia is an aerially imposing leader who has the athleticism and reflexes to get down for shots and prevent them from reaching the back of the net. However, the one thing that’s missing from his profile is experience. He has registered just 37 senior appearances across his entire club career. However, with Virgínia’s contract set to expire in the summer, he could very well find himself pursuing a new opportunity in the near future…potentially one in the Eredivisie?
Read João’s full interview here.
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