Football-Oranje writer James Rowe recently spoke to FC Twente defender Jos Hooiveld. They spoke about his time with Danish team FC Copenhagen, playing in England with Southampton FC and returning to the Netherlands to play for FC Twente.
- By James Rowe
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JR ”How does it feel to be back in the Netherlands with FC Twente?”
JH ”I must admit that when I was playing abroad that I had the feeling that I would never play football in the Netherlands again. I love playing football but I do not like the attention off the pitch. Since I have arrived at FC Twente I am really enjoying myself. FC Twente is a great club”
JR ”You also played for Danish team FC Copenhagen where you won the Danish title. How do you look back on your time in Denmark?’
JH ”I had to really prove myself in the short time that I was there. I have the feeling that I did well at FC Copenhagen. I felt I needed a bit more time to distinguish myself as a player because it was such a good team that was used to playing with one another. When I would play I would be taking a teammates place in the team and I had to show my worth. But this hard work also led to the best transfer on my career. I do believe that I had gone to FC Copenhagen at another stage in my career I could have performed even better.”
JR ”That leads me nicely to my next question: how do you look back on your time at Southampton?”
JH ”It was absoloutely fantastic. I enjoyed every minute. From the moment I arrived and the chairman at the time Nicola Cortese told me a story about his plans for the club. He spoke of the plans in such fine detail and that culminated in us getting promotion to the Premier League. I was also a part of that. That was the main highlight for me during my time there. In our debut season back in the Premier League I scored 8 goals. One of my favorite matches for Southampton FC was when we beat Manchester City at home 3-1 and I managed to keep Sergio Aguero in check.”
JR ”What can you tell me about the managers you played under at Southampton FC: Nigel Adkins, Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman?”
JH ”Nigel Adkins was a great English manager and a good man. He was very relaxed. He always made you feel good even when we lost or did not play well. I got on really well with Mauricio Pochettino especially in the beginning of his tenure at the club. I was also at the club when Ronald Koeman arrived and that was nice. I learned something from all three managers that I played under.”
JR ”Having played Premier League football, what do you believe are the qualities that a defender needs to succeed in the Premier League?”
JH ”You have to keep getting quicker and stronger because your opponents are also getting stronger and quicker. Your opponents in the Premier League are so agile and they are athletes too. You must be able to head the ball well and have good perserverance. You must also be phsically capable of playing the matches.”
JR ”You also played on loan at Norwich City & Millwall. Did you enjoy your time at those clubs and did you notice a diffrence between the Premier League and Championship?”
JH ”At Norwich City it did not work out as I had hoped and it was a strange turn of events. The club called me and made it clear that they wanted me to come to the club. When I arrived it turned out that they already had four or five central defenders and three of which they brought to the club on the last day of the transfer window. They were changing a lot of players and I came to the club to play matches again and build up my fitness. After that I went to Millwall and I really enjoyed my time there. The only sad thing about my time at Milwall is that we got relegated. Had we not got relegated I may well have stayed at the club for a while. It was such a pity. In the Premier League if you do not concentrate enough or you are not fit enough you will have problems. Your errors are also punished quicker in the Premier League than in the Championship.”
JR ”Could you see who is the best play is that you have ever played with?”
JH ”Adam Lallana. He was a fantastic player. We had a good team at Southampton with the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin who was a very good player and Rickie Lambert was also in very good form when I was at the club. I have played with many good players but I must say some of the things I saw Adam Lallana do at Southampton FC were fantastic. Here at FC Twente I would also give a mention to Oussama Assaidi because I think he’s great player.”
JR ”Who is the most difficult opponent that you have ever faced?”
JH ”I have faced many difficult opponents in my career so far but I had a very tough time playing against Romelu Lukaku when he was playing for West Bromwich Albion. He was quicker, stronger and jumped higher than me that made things difficult coupled with the fact that he is also a fantastic player. Sergio Aguero is a world class player too.”
JR “Finally Jos who is the best manager that you have ever played under?”
JH ”Mauricio Pochettino was absolutely fantastic especially in his attention to detail and he is so clear in what he wants from his players. He also has a great way of conveying his message to his players. I must also mention Job Dragtsma who I had at FC Inter Turku in Finland he was great but that was on a more personal level as he helped me to improve as a footballer.”
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