Feyenoord’s Varkenoord academy has produced some of the brightest Eredivisie talents over the past few years and the next young superstar ready to take Netherlands by storm is midfielder Jari Schuurman.
- By Michael Bell
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On the 12th of July last year Netherlands finished third in the World Cup ,with 11 stars of their 23 man squad graduating from the famous Varkenoord academy. The likes of Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Terence Kongolo and Jordy Clasie went into the tournament as Feyenoord stars, but at the end were some of the most sought after talents in European football.
Two months earlier the latest youngster to churned out by the seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent in Rotterdam, Jari Schuurman, burst onto the international scene during the U17 European Championships in Malta. The uber-talented midfielder finished joint top scorer for the tournament with four goals which included a hat-trick in the group game against Malta, and the equaliser in the final against England, which Netherlands would lose on penalties.
UEFA named Schuurman as one of the ten stars of the tournament which capped off an excellent season, in which the midfielder had led Feyenoord B1 to the league title, finishing as top scorer in the division with 21 goals and signed his first professional contract with the club he joined as a seven year old.
A lively player on the pitch Schuurman, who is named after Ajax legend Jari Litmanen, is a box to box midfielder who has a keen eye for a pass but also an killer instinct in front of goal, which shows in his outstanding goal-scoring record. Schuurman has a superior football intelligence to always be in the right place at the right time around the penalty area, a trait which the likes of Frank Lampard and Rafael van der Vaart possess. Tall, strong, fast and with great feet Schuurman has it all to be a world class player.
The 17-year-old has continued his rise to stardom this season, not only starring for Feyenoord and Netherlands U19 side’s, but also making his first team debut in a friendly with Emmen during the winter break. Recently Schuurman has been involved with Feyenoord’s U21 side, and it surely wont be long until the midfielder is permanently a part of the Fred Rutten’s first team.
Feyenoord are always under threat of losing their star players to foreign sides and this summer it looks like three midfielders will be on the way out of the club with Jordy Clasie, Tonny Vilhena and Lex Immers all linked with moves to England. Should the trio depart, the club will once again be forced to look to their academy and Schuurman is the outstanding candidate to make the step up.
An undoubted star of the future, Schuurman is making great strides, and by the time the 2018 World Cup comes round, he may join the list of Varkenoord graduates to star for Netherlands at the biggest stage in football.
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