TEAMS RKC Waalwijk Hamburg Chelsea Sevilla (loan) Stuttgart Sporting Brondby Feyenoord Netherlands
How was your relationship with Martin Jol, who gave you your professional debut?
Jol played a very important role at the start of my career. Before I came to RKC [Waalwijk] I had a tough time in the youth academy of AZ Alkmaar when I lost my father at the age of 16. I was no longer myself and it affected my performances. AZ didn’t want to continue with me and I understood. RKC felt like a new start. Jol spent a lot of time with me. He was very critical, but he always had constructive criticism. He said that to get right to the top, one has to do more than the competition. If someone runs 7km, you have to run eight. Never lean back – that was his message. I’ve never forgotten that.