Ex Internationals enjoy their new years game

Normally, reading a review here on a match played weeks ago won’t work. But this game is different.

The ex internationals played their yearly new years game against the Koninklijke (Royal) HFC. Some players weren’t too happy with the 3-3 draw, but they did have fun. “The vibe was very good.”

Pierre van Hooijdonk was his happy-go-lucky self. He posed with dozens of fans and joked with every reporter he met. The former Oranje pinchhitter was happy with his performance and his two goals (one was a beauty of a free kick). “It was just great to be on the pitch again and scoring is always wonderful.” The coaches didn’t appoint him to take the free kicks. There were no deals made beforehand. “But, I think some might have seen me score one or two on tv so there was no discussion,” the former Feyenoord cup winner laughed.

Wim Jonk was happy to. The midfielder played one half and demonstrated his tremendous vision and skills in passing. He was close to scoring from distance too. “One ball curved towards the top corner, I actually counted that ball.” Jonk really enjoyed himself. “The vibe was great. These lads are all top and that makes it even more fun. The pitch was tough, though. Frozen and hard to play good football.

Frank de Boer thought the pitch was too dominant. “We always need to play with our technical skills and short distance passing. We’re not able to play the fast physical game anymore. It’s hard on a pitch like this. But, I’m not unhappy. HFC has a good level and still we could create opportunities. We should have scored more though.”

Dennis Bergkamp made his debut for Old Orange. He should his class with some technical tricks and chips. “Playing football is always fun. Last time I played was with Jaap Stam’s farewell. It was about time, I thought. I want to do this more often.”

Patrick Kluivert also played his first game for Old Orange. He loved meeting Dennis again. “Man, it has been eight years since we last played, but it felt so natural. We still have this connection, although I played on midfield and he played on the right wing this time around…”

Bryan Roy had physical issues in Haarlem. He was subbed in the half time break. But his replacement, Pieter Huistra, got injured so Roy came back on. “Unbelievable, I couldn’t even run in the last minutes… That was a wake up call. I need to get more in shape. But it was tremendous to play again, the vibe was great. Almost like old times…”