Royston Drenthe’s dream scenario

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We start to get used to it. Royston Drenthe as a starter for Real Madrid. Drenthe has started a new life in Madrid, as a left back, after a short conversation with his new coach.
Manuel Pellegrini asked him in the first week, whether he’d want to go for that spot. Drenthe said: Sounds like a plan! Pellegrini said: So we’re in agreement! And that was it.

Not long after, rival Gabriel Heinze moved to Olympique Marseille and Brazilian Marcello is his only remaning competitor. Former Liverpool player Arbeloa is a Madrid player as well, but he’s more equipped for the right flank. In other words, Drenthe stands a chance!

Exactly two years back, I flew with Drenthe to Madrid to experience his first days of his Big Spanish Adventure. Before the plain took off, Drenthe snoozed off. His life before that trip was like a rollercoaster. The negotiations between Real and Feyenoord were difficult, there were angry Feyenoord fans, the media started to mingle in and there was an emotional goodbye with his family.

That was a tough time so Drenthe thought it was time for a powernap, as he called it. After an hour he woke up totally rejuvenated and his mouth didn’t stop. His enthusiasm was heartwarming.

Drenthe was pretty flabbergasted with the negative responses from Holland on his transfer. He felt almost as if he had to apologize for his move, although for him it was a dream come true.
Drenthe ended the evening telling us that he wanted to be a regular starter in his third season at the club. If it happened sooner, fine. But he wanted to be realistic.

Drenthe could be right. In the pre-season, he is the Dutchie with the most playing time, keeping big name players like Sneijder and Robben behind him. and he seems to have won the rivalry with Marcello. In Holland, the football fans start to become a tad uncomfortable. They rather discuss his golden watch and his gold tooth than his success.

And they still can, Dutch mentality never changes, but the focus after two years seems to shift to Drenthe’s football qualities. Whether it’s enough to make his dreams come true remains to be seen.

The offical website of Real Madrid can’t find the words, in the meantime, to describe the youngster. He’s being described as a cross between a bulldog and a Bengal tiger….
And: “He is extremely fast and is physically in perfect condition. He is a versatile player, able to play on different positions. He’s also a free kick specialist and has a tremendous shot in his feet.”

It’s a bit over the top, ok… But, we all know there are hardly any critical statements about players on the clubs’ sites.

Van der Vaart has to make do with a dry sum up of his career. His fate is sealed in Madrid, like Huntelaars.

But the Real Madrid Rollercoaster is thundering forward and Royston Drenthe is sitting in the first cart.
Exactly as he envisioned it…