Engelaar: I do what I do and plod along…

The Dutch team manager was happy, the Oranje captain praised him and the HSV star thought he’d exceeded expectations. Orlando Engelaar himself was a tad less enthusiastic. “Oh, let’s stay realistic here. This opponent didn’t push us, really, so we shouldn’t be cheering too loud.”

Relaxed and realistic is how Engelaar (28 years old) judged his performance last Saturday. Yes, he did feel the game went well for him, his fourth international match for Oranje. And he also saw that he took the last doubt away.

He was happy but he did pull on the brakes. “It’s not a benchmark. These are games in which you can present yourself and it is a confirmation that I’m on the right track. But it’s a friendly against a bunch of players whose heads are on a beach somewhere.”

It went quick with Engelaar, after a slow start. The offensive midfielder from the Feyenoord youth system, who played for NAC and RC Genk before joining FC Twente, praised his FC Twente coach Fred Rutten. “I did ok as offensive midfielder, but when he put me in a holding position, things really took off!”

And he seems to adjust to higher levels so easily. “Well, the first time I was with Oranje, I pinched myself and thought: My God, I’m part of the Dutch team! That was wonderful, but you can’t linger too long. You move with it and soon you want more.”

“I think I can play at this level. The training sessions are tough, but fun too. I’m not surprised, simply because I don’t think about it too much. Football is football, whether it’s with the best of the nation or with my mates on the street. I do what I do and plod along with the rest.”

This no-nonsense style could even result in a starting position. In particular his ability to find solutions deep differentiate him from his rivals for the midfielders’ positions.

“I was taught to play like that when I played striker (at Feyenoord) and later as offensive midfielder. It’s part of my DNA. People expected me to do something creative, so the first look will always be deep, to the most forward player. In a way, it’s also the safest thing to do. Passing wide can mean a stinging counter when the ball is taken over. When my deep passes don’t connect, at least the ball is at their defensive third.”

The big question of course, is: will he be able to play like he does at Twente when faced with Cannavaro, Gattuso, and Pirlo.

“I don’t know. Those games will be at a much higher level. I am very interested to see what will happen.”

As a kid, Engelaar watched Van Basten and Gullit win the EC1988. Now it’s his chance to reap eternal glory. Laughing: “I can’t imagine how that would be.”

“I’ve never been part of any Oranje selection. Never. So, when you’re 27 years old and suddenly you have the chance to go along on the Asian tour, it is just a wonderful surprise. I never ever thought about my chances of playing on a big tournament. Four years ago, I watched the games at home on the TV with an orange jersey on my shoulders. What, two years ago I was dressed up as an orange joker… But, if you’re part of the EC selection, you know you’ve got a chance to play on that EC as well. That did cross my mind many times, this week.”

Today, the news was made public that Orlando Engelaar will join his Twente trainer at Schalke 04.