Double feelings for Zwanenburger Bram Franken after a close loss against old club AZ: “Bizarre”

“This is of course a huge disappointment,” says Bram Franken after a night’s sleep. In Alkmaar the score was 3-3 after 120 minutes of football and penalties had to decide. “It’s a lottery and AZ did that just a little better.”

Assist

Franken has been out of action in recent months due to a knee injury. He made his comeback at the weekend against De Treffers and now against AZ he came on in the 88th minute. The former AZ player then kicked the corner deep into injury time, from which teammate Leonard de Beste scored, 2-2 and thus extra time.

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“The trainer told us beforehand that we were not going here as tourists.” And the Quick Boys players lived up to those words. Both teams scored once more in extra time. “I don’t mean this in a harsh way, but we already had the feeling that we could achieve something against AZ.” In the previous rounds, the number three in the second division also eliminated professional clubs such as NAC and De Graafschap.

Old acquaintances

“Although I must honestly say that this is not one of the strongest AZ selections in recent years.” The resident of Zwanenburg himself left the Alkmaar club in 2022. He played a total of 42 times for Jong AZ, where he scored three times. “I knew Bruno Martins Indi from my time at AZ, I also spoke to him yesterday. I also know players like Wouter Goes, Maxim Dekker and Mexx Meerdink as youth players from my time.”

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Things ultimately went wrong for the amateur club in the penalty shootout. Franken, among others, missed a penalty. “When I walked to the spot, I knew that AZ had my favorite angle. However, I shot the ball the other way, just past the wrong side of the post.”

Missed penalty

“It’s a big disappointment of course,” Franken shares his feeling after the miss from the penalty spot. “You have the feeling that you are disappointing people. On the other hand, I took responsibility and the team also supported me. We were also just proud of what we achieved.”

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“At the moment I see what comes my way,” said a sober Franken. “I have never put the dream of returning to professional football out of my mind. I just no longer focus solely on one thing. I am now also enjoying my life very much.” With Quick Boys, the 22-year-old midfielder trains three times a week plus a match at the weekend. He also works as a recruiter at an employment agency.