Joseph and Thijs Oosting both talk passionately about football. From the small details that can decide a match to the bigger picture and ultimate goals. This week, however, it is mainly about the fact that father and son will face each other on Sunday during Willem II-RKC Waalwijk. It sometimes feels a bit uncomfortable, they prefer to just talk about football.
They understand that it is now mainly about the duel between father and son. And they certainly think it’s special. “It’s special. It’s fun, but also crazy,” says Thijs. Joseph agrees. “Of course it is different. But I try to think about it as little as possible.”
A week and a half ago they didn’t even have to think about it. At that time, Thijs was still a player for AZ. “But during the weekend everything suddenly went into gear six. That weekend I was in Emmen. It was my father’s birthday, he turned fifty. We went out to dinner with the family. I kept getting calls, so I have my father on all the time kept informed. He was very happy for me, that I could make this step. Everyone was happy: my father, mother, sister, uncles, aunts, girlfriend. It was a really nice moment. My father’s birthday and with me the transfer came around, it was a kind of double celebration.”
Soon came the realization that he can make his debut in a match against his father. Is it a problem that now the family may have to choose who to cheer for? “My family never thinks in trouble,” Joseph says. Thijs laughs. “He says that more often. I think they prefer that we draw a draw and I score a goal, something like that. That they think that is the best and the best. But of course my father and I don’t think that way.”
In any case, father and son agree on that. “It’s against my own son. But trust me, I want to win. Thijs tries to realize his dream in Tilburg, I in Waalwijk. Sunday’s game is important for both. For Willem II, but also for us. Regardless of the result, he is welcome with us in the evening”, says the RKC trainer with a wink.
The latter is a really positive point about the switch from Oosting to Willem II. The distance gets a lot smaller. “He lived quite a bit, now we can see each other regularly,” says Joseph. Thijs indicates that he has to drive an hour and fifteen minutes from his current house to the Tilburg club. “I’m going to look for something nearby. Then live “We’ll be twenty minutes apart later. Then it’s easier for me to have dinner with my mother and father. That is a lot more fun, my sister will also come this way more often.”
The attacking midfielder, who can also play as a striker and left winger, is looking forward to Sunday. It’s counting down. What does he do when he sees his father in the Koning Willem II Stadium? “Embrace him and I give him a kiss, then we move on. I have a good relationship with my father. He is my father, but also my best friend. Even though we’re kind of arch-rivals on Sunday, I give him a hug. And then we’ll see each other again after the game.”
For Thijs, in addition to a duel with his father, it is also a match against his old club. Last season he played on a rental basis for RKC. “The club took me out of a Young team and put me in the Eredivisie. I am grateful to them for that. RKC will always be in my heart. They awarded me and I had a super time there,” says Oosting junior. “But from now on I am with Willem II. And I plan to stay here for a while. At the moment I just want to win, we need that as a club.”
What it is a matter of having to do with Willem II, it feels more like being allowed at RKC. That club can take a big step in the direction of self-preservation. “You look at that with a slanted eye. But we mainly look at the process we are currently in. After the winter we will look good. We have faith in our plan and in each other. It may sound easy, but we stick to the plan whether we win or lose. We don’t want to lose, of course, but if it does happen, there is no man overboard.”
In the next round of play they both have a Rotterdam opponent. Willem II then plays against Sparta, RKC receives Feyenoord. They are both actually looking forward to it. That it is no longer about Oosting against Oosting. “It’s nice when we’ve had this and can really talk about football again,” says Thijs. Joseph sees it no different. “At the front, everyone tries to make it loaded, I try not to see it that way myself. I focus on RKC.”