Whether it will become as popular as the Cruyff Courts remains to be seen, but Westerland will at least have the first with the Donyell Malen football field. The international posed for the first time at ‘his’ field on Monday. It is the place where the born Wieringer first kicked a ball. Malen now plays for Borussia Dortmund and in the Dutch National Team.
The idea for the playing field comes from the playground association De Kwettertuin van Westerland. When it turned out that the municipality wanted to redesign the area, the great wish of the entire neighborhood was that the playing field should remain, says Steve Jonas of De Kwettertuin. “We are very proud of Donyell. He was born near here, with a ball on his foot,” Jonas laughs. “When we went looking for a name for the field, we decided to name it after him.”
Jonas: “All credit goes to my wife Marga. She has made contact with Donyell’s mother. But it is also important for Donyell. He kicked the first ball here. Donyell himself said that he would buy the field if there were something else would ever come. The soccer field had to and would remain with him. Unfortunately, Donyell could not be at the unveiling on King’s Day itself, but yesterday he was still there to pose for a while.”
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Donyell Malen started his career at VV Success in Hippolytushoef. “He was 5 years old when he came to the club with his grandfather,” his first football coach Sietzo IJzer told NH Nieuws earlier. “It immediately struck me that he could play football well. You can see how they handle the ball.”
Donyell Malen is still very loyal to his first club at Wieringen. Donyell has already bought a chair on the ‘Gerard Klaver Tribune’ of VV Success. The international also returns regularly for official occasions. The warm bond explains trainer IJzer as follows: “That must be something Wierings.”