Frederik de Nerée never played football at a high level. Nevertheless, the 52-year-old HFC veteran was allowed to share the field with Frank de Boer, Aron Winter and Simon Tahamata last weekend. “It’s great that you can spend a day with your heroes from the past on the field,” says De Nerée.
In the traditional New Year’s match, the HFC Legends competed against the Ex-internationals. The selection of the HFC Legends consisted of seventeen players. Mainly players who once played in the first. Yet there was also a spot available for De Nerée. He paid 550 euros at an auction of the club to be allowed to play.
Ball kicked off
De Nerée had to sit on the bench in the first half. He played fully in the second half. Every now and then he snatched the ball from Glenn Helder and Rob Witschge. For De Nerée it was a day he will never forget. “Before I actually started playing, I was nervous. You start to doubt your own qualities. In retrospect, I think it went pretty well. I could have played a little longer.”
The HFC Legends went down 4-2 against the ex-internationals. Despite the fact that De Nerée was unable to turn the game around, trainer Waling Westra was more than satisfied with the veteran’s substitute. “I didn’t let Frederik play the whole game. At half-time I told him that if he was tired I could always change him. He couldn’t be broken and could still play half.”