Partly due to many injuries, Telstar is where it is now: penultimate in the first division. The Velsen residents could not be themselves in the first half of the season. “I’m really looking forward to that new start,” says an optimistic Mike Snoei. The trainer expects that with a fit selection he could have a shot at a period title. “We have to be there immediately.”
During the ‘mini winter break’, Snoei has some time to kick the habit from football. Spending a lot of time with his two grandsons, playing padel with friends and watching sports on TV is what the 60-year-old trainer does now. “Just change your mind and recharge your batteries. The people around me have earned that.”
Second last
Yet he sat at Christmas dinner with a slightly different feeling than in previous years. His Telstar is in nineteenth place in the first division. “In 2018 we went into the winter break with 33 points and were in the top 3. There was a lot of euphoria and we had to temper all expectations. Now things are different. Now is a good time to stay focused on the big picture. to see.”
“Just change your mind and recharge your batteries. The people around me have earned that too”
Snoei refers several times to last season’s great highlight. Then his team performed on the final day thanks to a great turnaround against NAC Breda (2-1) to play in the left row.
Deflation
The result was a considerable exodus in which strong holders left. Captain and top scorer Glynor Plet retired from football, Özgür Aktas opted for a move to MVV, Anass Najah went to Azerbaijan, Anwar Bensabouh wanted to move up and David Min returned to premier league team RKC Waalwijk.
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With a stripped-down selection, Snoei had to build a new team that suddenly had no backbone. Almost the entire ash left Velsen-Zuid. “I already knew in the preparation that it would be a hell of a job,” Snoei says about taking care of the departed players. “That was the biggest challenge for Peter Hofstede and me. Looking back, we had difficulty replacing those boys.”
Overfull rag basket
After mixed results, with a draw against ADO Den Haag (1-1) and a resounding victory against FC Den Bosch (1-4) standing out, the full rag overshadows the feeling at Telstar.
During some matches more than ten players were missing White Lions. “A big club like FC Barcelona loses Frenkie de Jong for a number of weeks and the club falls from first to sixth place. We are not Barcelona, but if we lose Christos Giousis, Youssef el Kachati and Mees Kaandorp, that is comparable with us. We are a great team that worked hard, but the quality could have been much better.”
“I have rarely experienced this as a trainer”
Telstar also had to do without goalkeeper Ronald Koeman Jr., Robin Polley, Tom Overtoom, Danzell Gravenberch and Jay Kruiver for some time. “I have rarely experienced this as a trainer. We were able to cope with that reasonably well until Willem II, but it is not enough for Telstar to win your matches.”
There is no explanation for the high number of injuries. These are all isolated cases and Snoei even consulted with the doctor several times whether it could be due to the strain.
The injuries meant that players like Jayden Turfkruier and Tim van de Loo could stand up. “They have developed well, because they would have received less playing time if everyone had been fit. And Eddahchouri is a direct hit,” says Snoei about the striker who came over from Royal HFC last summer. “In a team that doesn’t create a lot of chances, he still scored ten goals. That’s good from such a boy.”
Rainbow discussion
Eddahchouri also stood out off the field. He and three teammates chose not to wear Telstar’s rainbow shirt in the match against TOP Oss. “That certainly distracted him a lot,” Snoei says, looking back on it. “At the end of the day, the rhythm he had was interrupted for a while in the games that followed. I talked to him about that for a while. People are talking about it and indirectly he ended up in a lesser phase.”
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There was a lot of fuss about it, but Snoei looks back on that week with great pride. “A real Telstar way. I would never have wanted to make a different choice. Telstar has stood for this kind of support towards society all his life. The loyalty, the respect, that is really nice that Telstar does that. I have never made it a problem. I just said: if you make the choice, you have to stand by it. Who am I to condemn that? That is precisely the rainbow message.”
Period title
After the winter break, Telstar hopes to collect more points and, above all, climb out of the lower regions. “We want to undo that horrible position in the rankings,” says Snoei about nineteenth place. “When the group is complete, I would like to speak of a new start. With a full-fledged group in which players can compete with each other. We could perhaps focus on a period title. We have to be there immediately. Time will tell.” the learning.”
Telstar will resume training on Tuesday, January 2. The selection will remain in the Netherlands and will play a practice match against Royal HFC in the run-up to the competition. The competition will resume on Friday, January 12, with the home match against Jong AZ.