Toshio Lake made a dream debut at Fortuna Sittard on Saturday evening. The attacker of Fortuna Sittard made his appearance after an hour and immediately provided an assist to Mats Seuntjens, before taking the winning goal himself. In ‘s studio ESPN analyst Kenneth Perez zooms in on a striking fact: Lake’s name wasn’t on the back of his shirt.
The other Fortuna players do have a name on the shirt, but Lake only had his number 39 on the back. “He was the only one who didn’t have a name on his shirt. I saw it at the goal,” says Perez with a laugh. In an interview, Lake is asked about the reason behind it. “I would actually start in the Under-21 first, but I left a good impression on the coach and that’s why I’m in the first. I don’t know how it works here. I’m just new, it’s my first season,” he said. he about the lack of his name.
???? Assist + Goal! Substitute and debutant Toshio Lake has a great night! Fortuna Sittard takes the 3 points. #FORTWE pic.twitter.com/3MX1bX0Dw2
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) August 14, 2021
Lake made the 2-1 for Fortuna ten minutes before the end. He came over from Feyenoord this summer, after spending eleven years in the youth academy of the Rotterdam team. The twenty-year-old attacker only heard on Friday that he would be in the selection on Saturday for the game against Twente. “I trained with the first team this week and saw my name on the board yesterday. Actually, I wasn’t nervous yesterday and I just slept well. But when I sat on the couch, I got a bit of jitters.”
With his transfer to Fortuna, Lake had a clear goal in mind. “Playing football in the Eredivisie. I knew it was possible. I would start in the Under-21, but I assumed my own qualities. I knew that if I got one chance at the first, I would stay there. it went too.” Mario Been admits in the studio that he did not know Lake despite his Feyenoord past, but his impression is that he is a ‘strong boy’. “Being convinced of yourself is a good thing. If you show it right away… The fact that he was included in the selection yesterday and can immediately come in, also says something about how the trainer is working with him.”