Jurgen Ekkelenkamp exchanged Ajax for Hertha BSC last summer, but could also have made the switch to FC Twente. The 21-year-old midfielder tells in conversation with the NOS that he has spoken with trainer Ron Jans a number of times. “That might have been the best choice, but afterwards it’s always easy to talk about”, Ekkelenkamp admits.
“I had to renew at Ajax for ‘rental’, so that choice was actually not an issue. Finally Hertha came and that club expressed a lot of confidence to me. They were also interested last year. Then check out their Instagram account to see what the stadium looks like. Magnificent. Yes, I knew then…”, says the international of Jong Oranje. For the time being, Ekkelenkamp played three official matches for Hertha, one of which as a basic player and in which he was good for one goal.
“I need to become more of a leader, even if I don’t really have that in me. But I need to do that more. At Ajax you had Blind and Tadic, in Berlin you have Kevin-Prince Boateng. You learn a lot from those guys as a young player,” emphasizes the midfielder. Ekkelenkamp played a total of forty official matches for Ajax, but was best known for his foul on Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League match with Juventus in 2019.
“I said quite soon afterwards in interviews that enough was enough. But hey, people always remember that. Fans like it, but of course you want to be remembered by something else,” says Ekkelenkamp. He is asked if he ever wants to return to Ajax. “Mwah… Sure, it would be nice. Ajax is the most beautiful club in the Netherlands. But you don’t know how it’s going to go.”
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