Tyrell Malacia played his hundredth game for Feyenoord against NEC (5-3) last month. In conversation with Feyenoord TV the left-back looks back on the first years of his career as a professional football player. A career that, in addition to highlights, also had a few lesser moments.
Malacia was brought into the first team of the Rotterdam team in the 2017/18 season by then trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst. In December 2017, as an eighteen-year-old player, he made his debut in De Kuip in the Champions League match that he won against Napoli (2-1), after having been forced back to the promise team by Van Bronckhorst before that. The latter felt like a disappointment to him. “Just like the injury I had. I had to switch quickly. You can be in a slump or you are looking for motivation to make something positive out of it.”
After the first fifteen minutes against Napoli, he looked at the clock. “I thought I was going to die,” he laughs. “But I had no choice, I had to stand there. I had to grab this moment.” Malacia says he “had no idea” that he was playing against a top team in his first game in professional football. “I was fearless. It always is.” Malacia eventually had to give up his starting spot to Ridgeciano Haps after he had already felt ‘being the first to be victimized as a young player’ after a lost game against VVV-Venlo. “That’s a choice the coach makes. You have to accept that.”
With the win of the TOTO KNVB Cup in 2018, after a 0-3 victory over AZ in the final, Malacia won his first prize with Feyenoord. “That was really nice for me. Especially because I also played a number of matches in the cup myself.” Then in the following season he lost his starting spot after a few games to Kelvin Leerdam, which he mainly blamed himself. “If you show it as a nineteen-year-old, I think the coach just leaves you alone. I didn’t show it.”
In preparation for last season, Malacia had to undergo surgery for a hip injury, which he saw as a ‘difficult decision’. It seemed that he had recaptured his base place at Feyenoord. “The choice had to be made quickly. That’s what I did with the people around me. It was quick to switch. There was no time to mourn, of course, because everything goes on and I had to go on.”
Malacia then flourished again under trainer Dick Advocaat. He therefore speaks of a special bond with the resident of The Hague. “We didn’t always agree, but he accepted a lot from me and vice versa. That hasn’t always been the case in the past, but I’m glad he could have that from me.” Last summer Feyenoord extended the contract with Malacia until mid-2024. His feeling is good from the start of the season. “I have set goals and I know I will achieve them. We are well on our way, but we are not there yet.”
As the ultimate reward, Malacia was allowed to make his debut in the Dutch national team in September this year in the match against Montenegro, which was won 4-0. According to the defender, that moment was ‘difficult to describe’. “I’ve worked hard for this and I’m glad I was able to make my debut in this way. Now the trick is to keep up and make sure I become a base player.” However, this is not enough for the ambitious Malacia. He indicates that he wants to play for the prizes with Feyenoord this season and then go ‘to the World Cup’.