Eljero Elia thinks the championship with Feyenoord in 2017 is the best thing that has ever happened to him as a football player. That says the former attacker during Good morning Premier Leaguewhere he is a guest. The former attacker of, among others, Juventus, FC Twente and therefore the Stadium Club does not choose to play in the World Cup final with the the Dutch.
Regular table guest Hans Kraay junior makes two suggestions to Elia when the recently retired the Dutch international is asked about the best moment of his career: the 2010 World Cup final against Spain, or the 2017 championship with Feyenoord. That year was really, really special. Everything came together and also the way it came about,” said Elia, who played for Feyenoord for two seasons between 2015 and 2017.
While the wing attacker, born in Voorburg, finished in a disappointing third place with Feyenoord in the first season, Elia became champion of the Netherlands in De Kuip in the second season. “That first season was actually just a failure, but we did take the cup. Then I told Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Martin van Geel (technical director, ed.) I wanted to stay for another season and win the championship. Van Geel didn’t let me say that out loud, otherwise I would drive all those Rotterdammers crazy.”
Feyenoord became champion in 2017 by beating Heracles Almelo 3-1 in De Kuip on the final day of the Eredivisie. “I said from day one that we were going to be champions, but everyone thought I was crazy. In the end, we were at the top from the first round and we just succeeded,” says Elia. After the championship with Feyenoord, Elia left for Istanbul Basaksehir, after which he returned to the Dutch fields at FC Utrecht in 2020. He ended his career this year with childhood sweetheart ADO Den Haag.