Although RKC Waalwijk and sc Heerenveen were unable to entertain the supporters present on Saturday evening (0-0), Joost van Aken had a memorable day. The defender of Heerenveen made his comeback after an absence of six months. Van Aken had a starting spot, was elected man of the match and afterwards visited his parents, who were present in the Mandemakers Stadium.
27-year-old Van Aken came to Heerenveen on a free transfer last month after he had his contract with Belgian club Zulte Waregem dissolved. He had a particularly unhappy period in Belgium. Zulte had taken over from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 2021, but he was shown a red card in his first Pro League game and has never played since, partly due to a lingering back injury.
“I’ve had a hard time: a lot of injuries, a lot of operations, people who wrote me off… People said that professional football might no longer be in it. So I’m happy that I showed that today (Saturday, ed.) I can still do it,” says Van Aken in an interview with ESPN† “My parents were proud, I can’t even remember the last time they saw me play football. Of course I knew I was going to start, so they said: we want to be there. I just thought that was beautiful.”
The best moment of the evening: Joost van Aken hugging his parents. pic.twitter.com/NHCMLzSnCl
— Sander de Vries (@SanderVries_LC) March 12, 2022
An emotional Joost van Aken is happy to be back on the field and celebrates with his parents ??#RKCHEE pic.twitter.com/8ifvTUwc5d
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) March 12, 2022