Dutch professional football players can be found in all corners of the world, from the spotlights of the major European competitions to the more adventurous employments on other continents. In the section Across the border speaks Football zone weekly with a player who is active outside the country’s borders. This time we focus on Djumaney Burnet, who is in his second season in Gibraltar and soon wants to take a step higher.
By Jordi Tomasowa
“I don’t really have a preference for a club or a country, as long as it helps me to eventually reach the top,” Burnet says ambitiously. “It is a dream for me to one day play football in Japan. Coincidentally, I am also in contact with a Japanese club, but we have to wait and see what comes of that.”
Burnet has already had doubts several times: quit professional football or go for it one more time? He has played in the youth of FC Den Bosch for four years and will make the step to the first team in 2021. The Tilburger ultimately played six official matches in the main squad in his first season, after which he made a transfer-free departure.
“I would have liked to stay at FC Den Bosch, because I would have wanted to show myself in the Kitchen Champion Division. The club just didn’t offer me that opportunity. The people on the board didn’t like it in me, after which I got the message that I could leave.”
That announcement was a big setback for Burnet, although he quickly managed to switch things up. “It also gave me motivation to succeed somewhere else. I did some internships at different clubs, but I quickly discovered that contacts are very important in the football world. If you don’t really have that or if you don’t get a chance somewhere, then you can’t show your qualities anywhere. I found that difficult and have thought about it. Did I still want to continue playing football?”
In August 2022, Burnet is still without a club. He says he has a good brain and can therefore still choose a social career. On Curaçao, the island where his parents come from, he puts everything together again and comes to the conclusion: “I can really go far as a football player.”
Burnet is currently earning his living as a chef at Efteling and Center Parcs, while he continues to work hard on his football skills under Ryan Robinson, a trainer ‘with a lot of football insight’. He acquires competitive rhythm at various football schools. As the summer transfer window nears its end, Burnet is still unable to find a new club, until he suddenly receives a call from his network.
“Would I like to play football in Gibraltar,” the midfielder explains. “I had edited highlights myself, and that video was appreciated by the technical management of Glacis United. When I heard about the offer, I didn’t immediately think: Wow. But I had nothing else and still wanted to continue playing football, because I believe in my qualities.”
Burnet played a lot at Glacis United last season. “It went well and there was interest from Spain and other countries outside Europe. I got a kind of confirmation that if I can show myself on stage, things will come my way, but then you need contacts.”
In the winter he also attracted interest from Lincoln Red Imps FC, at that time the record champions of Gibraltar with 25 national titles. “We just couldn’t quite reach an agreement regarding the contract terms. I was still a bit searching and asked myself again whether I still wanted to pursue a professional career. I only wanted to continue if I had the belief that I could reach the top.”
Burnet initially ignored the interest, but last summer he signed with Lincoln Red Imps. “They also played the Champions League preliminary round and later the Conference League preliminary round. I was also allowed to make minutes in those matches. That gave me a boost that I was on the right track.”
Burnet says he enjoyed his first months at Lincoln FC. “We are currently second and are competing for the championship again. I am very pleased with the facilities, it is all professional. This is slightly different at other clubs, which means that we are not always challenged enormously in competition. Due to my ambitious attitude, I would therefore like to move to a competition where this does happen. You become better if you have to be at the top of your game every week.”
“I like football more from a certain level, where you have to think more about your choices on the field. Gibraltar was of course a great challenge a year and a half ago and I am also adventurous.”
Because things were going well at Glacis United and interest in his person arose, Burnet’s inner fire was fueled. “Something like that gives motivation. As mentioned, I was able to experience the Champions League preliminary round at Lincoln FC. Then we played in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in front of 20,000 spectators.”
Burnet has gone from the bench at FC Den Bosch to matches in the Champions League preliminary round in the space of two years. “We played in Qarabag on real grass and the football was more like chess, which is what I like. I also play chess occasionally, so you have to think and make well-considered choices and it’s all about the small details that make the difference. I look forward to playing at a level like against Qarabag more often. If I get this opportunity during the winter break, I would certainly be open to it, but otherwise I would like to stay at Lincoln. The big goal is to become a champion and that seems fantastic to me!”
All clubs in the Gibraltar National League normally play in the same stadium. The Victoria Stadium can seat around five thousand people, but is currently being renovated. That is why the Dutch national team recently played against Gibraltar in Portugal. Burnet himself lives in the Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción, near the border of Gibraltar. “The people are relaxed there. The weather is nice, you have sun and I live close to the sea.”
The midfielder is also positive about Gibraltar. “It is a tourist peninsula, where you have all kinds of nice hotspots. For example, you can climb the Rock of Gibraltar. At the top you can see monkeys living in the wild and from Europa Point, the southernmost point of Gibraltar, you can see Morocco. I can therefore put my free time to good use. In southern Spain I made trips to nice cities such as Seville, Cádiz and Malaga.”
Burnet is of course also asked about the extremely painful defeat that Gibraltar recently suffered against France. The national team of the dwarf state lost no less than 14-0 in Nice. “Most players from Gibraltar play for my club Lincoln FC,” says Burnet. “Our selection includes seven Gibraltar players who are always called up for the national team. That huge defeat was understandably hard, but of course they received an early red card and half of my Gibraltar teammates were injured. These are the key players of the national team, so that must also have played a role in that huge defeat.”
Burnet was present in De Kuip in March, when the Dutch national team defeated Gibraltar 3-0. The small result was disappointing for many the Dutch supporters, although the midfielder was not surprised. “Gibraltar played extremely defensively, with many players in their own sixteen. By keeping it as compact as possible, they managed to make it difficult for the Netherlands.”
For now, Burnet does not yet know what will come his way, but it is certain that he also hopes to play for Curaçao one day. “That would be cool indeed. I’m just waiting for the moment to be approached if necessary. That was almost the case when I was still under contract with FC Den Bosch, but then the technical staff of Curaçao was dismissed. Kevin Felida now plays for the national team there, I played with him at FC Den Bosch, and I know Justin Ogenia from the youth of Willem II/RKC.”