Hans Nijland has a The Grandstand on ESPN given an example of where the nickname ‘Marc Netto’ for Marc Overmars comes from. Ajax’s director of football affairs was given that nickname a few years ago because of his supposedly stingy transfer policy. Nijland confirms that Overmars has been frugal in the past. “I can tell you where the name ‘Marc Netto’ comes from,” says Nijland.
The former general manager of FC Groningen had to deal with Overmars frequently during negotiations in the past. “Then I would have had a meeting with him and I would come all the way to Epe for him, but then he would just let me pay for the meatballs, I thought that was wonderful”, Nijland laughs. Presenter Jan Joost van Gangelen wonders whether Overmars is really stingy. “That’s a bit of a game,” says Nijland. “Marc Overmars was also at my farewell as general manager of FC Groningen and then I received a very big gift, really big: an Ajax pen.”
Nijland was director at Groningen until 2019 and has good memories of his meetings with Overmars. “Marc is a special person, he is a powerful guy and he is doing an amazing job for Ajax.” The revelation of Nijland also prompts Van Gangelen to tell an anecdote about Ajax’s director of football affairs. “He was a guest here once at Goedemorgen Eredivisie. Everyone then got a piece of cake. Then the broadcast was over and then he said, ‘Is anyone still eating that cake? Otherwise I’d be happy to take it with me. That was just half a pie that he took home,” says Van Gangelen with a laugh.
Nijland also cites another example of a great experience with Overmars. Mateo Cassierra was rented from Ajax by Groningen in 2018, but returned to Amsterdam after a failed six months. “I said, ‘Marc, we did transfer you 200,000 euros at the start of the season. He says, “I’ll refund you half on Monday.” That’s fantastic isn’t it? Now that’s thinking big. Groningen is of course a smaller club than Ajax, but he just takes you very seriously. After that, we also made the deal around Kaj Sierhuis after three minutes, which is great.” From January 2019 Sierhuis played a year on a rental basis for the Pride of the North, before the striker was sold to Stade de Reims. Groningen also benefited from that transfer, because the rental period was terminated prematurely.