Remko Pasveer found last summer ‘the perfect moment’ to move to Ajax. The 38-year-old goalkeeper tells in an interview with the General Newspaper that the team from Amsterdam wanted him earlier, but now he thought it was nice to measure himself at Ajax. At the same time, Pasveer himself says that he was not concerned with the doubts that existed about him.
“I had several opportunities to go to Ajax. This was just the perfect moment, whatever position I was in. I thought it was nice to measure myself here, also because I thought that the style of Ajax would suit me”, Pasveer admits. Due to André Onana’s doping suspension and Maarten Stekelenburg’s injury, he quickly got a base place at Ajax. “I find the way in which it is really sad. I don’t wish this on anyone, but that created a place for me, also because André was still suspended.”
He doesn’t say that Pasveer was considered less than Stekelenburg and Onana. “I’m always eager, because I want to be there as part of the team. You just have to stay calm. Distraction means that you can miss your goal,” says the goalkeeper, who was taken over by Ajax from Vitesse. “Everyone finds something. I think it’s all fine. If you spot a pattern, okay. But if you dive over a ball once, you’re a shit keeper. We are now in that culture. I do like the black and white. People who think that were never on target and don’t know what I put into it to get here. They will not affect me. Only on third parties.”
“You can also excel in a pleasant team. I still have a contract for a year and a half and I want to keep it up for as long as possible,” says Pasveer. He emphasizes that he also had strong phases at Vitesse and Heracles Almelo, but that this was less magnified. “Now I have to show it at a top club. Fortunately that is happening now, but I want to experience many more beautiful moments with this club. That is why I am looking forward to the second half of the season, in which the task is to achieve the maximum in the Eredivisie, the cup and Champions League. And I hope to continue this for as long as possible.”
Pasveer was already part of the pre-selection of the Dutch this season and has participation in next year’s World Cup in mind. “I understand the national coach if he also wants to look to the future with a young goalkeeper. I’d love it, but you’ll never hear me say I belong. What do I find? When the phone rings, we pick up. If not, don’t. Also fine.”