At Vitesse they had hoped to come out of the winter break something different. The team of trainer Thomas Letsch went down painfully on Saturday at FC Twente (3-0) and has a tough program ahead of it. This month, meetings with Ajax, PSV, FC Utrecht and the diptych in the Conference League with Rapid Wien will follow. The team from Arnhem is very interested in achieving sporting successes this season, as the club made an emphatic effort to keep Riechedly Bazoer and Danilho Doekhi on board. Football zone went to Arnhem to speak with the captain.
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
When Doekhi is asked about his expiring contract, he spontaneously laughs. “It is a question that often returns,” the Vitesse captain acknowledges. “Football is very unpredictable. I want to take a new step, I am certainly open to that.” Like many other players, Doekhi also has ambitions. The defender is in his fourth season and has quickly become one of the mainstays of the Letsch team. “I think the club would like to extend with me, but I hope they also understand that I want to take a new step after four years. I think I’m ready for that.”
Watch the full interview with Danilho Doekhi here.
Doekhi was made captain by Letsch as the successor of Remko Pasveer who left for Ajax. It means that the defender is more in the spotlight. He is also expected in front of the cameras in bad times. “It comes with responsibilities,” said Doekhi. “Even when things go less well, you have to be there. You have an exemplary function, the young boys look up to you.” The captaincy seems to have served Doekhi well. The only 23-year-old mandekker is working on a strong season and saw that being rewarded with interest from the Scottish Rangers.
“I have remained fairly calm about it, I know what I have in mind. I did not just want to leave Vitesse in the winter. I do not see the winter as the ideal time to make a transfer. Of course, if a good opportunity comes along you can not let it go. But we play European, are still in the cup tournament and are doing well in the league. I knew I wanted to finish the season here.” Doekhi doesn’t like to invade somewhere mid-season. “I prefer to participate in the preparation with a new team. Maybe I will go to another country, those are big changes. In winter you have less time than in summer.”
The fact that Doekhi, just like Bazoer, will leave Vitesse transfer-free next summer, does not evoke any guilt in him. “I don’t know if it was the club’s approach to earn something from me. I didn’t feel that they wanted to sell me to get a transfer amount.” Vitesse has placed sporting interests above financial interests this season and hopes that keeping Bazoer and Doekhi on board will pay off. The team from Arnhem is still active in the cup tournament, will compete against Rapid Wien in the Conference League and hope to be successful in the Eredivisie as well.
“With that in mind, it is important that Bazoer stayed,” says Doekhi. “He is a player with exceptional qualities that we can use. We are still on three fronts and we need good players for that. He is certainly one of them. My relationship with him is good. This is my third season with him, we get along very well.” The fact that they were both in the same boat during the winter break meant that they had even more contact with each other. “Of course you talk to each other about the interests. You exchange each other’s way of thinking, you spar about that. But we don’t go into too much detail, it always remains a choice you make.”
For Doekhi, that choice depends on a number of factors. “Who the trainer is, what my chances are, what style of play they use.” It is the physically strong defender first to do a good final score with Vitesse. Finishing fourth and thus ensuring European football, that is the goal of the Arnhem team. The adventure in the Conference League is a nice bonus. But before the diptych with Rapid Wien is on the program, Ajax (Wednesday, TOTO KNVB Cup) and PSV (Saturday) must first be settled. A tough start to the new year. “I think it’s good to get started right away, then we know where we stand and what we have to work on as a team. A great challenge to achieve good results.”