Sontje Hansen has had an eventful year. In a candid conversation with Ajax TV the nineteen-year-old attacker of Jong Ajax tells how a hefty knee injury and his mother’s illness broke him mentally. Hansen shows himself full of self-reflection and says that he has come out of the setbacks stronger.
Hansen made an action in the home game with SC Cambuur (1-1) last season in which he was injured. He just kept playing and only felt the consequences for months. “I thought it was something small. But six months later at training, I started hopping. I couldn’t do anything anymore, I looked like an amateur. I felt like my talent was completely gone.” The youngster’s trademark also suffered from the injury.
“We have sprint tests twice a year,” says Hansen. “I was just slower than the keepers, normally I’m one of the fastest. There must be something going on…” The attacker had an MRI scan of his knee and the diagnosis gave him two options: operate or strengthen his knee. Hansen chose the latter. The Ajax player says he has ‘became much stronger’ in the past year, but is vigilant for an abundance of muscle mass. “I shouldn’t get too wide, then it won’t work. I just have to rely on my agility.”
To make matters worse, Hansen was also hit privately. The mother of the talent was getting sicker and sicker, adding to his worries even more. Nevertheless, Hansen sees the positive in it. “Look, if you saw my mother you wouldn’t say she’s sick. But she’s not allowed to do much alone. My grandmother and aunt are often there. And so am I. It helps me that she has to let go of me more and more That makes me more and more mature. I’m happy that I’m growing personally.”
That growth also translates into his career, says the youngster. “The penny has dropped. When you’ve touched professional football, you realize that you’re not going to make it with talent alone.” Hansen is therefore determined to put himself back on the map in the near future. “I read things about being ‘played out’. It is of course not interesting what other people say, but it does something to you. I want to show myself again. People may have forgotten me a little bit.”
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