Dutch professional football players can be found all over the world; from the illustrious Premier League or LaLiga to the smallest competitions. As a result, at least one Dutchman is active in each of the 24 countries that participate in the European Championship and with them we zoom in on the atmosphere, the European Championship selections, their own experiences and much more. In episode 7, Sandy Walsh, born and raised in Belgium, talks about his bond with the Netherlands. Now that the the Dutch has gone home, the 26-year-old wing defender of KV Mechelen has some more irons in the fire.
By Chris Meijer
Sandy Walsh’s entire life has taken place in Belgium for the time being. The son of an English father and Dutch mother, he was born in Brussels, grew up close to the Belgian capital, has not yet played football outside Belgium and clearly has a Flemish accent. But where his friends used to wear a red shirt, he preferred to wear the Dutch. “I have a Dutch passport. Every time I see Oranje play, with the audience completely dressed in the Dutch, it remains something special. I am more for the Netherlands than for Belgium”, Walsh admits. When his teammates in the youth academy of Anderlecht were called up for the youth teams of Belgium, he also had other ambitions.
His mother brought the then fourteen-year-old Walsh to the attention of the KNVB, after which he played for the the Dutch from the Under-15 to the Under-20 youth internationals. “I have played youth internationals for the Netherlands since I was fourteen. Those have been beautiful moments, culminating in the European title with the Dutch Under-17s”, says Walsh. It did cause a small culture shock every two months when he reported to the Netherlands. “It is a bit quieter in Belgium, in terms of communication. Everyone is a little more on their own. The Dutch are very straight forward, straight ahead, present and closer, which took some adjustment. I wasn’t used to it. But I think that because of that, good results are achieved in the youth.”
“the Dutch was a very big team and football country at the time. Still today, but at the time they were among the top five countries in the world. I just wanted to play for the Dutch. That was also the case in the family: if possible, you just come out for the Dutch. I am very glad I did. The question was always whether I wanted to play for Belgium. I had set my mind to play for the Netherlands, there was never really a moment when I wanted to play for Belgium. We played a number of international matches against Belgium, which was fun. Also because we often came out victorious in those competitions”, laughs Walsh. The roles have now been reversed in that regard. “I was in a stronger position then, I could usually say: ‘Where is Belgium?’ That’s something different now. Not only with teammates and friends, but you also see it in advertisements or on social media. It’s crazy how things have changed in such a short time.”
Belgium’s line-up against Portugal, which was defeated 1-0 in the eighth final.
With a large part of the current golden generation of Belgians, Walsh played together in the youth academy of Anderlecht or KRC Genk. “Denayer, Lukaku, Tielemans, Courtois, De Bruyne, Benteke, Castagne, Trossard”, Walsh sums up. “It’s nice to see how those guys you’ve played together with are doing at the European Championship. You feel that this is the time to peak as a country or as a group, they have a lot of quality. That’s why they believe in it and the experience has increased enormously in recent years, it is really alive in Belgium. That also creates some pressure. There is talk about how they should play or what they should do better, but they are mainly concerned with getting results. Often a European Championship or World Cup is not won by the team that brings the best football, it is those teams that get results and that is what they are doing now. They grab their moments with the individual class, that’s a bit of Belgium. While other countries mainly rely on the collective.”
Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard are obviously the most important players of the Red Devils and in Belgium there is a conviction that they must be deployable to achieve a good result at the European Championship. Outside the ‘big three’, Walsh points to two other pillars in the Belgian team. “I personally think Youri Tielemans is one of the players who is extremely important to the team, along with Axel Witsel. They keep the balance in the team and set out the lines behind the three determining players, both in possession and in loss of possession. At such a young age, Tielemans is decisive in a team with so many top players, I think that’s nice to see. He has always had this in him and has made a lot of progress since Anderlecht.”
Towards the quarterfinals against Italy, Friday evening at 9 p.m. in the Allianz Arena in Munich, Walsh notices that the tension among his Belgian teammates from KV Mechelen is slowly but surely increasing. Malinwa is currently at training camp in Oosterbeek in Gelderland in preparation for the new season, his second year in the yellow-red for Walsh. KV Mechelen picked him up in October of last year shortly before the expiry of the transfer window, after he had been without a club for three months. Initially, Walsh reached an agreement with Zulte Waregem about a new contract, but that agreement fell through due to the corona pandemic. “As a result, I had to look for a new club in a difficult situation and I am very happy that I was allowed to sign with a great club like KV Mechelen.”
Walsh successively played for Anderlecht, KRC Genk and Zulte Waregem, before joining KV Mechelen a year ago.
“That went well right away, we clicked and we performed well both individually and with the team. I have already been able to sign a new contract (until mid-2025, ed.) after three months, because I would like to play for this club in the longer term. In terms of stats, I’ve had a good season and I’m happy. We want to do even better next season and that makes the preparation tough,” continues Walsh. The intention is that he will grow into an A-international in the short term. In that respect he has the necessary choice: the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Ireland, Indonesia. “If we go really far in the family tree, I could also play for Switzerland,” he laughs. After realistically weighing up his options over the past two years, as he puts it, two concrete options remained: Ireland and Indonesia.
“I look at two aspects: in my position in Ireland you have guys who play in the Premier League or the Championship, so maybe that’s the hardest option. I also had a very good relationship with my grandfather, who was born in Indonesia. As a result, I feel more affection with Indonesia than with Ireland.” Ever since he reached the quarterfinals of the Europa League with Genk in 2017, his name has been mentioned in Indonesia as a potential international and his Instagram account has been ravaged by Indonesian flags. “I visited a few times and discovered the country a bit, so I made my choice. Ireland has also recently contacted me, but I would prefer to play for Indonesia. Also to discover an Asian football country, I am someone who plays football to gain experiences and to seek out as many different cultures as possible. There is contact with Indonesia and I try to be there every next international match, but more action needs to be taken from the Indonesian Football Association. That’s what I’m waiting for, they know I want to be there.”
As for the European Championship, Walsh still has the necessary countries to cheer for. What does he expect from the match between Belgium and Italy? “I was surprised by Italy, they have changed their playing style. They will miss the home advantage. Let’s say 2-2 and Belgium will win on penalties. Otherwise I hope for England, so that my father will be happy. We also have Switzerland.” With a smile: “One of my countries should at least win the European Championship.”
Episode 1: From Dutch amateurs to Süper Lig: ‘At the European Championship I just cheer for both’
Episode 2: Why Denmark is a Dangerous Outsider: ‘That’s a Big Advantage’
Episode 3: ‘De Boer can call me for inside information, I don’t expect any problems’
Episode 4: ‘Slovakia Surprisingly Good? Here they talk a lot more about the Dutch’
Episode 5: ‘We looked in an the Dutch box and there my wife was proudly in her Italy shirt’
Episode 6: ‘I played with almost all Czechs and against Frenkie: that difference is big’
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