Dutch professional footballers can be found in all corners of the world, from the spotlights of the major European leagues to the more adventurous jobs on other continents. In the Over de Grens section, Voetbalzone speaks weekly with a player who is active outside the national borders. This time, attention is paid to Frank Sturing, the Canadian international who left the Netherlands last summer for an adventure with SV Horn, who plays at the second level of Austria.
By Chris Meijer
One e-mail has completely changed Frank Sturing (24) football life in recent years. When he became too old for the Juniors, he decided to take the plunge and send a message to the Canadian Football Association. He himself had always had an international career for Canada – his father’s native country – in mind. But on the other side of the Atlantic, Sturing’s name wasn’t directly in the records. “But they responded very enthusiastically. They immediately helped me to do everything in my power to become international.”
Sturing played a total of 48 matches in the main squad of NEC.
With this, Sturing’s career took a turn that he probably would not have foreseen a few years earlier. The native of Nijmegen was regarded as a great talent in the youth academy of NEC and was part of the selections of the Dutch Under 18, Under 19 and Under 20, where he played together with Frenkie de Jong, Steven Bergwijn, Donny van de Beek and Timothy. Fosu-Mensah. “That’s a nice list indeed,” Sturing responds with a grin. “I am very happy for those guys. Everyone walks their own path. And yes… It’s great to see them doing so great. Jealousy may not be the right word, but of course I would have liked to be there myself.” For Sturing, however, it never came to a real breakthrough in the first team of NEC.
Those were difficult years in Nijmegen. In his first season with the main squad, NEC was relegated from the Eredivisie, after which an experienced selection was tried to return immediately. “I think the policy wasn’t always good, I didn’t always feel the confidence. If you played one less game, you often ended up sitting on the bench again. That may have bothered me a bit. I’ve had some injuries. And in the end I may not have fully convinced myself either. So those are all reasons or reasons that I have never really been able to take the next step at NEC.” Over the past year and a half, young people have generally been given the opportunity at NEC. “If that had been the case earlier, it might have been more beneficial for me.”
For the time being FC Den Bosch was the last Dutch club of Sturing.
“Of course it was mentally difficult, because you want to take steps up as quickly as possible. It is difficult if you then have to take a step to the side or even back. But in the end I was able to give that a place, they have all been wise lessons that I was able to draw from that”, Sturing continues. The center defender made the switch to FC Den Bosch in the summer of 2020, where he started working on an amateur basis. “That may not sound good, but I thought that was fine.” The choice to play in the Kitchen Champion Division on an amateur basis had to do with his international career for Canada. As a result, it was possible for Sturing to leave for obligations with the Canadian team outside the official FIFA international periods.
For example, Sturing was able to report there for the first time about a year ago for a training internship in Florida. Because it was organized outside the international match period, the internationals from Europe were not present. “I had to get used to a new system and new people. Everything is of course in English. I think I left such a good impression that I was allowed to make my debut later on.” Steering was initially called up two months later to the Under 23, who would play a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in Mexico. Once landed in Guadalajara, he was told that he could immediately fly to Florida to report to the A-squad. “I knew that was coming and that I was close to the A-selection. Someone dropped out at the last minute, so I was transferred. I think it helped that I had a good training period in January.”
So far, Sturing has two caps for Canada to his name, against the Cayman Islands and Aruba. He was also on the reserve bench for ninety minutes in nine matches.
After sitting on the reserve bench for 90 minutes against Bermuda, Sturing made his debut for Canada in the game against the Cayman Islands as a starting player. He only needed five minutes to score his first international goal. “That was amazing. Great, enjoy. We played against the Cayman Islands, which is not the best opponent. The goal was to set a monster score and a quick goal always helps. That I can make it after only five minutes is very special.” Canada won 0-11 that day, partly because Alphonso Davies was also accurate twice. “It’s great to play with Alphonso. I played left center and he played left back. So I knew that when there was room in my back, it would eventually be okay. He has already won almost everything, even though he is only just 21. But at the same time he is a very humble guy, which fits very well in the group. He tries to help everyone. I immediately had a good connection with him, both on and off the field.”
Sturing was then also called up in June for the World Cup qualifiers against Aruba, Suriname and Haiti. The visit to Haiti was his first real away game with Canada, as the matches before that were all played in Florida. “Haiti was a special experience. A lot was already happening in the country at the time, with a team bus being taken hostage. It was already doubtful whether we could go there. In the end we went anyway and then you really end up in another world. That also makes CONCACAF difficult, because you just come to third world countries. You really can’t compare, you see a lot of people in poverty. Three weeks later the president was assassinated, there was an earthquake and people were taken hostage in the embassy, so I’m glad we got home safely. You then realize how lucky you are if you were born in the Netherlands.”
“This is the second largest country in the world, then you have so many players”
Voetbalzone spoke earlier with Remko Bicentini, who works as an assistant national coach for the national team of Canada.
So far last summer’s Gold Cup was Sturing’s last experience with Canada, for whom he now has two caps to his name. He did not play a minute during the championship of the Caribbean and Central and North America – in which Canada was eliminated by Mexico in the semifinals – but nevertheless speaks of a special experience. “I was there as the fourth central defender, so you have to be lucky with injuries and suspensions. People underestimate how big the Gold Cup is. I must say that I have also only followed the latest Gold Cups. If you don’t follow it, you have no idea either. But it’s alive huge, it’s really big. The quarter- and semi-finals were in a stadium that can accommodate seventy thousand people. We played against Mexico in Texas, close to the Mexican border. It was full of Mexicans. You will not receive a very friendly welcome. “
Did you notice during the transfer window in which you were transfer-free last summer after your departure from FC Den Bosch that your international status has changed?
“It’s positive if you’re international, especially from Canada. That is becoming a great football country. So that looks good on your resume. Several clubs from Canada were also interested last summer, so that was a consideration. Only at the moment it was better for me to stay in Europe, to make further steps here. It was also in the middle of the season in Canada, the big window is only there in January.”
How did the switch to Austria come about in the end
“My agent came with SV Horn, towards the end of the window. It was quite a difficult transfer window. I have had good conversations with the club and the coach. He has played football in the Netherlands (Rolf Landerl, former player of AZ, Fortuna Sittard and FC Groningen, ed.) and speaks Dutch, so that all helped.”
For the time being, Sturing played eight games for SV Horn, the number twelve of the Austrian 2.Liga.
Did you feel ready in the Netherlands?
“Yes, I had the feeling that it was finished in the Netherlands. I know that I have the qualities to handle the level in the Eredivisie. Only such an opportunity did not come. I still think that I can play at a higher level in the Netherlands than FC Den Bosch. I have chosen a fresh, new start, in a place where no one has a picture of you and you can start from scratch. That is also good for my personal development. For example, it is also the first time that I have moved in on my own.”
To what extent did the step work out as you expected or hoped?
“I came here to develop myself, because I saw a good opportunity to play a lot. In that respect it is good. I had expected that the level would be the same as in the Kitchen Champion Division and it is. The level is fine, things are well arranged. It’s not a mafia gang or anything. They have footballing intentions here, so that suits me. There is a bit more played in other systems. 5-3-2, you see that kind of formations more and more here. That’s only good, you get to know something other than Dutch philosophy.”
Football will only live a little less in the 2.Liga than you were used to in the Netherlands?
“The stadiums are a bit less. There are quite a few clubs in the Kitchen Champion Division with a good stadium and large supporters, which is less here. It is logical in itself, Austria has a lot fewer inhabitants than the Netherlands. Football is less alive at the second level, except for three or four clubs. As a Horn player you can do your shopping in peace, yes. The town of Horn itself is not very exciting. It is an hour’s drive to Vienna, so on days off I often go there.”
Sturing hopes to earn the next step in his career after this season. “It was important that I go somewhere where I could take another step up. Obviously this is not my final destination. I have certainly set out goals for myself, but a real plan… I have learned in recent years that you are not always in control of how things go. That’s why I prefer to focus on things that I can control myself, so I can play as many good matches at Horn as possible.”
If all goes well, Sturing could be at the World Cup in Qatar in a year’s time. Canada currently leads the final round of the World Cup qualifying cycle in the Caribbean and Central and North America with six games left to play, with the top three of eight countries taking a direct World Cup ticket and the number four has another chance via an intercontinental play-off. The first World Cup participation since 1986 is slowly beckoning. “It would of course be fantastic to face the Dutch with Canada at the World Cup. It was always a dream to be in a World Cup for Canada and that could just become a reality,” Sturing smiles. His first task is to regain his place in the Canadian squad as he was not part of the last games. In January he can at least report back to Canada for a training camp in Florida. “I was in the pre-selection during the past international periods. I’m a bit on the edge, the guys playing now are doing great. I have to slow down, wait for suspensions or injuries and make sure I’m there when I’m called up.”