Mark Diemers thinks he has already played his last game for Feyenoord. The midfielder will be loaned to Hannover 96 until the end of the season and then in principle return to Rotterdam, where his contract will run until mid-2023. If his prospects in De Kuip do not improve, a summer transfer seems obvious. For the time being, however, Diemers is focusing on his new employment in Germany.
“This is a very nice step for me,” Diemers tells the Leeuwarder Courant. He declined the opportunity to remain active within the Eredivisie. “I was able to sign with several clubs in the Netherlands, including Heracles Almelo, PEC Zwolle and Sparta Rotterdam. But I have now played in the Eredivisie for so long that I absolutely wanted to go abroad. At the same time, I wanted to play football relatively close to Leeuwarden this six months. “Because my girlfriend is pregnant. Of the foreign clubs who inquired, Hanover appealed to me the most. This is a gigantic club, with a stadium for almost 50,000 spectators.”
Feyenoord confirms: Mark Diemers is temporarily going to Germany
Feyenoord confirmed the temporary departure of Mark Diemers on Tuesday.
Diemers comes from Leeuwarden and was with his family in the capital of Friesland during the holidays. Sunday evening he said goodbye; since then he has been staying in a hotel near Hanover. “You prefer to put your child to bed every night. Then it is a bit of a swallow if you know that this is not possible for the time being. But okay, we are doing it for a good cause,” he indicates. Diemers wants to breathe new life into his career at the second level in Germany. He did not appear in the plans of trainer Arne Slot: this season Diemers was only on the field in the Eredivisie for twelve minutes, divided over two substitutes.
The past year and a half at Feyenoord was not always easy for Diemers. He did feel appreciation internally, but not always from the supporters. The attacking midfielder who came over from Fortuna Sittard draws a comparison with the schoolyard. “I am always looking for a piss post. Maybe I was with the supporters, yes. I understand it somewhere. I came from Fortuna Sittard, a small club, and then you are an easy victim if the team is difficult. I was supposedly not good enough. Any footballer who says that criticism does not affect him: believe me, that is not true. Of course that is not nice. “
At the same time, Diemers does not want to ‘act pathetic’, because playing for a top club is simply accompanied by criticism. “Fortunately, I am quite level-headed and I have an environment in which I have a lot of sounding board. I have looked back and analyzed all my matches. I have a realistic picture of my period at Feyenoord,” adds Diemers. “Never say ‘never’, but I think it will be difficult to play football for Feyenoord anymore. I am no longer a talent that is rented out to gain experience elsewhere, but a footballer of 28. For me it is now important to to give everything at Hanover, to get the most out of myself and to play good matches. Then we’ll see in six months.”