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 section Across the Border speaks Football zone weekly with a player who is active outside the national borders. This time with attention to Steven van Dijk, who gave up his job as a physiotherapist for an adventure in Iceland and has now ended up in Australia.
By Chris Meijer
It is fitting and measuring to make an appointment with Steven van Dijk. It is 9.5 hours later in his hometown of Adelaide. “So when the day starts in the Netherlands, I almost go to bed. Yes, you have to think about that for a while,” laughs Van Dijk. The jet lag due to the considerable time difference made the first days of the 24-year-old goalkeeper on the other side of the world particularly tough. “I was playing my first practice match with jet lag. Actually I thought I wouldn’t play, but the coach said he wanted me to start. Then I thought, oh shit. I didn’t feel quite fit. In the end I was happy that I played, because it went really well.”
The considerable distance to the Netherlands was something Van Dijk thought about when the offer from The Cove – an ambitious club in the fourth tier of Australian football – came in. But soon he and his family came to the conclusion: these are opportunities that you will never get again if you let them pass now. “I don’t have a girlfriend or kids, so I don’t have to take so many things into account. That may not be possible in five years, so now may be the time to seize such an opportunity and try to get the most out of my career,” explains Van Dijk. What may also play a role is that he had already somewhat said goodbye to his dream of becoming a professional football player for himself.
Van Dijk played in the youth academy of Go Ahead Eagles, Vitesse, NEC and FC Den Bosch, but disappeared towards amateur football in 2019. “In the Netherlands it is best to be written off quickly. Once you make the step into amateur football, it becomes very difficult. I’ve had moments when I was completely done with it, when I didn’t like it anymore and didn’t like it anymore. But I’m glad I kept the discipline,” says Van Dijk. It was, however, a scenario for which he had prepared. Partly because of the words he heard at various professional clubs during his youth – ‘from the team that is here, only one person will make it to the first team’ – he decided four years ago to register for a study of physiotherapy. “It is extra work, because you train during the day and then have to work in the evening. But professional football is for very few people and it is very sour if you have nothing to hand.”
Van Dijk on the training field at Vestri, where he has been active for the past six months.
In recent years, Van Dijk has worked as a physiotherapist in addition to playing football for FC Lienden and later HSC’21, but he did not hesitate for a moment when his agent Joe Yoffe came up with an offer from Iceland six months ago. “On Thursday I was asked if I was open to Iceland. Well, I liked that, on Saturday evening the plane ticket was in the mail and on Sunday I landed in Iceland.” From Reykjavik airport it was then another six hour drive to his new hometown Ísafjördur, located on the most northwestern tip of Iceland. “It’s beautiful there, really pure nature. But there is not much, in that village lived four thousand people. A small center with a bakery, a supermarket and a gas station, but that’s about it. There was nothing to do there at all. All we had as players was each other. So we were on each other’s lips every day and that’s why we built a very good relationship.”
In the Foreign Legion, as he himself calls the company of players from Spain, Italy, Zimbabwe, Antigua and Barbuda, Denmark, Senegal, England and France, Van Dijk was usually reserve keeper. Nevertheless, the ambitious club – which reached the semi-finals of the Icelandic cup last season by eliminating Valur (‘the Ajax of Iceland’) among others – wanted to continue with Van Dijk. “I had a great time at Vestri, but in the end the new contract proposal was not great for me. If it’s not good enough, I’d rather be with my family and friends. You leave everything behind, so it must be okay. There has been some in Iceland at another club. But I didn’t quite see it that way.”
His agent then asked what Van Dijk wanted most: try to stay in Iceland or go somewhere else? “I’m actually open to anything, as long as I can burn for a whole season and show myself,” Van Dijk replied. So it became Australia. “I had never been to Australia. It was still on my list anyway, but now I will definitely travel within Australia after the season”, Van Dijk grins. The Cove is a relatively small club from Adelaide that has the ambition to promote from the fourth to the second tier of Australian football within five years and already want to make the play-offs this season. “After the conversation with the trainer, I quickly got the feeling that they wanted me. The club is quite small, but they have a new investor who has poured quite a lot of money into it. He had a whole new complex built, which cost seven million euros. There’s quite a bit of money involved. We are moving next month and that is all very well arranged. Good pitches, artificial grass: you can see that the club wants to make progress in all areas.”
Van Dijk could have made a transfer to the second level within a week. After two practice matches, his trainer was asked whether he might be interested in a switch. “I didn’t because it would be disrespectful to the club that has already arranged so much for me. Perhaps you stand out a bit more if you come from the Netherlands. Your name will be passed around and I am happy about that, because after this year I want to go to the second level. I notice that the pressure on foreign players is a bit higher. They look up to Europe, because it is the top in terms of football school. It’s only good that they expect something from you, that’s part of it.” Lower tier clubs in Australia are allowed three so-called visa players have. In addition to Van Dijk, The Cove has another Japanese player under contract, but he has chosen to live with a host family.
Partly because of this, Van Dijk has an apartment for himself in Adelaide. It’s a big contrast to his time in Iceland, where he lived with teammates. “There was always going on, it was always fun. Everything is well organized, no matter what. But I still have to find my way in it a bit, because I don’t have that many people here yet. I walk out of the street here and walk straight onto the beach. The apartment is actually too big, you could easily live with two or three people.” The Cove trains four times a week and because of the temperature, those training sessions take place in the evening. “Then it gets a bit cooler. It is super hot, the temperature is above thirty degrees. I still see some things from teammates from Iceland, who are now on their skis because there is such a lot of snow. That contrast is funny: I left Iceland when it was minus 5 and here it has already been warmer than 35 degrees.”
Because training takes place in the evenings, Van Dijk has time during the day to complete his thesis and thus his studies. Despite the fact that The Cove is a semi-pro club, Van Dijk doesn’t have to do anything besides it to make ends meet. “But those other guys just work or study. I’m a training animal, so it was a bit of a switch. I like to train twice a day, so I take those extra moments myself. In the gym or with teammates on the field.” According to Van Dijk, the level at The Cove can be compared to the bottom of the Third Division or the top of the Dutch big league. “It’s hard to say. It is not eye-catching and top notch when it comes to football, but the experience is very high and everyone is top fit.”
Van Dijk makes a save on behalf of The Cove in one of his first exhibition games.
“It’s a very different kind of football, I had to get used to that. Many long balls, a lot of physical activity: that is quite difficult for a keeper, you are expected to participate well from your goal and to read the game. That’s only good, because those are areas where I want to improve myself. I’m glad I’m here and can play 25 to 30 games a season, to get back into the picture,” continues Van Dijk. He hopes to earn a step up to the second tier this season. “Life is very beautiful, I genuinely enjoy it every day and I am grateful that I can sit here. But in the end you are also a top athlete, you do and leave a lot for it and I want to continue after this year. We’ll have to see if that’s here. I don’t know how I feel about it after this season. If I feel the way I do now, then I would like to stay in Australia.”
There is a clear dot on the horizon in Australian football: the A-League, the highest level. And more specifically in his hometown: Adelaide United. “You have to dream big, don’t you. I would never say it out loud, but if you can make the step to the second level next year, you should also dream on after that. The A-League is a fantastic competition, I now follow it closely. I get excited when I see it and talk about it. You don’t know what happens in football. Maybe after this year I’ll play in another country, I’m quite flexible about that. But I can still see myself playing football here next year. Dreaming is allowed and must, that also keeps you sharp.”