SC Heerenveen is one of the four clubs that managed to take full advantage in the Eredivisie after two rounds of play. The team of trainer Kees van Wonderen won against RKC Waalwijk (3-1) and FC Utrecht (0-2) and so the mood is great in the Abe Lenstra Stadium. At the Frisian club, however, there is also something to be done in the transfer area. For example, Andries Noppert and Thom Haye are associated with a departure. Football zone went to Friesland for a talk with the latter.
By Mart Oude Nijeweeme
Thom, your trainer Kees van Wonderen recently expressed his concerns about the selection. Do you share those concerns?
“In the base we still have quite a lot of guys from last year, which ensures a solid core. Only we are still far from complete in terms of width. I think it is important to strengthen yourself in certain positions to be able to take steps On the other hand, things are slowly starting everywhere. We shouldn’t forget that either. Places are only filled when players leave.”
Watch the full interview with Thom Haye below:
You were very close with Sydney van Hooijdonk. How hard was his departure?
“Sydney is a very good friend of mine, I still speak to him a lot. In the year and a half he has played here he has done very well. I think it is nice for every team to have a goalscorer. He she shot in easily. To absorb that is not easy. But he is still young. It is good for him to take the next step. I am also convinced that it will happen.”
And your own situation?
“I have said before that I have the ambition to take a step, but that I am also very happy at Heerenveen. I still have a one-year contract. I would like to go for it if the right step occurs this summer But if I don’t have that feeling, I’ll stay, because I’m in my place here. It’s also a great prospect to be able to play here for another season.”
Don’t you feel a moral obligation that the club earns something from you after they have invested in you too?
“That is something that lies with the club. My contract is about to expire. The club has indicated that I am an important player and they want to keep me. That is why they have chosen not to offer me a new contract. That means that the situation is quite clear. If I stay, I will give full throttle for another year and continue this line. That is good for the club and for myself.”
Haye has so far played 54 matches in the shirt of Heerenveen.
Do you think the club is too high up the tree for you?
“I don’t have an opinion on that. I haven’t thought about that either, because the situation hasn’t happened yet. If that changes, I might have a certain opinion on it. At the moment I’m calm about it “The club has indicated what they are thinking about in terms of price. That makes it difficult for clubs to go through with it. As said: if something really comes along that excites me, I really want to go for it. But something like that is not concrete yet.”
Imagine: everything is open, you can choose. What do you prefer to do then?
“Gosh. I don’t really like to be busy with things that are not relevant at the moment. On the day I signed for Heerenveen I said that I have the ambition to take another step. Whether that is or summer should turn out next year, but that is what I want to go for. That is the ambition I have expressed.”
Would a possible captaincy change the situation for you?
“Last year, Sven (van Beek, ed.) was the captain and I think he fulfilled that role well for the team. I assume that when he is fit, he will be the captain again.”
Would you like that too?
“I do think I am someone who could do it. I just like not to be, because then I can focus on myself. During matches I often have a natural influence on the team and the game. I can get guys along without a band. In that sense I could do it, but sometimes I find it difficult to be correct.”
Do you have trouble controlling yourself?
“I still have to take steps in that. I can keep guys sharp in the field. Not always in a nice way, but it’s good for a group to have guys who pull the cart in that way. With or without a tire I have enough value.”
The ‘Russian’ third shirt of Heerenveen, with the flag of Russia on the sleeve.
What did you think of all the fuss about the ‘Russian shirt’?
“Very honest? The first time I saw the shirt, I also had to think of the Russian flag. I don’t think it’s crazy that I’ve seen it a lot. But the shirt is inspired by an old shirt from Heerenveen, which looks like that. You have to look at it from that perspective. People from the region see the colors of Heerenveen. They like that it is based on a classic shirt from the past.”
You don’t feel bad about playing in it?
“We’ve played in it a few times now and it looks different from the pictures. I made that comment myself when I first saw it, but when you hear the story behind it you can quickly put it behind you . It’s not a pro-Russia shirt. It’s a Heerenveen shirt. You have to look at it that way. I think people always have something to say. Now it’s this shirt, tomorrow it’s something else. I wouldn’t dwell on it too long.”
Something completely different: your international career. Your grandparents are from Indonesia, so you can represent that country. Have you already made a choice about that?
“I haven’t had to make that choice yet. With some realism, it can be ruled out that I will ever play an international match for the Netherlands. We don’t have to beat around the bush. I’ve heard that there is a possibility to play for Indonesia But that hasn’t materialized yet.”
Haye played several youth international matches for the the Dutch squad.
You’ve thought about it, haven’t you?
“It sounds like something that could be very nice, but I won’t think about it until it becomes more concrete. I’ll have to see if that suits me. I don’t know how that works either. My grandpa and grandma are coming from, in that sense I have something with the country. My family also lives there. I have never met them, but the contact is still there. I have also always said that I want to go there one day to see them So I definitely have a thing for the country.”
To what extent does it concern you?
“Every day I am tagged on social media by people from Indonesia, so I see it a lot. It is often based on speculation. I have no idea who can and cannot come out for Indonesia. It is up to the union to find out who qualifies. People send me messages: “Please join Indonesia.” It can also be something very beautiful, I do not rule that out, but it is not so concrete that I now have to make a choice about it.”