Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 8:30 PM• Wessel Antes • Last update: 17:04

Dylan Vente is one of the bright spots in a disappointing season for Roda JC. The 24-year-old attack leader has scored twenty goals and six assists in 37 league games so far. With one game to go, Vente still has a chance of winning the top scorers’ title. Football zone spoke with the Rotterdam striker, who also has a chance to win the award for ‘Best Player’ of the Kitchen Champion Division. Supporters can vote for their favorite until 8 p.m. on Friday evening!

By Wessel Antes

You are one of the nominees of the award for ‘Best Player’ of the Kitchen Champion Division, how is that for you?

Vente: “It is of course an honor for every player to be nominated for such an award. In the end it is something I can be proud of, despite the poor results with Roda. I think I was able to run a great season on a personal level.”

How do you look back on this season with Roda?

Vente: “It was very hit and miss, actually very often not good. As a striker, that is quite difficult, walking around in a team that is not running well and is sixteenth. Ultimately, as a striker, you are dependent. You hope to collect some more points and create more attacks as a team, but that happens very little this season. When I look at my own number of goals, I can ultimately be satisfied with my personal performance.”

What is your best memory of this season?

Vente: “I think the half bicycle kick against VVV-Venlo. That was a nice moment. A nice goal with a lot going for it. We were also in a good period with the team at the time, so I will not soon forget that moment.”

How do you look back on your own development? What are you most proud of?

Vente: “As a striker you really have to focus on scoring goals. In the last two years I have learned to become firm in my completion. The positioning in front of the goal is also going well, so that I am now two seasons in a row busy with scoring. During training sessions we specifically started to imitate certain situations that often occur in competitions. But it is also true that when you have a number of them lying around, it becomes easier by itself. It has been a combination of both.”

Lennart Thy is only one goal ahead of you, do you expect to overtake him in the last game?

Vente: “Of course that will be difficult. Never say never, but the odds are not in my favor. I will of course do everything I can, because as a striker you always want to be a top scorer. That would also be a nice boost after such a season.”

You are on fifty goals in two and a half years at Roda, is it really as easy as it seems?

Vente: “At Roda I really started playing everything for the first time in my career, which means that I have a lot more minutes to my name. That helped me. As a result, you are also just fitter and it will automatically get better in the end. From the age of eighteen to the age of 21 I hardly played football, I often sat on the couch. Because I play a lot now, I show that I can be important for a team. I am glad that Roda has given me this confidence, because it has allowed me to develop myself.”

If you couldn’t choose yourself, who would you give the Gold Champion shield in the ‘Best Player’ category?

Vente: “That’s an easy question. Then I will give it to Emil (Hansson, ed.). That is a boy with whom I played for a long time in the youth at Feyenoord. I went on holiday with him to Barcelona last summer, so it’s a coincidence that we’re both nominated now. He has had a good season and has been important in the success of Heracles Almelo, so I would award him the prize.”

In the current season, the option in your contract has been lifted by Roda, will we see you back at the club next year?

Vente: “Of course I think about that a lot at the moment, because I have been playing here for over two years now. The fact remains that my contract will continue for another year, but I do have certain ambitions for myself. Ultimately, it’s about a possible transfer being good for myself, but also for Roda. We will see what happens next summer.”

You scored a lot more in the Kitchen Champion Division than in the Eredivisie, are you eager to show it at the highest level?

Vente: “I was able to play a good number of matches in the Eredivisie at Feyenoord and RKC Waalwijk, but I felt I was still too young. Maybe I wasn’t ready, to be honest. I now think of myself that I have developed in such a way that I am ready for such a step. I’ve matured a lot and I want to show that. If you have scored more than twenty goals in two seasons in a row, that makes sense, I think.”

What is something in your game that you really want to develop in the coming years?

Vente: “I am not a great striker who can hold the ball for a long time like a coat rack, and I will no longer be. I’ve been working on my physique a lot in the past two years, I still want to get stronger in that. This is especially necessary if I want to perform at a higher level. Still, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made in that area. I really see myself taking steps in that direction. It is now important to keep working hard and to maintain this discipline. Then it will be fine.”

After 97 matches for Roda, Vente has fifty goals and sixteen assists.

The past week was all about the sixteenth national title of your childhood sweetheart Feyenoord, did you get a lot of that?

Vente: “Certainly, I still follow the club. Of course I also get a lot from my brother, who was still on the Coolsingel on Monday. Unfortunately I couldn’t, but I did see the images on television. It’s still nice to see how the club lives and how many people come to such a ceremony. I already knew that from my own period at Feyenoord, but with a championship like this you realize it just a little more.”

Have you been in contact with former teammates in the past few days?

Vente: “Actually, I only sent a congratulations to Orkun (Kökçü, ed.), because many of my teammates from then have already left. There are of course a lot of new guests in the current selection of Feyenoord. It’s a great performance they put in, I didn’t expect that at the start of this season. I don’t think anyone disagrees that Feyenoord is the rightful champion.”

Do you still dream of returning to De Kuip one day?

Vente: “Of course that would be great, but before then I really have to develop myself. Then I really need to take some steps. Feyenoord is of course a very nice club. I also come from Rotterdam-South, so the club is in my heart. Who knows, it may be an option again in the future, but for now that is still a long way off. I have now shown myself well in the Kitchen Champion Division and I feel ready for the next step. It’s up to me to show that, it’s clear that I still have enough ambitions!”

With Feyenoord, Vente won the TOTO KNVB Cup once and the Johan Cruijff Shield twice.

You can vote for the Best Player and Best Keeper here until Friday, May 19 (8 p.m.). The trainers and captains of all clubs in the Kitchen Champion Division choose the Best Talent and the Best Trainer of this season.

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