NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 08:38
Hoekstra, Frisian Ajax striker with a subscription to important goals
There is unmistakable Frisian blood flowing through her veins, but it is pumped just as emphatically by a red-and-white Ajax heart. “Yes, Ajax has always been the club for me,” says Tiny Hoekstra, the 27-year-old attacker who has proudly worn the shirt of the Amsterdam club since 2021.
This is also the case tonight during the Champions League meeting in southern Germany with Bayern Munich. “I have always had a love for the club.”
Friesland
The foundation for her sporting career was laid in Rinsumageast. “When I was five years old, I started playing football with my twin brother. My other brother, who is one year older, also played football. We immediately joined the team. I played there up to the under 17 level. .”
Bayern Munich – Ajax at NOS
Ajax’s third group match in the Champions League, against German champion Bayern Munich, starts on Thursday at 6:45 PM and can be seen live on NPO 3, NOS.nl, in the NOS app and at NPO Start.
The preview can be seen from 6:23 PM. The competition can also be followed on NPO Radio 1.
At the age of ten, little Tiny was selected for the regional team and through the girls’ team of SC Cambuur she ended up at SC Heerenveen in 2012, which at the time played in the Premier League predecessor Women’s BeNe League. “I was supposed to join the talent team there, but after one or two months I was already moved up to the first team, as a 16-year-old.”
She showed her skills in jersey with the famous pompeblêden for nine years, with 2018/2019 as a top season: 27 goals in 24 matches.
Girl’s dream
Until Ajax knocked on her door. It goes without saying that she didn’t need much time to think about it. “When they asked me, I couldn’t say ‘no’ of course. Things were going well at Heerenveen and they had seen that here too. I wanted to show myself here, at the top of the Netherlands.”
Can Ajax also pull off a stunt against Bayern Munich? ‘Certainly, we believe in’
In fact, she is even competing with the top of Europe this season with Ajax. So in the Champions League. “A girl’s dream you once had. And if it comes true… yeah, how cool is that?!”
It gives the women a full program and that takes some getting used to, Hoekstra admits. But it is also a lot of fun, not least because Ajax started the group stage energetically with a home win over Paris Saint-Germain, which is considered to be stronger.
“Yes, a dream start of course. We knew where the opportunities lay and we used them very well. And in the end you win 2-0. That was a really great experience.”
Cool experience
Regardless of the personal success: Hoekstra gave her team the lead. “The first goal for Ajax in the group stage of the Champions League,” she beams. “In the stadium, in the Arena! Yes, that was such a great experience.”
Orange PicturesTiny Hoekstra after her Champions League goal against Paris Saint-Germain
A match later, the team was back with both feet on the ground. AS Roma mercilessly punished mistakes on the Amsterdam side and won 3-0.
Nevertheless, the striker does see opportunities to survive the group stage. “There are real opportunities to win games. We have to see how we are going to approach it each time. We have also discussed Bayern with each other: here are the opportunities, here we can probably hurt them.”
NOSStandings Champions League group C
She can help her team by scoring another goal. Such as against PSG and also at the end of last season against rival FC Twente, which lost the national title due to a 1-0 defeat in Amsterdam.
“Yes, in the end we won the championship there. Last season I scored a number of good goals, but that was a very important one. I think I can score when I need to.”
Close to Orange
This raises the question why Hoekstra has not yet made it to the Dutch national team, although she did make her debut in the Dutch selection last season. “I just have to start scoring more again, do my thing more. You just have to make sure that the national coach can no longer ignore you. But I think I am close to it.”
Orange PicturesTiny Hoekstra with the champion bowl
It doesn’t bother her that she hasn’t found the target since that memorable goal against PSG. “Due to an injury, I haven’t played many minutes anymore. So that doesn’t really bother me now. I think I’ve also become more mature in that regard. I used to think about that: shit, I really have to go now. scoring. But now I think: those goals will come again.”
Perhaps already tonight in Munich. In any case, she is very optimistic about the result: “1-2.”
2023-12-14 07:38:15
#Ajax #striker #Hoekstra #ready #Bayern #score
