A Champions League match and on Tedesco’s radar: who is Matteo Dams, the 20-year-old who is in the Red Devils preselection?
“A month earlier, I played with Jong PSV against Telstar in front of less than 1,000 peoplelaughed the one who went from the Dutch D2 fields to those of the highest European level. But I wasn’t nervous in Turin. On the other hand, I immediately felt that the pace was extremely high. Every little mistake was punished mercilessly. We lost without really having any chances, but the coach told me I held on. That was nice to hear.”
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I am aware that I could be excluded from the team.
It is, it is true, thanks to several injuries (Mauro Junior, Oppegard or Dest) that Matteo Dams had the opportunity to leave the PSV B team. “When everyone is fit again, I am aware that I could be left out of the team. I can only do my best in training and in matches. And if I am then sent back to Jong PSV, I know I would have handed in my business card. What I did these last few months, they will never take away from me again.”
Holder in the Champions League, but also in the last four Eredivisie matches, the young Antwerp player obviously did not expect “to have so many playing opportunities”. “I started the season with the secret hope of being able to grab five minutes here and there. It is therefore unexpected, but no less beautiful for all that, relieves the left-hander who can play in three positions. At Jong PSV, I always played in the central hinge. This is my position of trust. In the U16s, I also played in the middle. But I also like this left-back role. And honestly, I don’t care where coach puts me.”
Matteo Dams faces Sporting Lisbon this Tuesday evening. ©ANP
The young Antwerp resident simply prefers to enjoy, with the satisfaction of seeing his youthful audacity rewarded. He was only 8 years old when he decided to leave everything to join PSV. “Both my parents completely changed their lives for mesays the man who had previously discovered football in Antwerp. Until I was 15, they sometimes commuted between Schoten and Eindhoven five times a week. I have now lived with a host family for five years. Besides, I still live there.”
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If the weather is nice, I come to the club by bike.
Like a teenager, Matteo returns every evening to his host parents, who live a few hundred meters from the PSV training center. “If the weather is nice, I come by bike. I also have my own car now: a Volkswagen Golf.” But no car offered by the club. “My teammates sometimes laugh about it and ask me when I will get the club BMW. But that doesn’t interest me at all. Neither does money.”
In reality, the 20-year-old does not receive any salary: given that he has not yet signed a professional contract. At least, for now. “My contract with the club expires in June. I hope we can sit around the table soon. Because I feel good here. PSV is my club”punctuates Johan Bakayoko’s teammate, who will face another Red Devil this Tuesday evening: Zeno Debast. We imagine that Domenico Tedesco will be an attentive spectator, three days before the announcement of his next list.
With HNB.
Will Domenico Tedesco innovate? After Matteo Dams, a surprising Pro League goalkeeper is in the preselection
