For Pepijn van de Merbel, the top of the season was a giant fairy story. The 22-year-old NAC Breda goalkeeper began as third selection and was completely satisfied if he might sit down on the bench, however ended the yr on Sunday with promotion to the Eredivisie. It was his fourteenth and final match for NAC. Van de Merbel explains why he stays within the Kitchen Champion Division.
Between conversations with the press, Pepijn van de Merbel glances at his telephone. The goalkeeper receives fairly just a few messages and solutions just a few. The smile on his face will not disappear anytime quickly. That isn’t very unusual, as a result of if the previous few weeks have been particular for anybody, it was for him.
Van de Merbel sees his probabilities of enjoying time shrink significantly when NAC signed Tein Troost as an additional goalkeeper final summer season. Final season he was Roy Kortsmit’s everlasting stand-in. Van de Merbel changed him in three video games, however didn’t depart an indelible impression. Partly because of the goalkeeping issues that season – goalkeeping coach Gabor Babos even needed to sit on the bench at one level – NAC introduced in Troost.
NAC begins the season with a transparent hierarchy beneath the bar: Kortsmit is the primary man, Troost is his stand-in. Solely then does Van de Merbel come and have a look. He repeatedly performs with Jong NAC within the Underneath-21 Division within the first half of the season. When Kortsmit has to look at for just a few weeks within the autumn resulting from an damage, Van de Merbel takes a seat on the bench once more. That additionally occurs in March, when Troost takes the place beneath the bar.
“I did not even have an opportunity throughout the preparation,” says Van de Merbel. ‘I used to be already a bit written off by every little thing and everybody. However when Kortsmit acquired injured, I knew: I’m now the second goalkeeper, so that chance can come. From that second on I used to be on.’ You guessed it: Troost additionally leaves NAC with an damage. Within the dwelling match towards FC Dordrecht, he needed to cease the combat after half an hour and Van de Merbel took his place. The 1-4 defeat suffered by NAC is the one one for Van de Merbel this season till Sunday. ‘I do know what I can do and I can actually say that my teammates have had lots of confidence in me.’
