As a footballer, Million Manhoef first hopes for enforcement with Vitesse and then a great career. Then the world title in boxing is his dream, the sport that gave and cost him a lot. “Then they will still be talking about me in a hundred years.”
When the Vitesse supporters go to the entrance of the GelreDome in protest on Saturday after the 1-3 defeat against Heerenveen, a number of players stand up to talk to them. In addition to the experienced thirtysomethings Eloy Room, Marco van Ginkel and Davy Propper, the young Manhoef (21) goes outside.
He assures the fans that the Arnhem club, with coach Philip Cocu resigning after the match, will do everything possible not to be relegated. “I don’t find it strange that as a young player I take responsibility. I feel the pain. If we continue like this, we could really be relegated. Things have to be different,” says Manhoef, who is currently staying in Zeist with the Dutch Juniors.
The fact that the youth international approaches the supporters at the age of 21 is a logical consequence of his status in Arnhem. Manhoef is young, but also one of the few bright spots at Vitesse. The supporters are actually longing for his explanation. And Manhoef refuses to play hide and seek now that his club is on fire.
That strong sense of responsibility cannot be separated from what he learned in kickboxing, the sport that Manhoef, like his famous father Melvin – former kickboxer and former MMA fighter – practiced until he was fourteen. The North Hollander became tough and disciplined. And it made him realize that in sports you mainly have to look at yourself.
“Football and kickboxing are very different. As a footballer you can always hide behind a teammate or blame your teammate when things go wrong. But if you don’t do well in kickboxing, you get a slap in the face. and the light goes out. I try to have that self-critical view in life.”
‘My father chose his career’
Manhoef calls himself a “fighter”, in all facets of life. In a literal sense, that is certainly the case. Several videos of a young, fighting Manhoef, with long hair, are circulating on the internet. Yet he ultimately chooses football. “I dreamed of fighting in big arenas and being a top footballer, but of course that combination didn’t work out.”
But the passion for kickboxing never disappears. Manhoef still regularly kickboxes in his spare time, together with his brother, Dutch champion Serginio Kanters. Moreover, he follows the martial arts world closely. “For me, martial arts is the coolest thing there is. It feels like the gladiator fights of the past to me. I can’t get enough of it.”
That is precisely what makes it unfortunate that kickboxing is also the sport that indirectly ensured that Manhoef did not have an easy childhood. Father Melvin achieved plenty of success in kickboxing and MMA between 1995 and 2017, but also focused entirely on his career. There was no time for young Million.
Manhoef therefore grew up without a father and was raised by his mother. “My father chose himself and his career, and not his children. That gave him a great career, but we saw little of it. He was simply not there. That may be a choice he regrets afterwards. .”
Manhoef had no contact with his father during certain periods. He is close with his mother and brother, just like with his grandfather and grandmother. “They were always there for me. My brother filled the fridge with his prize money, so we had food again. And my mother spent her last ten euros to take me to football training. She was actually my father, mother and best friend in a.”
Melvin Manhoef, father of Million Manhoef, is a former kickboxer and former MMA fighter. Photo: Getty Images
Top football player and world champion
Contact with father Melvin is now a bit better. “But we don’t speak to each other every week,” says Manhoef, who is still regularly compared to his father. That was difficult in the past. “If you perform yourself and it is about him, it is not always nice. But now people see him more as my father, instead of me as his son. I tease my father about that when I speak to him. I’m making a name for myself now.”
Because although he ‘only’ scored three times at Vitesse this season and is not yet as decisive as last year, his talent is undeniable. Last year, Manhoef made an impression on a visit to Ajax, with two goals. Last summer, AZ made an offer of 4 million euros for him, which Vitesse rejected. And he has played in all of the Dutch Juniors’ European Championship qualifying matches so far.
A great football career seems to be in store for Manhoef. That would be just step one of his dream. “My big dream is to first play for a number of nice, big clubs and to stop around the age of thirty, and then to fully focus on kickboxing. Then I’m not joking, because then I want to do very well at that.” doing.”
“Good” means only one thing for Manhoef: “Becoming world champion. Do I have enough talent for that? People used to say that I had more talent as a kickboxer than as a football player. I have some genes from my father, I think. Top football player and world kickboxing champion… If I succeed, they will still be talking about me in a hundred years.”
CV Million Manhoef
Name: Million Manhoef Age: 21 Place of Birth: Beemster, North Holland Career: VPV Purmersteijn (2006-2010), Zeeburgia (2010), AFC (2011-2016), Vitesse (2016-present). Position: right winger Contract until: 2025 (at Vitesse)
2023-11-15 04:09:31
#dream #Vitesse #talent #Manhoef #world #boxing #champion #NU.nl
