Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.84 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
VVV-Venlo asked and Udinese said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Luciano Slagveer was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VVV-Venlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 14 arrived, 14 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Ajax keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nassim Aït Mouhou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AZ keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 72 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
AZ have accepted the money. What VVV-Venlo do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zwolle have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lasse Wehmeyer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A brace, and Joey Sleegers takes the afternoon — 8.21
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Joey Sleegers provided it, and the 8.21 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $253.0K — a club that wants Jesper Baas enough to be asked twice.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Cádiz keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The offer went to Excelsior this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
14 combined actions and 7.07. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from VfL Bochum for Luuk Verheij was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. VVV-Venlo have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Sparta Rotterdam wanted more than $60.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Philip Heise falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Everything agreed with Groningen, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
VVV-Venlo have gone to Sparta Rotterdam with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Add another name to the list: ADO Den Haag have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about David Dailoski. The answer from VVV-Venlo has not changed — yet.
“I watch every VVV-Venlo game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Puskas Akademia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one VVV-Venlo will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason VVV-Venlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VVV-Venlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zwolle have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
VVV-Venlo have made the call to Groningen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at VVV-Venlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
VVV-Venlo asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. VVV-Venlo have done the hard part with Ajax, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The medical room confirms 60 days on the sidelines for Mohammed Odriss, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VVV-Venlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PSV have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
De Graafschap paid $180.0K and VVV-Venlo took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Luciano Slagveer and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; VVV-Venlo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Nobody at VVV-Venlo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AZ keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
VVV-Venlo have gone to AZ with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
$700.0K settles it between the clubs for Nesto Groen
Excelsior have accepted the money. What VVV-Venlo do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Sam Lammers and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lasse Wehmeyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at VVV-Venlo has been clear about where Philip Heise stands, which is more than many ever get.
VVV-Venlo and AZ have settled on $11.3M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what VVV-Venlo can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with PSV is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
VVV-Venlo have gone to Dordrecht with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dordrecht have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
VVV-Venlo have gone to AZ with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Willem II had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
VVV-Venlo asked and De Graafschap said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lasse Wehmeyer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. VVV-Venlo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at VVV-Venlo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what VVV-Venlo can pretend not to have heard.
$730.0K on the table at Excelsior. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The deal with Groningen is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The offer went to Dordrecht this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VVV-Venlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heerenveen have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everybody at VVV-Venlo saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at VVV-Venlo, another week without a signature from Luciano Slagveer.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kiyani Zeggen is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. VVV-Venlo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at VVV-Venlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
In brief
MatchNothing left to play for but pride at VVV-Venlo
BoardroomThe VVV-Venlo board put their names to it
Position 8 on 63 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
A mark of 7.63 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 9 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Thomas Buitink scored in the 89th minute, Emmen had already begun thinking about the journey home, and VVV-Venlo took the lot.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Rayan Atikallah did not need any: 7.61, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
5 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Kiyani Zeggen has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 7.00 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bendegúz Kovács did not need any: 8.51, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
A 2‑0 win over MVV Maastricht, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Cody Strootman, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VVV-Venlo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
14 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.83 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match10 Apr 2027
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for VVV-Venlo. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Bendegúz Kovács, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.19
A mark of 8.19 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Three points for VVV-Venlo, 1‑0 the final word against Vitesse in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Philip Heise falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Cody Strootman kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VVV-Venlo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rayan Atikallah is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lasse Wehmeyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kiyani Zeggen is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Thomas Buitink’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and VVV-Venlo needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Diego van Zutphen has written the date down.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at VVV-Venlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
46 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VVV-Venlo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.50, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
13 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VVV-Venlo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bendegúz Kovács provided it, and the 8.87 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A brace, and Joey Sleegers takes the afternoon — 8.27
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Joey Sleegers provided it, and the 8.27 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bendegúz Kovács is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lasse Wehmeyer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Bendegúz Kovács has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Level with 92 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon VVV-Venlo had all but put away. De Graafschap will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
70 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and VVV-Venlo know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lasse Wehmeyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kiyani Zeggen is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 79 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.40, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Lasse Wehmeyer was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every VVV-Venlo game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitesse runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The words a physio says slowly. 87 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Bendegúz Kovács, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.98
A mark of 7.98 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
57 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Dean Zandbergen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 94 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Jong PSV will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. VVV-Venlo were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Bendegúz Kovács, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.10
A mark of 8.10 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.93 for the rest of it.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
VVV-Venlo asked and Twente said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
101 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
VVV-Venlo close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KV Kortrijk have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Philip Heise was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
109 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VVV-Venlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Viktoria Plzen keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Crystal Palace have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
118 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at PSV is saying, and nobody at VVV-Venlo is enjoying the guessing.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. José Ojeda is living that version at VVV-Venlo, and it tends to show in the first month.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bendegúz Kovács. 3‑1 against Jong AZ, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Utrecht have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Jong AZ spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Jonathan Afolabi is in the works
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. VVV-Venlo scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Thomas Buitink provided it, and the 9.01 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Bendegúz Kovács, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.12
A mark of 8.12 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thomas Buitink. 3‑2 against Cambuur, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cercle Brugge have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bendegúz Kovács did not need any: 8.06, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
VVV-Venlo asked and Twente said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Half the programme played, position 8, 30 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.27, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” VVV-Venlo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“I watch every VVV-Venlo game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitesse runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bendegúz Kovács did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.55 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Going 2 down does something to a side, and what it usually does is finish them. Not here. VVV-Venlo rebuilt the afternoon goal by goal, and MVV Maastricht had no answer to any of it.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
12 combined actions and 7.24. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. VVV-Venlo will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Bendegúz Kovács, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.28
A mark of 8.28 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Philip Heise was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The goal that put Vitesse ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when VVV-Venlo equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Vitesse in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” VVV-Venlo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdallah Aberkane and VVV-Venlo agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Dean Zandbergen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A new face in his position, and Jordy Bruijn suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. VVV-Venlo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Lasse Wehmeyer and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It finished 2‑1, and it was Joey Sleegers’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to VVV-Venlo.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every VVV-Venlo game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vitesse runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bendegúz Kovács provided it, and the 9.07 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation VVV-Venlo did not have in the autumn.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at VVV-Venlo, and 4 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then De Graafschap scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
Player ratingsThe afternoon belonged to Michael Davis
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bendegúz Kovács did not need any: 9.54, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Rayan Atikallah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Bendegúz Kovács has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. VVV-Venlo scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Diego van Oorschot has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
9 combined actions and 6.87. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Philip Heise was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and VVV-Venlo are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Rayan Atikallah and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.87 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Jordy Bruijn falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A 2‑1 win over Helmond Sport, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Thomas Reinders has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.82 for the rest of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Dean Zandbergen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Jong PSV in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Lasse Wehmeyer and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Cody Strootman chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Roda in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VVV-Venlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
VVV-Venlo close the window on a squad of their own making
11 in and 18 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
VVV-Venlo had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CSKA Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Lasse Wehmeyer has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Philip Heise is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at VVV-Venlo, another week without a signature from Luciano Slagveer.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Thomas Buitink has moved up it.
Dean Zandbergen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
De Graafschap pay $530.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ajax have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bruijn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Cody Strootman to a room that had heard them before.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Joey Sleegers takes the afternoon — 8.05
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Joey Sleegers provided it, and the 8.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
$550.0K was the most the club would pay and AZ were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Three points for VVV-Venlo, 3‑2 the final word against Jong AZ in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Naïm Matoug has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
In brief
Squad7 new faces, and VVV-Venlo are still learning each other
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VVV-Venlo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Bendegúz Kovács, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.70
A mark of 7.70 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Luciano Slagveer is living that version at VVV-Venlo, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ajax have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
VVV-Venlo have gone to AZ with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Lasse Wehmeyer and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VVV-Venlo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jordy Bruijn is living that version at VVV-Venlo, and it tends to show in the first month.
The shirt still fits. Joey Sleegers is back at VVV-Venlo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Joey Sleegers was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at VVV-Venlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bruijn is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
VVV-Venlo asked and Zwolle said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The name of David Dailoski has come up in conversations VVV-Venlo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Arnaut Dumfries has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VVV-Venlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Feyenoord have kept their man, and VVV-Venlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.