In Altach Pastoor is back where he finished his career as a footballer at the beginning of this century.
“I was forced to end up there once. I was relegated to Austria Lustenau, a local club here. And on the second level, only three foreign players were allowed to be deployed,” Pastoor sketched the problem. “I think we had 22.”
“Altach then played on the third level. If I also prepared a youth plan for that club outside of football, I could continue to play at the same salary as with Austria.”
And so it happened. In fact, partly due to some ski holidays, the contacts were always well maintained in the years thereafter. “I meet a lot of people at the club that I know from the past.”
Heerenveen
So it is not surprising that Altach rang the bell one day at Pastoor, who recently even signed for two years.
“It is the only top-level club that comes from the west of the country, the rest is all in the east. I always compare the situation a bit with how they viewed Heerenveen from the Randstad in the early years.”
His period in Friesland shaped him. As a footballer, but also in the period when he was allowed to take a look in the kitchen as a starting trainer.
“Altach also has his ambitions, with a place in the first six in the Bundesliga. And occasionally a success,” says Pastoor.
“Of course I told the chairman about Heerenveen, where all potential was used 100%, both sportively and commercially. Although Altach is a lot smaller.”
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