Support for Geertruida: ‘Interest from Ajax and PSV, but could not sell me’

ESPNpresenter Jan Joost van Gangelen revealed in consultation with Feyenoord the reason that Geertruida never appears in front of the camera. Van Oosterhout knows that presentation is important for a football player. “Top athletes who maintain a good relationship with their audience often benefit from it,” he says in it Algemeen Dagblad. “But it is also crucial that you are and remain yourself. If this boy really does not want to, it would be strange to force him.”

Should Geertruida nevertheless decide to appear in front of the camera, he could just become a new audience hero, Van Oosterhout predicts. “Of course it would be best if Geertruida could play a role in the general acceptance of people with a speech impediment or a stuttering problem. That he still becomes a kind of figurehead. But maybe I’m thinking too romantic now. Maybe it will come naturally. a moment when he feels more confident in public. It would be nice if there was an audience in De Kuip again: they will give the boy a lot of support, just pay attention. “

Twice international Laamers became a figurehead at Vitesse due to his speech impediment. However, he also suffered from it during his career. “I was in the interest of Ajax and PSV, but could not sell myself well”, he says. “Acceptance is difficult for yourself. For a long time I was always withdrawn from myself, I never took the initiative to say something or to talk to people. But it is precisely that self-acceptance that is ultimately the most important.”