Won't Van der Sar's International Return Hinder the Development of Young Talent?

The young Velthuizen, 18 at the time, proved to have nerves of steel and cat-like reflexes. His amazing saves kept Vitesse in the Eredivisie and earned him call-ups for the Dutch U-21 and the Dutch Olympic side. It also got him noticed by several bigger clubs.

PSV were looking to sign the youngster to replace Heurelho Gomes, but the eight million euro transfer-sum proved to be too much for the reigning Dutch champions. Other sides may be less hesitant to pay that much money.

Our third option is a bit more controversial. 22-year-old goalie Kenneth Vermeer plays for Ajax and the Dutch U21-team. He is a product of the famous Ajax youth academy, which has produced numerous stars over the years.

Ajax goalie Kenneth Vermeer.

He was also the starting goalkeeper for the U21-team in the 2005 Youth World Cup, the 2006 and 2007 Youth European Championships and the 2008 Summer Olympics. During the last Olympics, Vermeer was one of the few Dutch players that excelled.

Despite his obvious talent however, Vermeer still hasn’t broken into first team at Ajax. He spent several seasons in the reserves and he was loaned to Willem II Tilburg last season. He only made his debut for Ajax last weekend, due to the injury for Stekelenburg, so he lacks first team experience.

I’m pretty sure we should give one of these three a chance to play. Van der Sar may be a better keeper at the moment, but he’s not getting any younger and we should make sure that his successors get some playing time in the national squad as well.

We should build up their confidence and show some trust, even if they make a mistake. Van der Sar played an abysmal first international match, as Holland went down 1-0 away to Belarus. Van der Sar failed to save a semi-decent shot by Sergey Gerasimets. He wasn’t dropped from the team and in the end, he re-paid this trust with stellar performances.

We should do the same with either of the three goalies listed above. Take a chance on one of them, it’s better for their long-term development and for the long-term development of Dutch football in general.

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