Gregory van der Wiel: a risky player…

By: Jan | September 30th, 2008

Gregory van der Wiel (20) made his debut in the 2006 - 2007 season. In the last competition he played six games and this time around he played all matches. And in the last win over Vitesse, Van der Wiel was instrumental.

As free central back, playing instead of the injured Oleguer, he had two assists. Flair and risk are characteristics of his play. “Defending, anyone can do. I want to add value.”

Van der Wiel does play with risk in his game, which was clear against Feyenoord, FC Utrecht and Vitesse. “Anyone can defend. Take the ball of the opponent and pass to a mate. I want to add more value. I was always the central defender moving into midfield. I became the playmaker, like Danny Blind. I could give assists, and against Vitesse I showed I can do it at this level too.”

Against FC Utrecht it almost went wrong when he took too much risk… “I know that situation, I just lost concentration for a second and missed that ball in a crucial situation. That’s part of my game, I play with risk. But I can’t make a mistake like that, of course. I was a bit angry with myslf and it took some time to put that aside. I am pretty self-critical you know. I can’t say I played well when something like that happened.”

In the game against Vitesse, the players who came from Ajax’s satelite clubs were important. Van der Wiel spent some time at Haarlem. “I played there for three years and it was important for me. I played for Ajax six seasons when I moved to Haarlem. I was 15 years old, spoiled and a bit difficult. Big mouth, big ego, you know the type. Everything was different at Haarlem. At Ajax, everything was neatly organized and I didn’t like it at Haarlem at all. But it was good for me. A wake up call and I fought my way back to Ajax.”

Now he works with the great Marco van Basten. “He is a quiet coach, in control and well balanced. I like that. You have the feeling it’s ok to make mistakes. That’s important when you work with young players. He gives you confidence.”

Van Basten picks youthful players. Against Vitesse, seven Ajax players were developed at Ajax. “I didn’t realized that when we started the game, I heard it after the match. It’s great, really…”

Center back or right back? “I prefer the central back position, but I don’t really mind, as long as I play. Feyenoord was an important match. Everyone was fit and still the coach picked me.”

More from me on Netherlands World Cup Blog where I discuss all things Oranje.

Going to the Arsenal game? Find out how to get to North London and where to stay near Emirates Stadium.