“When the Netherlands contacted me, the selection happened quickly.”

After twelve youth international caps for the Czech Republic, Goerri Herkens moved to the Netherlands U18 national team at the end of last year. Not a difficult choice for the talented goalkeeper. Herkens emphasized this in ELF Football Book No. 3, in which he was featured in our “Talent” section. Part of the Q&A interview can be read here on the website.

“Both my parents are Dutch. A year before I was born, they moved to the Czech Republic to start their own campground. They have now built a beautiful campsite in a small Czech village with a population of 350. Kind of leaving the story behind actually, haha.”

“I think I'm a modern goalkeeper, and I'm good with my feet. I like a bit of a risk in my game; playing balls down the ground and building from the back. I'm often well below my goal. Until I was 14, I always played half goalkeeper “Just playing as a left winger or a right winger on the other half. I liked goalkeeping better, so I decided to focus entirely on that. And it worked out well.”

Photo: @jplatno

“When I was younger, I was not yet in the spotlight in the Dutch national team. That was because I only played for Czech clubs. I was allowed to participate in a number of youth teams in the Czech Republic national team. When the Netherlands called me, the selection happened quickly. I have lived through many “Great moments in the Czech Republic, and I also had good relationships with many people there. But I have been a fan of the Dutch national team since I was young. I have especially good memories of the 2014 World Cup. It was a dream for me to play for the Netherlands.”

“I will do everything I can to get the most out of myself. I hope one day I can make it to the Big Orange. In the future, I also want to go to the Netherlands to play at club level.

The full interview with Joiri Herkens can be read in ELF Voetbal Issue 3. Our latest issue also includes the story behind the success of PSV and the Bosz team. Interviews with Bert Konterman and Jeremy Bukela and we visited Hamburger SV to talk to Dutch duo Ludovit Reis and Emmanuel Viray. We spoke to the parents of three Young PSV players who also lived their lives as professional footballers. Their children were there. We put together the FC De Verliezers squad, formulated the other result based on loyalty and spoke to international players from the Kitchen Champion Division. And much more!

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