Who is Remko Pasveer? The new 38-year-old dutch goalkeeper

In recent days, the Dutch goalkeeper Remko Pasveer became a trend due to his debut in the Dutch National Team. However, he is not a young goalkeeper, on the contrary, this goalkeeper is 38 years old and will be 39 this year. In fact, he became the second-oldest player (38 years and 318 days) to play for the Clockwork Orange. He is only surpassed by Sander Boschker (39 years and 224 days). "It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. I couldn't have dreamed of this a few years ago", said the goalkeeper.

Despite having only played 2 games, the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal assured that he will play in the World Cup. "It is not usual for me to call a 38-year-old goalkeeper... but I am very curious to see him in action. He has shown at Ajax what he is capable of, and he deserved it". After playing 2 games and not conceding goals, the coach assured: "I think he will come to Qatar."

Remko Pasveer was born in 1983, in the Netherlands. He began playing professionally in 2003 for F. C. Twente. He was there for 3 seasons but never became the starting goalkeeper and only played 14 games in total. In order to play more minutes, he was transferred to Heracles Almelo, but he did not achieve his goal, and 2 seasons later, he went on loan to Go Ahead Eagles (Dutch second division). In this team, he finally got to play and for 2 seasons he was the starting goalkeeper. Thanks to that experience, he returned to Heracles Almelo (Eredivisie) and quickly became the starting goalkeeper for 4 years. When his contract ended, the club offered him a renewal, but he did not accept.

His next team was PSV, one of the most important in the country. With that team, he signed a 3-year contract and during that time, he won 2 Eredivisie titles and the Johan Cruyff Shield trophy (Dutch Super Cup). Unfortunately, he never established himself as the starting goalkeeper and lost the position to Jeroen Zoet. In 3 years, he only played 20 games. In the 17/18 season, he decided to end his contract with PSV and signed with Vitesse Arnhem. He had a rough start but fortunately, he became the starter and captain of the team. In the 2019-20 season, Vitesse fans voted him "Player of the Year".

In the year 2021, Remko Pasveer was 37 years old and began to think about retiring. But he decided to continue playing and signed for Ajax. He knew that he was going to be the third goalkeeper, behind André Onana and Maarten Stekelenburg, but still, he signed with the most important team in the country. However, something happened that Remko never expected. The Cameroonian goalkeeper was suspended for doping while the second goalkeeper was injured. Thanks to this, Remko Pasveer became Ajax's starting goalkeeper. Despite his age, his performance on the team was impressive and he did not concede goals in many games. Even he only received 2 goals in the first 12 matches in the Eredivisie. This proved to be a record, as no goalkeeper in the Eredivisie had conceded so few goals during the first 12 games before.

In that season, Ajax were champions of the Eredivisie. In total, the team only conceded 19 goals in 38 games and Remko was one of those responsible for that defensive achievement.

Thanks to his great performance, Louis van Gaal decided to give him the opportunity to debut in the Dutch national team at the age of 38. He may be one of the 3 Dutch goalkeepers during the World Cup.

In the Netherlands, many are wondering who should start in Qatar: Remko Pasveer, Jasper Cillessen or Justin Bijlow? Former Madrid player Rafael van der Vaart thinks it should be Remko Pasveer: "He doesn't get scared. He radiates calm and it shows in the defenders. Besides, he's good with his feet and he showed it in an important game. Why doesn't he go be a starter at the World Cup?

Continue reading: Olympique de Marseille: from glory to sporting collapse

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