‘Quickly ate something on the bus’
NOS Soccer–
Goes had to get from Alkmaar to Geneva within few hours: ‘It was kind of fast, but it worked’
Thursday, just after 9:30 p.m. in Alkmaar. Mexx Meerdink shoots AZ to the semifinals of the Conference League from the penalty spot. Wouter Goes runs onto the field to celebrate the win over Anderlecht with his fellow players. A party that continues for a while in the locker room, but for Goes that party does not last into the wee hours of the morning.
Friday, a little after three in the afternoon in Geneva, Switzerland. Jayden Addai shoots AZ to the Youth League final from the penalty spot. Again Goes gets to sprint, but this time a little less hard, because he has had a bizarre day.
“I can’t sleep very well after a game because of the adrenaline, even though I didn’t play yesterday. It was a short night. I had to get up at seven and flew to Switzerland at nine. Around 10:30 I got there and had a quick dinner on the bus.”
There he also received instructions from the goalkeeper coach about opponent Sporting’s standard situations. “A little later I was on the pitch. It went very fast, but it worked out. The last quarter of an hour I did have a tough time…. It can be done, but I wouldn’t do this more often.”
Another penalty kick series
After ninety minutes of play it was 2-2 and again Goes was plunged into the tombola of a penalty kick series. He saw no reason to share his experience from Thursday night, his AZ Under 19 teammates brimming with confidence, according to him.
“I didn’t talk about yesterday, the boys watched themselves. Everyone had the self-confidence to shoot the penalty well in. I also had a feeling that we would win and we have a top goalkeeper with Rome (Owusu-Oduro, ed.) who can stop penalties.”
Goes and his teammates were confident: ‘Had the feeling we would win this one’
AZ’s youngsters may rest for a while before Monday’s Youth League final against Hajduk Split. The Croatians dealt with AC Milan (3-1) in the semifinals on Friday night. For Goes, it does not matter at all who the opponent is. However, he is not yet venturing a prediction for Monday’s final. “I don’t like talking before the match, I’d rather stand with the trophy in my hands, then I’ll talk tough,” he said.
