‘A statue? I’m not about that’
NOS Football–
Club icon Brama waved goodbye: ‘FC Twente has given me a lot’
He was given a substitute role by his coach Ron Jans, was booed by his fellow players after the match and the supporters treated him to a standing ovation. FC Twente icon Wout Brama got the farewell he deserved on Sunday.
“I did feel in my gut that it was different than normal. I knew I was getting my farewell after the match, so that does make it more special.”
He still plays the playoffs for European soccer with FC Twente, but Brama waved goodbye Sunday afternoon after eighteen years of professional soccer. “It has exceeded my expectations. Of course we still have playoffs so it’s not quite at its end yet. We still want to secure European soccer.”
Musing on past
Yet musing on the past had already begun with Brama. He knew how to list his highlights. With the exact dates.
“I will never forget May 2, 2010. The year we became champions. And May 8, 2011, when we won the cup. And April 22, 2019, when we returned to the premier league. Those highlights were even greater than when I came here as a 12-year-old. I’m very grateful for that.”
Against Ajax he was granted a few more minutes in injury time. Was that because the score allowed it (3-1 for FC Twente) or did he know beforehand that he would be substituting?
“I thought it was a certainty myself, but I don’t know what Ron Jans thought about that, haha. I did know I would come in. Luckily we had seven minutes of injury time so I could enjoy it for a while.”
Brama, who has often been injured in recent years, would have liked to continue longer, but at the same time was grateful that he could play soccer at the highest level until the age of 36.
Brama wants to return at Twente: ‘Management side attracts me more than coaching’
“When I came back from Australia five years ago, I thought that two or three years would be heartening. It turned out to be five years. We were able to bring Twente from the first division back to the sub-top of the premier league and I don’t think we are done yet at this club.”
Brama is now taking a small period of rest, but Twente and Brama intend to talk to each other after that. “I do have an idea, but we will talk about that internally. We have already had a small exploratory meeting.”
He does not envision a role as a trainer. “The management side does attract me more than being a trainer. That seems more fun than being on the field every day.”
Statue?
He won everything there was to win with FC Twente and can rightly be called a club legend. Doesn’t he actually deserve a statue?
“That’s not up to me. I get asked that a lot, but that’s up to the club. For me it’s not necessarily necessary, though. If I work here later and I have to walk past my own head every day, that won’t make me very happy,” he concludes with a wink.
