‘Immediately from 0 to 130 percent…’

• Oscar van der Horst

  editor NOS Sport

Most of the guys with whom Yassin Ayoub is now in the dressing room, mainly know him from television. And no, that’s not because the new Excelsior midfielder is so old.

“I really don’t feel too big for anything,” says 28-year-old Ayoub, who, after the top clubs Feyenoord and Panathinaikos, gives his career a striking sequel to the peaceful Woudestein. “I also have to be realistic, I have just played far too few games in the last four years.”

So where did it actually go wrong? “I’ve had five trainers in Greece in two years. And at Feyenoord I never had a fair chance, with not a single league game in the base in two seasons.”

The years fly by for the great talent of yesteryear and he is suddenly a kind of mentor at Excelsior. Within a roster of which more than half of the players are twenty years old or younger.

When Ayoub himself was still a teenager, he was welcomed with a standing ovation in Stadion Galgenwaard on his long-awaited debut for FC Utrecht. He was one of those footballers who only walked around in the youth academy once every few years, they were so proud of their new hero.

“Utrecht is really deep in my heart”, Ayoub looks back. “I really hope to return there someday.”

Despite his transfer-free status, there was no return to Utrecht this summer. The contacts were there, but just at the wrong time. Shortly afterwards, Ayoub chose the story of trainer Marinus Dijkhuizen, who he also knows from his period in the Domstad.

“The trainer is careful with me,” notes Ayoub. “In my opinion, of course, too careful. Because when I’m fit, I just want to be on that field as quickly as possible. I want to go from 0 to 130 percent immediately. Trying to tap opponents completely crazy, as on the squares in Amsterdam-Noord used to be .”

With teammates such as Marouan Azarkan and Kenzo Goudmijn, those times are now reviving for him in the Eredivisie. Ayoub does not want to know anything about relegation football. He is expected to play a leading role in the team and he bears that responsibility with pride.

Because if he is seen as a great talent who just didn’t make it to the top, it doesn’t leave his attitude or personality behind.

“And I can just play here weekly at the highest level. In the selection of Morocco there are boys who play in lesser competitions. And I also want to go to that World Cup, I’m very honest about that. It can go very quickly in football , especially if I show something here in the coming months.”

Ayoub was European champion with the Netherlands under 17, in a batch with Memphis Depay and Tonny Vilhena. He was chosen by UEFA as a central midfielder in the best team of the tournament. The big Orange, however, remained far out of reach for him.

He became a highly valued force in the Premier League. He finished fourth with Utrecht, under Erik ten Hag. The trainer who brought out the best in him and later took Zakaria Labyad and Sean Klaiber to Ajax. So what if he hadn’t opted for Feyenoord early on?

It will probably run through his head from time to time. While fishing, his great hobby besides football. Ayoub immediately takes out his permits and shows pictures of his most beautiful catches. “I know the spots.”

In the field he is a bomb of energy, busy in communication. Short spin with the ball on his foot, quick with his fine left. “But I really think fishing is the best thing there is, since I was a child. That peace, watching the waves on the water. I already know what I’m going to do after football.”

However, assistant coach Thomas Verhaar wants to put a stop to that.

“I’ve been on the field with him for a few weeks now and he told me that he saw how I am working with the boys in the group,” Ayoub beams. “Thomas would like to become a head coach in the future. ‘And if you stop in about eight years, I want you on my staff,’ he said. I like that.”

He chats with everyone at the club, even when things are not going well for him. During his time with the Feyenoord reserves, he helped equipment man Davey Verhagen with a fundraising campaign for a sick girl. “I want to be good to everyone.”

Ayoub does not have to sell himself. Proud father of four children now, appearance hasn’t changed a bit. “Football is different than it used to be, with everything around it. I like it less. That VAR and such, media that make everything bigger than it is,” Ayoub excites.

Outspoken. elated. But certainly not finished football yet.