Blow to blow for goalkeeper Pasveer, who also has to play second fiddle at Ajax after the Orange squad

“Of course this tastes like more”, said a beaming Remko Pasveer at the end of September after the Nations League match against Poland. National coach Louis van Gaal had just handed the goalkeeper a hare, a pin that every player of the Dutch national team receives on his debut.

And that at the age of 38. It was not possible for the keeper who had also conquered a basic place at Ajax.

In the following game against Belgium, Pasveer was allowed to start again. And again he kept the zero. The goalkeeper had, to quote Van Gaal, delivered in the last serious test before the world championship in Qatar. A basic place beckoned for the veteran.

How different the flag looks two months later. Pasveer’s World Cup fairy tale was blown out and Andries Noppert’s fairy tale was written. Van Gaal bombarded the Frisian, who had zero experience in the Orange squad, as first keeper out of the blue.

But that was not the only setback Pasveer had to deal with this winter. He also seems to have to play second fiddle at his club Ajax for the time being. With the signing of Geronimo Rulli for eight million euros, a record amount for a goalkeeper in the Eredivisie, Ajax’s technical management paid a lot for the 30-year-old goalkeeper of Villarreal. A goalkeeper for the base.

“We are very satisfied with Remko,” said Schreuder at the press conference on Friday. “But you can also be satisfied with players outside the base. We have to do it with several players. But it seems logical to me that if you get a keeper, he will become the first keeper.”

But on the last day of the summer transfer period, Ajax tried to attract a goalkeeper. The technical heart was already complete with Odisseas Vlachodimos from Benfica, but the management went down at the last minute before the transfer.

In the first half of the season it became clear why Ajax went on the market for a keeper at the last minute. After an unfortunate performance by Gorter in the Johan Cruijff Scale against PSV, Pasveer seized his chance as first goalkeeper. But where he presented himself as a reliable goalkeeper in both the Champions League and the Eredivisie last season, he shares in the malaise this season.

The departure of Lisandro Martínez and Noussair Mazraoui from the defensive line partly contributed to the large number of goals conceded. In the last nine matches, Ajax was the only club in the Eredivisie not once to keep a clean sheet.

A dramatic series, in which Pasveer is not unpunished either. In fact, his figures compared to his first season at Ajax are downright bad.

Pasveer had to fish the ball out of the net almost three times as often this season in fewer games. Of course he is not solely responsible for this, so it is more interesting to see how many goals he could have prevented.

Statistics office Opta calculated that Pasveer could expect almost six more goals against on the basis of the quality of the chances last season. This season, Pasveer conceded three more goals than might be expected.

Analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk argued in Studio Voetbal last Sunday that Pasveer could have prevented NEC’s goal.

Those disappointing figures are undoubtedly known to Ajax and Schreuder and so attracting a keeper suddenly became top priority in Amsterdam. With the arrival of Rulli, Pasveer seems to have to settle for a reserve role again, although he himself was not yet aware of this.

“I don’t know. Today I was first goalkeeper,” he told ESPN after the 1-1 against NEC. “I haven’t heard from the trainer yet. We’ll see. I’m someone who never gives up.”

The now 39-year-old goalkeeper seemed to be heading for a fairytale end to his long career, but sees that dream shatter in a short time.