Willem van Hanegem celebrates his eightieth birthday on Tuesday. For Carel Eiting of FC Twente, Van Hanegem is a special footballer and a special person.
“Outside left,” says Carel Eiting immediately when he thinks of Willem van Hanegem. In the youth days, Eiting was compared to Van Hanegem: passes with the outside of the foot and just like De Kromme, Eiting is also not the fastest player on the field.
“I grew up, also through my father, with stories about Van Hanegem and have seen many moments of him on screen,” said Eiting at De Volkskrant. “I recognize things from his game. But I especially learned that it is better to choose your own path in football, instead of always looking at someone else and comparing them. Where can I make a difference, with my qualities? “
In that respect he still learns from Van Hanegem. “I try to do what I can do really well, and I still enjoy Van Hanegem as a person. It is clear that every team is looking for such a player, also because of his winning mentality,” Eiting concludes.
