Melvin Platje is not quitting football after all. The 37-year-old attacker from AFC recently announced that he would say goodbye to football, but will now join first division club HSV De Zuidvogels. That fights against relegation.
The Zuidvogels is at the bottom of the 1st division F and managed to collect only two points in the first half of the season. Platje must do everything he can together with his new teammates to ensure that the club is not relegated for the second year in a row.
Platje, who played football for FC Volendam, NEC and Telstar in the past, played the first half of the season at AFC, but will not return there after the winter break. “It can no longer be combined,” he gave as a reason in conversation with Het Noordhollands Dagblad. The footballer had planned to quit football completely, but changed his mind.
His new club at a lower level ensures that Platje can better combine his busy private life with playing football. “There were four clubs that inquired, but two of them were immediately dropped. I would have spent just as much time on that as on AFC. That would have been a crazy thing to do, because I had a great time at AFC,” said the attacker.
The Zuidvogels sports park is five minutes away from his home, something that Platje says certainly played a role in his choice. Moreover, playing in the first division appeals to Platje. “As long as I can, I want to continue playing football. Preferably at a reasonable level. Despite the current situation, Zuidvogels is ambitious; it wants to return to the fourth division. That appeals to me.” Platje has agreed with the club to play in the Zuidvogels shirt for at least a year and a half.
