Friday, December 5, 2025 (23:32) – VoetbalPrimeur
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Ruud Vormer, the former Dutch midfielder, says that he does not feel an ounce of nostalgia for professional football a year and a half after his retirement. In a candid interview, he explains that his decision to quit – last June – was mainly due to exhaustion after years of an extremely strict lifestyle. Vormer says that for years his existence was determined by a rigid routine: nutrition, rest and training were permanently on the alert, he no longer went outside three days before a match and drinking was rarely an option.
That demand for perfection made life monotonous and burdensome, and he now realizes that it could have been less extreme — something he believes would have been better for his family. Vormer compares his dedication to that of Belgian goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme and Timmy Simons, but acknowledges that he himself went too far. When he finally quit in June last year, it was a simple and well-considered choice: “No, really. I’ve had it,” he says about the thought of starting over.
His wife Roos already noticed that he blossomed after football. Nowadays he gets a lot of satisfaction from simple, everyday moments with his family, such as a game of Mens Worger Je Niet with the children — something that gives him peace and happiness after an intensive career at AZ, Roda JC, Feyenoord and Club Brugge, among others.
