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In the Dutch 2nd division, Léo Seydoux rediscovered the joys of football this spring. He extended his contract for one season with FC Dordrecht.
Léo Seydoux (in green) has found a club in Dordrecht which has total confidence in him. © Keystone
Published on 05/21/2024
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Regardless of his club’s disappointing end to the season, Léo Seydoux comes back to life. He comes back to life because this spring he was allowed to reconnect with what he loves more than anything: playing football. Completely blocked last fall by the Belgian club Westerlo, the former Remaufens junior found his way to redemption in Dordrecht, in 2e Dutch division.
It was December. After terrible months marked by being put “on the shelf” by his former employer – months that the Friborg used to work even more, alone –, he received an interesting offer from a championship that was anything but ridiculous. In Dordrecht, he joined a team which, generally, played at the bottom of the table. “I arrived there with shattered confidence. It took me a few weeks to adapt to the many changes: a new coach, new teammates in a new country. I needed time to get back into rhythm. But from the start of February, I felt a lot of fluidity in my game.”
15
The number of tenures for Léo Seydoux this spring.
In the play-off
Enough to gain the confidence of his coach, the Italian Michele Santoni, who started his right side 15 times. With an almost insolent collective success: this spring, Dordrecht only lost three of the 20 matches played in the league, with an unbeaten streak of 14 matches. “We made a 2e sick ride, testifies the 26-year-old defender. We went back to number 4e place, with qualification for the play-offs at stake.”
In the antechamber of the Dutch championship, the first two in the ranking are promoted directly, while seven other clubs – including one from 1D division – compete for the last ticket to the elite. But the state of grace in which FC Dordrecht seemed to be dribbling as they approached their 1er round was not enough for him to eliminate Emmen, 7e of the rank. After sharing the game in the first leg (2-2), Léo Seydoux and his teammates lost 1-0 in the return, on a goal that fell in the 88the minute. “Too bad. We didn’t play well.”
For the people of Fribourg, the main thing is elsewhere. By shining under his new colors, with a goal and three assists to boot, he obtained from the managers that they exercise the option concerning him to link him to Dordrecht until June 2025. “They told me they had been very satisfied with my work and see good potential for development in me. Signing for one more year is a very pleasant assurance to have,” smiles the one who thus begins to dream again.
“Open doors for me”
“My performances will perhaps open doors for me. My goal is not to stay in 2e division, but to play in the elite. And I know that this championship can serve as a springboard. It is also being scrutinized by neighboring countries.” He adds: “I feel much more comfortable than in Belgium. Here, the style of play is more technical, more tactical, whereas during my Belgian experience, I was mainly treated to very physical stuff.”
“During a derby, we played in a packed stadium, with 19,000 spectators”
Leo Seydoux
Has it already been written? Léo Seydoux enjoys living in the oldest town in the Dutch region, “full of charm and close to everything”. He likes, above all, in this “football country” where the 2e division is very popular. “During a derby in Breda, we played in front of a packed stadium, with 19,000 spectators. I would play matches like that every day, it was great.” Acting: this is precisely the essential thing for Léo Seydoux, delighted to finally and once again obtain an important role.
