Carel Eiting is having a good time at FC Twente. The former Ajax midfielder is in his second season at the club from Enschede and will play with FC Twente against Ajax on Sunday. Although he is happy that things are going in the right direction again with his old club, he hopes to win another top match with his current team in the Eredivisie.
Eiting is in his second season at FC Twente. The former Ajax player is having a good time in the east of the country, he says. 'It's going very well. It is also only an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes drive to Amsterdam. If you have a day off or a little longer, you can always go that way to visit family and friends. It is also a good idea for them to come to us.'
The midfielder, who grew up in Amsterdam, says that it is good to live on the other side of the country. 'I live close to the club, a ten-minute drive away. That's ideal. Your family and friends live around Amsterdam, that's what you miss the most.'
'Here at FC Twente I can show who I am and what I can do'
In his first season at FC Twente, Eiting made 23 appearances in the Eredivisie, although he only started in seven as a starter. This season he started five times in the Eredivisie, while he has also been a substitute five times. Logically, he hopes for more playing time. “Of course you want to play everything and not a minute less,” he says about his sporting ambitions. 'Everything else is going well. I think we have a good team and can often play good football. Here I can show who I am, what I can do and I can help. We also play a lot of matches and that's fun, the double schedule.'
'The most important thing is that you focus on yourself and that you want to improve and get better during training and competitions. You have to do everything you can to play as much as possible, that's it. The relationship with the trainer, the entire staff and the club is good. I also have the feeling that they see it in me. The competition is also good and you have to, because you play a lot of matches. You have to be ready to play, otherwise you can't compete in three competitions.'
Text continues below the photo.
Eiting enjoys the double schedule
Participating in three competitions is where FC Twente's ambition lies. The club is fifth in the Eredivisie and is competing in the Europa League for a place in the top 24. The KNVB Cup starts for FC Twente, just like for Ajax, in December. Eiting is moderately satisfied with the start of the season. 'In terms of points, you would have preferred to have more. In terms of playing you have shown a lot of good things, so you know that a lot is possible.'
“Things also have to be improved if you want to participate as you envision and as we did last year,” Eiting also realizes. 'You can do well for two matches, but if you can't deliver what you need to deliver in the third match, you're not going to get where you want to get. You have to perform consistently and not just for part of a match. That is very important.'
Ajax coach Francesco Farioli, who rotates a lot, recently talked not only about physical, but also about mental energy. Eiting understands what the Italian coach means. 'It could be a combination. It also depends on the player. In any case, it may apply more to teams that play three times a week than teams that do not. But you have trained for it all your life and you enjoy doing it', Eiting absolutely does not want to complain about the busy schedule.
'It's different for everyone. Sometimes it is harder than other times,” says Eiting, who believes that every football player should be able to handle this schedule. 'I think it is especially tough if you have a tough away match in the Europa League and then play again on Sunday afternoon. Then you also have the traveling involved. It is a short period of time and the body has less time to recover. In terms of stadiums – whether you play in a large or small stadium – it should not matter.'
Text continues below the photo.
'If you want to participate, you have to win these kinds of competitions'
FC Twente suffered a loss of points earlier this season against 'smaller' clubs such as Sparta Rotterdam, PEC Zwolle and RKC Waalwijk. In the battle for the top places, such a loss of points may be unnecessary. 'Of course we look at this very much from our side. Then you often find it unnecessary. Then you think: we could have done this or that better. Other teams see it their way. But it's over now and it's about how you do further in the season.'
You have not won against Feyenoord and FC Utrecht this season, while you have not yet won a European match. How do you see that?
'We really want to compete with these types of teams. If you want to participate, you have to win these kinds of competitions. We will do everything for that and we will see if it is enough. So what makes the difference? Sometimes it's the little things. Who will score the first goal? How do you deal with being ahead or behind? And sometimes it's also something bigger, like how you enter the match. For us it is important to do better when it comes to the small differences.'
'Ajax fully deserved to win against Feyenoord and PSV, so that is a clear signal'
Is the will to win a top competition perhaps increasing?
'It's different for everyone, I think. I think the most important thing now is that we give it our all and that we keep doing what we are doing. It is logical that you have to be top yourself to beat another top team. It cannot be the case that we do not have a very good match ourselves, because then it will of course be very difficult.'
Ajax, in turn, won two top matches last week. Both Feyenoord and PSV were convincingly defeated. How did you experience that?
'Ajax is doing very well. There is a lot of quality and there are different types of players who complement each other very well. I think they fully deserved to win twice against Feyenoord and PSV, so that is a clear signal.'
'European competitions play a role, but that can also be positive'
You already mentioned it yourself. FC Twente played against Nice on Thursday, while Ajax played against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Will the European matches still play a role towards Sunday?
'I think it always plays a role, but that should not be an excuse for any player or team. All teams can organize it however they want. You can play with whoever you want to play with and then within a few days you have to be in top condition as a team to perform at your best. It certainly has an influence, but how great that influence is also depends on the match. Ultimately it shouldn't matter. Everyone just has to be top.
Still, it's kind of crazy, right? Ajax played a top match against Feyenoord in midweek towards the cracker against PSV, while PSV itself had a whole week off. So it doesn't always say everything.
'It's a bit of speculation. It certainly has an influence, but that can also be positive. Sometimes it can actually give you a lot of energy because you played so well. And if you play poorly, you want to play again as quickly as possible. That gives a boost. You can explain anything in any way, really. Ultimately, what matters most is that you look good, whether or not you played during the week. That may be difficult sometimes, but in the end you have to make sure you are ready for it as a player and as a team.'
Text continues below the photo.
Eiting expects an open match on Sunday
FC Twente is known for a fanatical atmosphere in the stadium. What do you expect that Sunday to be like?
'I think that wherever Ajax goes, it is always full house. I have to say: it's always full house at our house. It doesn't matter who we play against. The crowd is really full, so that's great. Especially against a top team and against Ajax, they are ready and eager to win and give us an extra push. I think that will only be very fun and beautiful.'
And in terms of competition, do you expect an open duel?
'It's very difficult to say. It is a very different Ajax than last season. I've seen them play, but they haven't played against us yet. I think it can go in many directions. In any case, we're just going to do what we always do and try to go all out. Ajax will also do that, so in that respect I expect an open match.'
Bart Veenstra (X: @Bart_Veenstra | e-mail: [email protected])
