Adelaide United recruit Bart Vriends sat down with aleagues.com.au to discuss his departure from Sparta Rotterdam, choosing the Reds over rival A-Leagues clubs, and the “buddy system” aiding Adelaide’s youth development.
In early June, Sparta Rotterdam captain Bart Vriends laid his own marble stone in the Dutch Eredivisie club’s Wall of Legends and Fans.
Of all the stones that make up the wall of the Denis Neville stand just 33 are made of marble, and feature the names of the only players in Sparta’s history to have played more than 200 games for the oldest professional club in the Netherlands.
GET YOUR TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED V CENTRAL COAST MARINERS HERE!
At the time, 33-year-old Vriends was the club’s captain, and had a multi-year contract extension at Sparta on the table.
But before the end of the month, Vriends had joined Adelaide United on a two-year deal.
“It’s interesting, isn’t it?” Vriends told aleagues.com.au, reflecting on his decision to uproot his life and head Down Under.
“It’s funny because some of my teammates, they follow European football and they really have the desire to play in Europe. Some of them can’t understand why I chose to go the opposite way, from European football to Australian football!
“But for me, the answer is simple: I had a great position and a good role at my last club Sparta Rotterdam where I played for eight years, and eventually said goodbye as captain of the club. But I’ve always had this desire to show myself in a different league and another culture, both on the pitch and off the pitch as well.
“Life is short, but a career is even shorter. If I had waited for this opportunity a little longer it would’ve been harder to do something like this.
“I was very comfortable at the club but I believe in getting out of your comfort zone and doing something completely different, to adjust to another culture, another lifestyle, another league. Eventually, that will make you grow as a person and a football player as well, so that’s the main reason I moved overseas, all the way Down Under.
“It seemed like a very interesting option, an adventure. Something exciting – and that’s what I’ve noticed in the first couple of months already.”
Vriends experienced it all through his eight years at Sparta Rotterdam, with relegation, promotion and playoffs for European football all forming part of his 215-game stint at the club. Prior to his time at Sparta, Vriends spent three years at fellow Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles.
GET YOUR TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED V CENTRAL COAST MARINERS HERE!
The central defender has enjoyed a career enriched by his experiences in the top two tiers of Dutch football – but when his most recent Sparta contract elapsed, Vriends pondered whether he’d be content to see out his career entirely within his homeland.
A fresh Sparta deal was on offer, but the offer had an expiry date; as Vriends looked abroad, an alignment of stars above the City of Churches led to the Dutchman’s leap of faith toward the Isuzu UTE A-League.
“I was very happy with my former club and I could have renewed my contract for two or three more years,” Vriends said.
“But then my age was also counting, right? I’m 33, and if I renewed my contract again, although that was very flattering, I’d probably never take this opportunity.
“There was one option to renew my contract and my club gave me an ultimatum, a date to make the decision.
“Then I was looking for an opportunity abroad, I was speaking to some clubs in the south of Europe for example, and I was also speaking to other A-League clubs through my agent. Then, eventually, Craig Goodwin played a little role in this as well; he’s a club legend from Adelaide United and I used to play with him back in the Netherlands.
“We’ve always been in contact, he knew about my desire to maybe one day play in the A-League, and he knew that Adelaide could use some experience in central defence.
“He connected me with the club, and from the start it felt very good to me.”
WEEKEND PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 2 of the Isuzu UTE A-League
Vriends’ conversations with Socceroo and Adelaide United icon Goodwin coincided with the A-Leagues clubs’ appointment of Ernest Faber, former Netherlands international and PSV Eindhoven legend, as Technical Director.
“I got in touch with (Ernest) and the owner (Cor Adriaanse) who is also a Dutchman and that was a very constructive and interesting conversation,” he said.
“All these things came together. Adelaide United really wanted to sign me, the connection with Craig Goodwin and the Dutch people (at the club), and the excitement of joining Australia as a country and a country with a very specific sporting culture as well, that led to a clear decision for me to go for it.
“The other options were interesting as well in the south of Europe and also Australia but it just took a little bit longer, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. I wanted to make the decision, also before the ultimatum with Sparta ended. Because everything felt very good at Adelaide United, I said: ‘Let’s just go for it’. I packed my bag and crossed the ocean.”
“It was a hard decision. I left the club with a heavy heart,” Vriends added.
“I played a lot of matches there and had a lot of experiences, with relegation, promotion, playoffs for European football and captaining the club. I was part of the furniture of the club.
“It made me proud that I played a little role in the development of the club in the last eight years. It’s full of memories and I’m happy I could leave with a smile, and a proud feeling, but also a little bit of a heavy heart.”
Vriends arrived in Adelaide three months ago and although he is relishing his time in his new surrounds, but admits to a “frustrating period” on the field as soft tissue injuries have hampered his pre-season preparations.
GET YOUR TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED V CENTRAL COAST MARINERS HERE!
But there’s more to Vriends than his on-field presence alone; the 33-year-old has brought much-needed experience to a youthful Adelaide squad and, together with fellow veterans Isaías, Javi López, Stefan Mauk and Ryan Kitto, Vriends has been busy mentoring the club’s wealth of teenage talent in a “buddy system” within the playing group.
“In our squad, there are a lot of young, talented players but they understand well they need older and more experienced players to guide the younger ones,” revealed Vriends.
“It’s also one of the reasons I’ve come in at Adelaide United, to have a good balance within the squad… you need a couple of players that are good at communicating and organising the team, but also off the pitch to set an example and lead the way. That’s what we’re trying to do at Adelaide United.
“We have the two Spanish players, Javi and Isaias, and we have Stefan Mauk and Ryan Kitto, I’m one of them, and we’re trying to work closely together as an older group of players.
“We work with a buddy system where one experienced player is closely connected to one, two, three or four more talented young players.
“We sit down now every now and then to talk about the game, development and our specific positions on the pitch.
“I’m working closely with Panagiotis Kikianis, a young centre-back who is very talented from what I’ve seen so far. I’d be happy to play together in the centre of defence in the A-League.
“The other one is Feyzo (Kasumovic), a younger one, a 16-year-old, a really big lad from the youth academy. We try to sit down now and then to speak about the art of defending, the position of a centre-back but also we can learn from each other and how we can develop our play.
“They’re really young so there’s a lot to gain there and I’m happy to help them, and hopefully I’l play a little role in their development as well and it will benefit the club and the team down the road.
“On the pitch, I was actually surprised – not surprised, but happy – with the standards of the playing level,” he added. “People back at home would think Australian football could be a kick-and-rush game but it’s actually the opposite, the way we play is very organised and dynamic. We love to play out from the back and we’re doing pretty well in that. That’s the game I also like to play.
“The matches I’ve seen from the A-League and my team so far, it’s pretty dynamic and transitional. It’s good and entertaining to watch.
“I’m more than excited to start playing with the boys. It’s been a bit of a frustrating start on the pitch but I feel there’s a lot of potential for the team, my role in the team and the club. I’m excited for the future, for sure.”
The dynamic style of football in the Isuzu UTE A-League isn’t the only thing that’s surprised Vriends since his arrival in Adelaide; for the first time in his professional career, Vriends is preparing for a season without the threat of relegation looming overhead for teams that find themselves dropping toward the bottom of the table.
“It’s weird! I’ve never experienced that,” he said.
“It’s hard to tell, I don’t really know how I feel about that but the good thing is, back home relegation is such a big problem for smaller clubs in the league, your game is just to avoid relegation, which sometimes leads to a bit of panic kind of football, you just do not want to lose.
“Here, hopefully we can play freely, show ourselves and play in a positive way because there’s something to grab, and not something to lose. That’s the flip side of no relegation rules, you can play a positive game instead of being afraid of stepping down.”
Vriends and the Reds begin the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season at home to Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night. Adelaide finished a disappointing eighth last season under head coach Carl Veart and after some key off-season departures, highlighted by Nestory Irankunda’s move to Bayern Munich, Veart has once again leant heavily on youthful recruits to shape his squad.
Teenage striker Archie Goodwin has arrived from Newcastle Jets and young winger Ben Folami has joined the club from Melbourne Victory, while Amlani Tatu, Feyzo Kasumovic, Ryan White and Malual Nichola have all graduated from the club’s youth setup.
Vriends was one of three experienced acquisitions alongside veteran defender Jordan Elsey and 24-year-old winger Dylan Pierias.
Although his introduction to life in Adelaide has been hindered by injury, Vriends has a two-season contract at the club – and he hopes to make the very most of every on-field and off-field experience that presents to him throughout his time at the Reds.
“I hope to leave a mark at the club,” he said.
“Not only with my experience helping young players but also just to show myself as a good player for the club, as a valuable player for the club. But I’m also a person who is interested in the world around me. I’m someone who opens his eyes to new culture and community, to meet new people and to grow as a person in life.
“Me moving to Australia was a big step, I left everything behind – the same goes for my girlfriend, she’s left everything behind, her family, her job, her friends, to join me. The two of us, we hope to have a great time here, to learn from the Australian culture and people, to see the beauty of the country as well as the sports culture.
“If we leave the country one day, we hope to have enriched ourselves in new adventures and memories. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully play an important role in the rise of Adelaide United.”
GET YOUR TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED V CENTRAL COAST MARINERS HERE!
