After five years with David van Dam, Overmaas has found a new coach in Eyup Akkanoglu. His last club as coach was Egelantier Boys, but after the collaboration there ended, he was without a club for a year. Now that Eyup is picking up the thread again at Overmaas, it is a good opportunity to sit down with him. What kind of coach is he? Why did he stay home for a year? How did he end up at Overmaas? What does he want to achieve at his new club? And how is he going to let his team play? All questions that we would like to have answers to. On the terrace of ‘t Haantje in Rotterdam-Lombardijen, Eyup responded to everything.
Why didn’t you do anything as a coach for a year after Egelantier Boys?
Eyup: ‘After we had agreed to a contract extension of another year after the winter break, the collaboration was ended after the play-off final that we won. I don’t want to go into the how and why here and maybe it was better, after such a long time, but because it happened at a very late stage, all clubs had already been provided with a trainer.’
Didn’t any other clubs approach you after that?
Eyup: ‘In October, a professional football club came along where I could become a youth coach, but I didn’t go for it. Because that would mean that I would have to train with my group of players every day and I didn’t want that, especially considering my situation at home with three growing children. Then my wife would have to be all alone and I didn’t want that. Actually, it was nice, a year without football. Then you can pay more attention to your wife and children and then you have the freedom to go and watch everywhere in the weekend. In the beginning, it’s all wonderfully relaxed, but after a few months you start to miss being a coach more and more. Football is my toy. It’s so much fun to be on the field with a group of players and work together towards the goal you’ve set. ‘
How did you find out about Overmaas? Did you apply? Or did the club call you?
Eyup: ‘I was talking to two third-division players, one of whom was almost concrete. But in the end it didn’t work out. I had actually already assumed that there would be another year of sabbatical, but then Mehmet Özdemir, board member of Overmaas, called. That club needed a new coach after David van Dam left. There were three conversations with people from the club, one of which was with players, and in the end they chose me.’
Did they tell you why they chose you?
Eyup: ‘It was the players who got the ball rolling. They mentioned my name to the club. That was the reason for the board to contact me and the three conversations that followed were to everyone’s satisfaction.’
What did you find at Overmaas?
Eyup: ‘After it was decided in mid-April that I would become the new coach of Overmaas, I naturally went to watch their matches. But that was at a fairly late stage. I was able to watch a few more matches. What was also known at that time was the fact that a lot of players would be leaving for other places. Some went to Charlois with Peter van Dam, a few boys went to CVV Zwervers and to Spartaan’20. In fact, I was left with only nine to ten selection players, five of whom were regulars last season. So I had to look for boys from outside to supplement the selection. Now, I have quite a large network, but because I could only really start working on it at the end of April, beginning of May, only after I had been appointed as the new coach at Overmaas, many players that I would have liked to have had already given their yes-word to other clubs. In the end, I was able to persuade many players to choose Overmaas. There is now a representative group of players. The selection is not as broad as in previous seasons, but good enough to compete in the third division in the left row.’
What demands has the club made of you?
Eyup: ‘There are no demands, but the club does want to move up. That desire is there. Whether that is realistic, I do not know yet. We have Rice fieldSlikkerveer and Pelikaan are formidable opponents and Spirit always has a good group of players. I don’t have a good idea of how those clubs are going to be this season. The fact is that we have a largely new group of players who still have to get used to each other. That doesn’t matter, it only makes it more fun for me as a trainer. When you see that you win in the preparation against Toofan from The Hague, against DBGC and against Soccer Boys, then I see that we have already made good progress.’
How do you want your team to play?
Eyup: ‘I don’t want to go into too much detail here, because coaches from other clubs also read this story, haha. Let’s just say that I am a coach who wants to play football forward, wants to have the ball a lot as a team and that everyone knows their responsibility defensively. That means that every player must be convinced that they have to work, both when they have the ball and when the opponent has the ball. Players have to learn to switch and react. React to each other and react to what the opponent does. That is what we train for, that is how we go into the practice matches. Especially against DBGC, all this went well very often and that did me a lot of good.’
You yourself have played football at a fairly high level, including at Zwart Wit’28, IFC and Dordrecht’90. Isn’t it a huge change to be a trainer at this level?
Eyup: ‘In the beginning, when I was just a trainer, I had to get used to it of course. But now we are quite a few years further and I know that I have to adapt. I shouldn’t be too difficult and not want too much at once. The players I work with now are all well-meaning, smart amateurs, only a few of whom have played football at a high level. So as a trainer you have to be clear and have a lot of patience. In the third division at Overmaas I will also succeed in getting my way of playing across to players. I am convinced of that. That is why I am always looking for enthusiasts as a trainer, for players who want to improve and also for them to play better football as a group. Of course I can’t do this alone. You need more hands for that, people who are prepared to contribute. That is the case at Overmaas. With my assistants Ron Verboon, Satish Maharaj and Rob Woudenberg, with my goalkeeping coach Ivan Giersthove and with Martin van Meenen, the coach of the second team, with Rakesh Maharaj who makes video recordings and with TC man Joop Zandwijk it is all great work. That makes me think that we are heading for good times at the club. Whether that will lead to impressive results and a high position on the ranking list, I don’t know yet of course. But that is what we are all going to strive for.’
2024-08-27 18:02:32