After being passed over for the Paris Olympics at the very last minute, Terrance Pieters (28) found himself in one of the darkest periods of his career. The Kampong striker regained his fire thanks to a new challenge: he had himself retrained as a midfielder. ‘I worked extremely hard to show my qualities in midfield as well.‘
On the holy green carpet at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen last Friday, the arrow-headed international shows a glimpse of the ‘new’ Terrance Pieters. During a game form at the training of Oranje he is played on, not as familiar in the striker, but a lot lower on the field, at the left half position. Like a rocket, he races down the left flank with the ball on his stick, past not one, but two defenders, and then continues the attack with a razor-sharp backhand cross. It sums up in one fell swoop why national coach Jeroen Delmée sees a role for him at the European Championship in Mönchengladbach not only as an attacker, but also as a midfielder.
‘In the beginning it was all new to me, yes,’ Pieters told me, sitting on a chair in the main stand of the Wagener Stadium. ‘But I actually liked it very quickly. After a few games I felt: there’s real potential here.’
After the Olympics, Jeroen Delmée started an experiment with Terrance Pieters in midfield. Photo: Willem Vernes
In a gray past, Pieters already made meters in midfield, but since his transfer in 2019 from his childhood sweetheart Almere to top club Kampong, he concentrated fully on his development as a striker. He has never been the type of striker who stands posting at the far post, lurking for a nick. As a striker, he also leans on his explosiveness and his dribble. He often lets himself sink back a bit, only to kick the gas pedal from there and storm into the circle with an action.
It is exactly these qualities that, since Delmée’s appointment in 2021, earned him a spot at two fine final tournaments: the World Cup in India (bronze) and the European Championship in Mönchengladbach (gold). But when Delmée had to reduce his selection from 18 to 16 players before the Paris Olympics, he still fell by the wayside.
‘I had completely lost the fun’
Delmée noted that each of the four other attackers possessed an indispensable specialty. Thierry Brinkman and Duco Telgenkamp are cold-blooded finishers who know how to find the net without fail, Tjep Hoedemakers fulfills the role of first out runner at the penalty corner and Koen Bijen is the engine that puts the pressure on. As a result, they had slightly more pluses behind their names than Pieters, so they were ultimately chosen.
For three years he had put everything aside for the Dutch team, but now his Olympic dream shattered into a thousand pieces. ‘That blow came really hard,’ said Pieters, who previously said he was going through a dark period afterwards. ‘I had completely lost the fun.’
Also at Kampong, Terrance Pieters made minutes in midfield after the winter. Photo: Willem Vernes
Pieters, with over 33,000 Instagram followers one of the most popular players on the Dutch national team, regained the holy fire after talking to Delmée about his future with the Orange, after the Games.
‘In October I was not at all concerned with: I have to make that European Championship,’ he says. I mainly wanted to have fun again. And a new challenge always gives me that. So I thought: where is there still room for development? Especially since I had only focused on the front line for three years. In that conversation Jeroen said: boy, we see a nice role for you in midfield. Something in which you can make steps. Just as an experiment, to see if it’s something for me. And honestly, it immediately gave me new energy.
Jeroen said: ‘Yeah, we see a great role for you in midfield. Something in which you can make steps. Just as an experiment. Terrance Pieters
With a nod, he points from the stands to the green mat in Wagener Stadium. There, last November, he experienced his baptism of fire in Orange at left half position, during the Pro League matches with Germany and Belgium. The tryout immediately went down so well that it was continued in Sydney in February, when the Netherlands played four international matches against Australia and Spain.
One of the games against Australia in particular gave Pieters a positive feeling about his retraining as a midfielder, he says. ‘Those Australians often played high up the pitch, with man coverage. That often put me in a one-on-one position, with lots of space in front of me. At such times my speed and dribble are at their best. That is close to how I play as an attacker. During that match I had a couple of those moments and they worked out well. Then I realized: okay, also in midfield this is really my strength,’ says Pieters, who after the winter at Kampong regularly spread his wings in midfield. At the same time he remained true to his familiar role in the striker, just as he did with the Dutch national team.
After being passed over for the Paris Olympics, Terrance Pieters did get selected for the European Championship in Mönchengladbach. Photo: Willem Vernes
‘I’m super proud of it’
Meanwhile, Delmée is completely convinced: he sees Pieters as a so-called ‘hybrid’ player, who can effortlessly perform in several lines. ‘At the EC he will function as both a midfielder and a striker,’ Delmée said after his announcement of the EC selection. ‘What appeals to me in him is his power and the action he has. He is one of the fastest players in our selection. With that speed, he can create danger from the outside. He has already shown that threat at Kampong this season.’
Thanks to that new versatility he earned an extra plus behind his name at the selection moment for the European Championship, Pieters knows better than anyone. He expects his playing time at the EC to be split about equally between attack and midfield.
Satisfied, he stares ahead with a broad smile. ‘I took up the challenge last year and really made big strides. Added new things to my game and worked very hard to show my qualities in midfield as well. I am very proud of that. Glowing: ‘And that I have also been selected for the European Championship? Yes, that is of course the icing on the cake.’
