Etienne Vaessen, Digi Mart USA News: AZ goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen lost his composure on Sunday during AZ’s 4-3 match against FC Groningen, and analysts say the outburst may be costing him a chance at a top club.
With the score tied 3-3, AZ was awarded a penalty against Groningen shortly before full time. Vaessen disagreed with the decision and threatened to leave the field.
He returned, continued protesting against referee Jannick van der Laan, and received his second yellow card. Teammates then had to restrain him because he appeared ready to confront the referee.
Rypke Bakker, a journalist for NU.nl, described the incident on Voetbalpraat on ESPN a day later. “This is not an isolated incident,” he said.
“I assume Vaessen is working to keep his emotions under some control. This is not the first time.” Bakker added that disagreeing with a penalty does not explain walking off the pitch alone.
Analyst Kenneth Perez said that losing emotional control can happen to anyone, and that Vaessen probably realized how unreasonable his behavior was within minutes. Perez also said Vaessen is a fine goalkeeper for Groningen but is not good enough for clubs such as Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, even as a backup.
Maarten Wijffels of the Algemeen Dagblad said Vaessen could be a suitable backup for a major club in terms of ability, but that big clubs will not take him because of his behavior. “Imagine you are at Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord, you have to step in and something happens.
And then you do this. That can’t be right,” Wijffels said.
Bakker added that the pressure of a match such as De Klassieker would make the situation worse.
