Helmond Sport - Hometown Glory

Bouma Signs New Deal At Helmond Sport

The current Helmond Sport manager in one of his last international games.

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What a start it has been for Helmond Sport. The club, projected to finish 9th, is top after 14 games, with a four-point advantage over runners up Almere City FC. Why have the club’s performances improved so dramatically compared to last season, where the club finished 13th? The main reason is believed to be new manager Wilfred Bouma. Raised in Helmond, Bouma is a very experienced footballer, who hung up his boots two years ago. After receiving his coaching license, he signed a contract at his current club Helmond Sport.

Never could he have dreamt that he would do so well. Bigger clubs have already expressed interest in the Dutch manager, but Bouma has indicated he wants to get Helmond Sport to the Eredivisie and beyond. After this formidable start, the club decided to offer Bouma a contract extension, as his current contract only lasted until the end of this season. The former Dutch international player immediately signed his now contract, and it means he will stay at the club until 2017.

Under Bouma, Helmond have played attractive football which has impressed several football journalists, who all credited the manager for Helmond’s good start to the season. “With next to no signings, the team has still significantly improved, so it really is down to the manager. He’s let the team play nice football, and certain players, who didn’t perform last year, are performing greatly this year. He’s really awakened something in the team.” One journalist said.

Wilfred Bouma himself was also at the press conference after the contract signing, and he was very happy: “I couldn’t have ever dreamt that my debut season as a manager would ever start this well. We’re 14 matches in, and we’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m getting more and more confident as the time goes on. Our recent results haven’t been as good as at the start, because we lost our first game, but there’s no need to be concerned, really. We’re still four points clear, and we’re still playing the football we played at the start of the season, so I’m confident we can keep a hold of our position.”

The day after, the fans who attended a training session of Helmond Sport, were very happy about the contract extension. We asked one fan about his opinion: “Wilfred is a local lad, so it’s not surprising he signed the contract. It does show that he’s really committed though, and that he actually wants to help the club get promoted. I’m very happy with our football, and I certainly think Wilfred can get us promoted. He’s been great to watch on the training pitch, because he’s got a great bond with all the players, and he regularly joins in when the team play an 11v11 match here. All in all, he’s got a good connection with the players, and I think the good atmosphere contributes towards the fact we’re doing so well at the moment.”

This news came about a week after Helmond announced plans to totally revamp their training centre, and it shows the club are seriously planning for the future. A future that could see the club playing in the Eredivisie. Director Phillipe van Esch: “We have to think about the future, and I think that the chances of us playing in the Eredivisie are getting bigger and bigger, so we really need some upgrades and investments. The club doesn’t have great infrastructure as is, so we really want to improve on this.”

Helmond Sport – Extending The Lead

The four matches Helmond Sport have played.

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Bouma’s View:
A very important set of matches for us, as we could lose our lead, or we could massively improve our lead. We played some very hard matches, starting with a tricky away match against the relegated Roda JC. I thought they would challenge for the title, but they’re only in 7th. We started off very well, taking a 2-0 lead into half-time. I told my players to lean back and hold onto our lead, but they did exactly the opposite. After 15 minutes in the second half, it was 2-2 and I was stunned. I decided to play a bit more attacking, in the hope of scoring a goal. But again, it backfired and we conceded a very late 3-2. However, Marc Koot avoided our second defeat, with a goal in injury time. I was very happy with this point, as every single point could make a difference at the end of the season.

In the next match, a home match against VVV, we really needed the three points, as Almere City were reducing the gap, now only 4 points. It was a very aggressive match (a total of eight yellow cards), and this resulted to our right-back Kazlauskas getting sent off after only thirty minutes. I decided to switch to a 4-3-2 system, so we still had 4 defenders. Seven minutes after that, with 10 men, we took the lead, as Van Nuland scored from a corner. I was delighted, and I let the team play more defensively. This time, it worked, and we won for the first time in three matches. We also kept a clean sheet, after that 3-3 scoreline from the last game.

After the win, we played Achilles ’29. I expected an easy victory, as the team were in 16th. We started off well, and ex-Achilles player Hendriks gave us the lead after 33 minutes. I was confident we would extend our lead, but in the 53rd minute, Paau equalised for Achilles. I ordered the team to play more attacking, as we were dominating the match, and Achilles didn’t have a lot of chances. However, a lot of gaps were left in defence, and Thoone put Achilles 2-1 up after 72 minutes. I was furious at how badly we were defending, so I let the team play even more attacking. Luckily, it worked this time, as Koot equalised a minute after Thoone’s goal, and Van Nuland, a central defender, scored his second goal in two matches in the 86th minute.

The last match was a tricky one against fellow Brabant team RKC. They were also relegated last season, but they were even lower on the table: 13th. Because of that, I was quite confident of a victory. We started well, and an own goal by Amieux and another goal by back-up striker Hendriks had put us into a comfortable 2-0 lead after only 24 minutes. But, the boys got complacent and a quick double by Biekman meant we went into half time with a 2-2 score, totally unnecessary. I was very angry at the players, as we gave away two easy goals that shouldn’t have been scored. I fired them up, in the hope we would secure a victory in the second half, but we didn’t. A disappointing 2-2 draw was the result of complacency and unfinished chances.

All in all though, I’m happy with a total of eight points, as Almere only managed four draws. This means our lead at the top is now a staggering eight points after 18 games, so with half the season to go, I’m feeling more and more positive about our chances. Our performances and results haven’t been as good as at the start of the season, but I’m confident we will pick up form again in the later stages of the season, where every point counts.

Player Spotlight:
Young centre back Jeffrey van Nuland has recently impressed for Helmond Sport. The Dutch defender replaced Ferry de Regt, who was out injured, and Van Nuland did a great job. His defensive work hasn’t been great, but instead, he has contributed with two very important goals for the team.

Helmond Sport – Important Own Goals

The four matches Helmond Sport have played.

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A pundit’s View:
Helmond started with a tricky home game against the defensively well-organized FC Eindhoven. One of the many derbies played with two teams from Brabant, started off well for 14th-placed team, as they took the lead after 31 minutes. Ex-PSV player Jens van Son scored the goal. Quickly after, former Eindhoven player Serhat Koç equalised against his old team. Helmond tried to score their second goal, but eventually Eindhoven snuck away with a victory against league leaders Helmond as Bouaouzan scored in the 63rd minute. It was only the second defeat for Bouma in 17 games, and the lead at the top was still quite big, so nothing to worry (yet) for Wilfred Bouma.

After that disappointing defeat, Helmond looked to get revenge against another team from Brabant: Jong PSV. The team managed by Darije Kalezic were dead last, with only 5 points from their 17 games. Despite the big gap between the two, Helmond couldn’t score a goal in the first half. They had many opportunities, however none went in. In the second half, Helmond were again dominant, but they scored no goals. It took an own goal by Jordy de Wijs after almost an hour to give Helmond the lead. They held onto this lead, and after the loss against FC Eindhoven, they won against the other Jupiler League outfit from Eindhoven – Jong PSV.

The next match was another home match, this time against FC Volendam. The team from the north of the Netherlands are challenging for the play-offs, so they had enough motivation to try and snatch some points from a vulnerable Helmond Sport. A copy of the match against Jong PSV was what actually happened: Helmond played well, and Volendam were just spectators for most of the game. Again, Helmond didn’t manage to score, and an own goal in the second half by Volendam made the difference in the end: 1-0 for Helmond Sport.

In the last match, the league leaders played an away match against mid-table team FC Emmen. A victory was quite important, as new title contenders Sparta, who knocked Almere off the second spot, were winning almost every game. The away team started ferociously, with Koç scoring the 1-0 after only three minutes. It turned out to be just the start, as Helmond were leading 5-0 at half-time. A brace by Koç and Brouwers, and the 5th goal scored by Elbers made the difference after 45 minutes. In the second half, Helmond calmly played out the match, scoring no goals, but only conceding one. The final result was a very impressive 5-1 victory from Helmond Sport, and they showed why they had been top for the whole season.

So, it was a decent month for Bouma, as they’re now top by a massive eight points, and I can’t really see them giving that lead away in the remainder of the season. Their great form they had at the start of the season has slowly gone away, but they’ve showed their still capable of winning big matches with big scorelines. In the next batch of matches, Helmond have a vital match: a home match against Sparta, so it’ll be interesting to see how they do in a match against a big rival in the league.

Player Spotlight:
Former ADO Den Haag winger Stanley Elbers has been one of the best performers for Helmond this season. These four matches were no exception, as he scored two goal and gave an assist.

Change at Right-Back for Helmond Sport: Bovenberg in, Kazlauskas out

New right-back Daan Bovenberg.

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Daan Bovenberg

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Right-back Daan Bovenberg has joined Jupiler League leaders Helmond Sport until the end of next season. Bovenberg came through the youth ranks at Excelsior, where he impressed bigger clubs, with a total of 60 matches. In his best season, where he played 31 matches for the team, in the Eredivisie, he also scored a total of 6 goals. With those 6 goals, as a right-back, he kept Excelsior in the Eredivisie, when they were actually expected to finish last. Bovenberg is a player renowned for his natural fitness and his determination, something that makes him a player that keeps running for 90 minutes.

After that season, he joined stable mid-table team FC Utrecht, where he played only 17 games in two seasons. This unsuccessful period came to an end when the Dutch player joined NEC. He didn’t impress there either, and eventually had his contract terminated. Several months without a club later, he’s joining Helmond Sport. Now that Kazlauskas is leaving, it is expected that Bovenberg will go straight into the first team.

Bovenberg was very happy on his presentation at the club: “I’m very happy I’ve finally found a new club, and I feel this is the right choice, as Helmond Sport are one of the main contenders in the Jupiler League, and I think I can really perform well here. When Helmond approached me, it was hard to say no, as no other clubs had approached me, and I also really like the vision that the club has. Another thing I like about Helmond is their manager, as I think I can learn a lot from Bouma, who was of course a defender in his playing career.”

Wilfred Bouma himself was also happy with his first big signing at Helmond Sport: “Daan is a fine player, who can immediately play in our first team. He has showed he’s capable of playing on this level, and also one level higher. The reason why we decided to sell Charles (Kazlauskas) and buy Daan was simply because we felt Charles’s performances were going downhill, and the fact that he was 31, made us decide to put him up for sale. It had nothing to do with the relationship between me and Charles, because we had a great bond.”

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Charles Kazlauskas

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Together with the announcement of Bovenberg’s transfer, Helmond Sport announced the departure of Charles Kazlauskas to FC Den Bosch, who has been Helmond’s first choice right-back for five seasons, after joining from FC Oss. The American-born player is an attacking right-back, who has the same style as Daan Bovenberg: he’s got great natural fitness, and also, he’s good off the ball. Kazlauskas is a very experienced player, with 279 matches played in the Jupiler League, and 10 matches in the Eredivisie. This year, Kazlauskas has played 15 matches, scoring no goals but giving one assist.

Kazlauskas was happy with his move: “I’m very happy with my move, but I had a great time at Helmond Sport and I hope to return sometime soon, maybe as a coach. But, Bovenberg is a great replacement for me, and I think he’ll be able to fill in the right-back position very well. I’ve got many good memories here, and especially in this season, as we’ve been very good so far. Wilfred Bouma has played a major part in this, and I don’t think we’d be in first without him. I wish the players all the best to try and gain promotion!”