Kees van Wonderen: Belek offers ideal conditions

Spending his birthday away from family is nothing new for van Wonderen – it’s part and parcel of life as a coach. “We had some lovely days together over the break, but now it’s time to focus on football again,” said the Dutchman following his team’s first session of their training camp.

Even if the weather wasn’t quite as the team had hoped on Saturday morning, van Wonderen is still very happy with the setup in Belek. “The pitch is in excellent condition. We have two sessions per day, two friendlies, and can work intensively. It’s ideal for us here,” said the coach, who has a number of goals for the coming days: “We want to improve in a number of departments – in our defensive coordination, in attack, and on set pieces. It’s also about getting back into our rhythm.”

Mulder pleased with first session

Youri Mulder, director of professional football at S04, also has a positive impression of what he’s seen from the team so far in Belek. “The opening training session looked very promising,” was the 55-year-old’s assessment. The two U19s players, Mika Khadr and Zaid Amoussou-Tchibara, have also caught the eye. “It’s a very good sign when young players demonstrate so much confidence at their first training camp,” added Mulder.

A number of drills saw players grouped together that featured in the impressive final few games of 2024. However, van Wonderen insists that everything’s still to play for in terms of his starting line-up for the restart against Eintracht Braunschweig on 18th January: “Nothing is set in stone. Every player has a chance to stake their claim in the coming days.”