Football: Stags' renaissance man van Huizen relishing second chance after retirement U-turn

SINGAPORE - Last December, while doing a spring-clean of his home, Christopher van Huizen was close to throwing away a pair of boots that he had kept aside for a few years. The pair of white boots, customised with red laces, was meant for when he next took the pitch with the Singapore national team.

Having briefly toyed around with the idea of quitting the sport after a forgettable season with Geylang International in 2021, van Huizen was sure that he would never get the chance to don that special pair of boots for the Republic.

"I picked those boots up and told myself it's not going to happen," the 29-year-old told The Straits Times. "I told myself to just forget about it."

After making a U-turn on retirement, however, van Huizen has been rejuvenated at Tampines Rovers, whom he signed a one-year deal with this year. His performances so far this term helped him earn his fifth cap - and first since March 2016 - last Saturday when Singapore beat Malaysia 2-1 in a friendly.

Just as he had promised himself, he took to the National Stadium pitch in the boots he had saved for the occasion.

Confidence soaring, van Huizen is now turning his focus towards Saturday (April 2), when he will face former side Geylang at Our Tampines Hub for the first time since leaving them.

Van Huizen, who spent three years with the Eagles, said: "The last few years, I had not enjoyed my football at all. In fact, I was going through the motions. It was a case of turning up for training, get it done with and repeat that cycle each day.

"In football, you can't play for the sake of it and hope to do well. If you don't play with purpose, it's hard to perform."

Van Huizen, who first made his name in local football with an appearance on reality TV series FirstXI in 2014, declined to elaborate on his disillusionment with the sport, only saying it was a "mix of personal reasons and the environment I was in".

League rules on mandatory fielding of age-group players also played a part, and limited him to just seven starts in 19 matches for Geylang.

But with a change of the rule - from three Under-23 players to just one this season - and a determination to not end his football career on a negative note, van Huizen had conversations with former teammate Fahrudin Mustafic- now Tampines' assistant coach - and Stags head coach Gavin Lee before deciding to prolong his career to rejoin the team he had previously been a part of for half a season, in 2016.

Said van Huizen: "My priority this year was just to focus on my club and start enjoying my football again. A national call-up did not even cross my mind.

"But now it's proof to me that if I keep working hard and improve my game, I can get the rewards. I know that there is a lot more I can achieve in my career and I don't want to waste it."

Another reason for a career renaissance is van Huizen's transformation from a classic take-on-his-man, chalk-on-his-boots winger into a wing-back.

Said Lee : "The message to him was that he needs to enjoy his football again and that a new environment would be beneficial for him. We know his strengths and felt he could contribute to our build-up play from a full back position. He has taken this chance but there is more to come from him."

Lee, who saw his side thump Hougang United 7-1 in their last outing before the international break, wants his charges to pick up from where they left off.

On the upcoming Eastern Derby, he said: "These games are always exciting for both sets of players and fans. (Geylang) have a very different side to what they had last season and I am looking forward to seeing how we match up with them."

Geylang head coach Noor Ali urged his side to learn the lessons from Hougang's tough loss.

He said: "We have to bring the intensity. Against Hougang, they had too much time on the ball and we know Tampines are a good side when in possession. We need to be aggressive and close them down. My boys are ready for this challenge."

Other fixtures:

Hougang United vs Albirex Niigata

By the time Hougang kick off against Albirex Niigata at the Hougang Stadium on Friday, it would be exactly two weeks since their last SPL match - when they were thumped 7-1 by Tampines.

The Cheetahs would have been smarting from that defeat throughout the international break and will be itching to put things right against Albirex. The form guide, however, does not favour Hougang as the Japanese side have won all of the last five matches between both teams.

The Sailors have yet to convince in their first four matches of the season with performances that have hardly made them look like champions.

But on Friday at the Jalan Besar Stadium, they have a prime chance to show how prolific they can be when they face the league's worst defence against Balestier, who have conceded 16 goals in four matches. There are good memories to lean on for the Sailors, who lifted their first SPL title last October after they beat the Tigers 4-1 in the last match of the season.

Young Lions head coach Nazri Nasir enjoyed a good international break as the interim coach of the Singapore national team where he steered the Lions to wins against Malaysia and the Philippines.

On Saturday, Nazri will be targeting his third victory in seven days against a Tanjong Pagar side undefeated in four games this season, at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The Young Lions, however, have lost both of their matches this season and conceded nine goals.