New signing Mats Knoester is ready to prove himself all over again at Aberdeen after seeing his dreams of playing for Feyenoord wrecked by injury.
The defender rejected more lucrative offers to sign for the Dons on a two-and-a-half-year deal on transfer deadline day last week following his exit from Ferencvaros.
Knoester, who also had the chance to return to his homeland in the Netherlands, was excited by the prospect of a new challenge with Aberdeen in Scottish football.
The Dutchman, who spent last season on loan at Danish club Aarhus, was tipped as a future international after representing his country at youth level.
But a serious knee injury kept him out of the game for more than a year, and the 26-year-old defender says the experience at Feyenoord changed how he views the game.
Knoester said: “It was crazy. My whole youth was pretty easy – I was going up the levels, getting into the higher teams.
“I was going up at Feyenoord, going up with the Dutch teams, so everything was good.
“I signed a new contract with Feyenoord then got injured, so it was difficult to handle because I was only 18 and it was my first senior year.
“The injury was my medial cruciate ligament – and I had the wrong diagnosis for five months.
“I then needed surgery and it was another five months before I could get back.
“Add in the time to get fit again, it was 13 months from game to game.
“Those days were the worst moment, but it makes you look at things differently.
“People who saw me saw the footballer, but when you get injured, you’re not so interesting any more as a footballer.
“So it makes you realise there’s more than football.”
‘I wouldn’t say it was a nice year’
Knoester’s lengthy absence from the game came during a period of success for Feyenoord under their manager, former Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Van Bronckhorst guided Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in 18 years in 2017 before winning the KNVB Cup in 2018.
For Knoester, however, the success came as he played the role of spectator.
He said: “Giovanni van Bronckhorst was the manager when I was coming through at Feyenoord.
“I spent one season with the first-team then was supposed to be going on loan, but I was with the Dutch under-19 team and picked up an injury.
“I did my recovery with the first-team, but it took over a year for my knee to heal then I went to the under-21s when I was fit again.
“After that I went to Heracles, a smaller club in Holland, and played for three years.
“So, my time with Feyenoord was a bit strange because in one way I was involved, but in another I was injured so wasn’t on the pitch at all.
“They won the cup when I was there, so I got to celebrate that. even though I didn’t play – which was a bit strange.
“I was able to enjoy it a little bit, but I wouldn’t say it was a nice year.”
Knoester’s move to the Dons happened quickly
Knoester’s whirlwind move to Pittodrie ensured he had little time to do his homework on the Dons and Scottish football before putting pen to paper on his Aberdeen contract on deadline day.
He said: “I played with Dylan Vente, who joined Hibs and is now back in Holland on loan.
“I didn’t get a chance to speak to Dylan about moving to Scotland because everything happened so fast.
“It was like two days from speaking to the manager to sorting the financial side then being here.”
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