Eighteen years old she is only. Yet Katerina Langedijk already experienced a premier league season. With Bloemendaal, the attacking midfielder is playing in the Promotion Division this year, but not for long. And that is not only because her team is leading and promotion beckons. Indeed, top club Amsterdam recently announced Langedijk’s arrival. But that dream transfer was momentarily out of her mind on Sunday.
Shaking her head slightly, Langedijk walked off the field last Sunday afternoon. Her Bloemendaal was lord and master in the match against runner-up Ring Pass, but had to settle for a 0-0 draw. Moments later, in the clubhouse, disappointment was already giving way to wariness. ‘We played perhaps the best match of our season. For almost seventy minutes we dominated. Only in the last five minutes it was all hands on deck when there were only nine of us on the field. In that respect we can also be glad that we held on.’
There was no sign that Langedijk already has her head with her future club Amsterdam. Against Ring Pass she asserted herself with clever passes, a flaming backhand shot on goal and power in the duels. A player with quality and potential. Something they also noticed in Amsterdam last season.
Not yet the right moment
‘I had some conversations back then,’ Langedijk told the clubhouse afterwards. ‘I had my doubts, especially after we relegated with Bloemendaal. In the end it still didn’t feel like the right time to switch. With this team we had a very nice and clear goal: stay together and get promoted. This club belongs in the big league. Achieving that goal together was a good idea. Especially when it turned out that indeed almost everyone stayed and we got some good players.
After Bloemendaal’s relegation, Katerina Langedijk did not give in to Amsterdam. Photo: Hans van der Valk/Orange Pictures
Just before the winter break Amsterdam hung on the line again. ‘In the months that followed I thought very carefully. What do I want? What feels right? I discussed it with the board, the new coach Jesse Mahieu and a few Amsterdam players. To my own team I kept quiet. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. In the end, I made the decision. It felt like the right time to take this step. Nothing against Bloemendaal, because I have great faith in this team and we are super close both on and off the field. But of course Amsterdam is not just any club. When I told my teammates, fortunately they all reacted enthusiastically. They grant it to me very much.’
Unpredictable
The latter also applies to Bloemendaal coach André Morees. ‘One-on-one, Katerina is incredibly good offensively. She is unpredictable. Strong. Scores easily. And she can accelerate well. She is a good field hockey player, with enormous power and creativity. In that we are really going to miss her.’
Katerina Langedijk fights for the ball with Ring Pass player Kirsten Pool. Photo: Hans van der Valk/Orange Pictures
Laudatory words from Morees for Langedijk, who made the switch to Bloemendaal’s first team when she was only 16. The schoolgirl, who will graduate this year, once started at Bennebroek. There her talent soon became apparent. As an eleven-year-old she therefore signed up with Bloemendaal, where she shot through the youth academy like a rocket. In addition, she is a regular in the national youth teams, now for the Dutch Junior Team.
I really have an orange heart. That also makes it hard to leave. Our trip to India this winter only brought us even closer together. When I think back on it, I immediately smile again. It was so special and wonderful to experience together. After it came around with Amsterdam, the switch immediately went over for me. I give everything to Bloemendaal, because I still feel that mission to promote from the bottom of my heart. After the summer, Amsterdam will come.’
