Amber Mutsaers with FC Eindhoven on the eve of the first national title: “The closer we get, the more the pressure increases” | Sports region

In Amber Mutsaers, coach Ivo Veltrop has a very experienced player in his squad. The defender is eagerly awaiting the first major prize that awaits her and her teammates. “The strength of this team is the size of the group of players,” explains the 25-year-old veteran. ,,In recent years we have fallen a little short of our main competitors Saestum and DTS’35. We had too small a selection and that broke us.

This is the biggest change of this season. “You see with the substitutions that other qualities come onto the pitch that can make the difference. Also, the atmosphere in the team is good and I think that’s it. I even think we can compete in Premier League, but with more training and better facilities.

After two previous attempts, the hard work of the past season must now finally be converted into prize money. ,,With Ter Leede (2-2, editor’s note) and DTS’35 (3-0 defeat, editor’s note), we have met in recent weeks two teams against which we are still struggling. Besides; the closer we get, the more the pressure mounts and it shows in our game.”

Mutsaers, who lives in Oss, has no problem traveling between his home town and Eindhoven at least three times a week without compensation. “I would like to talk about it. As a little girl, playing football as high as possible was a dream. After many wanderings, I landed at FC Eindhoven a few years ago and I hope I can continue to combine this high level with my full-time job.

As a junior, Mutsaers was known as a talent. With four years in the Premier League (one PSV year and three Achilles’29 seasons) and one season in Portland (USA), she was welcome at FC Eindhoven a few years ago. ,,Hard to say, but I think I made a good development, especially at the beginning of my football career. After playing for various regional and district teams of the KNVB, I was also allowed to play in the Dutch national team under 16 and 17.

For her, the ambitions do not go beyond FC Eindhoven. Mutsaers: ,,Playing football at a higher level is no longer an option for me. Year after year, I see if it’s still worth the time I spend playing football. Partly because of our position in the standings and the great team feeling, I didn’t doubt for long if I was going to continue.

Her work as a marketer takes a lot of her time. This will be a priority in the near future. “I want to focus on my social career. As long as I can combine this with football at FC Eindhoven and can muster enough motivation for myself, I will continue to do so.