“I pay 85 euro cents for a liter of petrol”

In the land of the rising sun, he speaks Dutch every day. “Quenten Martinus (former SC Heerenveen, Sparta and FC Emmen, editor’s note) is my teammate. I spend the most time with him. Apart from that, I speak English with my interpreter. The club employs two full-time interpreters who can help the four foreign players help the club everywhere,” says Woud in ELF Voetbal’s very thick Over De Grens Special, which was published last month and via this link can be ordered quickly and easily online. Within two to three working days at home.

“During training, one of the two stands next to the goal to do the translation for the goalkeeper coach. The other interpreter does it with the footballers. With my runs, I ask for help from the ‘one of the two via FaceTime.” In January, Woud flew from Schiphol via Paris to Osaka. “From there it is an hour’s drive. Kyoto does not have an airport. We usually visit away matches by train. It reaches a speed of over three hundred kilometers per hour. You are to Tokyo in two and a half hours. We go to Sapporo. by plane. Two hours flight from Osaka. We always leave the day before.”

“The level of football is high. Higher than in Almere City, where I was active before the winter. The best Japanese players all play in their own league, complemented by foreign stars like Andrés Iniesta.” The training lasts longer than in the Netherlands, where Woud also kept Willem II. “Often two and a half hours. Constantly one hundred percent, it’s ingrained in Japanese sports culture. Every player is in top condition. Necessary for Kyoto because the coach wants to put high pressure everywhere on the pitch.”

In the interview, Woud also talks about the city of Kyoto. “I pay 85 euro cents for a liter of petrol.” Also about his former hometown of Amsterdam, his parents’ background, moving from New Zealand to the Netherlands, his choice for the New Zealand national team, the Tokyo Olympics and their consequences and his late departure from Almere City.

Michael Woud’s full interview can be read in ELF Voetbal’s very thick Over De Grens Special, which was published last month. There are no less than 46 interviews with our compatriots in almost as many foreign competitions. Think of Virgil van Dijk, Crysencio Summerville and Joël Piroe in England, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Mark Diemers and Thijmen Goppel in Germany, Denso Kasius in Italy and Xavi Simons and Branco van den Boomen in France. But also Wout Droste in Iceland, Shayne Pattynama in Norway, Nick Marsman in the United States or Wouter Burger and Léon Bergsma in Switzerland. Also consider conversations with Dutch professionals in smaller countries. We spoke to the only Dutch professional from competitions in Andorra, Bangladesh, Estonia, Latvia, Singapore and Kosovo.

ELF Voetbal’s extra-thick Over De Grens Special fell on subscribers’ doormats. And is available in well-known bookstores and non-food stores. Also, at well-known travel locations such as Schiphol, Eindhoven Airport and major NS train stations. Order online via this link it happened. Quick and easy. Within two to three working days at home. Taking out a subscription is quite convenient. Each edition automatically on the doormat. By this link a subscription is quickly closed. Choose your own welcome gift! Good reading!