“Tactics? It’s not a problem here”

In 2006 he was suddenly there, little Jeffrey Sarpong at big Ajax. As a top talent, the lightning-fast winger was included in Wesley Sneijder’s squad on February 5, 2006, at the Classic in Rotterdam. You can’t get a better baptism of fire. It was not a great success at Ajax. After a total of 31 games, Sarpong has scored just twice and provided three assists.

From Amsterdam to Spain
After a loan spell at the NEC, Sarpong left for Spain on August 22, 2010. Ajax received a measly two hundred thousand euros for the winger. It was also rented here. Once at NAC Breda and again at Hércules CF, after which his contract was terminated in 2013.

After his failed adventure in Spain, Sarpong travels the world. After short-term engagements in New Zealand, twice in Greece, Turkey and a test in Finland, he found himself with Panevezys in Lithuania at the start of 2021. A title contender in the A Lyga. “I was looking for a new club. This beautiful club from Lithuania showed up, so I thought: why not?”

Sarpong tells us about his adventures in the Baltic state. “It’s just good football here. Don’t think too much, just play towards the goal. Tactics? It’s not a problem here. It’s not that they don’t understand it, but tactically they are not very strong here on willpower and perseverance. Not bad either.

Amsterdam: more than eight hundred thousand inhabitants. Panevezys: less than one hundred thousand inhabitants. The difference is Sarpong too obvious. “It’s a bit different from Amsterdam. People aren’t very open, especially with themselves. That’s also true in Amsterdam, but it’s still different. Also, hardly anyone speaks English, so communication is very difficult. So you are naturally a bit more alone. I’m also all alone here, I think that’s definitely a disadvantage. My family is in the Netherlands. They went with them last time, but now the children are too old. They have to go to school and with their friends and be friends. That’s much more important.”

“Football is alive here in itself, but it’s nothing compared to basketball, the most important sport in the country. You notice that basketball is one step ahead of football: the facilities, the number of spectators and experience. They invest here in good pitches. not . Besides, it’s just too cold for that, they don’t want to invest money there. The biggest difference with Dutch football is that I always play on artificial turf. At first it took some getting used to, but now it’s completely normal for me.”