Maarten Stekelenburg intends to get his career back on track at Southamptonafter the frustration of his previous spell in English football at Fulham, which necessitated what he calls an “escape” from Craven Cottage.
The goalkeeper, who played for Holland in the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa, joined Fulham from Roma in the summer of 2013 only to endure a frustrating season, which culminated in him being dropped by the then manager Felix Magath and the club being relegated from the Premier League.
Magath went on to exile him, ordering him to work away from the first-team squad and Stekelenburg jumped at the chance of a season-long loan move to Monaco last August, even though he knew he would be the back-up to Danijel Subasic. He would make only a handful of appearances for the French club.
Stekelenburg remains contracted to Fulham until 2017 but he is on loan at Southampton for the season, where the first-choice goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, is a long-term injury casualty.
The 32-year-old made a sound start to his career at St Mary’s on Thursday night, during the club’s 3-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round. He made an excellent save from the substitute Milot Rashica at 2-0.
“Monaco was not frustrating,” Stekelenburg said. “No, it was my escape from Fulham. The loan was my only way out [of Fulham]. I knew the situation when I signed for Monaco. The goalkeeper did a fantastic season – I knew the situation but I didn’t want to have one more year like that. I wanted to play and I get the chance here at Southampton.
“Of course, it is frustrating being on the bench. I know my level, I know what I can do. But you also need a chance to show it. I am just happy with this chance here and hopefully I can continue like I did against Vitesse.”
Stekelenburg has been impressed by his new team-mates in pre-season, particularly their fierce work ethic. “I think they can achieve a lot,” he said. “The mentality of this team is really good, if I compare with other teams I have played for. They work their bollocks off for every second of the game, and also in training. We want to get better, which is a really good thing. Hopefully, we can get a nice season like last year.”
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