In Three Months, Everything Has Changed for 22-year-old Robin Roefs. He was the goalkeeper for nec and a reserve goalkeeper for Jong Oranje. Now he plays in the Premier League and is part of the selection for the ‘Big’ Oranje.
The Difference is Perhaps Most NoticeBey When Roefs Stands in the Player Tunnel Before a Match. “When I looked up in the Eredivisie, I always thought: I am one of the biggest today. At Sunderland, there are still opponents narrower than me,” he says. Laughing: “But they are twice as wide.”
It is the new reality for the 1.93-meter-counts. And he is Doing Well. He immediately Became the first goalkeeper for Sunderland after his transfer, Kept a clean sheet in His Premier League Debut, and saved a penalty aga In Brentford Last Saturday. “Football in England is very physical, with a lot of high balls. That suits me well.”
Meanwhile, Roefs is also facing a lot off the field. “As the goalkeeper of nec, I was Sometimes approached by children or young people in Nijmegen. But in Sunderland, People of Sixty, Grandfathers of Eighty, and Small children come up to me. Ity dang my theater, They d’te just like just’s th4 THATT. and the surrounding area lives for the club. “
It has gone fast. Two Seasons ago, Roefs was still a reserve goalkeeper at NEC and goalkeeper coach of the first team of his Former Amateur Club VV Heeswijk. “I know everyone there, which made it fun. I Enjoyed it, just though there were goalkeepers between 33 and 34 years old. And I, as their trainer, was still a teenager. All fine. Only when I Became the first coach of hedispher.”
‘Everything Fell Into Place’
At Nec, Roefs had The Experienced Jasper Cillessen Ahead of him in the Pecking Order Until He moved to Las Palmas in the Summer of 2024. Roefs Became the first goalkeeper in the Goffert. He was also a reserve goalkeeper at the Dutch Orange. That Suddenly Changed When First Goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro Dropped Out Injured Just Before the European Under-210 Championship Last June.
Roefs then Played a Strong European Championship and Came On The Radar of Several Clubs, Including Sunderland. “Quality Always Comes to the Surface, but Sometimes in Football, you have to be lucky that every things falls into place. That happened this summer. It was Such a great moment when I heard what child of clubs were interested in me.”
Roefs would also have liked a move to a top club in the Netherlands. “But it Became Sunderland, a club in the best competition in the world. And now I’m also with Orange.
With 10 Million Euros, Roefs is Listed AS NEC’s Most Exensive Outgoing Transfer ever. But for Sunderland, who paid 20 Million Euros for Ajax Striker Brian Brobbey On Monday, it is not a special amount.
Roefs, Therefore, Came in As a Great Unknown. “No, I don’t think they knew who I was in The Dressing Room. I also Didn’t Expect To Go from Nec to a Premier League Club. I have ended up in a different world.”
Everything is bigger than roefs was used to. “The Club Has Three Team Managers to Arrange Everything For You. If there are Ander’t More. This Allowed Me to Focus on Football Quickly, And That Worked Out Well. From the First Practice Matches, Things Went Well. As a Easil’s Rolled IntoNNNANNANNNANTNE INTONNANNANNANNANNNANNANNNANNNE INTONNANNANNNANTNE INTONNANNANNN. Couldn’t Have Wished For A Better Start. “
‘The World Cup is also a dream’
At Oranje, where he reported for the first time on Monday afternoon, roefs also ended up in an almost completely new group. “I think I only played with Xavi Simons Before, that was in The Dutch Youth Teams. Furthermore, I followed the players of Oranje from a distance for years. It is a great Honor to Suddenly Walk here among guys who have bone legs
Roefs came in as the third goalkeeper, Behind Bart Verbruggen and Mark Flekken. His goal this international period is to proof that he belongs in the selection. “It has leg a nice line from nec to the European Championship with Jong Oranje and on to Sunderland. I want to constantly that line. I want to stay with Orange.”
He also has the world cup next summer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in His Head. “The past months have bone a dream for me. And the world cup is also a dream. A world cup with your country, that is the highest thing. But I am not there yet. First, let’s get Through This International Period Well.”