Jadiel Pereira da Gama Became the Youngest Eredivisie Player Ever on Friday at Fifteen Years and 243 Days Old. How desirable is it for anyone of his age to train and play at the highest level? “We don’t want to hold back exceptional talent.”
Michel Mommertz’s Thoughts Letterly Flashed Back to April 23, 1977, when he debuted for Roda JC in the Eredivisie As a Sixteen-Year-Old. “I was a kid. I trained with them in the months before. But when it comes down to it … you shit your pants,” Mommertz Says, Laughing. “That boy probably did too.”
By “That Boy,” HE Means Pereira da Gama, Who Became the Youngest Eredivisie Debutant Ever On Friday on Behalf of PEC Against Telstar. It has only leg allowed again this season to play at a professional level as a fifteen-year-old. That happened at the request of all Dutch Professional clubs.
Behavioral Scientist and Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology Jelle Jolles Looks at It with “Mixed Feelings.” “It’s Beautiful on the One Hand. On the Other Hand, I’m also worried about the Boy’s Development.”
Jolles wrote an advisory report in 2021 Commissioned by the KNVB About the Development of Children in Professional Football. The focus was on a child bee able to develop without stress or pressure. “I Clearly See Something Else Happening here,” Says Jolles.
Debuting as a High School Student
Jolles States that it is not desirable for young players “to be forced into such a straitjacket at this age, in this case with Eredivisie Football.” “That boy May seem mature. But he is a child in the packaging of an adult,” Says the Behavioral Scientist.
“A child is developing, needs to make mistakes, and learn what the world asks of him. Self-development, outside of a performance culture. If you play football at Eredivisie Level, where the pressure is so high, that is deviculture.”
It is in Line with the Words of the Late Wim Kras, Before Pereira the Youngest Player Ever in the Eredivisie. The Volendammer Once Said that he was not physical, but decossally mentally, ready to play at such a high level at Such a Young Age. He suffered from the pressure of FC Volendam fans, who did not spare he his age.
Kras was a student, Just Like Guido Budziak in 1997. In that year, Budziak Debuted at the Age of Fifteen Years and 61 Days for FC Eindhoven, While He was in The Fourth Grade of High School. “At that moment it was fun. Later I realized it wasn’t healthy,” Says the Former Goalkeeper.
‘Coach Doesn’t Put Weak Players On’
Budziak is Mainly Talking about the excessive physical stress at a Young Age. He himself experienced what it was like to receive the burden of playing with seniors daily as a fifteen-year-old. “I had Missed the Crucial Muscle Development Towards My Debut With The Seniors.”
Budziak had to stop at the age of 23 due to persistent injuries. “Experts say that the period when I was Young Led to All Kinds of Muscle Injuries. In Hindsight, You Think: We should have realized better at the time what the effects were in the long term.”
Limitation Excessive Physical Stress is Central to the KNVB Regulations Regarding Fifteen-Year-Olds. Clubs must comply with the strict rules of the working Hours act, The Working Hours Decree, and the Further Regulations on Child Labor. We explain that in this context.
Legislation for fifteen-year-holds
Due to the Aforementioned Laws, Fifteen-year-old Football Players May Work A Maximum or Twelve Hours per week Duration School Weekly, or which A Maximum of Two Hours per school Day. They must also be free on Sunday. If their club plays on Sunday, they must have a day off on Saturday.
The Physical Burden in Football is Greater than in, for example, tennis or swimming because it is a contact sport. Younger Athletes ofe Participate in Those Other Sports. A Twelve-Year-old Chinese Girl recently equally debuted at the world swimming championships.
But director Jan de Jong of the Eredivisie CV, The Interest Group of the Eredivisie Clubs, Believes that “We should not make it so complicated.” “One fifteen-year-old has the body of a grown man, the other of a boy. A coach will certainly not put on a player who is too weak. We simply do not want to hold back exceptional talent.”
‘Goes Wrong More Often With Child Stars’
However, the KNVB Urges Clubs to Provide Players with Professional Guidance. Help can also be in side issues. For Example, The English Football Association Forbids Players Younger Than Eighteen Years Old From Changing in the Locker Room of the First Team.
Jolles: “Something like that is Healthy for the Hierarchy. Boys must be protected by their Associations and clubs. We Have Seen Many Examples Where Things Have Not Gone Well for Child Stars, Both in Music and Sports.”
It Went Well for Ryan Gravenberch, Clarence Seedorf, Mark van Bommel, After they debuted as sixteen-year-holds. But Players Like Richairo Zivkovic (ex-Ajax), Cheikh Touré (ex-Feyenoord) and the American Freddy Adu, Who Debuted in Major League Soccer at the Age of Fourteen, Never Broke Through.
Mommertz Hopes That Pereira Will Be Spared That Fate. “What he is experienced now is beautiful. But it is Possible that he will have to return to the promises and play on side fields again. Then I hope he will be well supervised.”