One hell of a story |

In his latest edition of his weekly column, Jos Boesveld returns with the story of young Dutchman who’s dream was snatched away from him…

Ever heard of Dylan de Braal? Never did I before a week ago. He’s a young kid that made his debut for RKC Waalwijk last Sunday. It’s something that has to be celebrated by the player, his family and the club of course. Bad luck for De Braal, because his debut only lasted three minutes.

Can you imagine to finally make your debut and just a few minutes later, your whole season is gone? In the Jupiler League, it happened. De Braal torn his ACL and should be out for at least six months. What a way to start your career.

It gets worse if you look into some of the information about this young defender. Five years ago, as a fourteen year old kid, De Braal was subject of a lawsuit, in which his father forced his amateur club to let De Braal take a try-out for a football school. De Braal and his family won and from that moment, his career would become more serious.

He landed in the youth academy of FC Den Bosch, but the player never made it in the first squad. In 2014 his contract expired, without any prospect of getting a new club. Two months later, RKC Waalwijk knocked on De Braals door. They offered him a one year contract and added him to the first squad. Happy times again for De Braal, until the first official match of the season.

RKC Waalwijk started their campaign in the Jupiler League against Roda JC. Van Braal was promised some playtime in this opening match, but thanks to a fault in the administration of RKC Waalwijk and FC Den Bosch, De Braal wasn’t allowed to play in that game. In an interview, the defender told some journalists that he had tears in his eyes when he heard the news.

Tears have also been shed again since the last match of RKC Waalwijk. De Braal already gave some new interviews and he told the press that he will come back a stronger player, but the upcoming six months and getting fit again after the rehabilitation, will be a tough nut to crack for a twenty year old player, with three minutes experience in professional football.