In an interview with Voetbal International, Ian Smeulers has explained his decision to retire from professional football at the age of 25. Although he is still very young and in top shape, the former Feyenoord man is saying goodbye to the beautiful game.
Smeulers was a graduate of the Rotterdam club’s youth academy, where he played alongside players such as Justin Bijlow, Lutsharel Geertruida, Orkun Kökçü and Noa Lang over the years. However, the Dutch youth international would ultimately never make an official debut for De Kuip residents.
In addition to periods at FC Dordrecht, Willem II and Excelsior, he had foreign adventures in Norway and Greece.
Last season he played for Volos against clubs such as Olympiakos Piraeus, PAOK Saloniki and Panathinaikos. For many footballers this would sound like a dream, but Smeulers decided to end his career. “I had lost the joy in the world of football for a while. At certain moments, it does come back temporarily and you feel like that little boy again, but for me, that was maybe only two per cent of what someone should normally feel.”
“The limited freedom, hierarchy, disappointments and agreements that are often not met…”, Smeuelers continues, “I could no longer push that aside.”
Smeuelers had also been busy developing himself in the business field for a long time during his career. He was very involved in real estate, investing and entrepreneurship, things that began to take up more and more time in addition to football.
Over the years, he had had many conversations with friends and family about quitting professional football. In his mind, he had actually already made up his mind long ago. Even when he sent the announcement into the ether via Instagram, it felt a lot less heavy than he had thought. “Oh, it’s just nice that everyone knows.”
GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield
Read the full article here
