Former ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord midfielder comes out of retirement to help semi-pro side | OneFootball

Lex Immers (38) has put down his padel racket and put on his boots again. The retired former Feyenoord player has come to Scheveningen to save the club from relegation from the Tweede Divisie.

Last weekend, Immers came on as a substitute during the defeat against Rijnsburgse Boys (1-4). “I really should just go back to training for a full week”, Immers told Omroep West afterwards. “I landed around half past two on Thursday afternoon. Then I immediately went to pick up my shoes at a sports shop. Then I went to the house of a friend of mine, where I will be staying for the next two weeks. That same evening, I also went to training straight away.”

Immers is being prepared for the relegation play-offs. “I am fit. ‘I am on the padel court six times a week. But competition rhythm is something different. That is a different kind of fitness than training or playing sports every day. You have to build that up step by step. Padel is now in second place, that is absolutely not important at the moment. Football should not suffer because of that, because that is now number one.”

“This is about Scheveningen”, Immers said about the club where he stopped playing football last year before emigrating to Spain. “That is simply a club that belongs in the second division. It is not about the individual now, but about the team.”

The former player of ADO Den Haag, Feyenoord, NAC Breda and Club Brugge, among others, had to ask permission at home to get his kit out of the closet.

“At home, we of course had a good talk about my coming to Scheveningen. Your family is suddenly without you for two and a half weeks. From professional football, I am used to going to a training camp for a week, but this is a bit longer. And if we make the play-offs, hopefully another three weeks will be added. At home, they were fine with it, so that was okay.”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield