Jill Roord: ‘I lost my happiness in football a little bit. I needed to move home’ | OneFootball

For Jill Roord, even after winning the Bundesliga title and reaching a Champions League final, eight years on from saying goodbye to FC Twente, there is simply no place like home. The 107-time capped Netherlands midfielder is returning to the club where she began her career and says the opportunity to move back closer to her family and friends was irresistible.

“It had nothing to do with [Manchester] City. My time with City was really good,” says Roord of her decision to leave after two years. “I have been away for eight years playing abroad and it becomes tough being alone for that many years. In the past few years I lost my fun and my happiness in football a little bit because of being away, travelling a lot and not being able to be with family and friends. With busy summers every year I never really got a break. I needed to move back home, enjoy life and enjoy football again.”

The former Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Wolfsburg player was City’s club-record signing when she arrived for a fee in the region of £300,000 and she started in outstanding form before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury. “City is such a big and fantastic club, the whole environment of the club was really nice,” she says. “The league is amazing. In my first season [we were] unlucky that we didn’t win it.

“In the second season, we started well but then we got many injuries and we didn’t end the season so well. There was a switch of coaches so it was a bit messy but I enjoyed training every day with such amazing players at such a professional club..”

The desire to leave was simple – the lure of home, familiar sights and a desire to spend more time with her niece, and more time in the region where she grew up. It holds a place in Dutch football history because FC Twente’s stadium in Enschede hosted the 2017 European Championship final, when Roord was part of the squad that won the title.

“This is going to sound basic, but even stuff like the Dutch supermarkets makes me happy,” she says. “When you’re a footballer from abroad you don’t have a social life; you go from training to training, game to game and you don’t know anyone other than your teammates.”

Instead, FC Twente is deep-rooted in her family. Roord’s father, René, is the club’s technical director and Roord recalls being excited when she was an “eight or nine” year-old first joining the Under-13s girls team. On returning, she says: “The reaction I got from the club and the fans was maybe a little but unexpected, it was quite overwhelming, in a good way. It is nice to feel that everyone is very happy I’m back.”

Having broken through at Twente in her teens, she returns at 28, aware there will be expectations for her to act as a leader on and off the pitch. “That’s definitely a little bit new, but it’s the right time for me and it’s good for my development. I’ve never felt that responsible at a club so this is a good thing for me, something for me to work on and get better at.”

Before that club reunion, a major tournament in Switzerland in July. In the Netherlands’ most recent internationals they suffered a 4-0 loss in Germany at the end of May before a 1-1 draw at home to Scotland on 3 June, when Roord opened the scoring.

The Oranje Leeuwinnen then had what Roord feels was a much-needed break, before starting their official Euros preparation camp on Thursday. “The past two games we played wasn’t really good from us,. We were mentally and physically tired after a long season. We needed this break and now we’re going to get ready for the Euros.

“I’ve been playing with the national team since I was 17 and of all the squads this one has maybe the best team. The level in training is very high. If we all do well and if we’re all fresh and fit, we can get far.”

They begin their campaign against the tournament debutants Wales before facing England and France. Roord says: “It is a bit unlucky to get a group like that but I’m sure all the other teams will say the same. Nowadays in women’s football there are many teams that are on the same level so it’s difficult to get far, for every team.

“Sometimes, when you have an easy group you can grow into the tournament – we don’t have time for that, but that’s the same for England, France and Wales. If we want to get far, we have to beat these teams.”

It will be the final tournament with Andries Jonker as the Netherlands’ head coach, before he will be replaced by Arjan Veurink, Sarina Wiegman’s assistant coach with England. Veurink previously coached Roord at Twente.

She wants to see Jonker have the best-possible send-off. “I hope for Andries this will be an amazing tournament for him and for ourselves. He’s been very good for us. I’ve enjoyed working with him and I hope for him and for the team we can do well.

“When I grew up playing for Twente, Arjan was the coach so I know him very well and it’s nice to have him back. He’s a very passionate coach and he’s tactically amazing, but he’s also very good at managing a team.”

It was with Veurink that Roord won her first senior titles in 2013 and 2014 – when the Belgian and Dutch leagues temporarily combined – before two more consecutive Eredivisie titles. Discussing her hopes for what she can achieve with the club this time around, she says: “They have won quite a lot, when I was there but also after I left so next season I want to continue winning the league, cups, qualify for the Champions League and hopefully maybe surprise people a little bit there.”

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Header image: [Photograph: FC Twente]