Turning pro, overcoming tragedy and a key loan spell – Dutch media insight on Jan Paul van Hecke

Mike has followed JP’s career since the defender was a teenager and is currently travelling around the USA, Canada and Mexico covering the exploits of Jan, Micky van de Ven and the whole Dutch national team at the FIFA World Cup.

Here’s what he had to say about JP after we secured his signature from Brighton & Hove Albion last week...

Tell us about Jan Paul’s early days in the Netherlands

Mike: “Before going to NAC Breda, his first club at professional level, he was playing at amateur level for an organisation called Goes. He was 17 and at that time, he wasn’t playing pro yet. Goes are from Zeeland, one of the 12 provinces of Holland and in football terms, it’s the most complicated one because in Holland we have good facilities, but in Zeeland it’s a bit different. Your options are limited so all the good players come together to play and train for Goes. The people in Zeeland are always really proud to see a player get a big move like JP has to Spurs.”

How did he cope with the transition to the top level?

Mike: “As I said, until he was 17, he hadn’t played professionally, but everybody could see that he’s a really good defender. Brighton are known for analysing data and stats and the people at Brighton saw it right when they bought him in 2020. Coming from Holland, and especially when he didn’t play for a pro club before he was at NAC, the Premier League would have been a big step at that time, so it was totally normal that he came in and went straight back out on loan to Heerenveen. Brighton saw his potential and sent him to Heerenveen to develop further, and it was there that he became a man who could deal with opponents of a level that he might find in the Premier League. It was an important phase in his career.”

We understand he’s had to overcome some challenges in life as well as football...

Mike: “Yes, there is a story there. He is close with Bart Verbruggen, the national team goalkeeper, who he also played with at Brighton and NAC. Both players lost their fathers when they were young – JP’s father was 55 when he died, Verbruggen’s even younger – but they had a lot of help from each other, talking about their losses. That’s why they are close. It’s difficult to explain how special that is.”

It’s clear that friends and family mean a lot to JP, then...

Mike: “Yes. His uncle is Jan Poortvliet, who played in the World Cup final in 1978 for the Netherlands against Argentina. He was the same as JP, just doing normal things, someone who worked hard and wasn’t eccentric. The funny thing is, his uncle has since been one of the newspaper contributors where all the former internationals give their ratings on Holland. Whenever Jan Poortvliet does the notes, he always says “JP is my nephew so I can’t be completely objective”, but then he still always says very nice things because it’s the truth, that JP is doing a good job. He is so reliable and consistent. And in the media, he is a good guy who is always careful with what he says.”