Steven Bergwijn: "It's the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me"
Sun 26 April 2020, 11:18|
Tottenham Hotspur
The importance of family was evident the first time we met Steven Bergwijn - now he's taking the first steps into fatherhood himself.
Stevie was joined by his father 'Big Steven', mother Bianca and brother Alejandro when he joined us from PSV Eindhoven in January. “Without them, I’m not here,” he told us at the time.
Almost three months later, and the Dutch international is very much part of the Spurs family, his performances and character immediately winning us all over - not least with his fabulous debut strike to help us beat Manchester City!
His world has also changed off the pitch with the recent arrival of his son, Saint Stevie Isai. "It’s the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me," he said. "It’s a little me! I can’t describe the feeling. It’s unbelievable."
How did he think fatherhood would change him? "I think it’s too early. At the moment he sleeps all the time. He eats and sleeps! We’ll see... I have in my head ‘don’t change too much’, just be there for him and give him all the love."
Stevie will no doubt follow in his father's footsteps, as the influence of 'Big Steven' on his son's early career can never be underestimated, as Stevie explained back in Janaury.
“I was 13 when I moved (from Ajax) to PSV,” he recalled. “For four years, my father drove me to PSV. We woke up at six o’clock in the morning, drove one hour to Eindhoven, then back to school until three or four o’clock, every day. When I was training, my father would sleep in the car, all that for three or four years. I know what my family have done for me and I’m happy that I can give this back.”
Stevie, now running again after picking up an ankle injury at Burnley on 7 March, added: "The same my father gave me I want to give him (my son). My father, both of my parents, did everything for me. I want to give the same."
