Nick Viergever points to PSV

Nick Viergever was a player for PSV between 2018 and 2021 and, in the meantime, Viergever—despite his age of 37—is still by no means planning to hang up his boots. The defender is now active for PEC Zwolle, which took him on last summer on a free transfer from FC Utrecht.

In conversation with Voetbal International, Viergever is not at all put off by the idea of being one of the oldest footballers in the Eredivisie. ''No, not at all. Not even. 37 is just a number. Here at PEC, I’m the oldest in the group. Younes Namli is 32, Ryan Thomas 31. The rest is under thirty. It’s always good to have a few experienced players,'' the defender says.

After that, the defender points to his old clubs Ajax and PSV. According to the current player of PEC Zwolle, a mix of young players and some older players is good for the dynamics.

''You can see it now with Ajax too, that it brings in experienced players with Blind, Ter Stegen and Brandt and already had two at home, for example Klaassen and Berghuis. It is important for the dynamics within the group, just as you need talents and players who are in the prime of their careers. At NEC, they have some players in their thirties; PSV also pays attention to that'', continues Viergever

At PSV, Ivan Perišić (37 years old), Alassane Pléa (33 years old) Filip Kostić (33 years old) and Nick Olij (31) years old are now the only players in their thirties. Jerdy Schouten is, at 29 years old, also approaching the 30-year mark.

According to Viergever, it’s a matter of how people look at it. ''It all depends on how you look at it. If you have a very young group, then everyone says that experience needs to be added. If you have many older guests and it doesn’t work, then there are too many old-timers around. It’s the madness of the day and you have to look through that'', said the defender.