Talented defender Emmanuel van de Blaak (17) made his official PSV debut Thursday night. He struggled with a serious injury for months, but fought back. The reward followed in the game against FK Bodø/Glimt. He joins the list of youngest debutants at PSV.
Career
Van de Blaak is a Dutch football player with Nigerian roots. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and started playing football at JEKA in Breda. He then transferred to the youth of Willem II. After about five years, he moved to PSV and a little later he made his debut in Young PSV during the match against FC Den Bosch. "I started right away against a striker of a nice level, Jizz Hoornkamp. Because of that, I immediately noticed that the level was a lot higher and I had to be there right away," he said in July 2020. Now, two years later, Van de Blaak is making his debut in PSV's first team. At 17 years and 9 months old, he joins a special list of young debutants at PSV, behind the likes of Jetro Willems and Zakaria Bakkali.
Injuries
PSV saw great potential in the young defender several years ago and acquired him from Willem II. After a promising start, an international match against Mexico O18 proved fatal for Van de Blaak. He suffered a serious knee injury where a rehabilitation of nine to twelve months awaited him: "I heard a snap and immediately knew it was wrong. It was a tough period for me personally, but I was helped well through it by PSV," van de Blaak told our own camera in July 2022. The then injured defender's contract was extended to 2025: "The contract extension during my injury was great. I felt really good. The trust the club gave me, I have to start paying off now."
Talent
Emmanuel van de Blaak is known in PSV Academy as a talented defender. In an interview with our club channel, he describes himself as a fast, modern defender who loves to 'dribble in'. He also considers himself a real leader in the field. Are the five minutes he got on Thursday in the European away game against FK Bodø/Glimt the beginning of his dream career?