Ups, downs and admissions - Joost van Aken unpacks his Sheffield Wednesday life
Joost van Aken’s time with Sheffield Wednesday was unique. Here, for the first time, he unpacks his Owls experience in conversation with Alex Miller.
The name of Joost van Aken appears on a vibrating phone and his first words are to earnestly apologise for calling a few minutes after our agreed interview time. It’s clear he’s speaking from a car and with a one-hour time difference to Amsterdam it transpires he’s doing so between work engagements. He’s a busy man.
Not so long ago he became a father for the first time and though retired from the game for two-and-a-half years, the 32-year-old’s schedule is more packed than it’s ever been, running two padel centres in a city that embraced the sport long before its UK boom, the second of which opened six months ago.
He is growing a YouTube channel that shows him playing and interviewing football stars, with guests to date including the De Boer twins, Ronald Koeman, Mark van Bommel and others. He intends to collaborate with his former Sheffield Wednesday teammate Steven Fletcher, who is doing a similar thing. The pair have been in touch.
Earlier this year van Aken completed his coaching badges on the off-chance he might enter back into the game, though as things stand, that is not a priority. It’s clear he looks back on his four years at Wednesday as a formative chapter in his life and one that gave him valuable experiences on and off the pitch.
“It was difficult,” he said. “Every time I think about it, I also feel a little bit sad because from the inside out I really love football. You have some people, they like football, but I really love football and every time I was on the pitch I enjoyed it. But the hardest part was my physical part.
“My body was not working with me and that was the frustration. Of course I would have liked to play more games and show more of what I could do. Injuries made that difficult at times, but I always gave everything I had and I am proud of the career I had.”
“My contract was about to finish in Heerenveen and they wanted to extend, but because of the problems I had, I knew my career wasn’t going to last much longer, so I wanted to go abroad to have an adventure. I was in contact with a club in Australia, to enjoy the last year and then retire, because I knew I couldn't play until 35, 36 like most other guys can. Unfortunately, a serious knee injury changed those plans. It was a difficult way to finish, but I look back with gratitude for the opportunities football gave me.”
His career brought both memorable experiences and physical setbacks. A former Ajax academy player and Netherlands under-21 international, van Aken had established himself as a talented, ball-playing defender when Wednesday came calling in 2017. He had played only 83 Eredivisie games for Heerenveen SC.
His arrival came in a flurry of headlines, with then-boss Carlos Carvalhal having stated the club had scoured Europe for ‘200 defenders’ as they entered a new season with only Glenn Loovens and Tom Lees as senior options at centre-half. A public pursuit of Cardiff City captain Sean Morrison saw bids knocked back. van Aken was eventually brought to Hillsborough for a fee in excess of £3m, reportedly set to rise with bonuses.
The campaign began with back-to-back wins against Nottingham Forest and Brentford and a creditable point at Morrison’s Cardiff. Looking back, van Aken remembers the excitement of his move, the challenge of adapting to the Championship and a positive start to life in England. And then came the Steel City derby.
A ‘Bouncing Day’ 4-2 win at Hillsborough sent shockwaves through the city and served as a seminal day for both clubs as the scales of success jolted. With the score dragged back to two apiece and S6 vibrating, Mark Duffy’s twist and turn spun van Aken into trouble and a stellar strike put the Blades on their way to perhaps their most famous derby win. The Steel City derby provided an early reminder of the intensity and emotion of Championship football, particularly in a fixture that means so much to the city.
“I had the feeling that I could do it and my start with Wednesday was really good,” van Aken recalled. “The idea was that Glenn would be my mentor in that first year and that I could work with him to be ready for the Championship, but things changed. He was not completely fit and I played right away. The games we played at first were against football-playing teams and everything went well.
“And then we had this game against United at home. It was a tough result for all of us. We had started positively, and that match showed me just how intense the rivalry and the Championship could be. It was an experience I learned from. It was a changing point.
“I quickly realised how much Sheffield Wednesday means to the city and its supporters. That passion brought expectations, but it was also what made playing for the club so special. I wanted to give everything to live up to that. But then it changed, there was pressure on the manager and it was beginning to be different for all of us.”
Injuries came to define van Aken’s story in South Yorkshire and though he retained a key role in the final months of Carvalhal’s time as manager, it was in the Boxing Day win at Forest in the days after the Portuguese’s departure that he suffered a hamstring injury that would rule him out. Following the hamstring injury he suffered on Boxing Day, van Aken faced a lengthy recovery period. During that time, he decided to undergo another ankle operation, travelling to Porto to be treated by one of the world's leading ankle surgeons.
The surgery was successful, and heading into the new season, things were looking much more positive. He felt optimistic about his recovery and was looking forward to putting his injury problems behind him and focusing on football again. And then early in the new season a heavy challenge away at Sunderland resulted in another ankle injury. It proved to be a particularly frustrating setback after the work he had put into his recovery and ultimately led to a third ankle operation in a relatively short period of time.
The ankle issues hadn’t appeared on arrival to England, with van Aken having already undergone surgery during his time in the Netherlands. At the time, he believed the operation had resolved the issue and expected his ankle to continue improving. The intensity of English football, however, combined with the demanding schedule and number of matches in the Championship, soon made him realise that the problem hadn't been completely resolved. Despite these setbacks, he says he remained determined to adapt to the demands of English football and perform at the highest level possible.
“Of course, there were difficult moments, especially when injuries kept coming back after putting so much effort into recovery,” he explained. “As a footballer, you always want to be out on the pitch, helping your teammates and doing what you love most. Sometimes that meant playing through discomfort and pushing my body further than I probably should have.
“But I was always determined to give myself every opportunity to succeed. I worked incredibly hard to get back to full fitness, and every time I returned to the pitch, it reminded me why I loved football so much. Looking back, I know I gave everything I had, and that's something I can be proud of.”
“Football gave me so much in return. Even during the difficult periods, the opportunity to train, compete and be part of a team meant a great deal to me.”
A season-long loan stint with German second tier outfit VfL Osnabrück went reasonably well for a time before a ligament injury cut off his progress after 22 appearances. van Aken returned to Hillsborough for the final year of his contract and after conversations with Garry Monk started every match he was available for outside of suspension - and to reasonable acclaim. Monk became Pulis, centre-half became left-back and he played his last Owls match in an empty Ewood Park, in a sinking season on on a cold Boxing Day 2020.
“When you move abroad at a young age, you learn a huge amount about yourself. England challenged me in different ways, and those experiences helped me grow,” he said. “There were negative periods. You want to play a lot. In age I became an experienced player, but in the number of games I did play, I never got there. I just got experienced by age, but not by playing. And I felt like that was a big missing part, especially in the Championship. When you come from a different football culture, you have to get used to it and to be constant.
“I always tried to get the absolute maximum out of myself and my body. But at the same time, I had to be realistic. Because of the injuries and the setbacks I experienced, I wasn't always physically able to perform at the level I knew I was capable of. That was frustrating, especially knowing how much effort I had put into getting back to full fitness. But I never stopped trying to improve and give everything I had whenever I stepped onto the pitch. I always tried to get the most out of myself. I would have loved to achieve even more, but I know I gave everything I could throughout my career.
“I had the feeling to just get as much out of my body as much as I could. But the realistic side of it was also that I was not really in the shape that I should have been to play at the highest level as I wanted to. It was sad to realise this.”
On the call, the sound of his car slows as he reaches his destination but the conversation continues. van Aken is an incredibly nice guy and the thrill of talking Wednesday after all these years is clear. While his time at Wednesday didn't always go as he had hoped, van Aken looks back on those years with a sense of pride and appreciation. Despite the challenges he faced with injuries, he remains grateful for the opportunity to represent the Owls and for the experiences and memories he made along the way.
The club van Aken joined was pushing, thriving forward towards a return to the Premier League. Injury meant he missed the stints of Luhukay and Bruce entirely and by the time he returned, Wednesday were battling points deductions, appeals and the start of a Dejphon Chansiri spiral that ended as it did.
He left after relegation to League One, missing out on the glories of Moore and Röhl. Fitness issues seem likely to have curtailed his progress regardless but in terms of a place in the modern history of Sheffield Wednesday, the Dutchman was certainly locked in a case of wrong place, wrong time.
“There are no excuses in football and I feel a little sad about situation that happened with me personally at Wednesday,” he said. “It was a challenging period for me and for the club, and of course we all hoped for better results. But I always felt there was something special about Wednesday and the people around it.”
“There was something more in that squad and in the club. Everything could have been so much better. And it's so hard to put your finger on it. There was real quality in the squad and so much potential at the club. Even when results were difficult, the connection with the supporters stood out. Sheffield still has a special place in my heart.”
“I still follow them and always see what they have done in the weekend. I see the many changes they have had and now also the change of ownership, so for them and for the club and especially for the fans, I really believe this need to be at the top level one day. They are so big and the fans are loyal. I think when the club will be managed in the right direction, I think they have the potential to get there for sure.”
He asks of Baz and Palms and staff members he remembers fondly and over the course of 40 minutes is as open and engaging as you could find an interviewee. Thank yous shared and next meetings looming, the call ends with an invitation that if we ever find ourselves holidaying in Amsterdam, his door is open. Perhaps for a game of padel.
Joost van Aken has left the struggles of football behind and has taken fond memories into an exciting new life. He hopes Sheffield Wednesday are doing the same.