Claasen looks forward to partnering Pienaar
When I first interviewed Daylon Claasen, in Brazil in 2010, he was just 20 years old and looking to make an impression in a Carlos Alberto Parreira training camp ahead of the World Cup finals.
He was shy and softly-spoken back then, as befitted a man just making his way in the game, trying to break into the Bafana side and to crack it in European club football with Ajax Amsterdam. Seven years on, there was a far more chatty, outgoing Claasen at Sturrock Park last week, as Bidvest Wits unveiled their new signings for the season, which finally gets underway on Friday, the Clever Boys hosting Golden Arrows in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
Claasen never did break into the Ajax first team, but the past seven years have seen him ply a trade across the European leagues, from Belgium, to Poland, to most recently a three-year stint in Germany’s Bundesliga II with 1860 Munich. And his time overseas has clearly been good for his confidence and a learning curve, which he now hopes to impart at Wits, as he aims to make in an impression in a Premier Soccer League he left behind at Ajax Cape Town when he was just 18.
“In Europe the mentality is different,” said Claasen.
“The state of mind is always so competitive, no one is even nonchalant in training, they always try their best at all times, whether it is in a small game, or playing squares, you must always be there.”
Wits have strengthened their squad in the off-season, with Claasen joined by the likes of Steven Pienaar and youngster Kabomelo Kodisang. Claasen was signed as a free agent on the back of a third season in Munich where he played only 13 or so hours of league football.
“I enjoyed it although I never played as much as I would have liked,” added Claasen.
“I don’t want to dwell on it too much, I am just looking forward. I am happy to be in South Africa and to play for a team of Wits’ calibre.”
Interestingly, Claasen says he wanted to join Wits in preference to Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or Mamelodi Sundowns.
“Basically, I always felt Pirates, Chiefs, Sundowns, SuperSport and Wits were big teams, but I wanted to play for SuperSport or Wits, where there is not so much controversy. I don’t know if that is the right word, but I am just happy I got to Wits, especially with what they achieved last season. I am hoping this season will be as successful.”
Claasen is also looking forward to playing with Pienaar, a player he says he has always looked up to. Like Pienaar, Claasen left Ajax Cape Town to join their sister club in Amsterdam, and the pair’s playing style does have similarities.
“I have always looked up to Pienaar, when I was younger he was one of my role models,” said Claasen.
“I am learning now how to play alongside him, it is an honour for me, I looked up to him, it is why I went to Ajax at a young age.
“I wouldn’t say I am (now) breaking out of his shadow. It is always an honour to hear I play like “Schillo”, but I have never felt like that. I am just happy to get the opportunity to play with him.”
Claasen never did get to play for Bafana at the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“Carlos Parreira brought me in when I was playing for the Ajax Amsterdam second team,” he explained.
“He told me the reason he was not taking me to the World Cup was that I was still inexperienced and he wanted me to play more with first teams, but I appreciated the opportunity in the training camps in Brazil and Germany.”
He only has a handful of caps for Bafana, but Wits certainly represents an opportunity for him to make an impression on Stuart Baxter.