Meet the £32m RoboCop who’s bidding to take Newcastle into Europe
Sven Botman quit hockey because he was scared of the ball... now he’s earning comparisons with Van Dijk
SVEN botMaN was nicknamed ‘ RoboCop’ in France, where he won the title in his first season with lille. sit opposite Newcastle United’s new £32million centre back and you appreciate why.
He is 6ft 4in tall, has an angular, chiselled face and, where others have arms and a torso, he appears to have body armour. so, how did he end up playing football?
‘I was scared of the small hockey ball,’ he says, a grin conceding the irony. ‘It’s really hard. When people smash it, it hurts!’
botman is talking to Sportsmail at Newcastle’s summer training camp. but, for now, the 22-yearold’s mind is back in his native Holland, retracing his journey to the Premier league.
He was born into a family of hockey players in badhoevedorp, where even the presence of neighbour Marco van basten did not sway their sporting preference. His father, Maarten, and older brother, Niels, played hockey to a high standard. It was expected sven would follow.
‘the first thing they gave me when I was a little child was a stick. I did not like it. I went to one open day and knew it wasn’t for me. I went straight to the other pitch and grabbed a football. It was strange — it still is — because my whole family play hockey. It’s only me who plays football.’
as a boy, botman would dutifully watch his brother play matches. ‘Yes, but I used to run on during the breaks and kick my football in the hockey goals!’
the one sport that did compete was tennis. Indeed, in another world, it may have been botman facing Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon recently instead of compatriot tim van Rijthoven.
‘I played tennis until I was nine. the Netherlands national tennis team wanted me to join. It could have been different but I had to make a choice. I chose football.’
an offer from ajax’s academy helped the decision. I show him a photo of his junior team in badhoevedorp. there is botman, aged seven, head and shoulders, literally, above his team-mates.
‘I remember this so well. I was a midfielder. the coach told me, “Play everywhere”. It seemed I was good, so I just ran all over and did everything.’
botman is more disciplined these days. Even through pre- season, it has been easy to see why comparisons have been drawn with Virgil van Dijk. ‘Please, calm, I need to get in the national team and learn from Virgil,’ he counters.
but, at ajax, botman did not stand out. In fact, he never played for the first team. We joke that, had he graduated to Erik ten Hag’s seniors, the former ajax boss would have tried to sign him for Manchester United. botman, though, shows no appetite to give ajax a kicking when I suggest they made a mistake by selling him to lille two years ago.
‘I understood the choices they made. When I was 18, I was not good enough. they had a way of playing and I was not at that level. I had a good season on loan at Heerenveen but still, I did not know if ajax was the right club for me, I was not the right profile.
‘the moment lille came, I knew I had to do it. I was not going to succeed or be myself at ajax.
‘It is a crazy story that ajax got more than €13million for me and I never played a minute for the first team! so, they did oK out of it. I cannot be angry with them. ten Hag agreed that lille was better for me. I don’t have anything to prove to him. I am thankful he was honest.’
Elders dispensing home truths has been a recurring theme. at secondary school, he was moved into a class for gifted athletes. but with that came complacency. His dad was not impressed.
‘that class was great if you didn’t want to do a test, the teachers always gave you a little bit of leeway,’ says botman.
‘but in my last year, my numbers were not good. I was always on the streets. My parents told me, “Come back before the sun goes down”, but I never did. I had only three subjects — English, Netherlands and history. I did nothing. My dad was really angry. Eventually, I graduated, just.’ the picture botman paints of his young self is very different to the man before us now — mature, determined, focused. so, when did things change? Enter former Chelsea defender Winston bogarde, his youth coach at ajax.
‘When I was 16, you are trying new things — girls, everything. Winston was on you, screaming if you didn’t do it right, “You’re s***!”. In the beginning, it was one big clash between us. lots of fights and arguments. I did not like him. He did not like me.
‘but over the years, I understood why he said those things. I admire him so much. He is the reason I have this mindset, a big part of my success. I still talk to him. after the move here, he said, “Don’t think the job is done now. You have to keep pushing, your level is higher”.’
botman already has a taste for the Champions league. He also knows about the recent history of Newcastle before the saudi takeover and that is not for him.
‘It is no longer a club just trying to stay in the Premier league,’ says botman, whose friends and family will be at st James’ Park for saturday’s opener against Nottingham Forest. ‘It’s a club with a big plan. they want to reach the top. that’s why I’m here. Europe is definitely a goal this season. I believe we can achieve that.’
Watching training, this is clearly a step up from France. ‘I certainly need to adapt,’ he says, wiping his brow in recognition of the intensity. ‘ there is a big difference here. I was a bit surprised.
‘ I knew the tempo in the Premier league was high, but training as well? It is, “Go, go, go”. Everything is 200 per cent. but that’s good. the manager is clear what he demands. If we want to reach that level, we have to demand a lot from ourselves.’
It says much for the work of manager Eddie Howe that even a Newcastle training session feels like an upgrade on ligue 1 matches. It was not always like that though, not against Paris saint-Germain, at least.
‘before the game, you just look and think, “What the f***? that’s lionel Messi. I play with you on FIFa!”. When he gets the ball and dribbles, you remember the Messi you have seen on tV, “Please, don’t let this guy dribble towards me, we’ll be in trouble!”.’
While the sight of Messi may have been the first time he was starstruck on the pitch, bumping into Dutch legend Van basten as a boy was just as surreal.
‘Everyone knew where he lived. If you saw him on the street, you would say hello, but inside you are like, “Wow, there’s Marco van basten”. I was shy, I wasn’t running into him giving high fives. Now, all those kids are running into me and asking for pictures. It still feels a bit mad.’
It was only 12 years ago that botman was crying into his vuvuzela as the national team were beaten by spain in the 2010 World Cup final. His escape was racing, and it still is. He smiles when I share a picture of his teenage self in a racing buggy.
‘My first time was with my granddad and brother, but I was scared of the kart. I went in with my granddad. after that, I loved it. Me and my brother were always going to the limit, cars, jumping off cliffs. I just love racing.’
It pains botman that he missed Newcastle’s austrian go-kart championship because of sickness. ‘I would have won,’ he says, deadpan. He was not so confident before his initiation song here in the team hotel. ‘I was like, “oh, s***, it’s that time”. I did Three Little Birds by bob Marley. but everyone seemed to enjoy it. You just have to get the crowd behind you.’
From what we have seen and heard so far, botman should have no problem doing exactly that at st James’ this season.