Aston Villa playing AZ Alkmaar in European competition is a fixture Ron Vlaar long thought impossible.
Certainly during his three years playing at Villa, when the primary aim was avoiding relegation. Definitely when the demotion from the Premier League he long feared and fought against occurred in 2016, a year after his departure.
Villa finished 15th in Vlaar’s first two seasons after joining from Feyenoord for £3.2million and then 17th in this final campaign. His last appearance for the club came in the 4-0 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal. “The people who worked there were fantastic. It was hard on the pitch because we did not win a lot and the way we played wasn’t so good. I’m proud of the fact we didn’t get relegated during my time there.”Listening to Vlaar talk, it is easy to understand why so many staff who worked for Villa at the time still hold him in such high regard. His sole trip back to the club, in early 2016, was primarily to thank those behind the scenes.
Vlaar, capped 32 times by the Netherlands, would play for nearly another six seasons for Alkmaar after leaving Villa. Following retirement in 2021, he joined the club’s youth coaching set-up, initially with the under-17s and now with the under-21s. He enjoys it but this season he has worked part-time, in order to see more of his family.
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