Motivation

Just a little note to my fans just before Euro2012 starts. Our preparation is going well. We are staying at a nice hotel here and we are training at the stadium of Wisla Krakow. Over 25.000 fans have watched us train yesterday. It was so nice to have the support of them.

Yesterday was also definitely a mix of emotions. Besides our training, and our excitement for the Euro2012 to start soon, the whole Dutch team and staff visited the concentration camp of Auschwitz. It is about an hour drive from Krakow. That place definitely had a big impact on us. Over a million people have died there. It is something you cannot wrap your head around. Auschwitz is probably one of the worst places in European history. What got me the most was that you could see all the shoes and other belongings of these innocent people, collected in one spot. So many children’s shoes too. No words to describe the feeling when you see all of that. It is unbelievable. Let’s make sure a place like Auschwitz will not exist in our future and our children’s future. What can we do? Beat racism and discrimination. Judge people by their actions and not by their appearance. It is good to visit Auschwitz to realize how lucky we are. We are free, healthy and happy and I am so lucky that I can do something I love the most: Play Football. Play for my country; the Netherlands.

Only 2 days left until our first match. I am ready and we are ready. One thing I learnt yesterday is that negativity and sad things can be a motivation to do even better. And that’s what I am going to do. I am very motivated to get a good result and the others are too. I hope you all support me, and my teammates. United as one #Oranje.