About ten years Stan Valckx has played football in the red and white of PSV, but not continuously. In the middle of this period, the defender came out for our opponent in the Europa League: Sporting Lisbon. We look ahead to the match with Valckx.
On the Dutch fields
The Limburger began his career at VVV-Venlo and then made his move to Eindhoven in 1988. At PSV, the defender quickly secured a starting place. His achievements in the Eredivisie did not go unnoticed. In 1990 he was called up for the Dutch national team for which he would play a total of twenty times, including at the 1994 World Cup. Valckx is currently back with his childhood sweetheart as Football Manager at VVV-Venlo.
Warm heart
Valckx still follows both clubs closely: "I watch the football news in Portugal every day and sometimes the matches. Obviously with a warm heart towards Sporting Lisbon. I still feel connected to both clubs, it's special to see Sporting in the Netherlands playing my old club. I will definitely be in the stadium tonight as well."
'A 50/50 match '
It's hard to say who will win, Valckx believes. "I think it will be a 50/50 match. Both teams have been very active in the transfer market and have had a lot of mutations. I watched Sporting's game against Braga a while back and you could see there was still work to be done. They also went down 5-0 against Benfica at the Portuguese Super Cup. They are still searching. On the other hand, PSV also had a rough start but there have been many good developments in recent weeks. Especially on the ball, PSV is doing well, but Portuguese players don't get nervous when they don't have the ball. When they do have the ball you can expect fast and attacking football, so it can be very exciting."
'The knives will be sharpened '
According to Valckx, Sporting Lisbon and PSV are the two big favorites in the group: "Rosenborg is a strong, physical team, but PSV has more quality. I think it must be strange if PSV and Sporting do not both continue." The former defender also has high expectations for the topper against Ajax next Sunday: "It will be very exciting. I don't think either team will go home with a big win. The knives will be sharpened. I expect a lot of fight and a lot of goals."
trophy cabinet
In 1992, after four years at PSV, Valckx left for Sporting Lisbon, where he eventually won the Portuguese Cup and was named the club's Player of the Year in 1993. Valckx's trophy cabinet did not stop there. He became Eredivisie champion five times, won the KNVB Cup three times and the Johan Cruijff Schaal three times, all with PSV. In 1994, he left Portugal to return to PSV where he stopped playing football in 2000.
