Michael Zetterer from Hohendilching has finally made the leap into professional football. At PEC Zwolle, he has become the goalkeeper of the season.
Zwolle / Darching - For Michael Zetterer, the corona break has finally begun these days. The 24-year-old drove from Zwolle in the Netherlands back to his home in Bavaria, to Hohendilching. The goalkeeper, who is currently on loan from Werder Bremen to the Dutch first division club PEC Zwolle, will be on vacation until June 20. "We were still training in Zwolle, then I drove to my friend's in Bremen and spent the next few weeks in Hohendilching," says Zetterer.
The Dutch Eredivisie had already stopped playing at the end of April. There is neither a master, nor promoted and relegated. “The Dutch football association decided pretty quickly. Of course, the situation is a bit stupid, ”says Zetterer. He had got stuck in the starting line-up at PEC Zwolle and thus won the competition against Xavier Mous. He had also come to Zwolle before the season and was initially number one. "The preparation was not ideal for me, a game was very unfortunate, so I was on the bench first," explains Zetterer.
But on Matchday 14, 3-1 in the home game against Fortuna Sittard, he got his chance in the starting lineup, took advantage of it and didn't give up the space between the posts - until the season ended due to the corona virus. Zetterer played 13 games for PEC Zwolle, the team took four wins, four draws and five defeats - all against the top teams PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar. “Overall, I was very happy with my performance. There is always upside potential, but there were some good games, ”says Zetterer. His left hand, which had to be operated on three times after a scaphoid fracture, no longer causes him problems.
Zetterer awarded to Zwolle until 2021
The 24-year-old feels at home in Zwolle, the "historic and hip Hanseatic city", as the descriptions in the tourism industry like to say. “Zwolle is nice, I like it here,” says Zetterer. The way to Bremen, where his girlfriend is studying, is not too far either. The loan from Werder to PEC runs until 2021. Before that, the Bremen company had extended his contract until 2022. And they would also have the opportunity to bring Zetterer back to Werder early this summer. But he's not really thinking about that right now. "I'm happy with the situation, especially because I'm now number one," says Zetterer, who is in regular contact with Werder's goalkeeper coach Christian Vander.
Over the next few weeks, Michael Zetterer, whose brother Alexander is putting on football boots in the Landesliga for TuS Holzkirchen, wants to enjoy spending time with the family. The season in the Netherlands is expected to start in early September. A four-week training camp is planned for June 20 at PEC. Afterwards, Zetterer and his teammates are given another ten-day break before the hot phase of preparing for the new season begins.