“We are not machines, not robots that do everything right.”

In the wings of the Tuschinksi cinema in Amsterdam, the football mask can be taken off for a while. After the film premiere Never stop again – about the career of the heartbreaking Daley Blind – Remko Pasveer, Kenneth Taylor and lead actor Blind poke fun at each other. But ask the Ajax players what they really think of the two-part Videoland documentary and the tone changes.

“On the one hand very nice and on the other hand pretty hard, because you can see how it can go,” Pasveer calls the film. “You get a lot of respect for the person Daley. The outside world will really see what Daley is like as a person and as a person.”

Blind will go down with heart problems in the Champions League game against Valencia at the end of 2019. An inflamed heart muscle, according to research. As a preventative measure, he is put in a defibrillator and a few weeks later he returns to the field.

“Hope to be so strong for my children”

In the documentary, the 94-time international openly talks about his heart condition, his rehabilitation and what his friend Christian Eriksen’s heart attack did to him. Also about the support that Blind received from father Danny.

“That was an important moment. He put it across to me in such a way that he never gave up and neither should I. I hope that one day I can be that strong for my children.”

The documentary also impressed Taylor, he says afterwards. “I had never looked at the pictures of Blind’s heart problems and you’ve seen them a couple of times now. That’s very intense. It gives you a bit of a tummy ache.”

“I’m sitting next to him in the dressing room, I see him taking his medicine. That’s when you know it’s really intense,” says Taylor. “But he doesn’t really show it. That’s really nice of him.”

What Blind had to overcome to get back to this level, the outside world sometimes underestimates, says Taylor. “Very bad. At the end of the day, we’re only human. We are no different from others. That’s just up to us.

“More Respect for Person Daley”

Pasveer leaves the room feeling the same. “People who talk about him a lot can now think twice and show more respect to the person Daley.”

“You hear people talking at the talk tables. It’s not always with a lot of respect. But to see that and how he put up a fight… Then that’s just great. The respect for how he’s at this level is came back in the end .”

Pasveer emphasizes that it is important to show this human side as well. “It is often forgotten that we are not machines, not robots that do everything right. We make mistakes too. And with things like that, you’re completely dependent on what’s happening to your body.”

Blind had a difficult start to the current season. Ajax have performed below the level expected by the fans, the players and the club itself. Losing 6-1 at home to Napoli and 4-2 at Napoli in the Champions League was a scratch on the soul.

Blind made an ugly mistake in their second defeat in Italy. Not for the first time in his career, criticism of him swelled, with prominent football analysts voicing criticism from the media. Fans have started ranting more and more from the stands.

‘is much more behind’

“Criticism is allowed, but you have to be realistic,” says Blind. “Sometimes you have to consider what might be going on with someone behind the scenes. And that doesn’t always happen.”

“It sometimes seems like we are robots, but there is much more to it than that. You take a lot home with you. Your performance doesn’t just stay on the field. Your physical problems don’t make it down either. And that’s not visible to a lot of people,” says Blind. “Maybe this film is a little insight. At least for me.”