Wouter Goes has opened up in the Cor Potcast about his habits in training at AZ. The defender says he is calmer there than in matches, but also admits he has had 'run-ins' with current and former team-mates.
Goes regularly provokes frustration and anger in his opponents, who accuse him of dirty play. The 22-year-old from Amsterdam admits he does not shy away from that side of the game, though he says he is a different person in training.
"No, in training I am actually a lot calmer. If you ask my team-mates, they will say the same. I am intense in training, but I do not immediately start stepping on my team-mates' toes or anything like that."
Even so, some team-mates have asked him to bring his well-known style into training too. "With (Lequincio, ed.) Zeefuik it was always good fun in training, because he also wanted me to push him. It was always a good battle."
Last season, Zeefuik went on loan to Heracles Almelo and faced Goes when AZ travelled away. The pair were locked in heated duels, and afterwards Zeefuik refused to shake Goes's hand.
"For me, a match is different from training," Goes continues. "Then I am going to give him even more attention. Then I do not see him as my friend, no. Then I really see him as my opponent. Then I am not going to regard him as a friend."
Goes knows his direct opponents are often highly emotional afterwards. "I think that is what happened with Zeefuik as well. That he thought: what's going on here? We're just friends, aren't we?"
He has seen the same thing closer to home too. "By the way, I also had a lot of run-ins with Mexx Meerdink in the youth teams. He was always very intense. We squared up to each other head to head a few times in training. He is capable of it too when he is really fired up."
Asked how he thinks his team-mates view 'that aspect' of his game, Goes said: "I think they like it very much. But they are glad they are not like that themselves. I do feel that someone in the team has to be like that."
"You need someone who is intense," says Goes, who is finally asked whether he regrets anything. "I genuinely believe that everything happens for a reason. I have also been able to grow through everything I have been through. So actually I do not regret anything," Goes concludes.
The central defender has made a fine start to the season, with the win over PSV in the Johan Cruyff Shield (0-4) and the 2-0 victory over ADO Den Haag in the opening round of the Eredivisie. He played the full match on both occasions.