Jos Hooiveld, Celtic’s latest signing, has attempted to explain the somewhat nomadic nature of his career to date while insisting he would be happy to remain in Glasgow for the remainder of his playing days.
The Dutchman was highly-rated as a teenager and seemed set for a promising time at Heerenveen before a loss of form and confidence saw him shipped out on loan to the second division side, FC Zwolle. Spells at such European luminaries as Kapfenberger, Inter Turku and AIK Solna followed; there was even a trial period at Livingston crammed somewhere into the 26-year-old’s tour around the Continent.
Tony Mowbray obviously believes the centre half can finally settle in Glasgow, having paid £1.4 million for his services. Such a prospect was a pipedream for Hooiveld when at Kapfenberger in the Austrian league.
“At one point in my career I hit rock bottom,” he said. “That was while I was playing in Austria. But I have recovered and it is great to come to a famous club like Celtic.
“When I was in Austria I did not know what was going to happen to me but I didn’t quite reach the stage where I wanted to walk away from football. I loved it too much and I knew I could do something better. I just had to put some things behind me and keep trying to progress.
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“The people at the club in Austria were very unfair. The things that happened were incredible. How can I explain it? Here’s an example. I received a yellow card in a game and I had to pay a fine of €1,000 [about £880]. The captain, an Austrian, was red-carded twice and he was given a week’s holiday. I guess I paid for it with my fine! So that was the kind of thing that was happening.
“Later I came back from a break and it was in the newspapers — without me knowing — that I was leaving the club. I walked into the dressing room and people said, ‘Why are you here?’ and I said, ‘I play here, remember?’
“It went from bad to worse for me in Austria but, because of these experiences, I am stronger now, especially in a mental way; now I don’t worry about what people write or say about me.”
The good people of Kapfenberger, then, did not feature on Hooiveld’s recent Christmas card list. A lack of opportunity at Heerenveen, moreover, still rankles. “In Holland, when I was 20, they were looking for a defender to have a lot of experience, looking for a player who knew how to recognise situations,” Hooiveld explained.
“It is hard when you are young and have not played many first-team games. So I was annoyed that they stopped believing in me at that stage. The only thing that was wrong was I did not have enough experience.”
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One of Hooiveld’s former team-mates, Bojan Djordic, claimed there was a “lunatic” tendency within Celtic’s latest acquisition. The loquacious defender was unwilling to play that down, adding: “In the dressing room I like to be a bit crazy so that everyone can have a laugh.”
The serious business, however, relates to Celtic’s attempt to wrestle the Clydesdale Bank Premier League championship back from Rangers’ grasp. That, plus the opportunity to settle down, readily appeals to Hooiveld.
“I won the title in Finland in 2008 and in Sweden in 2009 so it would be great to make it three-in-a-row,” he said. “I don’t know if it would make the Guinness Book of Records but it would be a very nice achievement.
“I’ve moved around a lot in my career. But this is a great place to come, a top club and it would be no problem to me to stay here for the rest of my career.
“It is a privilege to take that on to the park and play for a team that has to win every game. I want to win everything. If I lose, I may be even more lunatic?” We have been warned.
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? Tony Mowbray has issued his latest deterrent to clubs courting the services of Aiden McGeady, the Celtic manager also scoffing at suggestions £8 million may be enough to prize the winger away.
Birmingham City appear unwilling to take ‘no’ for an answer where McGeady is concerned. Mowbray, who has said the player is going nowhere, in this transfer window at least, has told the St Andrew’s club they would be “wasting their time” by even contacting Celtic.
“Players will only leave if we think it’s right for the squad and the team,” Mowbray said. “People leave because of their contractual situation or if I want them to leave, basically. There’s no need for us to accept or listen to any bids that we don’t want.”
With reference to an £8 million bid, Mowbray added: “The numbers you mention are ridiculously small. You say ridiculously high I say ridiculously small. We’re not interested in listening to bids for our players unless we’re looking to move certain ones on.”
Mowbray also countered allegations by Gary Caldwell, who left Celtic for Wigan Athletic this week amid a contract impasse, that the board’s willingness to see the defender depart was at odds with his own view. “With any footballer there are contract negotiations that either conclude positively or lead to a parting of the ways. That’s where we were with Gary,” he said. “Certain mischievous avenues could try to create a wedge that is not there. It is wrong to say that there’s a conflict of interest with myself and my board.”