John Heitinga is facing criticism for his decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur, a move that could affect how his career is viewed going forward.
Sport Nieuws cover the Dutchman today and question why he decided not to stick around at Tottenham.
Heitinga departed his role as Tottenham assistant manager on February 16th, just 33 days after joining the club. Tottenham brought him in to support Thomas Frank as pressure grew on the Dane.
He was unable to help Spurs turn thing around, though. And his departure came quickly after Frank departed last week.
Tottenham exit questioned
Various reports from the Netherlands have covered his departure since. Sport Witness have covered the story, with one report describing the exit as painful.
Comments from journalist Valentijn Driessen then followed yesterday. He explained that Heitinga felt disappointed by his exit from Tottenham, having reportedly expected to take charge on an interim basis.
Instead, Spurs appointed Igor Tudor until the end of the season. Sport Nieuws question why he made the move at all. They state that the 42-year-old ‘jeopardizes hero status’ with his ‘unusual choice’.
As far as they’re concerned, Heitinga has shown that he ‘hadn’t thought the situation through properly’ in the first place. They even feel that is was ‘wishful thinking’ for him to want the Tottenham job given his time at Ajax.
Tottenham a ‘strange move’
He struggled immensely at the Dutch giants and his ‘talent clearly didn’t lie in turning around a difficult period’ there. Why would Tottenham have thought differently?
In fact, the move to Tottenham was a ‘strange move’ for him. The outlet believes the move was doomed from the start and has only damaged Heitinga’s résumé.
His reputation has shifted from praise at West Ham and Liverpool to disappointment at Ajax and Tottenham. The latter have ‘clearly left their mark’.
Now, he needs to pick a club with a much calmer atmosphere. The problem is that top clubs won’t want to touch him. They’ll ‘think twice’ before signing Heitinga. As far as Sport Nieuws are concerned, he needs to prove himself again.