Dorus De Vries’ double fault at Wolves

And that is the discipline of padel.

Padel is a racket sport of Mexican origin, generally played as doubles on an enclosed court with walls that are in play, with solid stringless bats and balls with slightly less pressure than the tennis equivalent.

As of last year, there were over 25 million people playing the game across more than 90 countries, including not just De Vries, but also plenty of other former Dutch footballing talent.

The now 43-year-old has already shared a court with Rafael Van Der Vaart, Ronald and Frank De Boer, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt. A veritable feast of Netherlands talent who could probably still do a job at the Euros!

Elsewhere, the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Zinedane Zidane are also self-confessed ‘padelistes’. And the current England squad have been enjoying games in their downtime at their Euro 2024 training base in Blankenhain.

The sport is certainly growing!

“I love it,” says De Vries. “When I first retired and went back home, I played a bit of Footvolley, a mix of beach volleyball and football which is very popular in Brazil.

“Then the pandemic arrived and all that stopped but when things got going again, padel was really taking off.

“A friend of mine has his own padel court, and, I had a couple of games with him, and from there I was addicted.

“There is a really fun group of people who play out here, whether that’s entrepreneurs or former players, and in those situations it’s very much like the dressing rooms from back in the day with the competitive nature and the laughter and the jokes.”

If it is five summers since De Vries officially announced his retirement, it is 11 since he bid farewell to Wolves, after two years which clearly went nothing like he would have hoped or anticipated.

In fact, perhaps unsurprisingly, he now reflects on a “disastrous decision” that he decided to move to Molineux in the first place.

That wasn’t down to him, or indeed anyone else - there is no real blame to be attached to anyone or anything apart from the collective collapse and ultimate mismanagement which took the club into successive relegations from the Premier League to League One.

And for the amiable Dutchman, then 31, his spell with Wolves brought a frustrating and painful interruption to a career which had been travelling on a gradual and upward trajectory up to that moment.

Born in Beverwijk in the province of North Holland, the young De Vries enjoyed playing outfield in his formative footballing days, prior to having a year out to pursue skateboarding and other daring pursuits ahead of becoming a teenager!

But when enticed back to football when his friends moved clubs, he stepped in to accompany a friend’s brother to a goalkeeping promotional day run by Frans Hoek, a pioneer who worked at clubs such as Ajax, Barcelona and Manchester United and has been described as the ‘godfather of goalkeeping’.

The rest is history.

By 16, he was with his first professional club, Telstar, a year later he was travelling with the first team and then joined Den Haag, soon moving from cover to first choice, learning his trade in the Eredivisie, the Dutch first division.

He lost his father during his final season with Den Haag and so, when faced with several different options at home and abroad, opted for a fresh start and a move to the Scottish Premier Division, with Dunfermline.

De Vries enjoyed his time north of the Border, including appearing in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic, and his performances were catching the eye from several clubs further south and across the English league pyramid.

So it was that he came to join Swansea, signalling a four-year spell that was to prove the most consistent and successful of his career.

Working under high-calibre managers Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers, De Vries was the last line of defence for two promotions – the League One title and Championship play-off success to reach the Premier League – including winning the Golden Glove and breaking the club’s clean sheet record with 25 during the 2009/10 season.

Life was good.

Having reached the Premier League in the 2010/11 season, during which De Vries made 51 appearances in all competitions, he then decided to up sticks to join Wolves.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. At the time, it felt like a positive move.

“I was 31, and given football is such a short career, I was keen to experience different experiences and different scenarios,” De Vries explains. “When I look back now it was a disastrous decision because I had been made so welcome at Swansea and was respected by the manager and the fans.

“The other view is that I was ready to test myself again away from the club, but it just didn’t work out like that.

“And it was really unfortunate the way it all went at Wolves with the double relegation.

“The Premier League is a very competitive league and relegation can happen but after that there were decisions which affected everything around the place and made it difficult to even be competitive in the Championship.

“I think there was a mismanagement of the club at the time and unfortunately it all went sour and turned into a very rough period.”

De Vries, brought in as cover and competition for Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme, was initially restricted to cup appearances in both of his two seasons, then

getting some league opportunities, including in the Premier League, due to injuries.

In between times, he had missed out on a dream move to Liverpool when Rodgers came calling, but the two teams were unable to reach agreement on a fee.

That understandably proved tough to take, but for all the difficulties and disappointments of his two years at Molineux, the keeper can still take away some of the positives.

“It wasn’t a great time and missing out on that Liverpool move was particularly difficult,” De Vries recalls.

“It was just after relegation from the Premier League and it felt like a good move for everyone but it didn’t happen.

“Even now, it’s a bit sore to talk about as it felt like one of those unbelievable opportunities in life, and my dreams were shattered.

“But despite all the difficulties, I have no grudges, and I think Wolves is a wonderful club.

“I feel fortunate to have worked with some great people there, particularly with the goalkeepers’ union with Pat (Mountain) as coach and Wayne and Carl.

“I enjoyed working with Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor as well, both such gentlemen, and I just look back on Wolves as one of those situations in football where something just didn’t work out.”

De Vries was soon snapped up by Nottingham Forest after Wolves, and later, in the 2015/16 campaign, missed only one league game and was voted Player of the Season by the club’s fans.

That run of form, for which De Vries credits goalkeeping coach Steve Sutton with a lot of the credit, prompted more interest from his former boss Rodgers, who by this time was at Celtic.

Once again it wasn’t an easy decision to leave somewhere he was settled and enjoying his football, but Celtic…that’s an opportunity that was impossible to turn down.

“It was nice after a few tough years to be able to show what I could do with Forest, to get back up and running to the levels I had been at before and be competitive in the Championship,” he explains.

“When Celtic came in, I did have to second guess a little because of what had happened at Wolves, but it was an opportunity to go and work with Brendan again, with who I had a good bond and trust and I knew how he liked his goalkeepers to play, comfortable with the ball at their feet.

“It is also a magnificent club, who were playing European football, and combining that with their history and the manager, all the ingredients were there.

“It felt like it would be my last opportunity to make a transfer like that and go to such a huge club.”

It would also be an opportunity to play Champions League football, another career highlight, albeit one which provided a tough baptism.

Barcelona away in front of 73, 290 at the Nou Camp. Messi scored a hat-trick, Luis Suarez a brace and Neymar and Andres Iniesta a goal apiece as Barca won 7-0.

In total, De Vries chalked up over 450 appearances in a career which also included junior experience with the Dutch national team, and collected several accolades both collective and individual.

That time at Wolves was a rare anomaly alongside plenty of success which leaves him with feelings of pride and appreciation.

“I feel blessed to have enjoyed the career that I did, and to have met the people that I worked with,” he reflects. “I had good times at clubs and I had terrible times, I had fun and I had disappointments, but, in a way, my football was exactly the same as life with the ups and downs. That’s how it goes, isn’t it?

“To have been a professional for 20 years is something I will always be grateful for but at the same time I am now appreciating there is life after football as well.”

That life included completing a Masters in Sport Management at the Johan Cruyff Institute, and also some work as a sports consultant, but any ambitions in that area are currently parked up as De Vries is happy for football to be a more watching brief.

Having lived abroad for over 14 years, he and his wife have enjoyed reconnecting back home with both family and friends including with activities with an 11-year-old son who enjoys playing basketball and six-year-old who is a keen exponent in judo.

De Vries has even taken up a spot of DJ-ing!

And then there is padel, which keeps him mentally and physically active, as well as providing that focus and competitive edge which all former footballers enjoy hanging onto!

Whilst his experiences at Wolves didn’t go entirely to plan for De Vries - as can happen in football - there are no ill feelings, and in any case, it might not be the last that his former Molineux team-mates have seen of him.

Among that growing raft of ex-players to have been in touch about padel with an interest in playing the game, is none other than Stephen Hunt, with whom De Vries got on well during his time with Wolves. A reunion may be on the cards.

“I’d love to come over and play Hunty at padel – I think that would be good fun!”