Episode 11 ’The flying dutchman’ The Goalkeeper: Guest Dennis Gentenaar BVB reserve keeper (05/06)

Welcome to the BvB London fan club podcast as every week the focus of the show will be on exploring a facet of Borussia Dortmund life by talking to experts and former participants of the club's life, like players, fans, journalists who have covered the club and functionaries and experts and thus make our BvB more accessible to non-German speakers in particular.

 

Dennis Gentenaar a UEFA C licensed goalkeeping coach currently with Al Wahda FC in United Arab Emirates talks to Ben. Dennis is a former keeper who played with Borussia Dortmund in season 05/06 where BVB finished in 7th spot. His former clubs include Ajax Amsterdam, NEC, Venlo and Almere City in Holland playing 270 matches at pro level. Dennis is now a squad member of the Borussia Dortmund legends team. Topics on the show:

 

1 How did Dennis's career kick off with NEC, how did he come to be a pro footballer. When did he sign his first contract? What was his debut like? A total of 10 years with NEC including an amazing UEFA Cup campaign and an infamous fan pitch invasion. Working under Johan Neeskens one of the greatest Dutch players. The club's rivalry with Vitesse Arnheim and being elected 2003 dutch keeper of the year.

 

2 BVB in 05/06 Working with Bert Van Marwjik in a season where BVB finished 9th and our club was battling the biggest financial crisis in it's history. Signing for a legendary club. A debut against Mainz 05.  Great friendship with Ebbi Smolarek. Stories of Lars Ricken, Christoph Metzelder and the South-Africans Buckley and Pienaar, Dede's pool parties, Nuri Sahin starts his career at Westfalenstadion. Recollections of being the understudy to Roman Weidenfeller. Living in Dortmund what makes it a unique football city.  

 

3 Three seasons with the mighty Ajax Amsterdam, why winning the KNVB Cup in 2007 was surprisingly not the ultimate highlight. Playing alongside Huntelaar, Snijder, Davids, Rommedahl. Luis Suarez emerges with a 34 goal haul and golden boot and is voted player of the season What is unique about Ajax?

 

4 Later career with Almere and Nijmegen. A return to NEC where he remains one of the most popular keepers, an amazing goodbye. What is the real contrast between the Dutch and German leagues which is the most challenging and why? 

 

5 What makes the role of goalkeeper unique? What special skills does it take? Life as a goalkeeping coach in the desert and Dennis's pride in seeing his son Dayan on the path to pro football in UAE.  

 

You can find the fan club at the usual social media tags. We hope you enjoyed the show, remember to send us your comments, share the show with friends and to apply for tickets contact the club via the website which is borussiadortmundlondon.co.uk or join the London BvB community at our online group at Facebook.com/borussiadortmundfanclubengland. During the season you can also come to watch a game at our meet-up Stammtisch at the Naughty Bar, just off Oxford Street, in Cleveland street London.

 

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