Magic with steel and silk

Mitchel Bakker has missed nine games through injury. The Dutchman suffered a serious injury at the end of October last year that included an oedema to his left ankle as well as a capsular rupture and a torn ligament. The 21-year-old made his comeback late-on in the 2-1 defeat at Freiburg just before Christmas. Bakker was not only in the starting line-up for the 2-2 draw against Union Berlin in the opening fixture of 2022 on 8 January but he also played the full 90 minutes. The following profile of the Netherlands U21 international is taken from edition 33 the Werkself Magazine that appeared in the middle of October 2021.

Mitchel Bakker comes from Purmerend, he joined Ajax as a child and moved on to the top club Paris Saint-Germain as a teenager where played on the left flank alongside his one-time idol Neymar and he reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2021. The 21-year-old has been playing for Bayer 04 since the summer – and he has quickly impressed fans and pundits alike.

Purmerend has a special magic. The town with its 80,000 inhabitants is right next to Amsterdam and only 15 kilometres lies between the two main squares. A centrepiece in Purmerend is an impressive model of a cow on top of a metre high pedestal. Cows are the emblems of the Koemarkt established in 1600, which was the biggest Dutch cattle market for a long time and that made the town famous across the country. Another chapter of Purmerend history was written in 1938 – at least for the world of football: Martin Koeman, legendary player and coach at FC Groningen, was born. His son Ronald gained worldwide fame as a player and coach – as a European champion and legend at Barcelona.

 

The Koemarkt and Koeman are not the only export hits. Hans Klok does magic and ‘Made in Purmerend’ was a surprise hit in the 1990s. With his shows in Las Vegas, the magician thrilled crowds throughout the world. He was not often seen on the streets of his hometown as Mitchel Bakker explains: "I don't know anybody who's met him. But he's a star in Holland and a really good conjurer."

The travelling artist is a legend but the town long ago produced a new star for the younger generation. Mitchel Bakker has flourished in Amsterdam, Paris and Leverkusen and – fitting in with the Purmerend mode – he has provided some magical moments. Including at Bayer 04: After arriving in the summer of this year, he scored the first Leverkusen goal in the pre-season and the first home goal of the new campaign in the 4-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. "Everything is going very well so far and I really feel at home here. It's great to score goals as well," said Bakker – and he laughed at his previous statistics: "There were lots of zeros in the goals column."

In 2006, nobody could predict his first club in Germany would be Leverkusen when the then six-year-old was playing for FC Purmerend. His father Edwin was a player in the Eredivisie and his offspring was soon the focus of the talent spotters. After four years in Purmerend there was a visit from the capital – and that brought an approach from Ajax. An offer that suddenly changed the life of the then nine-year-old. From that point, he got to know the motorway to Amsterdam as well as the way to school. His mother drove him to the world famous Ajax academy four times a week. A dream that came true in childhood. Being allowed to wear the Ajax shirt was a great honour. "The move was special and I was really happy. I made lots of friends at Ajax. We all had the same dream, Ajax became my second home."

In contrast to Hans Klok, who dedicated himself to creating illusions early on, the young Mitchel Bakker focused on making dreams come true. He made his way through the different age groups, became a youth international and in 2018 he achieved the target set eight years before on his move to Ajax: He was in the first-team squad. Before that, his contact was as a ball boy at the Arena. A "defining and motivating" experience: "It was always a dream to play there but you're still a child and you don't know what will happen. I got to see a lot of players come and go at Ajax. There was still a long way to go back then."

The home stretch, which he found himself on after starting regular training with the first-team, grew longer and longer. 12 times in the league squad, once in the squad for a Champions League qualifier – that was his record of appearances in 2018 before he was able to make his debut: He finally played his first competitive match for Ajax in the Dutch cup competition in September. There was another match in the cup and the bench in the league and Champions League; but he did not make it to the Eredivisie. So, in 2019 he joined the collection of stars at Paris St Germain – with the background of no league matches in the Netherlands. "Nobody expected my unusual move to Paris. I think as a young player you have to be very confident to take that step. But I was very happy with the offer and the chance to play alongside such top players."

Bakker moved from Purmerend to Paris at the age of 18. Away from his family to his role models. "That was a special experience, you had to do a lot on your own and had to battle and that helps you mature." There was no lack of motivation. In particular, the prospect of sharing the dressing room and pitch with Neymar thrilled the teenager. "Barcelona was my favourite club earlier on. I watched lots of games particularly when Messi, Suarez and Neymar were playing. And then there were all the others like Mbappé, Cavani and Di Maria. It was extraordinary to get to know those players."

He remembers well the first days in Paris. Suddenly training alongside former idols initially felt surreal. But, over time, it became the day-to-day routine of the full-back. Stars became mates. "PSG is a club with a lot of great players. It was fantastic for me to belong to that. At the start you just look at everything, then you're part of it and it becomes normal – on and off the pitch. They gave me lots of tips and made me better. You train at the highest level and see what's missing every day."

The hard work in one of the best training camps the world was rewarded in February 2020 – Bakker played his first league match. Shortly after that, the season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic – and the Dutchman became a champion of France based on one appearance. When the league resumed in the summer, everything had changed. The fans had disappeared – and Bakker was a regular starter. Thomas Tuchel banked on the Dutchman now played alongside former Idol Neymar on the left flank. Ligue 1, the Dutch cup, Champions League – Bakker impressed in Paris. On the website of Ligue 1, he was described as an "impressive combination of steel and silk." The remarkable mix of technique and power was striking and valued with Bakker feeling more and more at home amongst the stars as he explained back then: "I'm quite an attacking left-back. I'm quick and strong, those are my main qualities and I hope I can show what I can do here."

He did that regularly until the club was shaken by a sporting tremor in December 2020. Coach and patron Thomas Tuchel was sacked and his time on the pitch diminished. But then, in April 2021, he experienced a surprise in what was the "biggest game of my life" up to now: PSG faced Manchester City in the semi-finals – and Bakker was suddenly in the starting line-up. "I didn't count on that when I went to the game. Then I saw my name on the wall. I enjoyed it but unfortunately we lost 2-1 and were knocked out in the second leg."

In spite of the experience in the premier competition in club football, Bakker was no longer happy in Paris. The adrenaline of matchdays and the weekly clash with top players was missing. The solution was Leverkusen. From the large number of approaches, he chose Bayer 04 after "great discussions" with the club management and coach Gerardo Seoane: "My family and I immediately felt it was the right step. I like the Bundesliga, it's very popular in the Netherlands and has the best level after the Premier League. I'm happy to be here."

Bakker has shown on the left flank what he learned as a striker at the Ajax academy: attacking and scoring goals. The goals led to great emotion – and suddenly presented him with a problem: "I'd never scored before and I didn't know how to celebrate. That was funny. I simply jumped in the air," he said and laughed. Hardly anybody in the stands at the BayArena knew that his first goal in the league against Mönchengladbach was also his first match on the big stage. At Paris he played in front of "two to three thousand people at the most" so he started again in a new way as a player at Leverkusen.

HERE is the online edition of the Werkself Magazine #33

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