Having arrived in the city of Rotterdam last month where he will spend an 18 month loan period from his parent club, Colorado Rapids, Cole Bassett made his Dutch debut over the weekend in a 3-1 home win over Cambuur.
This probably wasn’t the run out that he would have liked, where the Littleton native only picked up single digit minutes when he came on in the 88th for Guus Til but regardless he was happy to make it into his first Eredivisie game.
Basset spoke about his debut to the Rotterdam press following the game. His full comments can be viewed here.
“I’ve been wanting to get minutes for a while,” the 20 year-old said in his post-game comments. “I’m been here a month, so have been just trying to work hard in training and ultimately just earn my spot in the team. I was happy that I was able to get my first minutes today.”
With the Dutch government relaxing Covid restrictions for gatherings, the young American was able to play in front of a packed stadium, something that no player had done for some time now.
“To play in front of the fans at De Kuip and to get the win as well, the three points, that was special.”
Bassett felt that having the fans back made a big difference.
“Having the fans back in the stadium helps us tremendously. It’s a big difference when they’re in the stadium compared to when they’re not, especially coming from the States where you don’t have crowds of 50,000 very often. [So] it’s very special to make your debut in that, let alone that you know you’re going to play in that every single week.”
Life in the Netherlands has been a very positive experience so far for the once capped international.
“I’ve enjoyed it [so far]. I’ve adapted to it quicker than I thought I would. Its more similar to the United States than I thought. Everybody is very friendly here so I think it’s been easier for me to transition than other places in Europe would have been.”
“I’m enjoying it so far and hopefully there’s many more nights like this where we can play and get the three points. That will make me even happier.”
Feyenoord will travel to Alkmaar over the weekend to take on AZ, who are one place behind the Rotterdammers in the Eredivisie standings. Bassett will, of course, hope to earn more playing time.
