Hans Mulder: The heart of Delhi Dynamos, a fighter on and off the field

He is omnipresent on the pitch. He is a fearless workhorse, going forward, tracking back, putting in tackles, winning duels. He is aggressive and tireless, setting up the strikers and scoring crucial goals. Amidst all the hoopla around the marquee players, there is one player who is making waves in the Indian Super League - Hans Mulder of Delhi Dynamos. Born in Amsterdam to a Spanish mother and Dutch father, Mulder has had a roller-coaster career but now he is back on the field and enjoying the thing he loves the most - football. [caption id=“attachment_1836109” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Hans Mulder (C). Sportzpics[/caption] Mulder seemed destined for bigger things but a couple of major incidents threatened to derail his career. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, he was playing the best football of his career. He had a good first season with second division club Willem II (who had been relegated from first division for the first time in 24 years), where he helped his club gain promotion to the first division. He was having a fantastic second season, one of his best in the first division, but disaster struck mid-way through when he was at the receiving end of bad tackle. The resulting meniscus tear meant he faced six to nine months away from the game. At the time, top clubs in Holland such as FC Utrecht and second division clubs in England were interested in him, but the injury scared them off. Willem II wouldn’t offer him a new contract either. They wanted to wait until he was fully fit. “There was a lot of frustration during the injury lay-off,” Mulder told Firstpost. “I wanted to recover as soon as possible. I underwent the surgery and then worked my socks off to get fully fit. I trained for eight hours a day with my physio everyday to get back to full fitness.” The hard work paid off and Mulder was up and running after six months but he didn’t have a club. Then came a ray of hope as NEC (Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie), a club which was playing in the first division, snapped him up on a two-year contract after they were satisfied his knee was alright. But just when it seemed that good days were around the corner, luck betrayed Mulder again. The day after signing his contract, he learned his father, his inspiration, had lung cancer and had only six months to live. “The NEC season was a terrible one for me. It was very hard for me not because I couldn’t play proper football but I had to take care of my father, so I didn’t play well, my focus wasn’t there, I was physically present on the field but my mind was not there. So it was very difficult to play the games. I didn’t tell anybody because I didn’t like to share the story with the media about my father at that time.” Mulder played only nine games for the club, starting just six.. His coach and teammates knew of his father’s condition and were very supportive, but Mulder had to face the ire of fans and that made it more difficult for him. “The supporters didn’t support me,” he said. “They didn’t know what happened with me. They thought his knee is bad and he didn’t give anything for the club. In the media there were all kinds of reports such as he is done and dusted, he can’t play anymore, his knee is not that strong enough which was hurting big time.” The club was relegated at the end of the season and soon after Mulder’s father passed away. The emotional turmoil of it all convinced Mulder to end his contract and move on. “There was a lot of negativity in the club, of course I understand we went down but the supporters weren’t supporting us the way we wanted to see. And with the situation with my father, I didn’t have the energy for all this. So I ended the contract because I didn’t feel well at the club, it reminded me a lot of my father there. It was a bad timing of all the things. At that moment, my father was more important than anything else.” Mulder found himself at a crossroads. He had developed his love for the game playing on the streets of Amsterdam. His parents spotted his passion and took him to a amateur football club called AVV Zeeburgia when he was seven. Mulder started off as a defender but then turned into a midfielder because of his innate energy and enthusiasm. “At Zeeburgia, my coach spotted my talent and paid proper attention on me. He helped me learn the technical aspects and thinking that goes while on the field. He always told me, before you get the ball, nine out of 10 times, you have to already see the solution and where you can play it further.” When he was 12, Mulder played in a youth tournament that included the likes of Ajax, Valencia, and Manchester United. He played a vital role in helping Zeeburgia win the cup, with his team beating Manchester United in the final. Real Zaragoza then offered him a contract for their youth team. In Spain, Mulder added to his already burgeoning skill set. “I learned how to play in combination, short passing, and the tiki-taka style which improved me a lot,” he said. But soon, he wanted to move back to Holland because having spent his entire childhood there, he missed his old house and friends. He moved on to Dutch club RKC Waalwijk where he got a lot of opportunities to showcase his talent. He spent five years there before moving on as the club ran into financial trouble and could not afford his salary. Still without a club after leaving NEC, Hans received a call from good friend Serginho Greene, a former Feyenoord player, asking him whether he was interested in this new adventure called the Indian Super League. Delhi Dynamos were in search of a defensive midfielder at that time. Delhi Dynamos has tied up with Feyenoord for the overall development of the franchise and the Rotterdam-based club was guiding them on draft picks. It was perfect timing as Mulder wanted to start afresh. “The first few months after my father’s death were very hard but when I got this ISL opportunity, I said to myself and my wife that this is a new start and I want to show everybody that I can play football. I wanted to start all over again and enjoy the football again because the last six months I didn’t enjoy anything as my mind wasn’t there.” “I had a few options in Cyprus and Poland; I couldn’t go for a trial in Russia. But it didn’t attract me more than the ISL. Because there were all these marquee names such as Freddie Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka, Robert Pires signing for the league, I thought I have to think seriously about this as it is a great opportunity to play with and against some great players. And the moment Alessandro Del Piero signed at Delhi Dynamos, the very next day I told myself, I am signing for ISL.” Mulder is still just 27 and has already become the key member of the side to such an extent that he’s been given the captain’s arm band in the absence of Del Piero. But more importantly, he is enjoying his football. He doesn’t know what lies ahead but he wants to just concentrate on the ISL and help his team win the title. “I just tell my manager, don’t tell me if anything is happening about other clubs. Just let me focus on the other games. I don’t have any clue about my future, we will see what happens.”