In Zeeland, the least populated province of the Netherlands, relatives, friends and strangers go the extra mile to support Jan Paul van Hecke.
Several times a season, up to 100 residents of Arnemuiden — van Hecke’s tiny home town — and surrounding areas travel by coach and boat from the south-west of the country to England to watch the flourishing 25-year-old play in the Premier League in home and away games for Brighton & Hove Albion.“In our town, everybody likes football, and then JP is a hero to us,” said Leo Dingemanse, one of Van Hecke’s early coaches and still a neighbour. “We are singing on the boat about Jan Paul van Hecke. When I go to work in the city, in Vlissingen (about 12 miles away), they say, ‘We have JP’. Everybody in our town is proud of him and he is a good guy.”The central defender’s involvement in the Dutch World Cup squad is the biggest thing to happen to the tight-knit community for nearly 50 years. Arnemuiden has not been as excited as this since Van Hecke’s uncle Jan Poortvliet, a left-back, played in the Netherlands’ 3-1 extra-time defeat to Argentina in the 1978 World Cup final in Buenos Aires. To produce Van Hecke and Poortvliet — now under-18s coach at second-tier club FC Eindhoven at the age of 70 — is remarkable for a rural outpost with a population estimated at only about 8,000 people.Van Hecke’s journey began with Arnemuiden, where Dingemanse was his coach from the age of nine to 12. Dingemanse’s son, Julian, also played for the local team and is still one of Van Hecke’s closest friends.Dingemanse and his son, Julian (Credit: Andy Naylor)“It was amateur football, but very competitive,” said the senior Dingemanse. “He played in midfield. He was a year younger than my son. They played against each other in a game. We lost 5-4, but I told the other coach we would have won if we’d had JP.“The next year he played with us, in the highest division of the youth. You could see then that he could play. And I never forget that when we lost, even in training, he was always crying. I’ve never seen that. Just after training, not a match. He was a fanatic. I never forget the mentality.”Van Hecke progressed to district level, representing Zeeland. He started his senior career as a 19-year-old with NAC Breda in the Dutch second tier, joining Brighton in 2020. Van Hecke has developed at the south-coast club, via loans with Heerenveen in his homeland and Championship side Blackburn Rovers — where he was named player of the season in 2021-22 — into one of the most improved defenders in the Premier League.Van Hecke’s blend of competitive defending and ball carrying with crisp passing has turned him into hot property. He is set to be sold this summer, as he is yet to agree a new contract and could leave for nothing when his current deal expires in June 2027. The Athletic reported last week that a bid from Tottenham has been rejected — managed by Van Hecke’s former head coach at Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi. Chief executive Paul Barber said during an interview with talkSPORT on Sunday that a second offer from Tottenham has also been turned down.
