Andy Van Der Meyde - beyond the pitch

We left off a few days ago with Van Der Meyde celebrating on the Highbury pitch. Iconic, as we’d call it today. Looking back on his career, he was a player whose potential ultimately outweighed his achievements, and while he may not have become a football icon, there’s no denying his place in popular culture.

Meanwhile, Andy has also made a name for himself as a content creator. Bij Andy in de auto (“In the Car with Andy”) is a hugely popular TV and YouTube format in which the former Dutch international invites a well-known guest into his car. For anyone who remembers him as a player, with his long hair and athletic build, he is almost unrecognisable today: a shaved head and plenty of muscle. And he has an incredible gift of the gab. Andy has always been full of energy. In an autobiography published a few years ago, he himself opened up about some of his excesses during his playing days, along with a couple of other interesting stories. One of the more colourful anecdotes is that, as far as anyone can remember, he is the only footballer ever to faint during a press conference. It happened while he was with the Dutch national team. Another memorable story is why, after leaving Inter, he chose Everton over Monaco. It had nothing to do with the sporting project or the appeal of the Premier League. Quite simply, in the Principality of Monaco, the second most densely populated country in the world, with more than 18,000 people per square kilometer, there are, as is well known, only apartments. At the time, the Van Der Meyde family had 11 horses, as well as dogs, parrots, turtles and even a zebra.

Hard to fit all that into an apartment...

Today, Andy is enjoying life, with his five children, leaving his excesses behind. He surely still thinks back from time to time to the day he silenced Highbury and defeated the best team in the world.