Robin Gosens Shares What It Took to Make His Dream Come True

It was a normal game. As always, we had been out the night before. As always, we’d been out much too late, and, as always, I was much too tired to play football at 11 in the morning. Despite all of that, I still played quite well: I scored a goal, got one assist and scored a penalty. But what I didn’t know was that this wasn’t just a normal game after all. It was a game attended by a scout from Vitesse Arnhem, who was eagerly watching from the sidelines.

I was asked whether I wanted to attend a trial at the club. It was the day that everything changed for me – the day an 18-year-old boy who had always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer got the chance to make his dream come true.

I did well at the trial and the youth team coach at the time wanted to sign me for the next season straight away. After long discussions at home, I decided to grab this opportunity with both hands.

At that time, I was in my final year at high school, meaning I had to skip a few classes to get to training on time. But I was committed. Nothing would stop me from making my dream come true, so the agreement I made with my mother was simple: If my grades ever dipped, I would have to skip training instead of school.

It was an incredibly strenuous year. When I got into a traffic jam on my way home at night, I was glad as it gave me the chance to spread my schoolwork across the steering wheel to prepare for the tests I had to take.

I’ve always been the kind of guy to push things to the limit – or even beyond – to achieve my goals. That year, I had two: to succeed in my exams and to sign for the U23 side at Vitesse. And in 2014, I did both!

I was well aware this didn’t mean I’d reached the finish line. On the contrary, this was just the beginning of a tough journey; one that I have followed without drifting off and one that has elevated me to become a member of the German national football team.

You have to make sacrifices, make mistakes and learn to deal with disappointment along the way if you’re serious about making your dream come true. Even if some people might think so: Nothing is free in life, and success is always the fruit of hard work.

Yes, I’m a professional footballer now however at the beginning I found it hard to fit in. I didn’t have that feeling of belonging. At training, my teammates smirked at my poor technique and lack of coordination. Sure, off the pitch I was well integrated, but on the field of play, I always had the feeling that others thought I was far worse than them, because I had never been to a youth academy and was lacking the basics to play football properly.

And it was true: When trying to trap the ball, it used to bounce five meters away and quite often I screwed up coordination exercises because I didn’t have my feet under control. In fact, I was only praised for my ability to run a lot and fill the gaps that my teammates opened up when they lost the ball unnecessarily.

This impression accompanied me for a very long time as a professional. But at the same time, it served as motivation to do more than everybody else. It might sound like a cliché, but if you asked my teammates – both past and present – who is always the first to arrive and the last to leave, most of them would reply “Robin Gosens.”

My mentality and discipline have always been the skills that have made me stand out. If asked today how I’ve made it this far, I would name these two capabilities. There has always been the discussion about what’s more important – talent or mindset. Of course, you need both if you’re to make your dream come true, but I’m absolutely convinced that mindset makes all the difference in the end.

My first year in Bergamo was riddled with disappointment and self-doubt. I’d arrived in a new country, didn’t speak the language and there was no one there to help me. For the team, I was not important, the coach didn’t have confidence in me, and on occasion, suggested that my skills weren’t worthy of a place at Atalanta.

I can’t remember how often I sat in my room at night asking myself if I had screwed my whole career up with this move. I didn’t play. For the team I was invisible, and outside of soccer, I had no family to distract me. It stayed like that for most of the season.

It hurt what the coach said to me, but I knew that I had the quality to play in Serie A.

I tried to do the things the coach asked of me, I continued to put in extra training sessions, I learned from my competitors and slowly but surely adapted to the level required.

I knew that one day the hard work would pay off. I started to get more playing time, got along better in the team and became more and more important for them – month by month and season by season. Now – after four years here in Bergamo – I’ve become a core member of the team, played in the Champions League and become a part of the German national team.

If you’d have asked anyone if they thought any of this was possible, they would probably have said ‘no.’ Of course it takes some luck too. You have to be in the right place at the right time. But just being there won’t automatically bring success.

Nobody ever put great faith in me with regards to playing football. I was never the most talented or the one everybody admired. I’m convinced that one of the main reasons I’ve managed to carve out a career in football is because I’ve always wanted to prove that you can make your dream come true.

If I could share any advice, it would be to never lose your focus, work hard and you can overcome any obstacles you may face. Believe me: It’s worth dreaming!