Kickoff (Cape Town)
6 October 2008
Hans Vonk has returned to Holland to rejoin Ajax Amsterdam. According to the former Bafana goalkeeper the Dutch giants have sent an SOS to him to solve a goalkeeping crisis at the club.
With first choice Maarten Stekelenburg out for six weeks with a shoulder injury and his number two, Dennis Gentenaar also out for a similar period with a hernia problem, Ajax have turned to Vonk, as third-choice Kenneth Vermeer will need experienced back-up.
Vonk is expected to sign a short-term contract, but it is ironic that no South African club was willing to take a chance on the 38-year-old after he parted ways with Ajax Cape Town in May, yet now he could soon be back in match action for one of Europe's greatest cubs.
Alberton-born Vonk won 43 caps for South Africa while starring for Heerenveen in Holland's EreDivisie. It was relatively late in his career that he signed for Ajax, ostensibly as cover for Stekelenburg, but he went on to play 31 League games.
He then joined Ajax Cape Town and was a key figure in their Absa Cup win of 2007 and during last season's impressive League title bid.
But a falling-out with head coach, Craig Rosslee persuaded Vonk to try his luck elsewhere. He was disappointed to discover, however, that none of South Africa's top clubs wanted him.
Instead, tonight he hopes to board a plane for Amsterdam for a new, albeit brief, extension of his career.
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