Michel staying positive through stop-start season

Stuck at home itching to play football? Michel Vorm knew the feeling long before lockdown.

Indeed, you'd be hard pressed to find any other professional footballer who's been through the same stop-start year as our Dutch goalkeeper.

On the bench in the Champions League Final in June, the former Swansea stopper’s contract expired last summer and he spent the first two-and-a-half months of the season back at base in Holland, wondering what the future would hold.

Fast forward just a few months to the present day and, like everyone else, Michel – having re-signed for the Club in October following an injury to Hugo Lloris – finds himself in a similar predicament, training at home in London and hoping for some positive global news as we battle the outbreak of COVID-19.

“This whole season in general has been crazy,” admitted the 36-year-old, speaking to us from home after one of the daily remote training sessions this week.

“In the first few months I didn’t have a club, then Hugo had a big injury and I came back, a new manager came in – all these things – and now this happens and we don’t even know what’s happening with the season or when are we going to return. It’s crazy. This is something I couldn’t have imagined but, like always, it’s important to stay positive.

“The kids are here with me in London and everything is fine with them to be honest, so we’re lucky (amid the spread of the virus).”

How is Michel dealing with the remote working set-up, which sees the squad training individually at home while connecting with the rest of the group via video link?

“I like it very much because it gives you a rhythm,” he said. “For example, with us, the kids have homework from school so they do their homework in the morning, then at 11 o’clock I start doing my training – it really gives you some continuity in these times.

“You spend so much time at home, sometimes it’s hard to find a rhythm and it can be dangerous to stay in bed or be lazy, but I like the sessions we do, I’ve got the space and equipment and I must say, the Club has sorted us out very well. In the beginning we needed to find out how it was going to go but now I really enjoy it.

“Obviously you can’t dive around as a goalkeeper but with the exercise bike sessions, it’s really, really, really tough! I think the staff are doing very well and a big shout out to our fitness, performance and sports science people – these guys are doing very well in how they’re working with us.”