Carrying a famous surname in football is a double-edged sword. It opens doors, but it also casts a long, inescapable shadow. In the autumn of 2013, 21-year-old defender Giliano Wijnaldum—younger brother of rising star Gini Wijnaldum—was determined to carve out his own legacy in the north. The October 6 matchday programme dedicated its main feature to him, perfectly timed for a highly emotional fixture: a clash against his former employer, AZ Alkmaar.
Under the aggressive headline “Fel zijn en strijd leveren” (Be fierce and put up a fight), Wijnaldum discusses his turbulent start to life at the Euroborg. Having transferred from AZ just months prior, he found himself thrust into a chaotic Groningen defense. A natural left-back, he reveals that he actually prefers playing as a center-back, a role he had to fill alongside Eric Botteghin due to the team’s ongoing disciplinary crisis and injuries. “My preference is the center-back position, but I gladly play wherever the trainer puts me,” he states, showcasing a pragmatic, team-first mentality.
The interview is remarkably candid about the team’s recent struggles, specifically a crushing 5-0 defeat to FC Twente the previous week. Wijnaldum doesn’t mince words: “Our team performance was simply bad.” Yet, the focus quickly shifts to the impending reunion with AZ. In a fascinating personal detail on page 14, the text notes that Wijnaldum and his teammate William Troost-Ekong (referred to as William Ekong) had actually traveled to Alkmaar the previous Saturday to watch their old friends play against PSV. Now, just days later, he was tasked with shutting those same friends down. “We have to give a hundred percent and remain unbeaten at home,” he declares.
A Look into the Future
While his older brother Gini would go on to conquer Europe, winning the Champions League with Liverpool and captaining the Dutch national team, Giliano Wijnaldum‘s career took a more nomadic, working-class path. His time at FC Groningen proved to be one of the most stable periods of his Eredivisie career. He eventually embraced the life of a footballing journeyman, taking his talents across the globe with stints in Germany, the United States (playing for the Philadelphia Union in MLS), and Sparta Rotterdam. Looking back at this 2013 interview, it captures a young man at the exact moment he was stepping out of his brother’s shadow, desperate to prove his own worth against the club that let him go.