Jenske Steenwijk: a player who leaves her heart on the pitch | OneFootball

She could also frame 9 November. The day before, Jenske Steenwijk turned 21. In the morning, her mother Esther predicted that she would give herself a belated birthday present with another goal – and in the afternoon, she did just that. She scored with a low shot into the far corner with her left foot after Celina Baum had laid the ball off to her, making it 4-0 against SGS Essen's U21s. It was her second competitive goal for BVB. Her third followed against Bayer Leverkusen's U23s, further proving her quality.

“For me, Jenske is one of the discoveries of the season,” says department head Svenja Schlenker, explaining: “She is a perfect fit for BVB because her 100% will to win, her enormous strength in one-on-one situations and her ability to read the game make her an absolutely reliable defender. And now she’s even making a name for herself as a goalscorer.”

Steenwijk leaves her heart on the pitch. Her driving force is courage. Her credo: “You don’t know unless you try.” That’s why she always says yes to challenges. She gives things a go and faces up to situations and obstacles. After moving from Meppen to Dortmund in the summer, she promptly moved into a shared flat with Caroline Blum. The two didn’t know each other before; the goalkeeper was a stranger to Jenske Steenwijk until then. Nevertheless, she consciously decided to go for it. “It really worked out, I feel very comfortable with her. We have a good bond, which makes a lot of things easier. Together we are strong. I am very happy that we did it this way and that I moved in with her.”

The 21-year-old full-back is rarely at home. When she has no training the next day – usually Tuesdays, sometimes Fridays – she drives up to Emmen in the south-east of the Dutch province of Drenthe in the evening. Often that doesn’t work out. Then she misses her father’s good cooking in particular. He is originally from Suriname and cooks traditional food. “It’s super delicious!” Otherwise, however, Jenske Steenwijk has everything she needs in Dortmund.

Jenske, you wanted to meet for the interview at the Phoenix See lake. Why?“Phoenix See is a great place to relax – and the water reminds me of home. I do my laps here, on foot or by bike, and I’ve also been on a pedalo. I like the buildings around it, as well as the bakeries and ice cream parlours. It’s a beautiful place.”

You were only 14 when you moved for the first time! You switched from your home club VV Emmen in the Netherlands to SV Meppen in Germany. What was that like?“We commuted almost every day; a 30-minute drive there and 30 back. Until I was 18, my parents always had to drive me. That was a lot. But at the end of the day, it was worth it.”

You say it was a lot; what did you have little of during that time?“I could never really do anything with my friends. On Friday evenings, when they went out, I had training in Meppen. And at some point, they stopped asking. It was hard, but I knew pretty early on that I would put football above everything else. When I look at what I’ve achieved in sport so far, it was the right path – even if it was hard at times.”

Would you say that competitive athletes “grow up” earlier than others?“I don’t know. What I do know is that you can only achieve something if you give it your all. Unfortunately, that’s not possible without making sacrifices. When others went to Amsterdam on Saturdays to have a nice day out, I couldn’t go with them. Ultimately, I was never able to take part in activities like that. ‘Jenske has football,’ they would say. It wasn’t always easy, but I came out of it quite well. I’ve made lots of friends through football and I’m very happy with that.”

You were very successful with Meppen, helping them get promoted to the top tier. But you still moved to Dortmund in the summer. Why?“To be honest, it was a very difficult decision. I felt very comfortable in Meppen. Meppen are a small club, but they have a lot of potential. I had some successful years there, first in the U17s and later in the first team. It was special because we were all very close. At the same time, after seven years there, I felt like I wanted to do something new. When BVB approached me, I knew right away that I wanted to do it. I needed a change, different people and a different environment to move forward. I also knew that Markus Högner would be the coach, which was a good reason to move here. He has already coached in the Bundesliga and has a lot of experience.”

What other arguments did BVB have to convince you?“The overall package is simply outstanding. We have great opportunities here; for example, we can always train in the gym if we want to. You can see that something is happening here. The club understands what it takes to be successful."

What can you give the team in return?“I’m strong in one-on-one situations and I’m fast. I always give my all, both in training and in matches. And I have a good overview, I can scan the pitch in every situation and sometimes see spaces before they are there. I always try to help as much as possible.”

Do you have any weaknesses?“Yes, of course! There’s always room for improvement, for example my technique. I can still work on that and I’m doing so. The Footbonaut is a great training device for that. And tactically – for example, moving further back in the chain when I’m on the side away from the ball. I’m working on that at the moment – and then it’ll be fine.”

Svenja Schlenker describes you as “one of the discoveries of the season”. How does that sound to you?“Nice to hear. It’s always nice to get a compliment, especially when it comes from Svenja. She’s an important mentor for us and she has a say in the club. I can build on her words and keep going.”

How do you think you were able to convince Svenja and everyone else?“By giving my all in every game. The first one against Leverkusen may not have been my best, but after that I got into it very well. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, but I have good consistency in my play at the moment.”

And that’s despite that moment of shock in the cup match against Bayern Munich. How did you experience that memorable evening: the “game of the year”?“It was a special evening, as you say. We were all really looking forward to this game and, to be honest, we were also a little nervous. But we played well. We challenged Bayern by defending compactly. We handled it very well as a team. And the atmosphere under the floodlights in the sold-out Rote Erde stadium was absolutely fantastic. When Klara Bühl landed on my hand with her studs after a tackle in the 72nd minute, it was all over for me. It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it. Life goes on.”

Moving on is a good keyword: what are your goals for this season, both personally and with the team?“Personally, I want to continue to develop, in every training session and every game. My goal is to remain consistent in my performance. I’m ready to give everything to achieve that. And with the team, the goal is clear: promotion! That’s what we all want and what we all dream of, because it would be very special to be promoted to the second division with BVB.”

On the pitch, there's no doubt the team have what it takes. That much has become clear over the course of the season. But what was it like at the start of the season, when 16 new signings had to gel fairly quickly?“It was tough, that’s true. But we got stuck in straight away. After a week of training in Dortmund, we went straight to training camp, first in Liechtenstein, then in Austria. That was really cool. We got to know each other and get along very well, both on and off the pitch. There’s a good atmosphere in the team. Everyone is keen to come to training and to the games. We’re close-knit.”

What does that mean exactly? What do you do together off the pitch?“We go for walks together, for example, or sometimes out for a meal.”

You are naturally positive and also optimistic about promotion. But is there also a little bit of pressure? Do you feel pressure?"Yes, a little bit. We should now win all the remaining games. When you play for BVB and the mission is promotion, there is of course pressure; but it’s positive pressure that we as a team can handle well. We keep showing the coaching team and the fans that we’ve got what it takes and believe in ourselves. That gives us confidence and composure.”

Interview: Nils Hotze Photos: Alexandre Simoes

The text is taken from the member magazine BORUSSIA. BVB members receive BORUSSIA free of charge every month. Click here to go to the membership application form.