by Mantas Aliukonis
At 24 years old, Dutch defender Valentino Vermeulen has already lived through the highs and lows of professional football. Once a teenage debutant in Eindhoven and later a Borussia Dortmund signing, today he finds himself in Lithuania, wearing the colors of Džiugas Telšiai. Since joining this summer, he has made 11 A Lyga appearances and featured twice in the Lithuanian Cup, contributing two assists along the way.
Vermeulen spoke candidly about his unconventional football path, setbacks, and the new opportunity he has seized in Lithuania.
“I started only when I was 8 years old playing for a club in my city,” Vermeulen recalls. “When I was 13 I was scouted for the youth from Willem II, I played there for 1.5 years. When I had some trouble on school they chose to send me away because of my behavior. After that day I didn’t have school or a club to play for 6 months.”
At 15, he started over at amateur club RKSV Nuenen. “There I got the opportunity again to show myself and within 1 season playing there I got scouted for FC Eindhoven. I played a few games in the beginning of the season for the U17 during the preseason but got sent to the U19 when the season started. After playing there for 1 month I started to play my games with the U21 and after 1 month playing there I started to join the first team at 16 years old. At 18 years old I made my debut and signed my first professional contract. I played as a centre back and as a full back on the right and on the left.”
By 20, he had completed his first full professional season: “It was a good season and we almost promoted to the Eredivisie, I finished the season with 4 goals and 8 assists as a full back. After this season there was a lot of interest from a lot of clubs, but I chose to sign my next contract at Borussia Dortmund for 3 years.”
His time in Germany, however, was short. “I stayed only for 6 months and terminated my contract due to circumstances. Then I signed a 2.5 year contract at the club that scouted me when I was young, became champions of the 2nd league and promoted to the Eredivisie. I played the first games of the season in the Eredivisie but ended up not playing anymore after that due to differences in opinions about playing style with the head coach and he chose to not continue with me anymore in the winter of 2024.”
Once again, his contract was terminated. “After this I had a period of 7 months without a club, what was very hard for me, until Džiugas gave me another chance. Now I am trying to give Džiugas the best version of myself and help them to the way up.”
Vermeulen’s relationship with his agent has also been key: “I don’t remember when I first met my agent but what I do know is that we know each other for a long time and that we are like brothers to each other, also because we are from the same city and come from the same environment.”
Why Lithuania? “I came to Lithuania, because Džiugas gave me another chance to show what I can do when I play games and they gave me the opportunity to do so.”
The Cup semi-final was a sore point: “I was confident that we could beat Hegelmann in the cup, but it was unlucky that we conceded the goal in the last minute of the game. I’m sure that if we would’ve gone to the final that we would’ve won the cup.”
As for the Lithuania–Netherlands international match, he admits: “I didn’t watch that game.”
Away from football, Vermeulen keeps things simple. “My favorite food is my wife’s food, my favorite drink is water, my favorite shoe brand was Puma until they made the shoes a little smaller, now it is Adidas. My favorite color to wear is white.”
On beauty, he is quick to underline loyalty: “I think my wife is the most beautiful girl, she is not from Lithuania or the Netherlands.”
And after the season, he looks forward to returning home: “My next travel destination is going to be the Netherlands in the winter after the season ends.”
From the youth fields of Willem II to professional football in Eindhoven, a high-profile move to Dortmund, and now a second chance in Lithuania, Valentino Vermeulen’s career has been anything but linear. Yet in Telšiai he has rediscovered his platform – and his determination. “Now I am trying to give Džiugas the best version of myself,” he says, and his words reflect both resilience and ambition.
If you are enjoying Mantas’s interviews and analysis, please consider supporting his other projects here and here, as well as follow him on TikTok
