“I used to be a soccer referee. One time during a match one of the players broke his leg. When the Red Cross arrived with their ambulance I’d already taped his broken leg. The ambulance staff was impressed and asked if I wanted to become a volunteer. That was about 60 years ago. I have been collecting for them ever since. Last month they told me that I have raised over a million euro’s. Next year they celebrate their 150th anniversary and I’l turn 94. I really hope I’ll still be around to celebrate.”

I met Job two days ago after I came back from a meeting at The Hague Central Station. I had seen him before but I never had the chance to approach him. This time my train was 20 minutes late so it was the perfect opportunity to talk to him. I had a great conversation with him. Such a beautiful person. If you are ever at The Hague Central there is a big chance you will see him.

“What do you think is the most important value of street soccer?”
“Street soccer is a sport which is only played on the street mostly by teenage boys. Sometimes they are from less stable families. Not only does the sport keeps them busy it also teaches them a lot of life lessons.”
“Could you give me an example of one of those life lessons?”
“The most important lesson is that sometimes losing is even more important than winning. Winning is fun and maybe good for your confidence but losing a match makes you deal with a lot of emotions such as humiliation, anger and sadness. It motivates you to be stronger and fight back within the boundaries of the game. That is what makes you a stronger player as well in the game as in real life.”