Spitse was closing in on 140 appearances when she wrote one of many best chapters of her worldwide profession – captaining her nation to glory in entrance of document crowds on dwelling soil at Euro 2017.
Handed the armband after the second match by then head coach – and present England boss – Sarina Wiegman, the set-piece specialist scored two very important group-stage penalties. Then, in a six-goal thriller towards Denmark within the closing, she unleashed an expertly positioned free-kick at hand her crew a lead they by no means relinquished.
Ever-present all through that event, Spitse missed simply 20 minutes of her facet's run to the World Cup closing two years later beneath Wiegman once more, the place they misplaced to the USA.
It had been a unique story for Spitse and the Netherlands, although, at Euro 2009 – their first main event.
Spitse was 19 with 35 caps by then, however with Pauw largely fielding the identical beginning XI in Finland, she watched each minute from the bench, together with an extra-time semi-final loss to England.
“She by no means, ever, mentioned something unfavourable about it,” mentioned Pauw. “That is precisely what I meant once I mentioned she had every part inside her to change into a legend as a result of it was simply soccer. She understood the unwritten legal guidelines of elite sport.
“I believe everyone will say that, she places soccer first and all the time knew what was wanted to carry out at that degree and to develop.”
A part of that progress has been the event of Spitse as a frontrunner, a top quality that present Netherlands boss Jonker says he noticed in her inside days of his appointment in 2022 and one which he believes his gamers admire in her too.
“Inside her character, there may be this management, of being the boss, so she tells the crew we're leaving, we're stopping, we're ready,” he explains.
“The older gamers are used to her, they know that is who she is and that is what she does, and so they settle for it, even when they do not agree, they assume ‘that is what Sherida needs, it is OK', as a result of they know there's all the time a great intention behind the issues she says or does, and the youthful gamers have big, big respect for her.”
