Calvin Stengs: Dutch playmaker shaped by injury, shining on comeback trail
Pre an ACL injury suffered in 2017, Stengs was a pace-brazen winger, since recovering his revitalised comeback has seen him mature into a fleet-footed playmaker—one Koeman's Dutch squad could do with
This article is the latest piece of xG Files’ ‘EuroFiles’ series for the upcoming European Championship, profiling 24 players from the qualified nations with expert opinions from journalists, writers, editors, and media guides from each respective nation, which you can find here.
It's often said that tragedy shapes character. For Calvin Stengs, who was destined for stardom before suffering an ACL injury in his teens that required extensive surgery, this proverb has become synonymous with his journey.
Stengs was a renowned youth player for AZ Alkmaar from the age of 12 and was thrust into the first team by 18. The aforementioned injury, which occurred in the opening minutes of his first professional start, naturally had a physical impact.
“He [Stengs] was built on speed, versatility, and movement, but would return not as good [in those areas],” Dutch football writer Bart Vlietstra told me.
Being out for over a year, a large amount of Stengs’ training would be centred around strengthening and conditioning over pitch work.
Stengs, a rangy winger from young standing at 6’2, since his extensive layoff, has honed in on his creative qualities, transitioning from a wiry player stretching defences with vertical runs to the type producing on the other side of the ball.
He returned as a different player for a different team. One built on the youth drive the club implemented, which aimed to have 50% of every matchday squad filled with academy graduates. Captain Guus Til, Teun Koopmeiners, Owen Wijndal, and Albert Guðmundsson were all under-23 and vital parts of a team that, if it wasn’t for a global pandemic, would have been on course to claim an Eredivisie title. A revitalised figure in Stengs was another.
Stengs would be snapped up by Nice, to the surprise of those in the Netherlands, as one of the many expected sales of AZ and big-money signings in the Nice-Sir Jim Ratcliffe-led era.
“It was maybe too early because of the body he had yet to develop,” said Vlietstra in reference to the perception of Stengs’ transfer to France.
Stengs, who often played in the No. 10 position while in the academy to limit the chances of contending duels, proved sensitive to the increasingly known physical demand of Ligue 1 football. Mainly placed on the right, Christophe Galtier’s team centred around support striker Amine Gouiri, with Stengs peripherally, metaphorically and physically, hugged to the touchline.
A season-long loan driven by former Dutch footballer turned coach Mark van Bommel would prove pivotal in regaining a sense of belief. Royal Antwerp were winning, and Stengs was playing a (literal) central role in it—playing in both the pivot and three-man midfield in the decisive part of the season, albeit with the aid of injuries—as Antwerp snatched their first league title in 66 years and a domestic double in the process.
“Mark [van Bommel] is a nice man to work with.
I do feel that actions are working again as before and that I am important, especially now that I can set the lines from midfield,” said Stengs in April 2023.
Van Bommel and then-sporting director Marc Overmars would prioritise Stengs' re-signing, but the prospect of returning home under former Alkmaar coach Arne Slot at the reigning Eredivisie champions Feyenoord would prove too alluring.
“They [Feyenoord] really helped in drilling Calvin on his physicality and stamina,” stressed Vlietstra.
The development from Feyenoord’s physical department—the most highly regarded one in the country—has been demonstrated in Stengs’ season.
In the season just gone, Stengs was Feyenoord’s chief creator, whether that be as a No. 10 or off the right in more competitive games—his 12 assists were only third in the division behind league winners PSV Eindhoven duo Joey Veerman and Luuk de Jong. But not negating defensive asks — ranking sixth in his side for recoveries according to Fbref.com
That growth in football maturity led to a recall-up for the Dutch national side in November 2023. Stengs hadn't scored a goal in a Netherlands shirt before his winter call-up, but his hattrick against Gibraltar ensured qualification for this summer’s Euros.
A knee injury picked up in the Cup semi-final precluded him from furthering his claim for a spot in Ronald Koeman’s squad. Add to that the fact that the Netherlands boast an array of talents in the midfield and wide areas, Stengs’ reshaped game and revitalised comeback are admirable, but a notable omission in this summer’s Dutch 30-man provisional squad shows that his journey is far from over as he looks to reach the world-class level he was once destined for.