Victoria Pelova is in top form. In five league matches, the Netherlands international midfielder has already scored five goals for her new club, Tottenham Hotspur, and now two crucial World Cup qualifiers with the Oranje are just around the corner. This flying start follows a year full of sorrow. She lost her mother in May. “I’m happy, but I’ll never be as happy as I was before.” Next to one of the training pitches at the KNVB Campus in Zeist, Pelova takes plenty of time to share her story. “At first, I found it quite difficult to move from Arsenal to Tottenham, but my mum was adamant that I should sign for them.” The move is a sensitive one, as both clubs are based in London. “But she told me I shouldn’t give a damn about that.” And so, at the end of May, Pelova boarded a plane to put pen to paper. “The doctors said I could go, but then she passed away anyway. It’s wonderful that I chose Tottenham – that’s what she really wanted – but it’s bittersweet because she didn’t live to see it. There’s something beautiful and something sad about it.” Pelova: “Not everyone I knew realised how ill she was; she wanted to keep that private. But then as many as 150 people turned up at the cremation. The Dutch national team, my teammates at Arsenal, Sarina Wiegman – they came from all over the world. All for my mum and for me. It sounds strange, but it was also a really beautiful day.” A few days later, the 27-year-old midfielder joined up with the Netherlands national team for the World Cup qualifiers against Ireland and Poland. “People might have thought that was strange, but I needed to get back into the swing of things and I just really wanted to be with them.” She scored in the match against Ireland. “That was bizarre. Everything was bizarre.” Pelova regularly talks about her loss with Lineth Beerensteyn, who also lost her mother four years ago. “She believes that our mothers can see us now. That they’re sitting up there together, having a glass of wine. I don’t know if I believe that, but I do find it very comforting to talk about it. It creates a special bond.” Now, four months later, Pelova has rejoined the Dutch national team for the play-off matches against Hungary. A lot has changed in that time. “It might sound strange, but I feel very free now. I’ve got nothing to lose. My transfer meant I had to step out of my comfort zone, but that’s actually been very good for me. At the same time, I was able to carry on living in the same place.” A lot changed for the midfielder on the pitch as well. At Arsenal, she found herself increasingly sidelined. “I think people don’t realise that when something is going on in your private life, it also causes you a lot of stress, even if you’re not aware of it.” The move to Tottenham Hotspur, who are fourth in the English league, meant a fresh start. Pelova has since become a key player there. Pelova: “That’s also down to the manager, who has a lot of faith in me. That’s why my mum wanted me to choose Tottenham too. She followed everything and thought he was a really good manager.” The faith shown in her by Martin Ho, her manager at Spurs, has meant that Pelova has scored more goals on her own so far than the whole of Arsenal put together. “That’s just a snapshot; I don’t really look at it that way. Sometimes I do think: why didn’t I do that last year, when my mum was still here? I’m really happy about it, but it’s also sad. If only she could have seen it. But maybe she is watching.”   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]