Planet Swans ArchivesMichel Vorm says that he still has the best years to come as he comes to terms with his legend status in Swansea
Vorm told the Guardian “Some people in Holland thought: ‘He’s going to Swansea and he’s not capable of dealing with the physical part of the game.’ But I know my qualities and if I didn’t have the feeling I could do something here, I wouldn’t have come. I thought it was a good opportunity for me and a chance to prove to myself. And the best years are still to come for me. I’m 28, so it’s just the beginning.
“I always take it as a compliment that people say when they see me in the stadium I look bigger than I am in real life – I think that’s my presence.
“My athleticism is good and I think that’s very important. Some guys are taller than me but they may be slower to the ground. And I know some big goalkeepers who are afraid to go out to make contact, so size doesn’t matter.
“But I’m a guy that adapts very easy and in Holland everyone speaks English,” Vorm says, leaping to the defence of the young Spaniard.
“If you see De Gea, he’s maybe seven years younger than me and I don’t think he spoke English when he came here. And Manchester United and Swansea is quite different because the pressure is always on them. Then there is the £18m transfer fee, so you cannot compare it.
“The atmosphere here is amazing,” he says. “In Holland we played against Ajax, and for Utrecht that was one of the biggest matches of the year but you had the feeling just once. I’ve had that feeling 20 times already this season.
“I think if you compare the Dutch fans with the English fans, there’s so much more respect from the opposition here. It was not just with Liverpool, when we played Newcastle, their people applauded when I went to the goal.
“It was not my first mistake and it won’t be my last,” says Vorm, referring to the error that cost the only goal when the Swans visited the Emirates earlier in the season. “It will be special against Arsenal because Henry is a legend – one of the best players to have ever played in the Premier League. But now I think it’s different
“He’s been gone from Arsenal for four years and if you’ve played at a different level and come back it’s going to be tough, especially against Swansea at our ground. If you see the game [on New Year’s Eve] against Spurs – who are one of the best teams in the league – we killed them.
“I think it’s very important that if you go, you go with everything you have,” Vorm says. “Sometimes they will shoot in the other direction. But I cannot think of a time when a penalty has gone in the corner I’ve dived towards.
“Yesterday I had an interview with Abu Dhabi television, a couple of months ago they didn’t know who I was,” Vorm beams. “Five years in Holland or five months in Swansea – it’s a difference you cannot imagine.”
