For any young player, going on trial at big clubs can be a scary thought. To do it in a foreign country at just 21 years old? That would be a daunting prospect for most.
But not Kelle Roos. Because after discovering he had dyslexia aged just four, the Dutch goalkeeper developed a steely, inner strength. So as a footballer, tough times were never going to derail his ambitions. Roos left Holland on his own to go on trial at Birmingham City and Bristol City, without success. Later, after impressing for English non-league outfit Nuneaton Town, he had temporary stints at Liverpool, Everton and Sunderland.
Roos suffered several knock-backs before earning a move to Derby County in 2014. But nothing fazed him. Not after having to graft as a child just to learn to read and write. The Aberdeen No.1 says being dyslexic helped shape his character. The doggedness and perseverance he had to show as a youngster have helped him become the player – and person – he is today.
The Pittodrie keeper said: “When you are dyslexic at a very young age, you find out that what is natural to other people doesn’t come naturally to you. "Straight away, that means you will have to put in double hours. You realise that things don’t come easy to you. What does that look like in the life of a kid?
“Well, when your friends are out playing, you have to go for tutoring and spend hours to get your spelling or reading right. Some might find out when they’re in their teens and other people younger. I found out when I was four. Other kids started reading and I didn’t. It just didn’t click.
“But it does give you, at the early stage of your life, a resilience to know that not everything in life comes for free. I believe that once you overcome those challenges it makes you stronger. For that reason, it definitely shapes you as a person. It certainly did that for me.
“When I was going for trials in England as a young player, it felt like an exciting time for me – but also a time of insecurity. I was in Holland and my team didn’t give me a new contract. I had some contacts and the English game excited me.
“I decided to try my luck and I did have to be resilient because people judge a player who goes on trial and doesn’t get signed. But there are a lot of things that come into the equation. It looked like Birmingham and Bristol didn’t want me and that was hard. I just wanted to play so people could then have their opinion on me.”
Roos could also have pursued a career in tennis but was always going to choose football. I was always in love with football, tennis was more of a release for me with no pressure’, he says.
But until now, the 30-year-old has never really classed himself as any club’s undisputed No.1. That’s why signing for the Dons in the summer – and having gaffer Jim Goodwin show such faith in him – feels different at this stage in his career.
He said: “In my career, for 90 per cent of the time – other than loans – I’ve not started as No.1 and had to fight my way up. At Derby, they always brought a big keeper in like David Marshall, Scott Carson or Lee Grant. Their CVs say it all. After Derby, Lee went to Stoke then Man United. Scott went from Derby to Man City and Marshall was Scotland keeper.
“It doesn’t get more difficult than that, to be number one over big players like that. But I’m proud of the fact that I’ve shaken a couple of big goalkeepers at the same time.
“Coming here, everything has been made clear. That gives me more focus on a daily basis.” At Derby, Roos worked under Frank Lampard, Phillip Cocu and Wayne Rooney. Watching three global stars at close quarters and how they deal with pressure and intensity was an education for the Dutch goalie, who came through the ranks at PSV Eindhoven.
But after being a team-mate of Virgil van Dijk and having that trial with Liverpool as a youngster, Roos is used to mixing it with big names. And if he continues to impress in the Premiership for Aberdeen he’s refusing to rule out a shock Dutch call-up one day.
He said: “Ex-players who played at a high level like Lampard and Rooney have a special kind of drive. You can see they are used to pressure in their lives and it is not something they shy away from.
“There’s pressure here too at Aberdeen and an expectation here. It’s like at Derby. When I was there, it was promotion, relegation, financial problems – a real rollercoaster. One thing there wasn’t a lack of was pressure.
“And when I was young, it was massive to walk into Liverpool’s training ground with Brendan Rodgers as manager and Steven Gerrard as captain. It was unreal. You had Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez joking around.
“I was also involved in the Dutch national set-up at youth level with the likes of Van Dijk and Memphis Depay. So I’ve spent time around big players. In terms of the national team, I’ve realised that everything in football is possible.
“My aims and goals are very high. If I can nail myself down here at Aberdeen first, I can go from there. The sky’s the limit.”
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