Colophon:

90Minutes©

Eddy de Heij Concept & Text

In collaboration with:

Steven Woudenberg Illustrations & Lay-out
Roelant van Ewijk Text & Editing
Daniel Liem Content Advisor
Linda Slootjes Online Marketing

All rights reserved:
1st edition April 2019 Barcelona

Publisher: BigBusiness Publishers
www.bbpublishers.nl/90minutes

ISBN/EAN: 9789491757969

Foreword

The birth of ’90 Minutes’ took place on the stands of Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona. Together, with a very good friend, we discovered the similarities between a football match and the ordinary life.

As people in their mid-forties, we established that we were starting out on the second half of our lives. We looked back on the first half contently and with joy. Not that everything went smoothly, but whatever happened, we never gave up. The talking and thinking in football terms was contagious and inspiring. My friends’ son, a talented football player, picked it up immediately. By thinking in football terms, he knew exactly where he stood and where he wanted to go.

Encouraged by this success, I asked myself the question:
‘What if life was like a football match of 90 Minutes?’
I selected 11 elements that can offer a substantial contribution to the quality of your life.

I would like to cover these elements with you in ’90 Minutes’. I hope that you enjoy reading this and that you find some of these stories interesting. If that succeeds, my mission is accomplished.

Thanks
I would like to thank the following people for shaping ’90 Minutes’
Firstly, Steven Woudenberg for his beautiful illustrations. Also, my thanks to Roelant van Ewijk who contributed to the thought process during this writing.

Short Introduction

My name is Siama, I played professional football up until I was 35 years old. This was the most important period in my existence up until now. It’s remarkable how many similarities I see between football and the ordinary life. Playing football has taught me some valuable lessons in life and I would like to share those with you. I translate 90 Minutes of a football match into 90 years of life and I hope at least, that these 90 years are given to me.

At the age of 45 years I am in the dressing room of my last club. A place that feels very familiar to me. It is half-time. Time to take stock of the first three quarters. What have I learnt? What went well, and where can I improve? By analysing this properly, I know what I must do in order to prepare for the second half of my life without football.

1. Half-time