Aberdeen defender Mats Knoester has added a Scottish Cup winner’s medal to his collection and the Dutchman insists his latest addition is his most prized of all.
Knoester has a KNVB Cup winner’s medal with Feyenoord from 2018 and won the Hungarian league title with Ferencvaros in 2023.
But the central defender has put his first Scottish medal to the top of the pecking order after playing a starring role in the Dons’ penalty shootout win against Celtic at Hampden on Saturday.
The 26-year-old said: “This one is the best by far, even better than winning a league because it means more.
“At Ferencvaros, you have to win every year. Here you can see it’s been so long. There are more emotions.
“You should just look around you and take it all in. It’s a lot to describe. It means a lot and the man of the match award as well. Doubling up is really good.”
Adding to the Aberdeen defender’s joy was being able to celebrate his victory in Scotland with his family.
He said: “Everybody was here, my mum and dad as well, my brothers. It means a lot.
“You wouldn’t see it on my dad’s face, but inside, he would have been very happy, emotional and everything.
“In our family we are calm. You don’t see it from the outside, but definitely from the inside, it means a lot.”
Defender relieved to avoid penalty duty
Knoester, who was a powerhouse at the back alongside young team-mates Jack Milne and Alfie Dorrington, was primed to add another element to his cup final tale during the shootout.
The defender was due to take Aberdeen’s fifth penalty before goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov saved Alistair Johnston’s spot-kick to bring the cup back to Aberdeen for the first time since 1990.
The Dutchman joked: “I was fifth. I was ready and Dimi saved it. I gave him the biggest hug afterwards.
“My penalties in practice were good so I had confidence. But, of course, it’s nice if you can finish it early. The earlier, the better.”
The Dons’ cup win was historic for several reasons
Jimmy Thelin’s side ended a 30-game winless run against the Hoops and ended the league and League Cup winners’ hopes of a domestic treble.
Victory at Hampden also ended Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers’ perfect record, both in the competition and at the National Stadium.
Given the one-sided nature of the previous recent encounters, it is understandable why Celtic were such strong favourites.
But Knoester and his team-mates’ belief was unshakeable.
He said: “We had previous matches with Celtic, of course. They’re a good team, they’re a really good team. They win a lot of prizes.
“We knew we had to change our tactic and maybe do something different. This was our plan and it worked out well. So I’m very happy with that.
“They scored one goal out of a set-piece, not out of open play, which is frustrating.
“You know, you’re defending so well and then you get a set-piece.
“But we said to each other, ‘The one thing that can’t happen is if they score a goal or we score a goal and we change’.
“That’s happened in the past few games.
“So we said, ‘Just stick to the game plan’. Then the longer the game went, it was still 1-0 and we got some good transitions.
“Then you start to feel, ‘Okay, we only need this one half chance’. Then it goes in and then it actually happens.
“Of course, it has to work out in the end. But we did believe in it, yeah, definitely.”
‘We have it all now’
Aberdeen’s cup win was one achieved by sheer grit and determination from the men in red.
Knoester epitomised the effort by being the only member of the back three to last the full 120 minutes.
He said: “I didn’t really feel it. Of course, you feel tired after 120 minutes, but I still felt like I could go on. It’s a good sign that I’m fit.
“This was a good team performance. If you put it on paper, you would say Celtic are the better team.
“But then you need to come up with character and a team sticking together. That’s what we did.
“For me, personally, it’s just about belief in yourself, in your team, in the tactics. And shutting down all the noise around you.
“Then you prove them wrong. So, it’s the best feeling.”
The icing on the cake of course, was guaranteed European group stage football next season.
Knoester said: “We have it all now, huh? Nobody would say that before. So, I think that’s the nicest thing.”
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