CURAÇAO

It was during the 2014-2015 season when Eloy Room received a phone call from Patrick Kluivert, the then Curaçao head coach who invited the goalkeeper to represent The Blue Wave. Many other-Dutch born players were to follow. The keeper, who is known for his sharp reflexes, has experienced many memorable moments on international duty. Take the day Lionel Messi asked for his shirt. While most players have to chase the Argentinian’s shirt on this occasion it was Messi himself – who had just scored a hat-trick against Room – who approached the goalkeeper. “When the match was finished, he was basically standing right in front of me and made a gesture of swapping shirts,” Room recalls. It was possibly to do with the fact Messi had just scored his 100th goal for Argentina and wanted Room’s shirt as a memory of the milestone but he did compliment the goalkeeper for “some good saves” during the match.

Joining PSV at a young age he played together with Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) and Jordan Teze (Monaco) among others. Hugely talented he had several injury issues but came back stronger each time. He is now a reliable centre-back for the first team and has won the league three years in a row and gained valuable Champions League experience. Having represented the Netherlands at every youth level from Under-15 upwards, a route to the senior team looked within reach, but the call never came and opted to play for Curaçao, the country of his father. Obispo stands out for his strength in one v ones and his build-up play. “He’s also an excellent header of the ball and has an outstanding left foot,” says his PSV manager, Peter Bosz.

Brenet once set a remarkable record during his time at PSV Eindhoven, going 53 consecutive league matches unbeaten. At the time he even made his Netherlands debut alongside Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay. He won three league titles and two Dutch Super Cups with PSV before moving to Hoffenheim, where he played under Julian Nagelsmann. Brenet fell out of favour after the future Germany coach left and he returned to the Netherlands to rejuvenate his career at Twente, before going abroad again to Qatar (Al-Rayyan), Scotland (Livingston) and Turkey (Kayserispor). The attacking full-back, known for his pace and technical ability, has been part of the Curaçao national football team setup since 2024.