“Probably the proudest moment of my career” – exclusive interview with former Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday defender Glenn Loovens

A player who is no stranger to English football, Dutch defender Glenn Loovens made almost 300 appearances for Cardiff, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland respectively, also having a successful stint North of the border with Celtic.

I recently caught up with Glenn, who spoke openly about his career which spanned nearly two decades.

I started our interview by going back to 2005 when Loovens made his first move to the UK, signing for Cardiff City. I asked him how the move to South Wales came about.

“It came at a point in my career in which i wanted and needed to play week in week out to progress, I thought that England would suit me the most as i like to defend aggressively.

“Cardiff showed interest and I decided to go and make the move, I ended up playing there for 3 years.”

Loovens had a successful stint in South Wales and made a century of League appearances for the Bluebirds, I asked him how he reflects on his time with Cardiff.

“It was a good choice to develop myself in England, I played over 40 games a year and gained 4/5 kilos. I became a men in England.

We also progressed as a team aswell with the FA cup final a special moment in my career. This Resulted in a new club in my career.”

After a successful period with Cardiff, which included the famous FA Cup run, Loovens made the next step of his career by heading to Scotland, joining Celtic. With the intense pressure of the expecting crowd, and the demands to win the League, I asked Loovens what it was like to play for a club of the Bhoys stature.

“Celtic is a special club, I had 4 really intense years there, as they have fans all over the world.
At the club you are expected to win week in week out so that brings a different kind of pressure with it.

“But it was a great experience and because of this i made my debut for the (Netherlands) National team which I will never forget.”

I followed up this by quizzing Glenn on his best moment at Celtic Park.

“I think my first cup final against Rangers, as it was my first time playing against them in a final.
The fact we won 2-0 helped of course!”

Loovens departed Celtic in 2012 heading to the then La Liga outfit Real Zaragoza, however, returned to the UK and English football just a year later signing for Sheffield Wednesday. I asked him about the decision to leave Spain, as he explained his lack of suitability towards the Spanish game.

“I wanted to try something different and decided to go to Spain. It was a good experience in the beginning but I found out that playing there didn’t really suit my style of play as I got a few red cards that season.

“So I decided to return to England.”

The decision to return to English football proved to be a smart one as Loovens had an enjoyable spell in South Yorkshire, I took the opportunity to ask him how he reflects on his time at Hillsborough.

“I really liked my time at Sheffield.

“I saw the club progressing from a relegation fighting team into a promotion pushing team, which was a nice experience. I also made a lot of friends in Sheffield so it is a place I always like to return.”

His impressive performances with Celtic earned Loovens the opportunity to represent the Netherlands twice internationally in 2009 and 2010 respectively. I asked Glenn what it was like to represent his country at international level.

“Playing for my country and measuring myself with the best players in the world is probably the proudest moment of my career.

“I was a bit unlucky with injuries so I could have made a couple more as well, but that’s Football.”

Since leaving Sunderland in 2019 Loovens has retired from Football, I asked the Dutchman what he’s been doing over the last couple of years.

“I started on my coaching badges but decided that it wasn’t for me.

“I have now done some scouting courses with the PFSA which I enjoyed a lot and I’m now looking into the world of agency a bit to really see where my interest lies, as i have still a lot of year in front of me.

“So time will tell, but one thing is for sure I will be involved in football.”

I would like to thank Loovens for taking the time to talk to me and, on behalf of Prost International, wish him all the best for his future endeavours.