Roberts Uldrikis has made a notable summer transfer from Arminia Bielefeld to sc Heerenveen. The 28-year-old Latvian striker, who previously played for rivals SC Cambuur, signed a contract with the Frisian club and understands the reactions to his spicy move. Heerenveen currently sits 11th in the Eredivisie with 5 points from 4 games and a goal difference of -1.
Roberts Uldrikis says the move happened very quickly. "Het ging allemaal heel snel. Woensdag werd ik nog wakker in Duitsland." the forward said. He put pen to paper shortly after. The club already had Dylan Vente and Lanroy Machine as strikers, but coach Veldman wanted a specific type of attacker to add a new dimension. Standing at 1.96 meters, Uldrikis fits that role perfectly.
Coach Veldman is clear about what the new signing will bring. "Met de komst van Roberts kunnen we wat anders toevoegen aan ons spel." stated the manager. Veldman knows about sensitive transfers himself, having once moved from Anderlecht to Club Brugge. Uldrikis's arrival gives Heerenveen an extra tactical option, which could prove useful in the upcoming matches. The full Heerenveen squad is now even more varied.
The first meeting between Uldrikis's old and new club is already scheduled. The Frisian derby between sc Heerenveen and SC Cambuur is set for the weekend of December 5th and 6th. Uldrikis knows that fixture well; in the 2021/2022 season he scored seven goals for Cambuur, two of which came in the derby against Heerenveen. He also has experience scoring in a derby during his time at Arminia Bielefeld. This history will make the upcoming clash particularly intriguing.
Heerenveen has started the season with mixed form: DLDW. The team has scored 5 goals and conceded 6. They are eight points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven. The immediate aim is to pick up points in the run-up to the derby. This starts with the next fixture, a home game against Telstar on September 13th. Telstar currently sits 14th. Fans can follow all upcoming matches via the fixtures page. The current standings show that every point is key in the mid-table battle.
First, there is another important test. This Sunday, Heerenveen hosts AZ at the Abe Lenstra stadium. That match kicks off at 14:30 and will be broadcast live on Omrop Fryslân radio, with commentary from Arjen de Boer. The broadcaster will also run a liveblog on its website and app. Heerenveen will hope its refreshed attack, including the new target man, can deliver a positive result against AZ before attention turns to Telstar.
