Mark Flekken interview: How I rediscovered my true self

After Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last August, goalkeeper Mark Flekken returned to the home dressing room at Gtech Community Stadium and sat in silence.

Flekken had made the switch from Bundesliga club Freiburg earlier that summer and was struggling to adjust to life in west London - on and off the pitch. For the 31-year-old, it felt as though the walls were closing in.

Kevin Schade put Brentford in front inside the opening 20 minutes against Palace that day, and the Bees had fought hard to keep their lead intact.

None more so than Flekken, who in a frantic few seconds midway through the second half had spectacularly clawed Jefferson Lerma’s bullet header off the line before leaping to his feet and racing to his near post to bravely block Jordan Ayew’s close-range drive with his chest.

But the Eagles’ equaliser, scored moments later by Joachim Andersen after a mix-up between Flekken and Nathan Collins, was avoidable. And the keeper knew it.

“I remember walking off the pitch thinking, ‘What the f*** just happened?’ That should have been my game,” he recalls with a wince.

“The manager [Thomas Frank] said after the game, ‘Normally I should be sitting here just talking about the goalkeeper, because you made some ridiculous saves.’

“I had that feeling coming off the pitch, knowing it shouldn’t have happened and that during the two years before in the Bundesliga I would have never made that mistake.

“That basic thing of closing your legs because from that tight angle, there was nowhere for him to go. Those small things added up. I wasn’t my complete self on the pitch.

“There was a feeling of disappointment and anger for making such a mistake. It felt like a f****** rookie mistake. It can happen, but at such a level these mistakes are not allowed to happen.”

It was a game that encapsulated the first six months of Flekken’s Brentford career.

He had been a central figure for Freiburg: no goalkeeper kept more clean sheets than the Netherlands international across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons combined (23) and he was one of only six players to play every minute in the German top flight during his final campaign.

So, having arrived as one of Europe’s outstanding goalkeepers, why did the transition to the Premier League prove to be so challenging?

“It took me longer than I initially hoped for,” Flekken admits, “I will never lie about this.

“I’ve got two little kids, so I had thoughts and worries about them being happy. We needed to find them a new school and a place to live.

“On the pitch, the Premier League is quicker; it has a higher level. It’s a different kind of football.

“When playing out from the back in the Premier League, if you make a mistake you’ll be punished by 16 or 17 teams; in the Bundesliga you’ll be punished by six or seven.

“On the opening day against Tottenham, I remember a free-kick from [James] Maddison so well. The quality he put behind that ball, I hadn’t seen it before.

“Throwing all of that into the mix, along with getting into the team as a new guy – new country, new team, new coaching staff – all of these little parts together made one big challenge.”

Manu Sotelo, Brentford’s first-team goalkeeper coach, also highlights the pace and intensity of English football as something that Flekken needed to adjust to: “I spent the whole pre-season with him saying, ‘Mark, the Premier League is quick!’ Quick set, ready to save everything. You need to be as sharp as possible.

“I remember after the first half against Tottenham, at half-time, I asked him what he thought, and he said, ‘Wow, this is quick!’

“Everyone needs time to learn and adapt: a different league, a different country and different training methodology.

“The quality and skill of the players means there is less time to react and less time to think. There is less time to be set to make a save.

“Quicker shots, quicker runs, quicker and better balls in behind means that the keeper must be more aware of everything.”

Undeterred by a difficult start to the campaign, Flekken and Sotelo developed a close bond and remained faithful to their processes at Robert Rowan Performance Centre.

“We call it here, with our goalkeepers, a crazy, positive environment,” says Sotelo.

“Our human connection is really good. We have meetings two or three times a week to speak about the previous game, to discuss our processes and the next steps.

“I change all the time, the way I provide information for the goalkeepers: sometimes over WhatsApp; sometimes we’ll be having breakfast, and I’ll open the computer.

“Sometimes it’s a meeting with all of the keepers; sometimes it’s individual.

“Just before training, in the boot room, we might watch different clips for two minutes - Mark’s clips or clips of the opposition.”

Sotelo continues: “The coaching staff, and the people above us, would ask me, ‘How is Mark?’

“In training, for two or three months, I did many videos about reinforcement. Maybe 30 clips of reinforcement every training, and the others maybe 10 or 12. It was clear that he was training really, really, really good.

“So, I told them: ‘The Mark that we expect is coming soon…’”

Flekken adds: “The relationship with Manu is positive; we can criticise each other without being angry at each other and we understand the game at the same level. I know what he wants from me, and he knows what he can expect from me

“I need a little bit of context around the things I need to do. Once that context makes sense, then I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s try it.’ If I can understand things, it’s easier for me to do it. He’s always very clear, even with his Spanish accent!

“Manu helped me get up to speed in training way quicker than what I showed on the pitch.

“I was talking with him in November and December. I didn’t understand how everything in training could work out, but I couldn’t make the transition into games.

“Some goals that I conceded in matches, in training I would have easily saved. But somehow, I didn’t save them in a match. So, what makes that difference? What is stopping me from making that transition from training into a game?”

Searching for the final piece of the puzzle, it was during this period that Flekken’s agent, having recognised that the goalkeeper needed some additional help, introduced him to Joost Leenders.

Leenders is Ajax’s mental coach and has provided other Dutch internationals with advice on a one-to-one basis, including Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst.

“I had a few meetings with him and that helped me become my true self on the pitch,” Flekken reveals.

“I’d never used a mental coach like that. I believe I have a very strong mindset - I have lived through a lot of ups and downs in my career to know what is important for me - but during those first six months I just hit a roof.

“‘I’m mentally strong,’ I would tell myself. ‘I can get through this. Keep going, keep going, keep going.’ He broke that wall down and helped me get on top of my mental struggles.”

Flekken continues: “In Freiburg I had developed myself to be a leader on the pitch. I’m not a very big speaker, but I am a believer of leading by example and earning respect.

“I had gone in there as a second goalkeeper, and I had to earn my place and earn the respect of my team-mates. That naturally developed over the years and people listened to me.

“Going from that situation into a new team with other dynamics was a big change for me, so we talked with each other [Flekken and Leenders] and he made a scan of my personality.

“He came with tips to look for conversations with the other players: ‘What do you need from me? What can I expect from you?’

“It was not easy at the start. How are you going to start those conversations after four months of not being able to show that 100 per cent true performance? But at some point, I just decided to do it.

“Those tiny little bits - and he had a few more of those things - helped me get back to the leader I know I can be. Those little things helped me get on top of everything.

“That led to the point when we played away against Tottenham, which was the first time I walked off the pitch after a game and said to Manu: ‘Hey, this is me. I am my true self.’”

Flekken’s impressive performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, despite the game ending in a 3-2 defeat for the Bees, proved to be a launch pad for the second half of the season.

Less than a week later, Flekken made 12 saves in a 3-1 loss to champions Manchester City - the joint-most in a Premier League match since December 2017 (David de Gea, 14 saves v Arsenal).

Nine of those stops came before half-time, with arguably the best reserved for striker Erling Haaland: the Norwegian's attempt to slot the ball into the bottom corner thwarted by the keeper’s outstretched legs. ‘One Mark Flekken,’ belted the Bees fans in appreciation.

“I’m really thankful for them doing that, because that also carried me for the rest of the season,” he says.

“I thought, ‘Yes, they’ve got my back here and they know what I can do.’

“Getting that feeling from the fans - even after conceding three and losing 3-1 - made the world of difference.”

Ranking second in the Premier League for accurate long balls during the 2023/24 campaign (321), Flekken's distribution is an undoubted strength.

In addition to his mammoth defensive display against City, he also set up Neal Maupay's goal – Ivan Toney pinning Nathan Aké to enable his strike partner to race on to a perfectly weighted ping. It was the first of only two assists by a goalkeeper in the Premier League last season (José Sá with the other). “That was the little bonus on top,” Flekken smiles.

With half-time approaching during Brentford’s next game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a cross from Pablo Sarabia fell to Pedro Neto, who met it with his forehead at the back post.

The ball looked destined for the bottom corner, but Flekken pushed it off his line and on to the post, before it was hooked away and the danger was cleared.

The Bees, 1-0 up at this point courtesy of Christian Nørgaard, went on to win the game 2-0.

“This is what you train for,” says Flekken, reflecting on a moment of “muscle memory” that earned him February’s Premier League Save of the Month award.

“It’s about moving quickly enough to get set and being ready for the header to come.

“Everything was just perfect in that moment: I was ready at the right time, I could get low and my hand was strong enough to push the ball off the post and out.

“It was a huge contribution to us keeping a clean sheet in a very important game, where we needed three points.”

Flekken played a further 15 games - keeping clean sheets against Brighton, Sheffield United and Fulham - as the Bees ended the campaign in 16th.

He has started the 2024/25 campaign in fine form, helping the west Londoners earn seven points from their opening six Premier League matches.

Only two keepers in Europe’s top five leagues have made more saves than Flekken (31) this term, with the Dutchman stopping 74 per cent of the shots he has faced.

With Flekken having turned the corner, both player and coach are now focused on the road ahead.

“We are going to see Mark with one more step this season,” insists Sotelo.

“More claiming of crosses, quick decisions, and that will provide him more chances to create transitions.

“He will become a really good leader in this team.”

Flekken, after a long pause for thought, concludes: “I want to put in the same performances that I did during the second half of last season, but over the full year.

“I’m not the person that seeks out to be decisive in a game; if the boys keep everything away from me, that’s better.

“But I want to save those one, two, three shots or headers on target where the team needs me.

“That is my goal, to be that person they can rely on: ‘F***, I can’t block that one, but I know there is someone behind me that can save it.’ That is the thing I’m gunning for.”