Maarten Paes: “I believe in person first”
This interview with Maarten Paes took place during a defining period in his career. After four and a half years in the United States, he decided to move back to the Netherlands and join Ajax, the club he had supported since childhood. Throughout the conversation the Indonesian goalkeeper emphasised how he is shaped by culture, perspective and the belief that football should never be the only thing that defines you.
Shaped by the World Around Him
For Maarten Paes, football has always been more than performance. After four and a half years in the United States, he returned to the Netherlands with more than experience in goal. He came back with a broader view of the world, shaped by Dallas, by representing Indonesia and by the personal growth that comes from stepping outside the familiar.
”I was very nervous before but when I look back on it, those four and a half years definitely shaped me into a more mature person.”
That maturity defines the way Paes speaks. There is ambition, especially now that he is playing for Ajax, the club he supported as a child. But beneath that ambition is a calm awareness that the person has to come before the player.
Person First
One of the clearest themes in the conversation is identity. Paes speaks openly about the danger of being reduced to football alone. In a world built around results, he chooses to look further. “I believe in person first.”
It is a simple sentence, but it says a lot. For Paes, development is not only about becoming a better goalkeeper. It is also about becoming more open, curious and grounded. His time in Dallas played a major role in that. He embraced the culture around him, from American sports and Texas barbecue to the warmth of Southern hospitality.
Once you integrate into a certain culture, the people will embrace you.
That willingness to integrate says something about how he sees football. A transfer is not only a career move. It is a chance to understand another way of living.
A Deeper Connection
His connection with Indonesia adds another emotional layer to his story. For Paes, representing the national team is not only about international football. It is about family, heritage and belonging. One of the most touching parts of the interview is the way he speaks about his grandmother. Before she passed away, they learned the Indonesian national anthem together. Since then, the anthem has carried a personal meaning every time it plays. “Every time the anthem plays, I’m thinking about her.”
That emotion followed him onto the pitch. Saving a penalty on his debut against Saudi Arabia and later hearing a stadium chant his name after the match against Australia became more than football moments. They became memories tied to identity and the feeling of representing something bigger than himself.
More Than a Goalkeeper
What stands out in the conversation is that Paes does not speak like someone whose world begins and ends with football. Around Covid, he started thinking more deeply about what remains when the game suddenly stops. That period pushed him to explore business and life beyond the pitch. “If we only identify as football players, then our whole world becomes about playing football.”
For Paes, that does not mean football becomes less important. It means the rest of life needs space too. Golf, padel and business ventures all play a role in that wider identity. One of the clearest examples is the development of his own goalkeeper glove, a project built around performance, detail and personal preference. He wanted to create something that felt genuinely his. That decision reflects the way he thinks: quietly ambitious, but always with intention.
Purpose Beyond the Pitch
Paes also speaks with a clear sense of responsibility. Representing Indonesia has given him a huge platform, and he understands that visibility can be used for more than recognition. It can also be used to inspire and give something back.
I would love to leave the world a little bit better than I joined the world.
That may be the line that captures him best. Maarten Paes is ambitious, of course. But this conversation shows a footballer thinking beyond the next match, the next save or the next move. His story is about growth, culture and purpose. He is more than just a goalkeeper. He is part of a new generation of footballers who understand that life beyond the pitch does not have to wait until the career is over.
Check out the full interview with Maarten Paes in the latest Life After Football e-zine.
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If you want to read more interviews with footballers, check out our interview with Kirsten van de Westeringh.
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