Inter Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman happy after recent success and whirlwind wedding
Of the many impressive things Inter Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman has done during the team’s recent run of success, perhaps the most remarkable is that he managed to plan his wedding in five days and slip away to Mexico to get married on Aug. 23, in between the games against Toronto and Orlando City.
Marsman, who joined Inter Miami from the Dutch league in July, married his longtime girlfriend, Nathalie Den Dekker, a criminal attorney, model and Miss Netherlands 2012. They have a 2-year-old daughter, and their wedding plans were pushed back due to the pandemic and Marsman’s move from Feyenoord to Miami.
Dekker has been unable to enter the United States because COVID has delayed the visa process, so she and Marsman met in Mexico and got married there. Their daughter and Dekker’s mother and brother attended.
Marsman found a nice resort in Playa Akumal in Tulum and made all the arrangements in five days. The team had two days off after the Toronto game, so Marsman made a whirlwind trip.
“It was quite stressful, all the planning,” Marsman said after practice Thursday. “Everyone I called in Mexico was like, ‘Yeah, OK, we can do it.’ And then I’d say it has to happen in five days and they’d say, ‘Five days? No. Not possible.’ Then, when we got there, there had been a hurricane, so there were trees down all over the place. But it all turned out amazing.”
After the wedding Marsman returned to South Florida and his wife and daughter flew back to the Netherlands, where they await their visas. He is hopeful they can join him in the next few months.
Marsman, 30, had a rocky introduction to MLS. His first game, on the road against the New York Red Bulls, was postponed due to foul weather. His second game was a 5-0 loss at home to the New England Revolution.
But since then, the team is unbeaten in seven of the past eight games. Heading into Saturday’s game at FC Cincinnati Inter Miami is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four spots shy of the playoff line with 14 games remaining and two games in hand.
Marsman’s leadership and footwork have been a factor, and he made two big saves in a 0-0 tie against Orlando City last week.
“We’ve praised him a lot for the calmness and composure he gives the team with his feet but what he showed in the last game is one of his strongest qualities, his goalkeeping ability to save shots and save penalties,” coach Phil Neville said. “He made some incredible saves. I think it was really important for him to show that side of his game.
“He’s the leader in that back five unit. He talks, he coaches, he manages. I spoke to him half an hour [Wednesday] about how we want to build out from the back. It’s really impressive when you’re a coach and you have a player on the field who can be an extension of you.”
Marsman is an only child. His father, Gerard, played center back professionally in the early 1980s and went on to become a manager and technical director in the Dutch leagues from the late 1980s until 2007. Nick grew up attending his father’s games and fell in love with the sport.
After a successful career in Holland, Marsman became intrigued by MLS watching it on TV.
“Holland is safe, predictable, all I knew, so I just wanted to experience different cultures, different way of playing, and I found it here,” he said.
It has not been easy adjusting to life in America, from the South Florida drivers to the complicated process of buying a house. He checked out 15 houses with his realtor before he was finally able to get one. In the Netherlands, a buyer can get a house with a few clicks online.
“It’s completely different here, on and off the pitch,” he said. “My first three days here, I was driving on the right lane with my two hands gripping the wheel. Probably there are rules here, but people are not following them. If you leave a little gap between the car in front, somebody will slip in.”
He likes playing golf, has a 15 handicap, but has not had time to play and still has not furnished his house. But he is feeling more at home.
“I have a place to live, my family is more stable, I feel appreciated by the club, so things are getting better,” he said.
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 7:30 PM.