NEC (Holland)

Nijmegense Eendracht Combinatie, or NEC as the club are more commonly known are a professional football club from the city of Nijmegen, which is located near to the German border in the east of The Netherlands.

Eendracht were formed on the 15^th November 1900, going on to merge with Nijmegen in 1910 to form NEC. The club were the domain of the working class, whereas the game at the time was quite elitist, with neighbours Quick 1888 amongst others created by industrialists and the middle class.

Eendracht (meaning unity) had been successful despite having little money. The small subscriptions went towards buying a new football from time to time. The Nijmegen club had been formed by those feeling out of place at Quick.

Gradually the club found its feet and purchased some land on Hazenkampseweg to build their own base. Membership grew but the team was denied promotion to the top level of football in the east of the country. To reach the first division, clubs had to win play off matches against other regional winners. NEC missed out in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1934.

Finally in 1936 NEC reached the top level, going on to win the East title in 1939. NEC ended third in the title deciders behind Ajax and DWS. On the resumption of football after World War Two, NEC won consecutive East titles, becoming one of the foremost clubs in the country.

Professional football arrived in Holland in 1954, but NEC was not in the best of states at the time. They only just avoided being left behind in the amateurs at the last minute as the club moved into the Goffertstadion or De Goffert as the locals call it. In the early 60’s the club began to grow as the local authority recognised the importance of the club to the city.

A promotion was won in 1963, before NEC reached Eredivisie for the first time in 1964. The next few years saw the club progress as a young side including Jan Peters and Frans Thijssen pulled in full houses regularly. The team reached the 1973 KNVB Cup Final as strong favourites, but NAC Breda pulled off a shock by winning 2-0 at De Kuip.

The star players were sold on and crowds began to drop. NEC were relegated in 1974 before climbing back. Once more NEC went down in 1983, but still reached the KNVB Cup final once again. Ajax won both games 3-1 to take the beaker 6-2 on aggregate. Yet a loophole in the competition meant that NEC played in the European Cup the following season. FC Barcelona ended their run

By 1994 NEC had been relegated and promoted twice more as they went into the final of another KNVB Cup. On this occasion they went down 2-1 to Feyenoord at De Kuip. In the clubs centenary year they made it four losing finals out of four. This time Roda JC did the damage at De Kuip in Rotterdam breaking the hearts of the 20,000 expectant fans from Nijmegen. At the same time De Goffert rebuild was completed.

The end of the 2003 season saw unparalleled joy come to NEC as the team finished fifth in Eredivisie thanks to a late Jardr Simr goal at Waalwijk meaning that the club qualified for the UEFA for the following season, without help from anyone else with Dutch legend Johan Neeskens as head coach.

In 2008 under Mario Been the team went on a remarkably thirty one game unbeaten run to reach the play offs for European football, where the team succeeded once again to qualify for the Europa League. Dinamo Bucureşti were defeated before NEC qualified to the knock out stages from a group including Tottenham Hotspur, Udinese, Spartak Moskow and Dinamo Zagreb. The run ended in the knock out stages against Hamburger SV.

Following Been’s reign, a succession of managers came and went at De Goffert, before Anton Janssen was appointed in August 2013. 

NEC will play in Eredivisie in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

NEC 3 ADO Den Haag 1 (Sunday 19^th January 2014) Eredivisie (att: 10,550)

My fourth match of the long weekend saw me in the beautiful old city of Nijmegen. After catching the train from Zwolle, dropping off my bag and then visiting the homes of SCH, SV Blauw Wit and Quick 1888 I was tiring. It was somewhat of a relief when I saw the growing crowds heading towards the large Goffertpark.

I had arranged my ticket in advance, through a very helpful member of the club staff via email communication. However, I did still have to collect it from the information point by the main entrance. As I couldn’t even see the stadium through the park and I had no idea of its lay out I was still a trifle apprehensive.

There was no need to worry. My luck was in as the paths led straight to where I needed to be. A few minutes later I had my ticket for a reasonable $23. I couldn’t see anyone selling programmes, but that could wait until later. Kick off was fast approaching and I wanted to get inside.

Once more fortune was on my side. The decent programme was free inside and left by the bins. I wasn’t sure where my seat was so I walked down the steps to the moat where the staircases led upstairs. However, I saw an opportunity to get a real feel for the occasion beforehand as I could walk right up to where the players crossed the moat before going up to the pitch.

To see the video of that, and some action, click on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWpBzA9hfs&list=UUuIHNmGQ2lRbtwwp7tLYDDQ&feature=c4-overview

A steward put me right when he saw my confused look and soon I was in my seat high up in a corner of the stadium, with the notorious Den Haag fans further along behind the goal. I really liked De Goffert. It was relatively small but neat, with a single tier of raised covered seats separated from the pitch by the moat. The only obtrusive fencing was the netting keeping in the away fans and stopping any silly throwing of missiles in either direction. A nice touch was the heaters blowing down hot air from the roof.

The game was a real basement battle with both teams in the bottom three before play with the hosts occupying bottom spot. NEC lined up with Michael Higdon as centre forward. In a remarkable coincidence I’d seen him score a hat trick for Motherwell against St Johnstone on the corresponding weekend the season before. He looked like he’d enjoyed a good Christmas, although he also used his strength to good effect throughout the match.

On eighteen minutes NEC were awarded a penalty. The offence from visiting skipper Danny Holla looked to have been just outside the box. The visiting Robert Zwinkels keeper saved the kick. With just over half an hour on the clock Kevin Conboy put NEC ahead with a fine curling free kick. Two minutes later the scores were level as Den Haag were awarded a penalty of their own. Holla scored to send the away fans wild with delight. Right back Marnick Vermijl had given the spot kick away but he soon made up for it by restoring Nijmegen's lead by scoring off the far post a couple of minutes later. It had been a tremendous first half.

By now I was gradually feeling normal after my heavy night, so I got stuck into the snacks and coffee on offer by using the token system. I felt seriously rough when the bloke next to me had bought a beer in the first half. My sausages and coffee went well on its way to restoring me.

The second half wasn't as action packed, but NEC were full value for their lead. With twenty five minutes left Rene van Eijden made the game safe with an excellent looping header. The majority of the away fans made their way out to sit on the buses in the compound, to much mocking from the NEC fans as their side saw out the game.

I had really enjoyed the game and atmosphere in such a tight stadium, but still wanted more. I had an amateur game in my sights in nearby Wijchen, but first had to find the bus stop, while hoping the players of VV Alverna and LONGA ‘31 would save some entertainment until my arrival! 

Quick 1888 (Holland)

Quick 1888, or Quick Nijmegen as they are otherwise known, are an amateur football club based in the west of the city of Nijmegen in the Gelderland region of The Netherlands. Originally Quick were formed as a cricket club by four boys on the 10^th April 1888, making them the oldest in Holland.

The club started out playing on the Kronenburgersingel in the city centre, before it was decided that it was too small. This necessitated a move to a new ground on St. Annastraat, at which point the club decided to play football in the winter months.

In May 1895 the club committee decided to abandon cricket at the club, while membership began to grow and the team won its first honour by gaining promotion to Eerste Klasse by defeating PW. With membership continuing to increase the cricket section was reintroduced in 1915.

In September 1916 land was purchased on Hazenkampseweg where a ground with a grandstand was laid out, with the mayor of Nijmegen doing the official opening, before Quick drew 2-2 with Sparta Rotterdam in front of a crowd of 4,000. Athletics and hockey were added to the club’s portfolio. In 1927 the cricket club lifted the national knock out trophy.

In 1949 Quick won the KNVB Cup after beating Helmondia 2-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. SVV of Schiedam were the league champions with the two sides meeting for the Super Cup at De Goffert. SVV won the game in the last Super Cup to be held until 1991. Han Engelsman and Felix von Heijden were both capped by the Dutch national team in this period.

Stanley Rose, a soldier from England had attached himself to Quick during the War as a very capable footballer and cricketer. He continued to travel to Nijmegen each week once peace was restored, and was about to play in a championship decider in 1950, but opponents Vitesse complained that Rose should not be allowed to play as he was not Dutch. Their appeal was withheld as they went on to win the game.

The complex at Hazenkamp was required for housing so Quick moved to a new large site at Dennenstraat, where neighbours Blauw Wit once played. In 1965 the club’s supporters donated the ironwork reading ‘Sportpark De Dennen’ for the main entrance. The main pitch and grandstand had to be rebuilt and moved as the new main Graafseweg road was built.

In 1974 Quick won the KNVB Eerste Klasse, which was the highest level of amateur football at the time. Eventually the hockey and athletics sections moved on from the club to develop properly. Meanwhile tennis, badminton and bowls were added for members to enjoy. By 1989 an indoor sports hall was opened at De Dennen.

In the summer of 2012 De Dennen was given a facelift in readiness for the clubs one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary as the main pitch was re-laid with an artificial surface and the grandstand was fitted with new seating while a lacrosse section was added to the club.

Quick 1888 will play in the Tweede Klasse Zontag Oost (Second Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Sunday 19^th January 2014

When researching for my long weekend of football and socialising in The Netherlands I had rapidly pencilled in a visit to Quick while in Nijmegen as soon as I saw their cricketing pedigree and long history.

I was running a bit late for my destination of De Goffert for the lunchtime kick off for the NEC v ADO den Haag game, but I thought I had it still under control as I’d seen a couple of fans heading in the direction of the stadium.

 

It was a lovely winter’s day and the sun put De Dennen Sportpark in excellent light. The driveway past the old gates led me past the indoor hall and then the clubhouse on my left, while four other football pitches, with the artificial cricket strip and tennis courts were to the right. The main pitch was straight ahead.

The artificial surface was surrounded by hard standing. Grass banking gave the ground an enclosed feel at the top end. Sett back down the near touchline was a large bank with occasional bench seating offering patrons a raised view. The crowning glory was the excellent stand on the far side. It was an ideal venue for the standard of football played by the club.

 

I continued on completion of my look around, up to the brow of the hill and over the railway line. It was of great comfort to see large groups of fans heading to the main event of the day. I was heading in the right direction, and I was going to be on time. Even better was that I was beginning to feel human again after a good old walk from the socialising of the previous evening in Zwolle.

SV Blauw Wit (Holland)

SV Blauw Wit is an amateur football club from the Dutch city of Nijmegen who were founded on the 14^th November 1914 by Mr J Melssen. The team had a strong religious background and were initially led by Father Welter, starting out life playing on land belonging to a farmer; Hent Albers.

Before long the team moved to a meadow in Rush to the south of the city. From there Blauw Wit were on the move once more, this time north to a ground at Dennenstraat. By 1927 the club known at the time as rksv Blauw Wit reached the highest class of Catholic football.

Following a merger of the football authorities following World War Two, the club were placed in the highest grade of Nijmegen football. Within a year they were promoted to the fourth tier of KNVB football. In 1954 Blauw Wit had to give up their ground to the housing association, moving to a pitch in De Goffert, where NEC Amateurs would later play.

The move didn’t work out too well as the team were relegated back to local football. To make the club more accessible to non Catholics rksv was replaced by SV; Sportvereniging Blauw Wit, to give them their full title. Another move followed for the 1963-64 campaign as the club moved to Sportpark De Schoonhorst, where the members built the first clubhouse to cater for the several pitches on site.

Membership grew in the club leading a larger clubhouse being built in 1974, with the team winning promotion to the third Derde Klasse. Two years later the team were promoted once again, but their spell only lasted two seasons. Consecutive relegations took the club back down to the Vierde Klasse.

Apart from the a spell in the late 80’s Blauw Wit remained in the fourth Vierde Klasse before winning promotion, while serving the communities of local neighbourhoods of Voorhees and Neerbosch through over forty teams playing out of the club.

SV Blauw Wit will play in the Derde Klasse Zontag Oost (Third Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Sunday 19^th January 2014

My visit to The Netherlands was going well, and I’d got ahead of my schedule in Nijmegen. I’d even found SCH, a club I hadn’t even heard of before the bus past when seeking out Blauw Wit.

From SCH I took a twenty minute walk finding myself on Energieweg, a little behind schedule as I was heading to the 12.30 kick off at De Goffert between NEC and ADO Den Haag. The sun was shining brightly as I arrived, which didn’t really help my photography.

De Schoonhorst had four pitches with main one having an artificial pitch, with a match going on. Two sides of it had hedges as fences. The pitch had hard standing all the way around, without any cover or stands. The near side was by the expansive car park and clubhouse and was protected by high fencing.

Having taken my photos I headed off down Dennenstraat, past where Blauw Wit once played to my next location, Quick 1888.

SCH (Holland)

SCH, or Sport Club Voorhees to give them their full moniker are an amateur football club from the city of Nijmegen in the Gelderland region of The Netherlands. The club were formed on the 23^rdJanuary 1921 as Nijmegen Voorhees Combination (NHC) in the village of Voorhees.

The club changed their title in December 1926 to SCH, beginning the season at their new ground Sportpark De Biezen on Rivierstraat in the north west of the city. In the 1930’s the club spent time in the second tier of amateur football before being promoted in 1934-35 following play off victories over Hengelo and Vitesse.

Following World War Two new housing was built in the nearby Waterkwartier district allowing the club membership to grow. However, ‘De Blauwe Jungskes’ gradually went down the divisions over the years.

Eventually a promotion was won from the Nijmegen regional league to the Derde Klasse (third class, and fifth tier of amateur football) in 1990-91 through the play offs. 1996-97 saw the Derde Klasse title delivered to SCH and they went one better by claiming the Tweede Klasse (second class) title in 1997-98, regaining their place in the first class for the first time in sixty three years.

However the joy was not to last for SCH as they suffered double relegation's in consecutive seasons. Worse was to follow as they went down all the way to the Vijfde fifth class. Promotion came at the first attempt but the end of the 2008-09 ended in another demotion back to Vijfrde Klasse following a 2-2 play off draw against Eendracht Arnhem.

Several mergers for SCH were mooted over the years without fruition, before Wim Wouters team won promotion back to the fourth Vierde Klasse in 2010-11 and then went up another level.

SCH will play in Derde Klasse Zontag Oost (Third Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Sunday 19^th January 2014

While I think my pre planning is pretty good before I head off to ventures new, it is natural that at times that a visit to a club can be a disappointment. On the other hand, a club can appear without previous knowledge, as with how I came across SCH.

I was Nijmegen primarily to go to the NEC game that lunchtime against ADO Den Haag, but after dropping off my bag at the De Prince B&B I decided to do some exploring on the way to help bring me around from the hangover I’d incurred the previous evening while socialising in Zwolle. The Joris Ivensplein bus stop at the bottom of the street displayed that the no.85 would take me near to my intended target; the home of SV Blauw Wit.

I was trying to concentrate on where we were when a decent looking venue caught my attention. I rang the bell hoping that the bus would stop soon, but it continued along Industrieweg, before stopping around half a mile further up at Sluis Weurt. Not to be deterred I headed back, using cycle tracks and then crossing a new road that didn’t even exist on my map app, just to confuse matters.

Eventually I found myself on Rivierstraat and at the entrance, where I first discovered SCH. A Sunday morning match was taking place on the second pitch at the other side of the car park. I went to have a look at the main arena.

De Biezen had a substantial cover down the far side, with the rest of the neat venue having hard standing around the pitch with grass beyond.

I was leaving when my presence had been noticed by a club official. I explained that I was from England visiting stadiums and then heading to the NEC match. He seemed delighted with this. I ventured on taking a look at the match going on I was walked. It reminded me of Sunday mornings on Olivers Mount Scarborough!

PEC Zwolle (Holland)

Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, or more commonly PEC Zwolle is a professional football club from the historic city of Zwolle in The Netherlands. The city located seventy five miles north east from Amsterdam is one of the oldest in the country.

PEC’s history takes a complicated and interesting history since the clubs Prins Hendrik, formed in 1906, and Ende Desespereert Nimmer (1904) merged on the 12th June 1910 to form the club.

PEC became the club of the middle class community and became rivals to ZAC who represented the high society since their formation in 1893. Zwolsche Boys arrived on the scene in 1918 to give the working class a club to support. All three clubs played on grounds a small walking distance apart and played each other regularly.

PEC reached the KNVB Cup Final in 1928, but were defeated 2-0 by Racing Club Heemstede.  In 1934 the club moved into the Oosterenk Stadium, which was also used by Zwolsche Boys. PEC left the amateur ranks on the 23rd February 1955 to turn professional and become the city’s leading club.

PEC and Zwolsche Boys merged in 1969, keeping the PEC name before adding Zwolle to the title two years later to promote their city as a club in the second tier Eerste Divisie. The club reached another KNVB Cup final in 1977, but lost 3-0 after extra time to FC Twente at De Goffert in Nijmegen. The disappointment was soon forgotten the following year, as Zwolle won the league title and were promoted to Eredivisie for the first time.

The club consolidated their position as new signings came in under the chairmanship of Jan Willem van der Wal. He was also in a high position at Slavenburgs Bank. It transpired that the club had built up a massive debt chasing their ambitions and came close to bankruptcy.

In 1982 businessman developer Marten Eibrink took over and stabilised the finances, as well as changing the name to PEC Zwolle ’82. He had the stadium renovated and brought in legendary players Johnny Rep and Piet Schrijvens to the club. The revival lasted until 1985 when PEC were relegated.

Co Adriaanse took the team back up at the first attempt but by 1988 Eibrink had left the club citing a lack of interest from sponsors and the local authorities has his reason. At the end of the 1988/89 season Zwolle were relegated once more with sponsors pulling out, players being left unpaid and the true extent of the Slavenburgs Bank debt coming to light. The club were declared bankrupt in 1990.

The club started again as FC Zwolle, changing from the city’s green and white colours to blue and white and to sever all ties with the previous regime and creating a new club crest. A young side including Jaap Stam and Bert Konterman gave the club a new impetus, which eventually led to promotion in 2002. However, they were relegated after just one season.

The 2004-05 season saw Zwolle miss out on promotion in the play off group, which was repeated the season afterwards. In 2007 the old Oosterenkstadion was demolished to be replaced a new compact stadium.

Another narrow failure to win promotion came in 2010-11, but Zwolle made no mistake the season after by winning the Eerste Division title and promotion back to the Eredivisie. In the summer of 2012 the club announced that they had changed their name back to PEC Zwolle.

PEC Zwolle will play in the Eredivisie in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

PEC Zwolle 1 Vitesse 2 (Saturday 18^th January 2014) Eredivisie (att: 12,350)

My planning for this Saturday evening encounter had begun a few weeks earlier when it looked a good travel link to the rest of my journey, so I applied for a clubcard. These are needed by supporters at each club to purchase tickets, so that the authorities have a clear check to see who is in the stadiums, which has cut down on a lot of the hooliganism that blighted matches for a couple of decades.

My PEC card had come back, but I still couldn’t order my tickets online as I needed a Dutch bankcard. A phone call to the helpful staff soon sorted me out, so I could collect them at the game. I needed two as I was to meet up with my old pal Guy Watson who was going to see FC Utrecht the following afternoon.

I met him in the plush bar of the Sandton Pillows Hotel across the road from Zwolle station after I returned from my afternoon amateur game at nearby WHC Wezep. Guy had done his homework well. We were soon crossing the canal that circled the old city centre and entering Sally O’Briens Irish Bar for some Grolsch and to watch the live coverage of Arsenal v Fulham.

Once we’d seen the other scores come in we decided to take the easy option and head to the IJsseldelta Stadion in good time. We got on board the no.3 service from Rodetorenplein near to where an ice disco was being set up after a rapid slurp in Cafe Bosch. On the bus we got talking to a Swiss groundhopper who was due to go to Oxford City and Cambridge City the following week as well as Warrenpoint Town in Northern Ireland to revisit an abandoned game, which was well beyond my dedication.

Unbelievably I looked in my wallet and realised I’d left my clubcard back in London! The lady at the counter said it was no problem and that they were expecting me. Our seats cost $17.50, with a decent programme just one more Euro.

All sorted it was time to find the fans bar, which it appears is a regular feature at Dutch grounds. It cost non card carriers $2 much to Guy’s laughter. Inside old games were shown on the TVs. Refreshments were obtained by a token system, necessitating us to put notes into a machine which then dispensed a plastic currency known countrywide as munts. Each club had their own special plastic coins.

A fan started talking to us, and seemed most impressed that I’d been to watch Wezep that afternoon, which was a general appreciation I got as the night continued. He returned with two beers for us as a mark of hospitality. Naturally we returned the favour before our new pal headed off to meet his teetotal father in law. After a couple more drinks it was time to make our way round to our seats at the far end.

The IJsseldelta Stadion was compact and enclosed all the way round, with a roof offering all protection. It was all seated with al four sides raised. A few seats covered the paddocks down to the pitch down the sides. The away fans from Arnhem were further along from us. The configuration of the arena made for an excellent atmosphere. The PEC Ultras at the far end were making a real racket.

Vitesse took the lead on the excellent artificial surface after just three minutes, when Christian Atsu went past three defenders without challenge and shot into the top corner. We thought that could signal a one sided game, with the visitors needing a win to go to the top of the league.

Zwolle responded as Guyon Fernandez finished neatly after ten minutes following neat build up play from Jesper Drost.. Vitesse had a penalty saved shortly after by PEC keeper Diederik Boer. Guy returned with a couple of beers that we were allowed to drink in our seats, but with the bad news that the punts from the bar outside were invalid and we needed new ones in the stadium.

The game was nip and tuck until the interval. My need for food was an expensive experience compared to drinks, but I was well aware of the perils of drinking on an empty head! While the tokens save queues at counters, they were also very convenient for the clubs as they could round up prices. We were left one munt short of drink, but the staff would not bend. Guy said he saw one tourist fan looking to put a $50 into the machine. He was either returning to another game, very generous or in a hell of a mess at full time.

Zwolle had more of the play after the break and looked like they could snatch it. However, after missing a good opportunity late on, the visiting full back Patrick van Aanholt won the game in the last minute when his run took the ball in his stride before firing home under Boer.

We had both been cheering for Zwolle and had taken a liking to the way they played. Well that and the beer assisting us maybe? We headed round to the far end and quickly found the bus stop back into town. There were no extra services laid on, so it could have been a bit of a fight to get on, if not for it being a mismatch in the weight department on our favour. The bus back was packed, with the local youths rocking it from side to side and generally acting up until it drove off, before depositing us at the station.

We crossed a bridge back into the old town and found a brown cafe for an hour or so. At half time at the game a home fan had rolled giant dice on the pitch to draw the raffle much to our amusement.  Niek was now in the pub and we chatted football and drank with him and his mates. Guy went off to his hotel by train while I stayed for a nightcap before Niek gave me his Zwolle scarf.

I eventually got back to the hotel for midnight after failing to find my bus stop and having to pay for another taxi, but I still seemed pretty happy with life!