It’s the beauty of sport, especially the English Premier League. Money is important, but it’s not everything. Feyenoord finished fifth in 2021 and had to enter the play-offs, an embarrassment for a top club. It was below zero, the top scorer and leader had moved on to arch-rivals, and there was no peak to spend. With unprecedented speed, the team, led by coach Arne Slott, who took over that summer, once again beat richer rivals Ajax and PSV.
Unprecedented speed was how the team with many final stage Separatists completed the tournament task. Within twenty minutes it was already 2-0 against Go Ahead Eagles. This allowed the party to become even more brutal at De Kuip than it already was. In fact, it was more than a party, because the title had been presented for two months.
About the author
Bart Fleistra has been writing about football since 2015 De Volkskrant. He also worked on various sports programs on television.
The 3-2 win at Ajax, the first at the Johan Cruyff Arena since 2005, on March 19 already gave most fans a feeling: This is going to be our season. A decisive win, not only mentally, but also because the outgoing champion had six points, a lead that rose to eight points a week later and was then convincingly held.
Lots of confidence
For weeks it sounded “Arnie, Arnie we’re going to be champ,” there was a lot of confidence among the fans, even though they haven’t messed up much in recent decades. However, Slot held on until the very last minute against the Go Ahead Eagles, already 3-0 on the scoreboard, launching his team as they have for two years without any slack.
Feyenoord flags were already flying all over Reinemond on Sunday morning, and fans drove back and forth over the Van Brienoord Bridge not to miss a thing from the bonfires emerging and singing here and there. Others climbed into the water taxis that slid over de Mas. “Feyenoord, what shall we do today” – the song of the season, despite being thirty years old – sounded everywhere in the streets. This is also the case at Me Oma Café in Sportsingel, a stone’s throw from the stadium. Feyenoorders from the region, but also from Cadzand in Zeeland and Best in Brabant, gather here to drink and sing. Many of the shirts said “Feyenoord champions 2022-2023”.
Fireworks, public drunkenness and public urination were answered by the assistant driver of a passing riot police vehicle with his thumb. In the Hillesluis neighborhood around the corner from De Kuip, Thai restaurant Feyenoord has done a good job of selling cold beer to the multi-colored people who have prepared for the stadium. Defender Lutsharel Geertruida grew up on the street behind the establishment. “Everyone wishes him this success,” said Danilo Barbosa, a local resident who helped with the sale. “He still comes here a lot, and tries to keep the guys on the straight and narrow.”
Farkenord success
Gertruida is the 22-year-old man who scored the winning goal against Ajax, coached by Feyenoord himself, just like Orkon Kokcu, Quilindchi Hartmann and Justin Bello. This title is also the success of Varkenord (training and youth complex, Mr. Dr.), Arne Sloat said earlier.
In addition, the scouts are to be commended. Last summer Feyenoord’s half was bought, new players came from all over the world, and Dutch players often had a scratch elsewhere. Serious investments can hardly be made.
But they were installed with lightning speed and, not by chance, were on a three-stroke basis. The failed mercenary in Seville, Al-Idrisi, scored 1-0 after a combination with a player chosen for eight hundred euros from Excelsior, Weaver. The 2-0 goal came from Mexico’s Jimenez on instructions from Brazilian Baixao. They were also new and spoke little or no English when they came in last summer. Baixao kicked the 3-0 up beautifully in the second half.
However, Feyenoord has quickly become a well-equipped machine, with coach Sloat also succeeding last season. The hole is the partying man, if he let everything fall apart, is the fear. But there are more parents to success.
An hour before kick-off, Supervising Directors Ton van Bodegom and Chjak Troost told Business Unit 30 about the appointment of Head Coach Frank Arnesen and General Manager Dennis T. Kloese, improving scouting and investing in young players from South and Central America.
Van Bodegom: “Everything has been improved and modernized in every area.”
There is no new construction
Only a new stadium did not take off. The board decided that Feyenoord would remain in De Kuip for the time being. New construction is very expensive. De Kuip generates relatively little money, but the atmosphere is still unparalleled in the Netherlands. Shortly before kick-off, a 550-meter-long banner rolled over more than 51,000 heads. It smelled like fireworks underneath. Lee Towers, though not very mobile anymore, had it before My Feyenoord And you’ll never walk alone Heard, echoed out loud.
In this lively atmosphere Feyenoord’s relatively inexperienced players, most of whom had never won a prize, continued to play the ball calmly and wait patiently for a spot to open up. To the end, there was also an inherent discipline subtly to increase the pressure in sets when losing the ball. In fact, the game was a blueprint for the entire season, including many cheers. With red and white scarves over the head.
