Feyenoord in Europa

[BlauwVinger]

Part Two


Meanwhile, the Dutch 2000/01 champions PSV from Eindhoven, having retained their title, enjoyed the same route as Feyenoord had. De Boeren had been facing opposition from FC Nantes, Galatasaray and S.S. Lazio from Rome and dropped down to the third round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup after finishing 3rd in group D of the Champions League's first group stage. PSV started their UEFA Cup route with a 6-4 aggregate against Greek site PAOK Thessaloniki. Consequently PSV marched on to the 4th round to meet Leeds United.


In Eindhoven, the ‘Peacocks’ managed to hold PSV to a goalless stalemate in a solid display. The return at Elland Road saw Leeds United crashing out via a last-gasp effort from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Leeds had squandered a plethora of chances, and were made to pay when PSV sealed the match in the dying seconds. PSV were now preparing for a quarter-finals showdown with their fellow countrymen from Rotterdam.


In the first leg at the Philips Stadion, Feyenoord managed to create an advantage after the all-Dutch quarter-finals affair produced a 1-1 draw. The ‘Rotterdammers’ edged past the home side in first-half injury time. With the break beckoning, killer Pierre van Hooijdonk put Feyenoord on the scoresheet in a hard-fought and physical tie. PSV immediately struck back in the second half when Mateja Kezman capitalized on Mark van Bommel’s through-pass.

In the return leg, none other than van Hooijdonk pulled the trigger to leave PSV reeling and keep Feyenoord’s dreams alive to reach the 2001/02 UEFA Cup final in their own backyard. Initially, the away team from Eindhoven had taken the lead in the 75th minute through a superb Mark van Bommel effort. Three minutes into time added on, Pierre van Hooijdonk towered above the PSV defence defying gravity. His body, arched backwards, appeared frozen solid for two seconds before finding the net with a diagonal header.

There were no goals in extra time and the penalty shoot-out was equally tight: George Gakhokidze saw his attempt saved with PSV's third penalty, and the indomitable Pierre van Hooijdonk took the decisive 5th penalty, and his team to the next round.

To be continued.

 

[BlauwVinger]

Part Three

Now Feyenoord were pitted against Inter in the semi-finals. Ivan Cordoba’s own goal at the San Siro put Feyenoord in the driving seat, defending the narrowest of margins in the second leg. When Jon Dahl Tomasson doubled the lead after Pierre van Hooijdonk’s sixth goal of the competition, Inter were facing a 3-0 deficit after 30 minutes on the clock in the return leg. With only six minutes left, Cristiano Zanetti got one back for the Italians visitors. Mohamed Kallon then equalised with an injury-time penalty but, as the saying goes, it was too little, too late.

Pim Fortuyn from Rotterdam was a controversial and outspoken right wing politician with very strong views. As an outsider, he’d soared in the polls and seemed set and determined to win the upcoming general elections in May 2002. On March 22, 2002, the controversial politician spoke about the consequences of demonization during a prime time interview on nationwide television.

“The Dutch government, and I think it’s a bloody shame, helps to create a climate of demonization of me as a person. And if something happens to me, then they share responsibility. They cannot raise their hands and say: well we did not commit that assault. But they have created that climate”.

“Where were you when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated? What were you doing the day when Lady Diana died? Where were you when the twin towers in New York came down?”

It would be fair to assume a vast majority of Dutch citizens remember where they were on the night The Netherlands lost its innocence. Pim Fortuyn’s assassination on Monday May 6, 2002, a few days before the Dutch general election of 2002 and two days prior to the UEFA Cup final between Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund in Rotterdam, shocked and traumatized an entire nation.

To be continued.

 

[BlauwVinger]

Part Four

The city of Rotterdam was a hotbed for Pim Fortuyn’s aficionados. The assault is inextricably linked with the 2001/02 UEFA Cup final in his hometown and has forever cast a dark shadow on Feyenoord’s return to the European football summit after a 28 year absence. The match only got the go-ahead on Tuesday 7th May, 2002.

Coach Bert van Marwijk recalled the tragedy in a 2009 episode of the documentary ‘Alle Tijden Sport’: “I was shocked and I didn’t know how to handle it. I discussed it with the players. I told them we’d gone all the way and the final should be a fantastic apotheosis but that something had happened you simply cannot ignore. I asked them about their feelings and if they wanted to play. You could hear a pin drop but eventually some of the players responded and insisted on playing”.

Pierre van Hooijdonk recalled that faithful event: “The trainer suggested maybe the game shouldn’t go ahead. I realised that suggesting the game to go ahead was very delicate. But on the other hand, as a group we went all the way, so you want to play and win. Sometimes, in your mind, you’re being led by a ‘going over dead bodies mentality’, which unfortunately was cynically apt”.

Arjen Littooij, in charge of Public Order and Safety of Rotterdam, said: “In our meetings with the UEFA, they vehemently denied us to play with mourning-bands. They were astonished and put Pim Fortuyn on par with right-wing politicians such as Le Pen and Haider. They just wouldn’t have it”.

To be continued.

 

[BlauwVinger]

Part Five & Conclusion

Hans Hagelstein, Feyenoord’s team manager at the time: “at the end of the day, after continuous pressure from the Rotterdam City Council and the club, they finally gave permission to wear mourning-bands and to observe a minute’s silence”.

Unfortunately, the German away contingent failed to observe the preceding full 60 seconds since the obituary tribute had been poorly communicated. Once the silence faded, Feyenoord’s and Pierre van Hooijdonk’s compelling performance worked like therapy. He once again demonstrated his incredible taste for free-kicks and was denied only by the post from 25 yards with goalkeeper Jens Lehmann well beaten. However, he scored from the spot in the 33rd minute after Dortmund's Jurgen Kohler, making his last senior appearance, had tripped Jon Dahl Tomasson and had been sent off.

The Dutchman then doubled Feyenoord’s lead from a ‘specialty of the house’ free-kick, taking his tournament’s total to eight to become top scorer, delicately swinging his free-kick over the wall and into the bottom corner from an almost identical position to his earlier effort.

Two minutes into the second half, Borussia clawed back with a Marcio Amoroso penalty. Almost instantly Jon Dahl Tomasson, playing his last match for Feyenoord, clinically restored his side’s two-goal advantage. Just before the hour mark, Jan Koller’s screamer brought ‘Die Borussen’ within touching distance, again reducing the deficit and making it 3-2. It was not enough for the Germans. On May 8, 2002, Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup in Rotterdam's final.

A week later Pim Fortuyn’s political party took the polls by storm during the Dutch parliamentary elections. The ‘Lijst Pim Fortuyn’ made their debut with 17% of the vote, becoming the second biggest party of the Netherlands.

 

[Bonehead]

Wat een gemier.

Mwah. Je wordt natuurlijk niet voor niks supporter van Ajax. Dan kun je bléren dat je de beste bent. Dat die club uit Rotterdam nog steeds de eerste en de laatste Europa Cup heeft gepakt dat strookt daar natuurlijk niet mee. Wel een beetje inlevingsvermogen tonen svp.

Zonde dat ik trouwens de post van BV hiermee te kort doe...

 

[BlauwVinger]

Mwah. Je wordt natuurlijk niet voor niks supporter van Ajax. Dan kun je bléren dat je de beste bent. Dat die club uit Rotterdam nog steeds de eerste en de laatste Europa Cup heeft gepakt dat strookt daar natuurlijk niet mee. Wel een beetje inlevingsvermogen tonen svp.

Zonde dat ik trouwens de post van BV hiermee te kort doe...

Je intermezzo stoort niet en ik voel me geenszins tekort gedaan.

 

[gevegt]

Je intermezzo stoort niet en ik voel me geenszins tekort gedaan.

Ik voel me wel tekort gedaan. Je schrijft mijn nick nog steeds met een hoofdletter.
Lul.

 

[Abubakari]

Mwah. Je wordt natuurlijk niet voor niks supporter van Ajax. Dan kun je bléren dat je de beste bent. Dat die club uit Rotterdam nog steeds de eerste en de laatste Europa Cup heeft gepakt dat strookt daar natuurlijk niet mee. Wel een beetje inlevingsvermogen tonen svp.

Zonde dat ik trouwens de post van BV hiermee te kort doe...

De echte borstkloppers zijn voor Feyenoord, maar da's logisch.

Dat Ajax tussendoor 6 EC's gewonnen sneeuwt inderdaad totaal onder bij Feyenoords eerste en laatste.
Ik vind het mooi hoor, als andere NLse clubs een EC winnen hoor, zal wel niet stroken met het door clichés verblinde beeld van de evil arrogante Ajacied ten opzichte van de uit de hemel gezonden ekte ekten, die van Feyenoord, maar lees gerust mijn posts tijdens Feyenoord-OM-Feyenoord nog eens terug. Hup Feyenoord!

 

[Miramar]

En ik doe er niet eens aan mee.

 

[JFK]

De echte borstkloppers zijn voor Feyenoord, maar da's logisch.

Dat Ajax tussendoor 6 EC's gewonnen sneeuwt inderdaad totaal onder bij Feyenoords eerste en laatste.
Ik vind het mooi hoor, als andere NLse clubs een EC winnen hoor, zal wel niet stroken met het door clichés verblinde beeld van de evil arrogante Ajacied ten opzichte van de uit de hemel gezonden ekte ekten, die van Feyenoord, maar lees gerust mijn posts tijdens Feyenoord-OM-Feyenoord nog eens terug. Hup Feyenoord!

Hup Feyenoord!

 

[Abubakari]

Hup Feyenoord!

That's right, beat the Roman Bastards.

 

[Maasveld]

Het kan Feyenoord uiteraard niet kwalijk worden genomen dat het als enige Nederlandse club met succes ‘in the modern era’ een Europese finale afrondde. Daar kan via drogredenaties, kansloze sluiproutes en omwegen uiteraard geen afbreuk aan worden gedaan. Noblesse oblige!

Daarom, met terugwerkende kracht en met toestemming van mijn gewaardeerde ‘secondant’ Gevegt een sneak preview uit mijn onvolprezen magnum opus. Gezellig!


Part One.

Feyenoord vs Borussia Dortmund

Where were you on Monday May 6, 2002?

Borussia Dortmund were third in the 2000/01 Bundesliga table, earning them a spot in the third qualifying round for the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League. The Germans cruised through to the group stage at the expense of FC Shakhtar Donetsk to meet opposition from Liverpool, Boavista and Dynamo Kyiv. Borussia Dortmund were outsmarted on goal difference by the Portuguese club, hence dropping down to the 3rd round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup.



FC Kobenhavn from Denmark were no real test and Borussia Dortmund won 2–0 on aggregate. The entertainers of the world famous ‘Gelbe Wand’ – the ‘Yellow Wall’ – met Czech side Slovan Liberec in the quarter-finals after having won on away goals against Lille OSC from France in the 4th round. The ‘Yellow Wall’ witnessed a 4-0 rout at the Westfalenstadion.



Into the last four were Inter Milan, AC Milan, Feyenoord and ‘Die Borussen’. The semi-finals were denied an all Italian encounter when Feyenoord were drawn with Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund to AC Milan. The Germans ran riot at the ‘Westfalenstadion’ to leave Milan chasing a likely unassailable 0-4 deficit at the San Siro. In Italy, AC Milan got off to a flying start and reduced the aggregate deficit to just two goals inside 20 minutes. In the last minute of the second half a Serginho penalty brought the Italians to within just one goal of taking the game into extra time. However, Borussia’s Lars Ricken slotted home in time added on to complete the Germans’ road to De Kuip in Rotterdam.


Feyenoord earned their 2001/02 Champions League group berth after finishing runners-up in the 2000/01 Dutch Eredivisie behind PSV, who successfully defended their title. They were drawn to play 2000/01 holders FC Bayern Munich, Sparta Prague and Spartak Moscow. Feyenoord’s aspirations to progress to the knock-out stages were hopelessly dented with only two draws and not one single victory in any of their first five matches. With a last-ditch effort, however, the ‘Rotterdammers’ took the third spot in the group and a place in the 3rd round of the UEFA Cup by beating Spartak Moscow 2-1, leaving a glimmer of hope to go all the way to the final at their sacred home ground in Rotterdam.


With five of their first choice ineligible to play, Feyenoord managed to edge past SC Freiburg from Germany with a 1-0 victory at home, courtesy of a late goal by Japanese international Shinji Ono.


The Germans gave them a sincere fright at their ‘Dreisamenstadion’ when Feyenoord were trailing 2-0 on the night after 49 minutes of play. Had it not been for one of Pierre van Hooijdonk’s trademark free-kicks and Leonardo’s equaliser to restore parity, Feyenoord might have faced an early exit.


Feyenoord left Scotland after a 1-1 draw in a rainswept first leg of their UEFA Cup 4th round tie with Rangers from grim Glasgow. Coach Bert van Marwijk settled with a draw but was disappointed as he felt Feyenoord deserved all three points.


In Rotterdam, former Celtic’s striker Pierre van Hooijdonk put his spell on their arch rivals with two of his patented free-kicks in the first half. It was his vital contribution to earn Feyenoord a 3-2 win, sending them into the quarter-finals of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup. Pierre van Hooijdonk found the target after 37 minutes when he fired the leather over the Scottish wall into the right-hand side of the goal. He duplicated his art on the stroke of half-time.


Rangers had taken the lead against the run of play and, after van Hooijdonk’s intermezzo, Feyenoord scored within seconds of the restart to make it 3-1. The tie was opened up again in the 55th minute by Barry Ferguson who stepped up to successfully convert a penalty-kick after a foul on Dutch Ranger Michael Mols. It would be the last dent in the Feyenoord defence.

To be continued.

Korter.

 

[Maasveld]

Part Two


Meanwhile, the Dutch 2000/01 champions PSV from Eindhoven, having retained their title, enjoyed the same route as Feyenoord had. De Boeren had been facing opposition from FC Nantes, Galatasaray and S.S. Lazio from Rome and dropped down to the third round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup after finishing 3rd in group D of the Champions League's first group stage. PSV started their UEFA Cup route with a 6-4 aggregate against Greek site PAOK Thessaloniki. Consequently PSV marched on to the 4th round to meet Leeds United.


In Eindhoven, the ‘Peacocks’ managed to hold PSV to a goalless stalemate in a solid display. The return at Elland Road saw Leeds United crashing out via a last-gasp effort from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Leeds had squandered a plethora of chances, and were made to pay when PSV sealed the match in the dying seconds. PSV were now preparing for a quarter-finals showdown with their fellow countrymen from Rotterdam.


In the first leg at the Philips Stadion, Feyenoord managed to create an advantage after the all-Dutch quarter-finals affair produced a 1-1 draw. The ‘Rotterdammers’ edged past the home side in first-half injury time. With the break beckoning, killer Pierre van Hooijdonk put Feyenoord on the scoresheet in a hard-fought and physical tie. PSV immediately struck back in the second half when Mateja Kezman capitalized on Mark van Bommel’s through-pass.

In the return leg, none other than van Hooijdonk pulled the trigger to leave PSV reeling and keep Feyenoord’s dreams alive to reach the 2001/02 UEFA Cup final in their own backyard. Initially, the away team from Eindhoven had taken the lead in the 75th minute through a superb Mark van Bommel effort. Three minutes into time added on, Pierre van Hooijdonk towered above the PSV defence defying gravity. His body, arched backwards, appeared frozen solid for two seconds before finding the net with a diagonal header.

There were no goals in extra time and the penalty shoot-out was equally tight: George Gakhokidze saw his attempt saved with PSV's third penalty, and the indomitable Pierre van Hooijdonk took the decisive 5th penalty, and his team to the next round.

To be continued.

Korter.

 

[Maasveld]

Part Three

Now Feyenoord were pitted against Inter in the semi-finals. Ivan Cordoba’s own goal at the San Siro put Feyenoord in the driving seat, defending the narrowest of margins in the second leg. When Jon Dahl Tomasson doubled the lead after Pierre van Hooijdonk’s sixth goal of the competition, Inter were facing a 3-0 deficit after 30 minutes on the clock in the return leg. With only six minutes left, Cristiano Zanetti got one back for the Italians visitors. Mohamed Kallon then equalised with an injury-time penalty but, as the saying goes, it was too little, too late.

Pim Fortuyn from Rotterdam was a controversial and outspoken right wing politician with very strong views. As an outsider, he’d soared in the polls and seemed set and determined to win the upcoming general elections in May 2002. On March 22, 2002, the controversial politician spoke about the consequences of demonization during a prime time interview on nationwide television.

“The Dutch government, and I think it’s a bloody shame, helps to create a climate of demonization of me as a person. And if something happens to me, then they share responsibility. They cannot raise their hands and say: well we did not commit that assault. But they have created that climate”.

“Where were you when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated? What were you doing the day when Lady Diana died? Where were you when the twin towers in New York came down?”

It would be fair to assume a vast majority of Dutch citizens remember where they were on the night The Netherlands lost its innocence. Pim Fortuyn’s assassination on Monday May 6, 2002, a few days before the Dutch general election of 2002 and two days prior to the UEFA Cup final between Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund in Rotterdam, shocked and traumatized an entire nation.

To be continued.

Korter.

 

[Maasveld]

Part Four

The city of Rotterdam was a hotbed for Pim Fortuyn’s aficionados. The assault is inextricably linked with the 2001/02 UEFA Cup final in his hometown and has forever cast a dark shadow on Feyenoord’s return to the European football summit after a 28 year absence. The match only got the go-ahead on Tuesday 7th May, 2002.

Coach Bert van Marwijk recalled the tragedy in a 2009 episode of the documentary ‘Alle Tijden Sport’: “I was shocked and I didn’t know how to handle it. I discussed it with the players. I told them we’d gone all the way and the final should be a fantastic apotheosis but that something had happened you simply cannot ignore. I asked them about their feelings and if they wanted to play. You could hear a pin drop but eventually some of the players responded and insisted on playing”.

Pierre van Hooijdonk recalled that faithful event: “The trainer suggested maybe the game shouldn’t go ahead. I realised that suggesting the game to go ahead was very delicate. But on the other hand, as a group we went all the way, so you want to play and win. Sometimes, in your mind, you’re being led by a ‘going over dead bodies mentality’, which unfortunately was cynically apt”.

Arjen Littooij, in charge of Public Order and Safety of Rotterdam, said: “In our meetings with the UEFA, they vehemently denied us to play with mourning-bands. They were astonished and put Pim Fortuyn on par with right-wing politicians such as Le Pen and Haider. They just wouldn’t have it”.

To be continued.

Korter.

 

[Maasveld]

Part Five & Conclusion

Hans Hagelstein, Feyenoord’s team manager at the time: “at the end of the day, after continuous pressure from the Rotterdam City Council and the club, they finally gave permission to wear mourning-bands and to observe a minute’s silence”.

Unfortunately, the German away contingent failed to observe the preceding full 60 seconds since the obituary tribute had been poorly communicated. Once the silence faded, Feyenoord’s and Pierre van Hooijdonk’s compelling performance worked like therapy. He once again demonstrated his incredible taste for free-kicks and was denied only by the post from 25 yards with goalkeeper Jens Lehmann well beaten. However, he scored from the spot in the 33rd minute after Dortmund's Jurgen Kohler, making his last senior appearance, had tripped Jon Dahl Tomasson and had been sent off.

The Dutchman then doubled Feyenoord’s lead from a ‘specialty of the house’ free-kick, taking his tournament’s total to eight to become top scorer, delicately swinging his free-kick over the wall and into the bottom corner from an almost identical position to his earlier effort.

Two minutes into the second half, Borussia clawed back with a Marcio Amoroso penalty. Almost instantly Jon Dahl Tomasson, playing his last match for Feyenoord, clinically restored his side’s two-goal advantage. Just before the hour mark, Jan Koller’s screamer brought ‘Die Borussen’ within touching distance, again reducing the deficit and making it 3-2. It was not enough for the Germans. On May 8, 2002, Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup in Rotterdam's final.

A week later Pim Fortuyn’s political party took the polls by storm during the Dutch parliamentary elections. The ‘Lijst Pim Fortuyn’ made their debut with 17% of the vote, becoming the second biggest party of the Netherlands.

Korter.

 

[De Wolf]

Het is een Europese hoofdprijs dus dat is leuk. Is het Europees gezien een topprestatie? In Engeland en Italië is het gewoon een poedelprijs.

 

[Mario]

Het is een Europese hoofdprijs dus dat is leuk. Is het Europees gezien een topprestatie? In Engeland en Italië is het gewoon een poedelprijs.

Dat hebben we gezien bij Tottenham, en Mourinho wil 'm maar al te graag winnen.

 

[Miramar]

Het is een Europese hoofdprijs dus dat is leuk. Is het Europees gezien een topprestatie? In Engeland en Italië is het gewoon een poedelprijs.

Het wordt de antihelden beker die je perse wilt winnen. Leuker qua fouten festival, spanning en verrassingen bedoel ik dan....

 

[Abubakari]

Het is een Europa Cup, altijd mooi als je die wint.