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Bob 70-71
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Special thanks to Marc for sending his
recollections of the 1970-71 season
Marc
Bogman
My memory actually
starts in the 69-70 season, on the most glorious day in
the history of Feijenoord Rotterdam: May 6th, 1970. A day
also that changed my life.
7 days after my 4th birthday I was really bugging my
parents. They didn't know what to do to stop me. My
father (Ajax-fan) put me down on the couch and
forced me to take a look at what was going on on the
TV-screen.
An almost mystical experience struck me...
At first glance I just saw 22 guys running around,
chasing a ball.
As the chasing of the ball continued, my father explained
to me that this was
football!!! Suddenly it all made sense: two teams passing
on a ball and trying
to get it into a goal. I thought I saw structures and
coherence in the way the
men moved around on the pitch.
What struck me most was that the players in the
vertically striped shirts were
much better in passing on the ball. The guys in the other
shirts where chasing
them, but never really seemed to get anywhere.
Well, the vertical striped shirts hit the net twice and
received a huge cup.
My father (still Ajax-fan) explained that this was a
historical moment. It was
a bloody shame that Feijenoord won this trophy, but
somehow he also felt a
little bit proud.
I decided to dedicate my live to the men that just won
this cup. This feeling
grew during the week after this match. My family and
everybody in my
neighbourhood was talking about this special night. Those
eleven guys must be something special..
Life seems perfect at that time.
A few months later, my father pointed out how a
tournament like the European
Champions Cup worked. I understood that Feijenoord had to
play against a very weak team in the first round of this
tournament. A 5-0 or 6-0 score was not unthinkable.
In the morning of September 16, 1970, my father read to
me the report in the
newspaper on the first leg of Feijenoord against U.T.
Arad.
Feijenoord did not win but just played 1-1. I felt tears
burn in my eyes.
I understood that there was still a second leg to be
played and there was no
need to cry.
Two weeks later, on October 1, 1970 I learned what loss
feels like...
My heroes let me down and draw again: 0-0. I could not
believe Feijenoord was not allowed to play anymore in
this tournament. How can a team be eliminated without
losing? How can a father explain this to his 4 years old
son?
The feeling that they actually lost was unbearable.
My dad even made it worse by telling that this suited the
rich bastards from
Rotterdam right.
This was when I first got the impression, live wasn't all
joy and happiness.
Live was unfair, harsh and brutal: heroes won't always
win. Even superheroes
will let you down once in a while.
What I also learned was to hang on and to stick to the
eleven guys on the
pitch, no matter what people say.
The next day, my dad gave me my first Feijenoord shirt.
See Marc's excellent
site at Football Miniatures Collection
Return to Feijenoord
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