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KPN Eredivisie, 2000-2001: Club Profile

RKC WAALWIJK: HOW ON EARTH DO THOSE SMALL-TIMERS DO IT?

A lot of Dutch clubs have a long, long and remarkable history. RKC Waalwijk has not. Okay: the club was founded as long ago as in 1940, as local sides HEC, WVB and Hercules joined forces. But the club did not make the jump to professional football until 1984-1985. Before that, there were two general Dutch amateur championships to celebrate - in 1981 and 1982, as the club website still proudly mentions - before the KNVB granted the 'Roman Catholic Combination' permission to go professional.

In the First Division, RKC became the epitome of a small-timer, hailing from the tiny little southern town of Waalwijk, playing in a amateuristic little sportspark that could hold some 6,000 spectators. RKC seemed to be a completely superfluous newcomer, in the densely populated football landscape of the Noord-Brabant province, residing a few miles west of FC Den Bosch, twenty minutes north of PSV and Willem II. Holland was amazed by the unsightly small newcomer. Were they going to survive?

They didn't just survive, but they also managed to turn their lack of history into a unique history of its own. It took the Waalwijk side four seasons to go up to the Eredivisie in spectacular fashion in 1988, with local hero Ad van der Wiel as an impressive goalgetter upfront (34 goals) and winning the first 22 games straight. Ajax was eliminated in the Dutch Cup along the way. RKC became an Eredivisie team. Despite their astoundingly low budget and small stadium, they never went down since, leaving many other small-time Dutch clubs thinking: how on earth do they do it?

RKC Waalwijk is still the epitome of a small-timer, but has by now also become the epitome of a club capable of spending every guilder in the smartest possible way. Immediately after having entered the Eredivisie, RKC came surprisingly close to qualifying for the UEFA Cup tournament, finishing 8th in 1990 and 7th in 1991, the club's best Eredivisie ranking so far. RKC has become a rock-solid Eredivisie side, usually finishing far away from the relegation zone.

The only period of crisis were the years from 1996 to 1999, in which the yellow and blue squad had to play relegation play-off games three times in a row, directly after brand-new, but equally small sized Mandemakers Stadium had replaced Olympia sportspark as RKC's home ground. RKC always managed to stay in easily, but it was obvious something had to change. With former FC Den Haag star, Martin Jol, as its new coach, the club seems to be on its way up again: 2001's 11th position on the table was good enough to qualify for the Intertoto Cup, UEFA's official summer tournament for which teams can register that failed to qualify for European football directly. A UEFA Cup ticket can be won by reaching the final. The Intertoto games of 2001 were RKC's very first international games ever. German Bundesliga side TSV 1860 Munich was too strong.

They don't really seem to care about that. Until 1988, an Eredivisie with RKC in was unthinkable. A good decade later, an Eredvisie *without* RKC Waalwijk starts to become unthinkable. Which is much more than any football fan had expected from that weird little club from Waalwijk. (MP)

RKC WAALWIJK FACTS

Founded: 26 August, 1940 as RKC (fusion of HEC, WVB and Hercules); name changed into RKC Waalwijk in 1996.
City: Waalwijk
Stadium: Mandemakers Stadium
Capacity: 6,100

Honors:

• No national or international trophies won.

Ajax vs RKC Waalwijk, the last five Eredivisie seasons: RELATED LINKS

• Official RKC Waalwijk website