VVV Venlo
'THE PITFALL' ON VENLO'S HAUNTED HILL
For a long time, 'playing football for money' was considered
a depraved thing in The Netherlands. In 1953 and 1954,
disagreements about professionalisation almost literally split
Dutch football. The 'pro-amateur' clubs, under the flag of the
KNVB, were entrenched on one side, while the pro-payment,
sometimes newly founded 'pirate clubs' dug in on the other,
establishing their own association (the NBVB) and starting
their own league in the historically disorganized summer of
1954.
The whole discussion had pretty much started in 1953, when
the KNVB found out that VVV had paid some of their players for
their services. The country was shocked. The beautiful game was
going to the dogs, for sure. Ironically, when the professional
NBVB league started, not VVV but a brand-new club named
Sportclub Venlo belonged to the line-up. What had happened to
the pioneers, one of the martyrs of professionalisation? The
answer followed soon enough, as the KNVB acknowledged that
professionalisation was inevitable. NBVB and KNVB carried on
together, 'pirate club' SC Venlo and VVV also merged (very
briefly adopting Sportclub VVV '03 as their new name) and the
proud, mighty Ajax played their first ever professional
league game against them, at De Meer on 28 November 1954.
Result: 2-3 to VVV. Times had changed. Ajax eventually managed
a 3rd slot on the table. VVV finished 2nd.
VVV lined up at De Meer, for what
was Ajax's first ever league game as a
professional football club in November 1954.
The story of VVV started 50 years earlier. Like so many
football clubs, VVV was simply founded by a group of friends
who wanted to play that new game from England. After
short-lived attempts under names such as De Gouden Leeuw
('The Golden Lion') and Valuas, they re-founded their club once
again on 07 February 1903, simply calling it the Venlose
Voetbal Vereniging ('Venlo Football Club'), not knowing
that the Dutch Tourist Information Board would later adopt the
same name, VVV, in 1937.
VVV were small-timers in the first fifty years of their
existence, but gained prominence after the 'professional
revolution' of 1954. In the second half of the 1950s VVV could
be found in the top half of the Eredivisie table and the club
reached their all-time peak around 1960: in 1959 they beat ADO
in the KNVB Cup final in The Hague, grabbing their only ever
piece of national KNVB silverware, and in 1961 they finished
third in the Eredivisie, directly behind Feyenoord and
Ajax.
VVV's cup winning team, ready for
the final in The Hague, 1959.
After the club's somewhat mysterious relegation one year
later (1962), VVV went up and down several times, but in their
Eredivisie years they were normally a very tough nut to crack
for Holland's top sides - and Ajax in particular. After VVV's
1976 promotion Ajax had to settle for a 2-2 draw on their first
two visits to the club's atmospheric new home ground, situated
in a hollow at the top of a hill and appropriately nicknamed
De Koel, local dialect for 'The Pit' as well as 'The
Pitfall'. Big games used to attract more than 20,000 fans. VVV
got relegated again, but returned in 1986, and once again Ajax
tumbled into the 'pitfall' on their first two visits: the 3-0
and 3-1 drubbings of the Amsterdammers in February and December
1987 remain highlights in VVV's club history.
They finished 5th in the Eredivisie in 1987 and
1988, thanks to local heroes such as Remy Reynierse, Ger van
Rosmalen and Stan Valckx.
June
2007: RKC Waalwijk step into the 'Pitfall'... and VVV-Venlo
return to the Eredivisie.
And now they're back again. Will it once again cost Ajax two
seasons before they can finally get a win at De Koel
after VVV's promotion? We shall see. Fact is that not only the
stadium has become more modest than it once was (the terraces
have been closed, reducing capacity to 6,000 seats); the same
goes for VVV's ambitions and expectations. Historically,
though, De Koel can be a wild place. Even in March 1994,
when the team that would develop into Louis van Gaal's 'Golden
Ajax' rolled into Venlo for what is still Ajax's last visit,
they had a seriously rough time there and booked a rather
fortunate win of 0-1. Message clear: Ajax are warned. (MP)
VVV-VENLO FACTS
Founded: 07 February 1903 as VVV. City name added in
2003.
City: Venlo
Stadium: Seacon Stadium (a.k.a. De Koel)
Capacity: 6,000
Official website: http://www.vvv-venlo.nl
Honors:
Recent History: Ajax vs
VVV-Venlo
- 1999-2007:
- VVV-Venlo in First Division; no games
