Game On
‘Dutchman’ turned out to be Rob, goalkeeper and captain of the Dutch South Division District 1 team RKDSV 4 of the town Diessen near Eindhoven. The city’s slogan is ‘Diessen has got it!’ and they certainly had it when their 18 tickets for the game at Commerzbank Arena were confirmed – the trip was on!
Hooked on Eintracht
Why did they pick Eintracht? Rob and a friend had seen a game in Frankfurt a couple of years ago before returning from a Germany trip and he had been amazed by the atmosphere and the strong support the Eagles are receiving. As we all know, if you have witnessed an Eintracht game once then you will always come back. When the team of RKDSV 4 considered a groundhopping trip to Germany they soon decided on Frankfurt.
‘Trots van Diessen’ on Tour
Saturday morning saw Rob, Rik, Tim, Sjak, Roy x2, Thijs, Dave, Eef, Robbie, Paul, Ruud x2, Stan, Rens, Pim, Koen and Wilco board a couple of mini vans for the four hour trip to Frankfurt. After laying a solid foundation in an Irish Pub the ‘Trots van Diessen’ (pride of Diessen) descended into Frankfurt’s nightlife, surely enjoying a beer or two. Everyone was looking forward to the Eintracht experience. Amongst the team are fans of PSV Eindhoven, Ajax Amsterdam, Willem II Tilburg and NAC Breda (who are by the way friends with St. Pauli). Some had been on match trips around Europe before to see Champions League games with PSV and also to follow the Netherlands in EURO 2008 (remember the ‘orange camping’?).
Hangover vs Hannover
Despite the excitement it was a tough Sunday morning for the ‘Trots van Diessen’ after a heavy night on German beers. But the spirit soon came back and they made their way to the stadium around lunch time. After some shopping in the Eintracht fan store the squad was welcomed by the English Eintracht team. Captain Rob was given a framed image of Eintracht mascot Attila the eagle as a welcome present (which will receive a place of honour in the changing rooms of RKDSV). The team returned a Diessen scarf in black and white – the right colouring indeed. Over a few ‘counter attack’ beers the anticipation grew with kick off coming up soon, and surprisingly the ‘Pippi Langstrumpf’ Eintracht chant was already part of the team’s repertoire.
To Be Continued
Despite the heavy home defeat of Eintracht (0-3) the boys of RKDSV enjoyed being with the Eintracht fans in the West Stand, loved the atmosphere and sang along to support the Eagles. The home fans in return were good hosts and enjoyed having international support for the team. The only thing missing for a perfect afternoon was a good result, but then football is not a jukebox. On their way home the team already decided on coming back for more. Hopefully Eintracht will make the trip even more memorable.
