Will these tough guys go for the double again, just like more than a century ago?

The year is 1916. While football is being played in the neutral Netherlands, the competitions in neighboring countries are at a standstill due to the ongoing First World War. Football is popular and Willem II plays a match against Belgian refugees in August that year. About twenty years earlier, the national football association was founded and clubs played for the national championship.

Marten Evert van Kuiken founded Tilburgia in 1886 and two years later the football club was renamed Willem II. Named after the king of the same name who had a strong connection with the jar city where his military headquarters were located and who eventually died in 1849.

In the first few years it was mainly a social club, but that quickly changed. In 1904, the pitchers were crowned champions of Brabant and tackled matters more and more professionally. They want to aim for the highest possible result.

But that’s easier said than done. The clubs in the west of our country are in charge. In fact, since the start of the competition, no association from outside the Randstad has ever become national champion.

1916 is the year that all the pieces fell into place for Willem II. The competition is going very well for the people of Tilburg and they make it to the final phase. Everything depends on the match they play in Deventer, against Go Ahead Eagles.

Carrier pigeon
The players will travel by train on June 1, as will the necessary supporters. Striker Jos van Son, who later became a club legend by playing 223 matches and scoring no fewer than 185 goals, scored the 0-1 and the Tricolores’ defense kept the pot hermetically closed. The miracle has happened, although they know nothing about it shortly after the victory in Tilburg. Supporters are anxiously waiting for the carrier pigeon that is on its way from Deventer to Kruikenstad. About an hour and a half later, the animal with the good news lands and the party starts there too.

The New Tilburgsche Courant headlines the next day above a piece: Willem II Champion of the Netherlands. The enthusiasm is radiant. “After years of work, a playing season full of enthusiasm and finally a Championship competition full of tension and fear, the Tilburg Football Club Willem II has succeeded in achieving the highest that can be achieved by a Dutch sports club: on June 1, 1916, Tilburg in Deventer won the Championship of the Netherlands….” And the next newspaper page is even completely covered with everything about the championship.

Despite the great joy, Amsterdam is somewhat scornful about the new champion. Ajax was relegated shortly before the First World War broke out and during the war years no one can be promoted or relegated. But when the Godenzonen practice against clubs from the highest division, they invariably win. And they are rolling up all their opponents in the second division with great numbers. So in the capital they are convinced that if the Amsterdammers had participated, the Tricolores would not have stood a chance.

The tough guys soon get the chance to put that right. They participate in the Silver Ball tournament, which is many times more important than the KNVB Cup. And who will they meet in the final: Ajax. The Amsterdam team tries everything, but Tilburg goalkeeper Walter van den Bergh proves impossible to pass. Right winger Harrie van Asten scored the only goal in the game and the Silver Ball also went to the Jars. This completes the first double!