It was a real football miracle 15 years ago. On the last day of the competition, AZ was number 1, Ajax on 2 and PSV on 3. But after a 5-1 victory against Vitesse, the team from Eindhoven did it anyway: national champion. Jan Kromkamp was on the field that day and looks back on the victory. “There is no better way to become a champion.”
Even the biggest optimists no longer assumed that PSV would become champions. In the week prior to the match against Vitesse, most supporters had already given up hope with a heavy heart. Kromkamp, on the other hand, was hopeful. “We all had the feeling: it’s not over yet.”
Why did he and his teammates still see opportunities? “Compared to AZ, we had much more experience. Of course with all the top players we had at the time. Then you also knew that you could still become champion.”
“One more time full throttle. And do; score points, that’s how we entered the game.”
The day of the competition arrived. Many seats in the stadium remained empty. Despite the somewhat low turnout, the tension was palpable, Kromkamp recalls. “You get there, there is so much energy. Then you just feel that something big is about to happen.”
“Before the game we looked with Koeman, Cocu, Gomez, Simons. How can we still influence it? You are only in charge of your own game. That meant one more time full throttle and scoring many goals. And we entered the game with that mindset.”
“Was this enough?”
During the match itself, Kromkamp barely got to see what happened at AZ and Ajax. “We just knew we had to score goals. When Cocu made that fifth, I ran to the goal because I didn’t know if we should make another one.”
It was 5-1, with goals from Afellay, Farfán and that all-deciding goal from Cocu. Although it was not immediately clear that it was all-decisive, because the whistle in Tilburg had to wait for the whistle. “You are broken, you are stiff with tension. Was this enough?”
That was it. “Then you hear that it’s over, then the whole stadium explodes, so do we, of course. That has been one of the highlights of my career. There was so much emotion, so much joy in the people. We as players have been looking forward to this moment all year. Then everything comes together. All together on the field.”
The PSV players had come a long way, now it was time to celebrate.
According to Kromkamp, PSV really deserved the championship. “Certainly because we have been at the top all year. We have represented the Netherlands well in Europe. We made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It was just really hard work for us.”
“The most beautiful championship in history.”
Are there really better ways to become a champion? “No”, Kromkamp laughs, “it is the most beautiful championship in the history of football. With three teams in the race for the championship. You will never experience that again.”
Kromkamp will always carry that victory of 15 years ago. He framed the shirt he was wearing that day. “Sometimes I see something from that day, it gives me goosebumps.”