NEC’s DNA: Aunt Toos, excavated holy ground and hard-core beers | Dutch football

Sjoerd starts his visit to Nijmegen at the beautiful Waalkade with a view of the Waalbrug. The eventual founders of NEC played football together for the first time around the Labyrinth artwork. They also did that a few kilometers away in the center of the city on De Grote Markt. The important meeting that led to the establishment of the current NEC eventually took place around the corner in Molenstraat.

In De Goffert stadium from 1939, Sjoerd climbs the stairs of the tower of the entrance gate of the old stadium, which has been preserved after the new stadium was built in 2000. Stadium manager Theo van Benthum can tell you nicely about the stadium in which much of the old version has survived. There are also remains in the surrounding Goffertpark.

On the west side of the city in the Waterkwartier, Sjoerd visits the Hennie(ssee) Linders neighborhood shop and fan shop, where 85 percent of the conversations at the counter are about NEC. Sjoerd learns that the lighters are a success, but not if you come from Arnhem.

Perhaps the most famous NEC supporter lived in an ordinary house in the Nijmegen Leliestraat. Aunt Toos is a legend in the Gelderland city and is considered the mother of all NEC supporters. The supporters gathered at this house to go to De Goffert from there.

The popular Dennis Gentenaar was a native of Nijmegen as a supporter and goalkeeper of NEC. Sjoerd meets him in the stands of De Goffert, where Gentenaar talks about derbies against Vitesse, a world goal from Jack de Gier, an overzealous material man and a beautiful banner.