After 1.5 years, the Dutch national team is playing in the Philips Stadium again. On Wednesday evening they will take on Ecuador in a friendly match in Eindhoven. For Ad Vissers from Made, this will be match 287 that he sees from the Dutch team.
Hours before Tuesday evening’s match, the Markt in Eindhoven turns orange. Fans from all over the country, or even from the other side of the world, have come to Brabant especially for the match.
This also applies to Daniel, who now lives in America, but travels back to the Netherlands for every game of the Dutch team. “I even lived here in Eindhoven for another year for ice hockey, so it’s super nice to be here again.” He can be recognized in the stands by his orange suit. Dozens of fans from Ecuador are also present to cheer on their country.
A group of boys initially came to Eindhoven to shop, but only then found out that there was also a competition. “Then we immediately bought tickets.” Who will also be there on Wednesday evening is Ad Vissers from Made. He has been going to matches of the Dutch national team since 1980.
“This will be game 287. I go to all home games and nowadays also to many away games.” But a Dutch match never gets boring for Ad. “For us it is nice to be together with all the Orange supporters we meet at the other matches.”
The last time the Netherlands played in the Phillips Stadium was on September 7, 2024. “We feel at home here in Eindhoven. If the PSV stadium expands, we can come here more often.”
Vissers tries to attend as many matches as possible, but we shouldn’t expect him at the World Cup in America. “That’s too pricey an excursion for me.” The best of Ad’s 286 matches so far was not played in Eindhoven. “That was the decisive match in 1995 between the Netherlands and Ireland.”
