The love for FC Emmen was by no means self-evident. The club was far from popular in the surrounding villages for a long time, so when a letter from the youth academy of FC Emmen arrived at the Sibum house in New Amsterdam, not much more than ten kilometers from the stadium in Emmen, it was it is by no means evident that my son accepted the invitation.
“The club had had financial problems a few times. It was the big city. There was hatred and envy from the villages towards Emmen at the time,” Bas Sibum looks back. As a ten-year-old talent, he initially had little interest in making the switch to FC Emmen from his amateur club SV Twedo.
The Drenthe professional club was setting up a training course, but the youth was more or less an amateur association. “It really had to be a step forward, otherwise I wouldn’t want to leave Twedo. I was also part of the Drenthe selection and told Emmen: I will only come if the other guys from the selection are also allowed to come.”
Yet Sibum is not completely convinced of the step. “We ended up writing notes at home. Mom, Dad, my sister and myself. To go or not to go. And explain why. I was allowed to open them one by one. Most votes count.” Unanimous: go. “It really was a great decision.”
Coming home
On Friday, thirty years later, the Roda coach will return to the Oude Meerdijk for the first time, working for another club. Last summer, as a child of the club, he was included in the application procedure for Dick Lukkien’s successor, but chose to take on his first job as head coach in Kerkrade. A return is not a stated goal, he says, but who knows how things will turn out…
Sibum was a player for Emmen for eleven years, including three seasons in the main squad, and returned as a youth coach after his active career in 2016. “It has really become my club. Friday will be a special evening, definitely. The Oude Meerdijk is coming home to me. I know every corner of the stadium. It will also be the first time I play against Emmen.”
He has not been back to Drenthe since the summer. “I have been in Limburg all those months because there was a lot of work there. I’m going to see family and friends. My dad comes to watch. Will be fun. I’ll also stay there after the match to see and talk to a few people. Actually, as a trainer I don’t have a joker and I always have to travel back on the bus, but I’m going to ask the group if they would mind making an exception for once. It is nice to return for a while.”
Championship
As an 18-year-old, Hennie Spijkerman made the midfielder make his debut in the main squad in April 2001, against Heracles. Emmen was a mid-table team in the first division. Sibum, already with an ultra-short haircut, quickly became a permanent force and in his third and final season the club actually competed for the championship, with players such as Donny de Groot and Joseph Oosting.
“We really had a good team. Then there were six to seven thousand people in the stands. In years before and after it was far from full. It wasn’t much to look at sometimes, but that year it was full. We were at the top for a long time and thought: we’re going to give it a try. If there’s a moment, it’s now. And then we lost 7-1 in The Hague.”
After 54 games, Sibum left for FC Twente. Joking: “And then it completely collapsed.” He has always continued to follow his club. The love runs deep. The culture suits him. “Emmen is small. Normal, relaxed. A quiet club. Nice people too. That’s why a lot of boys thrive there, even if they come from the Randstad and come in with a big mouth. That was done quite quickly. Just act normal.”
He always kept in touch – with the man who came to pick him up with the van in youth training and later became an equipment man, for example – and returned in 2016 to take his first steps as a trainer. First as a youth, then for five years as an assistant to Dick Lukkien. Emmen was promoted to the Premier League for the first time in club history in 2018. Completely unexpected, after finishing seventh in the competition.
“The sentiment around the club completely changed. Really amazing. Along the way, the viaducts were full of supporters. A popular festival broke out. The club was always kind of ridiculed; that club from Drenthe. And suddenly we were included. Like: hello, we’re still here! Check us out! People were proud to be from Emmen, proud to be from Drenthe. Suddenly there were children wearing Emmen shirts and the club could be seen everywhere. It was fantastic to experience.”
The Oude Meerdijk filled up. The queue for a season ticket suddenly numbered thousands of people. Emmen changed from a club of a dime a dozen into a cult club, says Sibum. “We got the favor factor. They did that well during that period; made good use of the hype. Something like Easytoys as a shirt sponsor doesn’t really suit Emmen, but that is precisely why it is such a success. Different than usual.”
Drinks board
And so it was possible that a snack board in the shape of a male genital was suddenly being snacked on in the business area. Laughing: “I recently said to someone: I must have that. He was supposed to keep one, but I haven’t heard anything since. I should just talk to him about it on Friday.”
Many people at the top left Emmen last year. It was a difficult last season for the club, with eventual relegation to the first division. “There are only a few Emmen residents left. Everything has left. A breath of fresh air does not have to be a bad thing and they are doing very well, but I do hope that the culture remains intact, as Emmen is: down-to-earth and normal.”