Job and Merle, both ten years old, go around the world on the Internet. The young PSV fans from Wintelre can be seen on a video where they practically scream their lungs out. They do that when Fabio Silva makes the winning penalty kick on behalf of the Eindhoven club in the cup final against Ajax. Exactly that moment was filmed on Sunday in the Rotterdam Kuip by ESPN. The sports channel then shared the images on social media. The cheering video has since been viewed millions of times.
Job van der Heijden and Merle Jacobs were in De Kuip on Sunday when PSV won the KNVB Cup. “We were first in the top corner in the second row, but saw that there were still some places available downstairs. Because everyone was standing, we could still see something like this,” says Job.
“I found it so exciting that I didn’t dare to look.”
Job found the penalty shootout so exciting that he didn’t dare to watch. “I put the cap in front of my face and peeked through the holes. That way I could just follow the ball,” says the boy laughing. Merle dared to look at the all-decisive penalty. “I didn’t want to miss it if the ball went in anyway.”
Exactly at that moment, the two are filmed: Job, who does not dare to look for tension, and Merle in supreme concentration, waiting to see whether Fabio Silva scores the winning penalty kick. She wasn’t so sure after all the previous misses. Neither does Job.
“We cheered so loudly because it was such a relief.”
Striker Silva did not disappoint and neither did the cheers of the two children. “It was such a relief, that’s why we cheered so loudly,” Merle recalls. The two go all out. Merle puts her hands in front of her face and gives Job a hug. It produces beautiful images.
Waiting for privacy settings…
It is not until Monday later that Job and Merle find out that they have been filmed. “Dad showed the video that ESPN shared and went viral,” says Job. The two knew that. “I have my own phone and I get a lot of messages from everyone,” says Merle with a laugh. The video has been viewed more than one and a half million times on TikTok alone. Quite ‘bizarre’, says Job.
“Reactions come from all over the world.”
“People write that they like the fact that children are also cheering along,” says Job. Responses come from all over the world. “I’ve seen messages in German, French and English. I can’t read it very well, but it’s nice to see.” Even the American branch of sports channel ESPN with tens of million viewers and followers shared the fragment in question.
When the two watch the fragment for the umpteenth time, a smile still appears on their faces. “I do see a lot of screaming, but it’s still nice to see it again.” According to the two, the real joy is in the video. “We looked at each other, like: we won”, Job looks back.
“So nice that Xavi Simons also shared it.”
The parents of the two are also inundated with messages. Job and Merle think the best thing is that the PSV players also share their video. “So nice that Xavi Simons also shared it. He is so good and also scores great goals,” says Job proudly. “He’s my favorite player.”
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