After seventeen years, Pieter de Waard had had enough in Velsen-Zuid. The striking director said goodbye to his club Telstar in mid-June and while clearing his desk I stood on top of it with my camera. “I am happy to be freed from responsibility,” said the retiring leader. “But that also makes me feel guilty.”
On Wednesday morning, June 17, I walk into the stadium at Schoonenberg sports park with a camera. I make reports and portraits every week, but this is a strange moment. Pieter de Waard who closes the door behind him in Velsen-Zuid after so many years.
For as long as I have been working in journalism, he has been the face of Telstar for me. The director who gave the White Lions color on the cheeks with his remarkable statements or playful actions. For example, he arranged for Louis van Gaal to coach his club for one match and for a fan to sit next to the then national coach as an assistant coach.
Among colleagues
De Waard’s office is located halfway down the corridor on the left side of the stadium. If you think that the colorful president has a large space for himself with a luxurious armchair and a beautiful view, you will be disappointed. He simply sits in a decent office with his colleagues.
De Waard only has one condition when it comes to his workplace: “I would like to sit in a corner, so I sat at the back left and then at the back right.” A completely different situation at clubs like AZ and Ajax. The big bosses there have their own spacious room that an average student would kill for.
Text continues below the video.
Pieter de Waard’s last working day at Telstar – NH News
When you enter, everyone is quietly working behind their computer. It’s mid-June and our eyes are already on the new season. Something that ignores De Waard. His desk is chock full of gifts. The day before, the retiring chairman of the Witte Leeuwen officially said goodbye to his colleagues and other invited guests from the football industry. Comedian Peter Heerschap, among others, addressed all guests with legendary quotes from the main character. “The player who pays you the most does the least for you.”
Text continues below the X-post
To view this content you must accept cookies.
After a short chat, I quickly turn on my camera and give De Waard a transmitter. And while in other jobs you have to encourage or enthuse the interviewee for fascinating images and statements, this is not necessary with De Waard. He continues talking quietly while I film him from different angles. Partly to me and the camera, but also happily mumbling to himself. And often followed by a loud and contagious laugh. “Hey, a secret liquor stash,” he chuckles as he takes some bottles of alcohol from one of the cabinets.
“Like abandoning your child”
Of course I regularly confront him about how absurd this day is for him. After such a long employment, it ends on this day. I look for what kind of emotions are released during these types of jobs. And De Waard also opens up and shares his feelings about this ending quite easily with Telstar. “It’s like abandoning your child.”
Then soulmate Leo Driessen walks in. The well-known football commentator and Telstar fan helps De Waard with collecting and carrying his things. “It’s worse for the club than for me,” Driessen said about his buddy’s departure. “The bond with him will always remain.”
Strawberries with wipped cream
The clock now indicates that it is time for lunch. Don’t expect luxurious salmon sandwiches or trendy cappuccino with oat milk. Someone from Telstar’s staff went to the local supermarket for strawberries and whipped cream.
And so, a little later, De Waard enjoys the red fruit with his colleagues in the North Stand under the lovely sun. As I capture this moment with my camera, I don’t get the feeling at all that this is his very last lunch. Just a normal day at the office.
Text continues below the video.
Telstar staff have lunch with strawberries and whipped cream – NH News
De Waard differs from his fellow directors in everything he does. In addition to his striking statements, his clothing style is also distinctive. On this tropical day he’s hopping around in one vintage onesie with matching hat and sandals underneath.
Personally, I appreciate this authentic style. It reminds me of the summer of 2010. I had just completed an internship at the then RTV Noord-Holland (now NH Media) and watched with a colleague for a job at Telstar. I no longer remember clearly who I walked with and what the content of the item was. Well, Pieter de Waard walked along the main field. The way he spoke and his clothing style are anything but ordinary.
“If you reverse the rankings, we are at the top”
In the years that followed, we regularly met each other at Telstar matches or we happened to bump into each other in ‘De 9 Straatjes’ in Amsterdam where he enjoyed a day off with his wife. Very friendly, he then stopped for a moment and had a nice chat.
I will also always remember how he addresses sponsors and business relations in the business room after Telstar matches. I can often listen to what he is saying with half an ear, because I am sitting close to that room quietly working out interviews. At the table, De Waard addresses those present in a way that only he can. Entertaining and jolly one-liners, which are appreciated time and time again by Telstar supporters. “If you reverse the rankings, we are at the top.”
Text continues below the article.
Also read
Sport
After the strawberry lunch, the clean-up continues. All the stuff goes on a rickety cart to the car and then after seventeen years it’s really over. Time for a new period, because De Waard will start working as a waiter at a beach pavilion in IJmuiden later that summer.
From the car, De Waard waves to the camera one more time and ends the day in a typical manner. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. The chairman, the ex-chairman, of the only club in the Netherlands with twenty letters: Telstarrrrrrrrrrrrr, greets you!”