In a backyard in Coevorden sounds loud cheers. Football fanatics in colored shirts are glued to the tube in their clubhouse. There are countless football shirts and scarves of their beloved club around them. They do not watch the match of a local football club or the Dutch national team but at the match of a club that is more than 600 kilometers from their own city: SC Freiburg.
To understand why Coevordenaren are a fan of a German Bundesliga club, Erik Ekkelenkamp, chairman of the Coevorden Fanclub Freibrug, takes us to the 70s, when he went on holiday to the Black Forest with his family. “We were then at a campsite, about five kilometers outside of Freiburg. At that time the love for the region and for the city was created,” he says smiling.
“When we cycled from the campsite to Freiburg you came to the Freiburg stadium. Then we went to take a look there.” But it didn’t stop there. The interest in the club grew and the family became a fan. “It started with the love for the region and the city, but then the club will also sit in your heart.”
Not only the Van Ekkelenkamp family became a loyal supporter, the Coevordenaren also encountered others with the SC Freiburg virus. And that can be seen. “If you walk here in Coevorden or you are going to watch a football training from the Local Club, they will walk in Freiburg clothing,” laughs the Coevordenaar. “That is very special.”
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