Frank van der Meijden’s sporting moment: Alkmaar teenagers champion of Europe

I’m in the middle of a move and that’s why I look at my girlfriend sweetly. She asks me what there is to do in Switzerland. “Well look. An AZ youth team is in the final of a kind of Champions League,” I tell her. “Oh? So these are all young players?” she says in surprise. “Yes. They are all teenagers. One player is only seventeen years old. But a Dutch club has never managed to get into the final. So that is unique,” I respond enthusiastically, after which she says: “Well, Then of course you have to be there!”

And so it happened. The next day Edward and I leave Alkmaar by car for a drive of almost twelve hours. Camera, radio equipment, laptops and suitcases in the trunk and off to Geneva, Switzerland.

Get to work

After a long drive we arrive at the hotel and decide to go to bed quickly. After all, we have to get straight to work the next day. AZ Under 18 is completing the last training and we can talk to several players and the trainer. After breakfast we go early to the UEFA training complex in nearby Nyon.

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We spoke there with Paul Brandenburg, among others. It proud head of youth training at the Alkmaar club cannot believe his luck with the special talented group of players and the place in the final of the Youth League. Finn Stam also appears in front of the camera. The defender is unlucky not to be able to be there in the final against Hajduk Split because of a red card in the semi-finals.

Fifteen thousand Croats

The talk of the day among both the players and the accompanying press is the bizarre number of Hajduk Split fans expected at the match. Reportedly, fifteen thousand tickets have been purchased by Croats. This number is in stark contrast to the number of AZ fans, which mainly consists of friends and family.

That evening, while enjoying an Italian meal, we discuss our tactical battle plan for the final day and try to visualize what things will be like in the city and in the stadium with the thousands of Hajduk Split fans.

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It is Monday April 24th. The day of the final. Which team will be crowned the best youth team in Europe today? We are up early again and decide to check out the stadium. The Stade de Genève of football club Servette FC is the setting for the final battle of the Youth League.

Peerless

At the stadium we have an appointment with Kees Smit’s family a few hours before the match. The benjamin of the team. The footballer from Heiloo is only seventeen years old and thanks to that his unprecedented goal in the eighth final against FC Barcelona almost a well-known North Hollander.

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After the meeting with the Smit family, the square in front of the stadium quickly fills up with Hajduk fans. Two hours before the match, one drunken Croat after another is already tripping over his own shoes. The situation is somewhat grim and there is also plenty of police presence. It all looks impressive. We make our way through the crowd in search of a quieter place, because something important still needs to be taken care of.

The match is about to start, but there is still one thing left unaddressed. Edward and I would also like to report the match live on NH Radio. But is that allowed? How do you arrange something like that? I start investigating and soon find myself on the phone with a UEFA representative. “We want to do a radio report on the AZ vs. Hajduk Split match. I know it’s short notice and the match starts in two hours, but can this still be arranged? How much does something like this cost?”

The helpful but also shrewd UEFA employee says it costs five hundred euros and then we can live for a total of fifteen minutes. “Too cheap. That could be better,” says Edward, and so I make a counter offer: “250 euros and unlimited live.” We are called back after half an hour. UEFA has agreed. We have permission for radio commentary on the match.

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The finale is one-sided to say the least. AZ is supreme and, especially in the second half, completely wipes out their peers from Hajduk Split. Jubilant mood for me and Edward behind the microphone and also in the radio studio in Hilversum the enthusiasm spreads. AZ ultimately wins with no less than 5-0. The eight thousand fans (there were a few less) from Hajduk and the accompanying family and friends from Alkmaar celebrate in the main stand. AZ has written football history.

Couple of teenagers from Alkmaar

The work is far from over. Interviews with trainer Jan Sierksma and top scorer Mexx Meerdink still have to be done and we are busy until almost midnight. Finally, we leave the press room of the Stade de Genève and return to the hotel, tired but extremely satisfied. Fortunately, the hotel bar is still open and we enjoy some well-deserved (and expensive) Swiss wheat beers.

We only think about that return journey the next day when we wake up. First let’s chat with our last energy and enjoy the performance of AZ Under 18. I never thought that a bunch of teenagers from Alkmaar and the surrounding area would ultimately be the reason for my first visit to Geneva.

Frank van der Meijden