The now 74-year-old Fred Bischot cannot let go of the football field. In the seventies and eighties he played hundreds of matches for Telstar. Nowadays he is the trainer of fifth division team De Kennemers from Beverwijk. “It keeps you off the street. As long as the boys keep liking it, I’ll just keep doing it,” Bischot says firmly.
The born Amsterdammer started this season as an assistant coach at De Kennemers. Things did not go well with the head coach this season and Bischot was pushed forward. On Saturday, the Beverwijkers played their last game of the season against Rood Wit Zaanstad and NH Sport accompanied Bischot with the camera all day.
Pump up balls, warm up and coach
It remains a special sight. The man who played in the premier league for years is now a trainer in the lower echelons of amateur football. At De Kennemers, Bischot has to do without an assistant and does everything himself. “I just like being among those guys,” says Bischot enthusiastically.
De Kennemers lost much more this season than they won, but Bischot kept his spirits up. For example, they played an entire season without a goalkeeper and a field player only stood on goal. “Why should I have a goalkeeper coach if I don’t have a goalkeeper”, says Bischot.
Also next year Bischot will be the trainer of De Kennemers.