Anyone who calls himself a bit of an Ajax player knows him: the long side runner. His name is Gerard Wezenberg and he has been running with his flag up and down the long side of the Johan Cruijff Arena for more than twenty-five years. But his flag was taken by a steward during the race last Sunday. “The whole Arena was on my side, brilliant.”
At almost every home game, Gerard starts stretching after about an hour of playing. He also clears the way for cups and bags. He knows what he’s doing because he’s been running for years. He also has special shoes for extra grip. “I’m really important for the club. If it doesn’t go well, I’ll run. I often do that around the sixtieth minute. Then they need me extra. When they score then I often think: yes, this goal really came through me. That’s nice.”
During Ajax-Excelsior on Sunday, the ArenA exploded after Tadic’s 5-0. Not because of the goal, but because Gerard had to hand in his flag to a steward. “The whole stadium went wild,” says Gerard. “But it wasn’t fun, because apparently that lady didn’t know who I was. There are always new stewards and they don’t know anything.”
“I have papers that say I can just run”
While the audience in the Johan Cruijff Arena whistled at the steward, Gerard took papers from his pouch. “I have papers that say I can just run and when I showed it it was the fairground ball, of course. Then I immediately started running. And everyone cheered, great. Brilliant, that’s what the boys are for,” he says, beaming.
Gerard lives and works on a care farm in Zunderdorp. He would like to tell his story so that everyone knows who he is from now on and there are no more misunderstandings. “I do this to support the club. I would never fight or argue. That’s why I no longer go to away games, but I stay in Amsterdam. I just want to run.”
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