In a swirling Kuip in Rotterdam, NAC won 2-0 against NEC on May 13, 1973. The players from that time look back on their club’s only cup win on Friday evening in the NAC museum. Their profit. He is honored with a book. “The people on the street can’t name last year’s team, but they can name ’73!”
With big grins on their faces, the boys from then, now almost all in their seventies, pat each other on the back. “We were a team of friends. And we still are,” says 72-year-old Stanley Bish proudly. “Nothing has changed.”
The former attacker made the first goal for NAC in Rotterdam on Thursday evening, May 31, 1973. “NEC thought they would win. But that didn’t happen.” Teammate Addy Brouwers shot NAC into a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute. An explosion of the 25,000 NAC supporters who traveled along followed. “The ladies – the players’ wives – of NAC and NEC were together that match, so they looked at each other for a while,” the men laugh.
“They’re a bunch of bad guys.”
During the presentation of the special tribute, Diary of the cup winner 1972-1973, Stanley Bish can’t resist shouting through it. “Now listen, boy!”, Bertus Quaars (75) responds while giving his mate a push. “They are a bunch of bad boys!” laughs his wife, Corina Quaars. The authors of the book, Marcel van Es, John de Leeuw, Ronald Sträter and Wilbert Weterings, visibly enjoy the fun the ’73 players have with each other.
“We all hung out together in a pub.”
Unfortunately, the team from then is no longer complete. But the strong bond is clearly palpable. “It’s hard to explain,” says Ati Graaumans. “There were at least ten people from Breda in our team and the women also got along well. We all hung out together in a pub. Now players are only there for one or two seasons and then they have flown again.”
Jan Blom was 19 years old when he and his team won the cup. “I had been partying all night and came back at six in the morning from café De Cordial, right next to the stadium. In those days you could still drink beer and drive home,” says the now 69-year-old former defender .
“At the time I was an apprentice crane operator and when I drove past the shop, a van was waiting. You didn’t have internet then, so my colleagues didn’t realize at all that I had won the cup the night before. I just had to get to work. work!”
“People can’t name last year’s team, but they can name ’73!”
Graaumans still notices every week that the cup winners are included in the collective memory of Breda. “Every Saturday I walk on the Haagdijk with my grandchildren to get chicken. Then it’s ‘Hey Atje! It’s nothing with NAC, is it? It’s nothing at all’. People can’t name last year’s team, but that of ’73 yes!” he says proudly.
