Wilhelmus banned: no orange and national anthem at New Year’s match in 1944

The New Year’s competition is an initiative of HFC buddies Karel Lotsy and Nico Bouvy. After two consecutive relegations in 1920 and 1921, they set themselves the goal of getting the club back to the first division.

Practice matches against strong opponents are necessary for this. This is how the two come up with the idea of ​​playing against a team of former international players. There were not many at that time, the Dutch played their first official international match in 1905.

Good results

Sparring against good teams produces results. HFC (the club only received the addition ‘royal’ after its eightieth anniversary) became champions in 1922 and 1923 and returned to the first division. By the way, the New Year’s match in 1923 is not the first occasion that the ex-internationals took action as a team. They have already played a practice match against DFC from Dordrecht.

While Bouvy’s qualities lie mainly on the field, he makes it to international level, Lotsy flourishes behind the board table. He is known, among other things, as chairman of the KNVB and HFC. Lotsy, who graduated as a botanist, also played a leading role in the Dutch sports teams that participated in the Olympic Games in the 1920s and 1930s.

Thunder speeches

But he is most famous at the football association, where he is responsible, among other things, for the composition of the selection of the Dutch national team. After a lean period, the team won eleven of the 21 international matches under his leadership between 1930 and 1933. Lotsy is praised for his psychological qualities. The term ‘thunder speech’ has its origins in Lotsy’s stirring speeches prior to international matches.

The first New Year’s match in 1923 went very well for HFC. The team wins 4-1. A few hundred people come to watch the field on Spanjaardslaan. Well-known players on the Haarlem side are Arie van Beekum and Frits Kuipers. The former international players include HFC player Ben Verweij, who is joining the Oud Oranje for the occasion, Just Göbel (goalkeeper), Martin Houtkoper and Dirk Lotsy (a second cousin of Karel).

After the match, players from both teams gathered in the upstairs room of De Kroon, where the board had provided a nice dinner and ironing. Passionate speeches were given, including by Karel Lotsy’, according to HFC’s anniversary book. A tradition is born. ‘The plan to reserve the first of January every year for such a pleasant meeting was greeted with cheers.’

Extreme cold and threatening situation

There were many special competitions. Rarely has a New Year’s match been boring: 0-0 has never happened. Results such as 10-7, 7-6, 4-4, 6-3 and 3-6 can be found in the archives. New Year’s matches were also sometimes played under extremely cold conditions, such as in the Eleven Cities Winter of 1963.

To pick one out: 1944. Due to the war, it was the first New Year’s match since 1938 and, as it turned out, the only match during the Second World War. The meeting a year later was canceled again due to the threatening situation in the Netherlands.

The match on January 1, 1944 is allowed by the German occupiers, provided the Dutch team does not play in orange. Singing the Wilhelmus is also prohibited, so the traditional music band is missing. Still, the atmosphere is cheerful. Everyone is happy with this outing.

Dutch blood in your veins

In the HFC club magazine from 2011, right winger Pieter van Zeeland remembers that before the match the audience spontaneously used the ‘Wien Neerlandsch blood flowing through their veins’.

The former international players wear black shorts and white shirts, the colors of the German national team. There are illustrious former international players at the kick-off, such as Kick Smit from HFC Haarlem, goalkeeper Leo Halle (‘the Lion of Deventer’) and the Feyenoorders Puck van Heel and Leen Vente. The young HFC team loses 2-1, but can still be proud; most ex-internationals have only just retired and are extremely fit.

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Poor team on the field

The match has not been played on New Year’s Day since 2009, but on the first Saturday of the year. This change was chosen in the hope of attracting more ex-internationals of name and fame. A number of them have indicated that they would rather spend January 1 with the family. As a result, for example, a meager team appeared on the field in 2008. The ex-internationals lose 6-1.

Initially, the new design seems to work. Pierre van Hooijdonk, Frank de Boer, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluivert, among others, will wear the orange shirt in 2009. 4,500 people come to Spanjaardslaan. But after a few years, interest decreases again. We wait in vain for the moment when stars such as Robin van Persie, Dirk Kuijt, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben put on their football boots on January 1.

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The team that coach Sjaak Swart is sending out to pasture this century is finding it increasingly difficult. Logical, because Koninklijke HFC has grown into a top amateur club. The team of coach Gerjan Tamerus plays in the second division, the third level in the Netherlands. To limit the difference in strength, Royal HFC has been fielding players between the ages of 37 and 50 since 2015, most of whom have played in the first team, the so-called ‘legends’.

In addition to the men’s New Year’s match, the ex-Lionesses have been playing a match against a selection from Royal HFC for several years now. The former international players are led by Vera Pauw and Andries Jonker, former national coach and current national coach respectively.

With thanks to Hugo Bettink, former chairman, honorary chairman and member of the HFC archive committee. Bettink played against the former internationals about ten times on behalf of Royal HFC in the 1960s and 1970s.