NEC Nijmegen - Goffertstadion

NEC Nijmegen

Goffertstadion

Stadionplein 1

6532 AJ Nijmegen

Netherlands

+31 24 359 0360

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1118
Saturday 8th October 2022
NEC Nijmegen 1-1 Excelsior Rotterdam
Eredivisie

NEC NIJMEGEN - A BRIEF HISTORY

The oldest remnant of NEC Nijmegen, Eendracht, was established in 1900, representing the people from the benedenstad (lower town) who, due to their working-class status, were not able to play for the major club in the city, Quick 1888. Due to a lack of funds, Eendracht initially played only friendly matches against teams from other parts of the city until 1903, when the local league in Nijmegen was formed. Eendracht was the first champion and was promoted to Gelderland's regional league, and two years later the club was promoted to the second tier of Dutch football. Eendracht merged in April 1910 with NVV Nijmegen, a club formed two years earlier by former members of Quick 1888. The new club was given the name Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie. The early years were nomadic, with the club playing at several grounds. From the early 1920s, they found a permanent home at Hazenkampseweg, though on the field, there was disappointment. They won the championship four times but failed in the playoffs. Finally, in 1936, promotion to the top tier was earned at the 5th attempt. At the time, football was split into four regions and NEC won the East title four times. Professional football was introduced in the Netherlands in 1954 but came at the wrong time for NEC. The club was not in a good financial state and not as well established as other clubs. When the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) reorganised the league structure in time for the 1956–57 season, NEC found themselves in the lowest semi-professional division, the Tweede Divisie.

At the beginning of the 1960s, NEC began to recover from its financial difficulties. A major reason for this was new support from the municipal council who began to see the importance of a professional club, and started providing financial support in 1963. The following year, the club was promoted to the second-tier Eerste Divisie again and three years later, reached the top-tier Eredivisie for the first time, finishing tenth in its first season. The club remained in the top flight for seven seasons in a row, with some games played in front of capacity crowds; season averages of 14,000 spectators were normal. NEC flourished, primarily due to the development of players from their youth setup. The club became something of a yoyo club in the 70s and 80s, alternating between the top two divisions. In 1981, the club was given further support from the municipal council, when NEC's professional and amateur sides separated, but this did not prevent the club's bankruptcy in 1987. NEC continued to exist only after 80% of creditors waived their claims. Since then, they've had varying degrees of success. A notable high was a 5th-place finish in 2003, which earned them a place in the UEFA Cup. Relegations and promotions have followed but from 2017 until 2021 were spent in the second tier. In May 2021, the club once again achieved promotion to the Eredivisie after beating NAC Breda 2–1 in the final of the promotion/relegation play-offs.

NEC's best showing in Europe came during the 2008/09 season in the UEFA Cup. They beat Dinamo Bucharest 1-0 over two legs to reach the group stage. They beat Udinese 2-0 at home and Spartak Moscow 2-1 away but lost 1-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur and 3-2 away to Dinamo Zagreb. This was good enough for progression to the Round of 32 where they lost 4-0 on aggregate to Hamburg.

Vitesse are NEC's archrivals. The two clubs share a long history together and they contest the Gelderse Derby (Derby of Gelderland), a confrontation between the two largest cities of the province of Gelderland, Arnhem and Nijmegen, two cities with major differences in attitude and culture. Since 1813, Arnhem has been the capital of Gelderland and is historically based on finance and trade, perceived as an office city with modern buildings. Nijmegen, on the other hand, is predominantly a workers' city, with middle and high-income groups in the minority. The two cities are just 24km apart, resulting in an intense crosstown rivalry. The meeting between the two teams is still considered to be one of the biggest matches of the season. De Graafschap are also considered a rival, and games between them are known as the Kleine Gelderse Derby (Little Gelderland Derby) but these matches are not as loaded with the tension and rivalry of those with Vitesse.

MY VISIT

The Saturday evening game of choice for me was NEC Nijmegen v Excelsior Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie. Unlike the very easy process of booking a ticket at Vitesse Arnhem, this one was a little more complicated. Firstly, Chrome did not like the site for some reason and it refused to let me click the box to accept cookies and get into the site. Therefore, I turned to Firefox where it worked, however without the built-in translation, I had to cut and paste. I deduced from the slightly pidgin English translation by Google that the ticket site was down for a week whilst they upgraded the system that was easier to use for the fans. However, this proved to be anything but for an English visitor, with a card being required that could only be purchased from the club office. Luckily, I eventually got a reply from the club after sending emails to a couple of addresses. They were helpful, saying they'd put me by a ticket at the office. With a smaller stadium than Arnhem, I was hoping this was the case. €25 was very reasonable for the top flight of Dutch Football, around £22, though not as cheap as the €15 at Arnhem.

Another thing that was more expensive was accommodation. Most places were asking £80 - £90 near the centre and there wasn't a huge choice. I eventually found something for £58 a bit out of the centre at Hotel restaurant Rozenhof in Heilig Landstichting. It was a very basic single room, but I didn't need much more than that. It was also a little way out of the centre but not too far. I'd be able to leave my bags from 12, meaning I could get to my first game with no issues and be able to travel luggage free.

 From my game at Juliana, the public options were not the best. It was only a half-hourly bus service with me having a 22-minute wait for my bus. It was however preferable to the extra 40 minutes walking would have taken, or the extortionate €26 that was quoted for a journey that was little over three miles. For some reason, I was charged for two tickets but it was still preferable to forking out for a taxi. I found the trains excellent in the Netherlands but the buses not great unless you were on their pre-paid system. It was then to Café Van Der Ouds for a couple of bottles. This was a nice place but quite pricey, in keeping with Nijmegen so far. I grabbed a can to drink on the way to the game and was there an hour before kick-off. It was eerily quiet and you'd never have guessed there was a game on. From there it was to the shop to pick up my ticket and get a pennant for €12. It was a nice relaxed atmosphere and entry. Inside the food places only accepted Dutch Bank cards by the looks of it as any Visa failed. The guy took 10 Euros cash and for that I got a couple of Kroket and a drink although I'm sure he had it on the sly. The Kroket were excellent though with curry sauce, albeit at a premium. My seat was directly behind the goal and a decent view as it was at a good height.

 The game was a real mid-table clash, with NEC in 10th and Excelsior in 11th. The hosts were draw specialists, having tied their last six games. Their last one was 1-1 draw against Feyenoord. Aside from the draws, they'd won 4-1 at Volendam and lost 1-0 at home to FC Twente. The visitors meanwhile had yet to draw, having won three and lost five of their eight games. After winning their first two, they've only won one of their last six games as they beat Emmen 2-1. The end of August saw heavy defeats - 4-0 at Twente and 6-1 at home to PSV Eindhoven. NEC were piling on the pressure in the opening exchanges and the Excelsior keeper had to be alert to make a couple of smart saves. The hosts had the ball in the net, bundled in from close range but VAR poked it's officious nose in and disallowed it. The second half continued in much the same vein and finally, on the hour, Landry Dimata headed home from a cross. Excelsior nearly got an equaliser with the keeper beaten but the glovesman did enough to force the striker to shoot wide. There were plenty of chances from both sides and the game deserved more than one goal. It did indeed get that a couple of minutes from time, a chance on the break for the visitors, a supremely clinical shot that cannoned in off the post following a great effort from Lazaros Lamprou. It was a bit of Greek tragedy for NEC but Excelsior had worked hard, clung on in there and then seized on their opportunity with aplomb.

 

The ground had been pretty much packed, the Attendance was given as 12,100. The atmosphere was decent, especially sat next to the Excelsior fans. There were plenty of bikes too, something that is very commonplace in the Netherlands. It was a decent land for it, very flat and for walking too as I'd covered around 18 miles by the time I got back. I'd wanted a drink from Mcdonald's, the only place open but it was drive-thru only, something I only discovered after a 20-minute detour. I headed back to my room but worse was to come when I discovered I was locked out. The woman who I left my bag with said not to lock the door from the inside, but someone obviously had. Luckily there was an indoor porch area I could sleep in as there was no reception or emergency contact and it made for an uncomfortable night.

THE GROUND

THE GOFFERTSTADION is an old-school ground converted for the modern age. It's tight and atmospheric although legroom is not the most generous. Most seats have a good view though. The ground is in a very quiet area so there's not much about it. They offer a decent range of basic food, the Kroket is a highlight. You might need a Dutch bank card though. Overall, the club are very helpful though if you encounter issues getting a ticket and it's well worth a visit.