Vitesse can become cup winner for the second time in club history on Sunday, after the first and for the time being only main prize was won in its 129th anniversary in 2017. Eloy Room, Maikel van der Werff, Kevin Diks and Navarone Foor look into conversation with Football zone back to that unforgettable day and also let their light shine on the approaching encounter with top favorite Ajax.
By Thijs Verhaar
Two goals from Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Vitesse two, AZ zero. Every fan of the Arnhem team can still effortlessly recite those facts four years later and goalkeeper Eloy Room also gets settled flashbacks to that duel. “Especially in these times we are all reminded of it, but it is in any case what I think back on with great pleasure. It is simply one of the best moments of my career ”, says the keeper, who became champion the following season with his new club PSV and just missed the American national title last summer with Columbus Crew. “You play football in the end to win prizes and we won the very first prize ever for Vitesse, so we carry that with us all our lives.”
The midfielder Navarone Foor, who now plays football in Cyprus, knows exactly how immense the pressure was four years later. It was constantly stated in the media that the ambitious Vitesse never won any prizes and that was reflected in the minds of the players. “We lived towards that final for weeks and told ourselves that we should mainly enjoy it, but that is quite difficult when you know how much depends on it. In a football life you usually don’t get a lot of chances for a prize and the supporters wanted it so badly. ” Maikel van der Werff adds that he still knows exactly that days before the start of the final in De Kuip, the entire city already turned yellow and black. “The whole of Arnhem was turned upside down and on our way to Rotterdam we were waved goodbye by thousands of fans. I thought that was so beautiful to see. The atmosphere of the supporters on both sides ultimately makes such a match. ”
???? Our Fans! ?? Make us proud, show who we are!#ForOurClubandOurCity #Pride pic.twitter.com/UFk8zaWO11
– Vitesse (@MijnVitesse) April 14, 2021
The tension did indeed compensate the neutral spectator a lot, because the level of the Arnhemmers was certainly not something to write home about in the first half. “We started the game very weak,” Room readily admits. After five minutes, he saw a free kick by Derrick Luckassen hit the crossbar and AZ also had the upper hand for a long time. “They were slightly stronger than us all season and also had the most chances in the first half. Everyone rated them in advance as the light favorite, so it was not very surprising ”, says Van de Werff, who also constantly insisted in the run-up to the match that Vitesse would also get its opportunities. “I was one of the few in the selection that had already won a prize (2014 cup with PEC Zwolle, ed.), So I was looked at when people talked about pressure and starting such a match. . ”
The right back had the best season of his career at Vitesse in that year, but was startled halfway through the year by a serious knee injury. “Then it immediately came to my mind that I would miss the remainder of the cup. We had just qualified for the semi-final against Sparta Rotterdam and I took far too much risk to be there. ” Van der Werff did not make it to that game and saw how Lewis Baker took two goals and thus undo the own goal of captain Guram Kashia. “Then I immediately agreed with the medical staff that I wanted to do everything I could to be able to participate in the final and then, in retrospect, also took too much risk, because I was still far from fit enough due to a setback,” he recalls.
This fan had pinned his hopes on Chelsea mercenary Lewis Baker, but eventually saw Ricky van Wolfswinkel become the match winner.
So he sat next to trainer Henk Fraser on the reserve bench and saw how his team continued to perform its tasks consistently and slowly but surely got better in the game. “That was really our strength,” says Room. He indicates that the team with Nathan, Matt Miazga, Lewis Baker and Marvelous Makamba knew many Chelsea mercenaries without real club binding, but still formed a tight collective. “The Dutch boys had all known each other for a long time and the rest were also perfectly taken care of, so everyone fought hard for each other. Above all, we knew very well from each other what we could and couldn’t do, so I actually felt that we would win the match when we survived AZ’s first attack wave without a goal against. ” Van der Werff had the same feeling, who indicates that he actually thought it was a ‘typical zero-zero game’. “Whoever scored the first goal would win. So I was sure we would get him if Ricky got a chance. He was so good that year that almost every ball flew in. ”
And so it happened. In the 81st minute, the striker put his head out of nowhere against a cross from Milot Rashica and thus outwitted AZ goalkeeper Tim Krul. “That was such a great moment,” said Room. He saw the whole team gather around the goalscorer and celebrated his own party in his own penalty area. “That’s kind of the fate of a goalkeeper, haha. Luckily I had all our fans behind me and of course they wanted to join the party. I think they also got the belief that it would work out well and as a group of players we all felt that we would not give it away ”, said the closing post, which is partly supported by Foor. “Of course it came very close then, but I was happy when Ricky also made the 2-0, haha. Only then did I really dare to cheer exuberantly. ”
Ricky van Wolfswinkel after his second goal. Navarone Foor: ‘He was our top striker and deserved to be the hero, even though we are all heroes in Arnhem now’.
Kevin Diks still knows exactly what went through his head when he gave the cross from which Van Wolfswinkel made the second Arnhem goal. “My return was successful, I immediately thought. I got such a happy feeling when I saw people in the stands crying for joy. That’s what I dreamed of in my youth and now it came true ”, he jubilates. The right back had been sold by the Arnhem team to the Italian Fiorentina a year earlier, but Vitesse took him back on a rental basis during the winter break. “Then I wanted to prove myself so hard that I passed myself on all sides. I also played some bad games and was disappointed with myself, but with that one cross I made up for everything. Ten years from now, no one will be talking about those bad matches and this will be remembered forever. Really, such a cup final is such a magical thing. This week I watched the match images again and then I can just get emotional again. ”
A day before the final, he had just gone home grumpy when he heard from Henk Fraser that Kelvin Leerdam preferred his right back position. “I really thought I was going to get a starting place, so you can imagine how disappointed and angry I was. I spent many hours talking about that with my agent, who also happened to represent Fraser’s interests, haha. At night I thought I would hear about it later, but in the end I got over my disappointment for the sake of the team and encouraged the boys just as hard as the rest. ” Because that is the only thing you can do as a substitute, says Van der Werff. “Stay positive, encourage your teammates and pray that things go in the right direction.”
Eloy Room and Navarone Foor celebrate the victory. Kevin Diks: ‘I dreamed of such a bathrobe and I still have it at home’.
Due to his lack of fitness, Van der Werff did not count on getting playing time, but was sent out of the dug-out ten minutes before the end to warm up. From the sidelines he saw how Van Wolfswinkel made 2-0 and then got the signal from Fraser that he could fill in. “Just keep things shut for a few minutes with an extra defender. That was of course very convenient ”, he laughs. And then in a more serious tone: “That’s something Fraser did very well. He knew I had done everything I could to make it to that final and granted me that moment, as he made the whole squad feel like they mattered. As Eloy said, we really were a great team. Perhaps not as strong as AZ playing football, but the underdog can always win in a cup match. That is something the boys of today can hold on to on Sunday. ”
Because that Vitesse is not the favorite against Ajax, all four of them immediately confirm. The Amsterdammers have more individual quality and are the party to beat in advance. “Still it is fifty-fifty”, Says Diks. “In a final there is so much pressure that details always make the difference. Maybe Maarten Stekelenburg has a very bad day or Vitesse gets a bit of luck from the referee. You do not know.” Van der Werff also believes that the normal differences in strength no longer count in a final. “With PEC we also won 5-1 against Ajax, while nobody saw that coming.” Foor also argues that the team from Amsterdam has had a much busier match schedule, but also does not want to go so far as to give Vitesse the advantage. “No, it is just equivalent”, Room also nods. “Everyone will give it a go and in the end the rightful winner will stand up. In any case, I hope they follow our example. That makes our performance a little less unique, but the current talented team deserves just as well to take a prize. ”