Lars Capiau
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Johan Derksen has been a supporter of NEC all his life. This season he finally sees sporting success among the people of Nijmegen. If Rogier Meijer's team eliminates SC Cambuur, a final awaits in the TOTO KNVB Cup. And in the Eredivisie, NEC occupies a neat seventh place in the rankings.
The sporting glory is reason enough for it Algemeen Dagblad to visit the loyal NEC fan Derksen. He is very happy that the people of Nijmegen are doing well this season.
But Derksen wouldn't be Derksen if he didn't immediately make a critical comment on the success of the Nijmegen team. “It says a lot about the Eredivisie that a club like NEC is neatly in the left row.”
The regular table guest of Today Inside has never seen 'his' NEC win a major prize. The gray past makes the current success taste all the sweeter. “NEC has had times when it didn't even look like football,” Derksen says.
“You already knew from the kick-off: that would be another hopeless undertaking.” But the dark clouds have now left Nijmegen, and they have been exchanged for bright sunshine. Not least thanks to lender Marcel Boekhoorn.
“Marcel really keeps NEC alive. If he pulls his hands away, it's the end of the exercise,” says Derksen, who knows how much Boekhoorn has already pumped into the club. “He once told me in confidence that the counter is already at 30 million.”
However, financial opportunities never equate to sporting success. Johan Cruijff once said that he had never seen a bag of money score. Derksen agrees. “Put 100 million in? So that NEC becomes a sub-topper? You never have that guarantee.”
“Look at Ajax. They have invested 115 million and still have the level of SC Heerenveen. No, this is fine.” But the fact that NEC is doing well in the Eredivisie this season is mainly due to the poor quality of the Eredivisie, according to Derksen.
“Let's face it: Sontje Hansen is a nice player. And it is nice that Boekhoorn has been able to bring back Jasper Cillessen. But of course it is not a great team, rather mediocre. No matter how nice it is what NEC shows, we are in the Netherlands of course we have to look for the second set,” Derksen concludes.
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