Football-loving Netherlands are often presented with the same menu: ‘the big three’ and respective side dishes. That’s why you take Football zone this season one A look at the Kitchen Champion Division. With the help of the archives and a carefully selected club expert, we put the lesser-known Dutch clubs in the spotlight. This edition offers a glimpse behind the scenes of FC Den Bosch, a club full of ups and downs that lives by the grace and mercy of fans and players.
De Vliert Stadium will be full again against Jong PSV (1-2 loss) on Friday, September 1. Decisive action is being taken to achieve this through harmonious cooperation between FC Den Bosch and supporters. It is the first time since 2004 that all 8,500 seats are occupied during a match in the first division. Then it was the championship match against BV Veendam (3-2 win) that demanded De Vliert’s full attention. The atmospheric campaign should be the first step towards the resurrection of the once respected football club.
When you think of the glory days in De Vliert, you automatically think of De Sliert: former goalkeeper Jan van Grinsven. His rhyming nickname is inextricably linked to the club’s home, as if the stadium were named after him. In reality it will be the other way around. He worked at the club for more than forty years. First as a goalkeeper, later as a youth coach, goalkeeper coach, assistant coach, team manager and commercial employee. He knows the ins and outs of the club, the peaks and valleys, and foresees a bright future FCDB. “When I see how many people are on the M-Side again, that was also the case in my time,” he explains to Football zone. But, in Van Grinsven’s time, the team was the atmosphere maker. Stable performances created a continuous party atmosphere at De Vliert.
Van Grinsven was part of a successful selection at FC Den Bosch.
One is dead…
FC Den Bosch has yet to be born, when the Den Bosch football club BVV puts the city on the map. As champion of region South II, the amateur club won the national title in 1948 by coming out on top in the championship competition. The city council will then know for sure: Den Bosch is a football city. It therefore agrees to the construction of a real football stadium. De Vliert was put into use in 1951. With a capacity of 30,000 people, only De Kuip and the Olympic Stadium are larger at that time. However, when professional football was introduced in 1954, things went downhill for BVV. Professional football club Wilhelmina is also trying to survive in the professionalized jungle.
BVV eventually falls after the bribery affair. On May 25, 1956, four fans of Den Bosch offered SHS goalkeeper Wim Landman money. With the aim of having the upcoming promotional match against BVV decided in favor of the people of Den Bosch. They leave an envelope with five hundred guilders with him. Landman is said to have given that money back later. He also had a mediocre game (5-1 loss). In 1959, Landman became the first player to be suspended for match fixing – although it later turned out that this was unjustified. When this comes true, as well as a ‘black fund’ at the club, the entire board of BVV will be dismissed and BVV will eventually lose its professional license. The new FC Den Bosch took over that license in 1966. When Wilhelmina’s professional department was also merged into FC Den Bosch a year later, it was given the official name FC Den Bosch ’67, playing in De Vliert.
On September 8, 1951, De Vliert Stadium in Den Bosch was opened, the home base of BVV. With a capacity of almost 30,000 spectators, it was also the 3rd largest stadium in the Netherlands – after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. A large part of the stadium was demolished in 1997. pic.twitter.com/zTGZaOQwRe
— De Boschloog (@DeBoschloog) June 26, 2022
Premier League worthy
The first success followed in 1971. The championship in the first division resulted in the first promotion to the Eredivisie. It didn’t last very long, after two seasons of fighting against relegation, Den Bosch succumbed in 1973. The club was having a hard time financially, but a close-knit team saved the day in 1982. “The year before I became the starting goalkeeper,” says Van Grinsven, “the club was struggling financially. Then the older players called everyone together and we went into town for a beer. Then we said, ‘If we claim our money, then it’s done. What are we doing?’ A few boys stated that it would be difficult because they also had families. But in the end we all decided to continue. As a result, we reached the play-offs and were promoted in 1983.”
From that moment on things got better for Den Bosch. The electronics company Panasonic becomes the main sponsor and the club will remain in the Eredivisie for no less than seven seasons. They finished sixth twice and seventh just as often. Van Grinsven, who played for Den Bosch for a total of sixteen seasons, about his time as a goalkeeper. “We also had a very good team. Gerard Aichorn; John van Nille; Kees van der Linden; Wim van der Horst; Hans Gillhaus, also international. They were wonderful players to work with and to perform with. Because that’s what we wanted.” In Den Bosch, that achievement is accompanied by enjoyment. “That Burgundian, that makes the club so beautiful. Along with performing,” says the Sliert van de Vliert. He remembers his time at the club. “At my very first home game I was semi-professional. I was 19 years old. We won and I walked past the players’ home with my bag. I had to work again in the morning and then train again in the afternoon. I wanted to go home. My captain tapped me on the shoulder: ‘What are you going to do? After the match we’ll have a beer here with the boys.’ Then you’re in professional football, right?”
Van Grinsven eventually keeps himself in the starting eleven and slowly puts his name, along with that of Den Bosch, in the history books in thick ink. In 1985 he was the first goalkeeper ever to score a goal in professional football. “We were 1-2 behind against Roda and got a free kick. (Rinus, ed.) Israel waved me forward. In the end Aichorn got that ball and shot it on goal. Someone shoots it at the post and it rolls behind Smits, the goalkeeper. I can get him right in front of his feet and tap him in.” In celebration, Van Grinsven makes an iconic somersault. “I later showed that to my children, they were doubled over.” The following year he becomes famous again with a goal, but this time he is on the other side. When on September 9 1986 a high ball from Jan Wouters flies towards fellow Ajax player Marco van Basten, the latter makes a beautiful bicycle kick. The ball disappears behind Van Grinsven in the intersection. Score: 3-1.
“There was really something to be achieved against Ajax that day. After the 2-1 we were simply better. Then Marco makes that bicycle kick…” After the match, however, there was disappointment in the dressing room. “Everyone looked down. Suddenly I see two feet standing in front of me. The trainer laughed: ‘You could have had that ball, right?’ I shot up. How can you laugh now? But he said: ‘We were entitled to a point, but sometimes you just have to enjoy yourself. Even if you do encounter them sometimes.’”
After the relegation in 1990, FC Den Bosch is having a hard time. If sponsor Panasonic also stops, the club will have a hard time financially. “At the time there were too many people within the club who thought Panasonic would just keep going. As a result, there were far too few sponsors to keep the club where it was,” Van Grinsven remembers. Den Bosch has been promoted four more times to date (in 1992, 1999, 2001 and 2004), but each time the club is immediately eliminated the following season. However, it did play a special game in 1991: the cup final against Feyenoord. Due to storming pitches, the referee on duty blew his whistle seven minutes earlier, with the score 1-0 for Feyenoord. “The club has been filing lawsuits against this for a long time. Ultimately, FIFA said that we had to stop, or we would be banned from European football for three years. But yes, we played in the first division.”
A fresh start
The club is also helped several times by supporters to keep its head above water. “During those difficult times, it turned out that many people have a blue-white heart. That’s what makes this club so great. It is often like living on the edge of the abyss, but always getting back up.” This season, the internal stability that the club is increasingly developing should translate into sporting achievements. “I think there is definitely play-offs in this team. They can achieve at least a period. This Den Bosch plays fun and fresh football,” says the former goalkeeper.
Youth training is an important pillar for the intended success. “Den Bosch has always had a good education. This is due to the good cooperation with the school. That’s why guys want to play here. If things go well at school, this translates to the field,” Van Grinsven says. The best product from that training? “Ruud van Nistelrooij. He wasn’t the best at the time, but he was so eager to learn. He once lost a game 3-0. After training he wanted to shoot some balls at goal with me. He wrote down everything. That had to be a top player.” You can still see the same lightness at the club today. For example, the historic defeat against PEC Zwolle (13-0), on March 3, 2023, is also processed with Den Bosch humor. “That was shit,” explains the key ring that all fans receive at home. In Den Bosch they give color to the black pages of history.
Last season the residents of Den Bosch finished nineteenth. Which, according to Van Grinsven, does not suit a city like Den Bosch. “I think it is a football city. We also used to have very good amateur clubs here. The Panasonic team with FC Den Bosch.” The club icon hopes that the stadium will be full even more often. “I think De Vliert is a meeting place. The audience has fluctuated a lot, but that’s where it stands now. That connects again. FC Den Bosch should never want to do without professional football again.”
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