I am sure we have all been at one or more, especially random, friendly matches in our time. They might not appear as frequently as yesteryear, but look, and you can still find them. My favourite has to be a 1962 match between Port Vale and Czechoslovakia, but Linfield versus East Germany, or Heaton Stannington v Gabon as recently as 2012, certainly falls into this category too.
My first experience of such an occasion was when Meadowbank Stadium hosted a Sarajevo XI in July 1994, playing an Edinburgh Select, originally a team that was going to be made up of Hearts, Hibs and Meadowbank players, with funds going to Edinburgh Direct Aid for victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian side had risked life and limb in the tunnel under the airport runway to get across to the UK to play a series of matches during the height of the Balkan War. However, the SFA dragged its heels in approving the match, and the big name players couldn’t play, leaving local non league and Juniors joining Meadowbank Thistle players. As you can imagine, it was less of a success than it should have been, with only £4,000 raised for the charity.
So I guess my first really top drawer random friendly was on a sun-drenched early July Saturday in 2017. FC Twente from Enschede in the Netherlands were playing Stranraer at their fabulously quaint Stair Park. I knew I had to be there.
One of the FC Twente fans, who the core support had lost prior to 2017, was a Stranraer born lad. He had been an avid fan of the Dutch club, amongst a number of Scots who cheer for them. Their fans wanted to honour him, and lo and behold, they managed to get their altogether more lofty team to head for the Wigtownshire capital.
I am not an advocate of the half and half scarf, but this game was a random gem, and I resolved it was a fantastic souvenir. Who would have even thought such a scarf would have been produced, but upon clearing the turnstile, I immediately found myself delving into the murky world of these pieces of colourful fabric. It was a spontaneous purchase. I ultimately enjoyed the day so much that I resolved that I would one day take my new scarf with me to Enschede for an FC Twente game. I waited patiently, hoping that Stranraer might make the return trip, but that was always a long shot. Just staying in League Two at the end of last season was a feat enough for them.
So some seven years on, I finally managed to park my obsession with Calcio long enough to pop across to the Netherlands for a weekend. I had contacted FC Twente and told them the premise of my article, and they delighted me with an offer of a press pass for the Eredivisie match with Sparta Rotterdam, the club’s first home league match of the new season.
FC Twente have come a long way from Stair Park in July 2017, having previously been Dutch champions as recently as 2009/10, but at that Wigtownshire point in life, they were in the midst of a second financial state of flux. In 2002/03, despite being declared bankrupt, the club somehow survived in the top flight and prospered. However, by the end of the 2017/18 campaign, they lost their top Eredivisie status for only the second time in the clubs relatively short history, having started out as a merged club in 1965. They had a previous one season dip into the second tier in 1983/84. One of the constituent parts of the merger, SC Enschede, had a Dutch league trophy to their name from 1926. For the record, the other half of the merger were called Enschedese Boys. What a great name!
Steve McLaren did a sterling job at the club, joining The Tukkers, as FC Twente are nicknamed, in 2008/09 and immediately taking them into the Champions League. Despite the heavy schedule that competition can bring, he went one better the following season, leading the club to that aforementioned Eredivisie title. I am sure most of us had forgotten that he led them to such prestigious glory, but those who witnessed his hilarious Dutch accented English press conference are more likely to recall this gem of the recent past, rather than the amazing achievement of rumbling the bigger Dutch sides. It remains the club’s sole championship success.
I guess a financially struggling Tukkers were not full of household names as they trotted out in Stranraer, a third tier side themselves at that juncture, but needless to say the Dutch had too much class for their hosts. FC Twente paid Stranraer a great compliment by playing essentially the first team in the opening half, which ended 0-5, and then changed the team entirely at the break. That resulted in a more leisurely scoreless half, where the Blues created one or two moments where they might have scored a consolation goal, alas it was not to be.
The stewarding of this friendly initially was all wrong. They had the fans segregated, and the gates locked. The considerable Dutch fan base present wasn’t very chuffed with this arrangement, especially as access to the club shop was only via the home end. Eventually, commonsense prevailed, and I am sure the shop did more business that day than any other home match that season. The segregation was maybe an oversight, it must have been, as the unique Trumpton-esque (a TV memory for the older UK reader, and for younger ones, it has nothing to do with a certain US politician!) bandstand just outside Stair Park, would house a grill and a sound system for a post match intermingling/party. It had been a fabulous day, and I wanted more of FC Twente, so even many years on, I was headed for Enschede, finally.
The 2024/25 Tukkers had Champions League qualifiers to start the new season, having finished third in the Eredivisie last term. A narrow loss in Salzburg versus RB set up a return a few days ahead of the opening home league match of the season versus Sparta Rotterdam at the magnificent De Grolsch Veste, capacity 30,205. In a belter of a European tie, FC Twente had given it everything, but ultimately, a 3-3 draw on the night sent them down to the Europa League group stage, 4-5 on aggregate.
The effort put in during that pulsating midweek game might explain a largely lacklustre first half on Saturday evening versus Sparta. Indeed, the best chance of the first period fell to the visitors, clean through on goal Tobias Lauritson could only smash his effort off the post.
Whether Red Bull had been administered at the break (other energy drinks are available), but FC Twente were bang at it from the off in the second half. Within two minutes of the restart, they had smashed one off the crossbar, then moments later carved out another great chance, this time well saved. The goalkeepers were in fine form in the second half, and seconds later, Unnerstall, arguably the best keeper in the Eredivisie, earned his pay with a great stop to prevent Sparta from nicking the lead.
The second club of Rotterdam, cheered on by around 200 fans were competent in defence, and useful on the break, that said, one wee defensive blunder from a nothing cut back by FC Twente resulted in a spot kicked being awarded. VAR unusually agreed, and when the ball was smashed home, the whole ground shook. A terrific, vociferous home support throughout, but scoring is always the main event.
Right on the 90-minute mark, inventive countering by Sparta saw a superb cross met by the aforementioned Lauritson, who at maybe the fourth time of asking had his goal and pulled them level. There would be one final opportunity, from literally the last kick of the game, but Sparta’s Olij saved brilliantly with his feet.
Vak-P is the name of the hard-core FC Twente fans, housed in the left hand stand from the main entrance. They really get behind their team, and the volume is incredible. A very British song playbook can be caught too. ‘Roll out the Barrel’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and one for the Scots, ‘We’ll be coming down the road’ were all given an outing. However, at full-time, disgruntled with the draw, none of them were hanging around to applaud their ‘heroes’, even if the team did a rather sad lap of the pitch to near empty stands. De Grolsch emptied quickly!
The proximity of Germany means a swathe of Germans will always be here, especially Schalke 04 fans who they have a big fan tie-up (sorry Stranraer), whose half and half scarves were way more common than my Stranraer-FC Twente version, albeit similar colours. Mine certainly did raise many inquisitive looks. I am not sure many were familiar with Scotland’s most South Westerly club!
The De Grolsch Veste stadion is a fabulous venue. Three high sided stands enclose the play to a cauldron, with just a morsel of room for some of the sound to escape over the lower single tiered stand opposite the main one. Quite why it is beside a waste treatment plant is anyone’s guess, and while walking by, it wasn’t absolutely stinking, you were aware of an unpleasant oder shall we say. I know land is cheaper and easier to accommodate the large stadia these days away from the centre of any place, but the old fossil in me still loves a city based ground.
Enschede is a city in the far South East of the Netherlands in the province of Overijssel, located in the Twente region of the country, hence the club name. The most eastern urban areas of the city almost reach the German border and the city of Gronau. While the city has a population of 158,000, the metro region is 316,000, with the Twente area accounting for 627,000 of the entire Dutch population. These numbers point to FC Twente being a Ross County style club, although on a much bigger scale. Isolated a little by geography in a relatively small land that is the Netherlands, a lot of smaller local towns near Enschede were represented in the stadium on banners during the game. They are almost a quasi regional team, rather than just Enschede, as the county Ross-shire supporting the Dingwall club in Scotland, hence the club name.
Most cities in the Netherlands have through railway stations, but in Enschede, it is largely the end of the line. This surprised me, given the proximity of Germany. The main trunk routes must be north of here, adding to that sense of a quiet corner of the country. However, one solitary line runs further East, where an occasional train runs in the direction of Munster and Dortmund, but only from Enschede. You would need to change train here if headed any further in either direction.
The city of Enschede is a little disappointing, but let me qualify that. I have perhaps been spoiled in my previous travels in the Netherlands. Alkmaar, Volendam, Zwolle and Maastricht are all much more touristy places. Tucked away as a borderland city, it’s not a Cuidad Del Este or Chuy kind of place, but a real hotch potch of architecture and styles. It has some nice buildings, but that traditional Dutch feel, however, is sampled only in small parts of the old city. No matter where you are in the Netherlands, Dutch society is very sociable, with street cafe, bars and restaurants in abundance. Enschede is no exception, and in the square right in the centre, where the main church is housed, you’ll find busy pavilions to tempt you with whatever drink or food type takes your fancy. I wouldn’t advocate a cultural trip here, but enjoy it for what it is, and most especially, enjoy it in conjunction with the football and the passion of the FC Twente fans.
Getting There
Regular readers will know that I love a walk to the ground. Dutch stadiums as a general rule, from my limited experience, don’t appear very often to be near the centre. I was staying in a hotel very close to the railway station, and it is a good hours walk, 4.4 kilometres according to Google Maps. There are more interesting walks for sure. Halfway through, all the way to the stadium, you are skirting the edge of an industrial estate, albeit a well looked after one, if such an accolade exists. There are no photo opportunities on this meander. It is well light up should you be doing the night stroll, as I did back to the city.
Alternatively, a railway station, Enschede Kennispark is right beside the stadium, and a mere 5 minute tootle along the tracks, but beware, they don’t run football specials perse, so you are open to the vagaries of the main rail timetable.
There is a club shop on the main stand side of the ground (opposite side from train), and inside the ground, you will find regulation football fayre that will quench thirst and fill stomachs. However, having been in the press room nibbling complimentary sandwiches and drinks, I can’t enlighten you too much.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 