Vissersderby as finale: FC Volendam and Telstar battle for survival in final matchday
FC Volendam and Telstar head into the last two matchdays of the Eredivisie season level on points, meaning next week's 'Vissersderby' could turn into a straight relegation shootout. Club stalwart Jan Mühren of Volendam and former Telstar chairman Pieter de Waard look ahead to what could be a decisive showdown.
Level on points, different fixtures
With two games left to play, FC Volendam and Telstar are locked on exactly the same number of points. The difference, for now, lies in goal difference: Telstar currently sit fifteenth, safely above the drop zone. Volendam are sixteenth, which in this scenario means play-offs against a side from the Eerste Divisie — with the very real risk of relegation. This coming Sunday, Telstar play at 16:45 against bottom side Heracles, while Volendam face Excelsior, who currently sit fourteenth.
Tension in the village
Jan Mühren — younger brother of club icons Arnold and Gerrie, uncle of current striker Robert Mühren, and also the stadium announcer in Volendam — can feel how these final matchdays have the fishing village in their grip. "It's do or die. The pressure is pretty high," he says. "The club has taken points off the top sides — relegation would be a bitter blow." He also points to the personal stakes for his nephew: "Robert is in his final year and wants to do right by his club. If they go down, people will say: 'that didn't go well.'" The tension peaks when Mühren looks ahead to the potential final showdown between the two clubs: "It would be something else if we have to settle it in the last game. And if a single point turns out to be enough — ha!"
The Vissersderby: a classic between two fishing towns
There is good reason why the clash between Volendam and Telstar is known as the 'Vissersderby'. Volendam sits on the Markermeer, while Telstar calls IJmuiden and Velsen-Zuid home, on the North Sea coast. Two places where football is deeply embedded in the culture. "The stadium holds 7,200 people, of whom 6,800 are from Volendam," Mühren explains. "In a village of just over 20,000 inhabitants. It's full every week — just think about what that means." Former chairman De Waard, who led Telstar for seventeen years until 2023, describes Volendam as "a club that has always gone back and forth between the divisions." He offers a more measured take on his own club's atmosphere: "We are a little more reserved. If we were relegated it would be a terrible shame, but our stadium would still be full."
Relegation: disaster or not?
The team finishing sixteenth at the end of the regular season must contest play-offs against a side from the Eerste Divisie. Losing those would mean direct relegation. The two club figures respond to that prospect in their own distinct ways. De Waard, who describes himself as a passionate supporter of the game without the direct responsibilities he once carried, is more philosophical: "It would be very tough on the treasurer, but personally I think Friday nights in the Eerste Divisie are great. I want to stay up, but other than that I won't shed a tear." Mühren is more emphatic: "I think the Eredivisie is just better, full stop." And his deepest wish? It goes beyond his own club. "As a small village we compete on every front: football, handball, music. That's unique." De Waard echoes that sentiment: "My deepest wish is that Volendam stays up too, because the Vissersderby is a classic we want to keep playing."
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Source: Via NOS (GNews)
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