Willem II promoted to the Eredivisie: time for a new double, 110 years after the first?
Willem II have secured promotion to the Eredivisie through the play-offs after a nerve-shredding match against FC Volendam, sending the people of Tilburg into raptures. Their return to the top flight stirs memories of 1916, the year in which the club claimed the first double in their history by winning both the national championship and the Zilveren Bal.
Street party in Tilburg after play-off promotion
Last weekend, Tilburg erupted in celebration. Willem II secured promotion to the Eredivisie in a nerve-shredding play-off tie against FC Volendam. The euphoria in the Kruikenstad echoes a distant past, because the club has proven before that it can deliver on the big occasions. In fact, exactly 110 years ago, Willem II achieved something no club outside the Randstad had ever managed.
The humble origins of a Tilburg institution
The Willem II story begins in 1886, when Marten Evert van Kuiken founds football club Tilburgia. Two years later the club takes its current name, in honour of King Willem II, who had strong ties with Tilburg. His military headquarters were based in the city, and he died there in 1849. In the early years Willem II is primarily a social club, but ambitions quickly grow. In 1904 the club wins the Brabant championship, and attention increasingly turns towards the highest level of the game.
1916: the year everything falls into place
War rages across Europe, but in neutral Netherlands football continues uninterrupted. While leagues in neighbouring countries have been suspended because of the First World War, Willem II even play a match against Belgian refugees in August 1916. It proves an excellent season for the Tilburgers, who advance to the final stages of the title race. Everything hinges on a single match, away at Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer.
The carrier pigeon that sets a city alight
On 1 June, the players and a delegation of supporters travel by train to Deventer. Forward Jos van Son, who would go on to become a club legend with 223 appearances and 185 goals to his name, scores the only goal: 0-1. The Tricolores' defence holds firm and Willem II win. Back in Tilburg, nobody yet knows the result. Supporters wait anxiously for the carrier pigeon making its way from Deventer with the news. Roughly an hour and a half after the final whistle, the bird lands with the glad tidings and the Kruikenstad erupts in turn. The following day, De Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant ran the banner headline 'Willem II Kampioen van Nederland' and devoted an entire page to the historic achievement.
Sneering reactions from Amsterdam, but Willem II respond with the double
Not everyone is impressed. In Amsterdam, the new champions are met with barely concealed disdain. Ajax had been relegated shortly before the war and, due to the exceptional circumstances, could neither be promoted nor relegated. The Godenzonen had regularly beaten top-flight clubs and were rolling over opponents in the second division by cricket scores. In the capital, the conviction takes hold that Willem II would never have stood a chance had Ajax been competing. The Tilburgers are quickly given the opportunity to prove that view wrong. In the final of the Zilveren Bal tournament — at the time a far more prestigious affair than the KNVB Cup — they face precisely that opponent: Ajax. Goalkeeper Walter van den Bergh proves unbeatable, and right-winger Harrie van Asten scores the only goal. The Zilveren Bal heads to Tilburg, and with it the first double in the club's history is complete.
Related
Source: Via Omroep Brabant (GNews)
Comments
- Be the first to comment.