YES!
I may be a Feijenoord fan, but if there was any other team this season I didn’t mind winning the competition it was FC Twente. They were knocking on the door already last season and played such disciplined, attractive football without ever becoming arrogant. I also liked Steve McLaren from the start, even when he still thought speaking English with what he thought was a Dutch accent would help his players understand him better. And then there were players like Blaise Nkufo, a Black Swiss striker (and how many of those are there playing football on this level..) who became the club’s top scorer early in the season. Not to mention Bryan Ruiz, a Costa Rican international who became this season’s most dependable striker for FC Twente.
And what better way to win the championship than by denying Ajax the title? Ajax is the Manchester United of Holland, undeniably a great team, but arrogant and hated in the rest of the country (this makes Feijenoord into Liverpool, hardworking but a bit thick sometimes and PSV Chelsea, accused of buying their championships; carrying on the analogy would make AZ into Arsenal or Spurs, perrenial fourth but capable of greater things). Ajax had a great season, but a baddish start and an even better season for FC Twente meant that today on the last playing day they were still one point behind Twente. Because both games started at the same time, they were even virtual champion when they scored before Twente did in their game, but in the end, despite a 4-1 victory they left emptyhanded…
You have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at that, at the discomfort of players like Demy de Zeeuw, once a likeable player but now best known for trying to dop in his direct opponents to the referee, or Louis Suarez, top scorer in this year’s league, but prone to fall to the ground if somebody blows in his direction, not to mention Martin Jol, chav trainer in his eternal shell suit. Just the fact that they accused my club, Feijenoord for deliberately not winning from FC Twente two weeks ago in order to block Ajax in their championship bid is enough for me to crack open another beer to celebrate Twente’s win.
Congratulations Twente! And commiserations to Ajax — I feel your pain and I like it!