Volunteers clean up, players on one ear: Spakenburg can’t come back to happiness

Empty beer crates, standing tables, blue and white flags and a clubhouse with a floor your shoes are sticking to: that was the result of last night’s party at SV Spakenburg early this morning.

And what a party.

The amateur club made history by winning 1-4 in the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup at the Galgenwaard stadium. 27 busloads of supporters had gone to the stadium and 27 busloads of supporters returned to the clubhouse to celebrate the victory until the early hours, surrounded by their players and coach.

The players were still on their toes early this morning, as was famed coach Chris de Graaf. But countless volunteers were back at the club after only a few hours of sleep. The euphoria was palpable. “It’s really unreal. We can’t quite grasp it yet. You experience this once in your life,” says volunteer Lambert, setting a crate of beer on the floor.

Power of Spakenburg

Volunteers Guus and Jan pass by, smiling. “They are Spakenburg’s strength,” says Lambert. “These are the true faithful volunteers.”

Lambert calls Spakenburg a ‘true people’s club’ but also immediately admits the club have fallen on hard times. “With some supporters who were annoying.” For example, a clean player and club volunteers were threatened by members of the hard core. But lately the picture is slowly recovering. “You can see the club is growing again. It’s really important.”

“I’ve never experienced this before,” says Zeger, 91, an honorary member of the club. “I didn’t expect such a big win.” Still, Zeger remains sober about it. “It’s special, but it’s still just football.”

late hours

Hundreds of fans were waiting for the players’ bus in the parking lot, in the party tent and in the canteen last night. The victory was celebrated until the early morning. “I think the last ones went home at 4 p.m. Yes, the players were there too, so they won’t be in great shape on Saturday,” laughs Lambert. “But it’s not that bad. You should celebrate.”

“Who’s counting on that? says volunteer Guus, scraping empty plastic cups with a broom. “Normally you think you lose a game like this with 5-0, but you just faced Utrecht with 1-4.”

There are also few fans at the club, they are all still sleeping. The same goes for coach Chris de Graaf, who yesterday said he had to let the victory “grab”. At his work, three kilometers away, his colleagues have not yet heard from him. “It got late, I think,” says a colleague. De Graaf runs his own sales company in the village.

A few minutes later, another sound suddenly sounded: “He will now enter the shower and come.”

Unprecedented

But at work, they no longer see the trainer. De Graaf rushes to the club to speak to the media. He leaves his phone screen beaming, with continuous incoming calls. “I feel incomparable. If I wake up like this every day, I will have a good life.”

He knows how special what happened yesterday is, for the team, but especially for the village. “We’ve been through different eras as a club, so it’s fantastic that we can put the club on the map with so much positivity.”

The trainer went to bed drunk with happiness yesterday, and wakes up to fame today. Children want to have their picture taken with the coach. “It’s really nice, man. I know everyone, I grew up here. I’ve been with the club since I was five.”

“I always say: the people are the club. Not the players, not the staff, but the people who are always there. The club is what made yesterday so beautiful. It’s history for them.”

emotional release

Spakenburg’s catering manager, Frank, wholeheartedly agrees. He rushed out of the stadium ten minutes before the final whistle and was inundated with text messages from people wanting to help. “It’s a great emotional release,” he says with tears in his eyes. “May we all relive that.”