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Details
Title: Forever The First
Author: Ellen Mannens and Robert van Brandwijk
Published : 2020
Match page: Feyenoord 2-1 Celtic, 6 May 2020
Synopsis
On May 6, 1970, Feyenoord was the first Dutch club to win the European Cup I. A unique achievement that turned city and country upside down and still has great value for the club fifty years later. In this anniversary year, Feyenoord, in collaboration with AD, brings the historical season to life in the book Voor Altijd De Eerste.
Translation :
On 6 May 1970 Feyenoord became the first Dutch club to win the European Cup I. A unique achievement that turns the city and country on its head and still has a lot of value for the club 50 years on. In this anniversary year Feyenoord, in collaboration with the AD, brings the historical season to life in the book Voor Altijd The First.
Review
The title, a much – needed and pointed reminder that Feyenoord was the first Dutch club to win Europe’s most prestigious competition, also indicates how much that achievement has been overshadowed by the Ajax hegemony that immediately followed the Rotterdamers’ historic breakthrough.This well – produced book is both a counterblast and a marvelous tribute to ‘The people’s team’, particularly the bond between Feyenoord and its fans which shines through in this account of the triumphant 1969/70 European campaign. You don’t need to understand Dutch to appreciate this, the photography alone tells the story.For example, the pictorial coverage of the exultation of players and supporters after the ejection of holders AC Milan shows just how much the club means to them and the city and acts, albeit retrospectively, as a cautionary note to all connected with Celtic at the time -players, management and fans – that Feyenoord was not a club to be underestimated. It is an impression underlined by the photo of the unmistakable aura of confidence exuded by a smiling, relaxed Jock Stein on a spying mission in Amsterdam (Ajax 3, Feyenoord 3) ten days before that shattering night in the San Siro, Ironically, one photograph in the book informs us that the Glasgow club was represented in the celebrations of their opponents.A Celtic teddy bear (no connection with the Lisbon one), placed on top of the European Cup, had the best view of the enormous crowd which greeted their conquering heroes outside Rotterdam’s town hall, a gathering which became perhaps the most potent symbol of the rebirth of a city which had suffered the twin nightmares of the near – obliterative bombing in May 1940 (Rotterdam burned for five days) and the subsequent Occupation.
Pat Woods
Product Details:
Title – Forever the first (‘Forever the first’)
Authors – Robert van
Brandwijk and Ellen Mannens.
Publisher: Feyenoord / Algemeen Dagblad, 2020.
Contact: ellen@eltekst.nl
Links
Translation
An ode to our heroes in ‘Forever The First’
On May 6, 1970, Feyenoord was the first Dutch club to win the European Cup I. A unique achievement that turned city and country upside down and still has great value for the club fifty years later. In this anniversary year, Feyenoord, in collaboration with AD, brings the historical season to life in the book Voor Altijd De Eerste.
Reliving the football year:
The victory of the European Cup I in 1970 has almost mythical value half a century later. Journalists Ellen Mannens and Robert van Brandwijk take the time from then to now by telling stories that are close to the reader’s skin. Through conversations with leading actors such as Rinus Israël, Wim Jansen and Franz Hasil, eyewitnesses, supporters, opponents and through hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, they revive the football year. 23 officers
For Always The First tells about the well-known, but especially also the lesser known facts from the European season 1969-1970.For example, trainer Ernst Happel wanted to know what his premium would be when he won the European Cup, Willem van Hanegem would hardly have been a Feyenoorder anymore, opponent Legia Warsaw tried to smuggle money to the Netherlands and the police kept the party crowd from 200,000 people on Coolsingel controlled with only 23 officers.
Personal memories:
The stories about and around the matches are supplemented with personal memories, photos and collections of the loyal supporters who followed Feyenoord throughout Europe. In addition, Voor Altijd De Eerste publishes unique images by photographers Tonny Strouken and Frans Hemelrijk, who captured the season in color. For that time quite unique. Unique document
Forever The First tells the story of eleven touchable, talented football players and their colorful coach, who gradually found each other in a shared mission: to become the best in Europe. With never published photos, documents and dozens of souvenirs, this book is a unique document of a special period. Whether or not you were there.
Celtic Teddy Bear (not to be confused with the Lisbon one)
Here is the explanation of how it came to be on display in Feyenoord’s museum, according to Marijke Edel , one of its employees , in a return email to Celtic fan Jamie Fox :
“We got possession of the teddy bear, on loan, from Marike Couwenberg, the daughter of former chairman Guus Couwenberg (1915 – 2000). According to Marike, her father got the teddy bear off a disappointed Celtic fan at the airport after the match’. The teddy bear, placed in the European Cup, had the best (balcony) view of the victory celebration attended by a gigantic crowd outside Rotterdam’s City Hall.