We are the Champions!
Thankfully there was also a positive about this year that could not have come at a better time and has been an absolute amazing distraction during all this: PSV’s incredible footie season. We became the champions two weeks ago. We actually won the league this season of all seasons. And it had been seven years. Seven horrid years, with last season as a definite lowpoint with crying players being hugged and given backpats by the fans. That with almost the exact same team.
It already started after the World Cup last year. I don’t care that much about the national footie team, oops. I mean I get into it during a tournament, but aside from that? I never watch quali matches, let alone friendlies. Well I should make that past tense, because two months later I was in a stadium watching the Dutch team suck ass, and might again soon. But oh it was so much fun. The atmosphere was so different from club football. Not better. But different.
Anyway, the world cup was still going on when PSV started new season prep again and I got quite excited for it. Hoping this season would be better than the last. We had a new signing that intrigued me ehum. I had a wee crush on this boy when he was at a different club couple years ago, but since he was at a different club and I didn’t see them play that often, it didn’t really grow. He went abroad as well, so lost sight of him. Until we needed a new striker and I knew he’d been on the radar for quite a while. After months of negotiating with his club, we finally signed Luuk de Jong, who actually paid off part of his contract to come join us. Bless his football socks. I erm.. Yeah why lie, I fell for him pretty hard and pretty quick. Which I should have seen coming. As with every new celebrity crush, you never really know them that well, but dammit Luuk turned out with every interview I saw or heard to be a genuinely good, funny, kind guy. And when I say good guy, I mean good guy. He has a charity for kids with this brother and has just launched an event to build water holes in Ghana. That kinda genuine good guy. He’s also not too shabby a footballer.
So season started and we were not doing too bad from the start. Or to put it in numbers: we led from round 2 and never gave up that position. We scored the most goals so far, can beat our own point record in the last two matches, and still have a shot at the least goals against. The season was crazy. We had so much luck. Though I say luck. It was mostly us keep on going and finally getting the ball in the net the last couple minutes. As I kept saying to a friend after pretty much every match: we can’t do things normally. There was always something. Unfair red card. Blunder in the defence. Hattrick Luuk, but still only winning 4-3 in the 93th minute. It was a crazy season. Absolutely insane. But so amazing because of it. It was never boring. The matches anyway. The club itself was boring as hell. No fights, no interruptions, no scandals, nothing! Made for a nice change after the past seven years.
Because we hadn’t won in seven years, the yearning was incredible. Which showed at the celebrations. 100,000 people came to join in the festivities in Eindhoven. My other post explains why I wasn’t one of them. However, it was fun seeing it on the telly too. You see the players’ reactions up close and that was amazing. They had the time of their life.
So did Luuk. He was a truly nice distraction from everything the past couple months.
At the beginning of the season people doubted whether or not he was actually good enough because his adventures abroad didn’t turn out so well (for very clear reasons, but people like to not look further than their nose is long), but oh did he prove them wrong. He’s second topscorer at the moment of the league, two goals behind his teammate and he’s in the top five of all of the Best Player lists of the league. He also got back into the Dutch team, which is what he wanted so badly and he’s loving his time at ours, which just makes it all so much better. Champions League beckons next season. Gonna be fun!
I also saw PSV play three times first half of the season, which was so great. Twice in Eindhoven, once against our local team. Luuk scored in all three matches. How about that :D It was incredible, all three times.
So yes, all in all an absolute dream season footie-wise. Which feels just so, so nice considering the rest :)
It already started after the World Cup last year. I don’t care that much about the national footie team, oops. I mean I get into it during a tournament, but aside from that? I never watch quali matches, let alone friendlies. Well I should make that past tense, because two months later I was in a stadium watching the Dutch team suck ass, and might again soon. But oh it was so much fun. The atmosphere was so different from club football. Not better. But different.
Anyway, the world cup was still going on when PSV started new season prep again and I got quite excited for it. Hoping this season would be better than the last. We had a new signing that intrigued me ehum. I had a wee crush on this boy when he was at a different club couple years ago, but since he was at a different club and I didn’t see them play that often, it didn’t really grow. He went abroad as well, so lost sight of him. Until we needed a new striker and I knew he’d been on the radar for quite a while. After months of negotiating with his club, we finally signed Luuk de Jong, who actually paid off part of his contract to come join us. Bless his football socks. I erm.. Yeah why lie, I fell for him pretty hard and pretty quick. Which I should have seen coming. As with every new celebrity crush, you never really know them that well, but dammit Luuk turned out with every interview I saw or heard to be a genuinely good, funny, kind guy. And when I say good guy, I mean good guy. He has a charity for kids with this brother and has just launched an event to build water holes in Ghana. That kinda genuine good guy. He’s also not too shabby a footballer.
So season started and we were not doing too bad from the start. Or to put it in numbers: we led from round 2 and never gave up that position. We scored the most goals so far, can beat our own point record in the last two matches, and still have a shot at the least goals against. The season was crazy. We had so much luck. Though I say luck. It was mostly us keep on going and finally getting the ball in the net the last couple minutes. As I kept saying to a friend after pretty much every match: we can’t do things normally. There was always something. Unfair red card. Blunder in the defence. Hattrick Luuk, but still only winning 4-3 in the 93th minute. It was a crazy season. Absolutely insane. But so amazing because of it. It was never boring. The matches anyway. The club itself was boring as hell. No fights, no interruptions, no scandals, nothing! Made for a nice change after the past seven years.
Because we hadn’t won in seven years, the yearning was incredible. Which showed at the celebrations. 100,000 people came to join in the festivities in Eindhoven. My other post explains why I wasn’t one of them. However, it was fun seeing it on the telly too. You see the players’ reactions up close and that was amazing. They had the time of their life.
So did Luuk. He was a truly nice distraction from everything the past couple months.
At the beginning of the season people doubted whether or not he was actually good enough because his adventures abroad didn’t turn out so well (for very clear reasons, but people like to not look further than their nose is long), but oh did he prove them wrong. He’s second topscorer at the moment of the league, two goals behind his teammate and he’s in the top five of all of the Best Player lists of the league. He also got back into the Dutch team, which is what he wanted so badly and he’s loving his time at ours, which just makes it all so much better. Champions League beckons next season. Gonna be fun!
I also saw PSV play three times first half of the season, which was so great. Twice in Eindhoven, once against our local team. Luuk scored in all three matches. How about that :D It was incredible, all three times.
So yes, all in all an absolute dream season footie-wise. Which feels just so, so nice considering the rest :)