My team, Royal Antwerp Football Club is the oldest football club in Belgium. We ve had some some great moments in the past with our most memorable one the 1993 European Cup winners final at Wembley wich we lost against Parma. However the last 13 years we had to play in the 2nd division until last year when we won the League in a dramatic final. This year we returned back to Division one to play against the likes of Anderlecht, Club Brugge, AA Gent etc. We enjoyed it to the fullest, and almost ended up in Play-off 1 to play the big boys for a European ticket. But we had to settle for a stake in Play off 2.
This whole play off system is rubbish. Especially when you have to play a number of non-matches against some other midtable clubs and ...number 2,3 and 4 of division 2.
In our case that was a blessing, as we had to play our City rivals KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk. Formely known as Germinal Beerschot and therefore Beerschot VAV. 5 years ago they played under the name BAC Beerschot in the 1st Division and got relegated. But because they couldn’t pay off their debts, they got bankrupted. Their fans decided to go through a merger proces with a nearby club KFCO Wilrijk in the amateur League. Its something we dislike as we would never give up our name, number and collors.
But they managed to win the League 4 times in a row to end up in the 2nd division, and almost won the League for a 5 th time in a row, only to lose it with a last minute penalty.(snigger...😄👌🏻)
So now we had to play each other for the First time since 2004. And the whole City of Antwerp was ready for it. Losing a derby is one of the worst things that can happen to a football fan. The opposite fans are mostly family members, friends, neighbours or collegues etc. They grab every opportunity to rub it in your face. So with that in the back of our mind, we walked to our Stadium to make it a burning hell for them.
From the moment the First “Beerschot” players walked onto the pitch, it was jeers and whistles with every touch on the ball. They were going to have a tough afternoon. A Derby isn’t about nice football, its a fight for local honnors.
We managed to win the game with 2-0 and it felt like winning the League.
We can walk with our heads up high trough the streets of Antwerp.
( me on the right with one our famous fans, local rapper Tourist Lemc)
