NEC coach Mario Been remembers Tottenham Hotspur all too well

Marcel van der Kraan
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Thursday 27 November 2008

"All of a sudden there was a hum in the dugout. There had been a message from the stands and coach Thijs Librechts said to me: Mario, warm up. The match had only been going for half an hour. Pierre Vermeulen cam off and I had to go on. Only afterwards I heard that Vermeulen's father had had a hear attack in the stands," Mario Been recalls.

The whole night of that 2nd November 1983 is carved in his memory: Feyenoord-Tottenham Hotspur, the second leg of the second round of the UEFA Cup.

It was a game that attracted 49.211 spectators to De Kuip.

Two weeks earlier Been had watch the first leg full of admiration from the bench.

"They had some names in their lineup: Ray Clemence in goal, Steve Perryman, Gary Stevens and Gary Mabutt at the back, Glenn Hoddle as the big strategist in midfield, Steve Archibald and Alan Brazil up front. We arrived with Gullit, Cruijff, Jeliazkov, Ivan Nielsen, Ben Wijnstekers. Not a bad team either.’’

In London the battle between Hoddle and the 36-year-old Johan Cruyff was the big fight.

"Away we didn't have a lot to say. In the first half Spurs played fantastic," Been recalls.

The score at half-time was 4-0, but goals from Cruyff and Nielsen kept Feyenoord's hope to turn things around in Rotterdam alive.

That night the tension was all over the stadium and it got even bigger when a group of insane Spurs 'fans' made their way into Vak S, the stand of the most fanatic Feyenoord fans.

Armed with knifes the English cut down a number of Feyenoord fans.

Some 30 injured people had to be taken to hospital and police arrested many people.

The players were then supposed to focus on a game of football.

Been: "I should have a video of that game somewhere, but it's been years since I have last looked at it. It was a bizarre night."

The Young Mario Been wasn't nervous before his European debut.

"No, the more people there were in the stands, the better I liked it. I was probably angry because I wasn't in the starting lineup"

Just before Been replaced Vermeulen the Londoners had just taken the lead by Chris Hughton, the current assistant-manager of Newcastle United.

"I had to play as some sort of a winger on Pierre's place. I did that more often in that period. I remember Hughton going on the overlap on every possible occasion. I wasn't too crazy about running after my opponent all the time."

Feyenoord went close twice in the second half before Tony Galvin decided the game (2-0).

After knocking out Bayern Munich, Austria Vienna and Hajduk Split Spurs won the UEFA Cup by beating Anderlecht on penalties in the final.

Been: "I have always admired Spurs since that tie. I shall never forget how all their expensive cars were parked outside the main entrance of White Hart Lane. Those things impressed me then.’’

Been told his players this week to try and enjoy the game against Tottenham Hotspurs in a good way.

"These are the nice moments during your career. Our lads are not going to face these teams too often."

For the players an away game to White Hart Lane would perhaps have been nicer, but he realizes that for the fans in Nijmegen it's much better to meet the English giants at home.

"It will be a great night of football, one we might perhaps remember for a long time, just like that one 25 years ago."