Wednesday, 24 may (D-Day)
After some 8 hours driving through Germany, our busdriver decided that it was time for breakfast. No one really cared about eating, but he insisted. So we went down to some raststatte of which the driver seemed to know the owner. It also looked to me as if he didn't have to pay for his meal. I wonder why. I also wonder why we had to pay DM 11,- for a slice of bread with ham and eggs. But ofcourse nothing could spoil the great atmosphere, since we were so close to our destination, Vienna.
In Vienna, all buses from Holland had to gather at a gasstation, before going into Vienna-City. This confused the driver, so it took another hour before we came at the Ernst Happel stadium. Finally at 1:00 pm we parked the bus next to the stadium. Immediately afterwards we went into Vienna to do some sightseeing.
The city seemed invaded with Ajax fans: everywhere you looked was the red&white of Ajax! Only few Italians showed up, so no big riots occurred. We had some real Austrian pizza, and then went back to the Stadium. The weather was great, about 26 degrees so nothing could hold us back now!
Although nothing could hold us back, back at the stadium we had to cue for almost 45 minutes before getting in, because the Austrian police insisted on body searching every spectator. Inside the stadium the atmosphere was just great! Two hours before kick off almost all Ajax fans were inside, and the whole repertoire of Ajax songs came along. Every Ajacoid found a little Ajax flag on their chair, a nice tradition that was started this season at Ajax - AEK.
Our seats were very near the left corner flag, the same one from which Finidi took a corner in the first that resulted in the Frank de Boer chance. The stadium looks great and from every seat you get a perfect view on the pitch.
The Game
The first half we were pushed back by an agressive Milan. Marco Simone was the best player in my eyes, but I only found out after the game because I thought Milans number 11 was Lentini. What's in a name... Van der Sar made a great save on a volley of Simone. To everybody present in the stadium it was very clear that the Rumanian referee was bribed, so we let him know how we felt about him. ;-)
The 2nd half Ajax looked much better, especially after Kanu came in for the invisable Seedorf. Ajax kept more possesion of the ball, and Ronald de Boer had some great runs from midfield.
The Goal
Because the goal was on the other side of the stadium, I couldn't really see how it was done, but that didn't matter: Everbody went crazy! Including some of the Ajax players :-). After the goal there were some moments of extreme tension, because Milan tried to equalize. They didn't succeed...
Immediately after the last whistle, our section of the stadium turned into an orgy of sound and dance. I had to swallow real hard to get rid of that strange feeling in my throat, around me there were even people crying. At last after 22 years back at the top! When Danny Blind lifted the trophy the craze reached another ultimate high!
Thursday, 25 may
At midnight we started our way back. After some beer and song everybody fell a sleep. At 7:00 in the morning most of us were awake again, so the singing continued. I was the only one who knew the complete lyrics to "Een Vlieger" of Andre Hazes;-)
The last miles in Germany were great, with people standing on bridges over the highway cheering us on! Back at the cafe Gieling, a warm welcome was given by Feyenoord fans who were gathered there to go the cup final later that day in Rotterdam. They looked reaaally depressed. Hehehheheheheh! ;-)
I couldn't wait to get back to Amsterdam, because I knew some serious partying was going on! Back home we immediately went to the Museumplein. Together with 250,000 others we celebrated the victory. There are no words for what happened there or during the canaltrip Ajax made later that evening. All I can say is that I am extremely happy, and I hope we can do it again next year!