Mario Been’s bizar European debut for Feyenoord

“There was some rumour in the dug out, suddenly… Some message was handed down from the stands and Thijs Libregts said: Mario, go warm up. The game was only 30 minutes under way, but Pierre Vermeulen was taken off and I went on.”

Mario Been made his debut in 1983, the year JC and the rest of Feyenoord won the double, in Europe against Tottenham Hotspur.

“After the game, I heard the reason. Vermeulen’s dad had a heart attack on the stands.”

That night on White Hart Lane was etched in Been’s memory. Wednesday night November 2, 1983. 49.000 fans were present that night, the second round game in the UEFA cup. Two weeks earlier, Been saw the game from the bench.

“God, the names in the Spurs team… Ray Clemence in goal. Steve Perryman, Gary Stevens and Gary Mabutt. Glenn Hoddle was the playmaker. Steve Archibald and Alan Brazil up front. We had Cruyff, Gullit, Jeliazkov, Ivan Nielsen and Ben Wijnstekers. Not a bad team either.”

In London, the first game was the clash of titans Cruyff and Hoddle. “We didn’t have a lot to say. In the first half, the Spurs really took us to the cleaners. They scored four times in that first half. I didn’t believe what I saw…”

Cruyff and Nielsen would score in the second half and the final result was 4-2. A score that would give the fans hope for the second leg. The tension was palpable. Right before the match, the two supporters factions collided.

A dozen Tottenham fans, armed with knives, got into the lion’s den (Vak S) and stabbed several hardcore Feyenoord fans. There would be 30 injured people, taken to four different hospitals. The police would arrest 30 fans.

Been: “I still have the video of that game, but I haven’t watched. It was a bizar night.”

Mario Been – currently coach of NEC – wasn’t nervous for his debut. “Nah, I was never nervous. The more pressure and fans, the better. I was probably pissed off that I didn’t start the game, hahaha…”

When Been came on to replace Vermeulen, the English side led 1-0 through Chris Hughton. “I needed to play as left winger. I am more of a midfielder, but I could play on that spot. But Hughton was a hard opponent. He played the whole channel and I had to backtrack a lot. How I hated that.”

A bycicle kick by Been ended in Nielsen’s stride who hit the bar. Tony Galvin would score the 2-0 in the dying minutes of the game. Tottenham would later win the finals after ousting Bayern Munich, Austria Wien, Hajduk Split and Anderlecht.

“I remained a Spurs fan to this day. I will never forget the players’ parking… Rolls Royces and other expensive cars… That made an impression on me.”

He told his players at NEC to enjoy the game. “Opponents like the Spurs are the cream on the coffee, the cherry on the pie in your career. NEC won’t be playing opponents like the Spurs very often.”

The players may have enjoyed an away game at White Hart Lane even more, Been thinks. “But, for the fans it’s obviously cool that we play an EPL team in Nijmegen. It will be superb night of football, that we will remember for a long time. Just like the one 25 years back…”