NAC is a fun, but also fierce people’s club. There is always something to do and emotions often run high. From great revelry to serious riots. A reason for supporter Wiet Kerkhoven (71) and former police officer Roel Holvast (67) to write the book ‘He goes into the canal’ together. In sixteen chapters they provide a fascinating insight into the history of the Breda football club, where everything revolves around passion and raw edges.
The writers are immediately clear. Their book ‘He goes into the canal’ is not about famous football players, champion teams or self-praising hooligans. “No, it is about more than sixty years of NAC experience,” says Kerkhoven. “About the behavior of the supporters and the response from the police. It is a journey through time with all the emotions, the highs and lows and also the violence that came with it. NAC is the world in a nutshell and that dynamic is revealed in this book through stories, interviews, photos and newspaper clippings.”
For example, the raw eighties, the time when football hooliganism reached a ‘peak’, is extensively discussed. “NAC effortlessly established itself as one of the first clubs from outside the Randstad in the top of clubs with the most infamous supporters,” says former police officer Roel Holvast. “After Ajax and Feyenoord, they had the most stadium bans and away fans in the early 1980s.”
The writers of ‘He goes into the canal’ knew each other from the turbulent eighties and often had discussions at that time. Kerkhoven was representative of the fanatical core of supporters and Holvast was chief inspector at the police.
From chapter 6:
‘There are quite a few youth groups and gangs in Breda. They cause nuisance and crime in the neighborhoods. (…) Many of those groups fought against each other, but the youth quickly realized that it is much more fun if you perform together. (…) They gather on the B-side and have two common enemies: the supporters of the opposing party and the police.’
“This explains why football hooliganism rose so quickly at NAC,” explains former police officer Holvast. “Because if these types of groups manage to find each other, you have an interesting crowd. Supporters of other clubs no longer dared to travel to Breda. Of course, we at the police did not mind that so much. But at the club the flame was quickly extinguished. In the book you can read not only the development of the NAC supporters, but also how the police dealt with it.”
The title for their book was quickly found. The song ‘He goes into the single’ is still sung in the stands if the referee does not blow the whistle as desired. “Wanting to wait for someone and grab them, symbolizes the raw edge of NAC,” says Kerkhoven. “In reality, no one went into the ring, but the referee often had to run away.
The NAC book is certainly not just about violence and other excesses. More than sixty years of joy, sadness and many special events are discussed. Such as the protest march from Breda to Roosendaal by supporters against the mandatory combined scheme in 2004.
From chapter 14:
‘We had planned the hike at night, but when I woke up in a foggy mood the morning of the match, I didn’t feel like it anymore. But eighty people had already registered. That thirty kilometer walk was a long way for many supporters.’
The book shows that times are changing, but according to the writers there is also a message in it. “The strength of NAC is in the stands,” says Wiet Kerkhoven. “They have to do it together and make a common fist.”
The book is already available for pre-sale on the NAC Museum website. Part of the proceeds also goes to the museum.
