Western Europe

Scott Musgrave

Even the people of Friesland, a mainly agricultural province in Holland’s north, famous for its cows, would have had a good laugh if you had told them they would become near equals amongst the traditional top three, and that someday their talent would become some of Europe’s most sought after. The response would have been along the lines of ‘in our wildest dreams’. 

But here Heerenveen are, a van Nistelrooy, a Huntelaar, an Alves and a Sulejmani  later, up amongst the best of Dutch football. However, this is the odd thing about Heerenveen and their staff, they have an innate ability to discover future superstars and then sell them off the highest bidder for a more than tidy profit. A young Ruud van Nistelrooy was plying his trade for minnows De Graafschap before moving to Heerenveen’s Abe Lenstra Stadium. After success in the blue and white stripes he moved on to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven before a massive transfer to English champions Manchester United, and now Real Madrid.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar has taken a similar path. Going through the PSV youth system but being found out of favour with the coaching staff, a young Huntelaar started an earnest career with Eerste Divisie club AGOVV Apeldoorn before securing his transfer to Friesland and becoming a cult hero with the locals. It didn’t take long for a £7.25M move to giants Ajax Amsterdam to materialise, before becoming a Real Madrid acquisition in the transfer window.

Most recently however, have been the sales of Alfonso Alves (a cheap purchase from Swedish side Malmo FF) to Middlesbrough, and Miralem Sulejmani (a free from Partizan Belgrade) again to Ajax Amsterdam. Both players’ sales have added some £28M to the Heerenveen coffers.
 
It seems that with these massive big money moves from shrewd scouting SC Heerenveen have managed to put a team together capable, on their day, of humiliating the very best in Holland. Victories against PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord in recent years point to a power shift in Heerenveen’s favour.

Now the Dutch footballing public are asking: Will the power balance shift towards the cow breeders? Or will the traditional weight of PSV and Ajax combined with the rise of AZ Alkmaar continue uninterrupted?

AZ Alkmaar themselves could force a powershift away from the traditional powerhouses and are still doing that now. The previously small club, north of Amsterdam, have caused an amazing stir in the Eredivisie since the appointment of Louis Van Gaal. With the former Barcelona manager at the helm, and a seemingly endless amount of time to mould a squad in order to take over the Eredivisie, the DSB sponsored outfit has taken the traditional powers by the scruff of the neck and thrown them aside.

It seems now that a seemingly more economically charged Frisian team could make an even bigger impact if their knack of signing big future players continues.

Already the club have competed in the UEFA Cup group stages, and the future looks increasingly bright if they can keep hold of their burgeoning talent. With their increasing growth and increasing competitiveness, SC Heerenveen look here to stay, to break the mould of the mid-table do nothing club, turning themselves into the kind of team that has PSV and Ajax shaking in their boots every time they make the trip to the Abe Lenstra stadium.

I’m sure Mr Lenstra himself smiles brightly on his former team’s achievements and will, like all Heerenveen fans, be willing on the team to bigger and brighter things in the future.

The cows will certainly be mooing when, and if, the Eredivisie trophy is in the cabinet.