Preview From the past: VVV-Venlo – NAC Breda

In the Past Preview section, we go back in time and take a look at the history of the next VVV-Venlo home game. Sunday afternoon, the Koelclub will play against Roda JC. Let’s list some interesting facts.

By: Finbar van der Veen, VVV history.

All figures and facts refer to home league matches since 1954.

• The home record against NAC Breda is slightly in favor of Venloos, but the sides have clearly been level over the years. VVV won ten matches, ten games ended in a draw and the Breda side came away with seven wins.
• VVV managed to score 43 times in 27 encounters, the visitors scored 36 goals.
• VVV – NAC took place 16 times in the Eredivisie, 9 times in the Eerste Divisie and 1 time in the Hoofdklasse, the predecessor of the Eredivisie.
• The Hoofdklasse match in December 1955 was the first VVV–NAC in history. Coach Ferdi Silz’s Venlo squad went no further than 0-0 internally.
• A year later, the Venlo team managed to win. In De Kraal it became 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jozef Theuws, who therefore also scored the very first goal against the West Brabant club in history.
• The most recent encounter was in August 2021. It became 2-2, Venlo’s goals were scored by Brian Koglin and Colin Rösler, who scored an own goal on behalf of the Breda team . NAC’s first goal was scored by former VVV employee Ralf Seuntjens.
• VVV – NAC was the season opener last year which meant there were quite a few rookies in Venlo’s side. No fewer than seven players made their league debuts: Lukáš Zima, Brian Koglin, Yannick Leliendal, Mitchell van Rooijen, Kees de Boer, Sven Braken and Carl Johansson. A considerable number of these starters are currently still very important to VVV.
• The previous edition took place in September 2018 and ended in a 3-0 victory for VVV at Eredivisie level. The goals were scored by Johnatan Opoku, Tino-Sven Susic and Jay-Roy Grot. The VVV were in good shape in the first half of the season: after six matches, Maurice Steijn’s team occupied a good sixth place in the Eredivisie.
• In the 2016-2017 season, VVV became champions of the Eerste Divisie, but they fell hard at home against NAC Breda. It went 0-4, a rare slip in this successful season. The 0-4 meant the biggest home defeat against the Breda side, who haven’t lost at home since then. The date of the great loss? March 31 (!) 2017. If this is not an omen…
• The biggest victory was won in December 1960: the unleashed VVV won no less than 6-1. Herman Teeuwen made three that day, Jan Schatorjé two.
• Also in December 1961, the VVV won at home against NAC (1-0), the next victory of the Eredivisie would then have to wait no less than fifty years. In February 2011, it became 3-0.
• The biggest attendance came to the 1976 autumn edition: the staggering number of 14,000. The VVV of that time was a real fan magnet.
• Perhaps even more striking is the April 1993 match in the Eerste Divisie, VVV – NAC, which was attended by 11,500 spectators, very high for a match at the second tier. VVV, who were on their way to the first championship, finally won 4-1, although it was very exciting until a short time: until 89^e minute it was 2-1.
• The February 2016 edition was very rich in goals: it became 4-3. The Belgian Kristiaan Haagen largely contributed to this score. He made two for VVV and also scored an own goal.
• In November 1977, Frans Nijssen made his debut against NAC as a substitute. The original VVV player would play in the first team until 1990 and make 355 competitive appearances.
• Also strikes VVV – NAC from January 1994. For the first time in more than fifteen years, the meeting between the Limburgers and the Brabants took place at the highest level. It became 1-1, Roger Polman scored for VVV and Pierre van Hooijdonk was accurate on behalf of NAC.
• Herman Teeuwen is the top scorer with three goals in matches against NAC, although he scored his goals in one game. Kristiaan Haagen, Edwin Linssen, Jonathan Opoku, Jan Schatorjé and Karl-Heinz Spikofski follow with two goals.

Five notable players who played for both teams
The list of players with a common past at VVV and NAC Breda is much longer, here are five notable names:

Stanley Bich
Stanley Bish joined the PSV first team at a young age, but there was no real breakthrough at Eindhoven. Thanks to DWS, Bish ended up at NAC in 1970, where he had three great years. In 1973 he even won the KNVB Cup with the Breda team. Via Roda JC, Belgian Berchem Sport and FC Wageningen, Bish found himself at VVV halfway through the 1978–79 season. The forward had to help ensure VVV would be retained for the Eredivisie, but that mission fell through. Stanley Bish remained faithful to the Venlo team even after relegation: after two years in the Eerste Divisie, he finally hung up his football boots.

John Lammers
Tilburg-born striker John Lammers had his finest years at NAC, but his career is determined by plenty of goals anyway. Remarkably enough, his first two seasons in professional football with Willem II remained scoreless, but from 1984 Lammers began to score well at RKC. Halfway through the 1986–87 season he moved to VVV, within a year and a half he would score 17 Eredivisie goals. Via French Toulon, Lammers ends up in Breda, where he has been in great shape for years: in 165 league matches, he scores 92 goals. Later Lammers plays again for Willem II and RKC, his last clubs are RBC and Auckland Kingz from New Zealand but who play in Australian competition.

Serious Stewart
Dutch American Earnest Stewart started and ended his football career at VVV, but in the meantime played for years in Brabant, successively with Willem II and NAC Breda. At both clubs, he was a valued force and a regular face in the Eredivisie. In the meantime, the striker was living the American dream by qualifying for the national team and being active with “Team USA” in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups. After his time at the NAC, Earnest Stewart played for American DC United for two years, with which he even became national champion in his second season. He will then settle again in Venlo.

Edward Linkens
For years, Edward Linskens was the ideal twelfth man at PSV. Linskens de Venray, forever famous for his goal in the European Cup match against Real Madrid in 1988, left Eindhoven in 1995 after being deemed unnecessary. His stay at the NAC was then not a great success. Via Belgian SC Lokeren, Linskens ended up at VVV in 1997, where he ended his career a year later.

Nick Venema
Nick Venema started his football career at FC Utrecht, but mainly played his matches at Domstad with Jong FC Utrecht. The striker was then first loaned to Almere City and from the summer of 2021 to NAC Breda. In West Brabant, Venema scored 5 goals in 31 matches, after which he returned to Jong FC Utrecht. In the middle of last season, ‘Vomemenema’ moved to VVV: initially as a mercenary, but since this season as a contract player. In Venlo, Nick Venema is a goal scorer by profession: he has played an important role in Venlo’s production since his arrival.

The VVV-Venlo – NAC Breda game starts on Friday evening at 8 p.m. and there are still tickets on sale in the fan shop or in our online ticket office via the button below.