May 14, Battle of Deventer

Prior to May 14, 1983, there was a slight, mounting tension in the city of Groningen. That was caused by the away game FC Groningen would play that day against the Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer. But perhaps, most of all, by this slogan seen in numerous places in the city: '14 May Battle of Deventer'. It whispers, ‘’Something is going to happen there, you have to be there.’’ You can also read as an appeal.

I remember this slogan well, seeing at the beginning of Gelkingestraat on the sidewall of the Three Sisters. The rivalry with other fanatical supporter groups is traditionally felt most with the neighboring clubs. At the time, this was the case in the north between FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles, and, with the “big” 3, (Feyenoord, ADO and Ajax) in the south. The big three were known for the size of the fanatical supporter groups who followed their teams to away games. ADO was also infamous for the relatively frequent use of knives.

Desmond Morris compares the rivalry between soccer supporters to that between tribes and villages. I recognize the similarity very well, in the need to assert yourself in someone else's territory.

The slogan “May 14, battle of Deventer” was, in my opinion, also a consequence of the media constantly airing the mayor of Deventer’s complaints about supporter violence. His complaints were, in my opinion, partly the result of his own failing policy to properly organize the transport of supporters to and from the stadium. Many mayors use buses for that purpose and that saves a lot of trouble. However, in all honesty, not everything can be prevented. Certainly not at soccer clubs with a stadium in the middle of a residential area, like in Deventer, but also in the Oosterpark in Groningen.

It was kermis time in Groningen, when on that Saturday afternoon a large group of us, chanting battle songs, marched in procession from the Grote Markt to the Hoofdstation. We walked, as if we were at a demonstration, in the street, accompanied by police.

On the train we were accompanied by a number of employees of the NS, who knew of and were known by our group. There has always been a friendly rapport between them and us. So too, this time. The train ride went by in a positive and festive mood. A mood, which immediately turned upon arrival in Deventer. After getting off the train under a viaduct, there was a whole platoon of ME-ers, with ferociously barking Malinois Shepherds waiting for us. They wanted to lead us somewhere, but arrived without too many problems in the beautiful stadium of Go Ahead Eagles, the Adelaarshorst. But the mood was very charged, and soon plans were forged to turn things upside down in Deventer. Of course, we had to live up to the slogan “battle for Deventer”.

The plan is made to leave the stadium well before the end of the game, lest we run into the arms of the police. This happens, resulting in enormous chaos in the residential area where the stadium is located. The supporters of FC Groningen swarm in all directions and the police have no control over it. If you were part of that chaos, you couldn’t see the whole picture. Only later did I see, from photos, that there was a fight with the police in at least one place. To my surprise, I also saw that the person walking next to me threw a stone through the window of a passing bus, without me noticing. noticed.

I don't remember how we got on the train to Groningen. As I remember it, everyone made it back and nobody was left behind in Deventer. That afternoon, Groningen lost 3-1. I don't remember that detail, it was apparently not that important. I later found out that about 350 of us traveled to Deventer that day; That is an exceptionally large group for an away game. I also found out that not everyone traveled back with us; One stayed behind in the hospital. Our group consisted almost exclusively of fanatical supporters, however, this one individual was not actually a supporter. Although he had been hanging out with the group for some time, he had been looking for “soldiers” for the far-right movements to which he belongs. Unfortunately for him, with little success.

Looking back, no Z-sider is entirely satisfied with what happened in Deventer: "Against Go Ahead it did get a bit out of hand. The goalkeeper was pelted with everything. And the match almost had to be stopped because a few dozen boys were making a mess of things. I can understand the board taking measures". - Z-sider, in the book Inside Z-side. The measures referred to were the cage in the Oosterparkstadion where the board of the FC wanted to place the Z-siders in the future.

To conclude this short history.

Who was I, then?

My name is Martinus Stollenga and at the time I was project leader at the foundation Streetwork in Groningen. This foundation’s task is to make contact with young people on the street and other places, and to identify where they have insufficient access to services. The emphasis is on young people who (are at risk of) becoming, what at the time was referred to as, marginalized youth. My colleague Luciën van Hoesel successfully developed a relationship with FC Groningen's Z-side. We often went to matches together. I had been an FC Groningen supporter for some time, but not as fanatic as the Z-siders. In my youth I often went with a friend to the boys' stand, for which you could buy a cheap ticket. That was back in the days of GVAV with Piet Fransen and Tony van Leeuwen.

As a street corner worker, you didn't always have it easy. You had to navigate between not being in front and not cowardly walking behind. The young people we hung out with thought it was strange if we were the instigators of problems, but just as much if we dropped out. Together with the Groninger Fotocollectief, we later made a book about the Z-side with the title Inside Z-Side. We provided the text for that and they provided the photos. They also came along to Deventer and took the photos there, including the ones I've talked about here.