DRC'12: Football & Trains. Looking for a platform for success at DRC’12.

Words: Han Balk

Images: Han Balk

Football and Trains: A unique combination.

I rarely travel by train, but there’s something special about a sports park flashing past in the blink of an eye on a speeding train. Not to mention the sight of trains rushing by when you're standing near a football field.

Apparently, I’m not alone in this fascination. Photos of football fields—no matter how mundane or insignificant—can rake in plenty of likes and hearts on social media when a train happens to appear in the background. Whether it’s a fast intercity, a work train, or a local commuter, it doesn’t matter. A train equals bonus points.

Today, I’m standing with Marc by the field at his old club: SV Rietvogels in Almelo. After merging with DVO’71 in 2012, the club now goes by the name De Riet Combinatie ’12, or simply DRC’12.

©Han Balk/ Terrace Edition. DRC’12 vs SC Enschede.

Thankfully, even after the merger, DRC’12 still plays at Sportpark De Riet.

De Riet, a neighbourhood in Almelo built between the two World Wars with many small homes for textile workers, has retained much of its character. It’s mid-December, and it seems that most of the black-and-white flags in front gardens and on façades have made way for Christmas lights. Yet, everything here exudes the feeling of a true Heracles Almelo neighbourhood.

Sportpark De Riet is a sports park with its ‘own’ train station: Almelo De Riet, located on the Amsterdam–Berlin route. Or, to be more precise, on the Almelo–Hengelo route. It’s a busy line, and during the match, dozens of trains pass by, with waiting commuter trains at the station serving as the cherry on top.

At Almelo De Riet Station, the platform feels like a sort of terrace, offering views of the pitch and the beautiful Elascon stand. Elascon represents a piece of Dutch architecture and football culture from the 1960s.

©Han Balk/ Terrace Edition. DRC’12 vs SC Enschede. Elascon stand.

The last Elascon stand in Dutch professional football disappeared when FC Groningen moved to a new stadium in 2004. But in lower leagues and divisions, a few still stand. We once wrote about the largest and most famous Elascon stand in A Delft Touch.

On this cold and drizzly Saturday, DRC’12 faces Sportclub Enschede. Once a great club, the team from Enschede—30 kilometres away—was undefeated national champion in 1926.

The Enschede club played at the Diekmanstadion, and its professional football division merged with Enschedese Boys in 1965 to form FC Twente.

The most famous SC Enschede players are undoubtedly Frisian legend Abe Lenstra and Helmut Rahn, renowned for the Miracle of Bern in 1954.

Even without professional football, Rietvogels vs. SC Enschede would have been a great matchup in the top tier of amateur football years ago, undoubtedly drawing a large crowd.

The eternal rivalry between Almelo—a sort of enclave in the red-and-white Twente region—and Enschede continues, now mostly at the top-tier Eredivisie level between Heracles Almelo and FC Twente Enschede.

Today, however, the turnout is far from high as the two clubs meet at the bottom of the Dutch football pyramid in the 5th class (10th tier).

DRC’12 loses their lead and, in the fading light, fails to score an equaliser in the final minutes. SC Enschede wins 3-4 and takes the points home.

Both teams just need a platform for success.