Heerenveen

Ground: Abe Lenstra Stadion

Visits: 1

Date: 16th June 2007

Match: Holland U21 - Belgium U21 2-2 (UEFA U21 Championships)

Attendance: 24 799

My third match in the tournament was in Heerenveen and after some touristing in Arnhem the previous day it was time for another train journey. When I arrived in Heerenveen Neil waited for me before kindly driving me to my hotel. After checking-in at my hotel we headed back to the city centre. Heerenveen itself is quite a small town with a population of only 27 000, meaning the local football stadium has a capacity similar to the towns population! There were plenty of nice restaurants though but when a major thundershower came everyone ran inside for protection. We eventually found a Chinese restaurant and stayed there until it was time to move on to Abe Lenstra Stadion. Holland against Belgium is of course a big rivalry and local derby but the atmosphere inside and outside the stadium was very friendly. My seat near the centre circle was quite good and once again I had a perfect view of the action. Belgium equalised late on meaning both teams went through to the semi finals. After the game I told Neil I could walk back to my hotel (about 2 km) but he insisted on driving me back even it it was the wrong direction for him and when a gigantic thunderstorm came I was, and still am, very grateful I was inside his car!

fans på stan