Heerenveen plan spring attack

By Berend Scholten

A UEFA Cup win against KSK Beveren in their penultimate game of the autumn campaign would ensure that Dutch side SC Heerenveen play European football in the spring for the first time in their history.

European hotspot
The Abe Lenstra stadium has seen plenty of European games in recent years as the team from the north of the Netherlands have continued to scrap for a place in the top five in the Eredivisie, but progressing from Group G to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup would be another novelty.

Famous lilies
Famous for their blue-and-white striped shirts, dotted with red 'pompebleden' ('water-lilies') - a nod to the prominent symbols of the flag of their native province of Friesland - previous Heerenveen highs have included reaching the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.

Group stage
In 2000, they did even better. Having finished second in the Eredivisie in 1999/00 - their best performance to date - they earned a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage for 2000/01, bowing out after earning four points from their six games.

Financial footing
Heerenveen's rise to European prominence began in earnest back in 1983 when, after years in the second division and severe financial problems, businessman Riemer van der Velde took charge as chairman and began to place the club on a professional footing.

Inspirational coach
While Van der Velde stabilised matters off the pitch, coach Foppe de Haan helped cement Heerenveen's reputation on it. In 1992/93 they reached the Dutch Cup final, losing to AFC Ajax, and also won promotion to the Eredivisie for only the second time in their history.

Farewell Foppe
Since then, Heerenveen have rarely been far from a European competition place, and this season - their first under new coach Gertjan Verbeek, who took charge after De Haan left for the Dutch Under-21 team - Heerenveen have shown genuine European ambition, raising their budget from €15m to €17m.

Ambitious plans
"We should get through the first round, and then will play a number of group matches which will be very interesting for us," said chairman Van der Velde at the start of the season. Should Heerenveen manage to get to the last 32, his investment could pay off handsomely.

Bargain buys
Not least as it will give Heerenveen the chance to parade their latest crop of fine players before Europe's wealthiest clubs. Having already nurtured the talents of European giants like Jon-Dahl Tomasson, Ruud van Nistelrooij and Marcus Allbäck, the club have a fine eye for a bargain.

Young hopefuls
In the current side, former PSV Eindhoven trainee striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar has caught the eye, with the 21-year-old having scored ten Eredivisie goals already this season, while 22-year-old Finnish international Mika Väyrynen has also made his mark.

Yildirim dilemma
Another 22-year-old, midfield player Ugur Yildirim, is making an even bigger stir. Signed from second division Go Ahead Eagles in the summer, national team coach Marco Van Basten has already been in touch with Yildirim, but so have scouts from Turkey where his parents were born.

Pressing issue
Wednesday's game, however, is a more pressing issue, and Verbeek is looking for a brave performance from his side. "At [NK] Dinamo Zagreb we came back from behind to draw 2-2," he said. "We played too cowardly for a long time, but in the end we did it again. Now qualification is in our own hands."

Famous night
A new page in the club's history books is just aching to be written.