Eindhoven is not a pretty city for tourists who expect to see beautiful canals and typical Dutch windmills. But that does not mean that it is not a special place. Extremely high ambitions and typical Brabantse casualness create the perfect recipe for football club PSV, who plays their home games in Philips Stadium, located in the former Philips village.
PSV has never left the working-class district for a cold-hearted place outside of the city. For a perfect match day, you will walk along the wide Frederiklaan and stop for a drink at the friendliest coffee shop on the corner of the De Jonghlaan. Or you cross the street for a beer at De Aftrap, the place where PSV’s ultras get together. After you will make your way to the stadium through two columns that used to be the entrance to the former Philips village.
It started out as a simple pitch with a couple of wooden stands and a clubhouse. Followed by a rickety collection of safe standing areas with a running track and then followed by pleasing bows and the first heated stand with a roof and luxury skyboxes. Eventually, a proper football ground was built. Philips Stadium, which is basically located right next to the train station, has been modernised and improved over the years without forgetting the needs of its working-class fans. In the meantime, they have added another safe-standing area for the diehard fans.
The electronics organisation Philips needed more manpower at the beginning of the 20th century, but there was no housing for the workers to live with their families. So Philips bought six acres of land on which they build a British-inspired village. Every house had a garden and access to water, electricity, gas and a sewage system, which was a luxury at that time. The houses, which have since been refurbished, offer a unique insight into the way the working class used to live before the war. All streets in Philips village lead to PSV’s home ground.
De Markt is the beating heart of Eindhoven, but not the place where PSV celebrates their championships with its fans. After a tour through the city on an open bus, the PSV players are brought to the square at the city hall where they sing songs with their fans. But at De Markt you will find two statues of some of the city’s most historical figures. On one side you will find Jan van Hooff, a patriotic leader who improved the city’s cultural heritage. The other statue does not look stern, quite the opposite actually as Frits Philips is staring at you with a bright smile. A loved figure by the city, which is affirmed by the title of the city’s only magazine (De Frits) and by the tattoos of his recognizable face on the bodies of PSV fans. They call him ‘Meneer Frits’ (Sir Frits). But you can also call him ‘Fritsie’.
What started as a two-day sports day for the workers at Philips ,which unexpectedly was quite popular, resulted in the foundation of PSV. In the room of Mr. Bouwmeester above the barbershop Reemers, five young Philips employees got together on the 31st of August 1913 to discuss the start of the club. The colours of PSV became red and white because PSV’s first chairman J.W. Hofkens was drinking raspberry lemonade, which contrasted exceptionally well with his white notebook. And that is how PSV was founded. Nowadays, you can find a memorial of this special occasion on the Vrijstraat on the spot where barbershop Reemers used to be. The memorial was unveiled by former chairman Harry van Raaij in 2013 at exactly 19:13.
Besides the statue of the Eredivisie’s record goalscorer of all time, Willy van der Kuijlen, you will find another statue of a record-holder at the entrance of the East stand. Willy was known for his incredible left foot, but Coen Dillen was known for his explosive right foot. Eindhoven’s born and bred Dillen, who gained the nickname ‘The Cannon’, scored with that same foot his 43rd goal of the season on the 2nd of June 1957. A number that has never been matched since. Dillen passed away due to a sudden heart attack in the year that Romário became the top scorer in The Netherlands for the second season in a row. His late wife Mien would continue to run the tobacco shop on the Frederiklaan by herself.
Officially PSV’s football training facility is called PSV Campus De Herdgang, but everybody knows it as De Herdgang. The green pitches are surrounded by even more greenery such as the Wiedewaal domain and the Philips De Jongh park where the PSV players sometimes go for a run.
De Herdgang is the Dutch Milanello. Every now and then, PSV will give public access to one of the first team's training sessions. For the youth teams, De Herdgang also has a small stadium with one stand.
Tickets can be bought through PSV’s official website, but be fast as tickets tend to be sold out quite regularly, even for some of the smaller games. For most games, you would need to have a club card in order to buy a ticket. A club card, however, is free and can be ordered on the website.
Philips Stadium is very easy to reach. It is only a 12-minute walk from Eindhoven’s central train station. Given its close proximity to the city centre, you can easily reach it on foot from almost anywhere.
Images: Pim Ras
