Marcel Boekhoorn is CEO van Ramphastos Investments NV. Tevens is de geboren en getogen NEC-supporter eigenaar van Ouwehands Dierenpark en heeft hij een belang in meer dan dertig bedrijven met een gezamenlijke omzet van 5 miljard euro.
Tekst: Jaap de GrootÂ
Beeld: NEC Nijmegen
Marcel Boekhoorn: "A lot. From an early age. It is the classic story of a Nijmegen boy being injected with NEC from birth by his father. The club was instilled in me from the very beginning. I lived in Nimrodstraat, near the Hazenkamp where the stadium is located. Behind our house, in Wolfstraat, lived the legendary goalkeeper Nico de Bree. I used to cheer him on Sundays from the boys' row at Staanplaats Oost, because we didn't have money for a seat. NEC was everything to my father, who was a supporter for more than 75 years. I can still see the old man standing there, with his pajama pants under his pants and his cognac in his inside pocket. These are memories directly linked to the club. That says it all."
"Well as a supporter, never as a player. As an active soccer player I always played for Oranje Blauw from Nijmegen. I was a fast right-winger who sometimes scored a goal. Nothing special. In that respect, I am better at playing table tennis. As a footballer, I wasn't good enough for NEC, but that doesn't make the supporter in me any less so. After the youth period with my father, I have been going to NEC with the boys of Orange Blue 4 for forty-five years now. I have my own box in the stadium which is known as the nicest pub in Gelderland. There I have a good time with my club and friends who I all know from the days when I didn't have a penny in my pocket. Those are the real ones.
Oh yes, I did once get on the shirt with a couple of my companies. First with Telfort and then with Ouwehands Dierenpark, after we got the pandas from China. So I never wore the competition shirt, but I did have it."
Marcel Boekhoorn: "I don't have to think about that for a second: December 3, 2008 the away match in the UEFA Cup against Spartak Moscow. Five minutes before time, NEC was down 1-0 and we were eliminated. Then suddenly Jhonny van Beukering and Lasse Schöne shot two goals and we won 1-2. I will never forget that emotion in the stands and the party in the hotel afterwards. Players, trainers and all the supporters were there and we all went completely crazy. I had an account opened and all of Nijmegen was allowed to drink for free. That became the highest bar bill in Russian history. After that we won from Udinese and even wintered in Europe. It couldn't get any better. Eventually NEC was eliminated by HSV Hamburg, but that couldn't spoil the fun anymore. They won't take that night in Moscow away from me. "
"It is and always will be ENIESÉ. That comes from the heart. That's where the feeling is. No Nijmegen person who talks about NEK. Never of our lives. At NAC they apparently don't have those emotions. Too bad then."
"Yes, to be back in the Eredivisie next year. Unfortunately that won't happen this year, but that will really be the last time. I am completely fed up with the First Division. So get out of there quickly and then straight into the left-hand row."
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