Pieter van der Leegte is director of the VDL Group, which has 107 companies in 20 countries. The family group, founded in 1953, has approximately 15.000 employees and a turnover of 6 billion euros. The thoroughbred supporter of FC Eindhoven is a member of the club's supervisory board.
Text: Jaap de Groot
Image: Karoly Effenberger
Pieter van der Leegte: “When I see the shirt I think of history, the city's club and cult. It also reminds me of my grandfather, who was an avid supporter and after whom I am named. The shirt hangs in my office and in a few other places.”
“At the end of 2007 I was asked to do something and with good courage I joined my grandfather's club. Soon one body after another fell out of the closet, with the final blow being an additional tax charge of 350.000 euros. I was at an organization where salaries could no longer be paid! Against a budget of 1,4 million euros, there was a debt of 1,6 million. And it just didn't stop. I remember that in 2009 the then KNVB director Henk Kesler came to visit and tried to FC Eindhoven to stop professional football. That was four months before the centenary on November 16. Ultimately, we were able to reach a settlement with all creditors, we were healthy again and have been in the black since 2009. Which is not easy, because as soon as you are successful as a small club, your organization is bought away.”
Pieter van der Leegte: “I have never been a playing member on the field at FC Eindhoven, but I have been in amateur football and in the hall at CF Eindhoven. We were then able to integrate this club into the professional football organization and it became FC Eindhoven Futsal. We have now been national champions five times, making us the most successful futsal club in the Netherlands at the moment. We had to play in the Champions League in front of 8.000 people in sold-out halls against Dinamo Moscow and FC Barcelona. I was having dinner with those directors and was asked what our budget was. They thought I was kidding them when I said we had to make do with 250.000 euros. Their budgets turned out to be 6 and 10 million euros. FC Eindhoven is the first professional club in the Netherlands where field football and futsal have come under one roof. It has even merged in our training; the youth plays on the field on Saturday and in the hall on Sunday. They also train three times a week on the field and once in the hall. They learn to play football even better in a small space with a higher speed of action. It makes the talents more complete footballers.”
“It is my dream to one day play in the Premier League again with FC Eindhoven. Then we would have proven that we can still perform top with few resources, but based on vision. Until then we will make do with the El Classico from the Kitchen Champion Division. What is that? The clash between the two ultimate cult clubs FC Eindhoven and Telstar. They have been playing in the First Division the longest and any way you look at it, that is also an achievement.”
“That is the moment when, just before the centenary in 2009, bankruptcy was definitively averted. Furthermore, the championships and Champions League trips in the futsal team and the integration of both field and indoor football in our training. But if I'm honest, my most cherished moment is yet to come: promotion to the Premier League.” Photo: Karoly Effenberger
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