Pieter van der Leegte is managing director of the VDL Groep, which has 107 companies in 20 countries. The family concern, founded in 1953, has some 15,000 employees and a turnover of 6 billion euros. The thoroughbred FC Eindhoven supporter is a member of the supervisory board at the club.
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 whom I am named after. The shirt hangs in my office and in a few more places."
"At the end of 2007 I was asked to do something and full of good courage I joined my grandfather's club. Soon one corpse after another fell out of the closet, topped off by a 350,000 euro after-tax bill. Was I in 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 get FC Eindhoven to quit professional soccer. That was four months before the centennial on Nov. 16. Eventually 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 was never a playing member on the field at FC Eindhoven, but I was in amateur soccer and in the hall at CF Eindhoven. Then we were 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 soccer and futsal have come under one roof. In our training it even merged; the youth play on Saturday on the field and on Sunday in the hall. They also train three times a week on the field and once in the hall. This teaches them to play soccer even better with a higher speed of action in the small space. It makes the talents more complete soccer players."
"It is my dream to one day play in the premier league again with FC Eindhoven. Then we would have proven we can still perform top with few resources, but based on vision. Until then, we'll make do with the El Classico of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. What that is? The clash between the two ultimate cult clubs FC Eindhoven and Telstar. They play the longest in the First Division and no matter how you look at it, that too is an achievement."
"Surely that is the moment when, just before the centennial in 2009, bankruptcy was finally averted. Furthermore, the championships and Champions League trips in the futsal team and the integration of both field and indoor soccer in our training. But if I am honest, my most precious moment is yet to come: promotion to the premier league. "Photo: Karoly Effenberger
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