Feyenoord has traveled to England for the Champions League match against Manchester City. Kick-off takes place at the Etihad Stadium at 9:00 PM. Rijnmond was there again in Manchester and followed Het Legioen in the run-up to the match.
Feyenoord watchers Dennis van Eersel and Dennis Kranenburg are ready for it from the Etihad Stadium, which has room for around 55,000 spectators.
After a lot of pushing and pulling, the supporters finally arrive at the stadium, after a march of 2.5 hours. On to a hopefully legendary match for the supporters.
Quinten Timber, who was absent against SC Heerenveen, returns to the starting line-up. In addition to the Feyenoord captain, Jordan Lotomba, Santiago Gimenez and Justin Bijlow returned to the match selection, but they start from the bench.
Line-up: Wellenreuther; Nieuwkoop, Trauner, Hancko, Smal; Hwang, Milambo, Timber; Paixao, Carranza, Hajj Moussa;
Nearly 2,000 people march to the Manchester City stadium. They are 1.5 km from the Etihad Stadium.
From Shambles Square, supporters walk 1.7 km to the setting of the Champions League match between Manchester City and Feyenoord.
At 5pm (UK time) many fans gathered at Shambles Square to walk to the stadium.
Feyenoord supporters start the march to the stadium
The match against Manchester City is the 100th match in the Champions League (first European Cup I) for Feyenoord. An away match against IFK Göteborg (0-3) in 1961 was the first European Cup match. Two months later, Feyenoord faced an English club, Tottenham Hotspur, for the first time in the European Cup.
In the fifth Youth League match of the season, Pascal Bosschaart’s team did not manage to take the first three points to Rotterdam. The opening goal was scored in the twelfth minute by City striker Reigan Heskey, son of former England international Lewis Heskey. Towards the end of the first half, the German attacker made it 2-0.
Feyenoord made it exciting in the second half after Tobias van den Elshout was tackled in the sixteen meter area. Sixteen-year-old Kelvin Neijenhuis scored his first goal in the Youth League from eleven meters. Despite the tying goal, Feyenoord under 19 were unable to equalize. Thanks to a hat trick from Ryan McAidoo and another goal from Reigan Heskey, it became 6-1.
The former Feyenoord player is present at the UEFA Youth League match between Manchester City and Feyenoord. He sees that his favorite club is having a hard time against the English. The under 19 team is 2-0 behind City’s contemporaries at halftime.
Just like in Portugal, Ben Wijnstekers is also present in England. The former Feyenoord defender who played more than four hundred games in the first team has also come to the centre. Then a meeting between the Feyenoord icon and Het Legioen is of course inevitable.
Ben Wijnstekers with The Legion in Manchester
About 4,000 supporters have traveled to England to follow their favorite club. Many fans have already come downtown to prepare for tonight’s game. Of course they can also be heard clearly in Manchester!
No visit to Manchester is complete without a stop at the National Football Museum, an absolute attraction for both the ‘ordinary’ football fan and the seasoned football connoisseur. “It is interesting to see, especially the history of English football,” says Jeroen van Raffen.
The Feyenoord supporter from Middelburg has a tangible memory of his visit. “There are beautiful relics and at the end you get to hold the FA Cup. I think the 16 pounds are worth it.”
Will Feyenoord pull off a stunt against superpower Manchester City? What do the newspapers say about this Champions League match? And how are Feyenoord fans enjoying themselves in the run-up to the match at the Etihad Stadium? Dennis van Eersel, Dennis Kranenburg and Frank Stout are in Manchester for Rijnmond and are following everything.
And as you are used to from us, the three Rijnmond men will go live on YouTube to look ahead to this winner in the million-dollar ball, but certainly also to hear the stories of Het Legioen. Our reporters went live on YouTube at 2:00 PM!
Manchester City have lost their last five games. Last weekend, City lost 4-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur. The ideal moment for Feyenoord to face City? FC Rijnmond presenter Bart Nolles was in Manchester on Saturday. “You don’t think that Guardiola and these star players are going to let it happen that they are on their own for the sixth time in a row,” he was told.
The Norwegian striker faced Feyenoord once before. In 2019, Jaap Stam’s Feyenoord played a practice match against Red Bull Salzburg, where the current top scorer of the Premier League was the striker at the time. In Austria, the Rotterdam team lost 3-1 and Haaland made it 1-0. All Feyenoord players present during that practice match currently play for another club.
That season, Haaland came on as a substitute against Gernot Trauner, the captain of Lask Linz. (2-2) Last October, the Manchester City striker met with the Feyenoord defender again after five years, where the Austrian made a strong impression. “The central defender was also not impressed with superstar Haaland,” Kleine Zeitung wrote about Trauner after the Austria-Norway (5-1) match on October 13.
The Etihad Stadium has room for 2,700 away fans and the visitors’ section is completely sold out. For the third away match of the Champions League season, supporters cross the water by boat, train or plane. On Monday morning it quickly became clear at Schiphol that Feyenoord is planning another European away match this week.
Manchester City and Feyenoord faced each other once before. That was on November 21, 2017 in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s already eliminated team had to compete against Pep Guardiola’s star ensemble, who were in top form that season. “It’s still City and you know in advance that it will be a difficult story,” said Michiel Kramer, who was part of the match selection during that match.
Quinten Timber, who is still absent against SC Heerenveen, will travel with Feyenoord to Tuesday evening’s Champions League match against Manchester City. Justin Bijlow, Jordan Lotomba and Santiago Gimenez are also in the selection. According to Feyenoord coach Brian Priske, all four are available to play. “Some will even start.” Feyenoord traveled to Manchester with 22 players. Feyenoord watchers Dennis van Eersel and Dennis Kranenburg are also in England together with reporter Frank Stout.
Feyenoord starts the fifth Champions League match of this season at 9:00 PM. Rijnmond is there. Through this live blog we will keep you informed of all the legion’s activities in Manchester.
