A Dutchman writes: If Feyenoord can thrive in Europe, so can Brighton

Random question and sometimes quite a sensitive subject among Brighton supporters: As Albion fans, are we allowed to have a second team?

Before we reached the promised land of the Premier League, was there a team for whom you had a soft spot?

Perhaps a team from the area where you grew up or perhaps a team who you always admired because they played the sort of football you enjoy?

I am proud to admit that there is another football club in my life. I was born and raised in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

It is scientifically proven that people from Rotterdam are born with the type of DNA that ensures that there is a 99.9 percent chance that you grow up to support Feyenoord, even if you don’t like football. For people from Rotterdam, Feyenoord is more than a club – it is a way of life.

My grandparents took me to the famous De Kuip arena when I was four-years-old. As a schoolboy, I watched first team training pre season sessions during the summer almost every day.

I had my picture taken with a 19-year-old Ruud Gullit well before he became a global superstar. I was there when we won the Dutch League in 1984, 1993 and 1999.

Unfortunately, I had to watch the final of the 2002 UEFA Cup on TV because by then I had moved to England.

My neighbours probably never knew why that day there was insane cheering coming from next door for most of the night as Feyenoord beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to lift the cup.

What I am trying to explain is that there is a lot of history here and that my love for Feyenoord runs deep.

However, if you asked me in 2022 to name my favourite team then I would not know how to answer that question.

That is the best way to describe how I feel about Brighton & Hove Albion despite only having been a season ticket holder since 2016.

Now why am I telling you all this? Bear with me…

Feyenoord reached the final of the first ever UEFA Conference League this year, sadly losing to AS Roma. The Conference League has been laughed at by some, but for fans of clubs taking part then it has been an adventure.

For Feyenoord, their campaign started on 22nd July 2021 and included 19 matches. Supporters have enjoyed trips to Kosovo, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Germany (Berlin), Serbia (Belgrade) Czech Republic (Prague), France (Marseille) and Albania for the final in Tirana.

Feyenoord is the third team in the Dutch Eredivisie and yet they were capable of reaching a European final.

Would they beat a team who finished ninth in the Premier League? Anything is possible over 90 minutes but the honest answer is, probably not.

There is not one player in the Feyenoord first XI that would get into the Albion’s strongest possible team.

Tyrell Malacia is a talent and will most likely start for the Netherlands at left back at the World Cup in Qatar but Marc Cucurella is undoubtedly the better player.

Orkun Kökcü is an excellent young midfielder with a bright future but I would not trade him for Moises Caicedo. Marcos Senesi is an Argentine international but he is no Lewis Dunk. And so on…

Brighton finished five points short of European football at the end of the 2021-22 season. Think of all the unnecessary points dropped.

The shocking performances in losing at home against Burnley and Aston Villa. The extra time goal conceded away to Leeds. Why couldn’t we beat Norwich City home or away?

There were numerous opportunities where the Albion could have picked up these additional five points, including in the three months without a win between September and December and then those six games lost in a row.

Of course in the real world it is never that easy but that does not stop a fan from dreaming. Feyenoord last season showed that with hard work, excellent coaching and a positive way of playing football (sounds familiar?) anything is possible.

Would you take out a second mortgage to follow Albion all through Europe in 2023-24 if the team progresses even further in the Premier League the coming season?

Keep the dream alive. What an awesome adventure and what a fitting addition to the club’s history it would be.

Marco Hof