Henny ten Vergert is chairman of the Schalke fan club “Blau und Weiss Enschede”. He expects 15,000 to 20,000 spectators next Friday at the test match between Twente and S04.
Henny ten Vergert is in high demand again in Enschede these days. The now 73-year-old is the chairman of the Schalke fan club “Blau und Weiss Enschede”. And he has been doing so since the club was founded in 1995.
Enschede’s “Mister Schalke” has been a fan of the Königsblauen for much longer. Family ties brought the Dutchman to the Glückauf-Kampfbahn in Gelsenkirchen for the first time in 1969. “My brother-in-law is a nephew of the former Schalke player Werner Cremers,” the Dutchman reveals. Cremers had played seven Oberliga games for the Knappen in the 1948/1949 season.
Since that match 53 years ago, ten Vergert has remained loyal to the Königsblauen. Ten Vergert can therefore confidently be described as the nucleus of the fan friendship between the supporters of the “Knappen” and those of the “Tukkers”. In the meantime, there are also intensive relations between the “Ultras Gelsenkirchen” and the Enschede ultra movement “Vak-P”.
“The whole of Enschede is looking forward to S04”
In Holland – Ten Vergert himself uses the Germans’ synonym for the Netherlands, although Enschede is not in Holland at all but in the province of Overijssel – he rarely goes to the stadium. The atmosphere is not as familiar as in Germany.
Normally. Because next Friday, of course, there will be an exception. He will be in the visitors’ block with thousands of Schalkers. Although, in his opinion, it will be more mixed among the fan groups in the entire stadium. “All of Enschede is looking forward to the S04,” he says. Himself, too, of course. Even though many members of the fan club are currently on holiday due to the date in the holidays and therefore there will probably not be a party in their regular pub “Café De Toekomst” in Enschede. “Instead, we will first be in front of the stadium and then in the stadium in the pub in the Schalke area,” he promises. Then the huge banner with the inscription “Blue and White Enschede” will also be visible again.
Schalke fan club in Eschede booming Ten Vergert expects “15,000 to 20,000 fans” in the De Grolsch Veste stadium. Both clubs are looking forward to the season with great anticipation. He himself also notices this in the membership figures in his fan club, which have risen again. “We had a lot of new members after the promotion to the Bundesliga,” he explains. The current membership is now around 325. The most prominent member is Schalke’s Eurofighter Youri Mulder, who joined back in 1996 and “still pays his €15 dues every year since then.” Mulder, who is also a current member of the Knappen’s supervisory board, lives in Enschede.
“De Toekomst” means “the future” in German, and the Schalke fan from Enschede sees the future for his favourite club as pink or royal blue again. The bus for S04’s first home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach has already been ordered. It would be bus trip number 431 for the fan club “Blue and White Enschede”.