THE HAGUE: A sea of red and white flooded Rotterdam Monday as tens of thousands of Feyenoord fans hailed their team's Dutch Cup victory which ended an eight-year trophy drought.
Feyenoord Rotterdam's 2-1 defeat of Utrecht late Sunday sparked celebrations on the streets of the port city, and the team were greeted Monday as conquering heroes at the town hall.
"It's fantastic to see all these people here," said captain Dirk Kuyt, looking down on the tide of fans packed into the city's historic Coolsingel street. "What better place could we celebrate?" he told public broadcaster NOS.
Dressed in smart suits, the team hoisted the silver cup aloft from the town hall balcony, as the fans, who had braved driving rain and hail, chanted and sang below.
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb thanked the players "for this magnificent present for the city of Rotterdam" and praised the supporters for their "exceptional behaviour" during spontaneous celebrations late night celebrations Sunday in the city.
The Dutch news agency ANP said the tribute had been deliberately held at midday Monday in order to avoid any trouble in the city. But part of the street had to be temporarily closed as so many jubilant fans turned out.
According to Feyenoord's official website some three million people watched the match live, as the club claimed the trophy for the 12th time in its history -- but for only the first time since 2008.
"The club has not won a lot of trophies in recent years, but the fans have always supported us. We have been down, but we have got back up again. And we have had fantastic results, even though we have had some formidable adversaries," said Kuyt.
"That's why we deserved the cup," the 35-year-old ex-Liverpool and former international star said.
In their glory days Feyenoord beat Celtic 2-1 to win the 1970 European Cup, and if they clinched the last of their 14 Dutch league titles back in 1999, they did win the UEFA Cup in 2002 with a memorable 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.
Currently coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst they now sit third in the Dutch league with two games remaining, 21 points adrift of the top two, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
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