Brighton star Jan Paul van Hecke gets huge support from friends in remote Dutch village
Brighton star is buoyed from support from family and friends in Holland. They came over by bus and boat to cheer him on in big Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest.
by Andy Lines · The MirrorA Cult hero Premier league football star will have over 100 relatives and friends travelling from a remote quaint Dutch fishing village to cheer him on tomorrow.
Brighton & Hove Albion have been staggered by the support given to Holland international Jan Paul van Hecke from his sleepy home village of Arnemuide. Two bus-loads of fans will meet up to leave before dawn to head across the Channel for Brighton’s home game with Wolves.
The Mirror visited the distant home village of the player - everyone knows as ‘JP’ - and found a huge amount of support. Kids were running around in Brighton shirts and at his old primary school there was a signed shirt from the centre half who made his international debut last week alongside Liverpool’s Virgil van Djik.
His uncle Michael Krijger said: “There are 100 of us going over next month by bus and ferry to watch the match against Wolves. Then we will go again in November to watch Southampton. We meet at 5am and stay the night in Brighton. We’ve been over before and have a fantastic time. It’s very special.”
Everywhere we went in Arnemuiden - stuck out in Zeeland a remote part of the coast knew “JP”. We met his Uncle, Aunt, his cousin and his teacher - walking around the village in one afternoon!
Teacher Margo Damen taught JP when he was six and seven. She pointed out his old class picture on the wall and proudly showed us his signed shirt he dropped in last year. She said: “We are so proud of him and what he has achieved in England. He came back last year to see - he hasn’t changed at all.”
His uncle, aunt and cousin all told us how they were looking forward to the trip on the “party buses”. Michael said: “JP has a house still in the area and his mum and three brothers still live here. Two of them Guus and Huib still play for the local side. JP started when he was five or six there as well. When he comes back in the summer he always helps put with the local coaching. He hasn’t changed a bit.”
When we met him he was picking up his sons Denley and Dyavi from school - they emerged both wearing Brighton shirts. Arnemuiden is a historic old fishing village with a windmill. It’s so quiet that on the Main Street - called Langstraat - kids play hopscotch on the road and house owners have their names above the doors as well as numbers
Van Hecke loves the village where he is now the most famous resident he said: “I quite often go back It's a small town. Not really any big cities around.I just come from a village, and it's really, like, togetherness. The people all really grow up with each other really well.
“So now that I’m playing professional football, they love it. In a few weeks, they’re coming with two buses of 100 people to our game. My brother and a friend of his arranged that. He gets the tickets, the hotel, he arranges everything and they all come together.”
His uncle - also from Arenmuiden is Jan Poortvliet - he wasn’t a bad player himself … making the Dutch ream for the 1978 World Cup final v Argentina. Nicky Poortvliet husband is nephew of JP said: “We are so proud of what he has achieved and getting capped for Holland was well was very special."
There is a huge van Hecke family in this town - around 60/70 of us. She added: “Everyone here is a Brighton fan now.”