As the regular season concluded and the intense European playoffs began, page 2 of the May 7, 2014 matchday programme served as the official, printed ledger for the club’s individual accolades. It was a page that perfectly encapsulated the two biggest breakout stories of the FC Groningen campaign.
First, the “Essent Speler van het Jaar” section announced the Man of the Match for the final regular-season game against Heracles Almelo. The winner, with 28% of the SMS votes, was 17-year-old Richairo Živković. Knowing that the teenage prodigy had already been sold to Ajax and was playing his final guaranteed home matches at the Euroborg, the fans used their votes to give him a fitting, emotional send-off. The photo captures him holding his bouquet, a local boy who had taken the Eredivisie by storm.
But the true historical weight of the page lies just below, in the “EINDSTAND” (Final Standings) table. It officially confirms what had been mathematically inevitable for weeks: Filip Kostić was the 2013/2014 Player of the Year with 16 points. He was followed by the hard-working veteran Nick van der Velden (14 points) and the defensive rock Eric Botteghin (11 points). Looking at the historical winners list printed below them—featuring names like Arjen Robben, Luis Suarez, and Virgil van Dijk—it was clear that Kostić had just etched his name into a very exclusive, world-class pantheon.
A Look into the Future
The final standings printed on this page were essentially a shopping list for bigger European clubs. Filip Kostić‘s spectacular season earned him a massive transfer to VfB Stuttgart, launching a career that would see him win the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt and star for Juventus. Richairo Živković moved to Amsterdam, beginning a nomadic global career. But for the fans holding this thin playoff programme, these players were still theirs for at least two more matches, tasked with delivering one final gift: a ticket to Europe.