There is a specific kind of tension embedded in a printed season schedule when it comes to cup competitions. Unlike the league, where every matchday is guaranteed, the cup schedule is a ladder of sudden death. Page 15 of the December 19, 2013 matchday programme captures FC Groningen standing on one of those rungs, staring up at the blank lines of the KNVB Beker.
The “Speelschema” (Schedule) takes up the entire page. At the very bottom, separated from the Eredivisie grind, is the KNVB-BEKER block. It shows the successful navigation of the early rounds: a 0-2 away win against AFC and a 2-0 home win against Capelle. The current match, the round of 16 clash against NEC Nijmegen, is listed with its 18:45 kickoff time. But directly below it are the dates for the Quarterfinals, Semi-finals, and the Final on April 20, 2014. Next to those dates, the opponents and scores are simply listed as “n.n.b.” (nog niet bekend – not yet known).
For the fans holding this programme, those blank lines represented pure, unadulterated hope. A cup run is the fastest route to glory and European football. The blank space next to the word “Finale” was an invitation to dream of a trip to De Kuip in Rotterdam.
A Look into the Future
The irony of this specific page is bitter. FC Groningen did not fill in those blank lines in the 2013/2014 season. They suffered a shock 0-1 defeat to NEC that very evening, abruptly ending their cup dreams and leaving the rest of the schedule permanently blank. However, the heartbreak was merely a delay. Exactly one year later, during the 2014/2015 season, the club would navigate this exact same schedule, filling in every single blank line all the way to the final, where they would lift the KNVB Cup for the first time in their history. This 2013 page is the silent, empty prologue to their greatest triumph.