The final pages of the last regular-season matchday programme always serve as the definitive historical ledger. Page 39 of the May 3, 2014 edition against Heracles Almelo provides exactly that: the complete, official “SELECTIE FC Groningen 2013/2014” (Squad list). It is a printed snapshot of a team that had just survived a rollercoaster campaign.
Looking down the list of names, shirt numbers, and birthdates, you see the entire narrative of the season frozen in ink. You see the veterans who held the dressing room together, the loanees who fought for their spots, and the teenagers who broke through. You see number 11, Filip Kostić, who had just been crowned Player of the Year. You see number 30, Richairo Živković, the 17-year-old prodigy playing his final home game before moving to Ajax. You also see the complete technical and medical staff listed at the bottom, including manager Erwin van de Looi and club doctor Frank Baarveld, who, as we noted in the news section of this very issue, was officially retiring after this match.
This page is the ultimate reference document for the season. It strips away the drama, the red cards, the KNVB fines, and the spectacular goals, leaving only the names of the men who were tasked with defending the pride of the Euroborg.
A Look into the Future
In football, a squad list is obsolete almost as soon as it is printed. The summer transfer window of 2014 would tear this specific group apart, scattering players across Europe. However, the core spine of the team listed on this page—the players who learned how to suffer and win under Van de Looi during this turbulent season—remained intact. This exact foundation, hardened by the trials of the 2013/2014 campaign, would go on to achieve immortality the very next year by winning the 2015 KNVB Cup. This printed roster is the blueprint of that future championship team.