Premier League club staggered as over 100 relatives and friends support player
Brighton football star gets huge support from family and friends who travel over from a sleepy village in Holland by bus and ferry to watch their hero play in the Premier League
Jan Paul van Hecke playing football
Over 100 friends and relatives of Jan Paul van Hecke came to England to watch him play
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Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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A cult hero Premier league football star had over 100 relatives and friends travelling from a remote quaint Dutch fishing village to cheer him on a match.
Brighton and Hove Albion have been staggered by the support given to Holland international Jan Paul van Hecke from his sleepy home village of Arnemuiden. Two bus-loads of fans met up to leave before dawn to head across the Channel for Brighton’s recent home game with Wolves.
Mirror Online 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 Netherlands international debut earlier this season alongside Liverpool’s Virgil van Djik His uncle Michael Krijger said: “There were 100 of us going by bus and ferry to watch. We meet at 5am and stay the night in Brighton.
Picture shows Jan’s uncle Michael Krijger (Nike top) with sons Denley and Dyavi (in Brighton tops) with relative Nicky Poortvliet and kids Givang (Real Madrid top), & Lorena (black shorts) and cousin Eline van de Hettery (white t-shirt on R) with daughter Ayme (glasses)
Hecke's family came from Arnemuiden in the Netherlands ( Image: Philip Coburn)
Margo Damen one of Jan’s teachers at his school with his signed shirt which has pride of place in the school library
Hecke's teacher spoke of the village's pride of her former pupil
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Image:
Philip Coburn)
”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 donated 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 loved supporting him.
Hecke hails from sleepy seaside Dutch village Arnemuiden (
Image:
Philip Coburn)
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 there when he was five or six years old as well. When he comes back in the summer he always helps put with the local coaching. He hasn’t changed a bit.”
The town has held on to pictures showing the Dutch international centre back in his younger days (
Image:
Philip Coburn) Don't Miss
When we met Michael 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 painted above the doors as well as numbers
Van Hecke loves the village where he is now the most famous resident he once 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.
Our chief reporter Andy Lines visited Hecke's home village
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Image:
Philip Coburn)
"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 Arnemuiden - is Jan Poortvliet who wasn’t a bad player himself. He played for Holland in the 1978 World Cup final v Argentina. Nicky Poortvliet’s husband is a nephew of JP said: “We are so proud of what he has achieved and getting capped fort 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!"