Day 2: April 20

The focus today was Dutch culture. The boys started out with a 7am run with Coach Sam to a nearby park in Amsterdam, where they stopped to play a game of pick-up soccer. The sun could be seen rising over the canals of Amsterdam, it was a perfect start to what turned out to be a beautiful day of sightseeing. 

After breakfast, we were dropped at the Anne Frank house in downtown Amsterdam where the group was disappointed to find a 2+ hour line for entry. We decided to spend that time exploring other areas of the city rather than standing in line. We traversed the city, crossing numerous canals and dodging bikers, until we ended up at the Rijks Museum. The boys got a taste of Dutch master's Van Gogh and Rembrandt. It can truly be said the the building that housed these works was just as impressive as the pieces of art themselves. After a quick lunch it was off to Rotterdam (Holland's 2nd largest city) for the Dutch Cup Final. 

In the final it was minnows PEC Zwolle against the overwhelming favorites, Ajax. With the sound of the first whistle, all of our expectations were shattered. A flair storm from the Ajax stand disturbed the opening play, with stewards rushing on to the pitch to clear things off so play could resume. However, an early goal inside 5 minutes triggered another deluge of flairs, forcing the referee to put the match on pause while things calmed down.

 The players left the playing area while Ajax legend Edwin van der Sar came out with a microphone, pleading for the fans to quit disrupting the game. 20 minutes later play resumed. From that point on it was all Zwolle, who ran out worthy 5-1 winners. We were seated just on the fringes of the Zwolle supporters section, who were in full voice for the duration of the match. As disappointing as Ajax were, Zwolle were brilliant and showed what happens when you underestimate your opponent. 

After seeing the cup hoisted, we boarded the bus in our beer-drenched clothes from all of the wild celebrations, and headed for Maastrict. We checked into the hostel at 11:30pm and are heading straight for bed, with tomorrow marking day 1 of training followed by our first match.