If there’s one expert on the next opponents in the UEFA Europa League in Sebastian Hoeneß’s squad, then it’s definitely the man wearing the number 3. Ramon Hendriks moved to Baden-Württemberg around one and a half years ago from – conveniently – Feyenoord Rotterdam. The big defender wore the red-and-white striped shirt as a youngster and then, after loan spells at NAC Breda, Utrecht and Vitesse, made the move to the Bundesliga. Hendriks is only the third Dutchman, after Frank Verlaat and Khalid Boulahrouz, to feature prominently for the VfB first team. Now he faces his former club on Thursday night (21:00 CET).
Following in Tomasson’s footsteps
Someone else who played for both Feyenoord and VfB is Jon Dahl Tomasson. While the former forward scored 12 goals in 43 appearances for Stuttgart, the Dane enjoyed his most successful spell with VfB’s upcoming opponents, where he still ranks among the club’s leading all-time scorers with 93 goals in 207 games.
Last encounter in 2000
The two teams have met eight times before on the European stage, and the record is even with three wins apiece and two draws. It’s almost 25 years since the last encounter between VfB and Feyenoord, though. In December 2000, the Cannstatt boys defeated De Trots van Zuid (The Pride of the South) 4-3 on aggregate in the third round of the UEFA Cup, winning 2-1 in the second leg after a 2-2 draw in Rotterdam. Nobody in white and red would have any problem if history repeated itself on Thursday and VfB again walked off the pitch as 2-1 winners after 90 minutes.