FC Hollywood upon Rhine

FC Hollywood upon Rhine

Desperate times call for desperate measures. In Arnhem local football club Vitesse though, things had to change. Better results through a solid financial injection and a new approach. They “promoted” football to a more extensive degree. A live soap opera labelled, “Trading with the stars”.  Their nickname is: FC Hollywood upon Rhine.

Forget oil, gold or bonds. In Arnhem there is a new kind of merchandise that is devaluation-proof. Soccer players as a trading good.  A trading house that looks like a casino has risen to prominence. The movement was founded by Georgian business man Merab Jordania, who took over the club in 2010 and the new director of football Kasakowski. This manager is a real poker player  (indeed, he worked for 7 years in a casino).  It is said that Vitesse is a satellite club of Chelsea and Abramovich, but this has been strongly denied by Jordania and his manager: “We have some powerful friends and everybody needs a strong network”. Some Vitesse players like Patrick van Aanholt used to play for the London club, but were no longer needed. On the last day of the Dutch transfer market, Vitesse went shopping at the Chelsea wholesaler’s and were granted French player Gaël Kakuta. They also added super talent Nikola Aksentijevic (from Partizan Belgrade).

Between 1990 and 2002 the Arnhem club got used to finishing between third and sixth place, granting them participation in the UEFA Cup. Then Vitesse struggled for years to bring in decent players and only finished in the top 10 one time (in 2005) in the past ten years. Now a club ready for the top has risen, according to  Mr. Jordania. Read more
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