The first time I remember watching Vitesse Arnhem was back in 2002 in the old UEFA Cup when they took on Liverpool.
The Dutch side lost both legs 1 – 0 as they exited at the third round stage.
While, Vitesse have never won a trophy domestically or internationally during their 121 year history, they were regulars in the UEFA Cup during the mid-90s without progressing past the first round.
But still qualifying for Europe regularly was a sign of progress give their history.
Until the 1990s, Vitesse were a yo-yo club who drifted between the top flight, second tier Eerste Division and the third division.
The 1989/90 season was their first back in the Eredivisie for a decade and saw them finish a creditable fourth and reach the KNVB Cup final.
The 1990s proved to be a very successful era for the club without actually threatening to win a trophy. From 1990 until 2002, Vitesse never finished outside the Top 6 with the high point being a third placed finish in 1998 where they finished just two points off the final Champions League place.
But that successful period had seen the club accumulate huge debts and build the GelreDome stadium (which has a retractable roof) and they were only saved from bankruptcy thanks to the intervention of Aarnhem city council who bailed them out.
That precipitated a decade long slide down the table which often saw Vitesse flirt with relegation.
But if you take a glance at the Dutch league table this season, you will notice that Vitesse are top of the standings, just above Ajax. And if you look at their most recent result, they hammered Dutch giants PSV 6 – 2 in Eindhoven last Saturday.
Perhaps that result should not come as such a surprise. For one, PSV are struggling badly this season and there has been a shake-up of the Dutch elite over the past five years with emerging clubs like Twente and AZ Aalkmar.
But having watched that watershed thrashing of PSV, one thing was particularly noticeable: the number of Chelsea fringe players that were on the pitch.
Blues’ loanees Lucas Piazon, Christian Atsu and Patrick Van Aanholt played key roles in the game and all three scored. But they are not the only players on Chelsea’s books that are at Vitesse this season.
Sam Hutchinson, Cristian Cuevas and Gael Kakuta are also on loan at the club and in previous campaigns other ex-Chelsea players have given to Vitesse such as current Benfica midfielder Nemenja Matic and defender Tomas Kalas who is a fringe player at Stamford Bridge.
There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the plethora of Chelsea players at Vitesse. The two clubs signed a partnership deal back in 2010 because ex-Vitesse owner Merab Jordania is a personal friend of Roman Abramovich.
Since, the Georgian businessman took over the Dutch club three years ago, their fortunes have changed for the better.
It culminated in last season’s fourth placed finish which was inspired by the goals of current Swansea striker Wilfried Bony and young Dutch talent Marco Van Ginkel who Chelsea acquired in the summer before suffering a cruel knee injury.
It also meant the club was on the right track to achieving Jordania’s dream of winning the league and qualifying for the Champions League within three years.
A footballer in his younger days and a former President of the Georgian FA, he utilized his connections with Abramovich to get talented young players who were not being given first team opportunities at Stamford Bridge.
But two months ago, Vitesse’s ownership changed hands again. Jordania stepped aside to become chairman, while Alexander Tsjigirinski, a Russian billionaire and close friend and business associate of Abramovich, became the new owner.
While there has been much speculation about Jordania’s appointment, Jake Cohen of SB Nation's Chelsea blog 'We Ain't Got No History' writes that the former Vitesse Arnhem owner was just a “caretaker” for Tsijingirinski all along.
Merab Jordania will be folding his arms someplace else from now on
There is certainly something suspicious about the situation but Jordania publicly stated that he was happy to sell: "When I bought the Vitesse shares I already stated that Alexander Tsjigirinski was supporting me and my plans with the club. Now Vitesse have made some necessary steps for a bright future I feel it was the right moment to move on the shares to him.”
One wonders how happy he is now! Jordania was soon removed as chairman and according to the Dutch media, he was “taken aback” by the step. Allegedly, he was dropped in favour of new chairman Bert Roetert because the Georgian had failed to deliver Champions League football by 2013.
They could have shown more patience because the current team are top of the Dutch league and on course to reach next season’s Champions League if they can maintain the form which thus far has been unaffected by the ructions in the boardroom.
But can they win the league this season? They will face a dog-fight with Ajax, FC Twente and perhaps even Feyenoord between now and May.
But it is more a question of whether being a feeder club for Chelsea provides the requisite stability to regularly win league titles and make an impact in the Champions League.
That will worry Vitesse fans, while Chelsea are safe in the knowledge that their young fringe players are getting minutes in a league known for developing talent.
But there is something Abramovich-esque in the way that Vitesse are now on their fifth permanent manager in three years…
Main image: Lucas Piazon
