Attack, attack, attack: Meet the team whose tactics have to be seen to be believed
NEC have the most attacking, aggressive style around, and it's working as they sit third in the Dutch Eredivisie and are into the final of the Dutch Cup.
NIJMEGEN, Netherlands -- Deep inside a forest in Nijmegen's Goffertpark, on the Netherlands' eastern border with Germany, just over 12,500 people have been gathering each week to watch some of the most chaotic, risky football that 2026 has had to offer.
It's an absurdly innocent and serene setting for an incredible story that has made waves across Europe this year: N.E.C. Nijmegen are on the verge of the most successful season in their 125-year trophyless history -- and it's thanks to a crazy majority investor, who employs a crazy manager, who plays a crazy brand of attacking football.
"Crazy -- that's exactly the word for it," N.E.C. supporter Stefan Verhagen tells ESPN. "In 62 years, I have never seen anything like it. Teams come here, and they are shaking in their boots."
Eniesee play in a style that most would consider reckless, if not downright foolish. It's a modern version of the "Total Football" style invented and perfected by the great Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff of Ajax in 1970s, and which all Dutch soccer fans have craved ever since. And it's as simple in its philosophy.
"Here, we kick the ball, we run forward -- and we score," Florian, another fan, says.
It might sound dangerous to put so much faith in attacking play, but for N.E.C. it works. After a 1-1 draw on Saturday in a match with serious UEFA Champions League implications against giants Feyenoord -- courtesy of an incredible 97th-minute equalizer -- the club sit third in the Eredivisie table, three points ahead of Ajax with four games to go, while they face AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB cup final this weekend.