by Aleks V |

Fans climb trees to watch a friendly between Belgium and the Netherlands. Photo: Nationaal Archief / Spaarnestad Photo via Flickr

On this day in football 104 years ago, Belgium and the Netherlands drew 3:3 in a friendly match. Fans took to the trees to catch a glimpse of the game at Beerschot Stadium in Antwerp, Belgium. Leo Bosschart, who opened the score for the Netherlands, netted in his only goal for the national team.

The Low Countries derby, as the rivalry has come to be known, has roots at the start of the 20th century. Although the Dutch currently dominate the head-to-head record, their last win against the Red Devils was in a 1997 World Cup Qualifying match.

Belgium vs Netherlands - 3:3 (3:2)
Sunday, March 9, 1913
International Friendly
Beerschot Stadium (Olympisch Stadion), Antwerp, Belgium
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Frederick Thomas Kirkham

Goals:
0:1 Leo Bosschart (1')
1:1 Robert De Veen (17')
2:1 Robert De Veen (29')
3:1 Fernand Nizot (30')
3:2 Jur Haak (44')
3:3 Mannes Francken (63')

Belgium XI:
Emile Andrieu
Adolphe Becquevort
Louis Bessems
Oscar Bossaert (captain)
Prosper Braeckman
Robert De Veen
Gaston Hubin
Jules Mayne
Fernand Nisot
Louis Saeys
Joseph Thys

Netherlands XI:
Leo Bosschart
Piet Bouman
Nico Bouvy
Bok de Korver (captain)
Nico de Wolf
Mannes Francken
Just Gobel
Jur Haak
Jan van Breda Kolff
Jan Vos
David Wijnveldt

Managers:
Belgium: FW Maxwell | Netherlands: Fred Warburton

Trivia

British Bosses
Belgium coach Maxwell was born in Scotland. Netherlands coach Warburton - in England.

Belgium's B's
Belgium's Bessems, Bossaert, and Braeckman were also teammates at Daring Club de Bruxelles, established in 1895 and dissolved in 1973. The three were champions of the Belgian First Division in the 1911-12 season. Bossaert later became the club's president.

Off the Pitch
Outside of football, Belgium captain Oscar Bossaert was an industrialist and ran the Victoria biscuit-chocolate factory. After hanging up his boots, he became a politician, serving in the Belgian Senate and as mayor of Koekelberg. The Edmond Machtens Stadium was previously named after him.

The Netherlands roster boasted a variety of professions: shipyard director, civil servant, architect, medical physician/cardiologist, math/physics instructor.

Olympic Ode
Netherlands coach Fred Warburton guided the team to bronze at the 1920 Summer Olympics, beating Maxwell's Belgium 3:0 in the semi-finals. Multiple players on both teams became Olympic medalists.

Outstanding Official
The referee, Frederick Thomas Kirkham, was considered one of the best in the world at the time. He also had a stint as manager of Tottenham, though it wasn't very successful.

Remarkable Records
At 16 years and 19 days old, Fernand Nisot was both the youngest player to appear for Belgium (April 30, 1911 vs Netherlands) and the youngest goalscorer (March 10, 1912 vs Netherlands). His records still stand to this day.

Remarkably, the Netherlands' Jan van Breda Kolff also holds the record for youngest player and goalscorer for his national team (17 years and 74 days). Both records were achieved in games against Belgium and remain unbeaten.

Louis Saeys, a one-club man at Cercle Brugge, became the club's second-ever coach at 26 years old.

Mannes Francken was all-time top scorer for the Netherlands in 1913, a record he held for 22 years.

--
Data: 11v11.com