John Guidetti finally showed what he was really capable of during the last game of 2011: Feyenoord – FC Twente. Feyenoord would go into the winter break on a high if they won and retain 5th place against the side of Luuk de Jong, Nacer Chadli and former Feyenoorder Leroy Fer. Within the first 45 minutes Guidetti scored 3 times. His first hattrick for de Club van Zuid. His planking celebration would become somewhat of a signature move. With 11 goals Koeman had gotten himself a striker who was capable of handling the pressure of het Legioen and fully embrace them. The winter break that followed didn’t necesarilly do the prodigy much good. A fever sidelined Guidetti for the 18th match of the season: A loss to relegation candidate VVV Venlo(who would eventually finish 16th).

The next week was all about the young Swede. Would he be healty? Would he score? Would he be able to control his temperament? One of the biggest papers of the country (AD) even had a special column reserved for Guidetti in the week before the game. They would ask medical professionals about the symptons of the fever and how likely it would be that he played and for how long would he be able to play? During this Guidetti-mania Guidetti calmly promised a hattrick against Ajax. The last Feyenoord-player who scored a hattrick against Ajax before John Guidetti did so was Hans Venneker(who now owns a small sporting goods store in the city of Hellevoetsluis) in 1964. He scored a hattrick in a 4-2 win against Ajax, a match that made Guidetti a legend. Nothing could go wrong. It felt like he could retire after this game and be on the Mount Rushmore of Feyenoord strikers for all eternity. John Guidetti was a god. From this moment on he’d never have to pay for dinner in a restaurant in Rotterdam and all cinema visits would be free of charge. The first Feyenoord win against Ajax in ages and John Guidetti was responsible for it. Noone else.

He would continue to showcase his form with 2 assists against NEC. The next week Vitesse would come visit de Kuip in the blistering cold. Referee Gözubüyük(who allegedly played poker with Feyenoord-captain Ron Vlaar) saw Guidetti net his third and last hattrick in Feyenoord’s red and white. This hattrick meant that Guidetti scored three hattricks in three consecutive home games against the eventual champion(Ajax), number 6(FC Twente) and number 7(Vitesse) of the Eredivisie. Something that hadn’t been done since the sixties.

Everyone knew this euphoria couldn’t last forever. This was too perfect. There had to go something wrong, because there’s always something that goes wrong at Feyenoord. The next week something went very wrong. In the pouring rain Feyenoord had trouble playing the tough RKC defense and needed the help of a penalty-kick to get the opportunity for the 1-0. Of course our Swedish Chef was ready to serve his specialty; a goal from the penalty spot. Of course he scored, and as he ran to the corner flag he started the pulling the shirt over his head. This was the 77th minute and in the 58th minute he had received his first yellow card. Koeman’s reaction has become famous for the transformation from pure juy to pure horror as he sees what enfolds in the corner of the pitch. Referee Makkelie was forced to give Guidetti his second yellow and thus red. Guidetti stumbled off the pitch leaving behind 45.000 confused spectators. Of course RKC would continue to net the 1-1 and the press were all over the now suddenly vulnerable young striker. As Guidetti, very timidly for once, answered the questions from the journalists it was visible that he felt horrible. He would miss the match against PSV and let his teammates down.

Feyenoord went on to lose against PSV, missing several big chances (clearly missing their focal point in attack) and then routinely played its matches (with Guidetti) against the likes of FC Twente, FC Utrecht and de Graafschap when 14 april 2012 came around the corner. What seemed like a perfectly normal game (Guidetti scored the opener in a 3-0 win) would be his last game for Feyenoord.

A dangerous nerve infection ruled him out for the remaining 4 games of the season. Feyenoord would go on to win all those matches and finish second in the league behind archenemy Ajax. After the last home game the players took the injured Guidetti on their shoulders and carried him around the stadium. 50,000 fans chanted his name once more. He grabbed the microphone and started singing “I’m Feyenoord till I die” once more.

The second place was celebrated. Usually the second place isn’t worth celebrating, but this celebration was much more than a celebration for reaching the qualifiers for Champions League football: Feyenoord was back again. With 24 points more than the previous season Feyenoord had recaptured its place within the Traditionele Topdrie(Big Three) together with PSV and Ajax. It was a celebration to leave behind all that the club had gone through.

Whenever you ask a Feyenoorder about the Guidetti season they will begin to smile again. Guidetti gave Feyenoord and Rotterdam its face back. After the 10-0 defeat against PSV Feyenoord was the laughing stock of the league. Guidetti transformed this laughing stock into a contener for the first 3 spots with his contagious positivy, confidence and joy for the game. Guidetti and het Legioen (the Feyenoord fans) had a connection like no other. A famous example of this was when he joined with the Mexican wave during de Klassieker in which he scored a hattrick. The Swedish phenomenon would finish with 20 Eredivisiegoals in 23 games with an average of 0.86 goals per game, one goal behind PSV-winger Dries Mertens. Bas Dost would become topscorer and earn a transfer to VFL Wolfsburg.

Guidetti was the personification of Feyenoord for a season. A young player in a young squad who wanted to show everyone what he was/they were capable of. The next season an Italian striker who never scored would take the spotlight. Pellè maybe was a better player, but Guidetti had a bigger influence.

Guidetti put Feyenoord back on the map. Guidetti was Rotterdam. Guidetti is Feyenoord till he dies^{Thanksforreading.}

My Blog Post, I plan to write about Feyenoord and football in general more often. Please let me know what you think. You can contact me at Roffabob@hotmail.com or @Roffabob on Twitter.