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New Year"s speech by Rob Westerhof (PSV.nl)

4 jan 2005 - Source: PSV.nl

This newsitem has been supplied by PSV.nl

For the first time since he became PSV Chairman, Rob Westerhof made a New Year’s speech last night. He pursued issues such as the achievements of PSV in the domestic league and in Europe, the financial situation, the new organizational set-up of the Dutch league, new commercial opportunities and he also dwelt upon the disaster in Asia."We have all seen in blank amazement how the extent of the damage increased day by day and we tried to get in touch with relatives and friends that were in the area. We are examining how and in what way PSV can announce initiatives to help victims of the tsunami disaster", said Westerhof, after which he asked the party, consisting of sponsors, business relations, players, club officials and press to observe a one minute’s silence.Westerhof reviewed the first team’s achievements of last season and the first period of the current campaign. "The new players in our squad have been stimulating and a mix of young talented players and some experienced old-hands resulted into peace and quiet as well as inventiveness in the team. Our coaching staff, the players, the medical staff and the staff deserve a great compliment. We are joint leaders in the Dutch league and it looks like we are in for an exciting second period." The Chairman did not omit to refer to the qualification in the UEFA Champions League knock-out phase and briefly looked ahead to the two legs to be played against AS Monaco. New league set-upThe Chairman also raised the topic of the new set-up of the Dutch league, introduced by the Royal Dutch Football Association, but launched an idea of his own at the same time. "When it’s your ambition to perform well on the European stage, you would benefit from a Dutch league that is not too extensive and a European league, for instance in a regional set-up, which runs from September up to and including April. This structure could replace the current Champions League model. The regional numbers one and two of the groups (eight teams) could vie for the championship by playing knock-out games". Chinese websiteThe commercial opportunities of PSV were also discussed. Westerhof thought the renovated Business Club on the fourth floor of the Eindhoven Philips Stadium is a highlight that is 'trend setting in all aspects'. As one of the first new steps across the border he announced an agreement that PSV have made with a Chinese media partner to exploit an official PSV-website in Chinese. "We will start the new website in 2005 and it will generate profits straightaway." Westerhof, who has a great many business relatives abroad and who has established a great reputation in trade and industry, reviewed the first few months of his chairmanship at the end of his maiden speech. He looked back at a time which he described as 'anything but boring'. Patron Cuisinier Johan van Groeninge of star restaurant Avant-Garde served a delicious dish. Representatives of the press were given an opportunity to interview Rob Westerhof and of course all people present in the Business Club proposed a toast to the New Year.