Holland's new skin

Even if it’s often snubbed and considered less interesting, the Dutch Eredivisie it’s often capable of offering some seriously interesting prompts, especially from a cultural and artistic point of view. Johan Cruijff land, in fact, is capable of channeling in football feelings and popular trends, like happened during the Total Football years, the totaalvoetbal, when the Oranje exported the sense of community and young freedom from their land to the World Cup.

In the occasion of Eredivisie’s next birthday, which will be the sixtieth, the Dutch football colors itself with its people’s values once more. In a quite literal way. For the last match day of the season, scheduled for May 14th, the football association commissioned a special commemorative ball, which will be then used for all the next season, which will be in fact the sixtieth. To do that, it hasn’t chosen a renewed exhibits or galleries artist, but Henk Schiffmacher, a well-known Dutch tattoo artist. During his career, which lasted more than 40 years, he tattooed people like Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain, Motörhead’s frontman Lemmy and members from Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers and of course many football players.

“I’m very grateful to Eredivisie”, he said. “I’ve always been a football enthusiast and it’s been a dream to design this ball. I’ve used symbols that stand for strength and connection. That’s for me what the Eredivisie and football are about. I hope that players, clubs and supporters will recognize and appreciate that.” The ball, alongside with its creator, have been photographed by Krijn van Noordwijk portraits. True Dutch artists, for a ball that enclose all the essence from Tulips’ Land.