The influence of “the 12th man” exists, as Philip Hans Franses, Professor of Econometrics at Erasmus School of Economics, proves. Franses has discovered that football players from Ajax and Feyenoord perform less well without their own supporters on the tribune during the "klassieker" (Ajax-Feyenoord rivalry). ‘Apparently, accompanying supporters has a motivating effect. Encouraging seems to make sense.’
Franses listed the results of all 192 “klassiekers” played, the first on 9 October 1921 and the most recten on 28 October 2018. These results showed that since supporters of the opponent are no longer allowed to follow their club to a rivalry, the teams score less well. When the supporters where still welcome, before 2009, an average of 1.6 goals per game was scored. Since the opponents’ supporters are no longer welcome, this number has dropped to 1.1 goal per game. The decrease can be seen by both rivals and is significant for both teams, it is thus not coincidence.
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Read the entire article (in Dutch) on Algemeen Dagblad, 6 November 2018.