the chairmen of the three biggest Rotterdam teams organised a meeting in Utrecht, which was attended by several chairmen of other clubs and a delegation of the KNVB to discuss the start of professional football in the Netherlands. The professional era commenced with the first Eredivisie season in 1954/1955. Feijenoord were one of the clubs participating in the inaugural Eredivisie and have never been relegated. One of the most memorable matches in these first years of professional football was the clash between Feijenoord and the Volewijckers at 2 April 1956, which Feijenoord won 11–4, with nine goals by Henk Schouten. Feijenoord would grow an intense rivalry with Ajax. Matches between the two clubs quickly were dubbed as de Klassieker ("The Classic"). The first memorable Klassieker from a Feijenoord point of view took place at 11 November 1956, when Daan den Bleijker scored four times to give Feijenoord a 7–3 win over their archrivals. Golden era Feijenoord claimed their first professional Eredivisie Championship and their sixth Dutch Championship in 1961. On the road to the title Ajax was beaten 9–5 in De Kuip, four of Feijenoord's goals were scored by Henk Schouten. The following season, they played their first European Cup match facing IFK Göteborg. The Swedes were beaten 0–3 in Gothenburg and 8–2 in Rotterdam. Feijenoord were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in the following round. In 1962, Feijenoord successfully defended their Dutch Championship title and reached the final of the Intertoto Cup 1961–62. where Feijenoord faced arch-rival Ajax in the final and subsequently lost 4–2. On 12 December 1962, Feijenoord played a decisive match versus Vasas SC in the second round of the 1962–63 European Cup. The first two legs, in Rotterdam and Budapest, both ended in a 1–0 home victory, forcing a replay on a neutral ground to take place. The match was played in Antwerp, where 30,000 Feijenoord fans travelled by bus to see their team play. Also this time, the final score was 1–0; Rinus Bennaars scored the only goal and was immediately nicknamed "The Hero of Deurne", reflecting the neighbourhood in Antwerp where the match was played. The events in Antwerp resulted in an enduring friendly relationship between the fans of Feijenoord and Royal Antwerp. In 1963, hundreds of thousands of people stood ashore by the Nieuwe Maas and the Nieuwe Waterweg to wave two ships, de Groote Beer and the Waterman goodbye. The ships transported