Ever since the Dutch Eredivisie was founded in 1956, Feyenoord have never lost more than four games in a row. Even in their darkest hours, like the disastrous 2010-11 season when they were thrashed 10-0 by PSV Eindhoven and finished 10th, the giants from Rotterdam did not sink to such a level.
Yet now they are experiencing a nightmare. Feyenoord have lost not four, not five, but six consecutive league fixtures for the first time in their history, and nobody at the club is able to find a logical explanation.
It has been a collapse of massive proportions. Less than two months ago, Feyenoord were second, only trailing Ajax by two points in the table and dreaming of their first championship title since 1999. Dirk Kuyt's long awaited and emotional comeback filled the fans' hearts with joy and saw expectations rise higher than usual. Young coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a Feyenoord man through and through, was promoted to the top job after four years as assistant and his appointment was greeted with great excitement.
Van Bronckhorst's men won a few tight games at the beginning of the season, then came October's big win over Ajax in the KNVB Cup when Kuyt forced an own goal deep in injury time to seal a 1-0 win. Brimming with confidence, Feyenoord scored 12 goals in three games against Twente, Excelsior and Heracles. Kuyt was averaging almost a goal per game, newly signed towering striker Michiel Kramer looked unstoppable, and young stopper Sven van Beek was so brilliant that Netherlands coach Danny Blind was strongly criticised for not calling him up.
Everything was rosy when Feyenoord visited NEC Nijmegen for the last game of 2015; Tonny Vilhena scored with a lucky free kick in the first half, and the team were ready to celebrate Christmas in style, but then something happened. On the hour, Nijmegen caught the overconfident visitors napping and netted an equaliser; five minutes later a disastrous back pass by Van Beek gifted the hosts their second goal and Feyenoord eventually lost 3-1 after another desperate mistake in defence.
In retrospect, it was a critical moment for Feyenoord. The negative reaction of their leading figures after the game were somewhat exaggerated, but suggested what would follow in the coming months as the bad feeling sank in over the month-long winter break.
"We had a very good first half of the season, but this defeat is quite decisive for the feeling that we take with us into the winter break," Van Bronckhorst said.
"To lose this way makes me feel bad about the season so far. I am sick of it," Kuyt declared.
Feyenoord should have come back from the break refreshed, but the atmosphere was gloomy. Van Bronckhorst readily admitted that Ajax and PSV were the favourites, claiming that his inexperienced players didn't know how to deal with pressure.
To make matters worse, they had to play PSV in their first fixture of 2016 without suspended midfielder Karim El Ahmadi. It was an exciting, close affair in front of the sold out stands at De Kuip, with Kramer and Kuyt missing superb chances in the penalty box, but Feyenoord were punished by the champions at the other end, losing 2-0.
"We should still fight for the title, which is not an easy task. We must now focus on the next game at Alkmaar and ensure that we get the first three points in the second half of the season," Van Bronckhorst said afterwards.
The next game, however, did not go to plan. Kramer might have given Feyenoord an early lead, but Markus Henriksen dictated the tempo in midfield for AZ, while Vincent Janssen -- the rising star of Dutch football -- celebrated a hat trick. The hosts deservedly won 4-2 and Feyenoord's title chase was seemingly over as their self-confidence disappeared without a trace.
The next blow -- just three days later -- was even harder. Heerenveen visited De Kuip and Henk Veerman gave them the lead before Anass Achahbar, who had been ignored by Van Bronckhorst in 2015, came on for injured Kramer and scored an astonishing overhead kick with 19 minutes to go to level the scores.
Would that be the turning point for Feyenoord? The answer was no. With six minutes remaining, Heerenveen netted the winner and Vilhena then hit the bar with a splendid free kick, that was much better than the one he had scored at Nijmegen. While everything had gone Feyenoord's way until December, luck had totally deserted them in 2016.
With four losses in a row, it was only natural that the press were eager to discuss the possibility of an historic fifth defeat. Feyenoord's players didn't even have time to breathe as the home game against Den Haag took place just three days after the Heerenveen fiasco, but Lady Fortune was against the Rotterdamers once again. A Simon Gustafson goal was wrongly ruled out for offside, then the team collapsed and the visitors won 2-0. Officially, Feyenoord were in their the worst ever Eredivisie run.
"No words, no deeds and no points. Feyenoord have rewritten their glorious history, but not in the way they wanted. Can they still be considered a top club?" the headline of De Volkskrant wondered.
"It is a remarkable low point, but eventually I will just have to perform," Van Bronckhorst said.
Feyenoord somehow managed to beat lowly Roda 1-0 in the KNVB Cup after extra-time last Wednesday. But that didn't change their fortunes in the league as they lost their sixth game on the trot, to Ajax on Sunday.
Again, Feyenoord took the lead with a quality shot by Jens Toornstra, but immediately conceded an equaliser to Amin Younes, and lost 2-1 when Riechedly Bazoer sent a great curling shot past Kenneth Vermeer in the second half.
So, in the space of six matchdays, Feyenoord's title hopes have disappeared. The club now find themselves in fourth place, behind Heracles Almelo, and the gap to PSV at the top has grown to a whopping 17 points. It is one of the most spectacular downfalls the Netherlands has ever witnessed.
Sooner or later, Feyenoord will put their disastrous spell behind them and get a few good results to lift the gloom. Van Bronckhorst has avoided the worst of the criticism and still has a bright future in the game, yet the beginning of 2016 will forever be remembered as the worst time in Feyenoord's history. A tough visit to Zwolle awaits them on Sunday, but seven defeats in a row is surely unthinkable, isn't it?