How a fan's dying wish led a Dutch football team to a tartan kit

Dennis Van Unen's dying wish was to experience an Old Firm match in person.

The FC Twente fan, who had terminal cancer, achieved that dream in 2006 with the help of two Stranraer supporters.

What followed was an unlikely friendship between fans of the Dutch club and the Scottish town that has endured ever since.

That bond has now been immortalised in fabric through a special tartan-inspired shirt, which will make its debut in FC Twente's Dutch Eredivisie match away to AZ Alkmaar this weekend.

The unlikely connection began in 2006 when Dennis met Stranraer supporters Jim McKie and James Hilton during a match at Twente's De Grolsch Veste stadium, in the eastern city of Enschede.

Suffering from skin cancer, Dennis told them his dream was to experience one of football's most intense rivalries, a match between Celtic and Rangers.

Jim, who also supported Rangers, and James, who was a Celtic fan, secured tickets and accompanied him on a football tour that included Ibrox, Celtic Park and Hampden.

The friendship formed during that visit survived Dennis's death the following year, with Twente supporters subsequently travelling to Stranraer and establishing a tradition of reciprocal visits that continues to this day.

The first outing of the new tartan strip will be keenly watched more than 400 miles away from the match, at The Grapes pub which is home of the Stranraer Tukkers.

The supporters' group takes its name from the nickname given to people from the Twente region.

The bar is barely a long clearance from Stranraer FC's Stair Park, but the walls outside are adorned with the Saxon Steed which features on the Twente badge, while inside, the club's traditional red and white colours greet visitors.

Landlord Billy Hodge, 70, found himself as the unlikely model for the club's marketing campaign, filmed around the town two weeks before the shirt went on sale.

"It was strange to be honest, I never fancied myself as a model," he told BBC Scotland News.

"I knew there was something secretive going on when they contacted me, but I didn't expect this. The kit is fantastic."

Before Dennis died at the age of 34, Jim and James travelled to Enschede, near the German border, to say a final farewell to their friend.

The visits continued after his death, with supporters from Twente and Stranraer making regular trips in both directions as the friendship between the two groups grew.

The links between the clubs were enough for Twente to travel to Stranraer for a pre-season match in 2017, marking 10 years since Dennis' death.

Billy remains a Twente season ticket holder and travels to matches a couple of times a season, where he and the Stranraer contingent are often welcomed into the club's hardcore section with open arms.

"When they come over, we'll get them a beer on the house, it's the same over there," he said.

"We do get a lot of tourists down this area and if they are Dutch, they know the horse that's on the front of the pub. We had a couple of guys cycled over. They got the ferry to Newcastle and then took all the back roads."

Billy added: "I think the two sets of fans are similar. They are all working class guys, they back their team through thick and thin and I think they are to be applauded for that".

Twente's Scottish links extend back further than Dennis' initial trip.

The club sported a similar tartan away shirt in the 1994/1995 season, later voted their best ever by fans.

Former Motherwell defender Rob McKinnon spent two years at Twente between 1996 and 1998, while striker Scott Booth won the Dutch Cup with the side in 2001.

Twente have not lifted the Eredivisie since 2010, when they were under the management of Steve – or should that be "Shteve" – McClaren who was ribbed for adopting a strange accent during his time at the club.

However, they are competing in the Europa Conference League this season and sit fifth in the Dutch top flight after nine games.

Leon Molenkamp, the club's marketing manager, said the shirt had already been a hit with supporters.

He said it was a way to ensure the "unique" relationship was not forgotten by future generations.

"The relationship is very heartfelt," he said.

"We have people visiting back and forward multiple time a year. It is great to see how something like that can just arise.

"It's getting to be quite a well-known friendship with fans in Twente as well and more and more people are going over and taking an interest in Scottish football."