Willem II (football club)

Willem II

Full name

Willem II Tilburg

Nickname(s)

Tricolores

Founded

August 12, 1896 (as Tilburgia)

Ground

Koning Willem II Stadion,
Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands.

Capacity

14,637

Chairman

Mark van Boekel

Manager

Jurgen Streppel

League

Eredivisie

2013–14

Eerste Divisie, 1st (promoted)

Website

Club home page

Home colours

Away colours

Willem II, also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia. On 12 January 1898, the club was renamed Willem II, after Dutch king William II of the Netherlands (reign from 1840 until 1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830.

Notable former players for the club include Dutch internationals Jaap Stam and Marc Overmars plus the Finn Sami Hyypiä. The club's shirt consists of red-white-blue vertical stripes, inspired by the colours of the flag of the Netherlands. Willem II plays its home matches in the Koning Willem II Stadion, also named after the King. The stadium, opened on May 31, 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004-05 was 12,500 people.

Despite never winning the Eredivisie, the club came second in 1998-99, qualifying for the Champions League as a result.

History

Willem II were the first champions of the Dutch league after professional football was introduced in 1954-55.

The club has won three national titles (1916, 1952 and 1955) and two national cups (1944 and 1963). In 1987, 1990 and 1999, Willem II were voted Dutch Club of the Year. In 1999, a second place in the league guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth. In the first group stage (Group G), Willem II were eliminated. They scored 2 points in 6 matches. In 1963, Willem II lost to Manchester United (7–2 on aggregate) in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998–99, Willem II competed in the UEFA Cup. After beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6–0 on aggregate in the first round, Willem II lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4–1 on aggregate. After reaching the Dutch cup final in 2004 (4–0 loss against PSV Eindhoven), Willem II qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round (5–1 on aggregate). The fans of Willem II have close relations with the fans of English League One club Bristol City. Some Willem II fans were seen in the 'Eastend' (Bristol City's most popular stand) for their game against Sheffield Wednesday on the 31st October 2009, there were songs sung about Willem II. Fans of the club have been known to travel to Bristol, with Bristol City fans heading the other way to Tilburg.

After the 2010-11 season, Willem II was relegated from the Eredivisie for the first time in 24 years.

In the 2011-12 season under new manager Jurgen Streppel Willem II was promoted back to the Eredivisie, but they went right back down the next season after finishing bottom of the table.

The club became champions of the Eerste Divisie in the 2013-14 season and were promoted back to the Eredivisie.

In early 2015, Volkskrant journalists revealed that Willem II had its matches fixed by an "Asian gambling syndicate", who had payed Willem II players a total sum of €100,000 to lose matches against AFC Ajax and Feyenoord (in October and December 2009). According to the journalists, midfielder Ibrahim Kargbo was the Asians' main contact within the club; Kargbo denies having accepted their money.^[1] The Royal Dutch Football Association calls the affair "the most concrete case of match fixing in the Netherlands" and has taken legal action as well as asking UEFA and FIFA to reevaluate previous matches.^[2]

Honours

National Football League Championship
- Winners (3): 1915–16, 1951–52, 1954–55
Eredivisie
- Runner-up (1): 1998–99
Eerste Divisie
- Winners (3): 1956–57, 1964–65, 2013–14
- Runner-up (1): 1986–87
KNVB Cup
- Winners (2): 1943–44, 1962–63
- Runner-up (1): 2004–05

Domestic Results

17#

15#

18#

17#

18#

Eredivisie*

Eerste divisie

* Official position, including playoff (if played). If playoffs has been played the position before playoffs between brackets.
# demotion
^ promotion

Below is a table with Willem II's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.

Domestic Results since 1956
Domestic league	League result	Qualification to	KNVB Cup season	Cup result
1956–57 Eredivisie	18th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1956–57	?
1957–58 Eerste Divisie	1st (group A)	Eredivisie (promotion)	1957–58	?
1958–59 Eredivisie	16th	-	1958–59	?
1959–60 Eredivisie	8th	-	not held	not held
1960–61 Eredivisie	10th	-	1960–61	?
1961–62 Eredivisie	8th	-	1961–62	?
1962–63 Eredivisie	15th	Cup Winners' Cup Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1962–63	winners
1963–64 Eerste Divisie	10th	-	1963–64	second round
1964–65 Eerste Divisie	1st	Eredivisie (promotion)	1964–65	first round
1965–66 Eredivisie	10th	-	1965–66	group stage
1966–67 Eredivisie	18th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1966–67	first round
1967–68 Eerste Divisie	4th	-	1967–68	round of 16
1968–69 Eerste Divisie	14th	-	1968–69	first round
1969–70 Eerste Divisie	6th	-	1969–70	second round
1970–71 Eerste Divisie	14th	-	1970–71	second round
1971–72 Eerste Divisie	15th	-	1971–72	first round
1972–73 Eerste Divisie	14th	-	1972–73	second round
1973–74 Eerste Divisie	18th	-	1973–74	round of 16
1974–75 Eerste Divisie	14th	-	1974–75	first round
1975–76 Eerste Divisie	9th	-	1975–76	first round
1976–77 Eerste Divisie	11th	-	1976–77	round of 16
1977–78 Eerste Divisie	7th	-	1977–78	first round
1978–79 Eerste Divisie	3rd	Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs)	1978–79	second round
1979–80 Eredivisie	8th	-	1979–80	second round
1980–81 Eredivisie	10th	-	1980–81	quarter-final
1981–82 Eredivisie	14th	-	1981–82	second round
1982–83 Eredivisie	14th	-	1982–83	second round
1983–84 Eredivisie	17th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1983–84	first round
1984–85 Eerste Divisie	8th	-	1984–85	first round
1985–86 Eerste Divisie	5th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	1985–86	first round
1986–87 Eerste Divisie	2nd	Eredivisie (promotion)	1986–87	first round
1987–88 Eredivisie	4th	- (losing UC play-offs)	1987–88	quarter-final
1988–89 Eredivisie	15th	-	1988–89	semi-final
1989–90 Eredivisie	13th	-	1989–90	semi-final
1990–91 Eredivisie	11th	-	1990–91	quarter-final
1991–92 Eredivisie	12th	-	1991–92	third round
1992–93 Eredivisie	10th	-	1992–93	third round
1993–94 Eredivisie	8th	-	1993–94	round of 16
1994–95 Eredivisie	7th	-	1994–95	round of 16
1995–96 Eredivisie	12th	-	1995–96	second round
1996–97 Eredivisie	15th	-	1996–97	semi-final
1997–98 Eredivisie	5th	UEFA Cup	1997–98	round of 16
1998–99 Eredivisie	2nd	Champions League	1998–99	second round
1999–00 Eredivisie	9th	-	1999–00	quarter-final
2000–01 Eredivisie	8th	-	2000–01	second round
2001–02 Eredivisie	11th	Intertoto Cup (R2)	2001–02	second round
2002–03 Eredivisie	11th	Intertoto Cup (R2)	2002–03	third round
2003–04 Eredivisie	7th	-	2003–04	round of 16
2004–05 Eredivisie	10th	UEFA Cup	2004–05	final
2005–06 Eredivisie	17th	- (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs)	2005–06	round of 16
2006–07 Eredivisie	15th	-	2006–07	quarter-final
2007–08 Eredivisie	15th	-	2007–08	second round
2008–09 Eredivisie	12th	-	2008–09	third round
2009–10 Eredivisie	17th	- (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs)	2009–10	second round
2010–11 Eredivisie	18th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	2010–11	third round

Current squad

As of 1 September 2014

For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2014

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Kostas Lamprou (on loan from Feyenoord)
3	DF	Freek Heerkens
4	DF	Jordens Peters (captain)
5	DF	Frank van der Struijk
7	FW	Terell Ondaan
8	MF	Robbie Haemhouts
9	FW	Samuel Armenteros (on loan from Anderlecht)
10	MF	Ali Messaoud
11	FW	Bruno Andrade
12	MF	Ricardo Ippel
14	FW	Ben Sahar
15	DF	Dries Wuytens
17	MF	Robert Braber

No.	Position	Player
19	DF	Jonas Heymans (on loan from AZ)
20	FW	Jerson Cabral (on loan from FC Twente)
21	GK	David Meul
23	MF	Wiljan Pluim
24	FW	Renan Zanelli
28	DF	Tim Cornelisse
29	MF	Stijn Wuytens
30	MF	Jordy Vleugels
31	GK	Mattijs Branderhorst
35	DF	Mitchell Dijks
36	FW	Charlton Vicento
46	DF	Jason Wall

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Maxim Deckers (at RKC Waalwijk until 30 June 2015)
		MF	Kevin Brands (at FC Volendam until 30 June 2015)
		MF	Ryan Sanusi (at FC Oss until 30 June 2015)

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Simon van Zeelst (at RKC Waalwijk until 30 June 2015)
		FW	Norair Aslanyan (at Almere City until 30 June 2015)
		FW	Justin Mathieu (at FC Oss until 30 June 2015)

Managers

Year	Manager
July 1980–June 82	Bert Jacobs
1982	George Knobel
1982–84	Jan Brouwer
1984–85	Jan Notermans
July 1985–June 90	Piet de Visser
1990–91	Adrie Koster
July 1991–Oct 91	Piet de Visser
Oct 1991–March 95	Jan Reker
March 1995–June 96	Theo de Jong
July 1996–June 97	Jimmy Calderwood
July 1997–May 00	Co Adriaanse
May 2000–June 00	Hans Verèl (interim)
July 2000–June 2	Hans Westerhof

Year	Manager
July 2002–Jan 04	Mark Wotte
Feb 2004–June 4	André Wetzel
July 2004–Nov 05	Robert Maaskant
Nov 2005–June 6	Kees Zwamborn
July 2006–Nov 07	Dennis van Wijk
Nov 2007–Feb 09	Andries Jonker
Feb 2009–Feb 10	Alfons Groenendijk
Feb 2010	Mark Schenning (interim)
Feb 2010–April 10	Arno Pijpers
April 2010–May 10	Theo de Jong (interim)
July 2010–April 11	Gert Heerkes
April 2011–June 11	John Feskens (interim)
July 2011–	Jurgen Streppel

References

↑ "Goksyndicaat fixte duels Willem II" [Gambling syndicate fixed Willem II matches]. de Volkskrant. 17 January 2015.
↑ "KNVB: meest concrete zaak tot nu toe" [Royal Dutch Football Association: most concrete case so far]. NOS. 17 January 2015.

External links

Official website (Dutch)

Willem II – current squad

1 Lamprou 3 Heerkens 4 Peters (c) 5 Van der Struijk 7 Ondaan 8 Haemhouts 9 Armenteros 10 Messaoud 11 Bruno Andrade 12 Ippel 14 Sahar 15 D. Wuytens 17 Braber 19 Heymans 20 Cabral 21 Meul 23 Pluim 24 Zanelli 28 Cornelisse 29 S. Wuytens 30 Vleugels 31 Branderhorst 35 Dijks 36 Vicento Manager: Streppel

Eredivisie

2014–15 clubs	ADO Den Haag Ajax AZ Cambuur Dordrecht Excelsior Feyenoord Go Ahead Eagles Groningen Heerenveen Heracles Almelo NAC Breda PEC Zwolle PSV Eindhoven Twente Utrecht Vitesse Willem II

Stadiums	Abe Lenstra Stadion De Adelaarshorst AFAS Stadion Amsterdam ArenA Cambuur Stadion Euroborg Galgenwaard GelreDome De Goffert De Grolsch Veste IJsseldeltastadion De Kuip Kyocera Stadion Mandemakers Stadion Parkstad Limburg Stadion Philips Stadion Polman Stadion Rat Verlegh Stadion

Former clubs	Alkmaar '54 FC Amsterdam Blauw-Wit Amsterdam FC Den Bosch DOS DS '79 DWS FC Eindhoven USV Elinkwijk SC Enschede Fortuna '54 Fortuna Sittard De Graafschap GVAV HFC Haarlem Helmond Sport MVV Maastricht NEC TSV NOAD RBC Roosendaal RKC Waalwijk Roda JC SHS Sittardia Sparta Rotterdam SVV Telstar SC Veendam FC Volendam De Volewijckers VVV-Venlo FC Wageningen XerxesDZB

Competition	Champions Players (foreign) Managers Derbies Eredivisie Live

Awards	Footballer of the Year Rinus Michels Award

Associated competitions	League system Eerste Divisie Tweede Divisie (defunct) Topklasse Hoofdklasse KNVB Cup Johan Cruijff Shield Beloften Eredivisie Eredivisie for women UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League

Seasons	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Netherlands Football league champions 1889-1956

1888-89 VV Concordia
1889-90 HFC (1/3)
1890-91 HVV (1/10)
1891-92 RAP (1/5)
1892-93 HFC (2/3)
1893-94 RAP (2/5)
1894-95 HFC (3/3)
1895-96 HVV (2/10)
1896-97 RAP (3/5)
1897-98 RAP (4/5)
1898-99 RAP (5/5)
1899-00 HVV (3/10)

1900-01 HVV (4/10)
1901-02 HVV (5/10)
1902-03 HVV (6/10)
1903-04 Craeyenhout (1/3)
1904-05 HVV (7/10)
1905-06 Craeyenhout (2/3)
1906-07 HVV (8/10)
1907-08 Quick
1908-09 Sparta (1/6)
1909-10 HVV (9/10)

1910-11 Sparta (2/6)
1911-12 Sparta (3/6)
1912-13 Sparta (4/6)
1913-14 HVV (10/10)
1914-15 Sparta (5/6)
1915-16 Willem II (1/3)
1916-17 Go Ahead (1/4)
1917-18 Ajax (1/33)
1918-19 Ajax (2/33)
1919-20 Be Quick 1887

1920-21 NAC
1921-22 Go Ahead (2/4)
1922-23 RCH (1/2)
1923-24 Feyenoord (1/14)
1924-25 Craeyenhout (3/3)
1925-26 SC Enschede
1926-27 Heracles (1/2)
1927-28 Feyenoord (2/14)
1928-29 PSV (1/22)
1929-30 Go Ahead (3/4)

1930-31 Ajax (3/33)
1931-32 Ajax (4/33)
1932-33 Go Ahead (4/4)
1933-34 Ajax (5/33)
1934-35 PSV (2/22)
1935-36 Feyenoord (3/14)
1936-37 Ajax (6/33)
1937-38 Feyenoord (4/14)
1938-39 Ajax (7/33)
1939-40 Feyenoord (5/14)

1940-41 Heracles (2/2)
1941-42 ADO (1/2)
1942-43 ADO (2/2)
1943-44 De Volewijckers
1944-45 Not Played
1945-46 HFC Haarlem
1946-47 Ajax (8/33)
1947-48 BVV
1948-49 SVV
1949-50 Limburgia

1950-51 PSV (3/22)
1951-52 Willem II (2/3)
1952-53 RCH (2/2)
1953-54 EVV
1954-55 Willem II (3/3)
1955-56 Rapid JC

KNVB Cup Winners 1899-1960

1898-99 RAP
1899-00 Velocitas
1900-01 HBS Craeyenhout (1/2)
1901-02 HFC Haarlem (1/2)
1902-03 HVV Den Haag
1903-04 Koninklijke HFC (1/3)
1904-05 VOC Rotterdam (1/2)
1905-06 Concordia
1906-07 VOC Rotterdam (2/2)
1907-08 HBS Crayenhout 2 (2/2)
1908-09 Quick D.Haag 2 (1/4)
1909-10 Quick D.Haag 2 (2/4)

1910-11 Quick D.Haag (3/4)
1911-12 HFC Haarlem (2/2)
1912-13 Koninklijke HFC (2/3)
1913-14 DFC (1/2)
1914-15 Koninklijke HFC (3/3)
1915-16 Quick D.Haag (4/4)
1916-17 Ajax (1/18)
1917-18 RHC (1/2)
1918-19 Not Played
1919-20 CVV

1920-21 Schoten
1921-22 Not Played
1922-23 Not Played
1923-24 Not Played
1924-25 ZFC
1925-26 LONGA
1926-27 VUC Den Haag
1927-28 RHC (2/2)
1928-29 Not Played
1929-30 Feyenoord (1/11)

1930-31 Not Played
1931-32 DFC (2/2)
1932-33 Not Played
1933-34 Velocitas 1897
1934-35 Feyenoord (2/11)
1935-36 Roermond
1936-37 EVV
1937-38 VSV
1938-39 FC Wageningen (1/2)
1939-40 Not Played

1940-41 Not Played
1941-42 Not Played
1942-43 Ajax (2/18)
1943-44 Willem II (1/2)
1944-45 Not Played
1945-46 Not Played
1946-47 Not Played
1947-48 FC Wageningen (2/2)
1948-49 Quick 1888
1949-50 PSV (1/9)

1950-51 Not Played
1951-52 Not Played
1952-53 Not Played
1953-54 Not Played
1954-55 Not Played
1955-56 Not Played
1956-57 Fortuna '54 (1/2)
1957-58 Sparta (1/3)
1958-59 VVV
1959-60 Not Played

KNVB Cup Winners 1961-2015

1960-61 Ajax (3/18)
1961-62 Sparta (2/3)
1962-63 Willem II (2/2)
1963-64 Fortuna '54 (2/2)
1964-65 Feyenoord (3/11)
1965-66 Sparta (3/3)
1966-67 Ajax (4/18)
1967-68 ADO
1968-69 Feyenoord (4/11)
1969-70 Ajax (5/18)

1970-71 Ajax (6/18)
1971-72 Ajax (7/18)
1972-73 NAC
1973-74 PSV (2/9)
1974-75 FC Den Haag
1975-76 PSV (3/9)
1976-77 FC Twente (1/3)
1977-78 AZ (1/4)
1978-79 Ajax (8/18)
1979-80 Feyenoord (5/11)

1980-81 AZ (2/4)
1981-82 AZ (3/4)
1982-83 Ajax (9/18)
1983-84 Feyenoord (6/11)
1984-85 FC Utrecht (1/3)
1985-86 Ajax (10/18)
1986-87 Ajax (11/18)
1987-88 PSV (4/9)
1988-89 PSV (5/9)
1989-90 PSV (6/9)

1990-91 Feyenoord (7/11)
1991-92 Feyenoord (8/11)
1992-93 Ajax (12/18)
1993-94 Feyenoord (9/11)
1994-95 Feyenoord (10/11)
1995-96 PSV (7/9)
1996-97 Roda JC (1/2)
1997-98 Ajax (13/18)
1998-99 Ajax (14/18)
1999-00 Roda JC (2/2)

2000-01 FC Twente (2/3)
2001-02 Ajax (15/18)
2002-03 FC Utrecht (2/3)
2003-04 FC Utrecht (3/3)
2004-05 PSV (8/9)
2005-06 Ajax (16/18)
2006-07 Ajax (17/18)
2007-08 Feyenoord (11/11)
2008-09 Heerenveen
2009-10 Ajax (18/18)

2010-11 FC Twente (3/3)
2011-12 PSV (9/9)
2012-13 AZ (4/4)
2013-14 PEC Zwolle
2014-15 FC Groningen