Willem II
Full nameWillem II Tilburg
Nickname(s)Tricolores
Superkruiken (Super Pitchers)
Founded12 August 1896 (1896-08-12) (as Tilburgia)
GroundKoning Willem II Stadion
Capacity14,800
ChairmanJan van deer Laak
ManagerPeter Maes
LeagueEerste Divisie
2022–23Eerste Divisie, 4th of 20
WebsiteClub website

Willem II (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləm ˈtʋeː]), also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a Dutch football club based in Tilburg, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. The club 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 (1792–1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830, spent much time in the city after becoming king, and died there.[1]

Notable former players for the club include Dutch internationals Jan van Roessel, Joris Mathijsen, Jaap Stam, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Overmars, Virgil Van Dijk and Finland's 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 31 May 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004–05 was 12,500 people.[1]

The club has won the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie three times each.[1]

History

Established on 12 August 1896 in Tilburg as Tilburgia, the club first played at the Gemeentelijk Sportpark Tilburg and in 1995 relocated to the Koning Willem II Stadion, the ground where they have played ever since. Willem were champions of the Eredivisie in 1916, 1952 and 1955. The Tricolores also won two KNVB Cups in 1944 and 1963 and were also crowned champs of the Eerste Divisie in 1958, 1965 and 2014.[1]

Willem II - Manchester United,
25 September 1963: 1–1

With regard to European competition, Willem II first appeared in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup of 1963 where they lost to Manchester United in the first round by an aggregate score of 7–2. In 1998–99, Willem once again competed in the Cup Winners' Cup and after beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6–0 in both legs, Willem then lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4–1 on aggregate. A second place in the Eredivisie of 1999 guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth for the first time. At the tournament's group stage, Willem only attained two points in their six group G matches and were thus eliminated. After reaching the KNVB Cup final in 2005 where they lost 4–0 against PSV Eindhoven, Willem II again qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round by 5–1 on aggregate.[1]

Historical chart of league performance

At the end of the 2010–11 season, Willem II were 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 subsequent season and were thus promoted back to the Eredivisie.[1]

In early 2015, journalists at De Volkskrant revealed that Willem II had its matches fixed by an "Asian gambling syndicate", who had paid Willem's players a total sum of €100,000 to lose matches against 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][2] The Royal Dutch Football Association called the affair "the most concrete case of match fixing in the Netherlands" and took legal action as well as asking UEFA and FIFA to reevaluate previous matches.[3]

In 2019, Willem II reached the KNVB Cup Final for the fourth time in their history. They beat AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out, but were defeated by in the final by AFC Ajax.

The fans of Willem II have close links with the fans of English championship club Bristol City. Willem supporters have been known to travel to Bristol, with Bristol City fans heading the other way to Tilburg. At Bristol City's game on 31 October 2009 against Sheffield Wednesday, some Willem II fans were seen in the 'Eastend' of the Ashton Gate Stadium, and songs were sung about Willem II by City fans.[4][5]

Rivalries

Willem II longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their neighbour, NAC Breda. This rivalry originated in the 1920s. Matches between the two are referred to as the derby of Brabant. The two cities of Breda and Tilburg are just 20 kilometres apart, leading to an intense feeling of a cross-town rivalry, heightened by a feeling that it is city against city with local pride at stake.

Players

Current squad

As of 1 September 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF Netherlands NED Freek Heerkens (captain)
4 DF Netherlands NED Erik Schouten (2nd captain)
5 DF Iceland ISL Rúnar Þór Sigurgeirsson
6 MF Belgium BEL Matthias Verreth
7 FW Netherlands NED Nick Doodeman
9 FW Suriname SUR Jeredy Hilterman (on loan from Almere City)
10 MF Netherlands NED Max de Waal
11 FW Sweden SWE Max Svensson
16 MF Netherlands NED Ringo Meerveld
17 FW Netherlands NED Patrick Joosten
18 FW Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Jeremy Bokila
20 DF Netherlands NED Valentino Vermeulen
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 GK Netherlands NED Joshua Smits
23 FW Netherlands NED Michael de Leeuw
24 GK Netherlands NED Connor van den Berg
27 MF Netherlands NED Dani Mathieu
29 MF Netherlands NED Thijs Oosting
30 DF Austria AUT Raffael Behounek
32 MF Netherlands NED Jesse Bosch
33 DF Netherlands NED Tommy St. Jago
34 DF Netherlands NED Amine Lachkar
36 FW Netherlands NED Jelte Pal
44 DF Netherlands NED Niels van Berkel

Notable players

The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for Willem II.

Domestic results

17
1
16
8
10
8
15
10
1
10
18
4
14
6
14
15
14
18
14
9
11
7
3
8
10
14
14
17
8
4
2
4
15
13
11
12
10
8
7
12
15
5
2
9
8
11
11
7
10
17
15
15
12
17
18
5
18
1
9
16
13
13
10
5
14
17
4
575859 60616263646566676869 70717273747576777879 80818283848586878889 90919293949596979899 00010203040506070809 10111213141516171819 202122
Eredivisie*
Eerste divisie

relegation
promotion

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

Club officials

Position Staff
ManagerNetherlands Reinier Robbemond
Assistant managers
Goalkeeper coachNetherlands Peter den Otter
Video analystNetherlands Rick Mennes
Chief scoutNetherlands Steven Aptroot
Club doctorNetherlands Jan de Waal Malefijt
Netherlands Pieter Vioen
PhysiotherapistNetherlands Gijs van der Bom
Team officialNetherlands Henry van Amelsfort
ManagerNetherlands Jos de Kruif
Team ManagerNetherlands Jos van Nieuwstadt
Kit ManagerNetherlands Paul Coenhorst
Performance managerNetherlands Nils Thörner
Technical directorNetherlands Teun Jacobs

Coaches

Honours

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Historisch Overzicht". Willem-ii.nl.
  2. "Goksyndicaat fixte duels Willem II" [Gambling syndicate fixed Willem II matches]. de Volkskrant. 17 January 2015.
  3. "KNVB: meest concrete zaak tot nu toe" [Royal Dutch Football Association: most concrete case so far]. NOS. 17 January 2015.
  4. "The club named after a king!". CCFC.co.uk.
  5. "Video: Dutch fans pay emotional tribute to Bristol City supporter Mark Saunders". Bristol Post.co.uk.
  6. 1 2 3 "Feiten En Trivia". Willem-ii.nl (in Dutch).
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