Dutch professional football club

football club
Football Club Groningen ( dutch pronunciation : [ ɛfˈseː ˈɣroːnɪŋə ( north ) ] ) is a dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, state of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team presently compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. Groningen played their inaugural temper in the Eredivisie, before the side were relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1973–74 as they got into fiscal difficulties. Groningen were promoted back to the Eredivisie as champions in 1979–80 and remained in the top flight for about 20 seasons before they dropped to the moment tier in 1997–98. The team won promotion to the Eredivisie in 1999–2000, where they have remained since.

Reading: FC Groningen

Groningen have won the KNVB Cup once—in 2014–15 —and were champions of the Eerste Divisie in 1979–80. They were KNVB Cup finalists in 1988–89 and were runners-up in the 2015 Johan Cruyff Shield. Groningen achieved their highest-ever league military position in 1990–91 when they finished third in the Eredivisie. The slope ‘s first participation in european rival came in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup ; Groningen defeated Atlético Madrid on sum in the first gear round, but were eliminated by Inter Milan in the following round. celebrated players who have played for the club include Ronald Koeman, Arjen Robben, Luis Suárez and Virgil van Dijk. The team ‘s first base home stadium was Oosterparkstadion ; since 2006, they have played their home games at Euroborg. Groningen ‘s home kit colours are based on the city ‘s coat of arms : green and white. The golf club is nicknamed “ Trots van heated Noorden ” ( english : “ pride of the North ” ), and has a competition with frisian side scandium Heerenveen, with whom it contests the Derby of the North .

history [edit ]

In 1954, master football started in the Netherlands. [ 1 ] The clubs from Groningen who turned professional were Be Quick, [ 2 ] Velocitas 1897 [ nl ], [ 3 ] GVAV and Oosterparkers [ nl ]. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] In 1956, GVAV became founder members of the first tier Eredivisie, [ 4 ] while Be Quick, Velocitas and Oosterparkers were collapse members of the Tweede Divisie, the third tier. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Oosterparkers cursorily returned to amateurism, [ 5 ] Velocitas played master football until 1960 and Be Quick remained professional until 1964 ; [ 2 ] [ 3 ] this left GVAV as the city ‘s only professional team. [ 5 ] Although GVAV averaged home attendances of 10,000 or more during the early on 1960s, the baseball club had become mired in fiscal difficulties. This instigated the establishment of “ Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV ” ( english : “ Professional Football Foundation GVAV ” ) in 1963, a triumvirate of GVAV, the Groningen municipality government and an organization representing local businesses. [ 8 ] The three parties paid 300,000 guilders each to be the foundation ‘s shareholders ; [ 8 ] GVAV ‘s finances remained in a watery position and their future as a professional side was uncertain. [ 9 ] The team remained in the Eredivisie throughout the 1960s, however, but were relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1969–70. [ 10 ]

foundation of FC Groningen [edit ]

In February 1970, Harm Brink, the chair of amateur club GRC Groningen [ nl ], suggested that all Groningen amateur sides should put their best players to the disposal of the local professional team. however, he recognised that the name “ GVAV ” might be an obstacle in such a cooperation and proposed the foundation of a new club. The amateur clubs supported Brink ‘s mind, and the local businesses and the Groningen municipality government were bequeath to remit the debt of Stichting Betaald Voetbal GVAV. [ 10 ] In September 1970, the GVAV members accepted the plans. The team won promotion to the Eredivisie after a annual absence, and “ Football Club Groningen ” were founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, who returned to amateur football. [ 11 ] During the 1970–71 season, GVAV goalkeeper and Dutch international Tonny vanguard Leeuwen conceded only seven goals ; no goalkeeper conceded fewer during the year and Van Leeuwen was honoured by the Royal Dutch Football Association in Rotterdam. On his means home, he died in a car accident, one day before the clubhouse ‘s foundation. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Groningen played their beginning catch on 17 July and defeated german Regionalliga side TSR Olympia Wilhelmshaven 6–0. [ 8 ] The team played in a green and ashen kit out, the color of Groningen ‘s coat of arms. [ 11 ]

fiscal difficulties and relegation from the Eredivisie ( 1971–1980 ) [edit ]

Groningen lost their first league crippled 1–0 at home against Utrecht in front man of an attendance of 13,000 spectators. [ 14 ] The team recorded their first base league victory on the tenth matchday—a 2–1 gain at Vitesse —and finished the 1971–72 Eredivisie season 12th out of 18 sides. [ 15 ] The club was still mired in fiscal difficulties ; to cut transfer expenses, Groningen established a scouting system. [ 16 ] In 1973, Piet Fransen retired after playing 484 matches for GVAV and Groningen, and gaining 6 caps for the Dutch national team. [ 17 ] The following class, Groningen ranked buttocks and were relegated to the Eerste Divisie ; during the season, the team lost 9–0 to Ajax, Groningen ‘s phonograph record kill. [ 14 ] The baseball club came identical close to bankruptcy but was saved by the Groningen municipality government. [ 18 ] In 1974–75, the side finished finished runner-up to NEC Nijmegen because of a worse goal deviation. Groningen qualified for the play-offs which determined the second base and final team to gain promotion to the Eredivisie ; the side finished second behind FC Eindhoven and remained in the second base tier. [ 19 ] In 1975, Groningen established a youth boarding school, and the club tried to rebuild the squad with youth players. [ 20 ] The side placed 8th in the 1976–77 Eerste Divisie —Groningen ‘s lowest league finish—before they missed promotion to the Eredivisie on goal difference in the promotion play-offs in 1977–78, despite the 31 goals of Peter Houtman during the season. [ 14 ] [ 21 ] In 1978–79, Groningen finished runner-up to Excelsior. [ 22 ] During the season, the baseball club hit the headlines after a family catch against Telstar : a Groningen fan threw a knife in the steering of Telstar ‘s Fred Bischot [ nl ] but missed him. The peer was halted by the referee but continued 10 days belated ; Groningen won 3–0. [ 23 ] The side returned to the Eredivisie as champions in 1979–80 under coach Theo Verlangen [ nl ], losing only 4 times in 36 matches. [ 24 ] Most of the police squad came from Groningen ‘s youth academy. [ 4 ]

inaugural european matches ( 1980–1991 ) [edit ]

In 1982–83, Groningen qualified for european competition for the first time following a fifth place stead. [ 25 ] Ronald Koeman left the baseball club in 1983 and joined Ajax, while his brother Erwin remained at Groningen ; both players had made their professional debut at Groningen. [ 26 ] The team debuted in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup beginning round with an aside equal against Atlético Madrid —former european Cup finalists [ 27 ] —and lost 2–1. Groningen recorded a 3–0 victory in the reappearance game and won 4–2 on aggregate. Inter Milan were the opponents in the second round ; Groningen won 2–0 at their Oosterparkstadion but lost 5–1 in Italy and were eliminated from the competition. [ 28 ] Groningen competed in european contest again on five occasions from 1986 until 1992, [ 4 ] with a place in the one-third round in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup ( eliminated by Vitória de Guimarães ) and the 1988–89 UEFA Cup ( eliminated by VfB Stuttgart ) as the best results. [ 29 ] As a consequence of the successful spell, Groningen became about amply professional during the mid 1980s—only Jan van Dijk and Adri van Tiggelen remained semi-professional—and the club recorded the fourthly highest average home attendances in Dutch football during this period—behind Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord —as it attracted at least 10,000 fans for each meet. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] In 1989, Groningen reached their first KNVB Cup final examination but lost 4–1 against PSV. [ 32 ] During the like year, Groningen chair Renze de Vries [ nl ] was found guilty by the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service ( FIOD ) of embezzlement and using dirty money to lure players into signing for the club. [ 33 ] De Vries, Groningen ‘s president since 1980, stepped down and late spent several days in prison. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] Although several other clubs were besides investigated and punished by the FIOD during this period, [ 35 ] Groningen received an extra judgment of 700,000 guilders from the Tax and Customs Administration. [ 33 ] The golf club was saddled with millions of debt and came close to bankruptcy. [ 36 ] Despite the fiscal situation, Groningen recorded their highest-ever league eat up in 1990–91 —third place. Managed by Hans Westerhof, Groningen competed for the league title with Ajax and PSV until the last part of the season, when suspensions and injuries to beginning team players saw them flatten points. Groningen ‘s forward couple, Hennie Meijer and Milko Djurovski, had 27 goals between them ; Meijer was named Dutch Footballer of the year after the season ended. [ 37 ]

Decline, convalescence and a new stadium ( 1991–2010 ) [edit ]

Although Groningen recorded a fifth stead complete in 1991–92 and qualified for the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, [ 38 ] the team began to slide down the league postpone ; they were finally relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1997–98. [ 39 ] During this period, Groningen had little fiscal resources left and made many managerial changes in a search for success. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] The side returned to the Eredivisie in 1999–2000 following a inaugural place stopping point in the promotion play-offs group. [ 41 ] During the season, Groningen set several cabaret records : they scored 81 goals, won 10 matches in a row and recorded their largest victory—10–1 against DVS ’33 in the KNVB Cup. [ 39 ] In December 2000, 16-year-old Arjen Robben made his professional introduction under director Jan van Dijk ; Robben was soon sold to PSV for a fee of 3.9 million euro. [ 42 ] Groningen avoided delegating in their first seasons back in the Eredivisie ; under coach Ron Jans, appointed in 2002, Groningen began to return into the top half of the Eredivisie. [ 43 ] In January 2006, Groningen moved from the outdated Oosterparkstadion—the clubhouse ‘s first family stadium—to the newly built Euroborg. [ 44 ] The club ‘s average home attendance increased from about 12,000 in the Oosterparkstadion to around 20,000 in its new stadium. [ 43 ] The team went the first 15 league games unbeaten at Euroborg, [ 45 ] and the stadium was soon dub “ De Groene Hel ” ( “ The Green Hell ” ). [ 43 ] At the end of the 2005–06 season, Groningen finished in fifth place and qualified for the play-offs which determined a place in the preliminary polish of the UEFA Champions League. Groningen reached the final but lost against Ajax on aggregate in the end minutes of the second stage ; the team qualified rather for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup in which they were eliminated by Partizan Belgrade in the preliminary round. [ 43 ] Groningen again qualified for the UEFA Cup preliminary round the be season but were eliminated by italian side Fiorentina after a punishment gunfight. [ 43 ] [ 46 ] In April 2008, Groningen fans threw toilet paper rolls on the lurch ahead of the dwelling meet against Ajax as a tifo display ; one spectator pump threw a burn toilet paper bankroll, however, leading to a fire and leaving 28 people injured. The game was fuelled as Ajax had signed Luis Suárez, Bruno Silva and Rasmus Lindgren from Groningen, which had led to a decline in Groningen ‘s results. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] The Royal Dutch Football Association fined the club 15,000 euro and banned its fans from the future home game. [ 49 ] In 2009, Groningen sold the swedish striker Marcus Berg —having scored 32 goals in 56 matches—to Hamburger SV for a club record tip of 10 million euro. [ 50 ] The succeed year, Jans left the cabaret and went to local rivals Heerenveen ; his successor was former Groningen actor Pieter Huistra. [ 51 ]

inaugural major honor ( 2010–present ) [edit ]

Under Huistra, the team finished 5th in 2010–11 and reached the european contest play-off final examination ; Groningen turned around a 5–1 deficit against ADO Den Haag but lost after a penalty gunfight. [ 52 ] In 2013–14, Groningen won the european rival play-off final under coach Erwin van de Looi and qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, [ 53 ] but lost against Aberdeen in the second modify polish. [ 54 ] Groningen claimed their first major award during the season, however, defeating PEC Zwolle 2–0 in the 2015 KNVB Cup Final. [ 55 ] The side became the third gear Groningen-based team to win a major award, after Be Quick won the 1919–20 Dutch League Championship and Velocitas claimed the 1933–34 KNVB Cup. [ 56 ] [ 57 ] By winning the cup, Groningen qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage, [ 58 ] but gained merely two points from six matches and finished the group in bottom identify. [ 59 ] In 2016, Van de Looi was replaced by former Groningen player Ernest Faber, [ 60 ] who was succeeded in 2018 by another early Groningen actor, Danny Buijs. [ 61 ] In 2019, Hans Nijland [ nl ] —Groningen ‘s CEO since 1996 and the longest-serving conductor in Dutch professional football—stepped down and was replaced by Excelsior ‘s Wouter Gudde. [ 62 ] In 2020, Arjen Robben came out of retirement and returned to Groningen as a player ; [ 63 ] Robben made seven appearances for the clubhouse before retiring again in 2021. [ 64 ]

Crest and colours [edit ]

Scarfs of FC Groningen Groningen supporter scarf with the club peak curtly after Groningen were founded in June 1971, Nieuwsblad van het Noorden organised a rival to design a crest for the club. The draft of 21-year-old Reint Rozema, a interior designer at a local print sign of the zodiac, was chosen : an outline letter “ G ”, referring to “ Groningen ”. [ 11 ] In 1993, board member Jos Smulders proposed the summation of a Pegasus to the badge in club to give the Groningen team “ more dynamism and aggression ” ; in 1996, the Pegasus was removed and the original cap was restored. [ 65 ] Groningen ‘s colours have been green and blank since the cabaret ‘s initiation, derived from the city ‘s coat of arms. During their beginning seasons, the team besides played respective matches in a imperial kit. [ 11 ] Groningen ‘s jerseys were manufactured by local companies until 1975, when Adidas became the first gear to have its logo on the baseball club ‘s shirt. [ 66 ] The team ‘s first kit presenter was AGO in 1982. Since then, the baseball club has had a variety of kit out manufacturers and shirt sponsors. [ 25 ] Until the early 1990s, Groningen used versatile permutations of k and white on their home kits, when the club adopted a white shirt with two erect k stripes. [ 67 ]

stadium [edit ]

The inside of a football stadium pictured Euroborg during a match in 2015 The side have played their home matches at Euroborg since January 2006, which replaced Oosterparkstadion, the home of GVAV and Groningen since the 1930s. [ 44 ] The Dutch national team played two international matches at Oosterparkstadion : against Cyprus in 1981 and in 1983 against Iceland. [ 68 ] In 1985, Groningen recorded their largest attendance at the stadium in a 1–1 withdraw against Feyenoord, when 21,500 spectators attended. [ 69 ] The club first expressed an matter to in building a new stadium away from Oosterparkstadion in 1996 as it had become outdated and had merely a capacitance of around 12,500. In 2003, Groningen started with the building of Euroborg ; Wiel Arets was the architect. The stadium was opened on 13 January 2006 with a match against Heerenveen, which Groningen won 2–0. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] It hosted the 2007 UEFA european Under-21 Championship final, in which the Netherlands defeated Serbia 4–1. [ 70 ] In 2014, Groningen became the first Dutch club to have its own solar baron plant ; more than 1,000 solar panels were placed on the roof of Euroborg to make Groningen “ more eco-friendly ”. [ 71 ] [ 72 ] Euroborg ‘s current capacity is 22,525, [ 73 ] and is nicknamed “ De Groene Hel ” ( “ The Green Hell ” ) and “ De Groene Kathedraal ” ( “ The green Cathedral ” ). [ 43 ] [ 44 ] The stadium consists of four stands : the Tonny van Leeuwen Tribune, the Piet Fransen Tribune, the Koeman Familie Tribune and a stand containing skyboxes. [ 74 ]

Supporters and rivalries [edit ]

Football fans before a match Groningen fans before a game in 2015

Groningen ‘s supporters are chiefly drawn from the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe. [ 75 ] During their early years, Groningen besides had a adequate surveil in Friesland as they were the only Northern team in the Eredivisie, which earned them the nickname “ Trots van heated Noorden ” ( “ Pride of the North ” ). [ 9 ] During 1979–80, when the team won the Eerste Divisie title, a ultras group known as the Z-side emerged from within Groningen ‘s fanbase. [ 76 ] The Z-side and other Groningen ultras groups have had long-standing friendships with the ultras and hooligans of A.S. Roma, Beerschot and Rot-Weiß Erfurt. [ 77 ] [ 78 ] In 1984, a Groningen supporters ‘ association was formed. [ 79 ] As Groningen are one of the few professional sides in the Northern Netherlands and the lone team from the state of Groningen, [ 80 ] the team miss rivalries. [ 81 ] Until SC Veendam was dissolved in 2013, [ 82 ] Groningen contested the Groningse bowler hat [ nl ] with the golf club. [ 83 ] The sides met only four times in the Eredivisie—in 1986–87 and 1988–89, with both teams winning once—as Veendam spent most of their being in the lower divisions. [ 84 ] During the 1990s, Groningen contested heat matches with Twente as hooligans of both clubs frequently clashed. [ 85 ] Since the 1990s, a local competition between Groningen and Frisian club Heerenveen developed—known as the Derby avant-garde heated Noorden ( Derby of the North ) —following Heerenveen ‘s first ever promotion to the Eredivisie in 1989–90. [ 86 ] [ 87 ] Groningen went down to the Eerste Divisie in 1998, and by 2000, the club was surpassed in results by Heerenveen. During the 2000s, the competition reached its extremum and fans of both clubs pulled pranks, such as Groningen fans painting the statue of Heerenveen ‘s Abe Lenstra in green-white colours. The competition faded during the mid-2010s as another frisian club, Cambuur, won promotion to the Eredivisie ; Cambuur are regarded by Heerenveen as their main rivals. [ 86 ]

Players [edit ]

First-team team [edit ]

As of 18 October 2021[88]

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

Out on loan [edit ]

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

management [edit ]

beginning : [ 88 ] [ 89 ]

Managers [edit ]

Ron Groenewoud was the cabaret ‘s first director ; he was relegated with Groningen to the Eerste Divisie in 1974 and remained in bang until 1975. [ 90 ] Groningen won the Eerste Divisie title in 1979–80 under director Theo Verlangen [ nl ], who besides led the team to qualification for their first gear ever european campaign in 1983. [ 24 ] Hans Westerhof led Groningen to their best ever league eat up : third base in the 1990–91 Eredivisie. [ 37 ] After delegating in 1998, the team won promotion second to the peak escape under Jan avant-garde Dijk in 1999–2000. [ 39 ] Erwin van de Looi led Groningen to their first major honor : the 2014–15 KNVB Cup. [ 91 ] The cabaret ‘s current coach is Danny Buijs, who was appointed in 2018. [ 61 ] [ 88 ]

Honours and achievements [edit ]

Eredivisie ( Tier 1 ) [ 92 ]

  • Highest position: 3rd in 1990–91

Eerste Divisie ( Tier 2 ) [ 6 ]
KNVB Cup [ 57 ]
Johan Cruyff Shield [ 93 ]

Records and statistics [edit ]

The read for the most first team appearances in all competitions for Groningen is held by Jan van Dijk, who played 537 games between 1975 and 1992. [ 94 ] The cabaret ‘s exceed finish scorer is Peter Houtman, who scored 128 goals in three spells for Groningen. [ 95 ] He besides holds the club record for the most goals scored in a season, when he netted 31 times in 1977–78. [ 14 ] The youngest actor to play for Groningen is Richairo Živković, who was aged 16 years and 88 days on his introduction against Heracles Almelo in 2012. [ 96 ] The club ‘s oldest player is goalkeeper Peter van five hundred Vlag, who played his survive match aged 37 years and 163 days against NAC Breda in 2015. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] In 1991, Hennie Meijer won the Dutch Footballer of the Year prize, the first and to date lone time a Groningen player achieved this. [ 37 ] Groningen ‘s largest always victory has been a 10–1 win against DVS ’33 in the 1999–2000 KNVB Cup. The club ‘s largest winnings in league football has been a 7–1 home victory against Willem II in the 2010–11 Eredivisie. [ 39 ] The largest defeat is an 9–0 loss to Ajax in the 1973–74 Eredivisie. [ 14 ] The highest transfer fee received is €10 million from Hamburger SV for Swedish striker Marcus Berg in 2009, [ 50 ] while the highest transfer tip paid by the club was for nigerian midfielder Oluwafemi Ajilore from Midtjylland in 2008 ; he was bought for a fee of €3.3 million. [ 99 ]

References [edit ]

Specific
General

  • Donker, Martin; Heuvelman, Dick; Mennega, Jan; Mulder, Henk; Nederlof, Bert; Penning, Wessel; Swart, Nico; Verkamman, Matty; Visser, Jaap; Zweverink, Paul (2011). 40 jaar FC Groningen en de historie van GVAV (in Dutch). Uitgeverij de Buitenspelers. ISBN 9789071359439.
  • Poker, Henk (1996). 25 jaar FC Groningen (in Dutch). Profiel Uitgeverij. ISBN 9789052941394.