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In May 2019, an amateur match between AVV Swift, of Amsterdam, and SC Feyenoord in Amsterdam was marred by fan trouble after the game when Feyenoord fans travelled to Amsterdam to show support for SC Feyenoord and came into contact with Ajax fans who were there to show support for AVV Swift. Later in the same month, there was an incident during the U19 league title deciding game between Ajax and Feyenoord at De Toekomst in Amsterdam. Before the game, Ajax fans threw stones the players bus of Feyenoord U19. After 30 minutes, the match had to be suspended due to Ajax fans trying to attack the Feyenoord players’ families in the stands. The match had to be rescheduled to a later date where no fans were allowed to attend the fixture.

The inhabitants of these cities differ significantly in both attitudes and cultures which is clearly reflected on the football pitch. The clash is seen between the artists of Amsterdam and the workers of Rotterdam. Amsterdam is renowned for its culture, having produced many artists and actors. Ajax’s style of play has long been a source of pride for the supporters, and one of irritation for the Feyenoord fans. The Rotterdammers feel that those hailing from Amsterdam possess delusions of grandeur, and there is a saying to reflect these sentiments: “While Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works”. Rotterdam was forced to work after being bombed heavily in the Second World War by the Nazis. A harbor town, its people are proud of their work ethic and resentful of Amsterdam’s showiness.From the season 1947–48 up to and including 1955–56 no competitive matches were played between these two clubs. This was due to Feyenoord never winning their regional league in this period and hence not reaching the Championship Playoff where they could face Ajax. In order for these clubs to continue playing each other during this period a number of friendlies were arranged. Once the Eredivise was introduced in 1956–57, regional leagues were abolished in favour of a single national league and hence no championship playoffs were needed. Therefore, Feyenoord and Ajax were able to play competitive matches against each other once more. The two clubs have faced off once a year since then.There has also been a competition as who has the biggest stadium between these two clubs which mainly occurred in the 1930s and 1940s. This was done as bragging rights as which city, between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, had the biggest stadium in the Netherlands. The Olympic Stadium was constructed in 1928 and had a capacity of 31,600 which was the biggest in the Netherlands. In 1934 De Meer Stadion was constructed with a capacity of 22,000. Ajax used the Olympic Stadium for European matches and De Meer for domestic matches. The status of the Olympic Stadium being the largest in Netherlands would change in 1937 when Feyenoord opened De Kuip was constructed with a capacity of 64,000. Ajax responded by adding a second ring to Olympic Stadium, also in 1937. After the Second World War, Feyenoord expanded De Kuip to 69,000 in 1949.In February 2016, an incident took place in Amsterdam Arena where an effigy of Kenneth Vermeer, who made the crossing from Ajax to Feyenoord, was hanged from a stand occupied by the Ajax ultra group VAK410. In response, Ajax closed the sections normally used by VAK410 for the next edition of De Klassieker at the Arena, and banned season ticketholders from those sections from attending the match.

De Klassieker (The Classic) is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam. The rivalry between these two clubs goes beyond the football rivalry, transcending into the city rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This rivalry began when these two cities first received their city rights in the 13th century. The football clubs are the pride of these cities; Ajax to Amsterdam and Feyenoord to Rotterdam. The first encounter between these two clubs was on 9 October 1921 in Rotterdam which was surrounded by controversy. The match initially ended 3–2 in Ajax’ favour. This was later officially declared 2–2 due to Feyenoords protest to what they believed was a dubious goal by Ajax.In the season 1960/61 the highest scoring match between these two occurred. The total number of goals scored was 14 where the score was 9–5 in the favour of Feyenoord. This season Feyenoord won the league with Ajax being second place with 2 points behind first place. Four years later in the season 1964/65 the same scoreline was almost replicated by a 9–4 scoreline in Feyenoords favour.In February 2009, the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam made an agreement with the KNVB to ban visiting fans from the away games for the next five seasons in an effort to curb the violence. However, after Ajax fans threw fireworks on the field during the 2014 KNVB Cup Final, Ajax banned its supporters from traveling to Rotterdam through at least the 2016-17 season.Both clubs have fallen from grace over the years, while fan violence has increased, and there is always a heavy police presence at the derby. The most serious incident occurred in the Beverwijk clash in 1997 when Ajax fan Carlo Picornie was killed and several others injured. The riots of 2005 were also a depressing chapter in the history of the two clubs. Since the 70’s there have been many clashes between the supporters of both clubs, of which Beverwijk in 1997 was infamous. One Ajax fan, Carlo Picornie, was beaten to death by rival supporters, triggering more strict policies from the Dutch football association KNVB to tackle hooliganism. As a result of the incident, the two Klassiekers in 1997/98 were played without away fans. In 2004 Feyenoord player Jorge Acuña was taken to hospital with head, neck and rib injuries after Feyenoord players were attacked by Ajax hooligans during a match between the reserve teams of both clubs. Another Feyenoord player, Robin van Persie, had to be rescued by Ajax coach John van ‘t Schip and player Daniël de Ridder.

In April 2005, riots took place around Feyenoord’s ground involving hooligans from both sides and the riot police. Travelling Ajax fans had demolished the train transporting them to Rotterdam, and were forced to wait outside the stadium until the match was over. Meanwhile, Feyenoord supporters who had just seen their team lose 2:3, were determined to clash with rivals from Amsterdam, who had not seen the match. Hooligans filmed by police were shown on national TV. Virtually every hooligan on TV handed himself in.

Hooligans often chant anti-Jewish slogans when their team faces Ajax. That is because Ajax has had a long association with the city’s Jewish community. And Ajax supporters sometimes refer to themselves as Jews and use the Star of David symbol.Ajax and Feyenoord are the first and third most successful clubs in the Netherlands respectively, with Ajax winning more silverware than Feyenoord in nearly every competition: 75 to 36. This total includes both domestic and international trophies. Both clubs had their greatest international success in the early 1970s, when they were considered to be two of the best clubs in the world. During this time, Ajax won three European Cups, whereas Feyenoord won one European Cup and one UEFA Cup. There have been quite a few players who have played for both Ajax and Feyenoord. The most controversial players being Johan Cruyff, Wim Jansen and most recently Steven Berghuis. Hans Kraay Sr. and Leo Beenhakker have trained both clubs (with Kraay Sr. also having played at Feyenoord), while Peter Bosz was technical director at Feyenoord and later coach at Ajax. Ronald Koeman is the only former player and coach to hold the distinction of playing and coaching at the ‘Big Three’ of Dutch professional football, having been both a player and a coach at Feyenoord, Ajax and their Eindhoven rivals PSV. During the season 1980/81, Feyenoord legend Wim Jansen, who played for Feyenoord for 15 years, made the leap to Ajax which created much anger for the Feyenoord fans. On his debut for Ajax, which happened to be an away game against Feyenoord, a Feyenoord fan threw an iceball in Jansen’s eye, forcing him to leave the field for treatment. The rivalry intensified even further during the 1983/84 season when Ajax legend Johan Cruyff made the transfer from Ajax to Feyenoord. This was after a contract dispute between Cruyff and Ajax; Cruyff wanted a contract extension, but Ajax balked on account of his age. This transfer angered both fanbases; Ajax fans were outraged that Cruyff had jumped to their biggest rival, while Feyenoord fans did not like the fact that an Ajax legend would be joining their club. Some Feyenoord fans protested his arrival by hanging banners saying “Feyenoord Forever, Cruijff Never” being one of the more civilised ones. Many fans would also whistle and jeer at the newcomer during the friendly pre season games and whenever his name was announced in the stadium. Some fans even refused to enter the stadium whilst Cruyff played there. In the 1983/84 season, Feyenoord and Cruyff lost 8–2 to Ajax which was Feyenoord’s worst loss to them ever. However Feyenoord ended up winning the league and cup.On 15 January 2019, Feyenoord announced a partnership with Eerste Divisie club FC Dordrecht which would see players which are not yet ready for the first team loaned out to FC Dordrecht.Feijenoord claimed their first professional Eredivisie Championship and their sixth Dutch Championship in 1961. On the road to the title Ajax was beaten 9–5 in De Kuip, four of Feijenoord’s goals were scored by Henk Schouten. The following season, they played their first European Cup match facing IFK Göteborg. The Swedes were beaten 0–3 in Gothenburg and 8–2 in Rotterdam. Feijenoord were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in the following round. In 1962, Feijenoord successfully defended their Dutch Championship title and reached the final of the Intertoto Cup 1961–62. where Feijenoord faced arch-rival Ajax in the final and subsequently lost 4–2. In 1974, the club changed their name from Feijenoord to Feyenoord, as people from outside the Netherlands did not know how to pronounce Dutch ij. Under their new name, they played in the 1973–74 UEFA Cup, reaching the final, following a 4–3 aggregate win over VfB Stuttgart in the semi-finals. The opponent in the final was Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs took a 2–1 lead in the first leg at White Hart Lane, but Theo de Jong equalised after 85 minutes and the match ended in a 2–2 draw. Feyenoord then won their match in Rotterdam 2–0, thanks to goals by Wim Rijsbergen and Peter Ressel, and also became the first Dutch team to win the UEFA Cup. As a result, Spurs fans started to riot, introducing Dutch football to the spectre of hooliganism in the process. The remainder of the decade saw Feyenoord win only one more honour: the Dutch Championship in 1974. In 1978, the club divided their professional and amateur sides to form two separate teams, Feyenoord Rotterdam for professionals and SC Feyenoord for amateurs. Raemon Sluiter, Lee Towers, Dennis van der Geest, Robert Eenhoorn and Renate Verbaan have all officially been Feyenoord ambassadors. Gerard Meijer is the current ambassador, also being appointed “ambassador for life” on 19 July 2008.As the 1969 Dutch champions, Feijenoord participated in the 1969–70 European Cup. After winning against Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur 16–2 on aggregate in the first round, the club faced Milan. Feijenoord lost the first leg 1–0 in Italy but overcame the loss in their own stadium with a 2–0 win, securing a place in the quarter-finals, where they faced ASK Vorwärts Berlin.

Feijenoord started to attract more fans to their stadium at Kromme Zandweg, and in 1933, they decided to build a new facility. The club moved to the Feijenoord Stadion (nicknamed “De Kuip” or “the Tub”) in 1937, playing the first match there on 27 March against Beerschot. During this period Feijenoord won three consecutive division titles from 1936 to 1938, with their third and fourth national championships coming in 1936 and 1938.

On 30 June 1954, the chairmen of the three biggest Rotterdam teams organised a meeting in Utrecht, which was attended by several chairmen of other clubs and a delegation of the KNVB to discuss the start of professional football in the Netherlands. The professional era commenced with the first Eredivisie season in 1954/1955. Feijenoord were one of the clubs participating in the inaugural Eredivisie and have never been relegated. One of the most memorable matches in these first years of professional football was the clash between Feijenoord and the Volewijckers at 2 April 1956, which Feijenoord won 11–4, with nine goals by Henk Schouten. Feijenoord would grow an intense rivalry with Ajax. Matches between the two clubs quickly were dubbed as de Klassieker (“The Classic”). The first memorable Klassieker from a Feijenoord point of view took place at 11 November 1956, when Daan den Bleijker scored four times to give Feijenoord a 7–3 win over their archrivals.As of the 1981–82 Eredivisie season, the KNVB allowed the teams participating in the league to use sponsor names on their shirts in exchange for money. At the time, Feyenoord’s shirts were produced by Adidas and the first main sponsor was the Dutch Yellow Pages, Gouden Gids. In the second half of the 1982–83 season Adidas were replaced by Puma as the shirt supplier. As a result, the Gouden Gids name was enlarged and was more visible on the shirts. Gouden Gids sponsored the team until 1984, when Opel became the new sponsor. The deal between Feyenoord and Opel lasted until 1989, but in 1987 Hummel International replaced Puma as the shirt manufacturer.For the 2009–10 season, Feyenoord appointed former assistant manager and Feyenoord footballer Mario Been to take over from Vlemmings. Been, after achieving minor European successes with NEC, was considered the ideal candidate for the job. Former manager Leo Beenhakker, at the time manager of the Poland national team, took over as technical director. Partly because of this position, Beenhakker was able to attract more investors to the club, leading to some unexpected signings, including Sekou Cissé, Dani Fernández and Stefan Babović. With new players as well as a new head coach, Feyenoord began the 2014–15 Eredivisie season with just five points after four matches. However, the club was successful in reaching the Europa League group stage for the first time in six years. After losing to Besiktas 5–2 aggregate in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, they defeated Zorya Luhansk in the final qualifying round of the Europa League play-off, 5–4 aggregate. Feyenoord has a longstanding rivalry with their arch rival Ajax, a clash between two teams from the two biggest cities in the Netherlands, called De Klassieker (“The Classic”). The club’s anthem is “Hand in Hand”. The home shirt colours are red and white split down the middle with both the shorts and socks being black.

In the 2013–14 season, Feyenoord recorded the worst start in its history, losing its first three matches to PEC Zwolle, Twente and Ajax respectively. Feyenoord would recover, but its performances were unstable throughout the season. However, because the Eredivisie’s other top teams also played inconsistently, Feyenoord remained in the title race, although it eventually finished second, four points behind Ajax. In the UEFA Europa League, Feyenoord was eliminated in the third qualifying round by Kuban Krasnodar, making it Feyenoord’s fifth consecutive season without European football.Notable supporters of Feyenoord include Craig Bellamy, Wouter Bos, Gerard Cox, Robert Eenhoorn, DJ Paul Elstak, Arjan Erkel, Dennis van der Geest, Ernesto Hoost, Jan Marijnissen, Mark Rutte and Raemon Sluiter.

When Wim Jansen was appointed as the interim manager to replace Günder Bengtsson and Pim Verbeek after a 6–0 defeat against PSV, the outlook began to improve for the club. PSV, the strongest Dutch club of the period, were knocked out of the KNVB Cup by a Henk Fräser goal in Eindhoven. Feyenoord progressed to the 1991 final, where they beat BVV Den Bosch 1–0 to win the competition. As the cup holders, they faced champions PSV again, this time in the 1991 Dutch Supercup, the first Supercup held since 1949. PSV were beaten 1–0 by a Marian Damaschin goal to add another honour to the club’s achievements. They went on to win another Dutch Cup in 1992, beating Roda JC 3–0 in the final. The same year, Feyenoord reached the semi-finals in the 1991–92 European Cup Winners’ Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals, before being eliminated by Monaco on away goals, after two draws.

On 12 December 1962, Feijenoord played a decisive match versus Vasas SC in the second round of the 1962–63 European Cup. The first two legs, in Rotterdam and Budapest, both ended in a 1–0 home victory, forcing a replay on a neutral ground to take place. The match was played in Antwerp, where 30,000 Feijenoord fans travelled by bus to see their team play. Also this time, the final score was 1–0; Rinus Bennaars scored the only goal and was immediately nicknamed “The Hero of Deurne”, reflecting the neighbourhood in Antwerp where the match was played. The events in Antwerp resulted in an enduring friendly relationship between the fans of Feijenoord and Royal Antwerp.

As reigning European champions, Feijenoord faced Estudiantes La Plata in the Intercontinental Cup. The first match in Buenos Aires’ La Bombonera finished in a 2–2 draw. Back in Rotterdam, Feijenoord managed a 1–0 victory (winning goal by Joop van Daele) to win the world club crown, the first Dutch team to do so. Estudiantes player Oscar Malbernat got frustrated and grabbed Van Daele’s glasses and trampled on them. “You are not allowed to play with glasses… at least not in South America” was his excuse. As the cup holders, Feijenoord participated in the 1970–71 European Cup despite relinquishing the Dutch title, which was won by Ajax. Feijenoord were eliminated in the first round, following a surprise defeat by the Romanian team UTA Arad. In 1971, Feijenoord won their 10th Dutch Championship.

In 1963, about 3,000 fans boarded on two ships, among thousands of others by train or car and they travelled to Lisbon where Feyenoord faced Benfica in the European Cup. When Feyenoord play abroad in European competitions, about 8,000 travel together to support their team. Almost 15,000 fans were cheering for their team in 1996 when Feyenoord played in Germany against Borussia Mönchengladbach. About 40,000 fans visit a regular match at home while top classes against Ajax, PSV and European cup opponents are sold out most of the time. About 250,000 fans showed up when Feyenoord’s Dutch championship was celebrated in 1999 at the Coolsingel in the centre of the city. After Feyenoord beat Internazionale in the 2002 UEFA Cup semi-final, Inter midfielder Clarence Seedorf said, “I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the Kuip. As an ex-Ajax player I was really given the bird, but that’s all part of the emotions in football. It also illustrates the intense way in which the Feyenoord supporters experience their club’s matches.”Feyenoord also have a rivalry abroad against Tottenham Hotspur following several violent clashes between the club’s supporters and Tottenham’s “link” to Ajax.

In 1963, De Kuip hosted their first European final (Cup winners’ Cup) between Tottenham Hotspur and Atlético Madrid. Nine more European finals would follow in the years after with Feyenoord’s win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2002 UEFA Cup final being the tenth and latest. The attendance record of 1949 was broken in 1968 when 65,427 fans attended the Feyenoord–Twente match.Feyenoord have one official fan supporters club, the Feyenoord Supportersvereniging. Independent of the club, FSV has a membership of about 23,000, as of 2006. The FSV act as a liaison between club and fans, produce match programmes, arrange travel to away games and organise supporters’ evenings, as well as being involved in the other supporters organisations. Children between 0 and 12 years old can join the Kameraadjes group (English: little comrades).

Feyenoord supporters are known to be creative and have a lot of various songs and chants in their equipment during matches. Among the most important Feyenoord songs are Wie heeft er weer een goal gescoord, Feijenoord, Feijenoord by Tom Manders, “Mijn Feyenoord” by Lee Towers, “Feyenoord, wat gaan we doen vandaag?” by Cock van der Palm [nl], and “De laatste trein naar Rotterdam” by Tom Manders. During the 2001/02 season, when Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup, a parody of the song “Put your hands up” by Black and White Brothers was launched, called “Put your hands up for Pi-Air”, a tribute to Pierre (“Pi-Air”) van Hooijdonk, one of the club’s key players at the time. In the 1970s, Coen Moulijn also had a song dedicated to him, “Coentje Coentje Coentje”. In between, in 2002 Feyenoord and chairman Jorien van den Herik were both found not guilty. Following the prosecutor’s appeal, and despite three years of investigations, the trial verdict was upheld. Nonetheless, the prosecution stated it would not yet abandon its case. When a goal is scored by Feyenoord in their home matches the song “I Will Survive”, covered by the Hermes House Band (but made famous by Gloria Gaynor in the 1970s) is played.During the summer of the 2014–15 season, Feyenoord lost four of its best players: Daryl Janmaat to Newcastle United, Stefan de Vrij to Lazio, Bruno Martins Indi to Porto and Graziano Pellè to Southampton, with Southampton having just appointed Koeman as its new manager. To replace them, as well as other departed players, Feyenoord signed Warner Hahn from Dordrecht, Luke Wilkshire from Dynamo Moscow, Khalid Boulahrouz from Brøndby, Bilal Başaçıkoğlu from Heerenveen, Colin Kazim-Richards from Bursaspor, Jens Toornstra from Utrecht, Kenneth Vermeer from Ajax and Karim El Ahmadi from Aston Villa, returning to the club after two years in England. Despite no longer having to request permission from the KNVB to invest in new players, Feyenoord kept continuing the policy for the 2012–13 season, only contracting players who were either out of contract or available for a low transfer fee. John Goossens, Ruud Vormer and Daryl Janmaat were out of contract and signed a deal with Feyenoord over their respective prior clubs. Mitchell te Vrede played for the affiliated football club Excelsior, as well as for the highest-ranked academy team Jong Feyenoord/Excelsior and was promoted to the main senior team. Harmeet Singh and Lex Immers were the only two players whom Feyenoord paid a transfer fee for. Singh, a Norwegian midfielder and one of two non-Eredivisie players joining Feyenoord, was purchased from Vålerenga, while Immers joined from ADO Den Haag. The other non-Eredivisie player joining Feyenoord was Omar Elabdellaoui, who was brought in on loan from Manchester City. On 2 July 2012, Karim El Ahmadi completed his transfer from Feyenoord to English Premier League club Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of €2.6 million. On 15 July, Aston Villa supports uploaded a picture on Twitter which showed Ron Vlaar, Feyenoord captain since 2010–11, visiting Villa Park – Aston Villa’s home ground – in Birmingham. Shortly after, Martin van Geel confirmed Vlaar sought to leave Feyenoord. After the incident, Villa did not contact Vlaar, prompting Ronald Koeman to issue Villa a deadline of 23 July to negotiate Vlaar’s transfer. On 23 July, Vlaar told the public that he would not leave Feyenoord, and said that he felt he was kept “dangling” by Villa. However, four days later, Vlaar told the public he would eventually be joining Villa, as he had agreed personal terms and would sign for Villa subject to him passing a medical. On 1 August, Vlaar officially joined Aston Villa, signing a three-year contract. Feyenoord supporters received the news generally mixed, with some congratulating and wishing the best of luck and others feeling betrayed by Vlaar for misleading them. Stefan de Vrij became the new Feyenoord captain, with Jordy Clasie, who because of his good play and tenacity soon became one of the most popular players among the supporters, becoming vice-captain.

Besides football, there were also boxing and motorcycle speedway races in De Kuip, which were also gaining popularity. In 1953, people had to hide inside the stadium during the North Sea flood of 1953. On 27 November 1957, Feyenoord played versus Bolton Wanderers during an evening match. It was the first time the floodlights were used. The players entered the pitch in the dark and the fans were asked to light their matchsticks when the floodlights were activated. Since that evening, that match at De Kuip has always been special among Feyenoord fans.The club have also entered into several other partnerships which are now discontinued, most extensively in Brazil with América and J.J.’s football school in Rio de Janeiro. Other clubs who have previously entered partnerships with Feyenoord include Parramatta Power, Nagoya Grampus Eight, B.93, Helsingborgs IF, Supersport United, Westerlo, KV Mechelen, Breiðablik UBK, Lyn, UKS SMS Łódź, Omiya Ardija and Jiangsu Shuntian.

Feyenoord have had coaches from all over Europe. In the early years, the club mainly had English managers, as football was already professional there. Feyenoord’s first Dutch coach was Engel Geneugelijk (ad interim), while Richard Dombi is seen as the first successful coach. He led the team in three different periods. During the club’s weakest period, Feyenoord was coached by two coaches at once, the Dutchman Pim Verbeek and the Swede Gunder Bengtsson. Bengtsson was the last foreign coach to lead Feyenoord. Feyenoord’s international trophies were won by Ernst Happel, Wiel Coerver and Bert van Marwijk.The football club Wilhelmina was founded in the pub De Vereeniging on 19 July 1908 and played in blue-sleeved red shirts and white shorts. Between 1908, 1910, 1911, and 1912, the club underwent a series of changes of name and team colours, becoming Hillesluise Football Club in 1909, and then RVV Celeritas. Upon earning promotion to the National football association in 1912, the club renamed to SC Feijenoord (after the
city district in which the team was founded), and changed uniform once again, adopting the red and white shirts, black shorts and black socks that they still wear today. In 1917, Feijenoord were promoted to the highest level of Dutch football and moved to the ground Kromme Zandweg.

Feijenoord won their first Dutch Cup in 1930 by scoring the only goal in a derby final against Excelsior. They continued to dominate their division with three consecutive titles, but were winless in subsequent championship finals. Five years after their first cup win, Feijenoord took the prize for a second time in 1935, by beating HVV Helmond.

Midway through the season, manager Verbeek was sacked due to disappointing league results. His assistant, Leon Vlemmings, took over as manager. The results in this period improved slightly, resulting in securing a spot in the playoffs for the final Dutch Europa League slot.

On 7 August, Feyenoord was eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round of the Champions League following losses in both legs. Feyenoord was therefore demoted to the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League. Koeman said that Feyenoord was the better side over the two legs but had missed a scoring striker, referring to John Guidetti, who had rejoined Manchester City following the end of his loan. On 10 August 2012, Dutch international and Málaga defender Joris Mathijsen joined Feyenoord on a three-year contract. Málaga had made clear to Mathijsen that he needed to find a new club to generate income for the financially suffering Málaga after Sheikh Al Thani left. Stefan de Vrij remained captain, despite Mathijsen being more experienced at both international and club level.

During the 1999–2000 season, Feyenoord participated in the Champions League for the second time. This time, the club managed to finish second in their group, behind Rosenborg BK and ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Feyenoord reached the second group stage and secured wins against Marseille (home) and Lazio (away). Chelsea won both clashes and, as a result, Feyenoord had to win their last group match away to Marseille to reach the knockout stages. The final result was 0–0, and Feyenoord were eliminated.As of 2007, Feyenoord currently have three formal partnerships, a satellite club arrangement with nearby Excelsior, a partnership with Hungary’s Újpest FC and the Feyenoord Academy in Ghana. The strongest of these partnerships is that with Excelsior, who since 1996 have loaned young Feyenoord players on the verge of the first team. The purpose of this is to allow them to experience regular first-team football, aiding their development while simultaneously strengthening Excelsior’s squad. The highest profile players to have played at Excelsior as part of this arrangement are Thomas Buffel and Salomon Kalou, who were both subsequently involved in transfer deals worth several million euros. The partnership between Feyenoord and Excelsior was scaled back in 2006, though the clubs still work together.

After Louis van Gaal turned down an offer to manage Feyenoord, the club approached former Barcelona defender Ronald Koeman, who had played for Feyenoord during the late 1990s. With his eventual hiring as manager, Koeman became the first to ever serve as both player and head coach at all teams of the so-called “traditional big three” of Dutch football: Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. Moreover, he played and managed these teams in the same order.In September 2012, Feyenoord confirmed that they would try to build a new stadium by 2018. The stadium was designed by VolkerWessels, it would have cost around €300 million (~£242 million). Another option was a plan made by a consortium of BAM, Eneco Energie and Siemens. But the plan was rejected by the Feyenoord and Stadion Feijenoord direction. The new stadium should be a 63,000 all-seater. Due to the illustrious history of De Kuip, many fans were against the demolition of De Kuip and instead preferred a renovation of the current stadium. One of those initiatives was Red de Kuip, which is Dutch for Save de Kuip. They made plans of building a third tier on top of the current stadium, increasing the capacity to 68,000. This plan would cost only €117 million (~£94 million).

Feijenoord again won a division title with a national championship in 1940, their fifth Dutch title. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, play continued in Dutch football leagues, though the 1945 championship was cancelled as the war came to its conclusion. During this period, Feijenoord’s only trophy was a divisional championship in 1943. After the war, Feijenoord did not perform as well as they had in previous decades, not seriously challenging in their division and so missing the national playoff rounds.

As of 2017, Feyenoord is a multi-sports club, including Sportclub Feyenoord (amateur football team), Feyenoord Basketball, Feyenoord Futsal and Feyenoord Handball.Feyenoord won their fifth Dutch Cup in 1980 by beating Ajax 3–1 in the final. In 1984, Feyenoord had another bright season, winning the double for the third time in their history. Key players in the squad from this period included Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit and Peter Houtman (who later became the Feyenoord stadium announcer). Cruyff reacted to Ajax’s decision not to offer him a new contract at the start of the season and signed for archrivals Feyenoord instead. Cruyff’s move to Rotterdam was criticised and increased Ajax’s motivation to beat Feyenoord. In the Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam Feyenoord suffered one of their most heavy defeats ever: 8–2. However, Feyenoord later defeated Ajax in Rotterdam 4–1 and Ajax were subsequently beaten a second time in the Dutch Cup. Feyenoord proceeded to win a league and cup double by beating Fortuna Sittard in the cup final.

Feyenoord Rotterdam (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfɛiəˌnoːrt]) is a Dutch professional association football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its neighbourhood in 1912 as SC Feijenoord, updated in 1974 to SC Feyenoord, and then to Feyenoord in 1978, when it split from the amateur club under its wing, SC Feyenoord. Since 1937, Feyenoord’s home ground has been the Stadion Feijenoord, nicknamed De Kuip (‘the tub’), the second largest stadium in The Netherlands.The Feyenoord Ghana academy in arose form a visit by Feyenoord chairman Jorien van den Herik to Abidjan to sign the then unknown Bonaventure Kalou, when Van den Herik contacted with the education institute at Kalou’s club. The academy was built in Fetteh, just outside Accra, after go-ahead for and was given by the Chief of Fetteh in 1998. At the academy, young talented African footballers can work on their football skills. In addition to helping their football potential, the students are provided with formal education which is funded by Feyenoord. The Feyenoord Academy currently play their matches in the OneTouch Premier League.

Feyenoord is a popular club in the Netherlands with a large number of supporters. The team’s first training session of a season alone attracts thousands of fans; 20,000 attended 2007–08’s inaugural session.Feyenoord again participated in the Champions League in 2001–02, finishing third in a group containing Bayern Munich, Sparta Prague and Spartak Moscow. This meant Feyenoord continued their European season in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup instead of the second Champions League group stage. The disappointment of failing to reach the second group stage eventually resulted in optimism and celebration. By defeating SC Freiburg and Rangers, Feyenoord faced fellow Dutch club PSV in the quarter-finals. Both matches ended in 1–1 draws, and the clash went into extra time and a penalty shoot-out. Pierre van Hooijdonk, who had a superb season by scoring many free-kicks goals, secured Feyenoord’s win by scoring a 90th-minute equalizer before finishing PSV off by scoring the last goal in the penalty shoot-out. A 1–0 win in Milan against Internazionale and a 2–2 return match in Rotterdam then earned Feyenoord a spot in the final, against Borussia Dortmund. Coincidentally, the final was held at De Kuip, and as a result, most spectators inside the stadium were Feyenoord fans. Feyenoord took a 2–0 lead thanks to another free-kick goal and a penalty by Van Hooijdonk. Early in the second half, Márcio Amoroso scored a goal to make it 2–1. Jon Dahl Tomasson then made it 3–1 and things looked good for Feyenoord. Dortmund only managed to score one more goal and the cup was won by Bert van Marwijk’s Feyenoord.

Feyenoord are located in the Feijenoord district of southern Rotterdam and is named after the district in which the club was founded. More frequent appearances in international tournaments led the club to change its name in 1974, because foreign fans unfamiliar with the Dutch language did not know how to pronounce ij. Beside Feyenoord, there are two other professional football clubs in Rotterdam: Sparta and Excelsior. Feyenoord, Sparta (promoted after the 2018–19 season and Excelsior (promoted after the 2021–22 season) are currently playing in the Eredivisie.For the 2021–22 season, Feyenoord participated in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League. Feyenoord narrowly defeated FC Drita 3-2 in the second qualifying round. But Feyenoord improved, beating FC Luzern 3-0 twice in the third qualifying round and IF Elfsborg 6-3 on aggregate. Feyenoord topped a group with Maccabi Haifa, Union Berlin and Slavia Prague and qualified for the round of 16. Feyenoord defeated Partizan Belgrado 5-2 away and 3-1 at home. In the quarter finals, Feyenoord again played Slavia Prague. After a 3-3 at home, Feyenoord managed to win 1-3 in Prague. In the semi finals, Feyenoord faced Olympique Marseille. The first game in the Kuip was won 3 to 2. In Marseille, Feyenoord managed to hold on to a 0-0 draw. The team managed to reach the final but lost 1-0 to Italian club Roma. In the Eredivisie, Feyenoord improved on the total of the previous season, finishing in third place with 71 points. In the Dutch Cup, Feyenoord was eliminated in the second round after extra time by FC Twente.In 1963, hundreds of thousands of people stood ashore by the Nieuwe Maas and the Nieuwe Waterweg to wave two ships, de Groote Beer and the Waterman goodbye. The ships transported thousands of Feijenoord fans to Lisbon where the club faced Benfica on 8 May 1963 in the European Cup semi-finals. The first leg, held in Rotterdam a month earlier, finished 0–0. Despite Feijenoord eventually losing the match 3–1, this turned out to be the start of the most successful period in the club’s history. Feijenoord won the double for the first time in their history in 1965, and managed to win another double a few years later in 1969. The 1965 title secured Feijenoord a spot in the 1965–66 European Cup, where they faced multiple cup champion Real Madrid on 8 September 1965. During the match, Hans Kraay had to leave the pitch injured after 31 minutes, without being substituted. He returned at the start of the second half and scored the goal which resulted in a 2–1 win. During the match, fans’ favourite Coen Moulijn was attacked by a Spanish defender. Moulijn then proceeded to chase the defender down the pitch, leading other players, and even fans who entered the pitch, to do the same. The referee could do nothing but to suspend the match at 2–1 in Feijenoord’s favour. Two weeks later, Real Madrid comfortably beat Feijenoord 5–0 and eventually won the European Cup that season.On 1 February 2014, Ronald Koeman announced he would be resigning at the end of the season. On 3 March 2014, Fred Rutten was named the new manager for the 2014–15 season. A few weeks after the start of the pre-season, yet prior to the start of the competitive season, the club opens its doors for free for all Feyenoord fans to have fun together and to present the squad for the upcoming season. De Kuip already opens in the morning when there are many activities around the stadium mainly for kids and promotional activities for companies which have a partnership with Feyenoord. Fans can also take a stadium tour and walk on the pitch. The activities inside the stadium itself normally start around noon, when there are several performances by various artists. Every year, the new Feyenoord ambassador of the year is announced at opening day. A minute of silence is held for all former Feyenoord players who have died and for known fans who have died in the previous year. Former Feyenoord players return to De Kuip every year to play versus a team of Dutch celebrities. The stadium activities end after the squad for the upcoming season is presented to the fans. This is always a special happening, mainly for the new signings of the team. They will be flown into the stadium with helicopters when a full stadium is cheering for them when they arrive. Once they are there, the other players and club officials enter the pitch one by one. Last but not least, all players are available for autograph sessions afterwards. Feyenoord’s open day attracts approximately 60,000 to 70,000 fans towards Rotterdam, coming from all over the Netherlands, while there are only 51,117 seats available within the stadium. The opening day is known as a unique event in the Netherlands. The 2005–06 season ended in disappointment for Feyenoord. The team pursued the Dutch championship for most of the season, but eventually lost out to champions PSV. The newly created Dutch play-offs then proved to be gloomy for Feyenoord. Ajax, which finished several points behind in the regular league, were Feyenoord’s opponent in the play-offs. Ajax outclassed them and Feyenoord lost out on a Champions League place. In December 2006, Feyenoord director Chris Woerts announced that Feyenoord were developing plans to build a new stadium which would have a capacity of roughly 90,000 seats. The stadium would most likely be placed on the Nieuwe Maas, the river that runs through Rotterdam, and should be completed by 2016. In May 2008, Woerts announced further details: the club is aiming for a stadium with a capacity of around 100,000 seats. If possible, a capacity of over 130,000 should be realized according to Woerts, which would earn the title of biggest stadium in Europe. The club emphasized its efforts to make it a true football stadium with seats close to the pitch. The stadium will get a retractable roof so that other events can be held as well. According to plans in those days, the stadium should be ready in 2016. Due to financial difficulties for all parties involved and the fact that the Netherlands were not chosen to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the plans for a new stadium have been put on hold. A new stadium will most likely be built in the future, though it will likely not have a spectator capacity greater than 70,000. In 1993, Feyenoord secured another Dutch Championship by beating Groningen 5–0 in the last league match of the season. The match was played at the Oosterpark Stadion in Groningen, so 40.000 Feyenoord fans watched the game on giant screens in De Kuip. The title was followed by another two Dutch Cups in 1994 (beating NEC 2–1) and 1995 (beating Volendam 2–1). During the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, Feyenoord reached the quarter-finals after beating Werder Bremen in the second round. They eventually lost to Real Zaragoza. In the quarter-finals in the 1995 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord visited Ajax, which would win the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League later that season. Ajax was leading 1–0 when Ruud Heus equalised with a penalty just before full-time. In extra time, Feyenoord became the only team to defeat Ajax the same season they won the Eredivisie and the Champions League unbeaten. The goal scored by Mike Obiku was the decider as the new golden goal rule became in use. During the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, Everton and Borussia Mönchengladbach were beaten. A total of 14,000 Feyenoord fans travelled to Germany to support the team against Mönchengladbach. Feyenoord were eliminated in the semi-finals by a Carsten Jancker-inspired Rapid Wien.Feyenoord won with 2–1 against Standard Liège in their first home match in Group G of the Europa League. It was the first victory for Feyenoord in the Europa League group stage in eight years. Feyenoord also beat Rijeka (2–0) and defending champions Sevilla (2–0), results sufficient for Feyenoord’s progress to the knockout round for the first time in ten years. In the knockout round, Feyenoord lost to Roma 3–2 on aggregate. After this loss, Feyeno
ord did not recover. Despite nearly securing a spot in next season’s Europa League qualification rounds, they failed to win any of their last five matches, ending the year in the fourth spot, behind AZ. In the play-offs to earn a spot for Europa League, they were eliminated by Heerenveen. After manager Fred Rutten opted not to extend his contract, on 23 March 2015 Feyenoord announced former Dutch international and Feyenoord player Giovanni van Bronckhorst would become its new manager. That summer the club contracted several new key players, Eric Botteghin from FC Groningen, Jan-Arie van der Heijden from Vitesse, and Eljero Elia from SV Werder Bremen. It also welcomed back club legend Dirk Kuyt from Fenerbahçe on a one-year contract.

The 2002 UEFA Cup win was the start of a long dry spell for Feyenoord. In the 2002–03 season, the club finish third in the Eredivisie, as well as reach the final of the KNVB Cup, which was lost 1–4 to Utrecht. However, in the following years, Feyenoord disappointed in both the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup.

In 2016, Feyenoord announced their plans for a new stadium called Feyenoord City. The planned capacity was set to be around 65,000 seats, which would’ve made it the Netherlands’ largest stadium. Despite the council approving the plans for the new stadium, it once again proved unpopular with many Feyenoord supporters. In May 2022, the director of Stadion Feyenoord, Jan van Merwijk announced that Feyenoord City would not be feasible due to financial difficulties, and that a major renovation of Stadion Feyenoord would also be out of question for the time being.At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Feyenoord lost valuable players Leroy Fer, Georginio Wijnaldum and André Bahia to Twente, PSV and Samsunspor respectively. In return, the club restocked with players such as Jordy Clasie, Miquel Nelom, Guyon Fernandez and Kaj Ramsteijn, who came mostly from their own youth academy. Two other players were loaned, John Guidetti from Manchester City and Otman Bakkal from PSV. Feyenoord started the season well and played the first match of the Eredivisie against the other Rotterdam club in the league, Excelsior. Feyenoord ended the season by placing second in the Eredivisie, resulting in the third qualifying round for Champions League football.During World War II, Feijenoord played their matches at Sparta Rotterdam’s Kasteel, as the Nazis had occupied De Kuip. When Het Kasteel was unavailable due to clashes with Sparta fixtures, Feijenoord played at their former ground, the Kromme Zandweg.

In 1935, Feijenoord player Puck van Heel hit the first pole on their way into their new stadium. The stadium was opened on 27 March 1937 and Beerschot was beaten by 5–2, Leen Vente scored the first goal in De Kuip. Already in the very beginning the stadium was sold out on several occasions and other events held at de Kuip also gained high attendance. During World War II, the stadium was one of the few locations which was not bombed, however the Nazis occupied the stadium. After the war, De Kuip became a popular location once again. In 1949, the attendance record was broken during the match to decide the Dutch championship between SVV Schiedam and Heerenveen; 64,368 fans attended the match.

On 16 December 2011, it was revealed that Feyenoord had been placed in the more favorable second category (Categorie 2), meaning Feyenoord were no longer in debt, according to the KNVB. They achieved the reclassification following the transfer of several significant players and a large capital injection made by the organisation VVF (Friends of Feyenoord, Vrienden Van Feyenoord). However, to remain in the second category, Feyenoord needed to obtain the same number of points earned, rounding up to at least 65 points. On 13 April 2012, Feyenoord was officially out of what has been described as the “financial dangerzone” and was officially placed in the second category. According to club chairman Eric Gudde, the placing in the more favourable category came earlier than anticipated; he also congratulated the fans and promised to maintain the same policy until Feyenoord was completely healthy again, saying the club will never fall back into the first category.

After drawing the first leg of the Europa League qualifier at home 2–2 against Sparta Prague, Feyenoord was eliminated following a 2–0 loss in the second leg, meaning Feyenoord would not be playing European football in 2012–13. Following these events, Feyenoord loaned Parma and former AZ striker Graziano Pellè and exchanged Jerson Cabral for Twente striker Wesley Verhoek in a straight player swap. Feyenoord ended the season in third, behind champions Ajax and second-placed PSV. Pellè surprised many after scoring 27 goals in 29 matches, prompting Feyenoord to sign him permanently from Parma on a contract lasting until summer 2017.

In the 2006–07 season, the nightmare grew even bigger. The supporters saw their two star players leave to Chelsea (Salomon Kalou) and Liverpool (Dirk Kuyt). At the same time, it became clear Feyenoord were in an appalling financial state despite earlier comments made by chairman Jorien van den Herik, who claimed that the club was financially healthy. Supporters’ unrest grew into anger when Feyenoord bought Angelos Charisteas, a back-up striker of arch-rivals Ajax, with a poor track record, as a replacement for Dirk Kuyt. After continuous protests, Van den Herik resigned and the club began managerial reforms. However, the worst was not over. Feyenoord were banned from European competition following hooliganism prior to and during a match against Nancy, despite an appeal by the club. The season ended in bitter disappointment with a seventh-place finish, causing Feyenoord to miss European football for the first time in 16 years. While desperate supporters started preparing for a Dark Age, the club surprised friend and foe in the 2007 summer transfer window. A brilliant performance of young Dutch left back Royston Drenthe at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship had investors flocking to the new investment schemes Feyenoord had established. The club appointed former manager Bert van Marwijk and was able to make a number of high-profile signings, including Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Roy Makaay. Despite the efforts, Feyenoord underperformed once again in the Eredivisie, finishing in a disappointing sixth place. The pain was relieved by claiming the first prize in six years: 100 years after the foundation of the club, Feyenoord managed to win the KNVB Cup after defeating Roda JC 2–0. As Van Marwijk accepted a job as manager of the national team, Feyenoord appointed Gertjan Verbeek as their manager for the 2008–09 season.

In 1998, the Feyenoord Supporters Vereniging were wondering about whether or not it would be possible to create more atmosphere inside the stadium mainly during important matches. As a result, a few huge flags were produced and brought into the stadium prior to matches played by Feyenoord. The flags were a success, but people started asking for more activities and a meeting between fans and officials were arranged. In 2000 Harry Veth was given permission to establish a group of five Feyenoord fans called TIFO team Feyenoord Rotterdam. Besides creating more flags and small pieces of paper released from the second platform the team also started to organise bigger activities. The first big activity was held on 10 December 2000 when Feyenoord faced Ajax and 40 fog machines were activated when the players entered the pitch. In the following years many different and various activities were held to improve the atmosphere inside the stadium. Feyenoord’s TIFO team became famous abroad as well and the Italian TIFO foundation awarded Feyenoord the Best of TIFO Award 2000/01.The 2016–17 season started perfectly, as the first nine league matches were won, and Feyenoord beat Manchester United F.C. 1–0 in the Europe League. That was with a little help from the referee as Nicolai Jørgensen, who gave the assist, was clearly offside. This match, and all of Feyenoord’s European home games were played in only a half-full stadium. These measurements were taken to avoid new penalties from the UEFA. In that same week reigning Dutch champions PSV were beaten, 0–1. The first loss of points was against Ajax on 23 October 2016. The final score was 1–1 after goals of Kasper Dolberg and Dirk Kuyt. A week later another draw followed against SC Heerenveen. On 6 November, a weakened team lost for the first time that season; relegation candidate Go Ahead Eagles won 1–0. In the European campaign Feyenoord struggled, and after losses to Manchester United (4–0) and Fenerbahçe (0–1) the European adventure ended. In the Eredivisie the team booked big victories, such as a 6–1 defeat against Sparta and 0–4 against AZ. With a 5-point lead to second place Ajax, Feyenoord ended the year at the top of the league table.SC Feyenoord are Feyenoord’s amateur and youth side, who have played at Varkenoord, directly behind De Kuip since 1949. Sportclub Feyenoord’s annual youth trials attract a large number of hopefuls, with thousands of boys attempting to impress the coaches.

Feyenoord made their UEFA Champions League debut in 1997–98, finishing third in their group behind Manchester United and Juventus. However, Juventus was beaten 2–0 in Rotterdam, with both Feyenoord goals scored by Julio Cruz. In 1998, the FIOD-ECD (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service/Economic Investigation Service) visited Feyenoord because of suspected fraud, mainly based on the signings of Aurelio Vidmar, Christian Gyan and Patrick Allotey. This became an ongoing scandal in following years, with club chairman Jorien van den Herik the main suspect. On 25 April 1999, Feyenoord secured their 14th Dutch Championship. 250,000 fans celebrated with the team in the center of Rotterdam. However, later in the evening, heavy rioting started. Prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season, Ajax were beaten in their own stadium when Feyenoord won their second Dutch Super Cup title after a free-kick goal by Patrick Paauwe secured a 3–2 win. After the success in the Conference League, Feyenoord lost a lot of players, including 9 players who played in the Conference League Final. With a new squad, Feyenoord managed to stay in title contention. Only one match was lost in the first half of the season, 4-3 against PSV. During the world cup break, Feyenoord topped the table, 3 points clear of runners up PSV and Ajax. After the world cup break, the form improved. While a few games against other title contenters were drawn, Feyenoord was able to keep hold of the first spot. Feyenoord started a 13-game winning streak, among others booking crucial, late victories against AZ at home and away against Ajax. The win against Ajax was the first win of Feyenoord in an away match against Ajax since 2005. Feyenoord pulled away of the other title contenters and improved to a 8 point lead over numbers 2 PSV. The team secured the title 2 games before the end of the season by winning 3-0 against Go Ahead Eagles. It was the 16th championship win in the history of the club and the first since 2017. Feyenoord was lauded by many experts as the deserved champion, due to their energetic and attacking playing style. In the Europa League, Feyenoord was drawn in a group with FC Midtjylland, Sturm Graz, and S.S. Lazio. Al teams ended with 8 points, but Feyenoord finished the group stage in first place by virtue of a superior goal difference. In the round of 16, Feyenoord defeated Shaktar Donetsk 8-2 on aggregate and was drawn to play against AS Roma again in the quarter finals. The first match at home ended with a 1-0 victory. The return match went to extra time and resulted in a 4-1 victory for AS Roma. In the Dutch Cup, Feyenoord was defeated in the semi-finals at home by Ajax, 1-2. On 24 October 2010, Feyenoord lost heavily to PSV 10–0. In mid-January 2011, Beenhakker resigned after multiple clashes with the Feyenoord directors. His replacement was former Feyenoord player Martin van Geel, who at the time was working as technical director for fellow Eredivisie club Roda JC.

The club’s Feijenoord Stadion, located in the IJsselmonde district of Rotterdam, is nicknamed De Kuip, Dutch for The Tub. It was built in 1937 and is one of the major European stadiums. It has 51,117 seats and has hosted a record of ten finals of UEFA club competitions, including the 2002 UEFA Cup Final fittingly won by Feyenoord. Former Feyenoord player Mike Obiku once said, “Every time you enter the pitch, you’re stepping into a lion’s den.” Feyenoord, however, does not own the stadium; it is an organisation on its own.

Since 2000 Feyenoord has had its own television programme, shown weekly on SBS6. The show features interviews with players and other team members as well as documentaries about the team. As of the 2006–07 season Feyenoord launched its own Feyenoord TV project on their website with daily news and reports that tells everything about the club. In 1993, Feyenoord introduced their own newspaper, the Feyenoord Krant, the only Dutch club to do so. The newspaper is published fortnightly, with a print run of 25,000. Extra editions are published to coincide with European matches. Inside the newspaper news, background information, interviews, reports and columns by Feyenoord related figures can be found. Feyenoord were one of the latest Dutch teams to open their own official website on 21 May 2001. The site is available in Dutch and English, plus other languages depending upon the nationalities of the club’s high-profile players. As of 2007, Japanese and Korean editions are available due to the popularity of Shinji Ono and Song Chong-Gug in their home countries. Since 2004, Feyenoord have shared a website 2 teams 1 goal with UNICEF as part of Feyenoord’s children’s welfare project in Ghana. To mark Feyenoord’s centenary another site was launched in January 2007 to publicise events related to the occasion. Feyenoord also opened official Live.com and YouTube pages in 2006. Feyenoord also offer the option to follow the club with news and statistics on cell phones or email. For each and every home match a daily program magazine is created and children who are members of the Kameraadjes also receive a magazine. At the beginning of the season Feyenoord produce a new presentation magazine, while at the end of the season a Feyenoord yearbook is created.

The supporters of Feyenoord are said to be one of the most loyal supporter groups in the world supporting the team during both good or bad times. They are nicknamed Het Legioen, Dutch for The Legion and can be found everywhere in The Netherlands and far across the Dutch borders. Squad number 12 is never given to a player, but is reserved for Het Legioen instead.The 2019-20 started with mixed results. Feyenoord reached the group stage of the Europa League by comfortable beating Dinamo Tbilisi and Hapoel Be’er Sheva. However, in the eredivisie Feyenoord won only 3 of the first 10 matches and found themselves back on 10th place before heading into the Amsterdam for an away game against title holders and league leaders Ajax. After the first half, Ajax lead the game 4-0, which was also the final result. Jaap Stam resigned after the game, after which Dick Advocaat replaced him as headcoach of Feyenoord. With Advocaat as the new head coach, Feyenoord improved, staying undefeated and climbed the table from the 12th to 3rd place and was only six points behind league leaders Ajax and AZ. Furthermore, Feyenoord qualified for the final of the Dutch Cup. However, the Eredivisie was suspended and eventually abandoned due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ranking when the league was suspended became the final ranking, meaning Feyenoord ended the season in third place, qualifying for the group stage of the 2020-21 Europa League. The cup final was not played. Feyenoord is known as a people’s club with large national support. Its most successful period was the 1960s and 1970s, when Coen Moulijn and Ove Kindvall led the club to six league titles, two European trophies, and an Intercontinental Cup, thereby becoming the first Dutch club in history to win both the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. In the 21st century, Feyenoord ended an 18-year league title drought in 2017 and won the 2002 UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund in its home stadium, which makes them the only team from the Netherlands to win a European trophy this century. Rotterdam is the city with the most professional teams in the Netherlands. Besides Feyenoord there are Sparta Rotterdam and Excelsior. There is a rivalry between the teams, mostly between Feyenoord and Sparta as Excelsior used to be Feyenoord’s feeder club, but it is not comparable to other local derbies. The rivalry between Sparta and Feyenoord is mostly seen on the Sparta side. The rivalry started in the 1910s and 20s, when Sparta was regarded as a club for the elite, while Feyenoord was regarded the club for the people, mostly workers. Some Sparta fans have refused to enter Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium, even when Sparta had reached the KNVB Cup final, which was played in De Kuip. In the 1950s there was much more of a rivalry. One of the key factors for these feelings was footballer Tinus Bosselaar, who moved from Sparta to Feyenoord in 1954 before Sparta re-signed him, despite Feyenoord trying to prevent the deal in court.In July 2011, a majority of players in the squad voted to oust Been as club manager; 13 of 18 players voted they had lost all confidence in Been’s ability to successfully manage the club. Been’s subsequent sacking became global news, if only because reports of Been’s firing quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, leaving people around the world to wonder who exactly Been was.

Beyond the Netherlands, Feyenoord opened a fanshop in the centre of Tokyo, when Japanese player Shinji Ono was a key player at the club, and also in South Korea when Song Chong-Gug played for Feyenoord.The Feyenoord squad typically contains a number of players who joined the club after playing for Sportclub Feyenoord, and several players from Sportclub Feyenoord have progressed to have successful careers at international level, including Puck van Heel, Wim Jansen and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. A number of high-profile managers also started their coaching careers at Varkenoord, including Clemens Westerhof and Leo Beenhakker.

A huge party erupted in and outside De Kuip not only because of the title, but also because the final was held several days after Rotterdam’s political figure Pim Fortuyn was murdered. Many fans were still full of emotion, before and after the match. As a result of Fortuyn’s murder, the cup was not officially celebrated in the city centre.

After the UEFA Cup victory, the team chemistry started to suffer, which was reflected in the results. Not long after a 6–0 UEFA Cup loss against Saint-Étienne, Rijvers was sacked and the squad disintegrated. Van Beveren, unhappy with the declining success and Rijvers’ departure, left for the United States after 291 league games and years of captaincy. Van Gelder also quit in 1980 and was replaced by Kees Ploegsma. Even though PSV invested in players like Hallvar Thoresen and Jurrie Koolhof, success remained absent. Thijs Libregts’ (coach from 1980 until 1983) highest league position was the second place in the 1981–82 season, and in 1983, Jan Reker took over. A clash between Van der Kuijlen and Libregts led to the former’s departure in 1982 after nearly 18 seasons at the club. To serve the need for activities with Philips employees, the company founded its own football team in 1910: the Philips Elftal. Its ground was the Philips Sportpark, located on the same location as the present day stadium. Financial turmoil and worker strikes led to a quick demise of the team and in 1913, its successor emerged, Philips Sport Vereniging, founded on 31 August. It was the day that Philips organized celebrations and sports competitions in light of the centennial defeat of the French in the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until 1916, however, that the football department switched its name from Philips Elftal to PSV. Because of World War I, the first possibility to enter a league was in the 1915–16 season. The club’s first ever match was a 3–2 defeat against Willem II Reserves on 19 September 1915. The team did achieve promotion that season to a newly created Third Division of the Brabantian FA. Under the guidance of coach Wout Buitenweg, PSV were promoted in 1918 and 1921 as well, eventually reaching the Eerste Klasse. The team was relegated in 1925, but its stint in the Second Division only lasted one year when PSV were promoted again. Since 1926, PSV has always played in the highest possible domestic league. Due to World War II, attendances decreased significantly and in 1940, PSV player Johan Brusselers died in combat. After the war, PSV signed two new strikers: Piet Fransen in 1948 and Coen Dillen in 1949. In 1950, PSV got its first post-war success when the team defeated HFC Haarlem in the KNVB Cup final; the match ended in 4–3 after extra-time. A year later, PSV won the district title after EVV failed to win their final match. Even though coach Sam Wadsworth resigned during the championship play-offs, the title was won after a 2–1 win over Willem II. The 1950–51 season was Dillen’s breakthrough, scoring 21 times and earning the nickname “The Canon”. Besides Dillen and Fransen, a memorable player of the early 1950s success was goalkeeper Lieuwe Steiger, who ended up playing 383 matches for PSV.That year, defender Sjef van Run was brought in and a year later Jan van den Broek joined PSV, two players that would shape the squad in the coming years. Behind the scenes, Frans Otten became chairman of the entire PSV sports union. He was responsible for bringing the club to a new level with new accommodations and stadium expansions. After winning the district league in 1929, PSV entered the championship play-offs. In that competition, it won six out of eight matches. A 5–1 win against Velocitas from the city of Groningen meant that PSV was crowned league champions for the first time. In the following three years, PSV won the district league every year, but it could not win the play-offs until 1935. In that year, the team secured the second championship ever in a 2–1 victory against DWS.

After the 2004–05 season, Van Bommel, Vogel, Park and Lee left. With new signing Timmy Simons and youth prospect Ibrahim Afellay, PSV reached the Champions League knockout stage again. In that round, Lyon revenged PSV by winning 5–0 on aggregate. The team did win the league, but lost the cup final to Ajax. Afterwards, Hiddink left and Ronald Koeman replaced him. Westerhof, who lost support from the board, resigned soon after Hiddink’s departure. Jan Reker became general manager. During the 2006–07 season, league leaders PSV squandered a 12-point lead, enabling AZ and Ajax to equal their 72 points before the last round. A surprise AZ defeat in the last fixture meant that PSV’s 5–1 victory against Vitesse was enough to edge the title win; PSV had a single goal difference with Ajax. Koeman was criticised by the board after losing a big lead, but was eventually allowed to remain as coach. In the 2007–08 season, after Cocu and Alex left, the team was disqualified from the KNVB Cup after fielding a suspended Manuel da Costa. In October, Koeman took up the coaching job at Valencia, prompting PSV to first appoint Jan Wouters and then Sef Vergoossen as caretakers. The fourth title in a row was won in the last match, again against Vitesse. After the title, Heurelho Gomes and director of football Stan Valckx voiced criticism towards Reker, forcing the club to choose between Reker and Gomes. Subsequently, Reker sacked Valckx and sold Gomes to Tottenham Hotspur.The 1987–88 season turned out to be PSV’s best year in history. The Eredivisie was won four matches before the end after many high scoring matches, leading up to 117 goals. The cup was also won after beating Roda JC 3–2 after extra time. The European Cup campaign started with wins against Galatasaray and Rapid Wien. Subsequently, PSV managed to reach the final with only draws. The quarter finals against Bordeaux were decided by Wim Kieft’s away goal. A vicious foul by Hans Gillhaus on Jean Tigana was praised by Koeman, which prompted UEFA to suspend him for the semi-final return leg against Real Madrid. Again, an away goal in the first leg (a notoriously lethargic shot by Edward Linskens at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium) meant that the second leg’s 0–0 was enough to proceed. The final against Benfica, held in Stuttgart, remained goalless. In the penalty shoot-out, Van Breukelen saved Benfica’s sixth penalty by António Veloso, which meant that PSV had won the European Cup and completed the treble.

PSV was founded by Philips and in the first decades, the club was only open to employees. The club did sign players from elsewhere, however; one of the perks of playing for PSV was that players who were offered a football contract were always offered a Philips job as well. Philips has been kit sponsor since 1982 and the PSV home ground has included the Philips name since its foundation. The company was paying €7.5 million per year for the sponsoring when they ended their kit sponsorship role in 2016. Frits Philips, chairman of the company between 1961 and 1971, became an icon for PSV during his lifetime. At five years of age, he conducted the ceremonial kick-off at the first Philips Elftal match in 1911. Frits Philips would become intertwined with PSV and Eindhoven; his 100th birthday was widely celebrated in the city. Frits Philips had his own spot in the stands until his death and would sometimes provide pep talks to the squad during half-time. PSV was often a way for Philips to introduce its technology to the public. In 1950, a match between PSV and FC Eindhoven was the first televised match in the Netherlands, with Philips supplying the technique. And in 1958, Philips installed four floodlights in the stadium.

Four 40-meter high floodlights were installed in the stadium in 1958, making evening matches possible. The lights were inaugurated with an exhibition match against Anderlecht. In 1977, the main stand was completely rebuilt, but an alkali–silica reaction ten years later caused the concrete to crack. Chairman Jacques Ruts, who was previously introduced to the skybox in the United States, considered a new stand to be an opportunity to attract more sponsors. The new main stand – two tiers, with skyboxes in the middle – was introduced in a friendly match against Milan in 1988. In the nineties, the other three stands are also elevated. The last major renovation was the closing of the four open corners of the stadium. Along with creating more seats, the new corners had window blind-type constructions, which allowed air to flow through in order to let the grass breathe. The completion was celebrated in October 2002, with the capacity increased to 35,000. In the summer of 2005, the club removed the tall fences around the pitch, replacing them with lower railings keeping the spectators off the grass. Unauthorized persons who do invade the pitch will receive a €15,000 penalty and a ten-year-ban from visiting the ground.

Between 1968 and 1972, Kurt Linder coached PSV. His team reached two Dutch cup finals and the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Van der Kuijlen had trouble fulfilling his promise after an encouraging career start in the 1960s, however, partly because of a lack of chemistry between him and Linder’s harsh coaching style. The early 1970s in football were dominated by Ajax and Feyenoord and it was not until the appointment of Kees Rijvers as coach in 1972 that would mark the start of increasing success for PSV. With Van der Kuijlen and goalkeeper Jan van Beveren as the stars of the team, Rijvers created a new squad by signing Ralf Edström, Gerrie Deijkers and the twins Willy and René van der Kerkhof. Things improved for Van der Kuijlen when Rijvers built the team around him, giving him a free role in the process. Van der Kuijlen, a technical player, formed a successful striker partnership with Edström, who was famed for his heading ability. It led to a Dutch cup victory in 1974, and after a blistering season start (no defeats in the first season half) and 28 goals by Van der Kuijlen. PSV also won the league for the fifth time in 1975.PSV’s 24 league championships are the second-highest in Dutch football, behind Ajax (36). Their eleven KNVB Cup victories are the third-highest, after Ajax (20) and Feyenoord (13). PSV have won the most Johan Cruyff Shields so far, with thirteen. The double was achieved four times, with the one in 1988 being part of the treble, a feat only achieved by six other European clubs. Between 1985 and 1989, and between 2005 and 2008, PSV won the Eredivisie four times in a row; the only other clubs accomplishing this (once) were Ajax and HVV Den Haag. In recent decades, the team has been consistently competing for the top spots in the league: in the Eredivisie all-time standings (since 1956), PSV are second behind Ajax. PSV have played in a European competition every year since 1974; only Barcelona (since 1959) and Anderlecht (since 1964) have a longer streak in play.

PSV’s budget in 2011 was €60 million. Before 2011, PSV’s budget would only remain balanced if the team would qualify for the UEFA Champions League every year. But disappointing performances since 2008 meant that the club ended up with a yearly €10–20 million negative balance, forcing the club to cut costs and obtain new revenues. The ground under the stadium and the training facilities were sold for €48.4 million to the Eindhoven municipality in a leasehold estate construction. PSV also took out a €20 million loan with Philips and additional loans with local entrepreneurs. The club also introduced sponsoring on the back of the player kits. Freo, part of De Lage Landen, was the company to present its name there.

Because of the close ties with Philips, PSV had the same jersey sponsor without exception from 1982, the year jersey sponsorships were introduced in the Eredivisie, until 2016. This is a record in Dutch football. Starting in the 2016–17 season, however, Philips was no longer the main shirt sponsor. PSV’s first clothing sponsor was Le Coq Sportif, from 1970 to 1974, when it switched to Adidas. They remained the sponsor until 1995, when they were replaced by Nike, until Umbro became the shirt sponsor in 2015, ending a 20-year relationship between PSV and Nike.The colours red and white were chosen at the founding meeting in 1913 by Jan Willem Hofkes, the first chairman of the club. He apparently appreciated the contrast between his red raspberry drink and his white notepad. Inspired by the club colours, the first kit consisted of a red-and-white vertically striped shirt, black shorts and red-and-white horizontally striped socks. This combination was worn until the 1970s, when the club switched to a completely red shirt, which was worn with either white or black shorts. The red kit was changed back to a striped version in 1989. The red-and-white stripes have remained ever since, albeit in very varied adaptations. The shorts would also often change between black and white. During Ruud Gullit’s tenure at PSV, he personally changed the shorts from black to white, in an attempt to improve the stature of the kit. For the centennial celebrations in 2013, PSV have temporarily switched to an all-red jersey with white shorts and socks. Its design choices were meant to reminisce the kits worn during the 1987–88 season.

PSV have attracted around 33,000 people to Eredivisie matches on average in the last years. The record attendance stands at 35,200, achieved in a match against Feyenoord at 17 November 2002. The club always reserves tickets for away fans and individual ticket purchases; the maximum number of season ticket holders th
erefore is 29,200. All season tickets were sold out in 2007 and 2008. More recently in 2013, PSV sold 28,000 season tickets. Research showed that over 25,000 season ticket holders hail from North Brabant, with other significant groups coming from Limburg, Gelderland, South Holland, North Holland and Belgium.In 1955, PSV became the first Dutch club to enter the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. The two matches against Rapid Wien ended in 1–6 and 1–0. Other success in the 1950s remained absent but in the 1956–57 season, Dillen scored 43 times, a Dutch record that still stands today. The approaching 1960s marked a shift in player’s heritage: the team went from mostly Brabantian men to players nationwide. Representative for this policy were defender Roel Wiersma, who arrived in 1954 and captained the team for a decade, and Piet van der Kuil, who came from Ajax for the equivalent of €59,000 (PSV’s then-highest transfer fee). Dillen left the club in 1961 after being club top scorer every year from 1953 to 1961. In 1962, Otten also decided to quit as chairman of the sports union. By then, board member Ben van Gelder had gradually started to mold the club in his way. Throughout the next two decades, he became responsible for turning PSV into a full-fledged professional organization.