De Treffers (Holland)

De Treffers is an amateur football club from the Gelderland town of Groesbeek in the east of The Netherlands, a few miles south east of Nijmegen. The club were formed in 1919, around the same time as their biggest rivals Achilles ’19 on the other side of town, with Jan Piepenbreier appointed as the clubs first chairman.

After playing in Nijmegen regional football, De Treffers joined the ranks of the KNVB in 1930. In 1935-36 and 1936-37 the club lifted the eastern region Eerste Klasse championships, going on to compete in the national championships.

Following World War Two, De Treffers had a period of struggle as they were relegated on a couple of occasions to find themselves in the Derde (third) Klasse. Promotion came thanks to a title win in 1961-62. Back to back championships elevated the club to Eerste (first) Klasse football in 1962-63.

De Treffers suffered a relegation in 1970-71, but they were promoted at the first attempt. The Hoofdklasse was created in 1974 and De Treffers were placed in the Zondag (Sunday) C. The team won their Hoofdklasse title in 1980-81 before finishing runners-up two years later.

Further league titles would follow in 1985-86 under coach Jan Pruijn before his side repeated their feat in 1987-88 and 1989-90. In both latter seasons the club were crowned as Sunday amateur champions, with the 1990 triumph coming against Quick Boys.

Ben Gerritsen then took charge of the team for a season which saw another Hoofdklasse title to add to the honours board. The best performances over the ensuing years came when De Treffers finished divisional runners-up in 1994-95 and 1996-97 before coach Jan Peters led his side to the title in 1997-98.

This triumph led to another national crown as Saturday champions IJsselmeervogels were defeated in the decider, as De Treffers became one of the foremost amateur outfits in the whole of the country.

Four consecutive league runners-up places ensued between 1999-00 and 2002-03 as Willie Willems coached the side. Peters had returned for a second spell when the team became Hoofdklasse C champions in 2004-05 as the forward trio of Rob Zegers, Saïd Echarqui and Guilliano Grot wreaked havoc on opposing defences.

League runners-up places followed for the three successive seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08 after Guilliano Grot and then Eugène Marijnissen had spells as coach while future coach Aleh Putsila contributed goals to the effort.

Putsila was in charge when Hoofdklasse title number eight was won in 2009-10 which took the club to the third national level Topklasse, where the team consolidated their status before finishing third in 2012-13 under coach John Neijenhuis.

The 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns ended in fourth place finishes under the tutelage of Ton Caanen and then Anton Janssen. The latter would be enough to secure a place in the newly formed third tier Tweede Divisie after the Dutch national league system was restructured.

The elevation meant the club would have to convert away from just Sunday football. Goals from Robert Mutzers and Wesley Meeuwsen helped De Treffers settle into their new surroundings with a fourth place in 2016-17.

The following campaign was more of a struggle before the side recovered to eleventh place in 2018-19 when Jan de Jonge took over as coach. Lowie van Zundert top scored as his team ended the prematurely ended 2019-20 campaign in ninth place.

De Treffers will play in Tweede Divisie in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Monday 20^th January 2014

I found myself in the football mad town of Groesbeek on a bleak winters day on the fourth day of a football adventure across The Netherlands. 

Having walked from the home of rivals Achilles ’29 along Hulsbroek and then Nieuwe Drulseweg past and industrial estate and then housing I saw the floodlights of Sportpark Zuid down Nijerf.

The entrance to the ground was at the far end and through a large car park, with the magnificent club buildings behind half of the near end of the ground with a few steps of open terracing in front. 

The far touchline had a cover for standing spectators, with the road side a seated stand across the half way line. The rest of the ground had hard standing and grass, with raised advertising boards at the far end offering an enclosed feel to the arena.

Originally I had intended to head for the home of Groesbeeke Boys, but it was time to prioritise as I was feeling the effects of my exertions and needed to get to my evenings destination of Eindhoven as quickly as I could to have a rest before the evening’s match.

A free small local bus gave me a tour around the houses before dropping me in the town centre, next to where the railway once ran, so I could take a bus back into Nijmegen.