S.B.V.
Excelsior is a professional football club from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, who
were formed on the 23rd July 1902 as Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging
Excelsior (Rotterdam Football and Athletics Union Excelsior).
A close group of friends from the Kralingen district of the
city had been playing football on the fields of Woudestein for many years
previously. The city municipality gave them official permission to use the land
as Excelsior were formed, as they became one of the first working class clubs
in the country.
The club played in regional football for their first few
decades, reaching the final of the KNVB Beker (Dutch FA Cup) in 1929-30, when
they were defeated 1-0 by near neighbours Feyenoord. During this period the
team had spells playing at Afrikaanderplein and then Toepad before returning to
Woudestein.
In 1945-46 Excelsior won promotion to the Eerste klasse,
which was the highest level of football in the country before professionalism
was introduced in 1954, following a deciding match against VUC, which attracted
a crowd of 52,000 to De Kuip.
Excelsior were the main club behind the beginning of
payments to players. As the smallest club in the city, they required to be
innovative to survive. Professionalism would allow them to compete, argued
chairman Henk Zon.
The KNVB agreed and professional football was introduced to
The Netherlands in August 1954. They missed out on a place in the Eredivisie
when it was introduced for the 1956-57 season, continuing in one the two second
tier Eerste Divisie’s. In 1958 the club once again became pioneers by covering
the stands at their Woudestein stadium.
In 1962-63 the Eerste Divisie was halved in size, with just
one division. Excelsior remained in the second tier. However, they went down to
Tweede Divisie in 1964-65. After three mid table finishes they returned to
Eerste Divisie at the conclusion of the 1968-69 campaign.
Better news was still to come for Excelsior as they were
promoted to the Eredivisie at the first attempt to enjoy top flight football.
After flirting with relegation for two seasons ‘The Old Paper Club’ as
Excelsior were often known as because of chairman Zon’s business empire, went
back down in 1972-73.
The resilient team won promotion at the first attempt after
claiming the Eerste Divisie title. It was at this point that Zon attempted to
introduce shirt sponsorship. An ‘A’ was placed on the front of playing shirts,
which the chairman claimed signified the ‘A Team’. The KNVB disagreed and
realised it was a plug for sponsors Akai.
The Eredivisie spell lasted two seasons. In 1978-79
Excelsior once again lifted the championship of the Eerste Divisie to return to
the top level as a relationship with Feyenoord was formed. Once again, they remained
their for just two years, returning to the highest level the following season
through the play offs.
The assistance of Feyenoord aided Excelsior to remain in
the top division until 1986-87, when they finished bottom of the table. The
team would remain in the second tier until 2001-02, when promotion was won
through the play offs. They made an immediate return back down through the
relegation play offs.
In 2005-06 Excelsior once again lifted the Eerste Divisie
crown, before returning to compete for it once again a couple of seasons later.
The next flirtation with top flight football came at the end of the 2009-10
season following a win in the play offs.
In 2012-13 Leon Vlemmings side went back down in last
place. Marinus Dijkhuizen took the side straight back up, once again through
the play off rounds. After averting relegation by one spot in 2014-15, Dijkhuizen
departed to take up the Brentford manager’s job. He was replaced by Fons
Groenendijk, as the connection with Feyenoord was ended.
Mitchell van
der Gaag took over as coach for the 2016-17 campaign, which ended as a second
successive narrow squeak with relegation. 2017-18 saw Excelsior finish
comfortably in mid table.
Adrie
Poldervaart was appointed as coach in the summer of 2018 but didn’t see the
season out as he was replaced by André Hoekstra who couldn’t save the side as
they were relegated in the play-offs.
Dijkhuizen
returned for a second spell for the 2019-20 season. The goals of Rai Vloet and Elías
Már Ómarsson had helped the side to seventh place when the campaign was voided
owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus.
S.B.V. Excelsior will play in the Erste Divisie in the 2015-16 season.
Thursday
28th January 2016
The
only previous times that I’d been to Rotterdam were when I used the city to
access the North Sea Ferry with my brother Nick when going and coming home from
the World Cup in Italy in 1990. I was looking forward to having a proper look,
and of course there was no better way of doing that than visiting city wide
football clubs.
Once
I’d deposited my bag off in the lockers at the station I soon found the correct
stop for the number 24 tram towards De Esch. The ten stops took me through the
rather sterile city centre. In fairness it wasn’t really Rotterdam’s fault that
it had to be built virtually from scratch from 1945, as my barman friend in
Arnhem had pointed out.
The
area between Blaak station and Oostplein looked decent enough bar wise and
offered an option for later in the evening. After around twenty minutes I got
out at the Woudestein stop, which was conveniently located right outside the
stadium.
After
a walk behind the Main Stand and taking a couple of limited photos I walked
round the back of the goal nearest the tram. Fortunately enough there was a
gate open and I was inside. There were a few people scattered around tidying up
after the previous night’s match against PSV.
Stadion
Woudestein had four raised seated stands, with one on each side around the
artificial playing surface. The total capacity was just over 3,500, but all was
neat and tidy. Flat open areas in each corner completed the scene. A supporter’s
bar was in the corner where I stood. It was a perfect size for a club of
Excelsior’s standing.
Once
I’d taken all my photos I travelled by tram and metro towards the home of
Sparta to educate myself further.
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