Willem II (Netherlands)

Willem II is a professional football club from the city of Tilburg in North Brabant, Holland which was formed on the 12th August 1896 as Tilburgia after Gerard de Ruiter, a student at the MTS in Amsterdam, managed to get twelve people together for the inaugural meeting at cafe Marinus.

Two years later, the club took on its current title, after Dutch king William II, who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830. The club was a member of the Brabant Football Association. In 1904, Willem II finally joined the Dutch Football Association (KNVB). 

A year later, the club began to play their home games in the field at the Koningshoeven, with the club more a social than serious football outfit. The ground was approached by a muddy road called 'Voetbalweg', with the land owned by the Van den Bergh family, who introduced the blue, red, and white colours to the club. 

In 1916, Willem II were crowned champions of the Netherlands after a victory over their near neighbours, Go Ahead Deventer. Thousands of fans celebrated, as football was extremely popular, with Tilburg having more football clubs than any other Dutch city. In 1920, Willem II moved to the new Goirleseweg het Roomsch Katholiek Tilburgsch Sportpark, provided by the Roman Catholic church to encourage youth to pursue sporting activity. 

The ground was shared with another local side, NOAD. Both clubs signed a ten-year lease in 1924. Willem II began to play friendly games against established foreign opposition, while they won the Brabant championship in 1923, 1930, and 1934. The side was relegated to the Tweede, second Klasse in 1935, as they vied for prominence in the city with TSV NOAD and TSV LONGA.

The war years were difficult, but Willem II were popular in packed stadiums, with their patriotic Dutch national colours. Groene Ster were hammered 9-2 as the KNVB Cup was lifted at the Jan Louwers Stadion in Eindhoven in 1944. Following the war, the Het Tilburgsch Sportpark association had no money to repair the badly damaged stadium. 

The new Gemeentelijk Sportpark on Goirleseweg in the south of the city was opened with a game between teams representing Tilburg and Surinam. It was finally completed in 1957. Willem II had spent a season sharing with NOAD during construction. In 1949, Dr. František Fadrhonc became the club trainer, and he led the side during a golden period in their history. 

Willem II became Dutch champions for a second time in 1951-52 when the team didn’t drop a point. The title was secured with a 2-1 win against Ajax in the Olympisch Stadion. In 1954/55, Willem II won the Dutch title once again after the play-off rounds against EVV Eindhoven, NAC, and PSV. 

It was around this time that professional football was introduced to the Netherlands, with the three major Tilburg sides all represented. Willem II soon struggled and was relegated soon after their championship win. In 1958, the first of many public discussions took place as to whether Willem II, NOAD, and LONGA should merge, but the suggestion was declined. 

In 1959, the star Brazilian side Botafogo played a friendly at Sportpark in front of a packed house of 18,000. The visitors included Garrincha, Didi, Paulinho, Zagallo, and Santos in their lineup, a year after helping Brazil win the World Cup. The club was struggling financially in 1963, when the Foundation Willem II was formed to acquire funds from the local community and businesses. 

The 1962-63 season saw mixed emotions for all at the club. The team was relegated from the Erste Divisie, but the KNVB Cup was lifted for a second time as ADO Den Haag were beaten 3-1 at Zuiderpark in The Hague thanks to goals from Frits Louer, Kees Aarts, and Willy Senders.

The big reward was a UEFA Cup-Winners Cup tie with Manchester United the following season. The home leg was moved to De Kuip in Rotterdam as the Sportpark had no floodlights. United went through 6-1 in the Old Trafford leg after a draw in Holland. Willem II played in the top flight for a sustained period, aside from two years between 1965 and 1967, as financial sustainability was secured.  

The 1973/74 campaign was somewhat of a disaster as the team was relegated, with gates dropping into three figures. The debt accumulated again, but amongst the gloom, new trainer Henk de Jonge led the team to promotion through the play-offs back to Eredivisie.

The financial crisis became more severe as each year passed. Willem II was threatened with bankruptcy in 1982. An interim Administration was formed to put a deal together to pay creditors, which was accepted with the assistance of the municipality of Tilburg.

The costs were cut, but unfortunately, it led to relegation in 1983-84. The club decided to put faith in its youth system, while a new clubhouse was built for supporters. In 1987, Willem II returned to the top-tier Eredivisie amid joyous scenes under trainer Piet de Visser. Marc Overmars was among the young players to flourish at the club.

On May 31st, 1995, the revamped modern Koning Willem II Stadion was opened to replace Sportpark on Goirleseweg to give the club a chance to progress professionally. In 1996, Willem II celebrated its centenary with a series of grand events. The departure of the star young defender, Jaap Stam, put a slight dampener on proceedings.

The 1997-98 season saw Co Adriaanse arrive from Ajax to lead the team. After an absence of thirty-five years, Willem II qualified for European football courtesy of a fifth-place finish. The run in the UEFA Cup saw a win over Dinamo Tbilisi before Real Betis ended the run.

In 1998-99, Willem II went even further domestically and qualified for the following season’s Champions League with a side containing the likes of Sami Hyypiä, Clyde Wijnhard, and Bert Konterman. Ten thousand season tickets were sold for the foray into Europe’s elite competition.

‘de Tricolores’ faced Spartak Moscow, Girondins de Bordeaux, and Sparta Prague in their group, which ended in elimination. After a fifth-place finish in Eredivisie, Adriaanse departed to be replaced by Hans Westerhof.

Westerhof lasted a couple of average seasons before he was replaced by Mark Wotte in July 2002. André Wetzel and then Robert Maaskant followed in the trainer's hot seat as the club tried to reclaim former glories. In 2005, he took the side to the final of the KNVB Cup, but the big day at De Kuip was to end in disappointment following a 4-0 defeat to PSV.

The 2005-06 season saw Maaskant depart in November, before the team preserved their top-flight status in the play-offs. Several trainers came and went as the team put in some poor end-of-season results. Fans' disenchantment began to grow. In 2009-10, the team saved their place once again in the play-offs, while a three-man committee was appointed to see what was going wrong. 

They concluded that the club was living beyond its means. The inevitable happened in 2010-11 as Willem II dropped down to the Erste Divisie, but they returned at the first attempt under the tutelage of Jurgen Streppel. A 7-0 victory away to Helmond Sport helped as de Tricolores reached the play-offs. 

Sparta Rotterdam were dispatched to set up a decider against FC Den Bosch at Koning Willem II Stadium, which was won 2-1 to seal a return to Eredivisie. However, their spell in the top flight lasted just one campaign. Despite the set back Streppel led his charges straight back up as Erste Divisie champions in 2013-14. 

In early 2015, it was claimed that some Willem II players, led by Ibrahim Kargbo, had fixed matches in 2009. The KNVB took legal action as well as involving UEFA and FIFA. Wins over Almere City and NAC Breda preserved Tricolores' top-flight status in the play-offs before Erwin van de Looi took over as trainer in the summer of 2017, as the team finished in a safe position. 

The goals of Alexander Isak helped Adrie Koster’s team to an improved place twelve months later. Improvement continued with tenth place in a successful 2018-19 season, with Fran Sol scoring the goals as Willem also reached the final of the KNVB Beker before going down 4-0 to Ajax. 

Vangelis Pavlidis top-scored in 2019-20 with the team sitting in fifth place when the season was abandoned owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. Željko Petrović arrived as trainer in January 2021, as the side did enough to stay up. Fred Grim replaced him a few months later, before he was succeeded by Kevin Hofland in March 2022.

The team was relegated, with Reinier Robbemond being given the trainer's job in December 2022. The playoffs were reached but ended in defeat to VVV Venlo. Peter Maes was next in charge of the team, taking them to the Erste Divisie title and promotion in 2023-24, as Jeredy Hilterman led the scoring charts.

Telstar ended a brief spell in the Eredivisie in the playoff final as Willem II went down. John Stegeman was given the task of taking them back up.

Willem II will play in the Erste Divisie in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Willem II 0 Hercules Almelo 0 (Friday 29th January 2016) Eredivisie (att: 13,100)

It was time to have a proper look at Tilburg. My visits to the town’s amateur club’s TSV NOAD and TSV LONGA, had gone exactly to plan, with a lovely walk thrown in for good measure. I headed back into town to find The Heuval, an area advised by my pal Andy Crossland, who was formerly a resident of Tilburg. The bars were rather quiet, so I predictably had some chicken to keep me going as well as a fine meat croquette. 

My research had told me that Café Kandinsky was the place to head for to enjoy some pre-match libation. As luck would have it, I found a stool at the bar as I looked at the extensive drinks menu. There were up to two hundred bottled beers as well as eight on tap to choose from. Initially, I went for the safe option of a glass of Han Hertog as the pleasant staff put down a bowl of nibbles to go with it.

The place was busy with all the tables being occupied. The three members of staff were courteous, helpful, and very hardworking. I asked the youngest fella for some advice regarding hoppy ales. He put me onto two excellent IPAs from the bottle. Both were a bit stronger than I intended to go for, but most enjoyable. 

I was given a nice sample of the ultra-strong local brew, which had a stunning taste but would have had me nodding if I’d had much more. I went back to my first selection to end a very nice little session in brilliant surroundings. I recommend the bar on Telegraafstraat to any visitor to Tilburg. On the bus to NOAD, I had noticed that there was a courtesy bus to the stadium for Tricolores fans. 

I soon found it waiting at the station. Initially, the inspector wasn’t going to let me on as I didn’t have a match ticket, but after he saw my email from the club, he was fine. Next up was trying to collect my ticket. I had been quoted €22.50 behind the goal when I contacted the staff at Willem II, as I was unable to buy one online without a Dutch bank card.

Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when they only wanted €10. They seemed surprised that I only wanted one ticket when there were two in the envelope. I was on my way before they could change their minds. It was only when I was enjoying a Heineken around the corner that I realised the ticket was in the name of K Bernard. 

Someone with the same surname was about to get into some kind of discussion when he or she went to collect their two tickets! I headed to the club shop to see if I could get Andy a home team shirt, but the stock didn't have one in his size. I was also hoping to find a match programme, but they didn't seem to issue any.

Once through the gates, it was possible to walk around the yard to the correct gate. I bought a beer and then went down to my seat to take photos. When I went for a top-up up I noticed plenty of fans going in the gate nearer the corner. I followed them, initially to take further photos, but then I spotted that there were a few standing behind the back row of seats, so I joined them.

The Koning Willem II stadium was a perfectly sized venue for a club of its size. The Kingside was actually behind the goal and housed the most vocal of Tilburg’s finest. Along with the South and East Stands, it formed a continuous steep single tier of seating with an undulating roof and a large moat at the front. 

The final side was taken by the West Stand, which was slightly larger and with its own roof. It contained corporate facilities and business seats at the rear of the normal seating deck. My new position was right next to the away fans and with some characters who could imagine having seen their fair share of action over the years. It would certainly liven up the evening!

The game was a cagey affair. At least Heracles showed a little more attacking intent than at Ajax a few days earlier, where they did their bit to ruin the match. I thought I recognised the referee, and sure enough, it was Mr Jannsen who had been in the middle of the Vitesse v Zwolle game that I was at the previous Wednesday.

I enjoyed a couple more beers and another croquette as the match progressed, and spent some of the time in the bay by the exit amongst many other fans. The visitors came close on a couple of occasions in the second half to excite their couple of dozen fans. The game was heading towards its conclusion as I headed out for the bus. 

I had been anxious since planning the trip about the very last leg. I needed to be in Eindhoven by 11 pm to catch my Eurolines overnight coach back to Victoria in London. Although the ticket was only €19 and offered excellent value, I was a bit nervous about what kind of experience it would be. I guess that's why I'd had a good drink throughout the evening.

The bus dropped me at Tilburg station with enough time to buy a sandwich and snacks for my trip back, and I was on the train. All was going to plan. And then suddenly it wasn't. I woke up at 11.15 with the train filling up with a completely different crowd in readiness to head back on the return journey. I had only nodded off a few miles outside Eindhoven, but this was really bad news. 

I ran out of the station, initially going out of the wrong entrance for the bus station. When I eventually got there, my coach was well gone. This was a really tricky situation. I rang my brother Nick, and while we had a good laugh, we tried to think of a solution. We decided that the best option was to book an early morning flight back. 

Fortunately, there was a seat left on the 7 am flight to Stansted the following morning for £77. Nick sensibly suggested that I head to the airport and get my head down there. The airport bus was familiar to me, and soon I was on my way, going past the Philips Stadion once again without seeing a game there!

More panic kicked in at the airport as it was locked and signs showed that it didn't reopen until 4.30 am. The wind was howling, it was cold, and starting to rain. There was only one option. I rang the buzzer of the Tulip Inn airport hotel to ask if they had a room. I was sort of in luck that they had, but it was €80 for the night. There was simply no other choice, so I paid my money.

I did have a much-needed night's sleep, and I did catch the plane back. Unbelievably, we arrived back at Stansted early, but there was no ground crew to allow us off. Then the trains were down owing to planned engineering works. Welcome back to England!

My four days in the Netherlands were lots of fun and I had plenty of adventures. I would definitely never forget my trip to the match at Willem II!