Willem II Tilburg
Ground: Koning Willem II Stadion
Capacity: 15,220
Club Founded: 1896
League: Eredivisie (current level)
Willem II are one of the Netherlands’ most historic clubs, named after King William II. The Tricolores, known for their red, white and blue colours, have a rich tradition and a loyal fanbase, remaining an important part of the country's football landscape.
Willem II - The Early Years
The club was formed under the name 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 in honour of the Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, who had his military headquarters in Tilburg.
The club was initially a member of the Brabant Football Association before joining the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) in 1904. Home games were played at the Koningshoeven, with the club more a social than serious football outfit. The land was 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. At the time, Tilburg had more
football clubs than any other Dutch city. A move to the new Goirleseweg het Roomsch
Katholiek Tilburgsch Sportpark followed, provided by the Roman Catholic church.
The Golden Years
The ground was shared with another
local side, NOAD. Willem II won the Brabant championship several times before being relegated, as they
vied for prominence in the city with TSV NOAD and TSV LONGA. 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 in the south of the city was opened with a game between teams
representing Tilburg and Surinam, after spending 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. They became
Dutch champions for a second time in 1951-52 when the team didn’t drop a point, securing the title against Ajax in the Olympisch Stadion. Three years later it was won again after the play-off rounds against EVV Eindhoven, NAC, and PSV.
Continuing to Prosper
It was around this time
that professional football was introduced to the Netherlands, when the first of many public discussions took place about whether Willem II, NOAD, and LONGA should merge, but the suggestion was
declined. The star Brazilian side Botafogo, including Garrincha, Didi, Paulinho, Zagallo, and Santos, played a friendly at Sportpark.
The club was struggling financially in 1963, when the
Foundation Willem II was formed to acquire funds from the local community and
businesses. The team was relegated from the Erste Divisie, but the KNVB Cup was lifted as ADO Den Haag were beaten 3-1 at Zuiderpark in The Hague thanks to goals from Frits Louer, Kees Aarts, and Willy Senders.
European Football then Financial Crisis
Willem II's European Cup-Winners Cup reward was a tie with
Manchester United. The team played consistently in the top flight aside from two seasons, as financial sustainability
was secured. However, the 1973-74 season saw low crowds and relegation as debts were accrued.
Through the gloom, new trainer Henk de
Jonge led the team back to the Eredivisie. The financial crisis increased. 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.
Youth and a New Stadium
The costs were cut, leading to relegation, as the club decided to put faith in its youth system, while a new
clubhouse was built for supporters. In 1987, Marc Overmars was among the
young players to flourish at the club under trainer Piet de Visser, who returned to the top-flight. In 1995, the revamped Koning
Willem II Stadion was opened.
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.
Champions League Football
In 1998-99, Willem II qualified for the following season’s Champions League with a side containing
the likes of Sami Hyypiä, Clyde Wijnhard, and Bert Konterman as season ticket sales flourished. Adriaanse departed a year later 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.
Several trainers came and went as the team put in some poor end-of-season results. Fans' disenchantment began to grow. In 2009-10, relegation was again avoided in the play-offs. The club was living beyond its means, leading to Willem II dropping down to the Erste Divisie, but they returned at the first attempt under the tutelage of Jurgen Streppel.
FC Den Bosch were defeated in the playoffs at Koning Willem II Stadium, sealing a return to the Eredivisie. However, their spell in the top flight lasted just one campaign. Despite the setback, Streppel led his charges straight back as Erste Divisie champions in 2013-14.
Recent Years
Erwin van de Looi took over as trainer in the summer of 2017, as the team finished
in a safe position. Alexander Isak's goals helped the new trainer, Adrie Koster’s
team. Improvement
continued with Fran Sol scoring
the goals as Willem also reached the final of the KNVB Beker before going down
4-0 to Ajax.
Željko Petrović arrived as team trainer in January 2021, before Fred Grim replaced him. He was succeeded by Kevin Hofland. The team was relegated, leading to the appointment of Reinier Robbemond. A playoff defeat to VVV Venlo ensued. Peter Maes took the side to the Erste Divisie title and promotion in 2023-24, as Jeredy Hilterman led the scoring charts.
Telstar ended their brief spell in the Eredivisie playoff final as Willem II went down. John Stegeman was given the task of taking them back up, which was achieved in 2025-26 after a win on penalties in the playoff final against Volendam.
My visit
Willem
II 0 Hercules Almelo 0
Eredivisie - Friday 29th January 2016
👨👨👧👧 13,100 🎟️ €22.50
Over in the Netherlands for a few days, it was time to have a proper look at Tilburg. My visits to the town’s amateur
clubs, 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 Heuvel, an area
recommended to me by a former resident of Tilburg.
I grabbed a snack before heading to Café Kandinsky 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 200 bottles and 8 beers 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.
All the tables were occupied, while three courteous members of staff worked hard. 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, with a stunning
taste.
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. Earlier, I noticed a courtesy bus ran between the station and the stadium for Tricolores
fans. Initially, the inspector wasn’t
going to allow me on without a match ticket until he saw my email
from the club.
Next up was trying to collect my ticket. I was unable to buy one online without a Dutch bank card but the club said they would reserve one for me. They seemed surprised that I only wanted one ticket when there were
two in the envelope at the office. It was only when I was
enjoying a Heineken 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 my mate 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, you walked 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, I noticed plenty of fans going in the gate nearer the corner. I followed them, initially to take photos. I spotted 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 had 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. I was 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 they had 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.
Throughout the match, I enjoyed a couple more beers and another croquette, spending some of the time in the bay by the exit. The visitors came close on a couple of occasions in the second half, exciting 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 London. Although the bus 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, waking up at 11.15 with the train filling up with a completely different crowd in readiness to head back on the return journey. I must have nodded off a few miles outside Eindhoven.
I ran out of the station by 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!
I endured more panic at the locked airport, which displayed signs that it didn't reopen until 4.30 am. The wind was howling, it was cold, and it was 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. 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!