Sparta Rotterdam

History

Origins

On the Easter Sunday of 1 April 1888, eight students from Rotterdam founded a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta. It was established in the garden of the house of the first treasurer, Hartevelt Hoos Oostvestple, a building located on the 11 in Rotterdam. The club was founded by eight students between the ages of 13 and 16. Five of them were students of the then HBS at the Van Alkemadeplein, and the remaining three were students of the Gymnasium Erasmianum on the Coolvest, the name of the Coolsingel before it changed in 1888. All the founders came from wealthy families in Rotterdam, because at the time, it was only the high and middle classes who had the time and money to practice sports, such as cricket. All the founders, along with the other early members of Sparta, lived in the Stadsdriehoek, Cool, Rubroek or Crooswijk neighborhoods of Rotterdam, which had become a fast-growing port city of the Netherlands in the second half of the 19th century.

Sparta initially started as a cricket club, with the Dutch newspaper NRC of May 1888 already reporting a victory for Sparta over Achilles by 45 runs. However, when the boys were given a suitable ball, they also engaged in the sport of football, which had recently come over from the United Kingdom. The young Sparta members began playing this sport in the terrain that was located on the Noordereiland, west of the Burgmeester Hoffmanplein, and in July 1888, a football branch of the club was thus established. In the Netherlands, it was Sparta who introduced the goal with a crossbar and nets. Before them, only a rope was stretched between the posts.

First matches

The members of Sparta only played matches against each other in the first year. These matches were played in various compositions between the 35-hour lesson week and the subsequent 20-hour working week at the Delftse Poort, usually on the square in front of the church of the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk.

In 1888 there was not yet an umbrella organization for football, so there were no organized competitions. Therefore, the clubs had to invite or challenge each other, which resulted in a lot of mutual challenges between the existing clubs. From April 1889, the training and matches began to take place on a site designated by the alderman to the west of De Heuvel in Rotterdam. In the same period, the club also got its first clubhouse on the Delfshavensedijk.

Federal football

In March 1890, Sparta joined the Dutch Football and Athletics Association (Nederlandse Atletiek en Voetbal Bond, NVAB), founded by Pim Mulier on 8 December 1889, the predecessor of today's KNVB, and they played their first real match later that year. In 1892 Sparta disbanded the cricket branch. On 18 December 1892, Sparta defeated the Amersfoortsche FC (AFC Quick 1890) with what still is a record result for a Dutch league match: 17–0. The right winger Freek Kampschreur scored 9 of the 17 goals and is still the shared record holder for the most goals in a single Dutch league match. The next home match against from Wageningen is an important one as both teams have a shot at winning the 2nd division championship, and thus it attracted 1500 spectators. Sparta lost 2–4, which still is their only loss in the 2nd division, but then won the away game (0–2) in February, thus finishing the season with the same amount of points, and since there were no tie-breakers at the time, both teams were promoted to the highest league of Dutch football on 23 April 1893.

Earlier that same year, on 18 March 1893, Sparta was the first Dutch club to play a match against a foreign opponent, Harwich & Parkeston F.C. of England, whose football was much more developed, and they showed their clear superiority with a resounding 8–0 victory. On the following day, 6 February, Felixstowe FC played another match, this time against a Dutch squad with the best players of the Netherlands, which fielded only two players from Sparta, Weinthal and Freek Kampschreur. They did no better than the Sparta squad as they lost 0–1, but this game is now considered to be the first unofficial match of the Netherlands national team.

In August 1893, Sparta debuted a new field on the Binnenweg which had a real fence and some seats. The players could even dress up and wash in a nearby house, but because it was continuously flooded, Sparta received permission from the municipality to move to the Schuttersveld in Crooswijk. There, they remained undefeated from January 1894 until the end of the season as they finished in fourth. Sparta then founded the Rotterdam Football Association in 1894.

Innovations

Sparta introduced women's football in late 1896 by trying to organize a competition between a women's team from Sparta and the English Ladies Football Club from London. However, no permission for this match was given by the Dutch Football Association, which forbids it from happening.

Sparta also showed itself to be an innovator in other areas during this period. Over the years, Sparta introduced in the Netherlands, among other things: the header, a goal with a crossbar and nets, and brightly colored shirts. That red and white outfit was copied in 1899 during a visit by the Sparta board to Sunderland in England. Apart from being an innovator, Sparta was also known as a club that was sometimes difficult to deal with. For instance, in March 1897, Sparta temporarily withdrew from the Dutch league because of the alleged continuous dubious arbitration of Sparta matches, but especially due to turmoil at a match in Amsterdam against the apparently rather arrogant RAP, in which the referee did not act against the verbal abuse of the RAP players. Sparta's remaining two matches were awarded to their opponents (5–0) and the club was fined 10 Dutch coins, but despite this, it still finished fourth.

In 1899 the board of Sparta visited a match of Sunderland. Impressed with the red-and-white jersey of the English club, the board decided that Sunderland's colours (red-white striped jersey, black shorts) would henceforth be the colours of Sparta. The first Sparta shirts were purchased second-hand Sunderland shirts. Today, the signature red and white shirt is combined with black trousers and red and white striped stockings.

First golden age

From 1900 Sparta played a pioneering role in the organization of Dutch football because, at the time, the board of the Dutch Football Association consisted largely of Spartans, and in 1901, Sparta began to organize competitions for the Zilveren Bal, the most important cup tournament at the time.

In 1905, Sparta initiated and organized the first home match of the Netherlands national team, against Belgium. The match, won 4–0 by the Netherlands, was a rematch of a game two weeks prior, when the Netherlands beat Belgium 4–1 in Antwerp, Belgium. The match took place in what had been the Sparta stadium for about ten years at the time, the Schuttersveld in Crooswijk, and the Dutch squad was coached by former Sparta player Cees van Hasselt.

From 1893 onwards, the football players of Sparta built up a reputation as "the eternal number 2" because, in its first fifteen years in the top division of Dutch football, Sparta reached second or third place six times. This changed in 1909, as Sparta won the national championship in that year as well as in 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1915; while the Silver Ball was won in 1910 and 1913, and the NBLO Cup in 1909, 1910, and 1911. During this period, Sparta hired a coach for the first time, the Englishman Edgar Chadwick, which undoubtedly contributed to the success. Star players Bok de Korver, Huug de Groot, and Cas Ruffelse also played a pivotal role in helping Sparta dominate the nation during these years.

On 15 October 1916, Sparta moved for the last time, this time to Sparta's new stadium, Het Kasteel (The Castle), in the Spangen area of west Rotterdam. The move was largely privately funded by a group of 27 residents of Rotterdam. Following the English example, the Sparta stadium became the center of the later-built residential area and was soon known as Het Kasteel because of its facade with two turrets. The stadium was renovated in 1999 and is still Sparta's stadium.

In 1918, Prince Hendrik was the first member of the Royal House to pay an official visit to a Sparta match. In the years that followed, Queen Wilhelmina, Princess Juliana, and Prince Bernhard also visited the stadium, among other things to attend the annual Blood Transfusion Competition, a charity initiative that earned Sparta a high award from the Dutch Red Cross on its golden jubilee.

Recent years

Until the 2002–03 season, Sparta had always played at the highest level, but after they appointed the former international player Frank Rijkaard as a manager they were relegated from the top-level Eredivisie in 2002. That made Rijkaard resign from his position. Sparta returned to the Eredivisie for the 2005–06 season. They were relegated again in 2010. On 20 August 2010, they equalled Ajax's and Heracles Almelo's Dutch league record win when they defeated Almere City 12–1 with Johan Voskamp scoring an Eerste Divisie record 8 goals on his debut.

After six years in the Eerste Divisie, Sparta again won promotion to the Eredivisie in April 2016 after a 3–1 win over Jong Ajax won them an unassailable lead over second placed VVV-Venlo. However, they were relegated for the third time in their history in May 2018 after they were beaten 1–3 on aggregate by FC Emmen in the promotion/relegation play-offs. The result proved to be a historical one since Emmen won their first ever promotion to the Eredivisie.

Sparta has won six national titles (1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1959) and three national cups (1958, 1962 and 1966).

Meuse/Scheldt Cup

The best footballers of Rotterdam and Antwerp contested a yearly match between 1909 and 1959 for the Meuse- and Scheldt Cup (Maas- en Schelde Beker). It was agreed to play the game at stadium Het Kasteel in Rotterdam and at the Bosuilstadion in Antwerp. The cup was provided in 1909 by Kees van Hasselt from Rotterdam and P. Havenith from Antwerp.

Youth program

Main article: Sparta Youth Academy

The Sparta Jeugdopleiding (English: Sparta Youth Academy) is a four-star certified youth academy and amongst the strongest in the nation, having won the national academy of the year award on several occasions. Several International footballers have progressed through the ranks of the academy, including Danny Blind, Danny Koevermans, David Mendes da Silva, Ed de Goey, Winston Bogarde, Memphis Depay, Henk Fräser, Jan van Beveren, Georginio Wijnaldum, Anwar El Ghazi, Jetro Willems, John de Wolf, Kevin Strootman, Rick van Drongelen and Nick Viergever, Marten de Roon amongst others.

Honours

National

• Netherlands Football League Championship / Eredivisie: 6
  • 1908–09, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1958–59
• Eerste Divisie: 1
  • 2015–16
• KNVB Cup: 3
  • 1957–58, 1961–62, 1965–66

Others

• Rotterdam Easter Tournament
  • Runners-up (2): 1934, 1948

Domestic results

ImageSize = width:700 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2025 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)

PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center

from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/2023 till:01/01/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2024 till:01/01/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2002 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie" from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2005 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie" from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2010 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie" from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2016 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie" from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2018 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie" from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie" from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2025 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie"

Below is a table with Sparta Rotterdam's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.

Sparta in Europe

Main article: Sparta Rotterdam in European Football

Current squad

Out on loan

Jong Sparta Rotterdam

Jong Sparta Rotterdam is the second team of Sparta Rotterdam, consisting mainly of players who are not yet eligible for a spot in the first team's squad. The team has been competing in the third-tier Tweede Divisie since 2016. Previously, it played in the Beloften Eredivisie.

Former players

National team players

The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Sparta Rotterdam:

• ;Aruba

  • Aruba David Abdul (2008–2011)
  • Aruba Gregor Breinburg (2018–2019)

• ;Australia

  • Australia James Holland (2011–2012)

• ;Austria

  • Austria Wilhelm Kreuz (1972–1974)

• ;Burkina Faso

  • Burkina Faso Ousmane Sanou (2001–2003)

• ;Canada

  • Canada Charles-Andreas Brym (2022–2024)

• ;Cape Verde

  • Cape Verde Lorenzo Fonseca (2019–2021)
  • Cape Verde Jeffry Fortes (2020–2021)
  • Cape Verde Cecílio Lopes (2007–2008)
  • Cape Verde Rui Monteiro (2000–2003)
  • Cape Verde Toni Varela (2011–2013)

• ;Comoros

  • Comoros Saïd Bakari (2023–present)

• ;Curaçao

  • Curaçao Suently Alberto (2020–2022)
  • Curaçao Kenneth Cicilia (2001–2004)A Curaçao-born footballer, Kenneth Cicilia represented Netherlands Antilles internationally, prior to the countries dissolution in 2010, with Curaçao considered by both UEFA and FIFA as the only inherit successor to the national team of former Netherlands Antilles.
  • Curaçao Bradley Martis (2018–2020)
  • Curaçao Jeremy de Nooijer (2012–2015)
  • Curaçao Rayvien Rosario (2023–2024)

• ;Denmark

  • Denmark Jørgen Kristensen (1968–1972)
  • Denmark Claus Larsen (1975–1976)
  • Denmark Ole Madsen (1965–1968)

• ;Finland

  • Finland Janne Saksela (2017)

• ;Ghana

  • Ghana Anthony Obodai (2003–2005)

• ;Guinea

  • Guinea Mathias Pogba (2016–2017)

• ;Hungary

  • Hungary Krisztián Vermes (2008–2009)

• ;Iceland

  • Iceland Kristian Hlynsson (2025–present)

• ;Israel

  • Israel Ariel Harush (2019–2020)

• ;Luxembourg

  • Luxembourg Laurent Jans (2021–2022)
  • Luxembourg Mica Pinto (2020–2023)

• ;Morocco

  • Morocco Nourdin Boukhari (2000–2002; 2007–2008; 2014)
  • Morocco Mourad Mghizrat (1996–1999)

• ;Netherlands

  • Netherlands Luuk Balkestein (1974–1980)
  • Netherlands Jan van Beveren (1965–1970)
  • Netherlands Danny Blind (1979–1986)
  • Netherlands Willem Boerdam (1908–1921)
  • Netherlands Rein Boomsma (1895–1907)
  • Netherlands Tinus Bosselaar (1953–1954; 1956–1966)
  • Netherlands Pim Doesburg (1962–1967; 1970–1980)
  • Netherlands Daaf Drok (1939–1944)
  • Netherlands Tonny van Ede (1947–1964)
  • Netherlands Hans Eijkenbroek (1963–1973)
  • Netherlands Jo Eshuijs (1904–1909)
  • Netherlands Ok Formenoij (1924–1933)
  • Netherlands Huug de Groot (1908–1917)
  • Netherlands Herman Jurgens (1903–1908)
  • Netherlands Jan Klijnjan (1968–1973)
  • Netherlands Bok de Korver (1902–1923)
  • Netherlands Wim Landman (1949–1953)
  • Netherlands Theo Laseroms (1963–1967)
  • Netherlands Wim Meutstege (1973–1977)
  • Netherlands Kees van Nieuwenhuizen (1908–1911)
  • Netherlands Jan Oosthoek (1924)
  • Netherlands Miel Pijs (1967–1969)
  • Netherlands Cas Ruffelse (1907–1926)

• Netherlands (continued)

  • Netherlands Henk Steeman (1919–1922; 1923–1925)
  • Netherlands Rinus Terlouw (1948–1958)
  • Netherlands John Veldman (1991–1996)
  • Netherlands Hans Venneker (1968–1975)
  • Netherlands Piet de Vries (1956–1965)
  • Netherlands Jaap Weber (1925–1929)
  • Netherlands Piet van der Wolk (1908–1921)
  • Netherlands Willy van Zwieteren (1921–1933)

• ;Nigeria

  • Nigeria Dele Adeleye (2007–2010)
  • Nigeria Sani Kaita (2005–2008)
  • Nigeria Christopher Kanu (2002)
  • Nigeria Maduka Okoye (2020–2022)

• ;Northern Ireland

  • Northern Ireland Johnny Crossan (1959–1961)
  • Northern Ireland Sammy Morgan (1978–1979)

• ;Republic of Ireland

  • Ireland Peter Fitzgerald (1959–1960)

• ;Slovenia

  • Slovenia Aleksander Šeliga (2009–2011)

• ;South Africa

  • South Africa Lars Veldwijk (2018–2020)

• ;Suriname

  • Suriname Ishan Kort (2021–2023)
  • Suriname Djevencio van der Kust (2023–present)

• ;Syria

  • Syria Mohammed Osman (2021–2022)

• ;Trinidad & Tobago

  • Trinidad & Tobago Darryl Roberts (2007–2008)

• ;United States

  • United States Gregg Berhalter (1996–1998)

• Players in bold actively play for Sparta Rotterdam and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Sparta.

National team players by Confederation

Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Sparta players represented Internationally

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Sparta players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations. To this date no Sparta players have participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup, AFC Asian Cup, Copa América or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Sparta Rotterdam.

Club staff

Former coaches

• Edgar Chadwick (1915)
• Peter Donaghy (1929–30)
• Doug Livingstone (1949)
• Walter Crook (1950)
• Denis Neville (1955–63)
• Bill Thompson (1963–66)
• Wiel Coerver (1966–69)
• Georg Keßler (1970–71)
• Elek Schwartz (1971–72)
• Jimmy Adamson (1976)
• Cor Brom (1976–78)
• Mircea Petescu (1978–80)
• Joop Brand (1980)
• Barry Hughes (1980–83)
• Bert Jacobs (1983–84)
• Theo Vonk (1984–86)
• Barry Hughes (1986–88)
• Rob Baan (1988–90)
• Rob Jacobs (1991–93)
• Han Berger (1993–95)
• Henk van Stee (1995)
• Henk ten Cate (1995–97)
• Hans van der Zee (1997–98)
• Jan Everse (1998–99)
• Dolf Roks (1999–01)
• Willem van Hanegem (2001)
• Frank Rijkaard (2001–02)
• Fritz Korbach (2003)
• Chris Dekker (2003)
• Mike Snoei (2003–05)
• Adri van Tiggelen (interim) (2005)
• Wiljan Vloet (2005–07)
• Gert Aandewiel (2007)
• Adri van Tiggelen (interim) (2007)
• Foeke Booy (2007–09)
• Frans Adelaar (2009–10)
• Aad de Mos (2010)
• Jan Everse (2010–11)
• Jos van Eck (2011)
• Michel Vonk (2011–13)
• Henk ten Cate (interim) (2013)
• Gert Kruys (2014)
• Alex Pastoor (2015–2017)
• Dolf Roks (interim) (2017)
• Dick Advocaat (2018)
• Henk Fraser (2018–2022)
• Maurice Steijn (2022–2023)
• Jeroen Rijsdijk (2023–2024)
• Maurice Steijn (2024–present)

References

Notes

References

1. "Sparta – Historie Betaald Voetbal".
2. "Sparta de oudste voetbalclub van Nederland".
3. "Sparta Rotterdam (1888)".
4. "Eerste klasser Sparta verhuist naar Schuttersveld".
5. . (31 May 2002). ["Rijkaard quits at Sparta"](https://www.uefa.com/news/0185-0e6a419e8269-ed2f7f127b22-1000--rijkaard-quits-at-sparta/). *[[UEFA]]*.
6. link. (7 October 2012 - De Telegraaf {{in lang). nl
7. link. (7 October 2012 - De Telegraaf {{in lang). nl
8. [http://nos.nl/artikel/2098596-sparta-rotterdam-terug-in-de-eredivisie.html Sparta Rotterdam terug in de eredivisie] {{Webarchive. link. (14 April 2016 - NOS {{in lang). nl
9. [https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetbal/emmen-schrijft-geschiedenis-met-promotie-sparta-degradeert-uit-eredivisie~a090d95a/ Emmen schrijft geschiedenis met promotie, Sparta degradeert uit eredivisie] {{Webarchive. link. (21 May 2018 - AD {{in lang). nl
10. (1 February 2013). "Jeugdopleiding Sparta beoordeeld met 4 sterren". Rijnmond TV.
11. Hamilton, Chloe. (22 October 1995). "Exponenten uit de jeugdopleiding van Sparta Rotterdam". Sparta Jeugdopleiding.
12. "Easter Tournaments Sparta (Rotterdam) 1934 and 1948".
13. "Sparta vs. Göteborg". UEFA.
14. (9 August 2012). "Göteborg vs. Sparta". UEFA.
15. "Sparta vs. Göteborg". UEFA.
16. "Sparta vs. Rangers". UEFA.
17. "Rangers vs. Sparta". UEFA.
18. "Rangers vs. Sparta". UEFA.
19. "Sparta vs. Coleraine". UEFA.
20. "Coleraine vs. Sparta". UEFA.
21. "Sparta vs. Carl Zeiss Jena". UEFA.
22. "Carl Zeiss Jena vs. Sparta". UEFA.
23. "Sparta vs. Spartak Moscow". UEFA.
24. "Spartak Moscow vs. Sparta". UEFA.
25. "Sparta vs. Hamburg". UEFA.
26. "Hamburg vs. Sparta". UEFA.
27. "Sparta vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach". UEFA.
28. "Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Sparta". UEFA.
29. "A-selectie | Sparta Rotterdam".