FC Twente

Football club infobox
clubname = FC Twente


fullname = F.C. Twente 1965
nickname = "The Tukkers"
"The Reds"
founded = 1 July 1965
ground = Grolsch Veste
Enschede
capacity = 24,244
chairman = flagicon|Netherlands Joop Munsterman
mgrtitle = Head coach
manager = flagicon|England Steve McClaren
league = Eredivisie
season = 2007-08
position = Eredivisie, 4th | [They finished 2nd following the only official league standing approved by the UEFA] pattern_la1=_whiteborder|pattern_b1=_cucitureb|pattern_ra1=_whiteborder
leftarm1=DD0000|body1=DD0000|rightarm1=DD0000|shorts1=DD0000|socks1=DD0000
pattern_la2=_whiteborder|pattern_b2=_cucitureb|pattern_ra2=_whiteborder
leftarm2=696969|body2=696969|rightarm2=696969|shorts2=696969|socks2=696969

FC Twente (also incorrectly referred to as Twente Enschede) is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the the Eredivisie. They are currently managed by former England manager Steve McClaren.

History

The club was formed in 1965 as a merger of two professional clubs Sportclub Enschede and the Enschedese Boys. Although the current club has never won the Dutch championship, SC Enschede did, in 1926.

The first successes of the club started just after the merger of 1965, under coach Kees Rijvers. Twente finished 3rd in 1969, 4th in 1970, 5th in 1971, 3rd in 1972 and once again 3rd in 1973. The team's key figures were local heroes, such as Epi Drost, Eddy Achterberg, Kick van der Vall and Theo Pahlplatz. Their finest Eredivisie season was 1973-1974, in which Twente battled for the Dutch championship with Feyenoord. A head-to-head confrontation in the very last game of the season, in Rotterdam, had to bring the decision. Feyenoord were slightly luckier: 3-2. A second slot and a UEFA Cup ticket -- that was all for FC Twente.

However, "the Tukkers" (as people from Twente are generally called) almost made the very most out of that UEFA Cup ticket. After beating Juventus in the semi-finals, FC Twente lost to German side Borussia Mönchengladbach in the finals.

Things went downhill for Twente after that, and the club was relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1982. Twente returned to the top flight a year later, but the club soon became known for their amazing number of 1-1 and 0-0 draws. Their new reputation 'boring Twente' overshadowed the fact that the club kept qualifying for European football on a fairly regular basis: five times since 1985.

Re-establishment followed in the 1990s. German coach Hans Meyer led Twente to the third slot in the Eredivisie of 1997 and to the third round of the UEFA Cup the next season. On May 24 2001, Twente clinched the KNVB Cup, beating PSV in the final after being 3-1 down in the penalty shoot-out.

The season thereafter Twente crashed out of the cup against the teenagers of Ajax's second team, results in the league were poor and the hard core Twente fans "Ultras Vak-P" went on a rampage at the club's brand-new Arke Stadion out of frustration. The club's mother corporation (FC Twente '65) was declared bankrupt in the 2002-03 season, almost leading to the end of the club's existence. The club survived and made it to another KNVB Cup final in 2004 and struck back with a fantastic Eredivisie season in 2006-07. In the season 2007-08, FC Twente placed fourth and won the play-offs for a ticket to the Champions League Qualifiers by defeating Ajax in the play-off finals.

On the 1st of August 2008, unseeded Twente entered the draw for the 2008-09 Champions League 3rd round qualifying stage, being drawn against seeded Arsenal F.C. (Eng). The two legs were played at home on the 13th August 2008 and away on the 27th August 2008. Twente lost 6-0 on aggregate, resulting in their elimination from the Champions League and subsequent entry of the 2008-09 UEFA Cup first round.

tadium

The Grolsch Veste, formerly named Arke Stadion, is the official stadium of FC Twente. It is located in Enschede, the Netherlands at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente. It has a spectator capacity of 13,250 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands. The stadium is currently being reconstructed and will be reopened at the start of next season with an increased capacity of 24,244.

The Grolsch Veste replaced the old Diekman Stadion as Twente's home ground on 22 March 1998. Plans have been afoot to expand and to renovate the old and now demolished Diekman stadium, however, with a growing fan capacity and with arguments that the location of the Diekman stadium was not strategic enough, the idea was conceived to build a new arena for the Twente fans. The Diekman ground had also faced problems with its seating plans as a result of the FIFA regulations which imposes a necessity to construct a seating tribune behind each goal post. Fans of the club seldom use the official name but refer to the stadium as 'Epi Drost Stadium' after all-time club hero Epi Drost.

The cost of the construction was estimated to be around 33 million guilders and took fourteen months to complete, with its foundation stone having been laid on 31 January 1997. Due to the tight budget available, the layout of the stadium was constructed in such that future expansions may be made possible without the necessity to tear down entire tribunes.

The first match played at the stadium was a historic 3-0 victory by the home team against PSV on 10 May 1998 in an Eredivisie match.

The famous You'll Never Walk Alone recording by musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers is loudly sung along in the whole stadium before every kick-off.

In 2006 plans have been unfolded to increase the stadium capacity to 24,353 seats. This expansion is expected to be ready in September 2008. FC Twente is also considering to expand to 40,000 seats in 2011.

Players

Current squad

"As of 3 September 2008."

Out on loan

Reserve squad

Notable players

:"See also: col-begin-small
* Eddy Achterberg
* Billy Ashcroft
* Berthil ter Avest
* Kennedy Bakircioglü
* Evert Bleuming
* Ronald de Boer
* Michel Boerebach
* Scott Booth
* Husref Musemic
* Jaap Bos
* Sander Boschker
* John Bosman
* Paul Bosvelt
* Theo ten Caat
* Ellery Cairo
* Willy Carbo
* Dick van Dijk
* Issy ten Donkelaar
* Epi Drost
* Karim El Ahmadi
* Orlando Engelaar
* Giorgi Gakhokidze
* André van Gerven
* Ab Gritter
* Spira Grujić
* Erik ten Hag
* Jan van Halst
* Gene Hanssen
* Jeroen Heubach
* Nico-Jan Hoogma
* Pieter Huistra
* Benno Huve
* Kees van Ierssel
* Jan Jeuring
* Collins John
* Martin Jol
* André Karnebeek
* René van de Kerkhof
* Willy van de Kerkhof
* Piet Keur
* Hans de Koning
* Martin Koopman
* Blaise Kufo
* Mika Lipponen
* Rob McKinnon
* Mitar Mrkela
* Arnold Mühren
* Youri Mulder
* Antal Nagy
* Claus Nielsen
* Peter Niemeyer
* René Notten
* Arthur Numan
* Kalle Oranen
* Niels Oude Kamphuis
* Rahim Ouédraogo
* Niels Overweg
* Theo Pahlplatz
* André Paus
* Marcel Peeper
* Johan Plageman
* Prince Polley
* Helmut Rahn
* Ferdi Rohde
* Fred Rutten
* Manuel Sanchez Torres
* Andy Scharmin
* Piet Schrijvers
* Theo Snelders
* Jan Sørensen
* Frans Thijssen
* Hallvar Thoresen
* Andy van der Meyde
* Kick van der Vall
* Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
* Willem de Vries
* Rob Wielaert
* Piet Wildschut
* Luke Wilkshire
* Ramon Zomer
* Clemens Zwijnenberg

Topscorers by season

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"!style="background: #DD0000;" align=center|Season!style="background: #DD0000;" width=70%|Name!style="background: #DD0000;" align=center|Goals
-
align=center|1965/1966
flagicon|NED Hans Roordink
align=center|11
-
align=center|1966/1967
flagicon|NED Jan Jeuring
align=center|10
-
align=center|1967/1968
flagicon|NED Dick van Dijk
align=center|22
-
align=center|1968/1969
flagicon|NED Dick van Dijk
align=center|30
-
align=center|1969/1970
flagicon|HUN Antal Nagy
align=center|17
-
align=center|1970/1971
flagicon|NED Jan Jeuring
align=center|17
-
align=center|1971/1972
flagicon|NED René van de Kerkhof
align=center|10
-
align=center|1972/1973
flagicon|NED Jan Jeuring
align=center|13
-
align=center|1973/1974
flagicon|NED Johan Zuidema
align=center|14
-
align=center|1974/1975
flagicon|NED Johan Zuidema
align=center|10
-
align=center|1975/1976
flagicon|NED Jan Jeuring
align=center|20
-
align=center|1976/1977
flagicon|NED Arnold Mühren
align=center|13
-
align=center|1977/1978
flagicon|NED Ab Gritter
align=center|15
-
align=center|1978/1979
flagicon|NED Ab Gritter
align=center|14
-
align=center|1979/1980
flagicon|NOR Hallvar Thoresen
align=center|11
-
align=center|1980/1981
flagicon|NOR Hallvar Thoresen
align=center|15
-
align=center|1981/1982
flagicon|ESP Manuel Sanchez Torres
align=center|15
-
align=center|1982/1983
flagicon|NED Martin Koopman
align=center|7
-
align=center|1983/1984
flagicon|ENG Billy Ashcroft
align=center|21
-
align=center|1984/1985
flagicon|NED Willy Carbo
align=center|15
-
align=center|1985/1986
flagicon|NED Martin Koopman
align=center|8
-
align=center|1986/1987
flagicon|NED Ulrich Wilson
align=center|8
-
align=center|1987/1988
flagicon|NED Piet Keur
align=center|17
-
align=center|1988/1989
flagicon|NED Piet Keur
align=center|16
-
align=center|1989/1990
flagicon|DEN Claus Nielsen
align=center|14
-
align=center|1990/1991
flagicon|DEN Claus Nielsen
align=center|16
-
align=center|1991/1992
flagicon|NED Youri Mulder
align=center|18
-
align=center|1992/1993
flagicon|GHA Prince Polley
align=center|11
-
align=center|1993/1994
flagicon|NED Edwin Vurens
align=center|10
-
align=center|1994/1995
flagicon|NED Michel Boerebach
align=center|12
-
align=center|1995/1996
flagicon|NED Arnold Bruggink
align=center|11
-
align=center|1996/1997
flagicon|NED John Bosman
align=center|20
-
align=center|1997/1998
flagicon|NED John Bosman / Jan van Halst / flagicon|FIN Antti Sumiala
align=center|6
-
align=center|1998/1999
flagicon|NED Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
align=center|21
-
align=center|1999/2000
flagicon|NED Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
align=center|19
-
align=center|2000/2001
flagicon|NED Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
align=center|15
-
align=center|2001/2002
flagicon|NED Jack de Gier
align=center|6
-
align=center|2002/2003
flagicon|NED Ellery Cairo
align=center|7
-
align=center|2003/2004
flagicon|SUI Blaise Kufo
align=center|14
-
align=center|2004/2005
flagicon|SUI Blaise Kufo
align=center|16
-
align=center|2005/2006
flagicon|SUI Blaise Kufo
align=center|12
-
align=center|2006/2007
flagicon|SUI Blaise Kufo
align=center|22
-
align=center|2007/2008
flagicon|SUI Blaise Kufo
align=center|22
-

Head coaches

* 1965-1966 : flagicon|Austria Friedrich Donenfeld
* 1966-1972 : flagicon|Netherlands Kees Rijvers
* 1972-1979 : flagicon|Luxembourg Spitz Kohn
* 1980-1981 : flagicon|Netherlands Hennie Hollink
* 1981-1982 : flagicon|Netherlands Rob Groener
* 1982-1983 : flagicon|Luxembourg Spitz Kohn
* 1983-1986 : flagicon|Germany Fritz Korbach
* 1986-1992 : flagicon|Netherlands Theo Vonk
* 1992-1994 : flagicon|Netherlands Rob Baan
* 1994-1995 : flagicon|Netherlands Issy ten Donkelaar
* 1996-1999 : flagicon|Germany Hans Meyer
* 1999-2001 : flagicon|Netherlands Fred Rutten
* 2001-2002 : flagicon|Netherlands John van 't Schip
* 2002-2004 : flagicon|Belgium René Vandereycken
* 2004-2006 : flagicon|Netherlands Rini Coolen
* 2006-2006 : flagicon|Netherlands Jan van Staa "(interim)"
* 2006-2008 : flagicon|Netherlands Fred Rutten
* 2008-current: flagicon|England Steve McClaren

Honours

National

*Eredivisie
**Winners (1): 1926 "(as Sportclub Enschede)"
**Runners-up (1): 1974

*KNVB Cup
**Winners (2): 1977, 2001
**Runners-up (3): 1975, 1979, 2004

*Johan Cruijff Shield
**Runners-up (1): 2001

International

*UEFA Cup
**Runners-up (1): 1975

*UEFA Intertoto Cup
**Winners (1): 2006"

ee also

*Dutch football league teams

References

External links

;Official
* [http://www.fctwente.nl/ FCTwente.nl] Official website of FC Twente nl icon
* [http://www.eredivisie.nl/ Eredivisie.nl] Official website Dutch Eredivisie nl icon

;General fan
* [http://www.fctwente.net/ FC Twente Online] nl icon
* [http://www.fctwente.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=31 FC Twente Online] English Section en icon
* [http://www.vakp.nl/ Vak-P] nl icon
* [http://www.vakd.nl/ Madness Vak D] nl icon
* [http://www.fctriessen.nl/ FCT Riessen] nl icon
* [http://www.twentefans.nl/ Twentefans] nl icon

;News
* [http://www.football-lineups.com/team/Twente_Enschede/ Football-Lineups.com / FC Twente] en icon
* [http://www.vi.nl/Teams/Team.htm?dbid=817&typeofpage=84139 VI / FC Twente] nl icon