Willem II (football club)

Football club infobox
clubname = Willem II


fullname = Willem II
nickname = "Red White Blue Army"
"King's Army"
"Tricolores"
founded = August 12, 1896
ground = Willem II Stadion
Tilburg
capacity = 14,637
chairman = flagicon|Netherlands Hans Verbunt
manager = flagicon|Netherlands Andries Jonker
league = Eredivisie
season = 2007/2008
position = Eredivisie, 15th
pattern_la1=_redshoulders|pattern_b1=__red_white_bluestripes|pattern_ra1=_redshoulders
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=_redshoulders|pattern_b2=_thinwhitesides|pattern_ra2=_redshoulders
leftarm2=000000|body2=000000|rightarm2=000000|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000

Willem II is a Dutch football club playing in Tilburg. The club was founded as Tilburgia on August 12, 1896. On January 12, 1898, the club was renamed Willem II, after Dutch king Willem II (1840-1849), 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 has had many famous players, such as Jaap Stam. The club jersey consists of red-white-blue vertical stripes, inspired by the colours of the flag of the Netherlands. Willem II plays its home matches in the Willem II Stadion. The stadium, opened on May 31, 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004/05 was 12,500 people.

Willem II has won three national titles (1916, 1952 and 1955) and two national cups (1944 and 1963). In 1987, 1990 and 1999, Willem II were voted Dutch Club of the Year. In 1999, a second place in the league guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth. In the first group stage (Group G), Willem II were eliminated. They scored 2 points in 6 matches. In 1963, Willem II lost to Manchester United (7-2 on aggregate) in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998-99, Willem II competed in the UEFA Cup. After beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6-0 on aggregate in the first round, Willem II lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4-1 on aggregate. After reaching the Dutch cup final in 2004 (4-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven), Willem II qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round (5-1 on aggregate).

Honours

* Eredivisie
** Winners (3): 1916, 1952, 1955
* Eerste Divisie
** Winners (2): 1957, 1965
* KNVB Cup
** Winners (2): 1944, 1963

Current squad

Players out on loan

Reserve squad

Notable former players

* Mariano Bombarda
* Tarik Sektioui
* Bud Brocken
* Jimmy Calderwood
* Scott Calderwood
* Tom Caluwe
* Moussa Dembele
* Romano Denneboom
* Jean-Paul van Gastel
* Sami Hyypia
* Tomas Galasek
* Jack de Gier
* Sami Hyypiä
* Chris Janssens
* Kew Jaliens
* Ruben Kogeldans
* Bert Konterman
* Michel Kreek
* John Lammers
* Denny Landzaat
* Joris Mathijsen
* Oscar Moens
* Marc Overmars
* Adil Ramzi
* Martijn Reuser
* Jaap Stam
* Earnie Stewart
* Cristiano
* Mohamed Sylla

Former managers

*Co Adriaanse
*Jimmy Calderwood
*Bert Jacobs
*Adrie Koster
*Robert Maaskant
*Hans Verèl
*Piet de Visser
*Hans Westerhof
*André Wetzel
*Mark Wotte
*Kees Zwamborn

ee also

*Dutch football league teams

External links

* [http://www.willem-ii.nl/ Official website] nl icon